Gifts of Sri

Gifts of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba

S h i r di
Any creation of God is composed of the five ele-
ments: Earth, Fire, Sky, Water and Air.

Sri Kaleshwar reveals in this book the nature of

the five elements and explains how these pillars

Sai Baba
of creation make up every aspect of life. Under-
standing the five elements and opening a “chan-
nel” to them is essential for developing the
capacity of our souls. Swami gives detailed in-
structions on how to awaken the creation energy
of the elements to purify the mind, body and soul.

The five elements techniques are the foundation

for all of his subsequent teachings. Once the el-
ements are “charged” in us, energy channels to
the source of Creation are opened, an under-
standing of how God’s energy works begins to

S R I K A L E S H WA R
dawn in us and our healing abilities automati-
cally awaken. This book includes specific in-
structions for the Five Elements Process™ – how
to charge our souls using the elements; how to
decharge stress, depression and negativity; and
how to use the elements to help heal others as
well as ourselves. An understanding of the ele-
ments is essential to understanding all of the an-
cient spiritual systems taught by Sri Kaleshwar.

This book begins with Swami’s recounting of his

first meeting with his master, Shirdi Sai Baba,
and it includes personal experiences related by
some of Swami’s students.

SRI KALESHWAR
 Gifts of Sri

Shirdi Sai Baba

SRI K A L E S H WA R
© 2008 SRI KALESHWAR

COPYRIGHT World rights reserved by the Siva Sai Mandir,

Penukonda. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval
system, transmitted in any form or by any means, or reproduced in
any way, including but not limited to photocopy, photograph, mag-
netic or other record, without the prior agreement and written per-
mission of the Siva Sai Mandir, Penukonda.

Sri Sai Kaleshwar Swami

Shiva Sai Mandir
Penukonda 515110
Andhra Pradesh, INDIA
Ashramstaff @kaleshwar.org
www.kaleshwar.org

First Edition January 2000

Second Edition July 2000
Third Edition October 2001
Fourth Edition May 2005
Fifth Edition October 2008

S r i K a l e s h w a r Pu b l i s h i n g
www.sri-kaleshwar-publishing.de

ISBN: 978-3-940656-00-1
 This Book is Dedicated to My
Beloved Master Shirdi Sai Baba
 TA B L E O F CO N T E N TS
Preface by Dr. Clint Thompson 9
Introduction by Ramakrishnananda 16

Section One: My Message to the World 27

Meeting Shirdi Baba 29
Supernatural Energy 33

Section Two: The Five Elements 37

The Practice of Using Mantras 44
Introductory Mantras 47
Nama Shivaya 56
Earth Element 57
Fire Element 71
Sky Element 81
Water Element 91
Air Element 99

Section Three: Glimpses of the Master 107

Ramakrishna 108
Nancy Fengler 127
Virginia Gray 136
Mayuri 147
Marie Fontaine 152
Anya d’Azevedo Rosen 160
Cindy Renfort 169
Terry Clark 176

Section Four: Tasting the Mango 185

Glossary 202
 P R E FA C E
From the moment I entered medical school at the Texas Medical
Center in 1983, it was apparent that something had been overlooked
in the scientific, reductionist model of health and disease, which was
then, and still is, dominant in the technologically and industrially
“advanced” world. Western sciences have yet to discover the rela-
tionship of awareness, or consciousness, to what we commonly refer
to as “healing.”

As an Intern and Resident in Internal Medicine, and later as a prac-

ticing Internist, whether in the hallways of the University of
California, San Francisco, or in public or private clinics staffed by the
brightest allopathic minds of today, I observed that the mechanism of
“healing” was unpredictable. The reason for this eluded my decades-
long educated mind.

Where healing should have by all reason occurred, disease sometimes

prevailed; where the battle appeared to be lost, healing would sud-
denly gracefully appear. For many years I have been searching for
some deeper, more profound answer to the ageless question, “What is
Healing?" It was this question which led me to Swamiji Kaleshwar.

Kaleshwar Anupati was born January 8, 1973, near the village of

Penukonda in southern India. From those first days, his life has been
marked by the divine, supernatural energies that he embodies. As a
small child his interest was focused on the inner life, the soul.
Though he attended school at the insistence of his secular Brahmin
parents (his father is a University professor of Philosophy), he would
be found meditating for hours alone in his room, or at one of the
countless Hindu temples that are so prevalent in India. Each full
moon night he would find a way to escape his parents’ home and sub-
merge his body, to his neck, in the living waters of a river or lake.

PREFACE 9
Healings occurred spontaneously in his presence. In one case, a
stranger crying in pain from a scorpion bite was amazed when
Kaleshwar's concern miraculously relieved his pain and fear. In
another case, a cynical and tortuous natured professor was trans-
formed into a gentle, caring teacher, and later became an early devo-
tee of Swamiji. Over dinner one night, Kaleshwar began to retell the
man's difficult life to him. As Kaleshwar began to flawlessly recite the
past episodes of pain and isolation the man had suffered, the man felt
inexplicably transformed, and the dinner became a healing for his
heart and soul. There are dozens of similar stories.

At the age of fourteen Swami became aware of his divine purpose. By

sixteen he was teaching and healing in the manner of the great mas-
ters, with his students and devotees awaiting him on the lawn outside
his own high school classrooms. By twenty he had established his first
ashram in Penukonda, undertaking his spiritual duties.

A few years later he began focusing his energies on the West working
with students from Japan, Europe, and America. His stated intent, in
word and deed, was the dissemination of “seeds of God” and to teach
powerful healing techniques to his students, sending those healers out
to serve the world.

I first met Kaleshwar in July of 1997. This first meeting was rather
accidental, as I was in no way a person in search of a spiritual master
or teacher at that time. I attended a gathering in Ojai, California,
prompted by what I had heard about Kaleshwar as a "healer" and
"miracle maker." I would be satisfied on both counts.

I had never encountered such a presence as his. I witnessed several

healings and what I would have at the time called “miracles.” These
healings were, up to that point in my life, more powerful and effec-
tive, truer, than any I had ever experienced before.

10 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Over the subsequent two years, I have continued to be profoundly
moved and impressed by Kaleshwar's presence, as both a master
teacher and master healer. I have travelled to India on five occasions
since then, to visit him and to learn what I may. I have personally
been witness to dozens of healings, including the resolution of acute
injuries and physical insults such as Cobra bites and invenonmation,
as well as chronic illnesses such as cerebral palsy, cancer, and heart
disease. During my visits with Kaleshwar I have personally witnessed
dozens of events which, to the Western mind, would be called "mir-
acles": the manifestation of objects into his empty hands (seemingly
from thin air), the transformation of water into wine, the transfor-
mation of black river sand into bright red kum kum (red powder used
in Hinduism), the transformation of fresh cut flowers into vibhuti
(sacred ash).

To Swamiji Kaleshwar, such occurrences are not miraculous, or even

particularly important aside from their value in getting your attention
- demonstrating the possibilities available through the intentional
manipulation of divine energy. He tells us again and again his mission
is to help each of us realize our true nature - divine souls in human
form, whose birthright is the embodiment of God/Spirit. He points us
towards a path that leads to healing and self-awareness, first for each
of us personally, but ultimately for everything and everyone with
whom we share this life.

I have personally examined and cared for Swami’s body during pro-
found states of meditation known as "yoga samadhi," during which
time his trance is so deep that his physical body displays no detectable
sign of life – no palpable pulse, no detectable respiratory movements,
no discernible heartbeat or respiration by auscultation with a stetho-
scope. On two separate occasions I observed and repeatedly examined
his body during such samadhi meditations, which lasted on the first
occasion for thirty-six hours and twenty-four on the second.

