The Interview: A Love Story

That is true; that is due to my will and your sadhana (spiritual practice).  If the Lord or Guru appears in a dream, it must be the result of Sankalpa (determination and will), and not due to any of the other reasons which cause dreams.       

 I was very inspired by the three dreams, so I started to read books about Sai Baba and his teachings.  I found his message to be very pure, but hard to live up to.  He gave instructions on repeating Gods name, acting righteously, and how to treat everyone with unconditional love.  These where very high ideals that seemed to overwhelm me.  So I had to read his teachings in very small doses; otherwise, I didn’t want to read them at all.  Nonetheless, I was up to the task. 

I began using prayer beads.  I would repeat the name, “Divine Mother,” on each bead.  The goal was to purify my mind, by saying God’s name, over and over again.  Eventually, I took on the qualities of the name that I was repeating.  A few of my students started to call me mother, and I sometimes saw myself as their second mother.    

The frequent use of the prayer beads caused my mind to become more tranquil.  I also thought of God more often.  As a result, my heart expanded into greater compassion and my thoughts became more noble.

While I was reading one of the books about Sai Baba, I came across the meaning of his name.  Sathya means Truth, Sai means Divine Mother, and Baba means Father. And here I was in search of the truth!  This was a very good sign.  It was now apparent that Sai Baba would lead me to what I was searching for.  It was doubly significant, because when I wrote to him for the truth, I didn’t know his first name meant Truth. 

Now, the right path and teacher were before me.  However, I didn’t feel like I could approach him, because I didn’t feel holy enough.  I had a fear that he would reject me, because I wasn’t important enough, or good enough.  Yet despite these feelings of doubt and despair, I still held out hope that he might want to see me. 

Fortunately, I had a wonderful friend and confidant by the name of Master D’hartma.  He always had my best interest at heart, and shared his incredible wisdom and knowledge with me.  He was totally honest and trustworthy, so on March 20, 1992, I went to see him.

When I got there, we spoke mostly about spiritual matters.  I could sense that he was eager to help me.

“D’hartma, there’s a man in India, his name is Sai Baba.” 

“Yes, a wondrous being, yes he is.  But others don’t believe it, because they choose not to.” 

“I don’t understood why people follow Sai Baba around, or why people worship him as a God.  Does he control people?  I know he does miracles, but he’s been criticized for doing them.”      

“You cannot control others, unless they are willing to be controlled, but that is not his motivation.  His motivation is to prove to them the existence of a Universal Power, that you can engage it and also manifest in this world anything that you wish to have manifested.  But people follow him, because they have not yet learned that the same master that he is - is the one that exists in each being.  Sai Baba has mastered the Earth Plane.  Being a master on the Spiritual Level means he has mastered the Physical Plane and also the things of the Spiritual Plane.  Sai Baba has very much mastered the things of the Earth Plane, in order to show man that you can do that and reach spiritually.  To give proof that you can engage in all kinds of activity in the body." 

Master D’hartma’s explanation of Sai Baba’s motive increased my curiosity about him.  Since Sai Baba had mastered the Physical and Spiritual Planes of existence, he was able to engage Universal Power, or energy, simply by willing it.  Was this Universal Power the true God behind the apparent reality of our earthly existence?  I decided to continue to investigate the life and teachings of Sai Baba. 

***

“It’s just the mind.”             

Finally, Sai Baba stood up, even though the kid was still begging.  That’s when the young man lunged forward and grabbed Sai Baba around his knees.  “Please, can I stay?” he begged, pitifully.  

My heart froze in fear at the sight of the young m