PREFACE 11
Each year during a certain period, Kaleshwar produces objects of
divine healing vibration called Shiva Lingams. These objects emerge
from his mouth after severe energetic contractions resembling labour,
and appear to be made of a sort of stone, though they are soft and
flesh-like immediately after emerging. Each lingam transmits unique
vibrations, which have the effect of facilitating healing, be it physi-
cal, emotional, mental or spiritual. I have been present during the
release of five such lingams.

One such occasion was particularly notable to my scientifically con-

ditioned physician's mind. Swamiji was having a great deal of abdom-
inal pain and difficulty eating during the week preceding the release.
After my incessant prodding to eat, he privately confided that the
lingam growing
inside his body
was the largest
he had ever pro-
duced and that is
was possible the
trauma of bring-
ing forth the
lingam might be
so damaging to
his body that he
could die. He
said once the
lingam began its
ascent, he would
have little con-
trol over its
course, and that
he might need
my help.

12 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Could I turn the lingam at the time of emergence, as one would a foe-
tus pointing the wrong way during early childbirth? Eager to help, my
doctor's mind leapt forward. We obtained an X-ray image of his
abdomen, which revealed a large egg shaped opacity, the density of a
bone, 10 centimetres by 4 centimetres in dimension, tucked up under
the left ribcage. Its orientation was such that it would emerge up into
his chest/heart, rather than through the oesophagus and out his
mouth. After much discussion, he decided that at the proper moment
I would guide the lingam to the proper anatomic junction where it
would then emerge.

When the moment finally arrived, after an hour or more of Swami’s

silent pacing and spasms of labour-like contraction, he motioned hur-
riedly for my help. As I approached him in the darkened temple,
standing among some students, he quickly placed my right hand on
his left upper abdomen, and pressed it into him with his own until I
felt the body of the lingam through his flesh. As I sought to “grasp”
the lingam and direct it towards the proper location, he began to
bend over, draping his abdomen over my hand and arm.

Suddenly I was supporting the entire weight of his small body on my

arm like a towel over a rod. His body began to twist like a top, and I
had to use my left arm around the back of his waist to steady us both.
The object beneath my hand also seemed to be spinning along its
long axis, and to grow impossibly hot. Suddenly Kaleshwar seemed to
lunge even farther over my arm, and then my hand simply ceased to
exist as a part of my body. Instead my hand felt as if it entered into
Kaleshwar, or merged with his flesh. Suddenly there was nothing
between my hand and the lingam. For an impossibly short, yet infi-
nite moment, I held the lingam spinning in my hand.

Then it seemed as if it shot out of each side of my hand, splitting into

two. Immediately a flow of blood and tissue came from his mouth, fol-
lowed by a small lingam (about the size of a walnut).

PREFACE 13
I knew that the single large lingam had in fact split into two. A few
moments later the second lingam came forth. As each student pres-
ent held the lingams in turn, I watched the expressions of peace and
love on face after face, mirroring my own state of awareness. These
two lingams were that night given to one American student, to use
for healing works in America.

Swamiji Kaleshwar is also a Master Teacher. He constantly teaches

the stream of people who come before him on topics we would char-
acterize collectively in the West as "spirituality". His ashram (tem-
ple) is a bustling centre of activity when he is present. Literally a
thousand or more Indians would visit in the span of a few days during
my visits. On special occasions, at his invitation, a thousand or more
people will come in a single 24 hour period to take Swami’s "darshan"
(the blessing of being in the presence of a master). I have also accom-
panied Kaleshwar abroad, in America and in Europe, where he is
serving growing numbers of people, who, like me, are searching for
deeper levels of truth and meaning, and the experience of true heal-
ing in their lives.

While the teachings of Swamiji Kaleshwar are available for all, he is

particularly intent in disseminating this divine energy and knowledge
in the West. Swami Kaleshwar is many things to many people. His
gifts include the ability to transmit divine information in a readily
accessible form, whoever his audience may be. Swami Kaleshwar’s
grace enables him to communicate in terms easily understood, regard-
less of ones previous experience.

Through regular attention and practice, Swamiji Kaleshwar's teach-

ings lead the student to ever greater awareness of their true nature as
souls in physical form. What inevitably follows is clarity of perception
within this experience we call reality, realization of the knowledge we
each possess, and remembrance of the purpose we each came to fulfil.

14 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 Clint Thompson, MD
P.O. Box 603
Laytonville, California 95454, USA

email: [email protected]

November 27, 1999

PREFACE 15
 I N T RO D U CT I O N
It is an exercise in futility for anyone to try to encompass the totali-
ty of a divine being's significance with words. It simply is not possi-
ble. A divine soul is a divine soul, period. And if you're lucky enough
to have a relationship with one, then you know the love I feel
towards my dear friend and master, Swami Kaleshwar. The miracu-
lous stories and commentaries in this book surrounding Swami hap-
pen to be true and to live with him is to live in a world of boundless
beauty, magic and power.

The time I first met Swami Kaleshwar in 1997 I knew he was a divine
soul who was living, experiencing, and demonstrating the presence of
God. From the beginning of my relationship with Swami I made it
clear I wanted to know God directly through experience. Swami's
mere presence affected me strongly and I could only guess what he
experienced internally. In his shiny black eyes, I could see it was
obviously something wonderful.

Whatever he was perceiving inside was strong and beautiful enough

to affect everyone around him. I wanted to experience that. I asked
him if learning the healing techniques he taught would bring God
realization, as that was my real goal. When he told me it would, I
asked him how. I'll never forget how Swami shared with me an anal-
ogy of a mango.

Swami compared knowing God to eating a mango. "If I sit here eat-
ing the mango, making noises, and telling you how delicious it is,
what use is that to you? If I'm telling you about the roots, the water,
the sun, the tree, the leaves, the sugars, whatever it is ... all the
process for making the mango, is it helping you? Is my telling you
how glorious the taste is filling your belly? Can you taste its sweet-
ness through my words? No. You have to taste it for yourself, and
then you will know."

16 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Swami's message to the world is for everyone to recognize their own
inherent divinity, to access the God energy, the cosmic energy, to
blossom not only as natural beautiful humans but supernatural beings
with miraculous capabilities. Can you imagine the positive shift that
would occur in the world if people knew that the miraculous power
of divine energy is accessible to everyone; that supernatural souls are
also ordinary humans like you and me; that most saints reached their
spiritual mastery through years of hard work and not because of some
cosmic selection; and that anyone can do the same. Can you imagine
the difference in the quality of the world with supernatural souls liv-
ing and healing in the society? How many people would then strive
to know God and the true nature of themselves?

The enormous chasm between the natural and the supernatural that
has existed for millennia is becoming smaller every day. This is a truly
incredible time to be witnessing the history of humankind. The qual-
ity of information in the last twenty years has advanced exponential-
ly. Whether it be through advances in science or the release of eso-
teric secret information, the realm of understanding and possibility
expands daily. It is not coincidental that Providence has chosen this
time for the appearance and life message of Swami Kaleshwar.

What does it mean to be a supernatural saint? By 'supernatural' I mean

a person able to do things that completely defy the scientific laws we
understand today. For instance transporting an object from one place
to another. Or changing one thing into another, such as water into
wine or a flower into ash. Or miraculous healing in causing the lame
to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear. Although Swami is a mira-
cle master the most astounding miracles to me are his healings.

Swami is only 35 years old but already he has performed many thou-
sands of miraculous healings. I have personally seen him heal a small
boy with a genetic disease that doctors from around the world could-
n't even diagnose much less treat.

INTRODUCTION 17
Everything from deadly snake and scorpion bites, the most common,
to asthma, blindness, severe heart problems, cancer, lymphomas,
brain damage, you name it.

Swami, however, puts very little emphasis on miracles, other than

healing, except as a proof of the existence and capacity of what he
calls cosmic energy. He routinely and effortlessly demonstrates
power, greater than any that is conventionally known or understood,
in order to hook people to the spiritual path. Being around him
shakes up beliefs and forces you to reconsider the world and your
place in it. Confronted with the truth of a miracle, the mind has to
deal with notions about the existence and power of God.

Except for healings, other miracles are nothing compared to the

beauty and grace that flow from the presence of this divine being. I
remember the first time I saw Swami. He looked like a boy and I did-
n't think he was the person I had come to see, but I couldn't take my
eyes off of him. Within a few seconds I noticed how I felt. In the pres-
ence of a divine soul happiness and peace come effortlessly, even if
you see them for a brief moment or only from a distance. The love
and energy emanating from them is palpable. It's not something
dependent upon faith or being sensitive to energy. It is literally
beyond belief. You can believe with all your heart the sun will not
rise tomorrow, but it will. Likewise, in the presence of divinity the
shadows of false beliefs have no effect on direct experience and are
scattered to reveal previously hidden possibilities.

The first information Swami imparted to me, as well as the many

others wanting to become supernatural healers, was that of the Five
Elements. To this day whenever Swami teaches a new healing sys-
tem he always recommends the new students complete the Five
Elements as a prerequisite. The gift of the Five Elements healing sys-
tem cannot be overstated.

18 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Before starting this system I had never done a mantra in my life,
ever. The notion of repeating some Sanskrit words over and over
seemed silly to me. What difference could it make? I didn't even
know what they meant.

Beginning with the first Earth Element was like a rite of passage.
Every morning I sat on my small lawn in Los Angeles with one hand
in the grass and the other holding a mala, chanting this rather long
mantra. The whole thing took a little over an hour, during which
many cars and people walking dogs would pass by. For the first ten
days I felt like an idiot. It was so unnatural and awkward. Thumb in
the earth, holding a mala, trying to remember and pronounce the
mantra correctly, trying to concentrate, trying to relax, trying not to
notice or to ignore the itch I couldn't scratch because my hands were
occupied, trying not to listen to my mind telling me how ridiculous I
looked to the people passing by and what was I doing wasting my time
... talk about a trying experience! Many times I would laugh out loud
at myself. How could my pronouncing these words do anything? The
only thing that kept me going was that I had committed myself to
completing the course no matter what in order to discover if what
Swami had taught was true.

I remember the tenth day very clearly because somehow in the mid-
dle of all the physical discomfort, mental distractions, and people
walking by I went into trance right there on the front lawn! When I
came to I had only done about fifteen repetitions of the mantra and
I had been in trance for about twenty minutes. It was like nothing I
had experienced before. The, thumb touching the ground was tin-
gling as if asleep so I wanted to shake it out but as I pulled my hand
up it was like I was pulling up a weight. My thumb was physically
magnetized to the ground! I lifted my thumb up and down several
times to see if I wasn't hallucinating and sure enough whenever it
came within a few inches of the ground it felt like. My thumb was
strongly pulled downward.

INTRODUCTION 19
I even tried it with my eyes closed to see if my mind was playing
tricks. Nope, same result. My hand and arm weren't asleep and. it was
not my mind. My thumb had become a magnet. I know how this
sounds but what can I say, it truly happened.

For the remainder of the forty-one days no other strong experiences

occurred, probably because I kept expecting them to. Many other
people that had attended the same course were having different
effects and experiences. Some people had burning thumbs or toes.
One man had a terrible odour coming from his entire body. He was a
lawyer and worked long hours but everyday he would wake up before
dawn and do mantras for three hours. He .didn't know what was
going on until he finished the forty-one days, then the odour van-
ished – another example of the type of purification you can receive.

Something I did notice, however, was that somewhere inside of me I

had a continuous, inexplicable joy. It was strange, like a tiny, tiny
bubbling spring of intense happiness flowing inside, regardless of how
I felt physically or emotionally. Just that little difference had such a
dramatic effect in my life, It's as if a darkness is lifted and peace and
happiness come more easily or spontaneously. To this day, three and
half years later, I still practice the element mantras everyday. They
are essential and fundamental and ever new.

Swami says the Five Elements are the pillars upon which all other ener-
gies, natural or supernatural, rest. Charging or purifying the elements
increases the soul capacity, literally magnetizing the soul to attract high
vibrations; they purify ‘negativity surrounding the soul’, and open ener-
gy channels to the elements. When these channels are open, the
exchange of vibrations occurs automatically between the soul and the
natural elements. You can use this for decharging negativity; All the
while the magnetism of your soul continues to increase. This means
you can easily draw out certain types of negativity from people and
then just as easily decharge the negativity into, the earth, water, or fire.

20 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

When you begin to do the healings what sounds abstract will become
obvious. Normally you and the person being healed can feel how the
energy works, it's that strong. When you practice the mantras you
will have your own results and will realize that however unusual this
sounds, it's absolutely true.

Swami Kaleshwar is a siddhi purusha. Basically a siddhi purusha is a

person who has control over the five elements. With his yogic power
he can start a fire, manifest water or ash. He can stop the rain or wind.
From across the world he can heal a person or send a telepathic
thought. I have personally seen all of these things done. His soul has
the same energy as the elements in nature and can therefore control
them. The boundary line between a normal soul and a supernatural
soul is the Five Elements. That is how powerful this information is.

The information of the five elements healing system is not new. In

fact it's thousands of years old. Swami often says, "This is not my own
craziness. I'm not making this (information) up," because what he
teaches is often bizarre, especially for western cultures. Whenever he
says that I laugh because I remember my chemistry teacher in college
saying the same thing when I repeatedly asked him to explain the
concept of a mole (the amount of a substance in grams numerically
equal to the molecular weight of the substance) and how they came
up with the number 1.67 x 1023 for some gas. The professor tried and
tried and eventually said, ''I'm not making this stuff up. When we
plug this number into the equation, it works." In other words, 'some-
body else discovered it, I don't know what it is exactly, but it works.'
Even Swami himself had a hard time believing the information some
saints taught him when he first began his spiritual sadhana (practice).
But he practiced and got results and now embodies the truth of that
knowledge. Swami knows very well that his teachings are advanced
for the general population, but he also knows that what he is giving
is the 'truthful information' and for those who practice this system
results will happen. Truth is truth.

INTRODUCTION 21
This book is intended for people with an open heart and a sincere
desire to become powerful healers. Many of Swami's students are
already performing incredible healings, such as healing blindness,
cancer, and seeing the practical results of his information and bless-
ings. Swami's greatest ambition is to create hundreds of supernatural
healers around the world. He asks for nothing in return as his joy
comes when a student shares what he has been given. There are a
handful of us who have been living with Swami in his ashram over
the past three years and we know our time here is short. He's already
told us he's kicking us out of the nest, so to speak, to go do our duty
in the world; otherwise all the time and energy he spent on us would
be a waste. He does not want to create spiritual followers; he wants to
create spiritual masters. Doing the Five Elements program is the
beginning and the first step toward that; it is also a first which any-
one can take.

Swami believes the true and only measure of a saint lies in the cre-
ation of beautiful students as it is only through students that the
truthful information continues to spread. When a student becomes a
master then the effect of the information can be seen. As Jesus said,
"From the fruit you shall know the tree." The fruit of knowledge is
unripe when unable to be enjoyed by others.

Swami, quite openly, denounces saints who use knowledge for them-
selves but do not share it with the world. He feels any supernatural
soul practicing one thing and teaching another commits a serious
crime by creating pain and suffering in people that have a sincere
desire to know God.

Swami is going to great lengths to give this information out. He is an

incredible master in every way and he lives what he teaches.
Compassion, self-sacrifice, humility, love, sweetness, brilliance, toler-
ance. The superlatives go on and on. But there is also something very
particular about Swami.

22 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

He's young, good looking, and charming when he wants to be, yet he
also happens to be very daring and bold. Forget the picture of an old,
silent, meditative, slow moving saint. That is not Swami. When he's
not meditating or staring into his fire for hours on end, he's vivacious
and hilarious and always enjoying the people around him, Everything
Swami does is extra-special in some way. If life were a test with no
extra credit points, Swami would somehow manage to score over
100%. He is exceptional in whatever he focuses on and his results
astound me again and again. Swami refers to the way he does things
as 'Dare and Dash' .

"If there is a sugar cane my nature is generally to take out 99.9% of

the juice. I never leave more than the .1 % sweetness inside. The rest
I put in the dustbin." Swami used this analogy to describe himself
and-truer words were never spoken It applies to everything he does.
An incredibly hard worker, he manages to squeeze the most out of
every single day. He is always actively doing something. When he
interacts with anyone he wrings out peak emotions. Around him peo-
ple can't help but to laugh a little louder, blush a little brighter, smile
a little wider, and cry a little harder.

If Swami weren't a saint I'm convinced he would be a formula one

racing driver. The first time I drove with him I quickly learned the
meaning of surrendering my life into his hands. And yet he never fal-
ters. Swami has more patience than anyone I've ever known and will
literally wait years, if necessary, for the best time to act. Like a tiger
that waits for the right moment to pounce, Swami only takes action
when he is sure he will win the result. Until that time nobody can
budge him. Yet he is also a self-admitted shortcut master and he is not
interested in taking the long road to anything. If it can be gained
safely and surely in a fraction of the time, whatever it may be, he
seems to take it as a challenge to follow the safe and fast path. This
is especially true in spirituality.

INTRODUCTION 23
Swami Kaleshwar poignantly understands the desire of all spiritual
seekers to have real results as quickly as possible. He gives to his stu-
dents what he would want himself. Take, for example, the five ele-
ment mantras. In the five elements healing system there are actually
well over 100 mantras for each element, an absolute nightmare for the
average westerner to memorize and requiring years of intense practice
to finish. "It's like a jungle," he says, "who needs all that craziness?"
Swami has done the Herculean task of paring these down to absolute
key energy mantras for his students. The energy is the goal of that
information; we want to gain and cultivate that energy. If we want to
eat the mango we don't need to know the entire inner workings of
the tree that produced it, we only need to recognize the fruit and
how to eat it. So it is with the Five Elements; the information is not
new but the form Kaleshwar has created to offer it to the world is.

Swami always says, "I am not a god. I am your best friend, your best
well-wisher." He really only wants other people's happiness, whether
it means success in the spiritual or material world, and he will do his
level best to help everyone achieve their goals. Swami's master,
Shirdi Sai Baba, used to say, "I give the people what they want so that
they will begin to want what I want to give them." If I had to sit down
to create my idea of the perfect guru from scratch, I still would have
come up way short of the phenomenon that is Swami Kaleshwar. I
consider Swami to be a gift from Shirdi Baba and there isn't a day
goes by that I don't marvel at my great fortune to have a personal
relationship with these two incredible souls.

Shirdi Baba and Swami Kaleshwar have dedicated their lives and
energies to the enormous task of healing pain, suffering, and igno-
rance in the world on a grand scale. The Five Elements system is the
first of many seeds that will be spread throughout the world to accom-
plish this task. It is their duty and joy, and our great good fortune.

24 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Ramakrishnananda

Penukonda, India

July 2000

INTRODUCTION 25
 E D I TO R ’ S N OTE
The first two sections of this book, “My Message to the
World” and “The Five Elements” are a transcription of
Swami’s own words, spoken in English. It is not a trans-
lation from Telegu, his native language.

In Section Two on “The Five Elements”, narration is

used by the editors, in italics, only when necessary for
clarification on a teaching. The charging and healing
information following each mantra is a summary of the
original teaching.

Before beginning any of the mantras, please read

“Instructions for Using the Mantras”.

26 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 SECTION ONE

MY MESSAGE
TO THE WORLD

27
28 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 M E ET I N G S H I R D I SA I B A B A
My master is Shirdi Baba. In my ashram there is six foot marble stat-
ue of him, with a diamond crown. He’s a big boss. Yes, really. He’s a
master of the masters, supernatural soul, very supernatural soul. In my
life I have had many practical experiences. I will tell one story.

When I was fourteen years old I had no faith in God. I spent my time
playing games, riding a bicycle, swimming the river, like that nature.
It was a very hot time, summertime, examination time to my classes.
I was studying for the tenth standard. In each subject I got ninety-
two to ninety-five percent. In my classroom I was the top boy – first
in class. I was studying in an old temple. It is like a shed, you know –
a good peaceful place. I rode out of the village two kilometres by bicy-
cle. It was a peaceful place to prepare for my examinations.

Everyday an old man came to the temple. It’s a very old temple.
Mostly in ruins. He was an old man and did not walk very well. He
had a beard, with cloth tied on his head, carrying a bag, a begging
bowl and a stick. For four days I observed him sitting in one corner.

For several days, after studying, when I was leaving he would ask for
some coins, “Can you give some coins?” I gave him money on two days.
On the third day he asked, I said no. Then on the fourth day, it was
around 4 p.m. I was very hungry and ready to leave to go to my house
to eat food. When I was going he asked for the coin, “Can you give a
coin or two coins?” I said I had no change, no coins. Then he said,
“Why are you lying, you have fifty rupees with you?” I was so surprised.
“How do you know that?” He said, “I know about you. It’s true.” Then
I said I had no change. I told him not to worry that I would go to my
house to eat and then bring back the coins. He said, “Why are you
going to your house?” I told him, “I’m very hungry and I want to eat
some food.” He said, “I’ll give you my food,” But I said, “No, no, I don’t
like your food.” He replied, “You don’t like my food? It’s very tasty.”

MY MESSAGE TO THE WORLD 29

Then he opened his bag and brought out his begging bowl. The food
was very spoiled, like four or five days old food. And I said, “Why are
you eating this food? That’s why your health is poor. I shall bring my
food from the house now, don’t worry.” Then he looked into my eyes
with tears. I asked him, “What happened? No problem, I’ll bring you
food in half an hour.” Then he said, “Tomorrow is your mathematics
examination.” I was surprised, “Maybe you’ve been observing me
these past four days. Maybe you saw everything.” Then he said, “How
can I know that? I’m Shirdi Baba.”

Shirdi Baba. It was the first time I was hearing this name. The first
time that I had an introduction to a spiritual master. “Okay” I said,
“anyhow I’m going.” “No, no, no” he says, “you eat this food.” I said,
“No, it’s very spoiled.” Then he took his stick and tapped three times.
It was steaming, giving off vapours. I was very surprised! Then I felt
afraid. “Who are you? Why are you doing this magic?” He said, “I am
a master of magic.” Each word he said was very deep.

At the time, I was very anxious to go to my house. My mathematics

examination was the following day. It was a very difficult subject and
I needed to prepare since I had much confusion on that subject. That
old man caught me, and pulled me into a discussion. Then he offered,
“Just taste my food a little to see if you like it or if you still want to go
to your mother and take your food.” Then just he gave a small bit of
food to my hand. I tasted it. Very beautiful! Very tasty! After touch-
ing my tongue he attracted me. He made two spoonfuls from his
hand. I ate twenty to thirty times from the bowl. Then I was full and
went just twenty feet to the tap to wash my hands. I was gone for a
matter of one or two minutes. When I returned he had disappeared.
But he had left his stick. Still I have this stick in my ashram.

I felt afraid. My head felt confused. It’s an old temple, nobody’s there,
and he couldn’t walk even a little distance in five minutes. Then I
came out and I climbed the temple. I looked all around but he was

30 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

nowhere. I found his footprints. My heart was beating very fast, like
240. It was making me sweat. ‘Oh my God!’ I’m in full confusion.
Nobody’s there for me to tell what happened. So I took the stick and
I went home to my mother. I told her my experience. She said,
“Maybe you had a dream.” I said, “You see the stick?” Only she said,
“Oh, you’re always so silly.”

The next day when I was writing my examination, I heard his voice
directly in my ear. Again I started writing, and again his voice was
coming. Only he kept saying, “How are you, how are you?” After that,
I went to a priest and told him, “An old man is doing a magic spell
on me. He’s talking in my ear. What happened? Is it good or bad?”
Then he didn’t believe me, “Oh maybe you got some bad evil power.”
Then he did a prayer and asked for fifty rupees.

After a few months the old man spoke to me in my dreams, “Why are
you afraid? I’m not a bad man. I’m your grandfather. I’m a grandfather
to all the people. You’re a global person – you will do some beautiful
work .” I could not understand his meaning. Then he invited me,
“Come to my place. Come to Shirdi. It is in Maharastra state.”

After that I searched to find where is Shirdi, and who is Shirdi Baba.
Then a priest showed me a Shirdi Baba picture. The man in the pic-
ture was the same person I had seen in the temple. Then I decided I
wanted to go to Shirdi. I found a group of pilgrims going to Shirdi by
tour bus. My mother did not give me permission to go. For two days
I made a hunger strike in the house, not eating or taking water. I said
from my bed, “No I won’t eat. Give the permission for me to go to
Shirdi and then I’ll eat.”

“Why do you want to go to Shirdi?” she said, “ It’s a spiritual centre.

Why do you have such a strong desire to go there? Finally my mother
gave in and granted me permission to go to Shirdi, “Okay, then go.”

MY MESSAGE TO THE WORLD 31

In Shirdi, when I stood in front of Baba’s statue, he said to me in
Telugu, “I have been waiting for you. Now the time is right for your
coming. I have been waiting for you.” It’s true. After that happened
I could no longer recognize myself. Just I’m coming here and going
there – as though he had a remote control on me. He was using and
operating me by remote control. Sometimes I’m praying, “Why are
you giving me too much hard work? I’m not giving good service to
anybody.” Then he said, “It’s enough. Nobody can get it all at one
time. But try your best. Do hard work. Yes, work hard.”

From that point from this first meeting with Baba, my life has been one
of service, for healing and teaching. I am an instrument in his hands.

32 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 S U P E R N ATU R A L E N E RG Y
I am giving some formulas in supernatural energies. It’s a shortcut
road to obtaining the Divine Grace. These energy formulas are in
other words an unusually fast track forwards. These are the kind of
formulas we have – knowledge going back some three-thousand years.
This is the first time I have presented them, the first time ever. None
of this is my knowledge. It is the knowledge of supernatural saints.
But now it is open and can be used by anyone.

More knowledge about spirituality must be given. My mission, my

ambition, is to grow this knowledge fast. Why give it to one person
only? I want to spread it. Everybody can smell the fragrance of God.
Then I can make good healers throughout the globe; they can obtain
real healing energy step by step with these formulas.

Healing is a very, very easy way to cure any negative energy. We can
effect a cure in fraction of a minute. I must teach this knowledge. I
must do my best. For the creation of beautiful students and to spread
the divine message as much as I can. This is simple. It puts an enor-
mous opportunity into their hands.

In the spiritual system, the saints say if you sit in your meditation
room and pronounce the perfect formula, you can do whatever you
want with the energy. You can send someone healing energy long dis-
tance, or if you are sitting there and want to give a message to any-
body, automatically by telepathy, by thoughts, it reaches them. That
is the deep meaning; the universe is filled with the vibrations,
through and through.

We almost all spending our time in the scientific reasoning, but there
are greater and higher principles in the universe. This is the cosmic
energy. Spiritual energy. Spiritual energy is the most powerful o forces.

MY MESSAGE TO THE WORLD 33

 TH E P RO C E S S
These five elements mantras are all a process – a powerful purifica-
tion. In the entire Vedic tradition and in all Indian tradition knowl-
edge, choosing high powerful bijaksharas (seed words), putting them
in the proper way (in the form of a mantra), chanting. No doubt it’s
a huge purification. When someone starts to do the mantras, there is
a lot of karma burning. The negativity comes out. If there are ups and
downs, if something is going on, it means the energy is working. It’s
like a high vibration. Then you settle, smooth.

For some people this mantra process will be very fast. In a matter of
months some people will be doing the healing; they have that kind
of soul energy. For some people it might take one or two years. This
is also fine. Your soul is still purifying, purifying. Have patience in
your process.

Another main point is everybody must have a desire and interest in

the process. Suppose you bring a cow to the river. You feel it is thirsty
and you’re showing the water to the cow. But it drinks only if it wants
to, We can’t force its head into the water and say, “drink, drink!”
Determination is also necessary in this process.

And faith is of the greatest importance. If someone has faith, they

will simply do it, they will be successful. Whoever follows this process
will definitely find it creates a huge love, a big open heart. Then it
improves the mind, producing good, capable thoughts. There is no
doubt about this, it is one hundred percent for sure. But they have to
do it with strong faithful.

When the soul becomes very strong, very powerful, and this person
then focuses on something, they will never have failure. When their
energies are in focus they can deal with any problem.

34 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

But they must know what they are focusing on. They have to under-
stand themselves, what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, then
focus. Simply, “Okay, I’m doing a spiritual path, what is my goal?
Reaching a certain stage, then, what should I do? After receiving a
fruit, what should I do with this?” You must have some plans, to
spread this in the universe, to work, to enjoy the happiness it brings
as much as you can. Then after that – take off.

M A N I F E ST I N G AND MI RA CLE S
The purpose of miracles is simple. It is mostly a matter of transport-
ing something from one place to another place. I am simply giving a
gift. Especially in my life showing miracles, is like giving chocolates,
it is a way of capturing the people’s hearts. It is not important. It is
nothing. Simply I use them to open the people’s heart, to hook them
through the different channels, to change people’s minds. Showing
the miracles, such as manifesting, and using different energies on
them, is a way of hooking people, to show them in my way to follow
the spiritual path.

There can be some confusion about miracles. Why are they neces-
sary? They not necessary, but they are important in our modern
world. They offer a way of attracting people to God. On one level
miracles cause great confusion to the student. They can’t believe
what is the real and what is unreal. But on another level it creates
enormous and powerful faith, But it is important for the miracle not
to be misunderstood.

T HE SE E D
My advice is this.: The master can give the seed of the perfect for-
mulas. He throws the seeds on the earth. The rain is God’s thing.
Sunrise is yours. Focus on that. The seed is the master’s. Water is the
God. Sunrise is yours. It grows a tree.

MY MESSAGE TO THE WORLD 35

The master cannot tell when you can get your tree. During the time
you do this process, you can make the flowers, you can make the fruits.
Everything depends on God’s grace. But one thing is true. Everybody is
capable of making it; everybody can have it. You can get the strength
to do the healing. You can do highest healing works. You can become
powerful healers. With Almighty’s grace, I can make it happen.

36 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 SECTION TWO

THE FIVE ELEMENTS

37
 T H E F I V E E L E M E N TS
Choosing to practice these powerful vibration mantras I am giving is
a purification process for your soul. Purifying your soul through these
mantras gives the very highest peace and connects you with the cos-
mic energy. Cosmic energy means connecting to God. When you
purify through the elements, your aim becomes aligned with the ele-
ments. Suppose you choose earth mantra, the perfect vibrations
mantra. You keep on chanting and chanting and chanting. A certain
period later, your soul automatically sits right; it is aligned with the
earth energy. You have a huge capacity in your soul. You have very
strong positive energy to not receive any negative energy.

Purifying the elements has enormous benefits. Number one, it cre-

ates strong willpower. You’ll have full command of the power to suck
in the highest positive energy. You’ll create around yourself highest
positive divine circles. You can heal yourself very easily. You can
heal other people who are having big troubles with negative ener-
gies. If someone is using their energies in a negative way, like black
magic powers, you can remove those energies and stop them. You
can make your mind very peaceful for concentrating on meditation.
Your knowledge automatically will improve to make your life suc-
cessful. It creates beautiful wonderful thoughts in your mind. It helps
your everyday life, your business life, whatever it is. You can also
heal your family members and your children. You can bring good for-
tune into your life.

If you follow this process, without your even noticing it, your soul will
receive many benefits – the peace and the divine love energy from
the cosmic. These benefits are received only by those who have com-
plete faith and a strong, devotional heart, those who have their heart
open to God. It only works for them. A person who has no faith in
God will be wasting their time even if they do the mantras. There is
no need for them to do the mantras. Faith is God, God is faith.

38 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

When you meditate with these mantras, start with the earth, con-
centrate on that element and think on God. “God created me
through the five elements. All the five elements are in me. Please
God I am picking up one element in my body. Right now I am puri-
fying one element in my body; purifying that energy. I am purifying
that element completely one hundred percent.” Taking that aim start
with the mantra – chanting, chanting and chanting.

After you finish your mantra, say with your open heart, “Okay, I puri-
fied one element in my body. You created my body through the five
elements, I purified one part. I am moving on to the element fire.” If
continue through all the five elements choosing one by one by one, you
will have an enormous command of all the elements. Then if any per-
son came to you with sickness or fear or is suffering from problems with
negative energy, you can heal them through the elements, through
your prayers. Picking any prayer, you can start to heal on them. They
will receive huge benefits automatically. Even before you are ready to
heal anybody else, you can feel great results within yourself.

TH E C H A N N E L S AND E L E M E N TS IN THE BODY

We are a body. What this means is that our body, or any other cre-
ation of God, is composed of the five elements. Even Jesus came as a
human body. He was also born in the five elements, under the
umbrella of the five elements. Mohammedcame in the five elements;
Mother Divine came; Shiva came in the same form. Completely,
everything in the entire universe, whatever the energy, everything is
composed from the five elements.

After you have finished this process with the five elements you are
completely purified. For many, many hundreds of lifetimes, until you
reach God, there is no great chance that negative forces will be able
to reach or touch you.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS 39

In our bodies, our eyes are very powerful. The eyes are very powerful
for every human being. Our eyes connect to the mind, connect to the
heart. It’s a link, a means of hooking. Even if you close your eyes,
before you close them you bring in the image, purifying it in you.
Whatever energy we are receiving through our eyes, it goes to the
heart and that means it goes to the soul. If you start to listen to some
melodious music, you stop what you are doing for a minute, it takes a
hold on you, it hooks you.

But suppose if first you close your eyes and then I tell yourself there is
a beautiful structure in front of you. Whatever I am telling: “Oh it’s
gorgeous, it’s wonderful, it’s marvellous” – if you don’t open your eyes
it is a meaningless impression, since you are not actually seeing it
yourself. If you don’t have the sense of smell in your own nose, then
the sense of smell is pointless to you even though there is a beautiful
jasmine flower put near you. If you cannot hearing very well, even
though I am talking very beautifully, in a melodious voice – this will
be meaningless to you. If your tongue and palate are not perfect in
their sense of taste, the same will be true even when you are eating
the most delicious food.

These four senses are called the four Vedas. God is living in you
through these four channels to hook your heart. Through your ears –
the sounds come; through your nose – smell; through your tongue –
the sensation of food; the eyes receive beauty. These are the four
Vedas. God created each of those four channels in you. When a per-
son is really going to connect to God, he has to hear the voice of
God, he has to see the face of God, he has to smell the real fragrance
of God, he has to chant the real prayers of God with the tongue.
Prayers must come out.

40 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 P R AY E R AND FA I T H
The whole universe prays. The tree will pray, the bird will pray, the
cow will pray. Everything, even a rock will pray. I will tell you a story.
Some people were preparing a statue of God from a rock. When they
were making the statue, even the rock started to cry with a huge love.
“Oh, I am changing and becoming a God. Millions of people are
going to do pujas, do prayers on me.” When your heart is open to that
rock as a statue, to worshipping, your energy is going to out to it,
charging it. The energy is building up. You are placing a single seed
and that seed is growing – it is going to become one hundred seeds,
one hundred fruits, then one hundred thousand, one million, one bil-
lion. Each person, when they are growing with the immensity of love
and faith is planting their single seed. It is starting; it is growing.

Even if it is your imagi-

nation that turns a
plain rock into a statue,
He is there, God is
there, Jesus is there.
That seed is enough to
grow up a hundred
times more power.
Then that is multiplied
a hundred times again
going on to become a
thousand. It was not
always that way, but it
is true nowadays in the
universe. How can a
rock receive power? –
what this means is that
God is everywhere,
Aham Bramhasmi.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS 41

Whatever seed of faith you are planting, it is creating a hundred times
more power in this age (Kali Yuga). It’s like a nuclear bomb, an atom-
ic bomb, spreading. It is the inner energy process.

You have to have the strongest faith, and also you have to open your
heart. If your heart is closed, you can’t see anything. Suppose, for exam-
ple, there is a beautiful plant with beautiful fruit and flowers. I say, “Hey,
it’s a beautiful flower, beautiful plant. Beautiful, oh look at this. What a
dazzling plant it is.” I’m opening my eyes seeing the plant and I’m talk-
ing about it. If you close your eyes and say “Hey, what are you talking
about, you’re talking crazy, nothing is there” then there is nothing but
blindness. You have to open your eyes and you must use them to see.

H AV E AN O P E N H E A RT
What this means is that every person has to open their heart for the
message. They must understand with their hearts. They must open their
minds. Closing the heart and practicing the elements is foolishness.
There is no way, no possibility, if the heart is closed. The results from
the mantras will not come and your master is not responsible, God is not
responsible, the teacher is not responsible. You are responsible to your-
self, to your karma. Everything is faith. It’s a new message to the world,
my message – why we’re using the elements, the fire element, water, air,
sky, earth, and the different types of inner secrecies of the elements.

The mantras create the perfect vibration only when the heart is open.
You can chant any prayer, “Oh God, my heart is open to you, please
come sit in my heart”, and if your heart is open the vibrations are cre-
ated. You have to chant, “God, I need you”, then he is there.
Without your heart opening it doesn’t help anywhere, anytime, even
if you are chanting and chanting. If you say the mantra, whether you
have faith or no faith, there is of course still some energy present. It
works one level, but it doesn’t work completely without faith. God’s
secrets work in the heart.

42 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Open your heart to the beautiful elements and purify the element
mantras. You are generating that love forever and ever.

THE FIVE ELEMENTS 43

 T H E P R A CT I C E O F U S I N G M A N T R A S
Mantras are formulas for pulling in, connecting to, and aligning with
God’s energy.

This is the system for accessing the Five Elements’ formulas. First you
“charge” yourself by repeating the mantras for the prescribed period.
This heals you and purifies the element in you. Once you get the
“symptoms” that the element has been charged, you are aligned with
the specific energy of the element and can use it to heal others.

This process requires that these mantras be used in a very particular

way in order to gain their benefit. Each mantra has a set of rules to
follow. Each of the mantras must be done for a specified period of
days and a specified number of repetitions each day and, in some
cases, at a certain time each day. Most are done for 41 days, 108 times
each day. Unless otherwise noted, early morning or night-time hours
are best. Bedtime is a good time for doing the mantras because it is
part of an established routine. If a time of day for doing the mantra is
not specified, it is beneficial to do it at the same time everyday. When
you are on a set schedule, it is easier to remember to do the mantras.

It is very important to establish a quiet place for this practice, and to

set a time when you will not be disturbed while doing the mantras.
Make sure you will be comfortable during the entire process, either
sitting or laying down (be careful not to fall asleep). In most cases the
mantras are repeated with the eyes closed. Burning a candle and some
incense purifies the meditation area and sets the holy energy.

Once you start the mantra cycle you cannot be interrupted, i.e. going
to the bathroom, answering telephone calls or talking to family mem-
bers. If for any reason you are interrupted, you must start again from
the beginning of the 108 repetitions. Also, keep in mind that using
these mantras is a process that builds toward an end result.

44 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

If you miss a day, you must again start at the beginning of the 41 day
process, or required number of days. If you are doing more than one
mantra during the same period and one of them is missed, you must
start that group of mantras over again.

When you begin a new mantra, it is advisable to say it out loud until
you feel confident you are pronouncing it correctly, which may take
a few days or so. Saying it aloud helps establish the energetic con-
nections. Once you are comfortable with the mantra you can say it
internally, silently. Until you have the mantra memorized, it is best
to keep a written copy of the mantra in front of you.

For counting the number of mantras, the Indian tradition recom-

mends using a mala. A mala is a strand of 108 seeds or beads, plus one
to mark the start and end, which is called the guru bead (109th bead).
Use this to count the num-
ber of repetitions of the
mantra. The mala holds
the energy of the mantras,
and you can wear the mala
to keep that energy close
to your body. A rudraksha
or lotus seed mala is rec-
ommended because these
actually boost the energy
of the mantra, but any type
of prayer beads or rosary
may be used. The mantra is
repeated one time per
bead, staying on the same
bead until the entire
mantra has been pro-
nounced perfectly, from
beginning to end.

THE PRACTICE OF USING MANTRAS 45

When using the mala never use the first finger (index finger). This is
the finger for the fire element and should never touch the mala. If
you use this finger, you are burning or stopping the energy. You’re
charging and decharging, charging and decharging. Use the middle
finger (sky) and thumb (earth), moving the mala across the middle
finger with the thumb. The sky gets help from the earth. There is no
limit – infinite energy.

Charge the elements in the order that they are presented. Do all of
the earth mantras first, then fire, sky, water, air. Before you can begin
healing others, you must first have successfully charged the earth and
fire elements, and completed 41 days of the sky element. All of the
elements can be completed in four or five months.

There are specific “symptoms” for successfully charging each mantra.

Also, there are some general symptoms for all of the elements: extra
heat in the body, drowsiness, a huge trance with beautiful dreams,
good appetite, hunger (good digestion), a clear mind. If you do not
get any of the general or specific symptoms, you should repeat the
charging process.

It is possible to charge all of the mantras for one element during the
same period, but it is best to do the elements one by one. Completing
one element before starting the next one will keep the charging
symptoms clear; you will not have a question as to which element to
attribute the symptoms to. It also allows you to focus on the quality
of each element’s energy.

Set your intent before beginning the practice each day. The charging
and healing capacity can successfully be gained by repeating these
mantras, these prayers, with an open heart.

46 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

The five elements knowledge and the practice of reciting these
mantras creates a knowledge base and vibrational foundation for your
soul which becomes the basis for subsequent teachings of Swami
Kaleshwar. These five elements’ mantras, and other mantras he has
taught, are best learned directly from Swami or his students who have
received the mantras directly and have charged them. An energy is
transmitted through the direct process of verbally teaching the
mantras and the pronunciation is more likely to be correct.

P R E PA R I N G F O R T H E H E A L I N G
Before starting every healing, wash your hands with pure rose water.
If you do not have any rose water, then put some fresh roses or other
flowers in a bowl of water to wash your hands, to purify yourself.

Then give the patient some rose water to wash their hands, face, and
whole neck.

If they are allergic to the rose water then have them use plain water
instead. By doing this, they are offering their body to the healer to
receive the energy. It automatically purifies and prepares the patient
for the healing.

This procedure is good to use when healing with any of the elements.

I N T RO D U CTO RY M A N T R A S
Whenever beginning any meditation practice, healing session or
teaching practice, Sri Kaleshwar strongly advises every student to
begin by reciting the Guru Mantra, followed by the Ganesha Mantra
and then the Gayatri Mantra.

Each of the mantras below connects us to the Guru Parampara – the

Guru and the Guru’s lineage – or to the deity directly.

THE PRACTICE OF USING MANTRAS 47

 P RO N U N C I AT I O N K E Y
The most important point in practicing the pronunciation of the
mantras is to perfectly emulate the sound or vibratory character of the
original language. For example, the ‘literal’ transliteration of the first
line of the Gayatri Mantra reads, “Om Bhur Bhuvah Swah”. But,
when transliterated according to the way the mantra sounds when
chanted, it reads, “Om Bhuur Bhuva Suu-vaha”. The spelling of the
mantras and the descriptions below regarding pronunciation are
meant solely to help facilitate proper pronunciation.

In this transliteration, the ‘word-sounds’ of the mantras have been

rendered phonetically, with an eye to breaking up some of them into
‘sound syllables’ for greater ease of recognition. As you can see by the
key below, the main concern is with vowel sounds. An additional
note: when the same vowel appears twice, side-by-side – like ‘ee’ –
along with properly pronouncing it, also hold the sound a little longer.

a sounds like the vowel sound in ‘the’ aa = sounds like the

vowel sound in ‘watch’
ai sounds like ‘I’
au sounds like the vowel sound in ‘cow’
ay as in ‘say’
e occurs in the Fire Mantra, twice in one word – first “Hes-”
sounds like the vowel sound in ‘mess’; second,
ee sounds like the vowel sound in ‘seen’
i at the end of a syllable sounds like the vowel sound in
‘seen’; within a syllable: occurs in the 1st Earth Mantra and
the 1st Air Mantra – “tir-” and “Sir-” respectively –sounds
like the vowel sound in ‘clear’; and, in the Ganesha Mantra
and Guru Mantra – “Vig-” and “Vish-” respectively – makes
the vowel sound as in the English word ‘fish’

48 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 o sounds like the vowel sound in ‘holy’
u sounds like the vowel sound in ‘the’
uu sounds like the vowel sound in ‘moon’
w, v interchangeable sounds, or as a combination of both sounds
h when with a consonant – such as in “Bhava-” in the 1st
Earth Mantra – ‘h’ is an added aspiration to the sound of the
consonant; it does not transform the consonant into anot-
her sound as in English

Correct pronunciation is key. The mantras come to us from ancient

palm leaf manuscripts written in Telugu. Many of the sounds of the
Telugu language are certain to be strange to the western ear. To help
ensure your success with the processes, it is highly recommended that
you learn the mantras and the practices with the help of a teacher
certified by Swami to teach the Five Elements Process. During the
process of learning from someone who has already charged the ele-
ments, an energy transmission occurs, which enhances your experi-
ence of the process. And, of course, a teacher can help adjust or cor-
rect mispronunciation on the spot.

Again, as a further help use the Audio-CD in this book of Swami

chanting the mantras. Swami’s native language is Telugu, the lan-
guage of the ancient manuscripts. When practicing the mantras, try
to match his pronunciation perfectly. The English transliteration of
the mantras is included as an additional guide and reference tool.
However, the main point is to “follow your own ear,” as Swami says.
For best results, follow the guidance of a certified teacher and prac-
tice with the Audio-CD.

THE PRACTICE OF USING MANTRAS 49

50 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 GU RU M ANTRA

Om Guru Brahm-ha
Guru Vishnuum
Guru Day-vo Maa-haysh-vara-ha
Guru Saak-Shaat Parabrahm-ham
Tas-mayi Sree Guru-vay
Na-Namaha

The Guru Mantra is absolutely essential. No mantra, healing or

teaching practice should be started without making the connection
to the Guru through this mantra. Making the links to the Guru, the
Guru’s Guru and so on is called Guruparampara.

The line of energy goes through the entire lineage and ends at the
Godhead or ‘Paramaguru’. In this way whatever we suck from others
during healing or teaching does not stay with us but is passed on to
our Guru. Then we are not responsible for experiencing the negativ-
ity. It is ‘washed’ by the Guruparampara.

Also if we, or these to whom we have given the mantras, mistakenly

mispronounce some mantras, the effects are handled by the Guru’s
energy.

INTRODUCTORY MANTRAS 51
52 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 G A NES HA MA NT RA

Om Suuklaam Bhara-dharam Vishnuum

Seshi-varnam Chatur-bhujam
Prasanna-Vadanam Dhyai-Yay
Sarva Vig-no-pa Shanta-Yay

Agajanana Padmarkam
Gajanana Maharnisham
Aneka-Dantanam Bhaktanam
Yekadanta Mupasma-he

Ganesha, the son of Mother Divine and Shiva, or Vigneshwara is the

remover of obstacles. A heartfelt prayer to him initiates and opens
the auspicious energy channels.

The image of walking behind a huge elephant that clears the path
ahead is a metaphor Swami Kaleshwar has used to describe the ben-
efit of invoking Maha Ganesha.

INTRODUCTORY MANTRAS 53
54 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 G AYAT R I M A N T R A

Om Bhuur Bhuva Suu-vaha

Tat Sa-vee-tur Var-ayn-yam
Bhargo Day-vaas-ya Di-Mahi
Dhi-yo-yo Naha Pracho-da-yat

The Gayatri mantra is said to be equal to the four Vedas. If you have
ever seen the size of the four Vedas you can really appreciate the
power of this mantra. The Gayatri Mantra has been written about
extensively, but still the essence of its power eludes all but the most
highly evolved souls.

During powerful fire ceremonies Swami has his students chant only
this mantra in order to burn negative karmas and fulfil their soul
desires. When practicing the Five Elements Mantras, Swami says this
mantra will help to remove huge negative energy blocks and
smoothes the process of purification and soul charging.

INTRODUCTORY MANTRAS 55
 N A M A S H I VAYA
Wherever you go in the universe you can find the earth, you can find
the fire, you can find the air, you can find the water, you can find the
sky. We must learn the five elements, how to heal the human body
through the five elements, then how to command the five elements.

Throughout these five

elements, Shiva’s ener-
gy is flowing. He’s
everywhere, his energy
is everywhere. The ele-
ments are filled with his
energy - Nama Shivaya.
In the Nama Shivaya
there are five letters.
They are called five ele-
ments: NA MA SHI VA YA – earth, fire, sky, water, air.

Element Earth Fire Sky Water Air

Sound NA MA SHI VA YA
Finger Thumb First Middle Third Little

We have five fingers on each hand. These are the five elements: NA
MA SHI VA YA. The Indian tradition says thumb is the earth, first
finger is the fire, the big one (middle finger) is the sky, the ring fin-
ger is the water, and the little finger is the air. We can find the five
elements in our hand. After communication with the angels, through
the elements you can do whatever you want. You can command the
five elements from your hand.

56 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 E A RT H E L E M E N T
What is the greatness of earth? There is
an energy, an immense energy in this
universe, and earth is endowed with a
certain type of the energy. The natural
earth has vast magnetic power, mag-
netic power of different types, enor-
mous energy is embodied in this.

Naturally, the certain types of huge

vibrations flow by radiating energy. When we go through this prac-
tice of meditation using the mantras, automatically our soul can hook
this energy, can connect to this energy. It makes our human lives very
happy and successful.

The earth is so beautiful, creation is so beautiful. When we look at

the mountains or anything in nature, seeing all the many beautiful
things, our heart is completely softened by the divine energy. When
this happens it is easy to attract the earth’s energy.

Whoever connects to the earth energy will automatically receive

great happiness and peace. They can live on the earth with great joy.
Even though they have to face the biggest of problems, they receive
the type of strength an courage needed to deal with them. Even
though they have the problems, without even noticing it they no
longer care about their problems and the problems will decrease; this
type of happiness will take good care of that.

This is the happiness that comes through the earth vibrations. The
earth energy and the soul energy connect to each other. Then the
earth energy automatically protects them, making the big happiness.

EARTH ELEMENT 57
 SA C R E D L A N D
The Earth element refers to all physical matter. Within creation you find dif-
ferent types of energies, vibrations. These are naturally occurring, and the
energy radiated by the earth is magnetic and has a magnifying capacity.
Some places or substances have higher or more intense energies than others.

Some lands, certain places on earth, like Sri Sailam, Tirupati,

Shirdhi, Penukonda, Israel, Mecca, have a huge earth energy. If
someone goes to these places without their noticing it, without con-
sidering it, they are feeling huge vibrations. The earth is enormously
powerful in these places, the air is powerful, the wind is too, and the
clouds are also very powerful. That land in these places radiates and
gives off a high electric energy. Electricity vibrations.

58 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Why are these places like this? A powerful soul, a holy person who
meditates on the land for a certain period, who even walks on the
land, or one time if he kicks that land, or one time touches that land,
that land, for some hundreds thousands of years, radiates the energy.
It starts to produce the energy vibrations. It becomes a powerful place.

Take the example of my clothing (Indian robe). If I give the robe to

someone it will continue for a thousand years to have an enormous
energy from my body. It still has vibrations, energy waves. So, certain
people who meditated on earth, who walked on earth, influenced the
places where they lived and the land became very holy, very power-
ful. When you walk on those places, because you’re in the middle of
the energy, whatever negative energy you have in you, if you just
enter that land and walk on it innocently, it purifies you. You expe-
rience the same result whether you notice the vibrations when you
walk, or even if you do not notice them.

R A D I AT I N G E N E RG Y
All creation radiates energy. Throughout the cycle of birth, life, and death,
energy is always radiating. One day everything will return to the earth.
All creation, all human beings, birds, animals, the trees, everything has
to change like the sand, the dust. Finally everything will be changed and
absorbed into the earth. Millions of soul houses (bodies) have already
dissolved in the earth, dissolved in the form of the God creation.

Everyone radiates energy. That is the God creation. When a soul has
been in a body, after a certain time that body starts to radiate enor-
mous energy. When a person is walking and they’re enjoying their life
on the earth, automatically their body is strongly connecting to the
earth energy. Then after the soul has left from the body, some ener-
gy still stays there, in that body, giving high energy vibrations. Even
though the soul has left the body, it still has energy. The dead body
has the energy, the bones, the ashes, whatever it is (the remains).

EARTH ELEMENT 59
A human being, say 60 to 80 years old, walks on earth and without
will connect to the energy noticing, throughout his life. Everybody
connects to this energy. And whoever practices these mantras every
day, will purify themselves and become completely charged with the
earth energy. Then, when the soul leaves the body, the charged
bones, the charged bodies dissolve into the earth.

H O LY SA M A D H I
The remains of an ordinary person put out a certain amount of energy. But
in the case of holy persons or saints, there is an especially high vibration that
comes from the remains. In India, this is called holy samadhi. In the Indian
tradition, at the place of the samadhi, where the remains of the saint are
located, certain rituals are used to honour the saint and to receive their
blessing, their energy. A fire ceremony (puja) might be held or there may
be an offering such as flowers or incense or fruit.

There are some thousands of holy saints’ samadhis we are still wor-
shipping. Of course their souls have left us. Even though they have left
their bodies, we make offerings to their samadhis. We are doing some
pujas, putting some flowers, and then we’re touching their samadhis
and we’re receiving the energy. This means their bones are automati-
cally giving out a higher radiation power, high positive vibrations. Our
souls are completely open to that; we’re asking, begging, we need some
help. Then, automatically, our body is getting charged. These radia-
tion energies are all coming from the earth element.

My own soul is sucking in huge amounts of cosmic energy. The ener-

gy also comes to my body, my bones, my nerves, my hair – everything
becomes an enormous charge of energy. Then when my bones are in
the earth, that piece of earthwill turn into something like a huge
magnet, like a radio station transmitting energy. Anyone who has
their heart open to this earth energy, this magnetic radiation, this
radio station, they’ll receive this energy and they’ll get the healing.

60 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Where my bones are placed, that earth place will turn like a magnet.
Even if you cover them with sand and mud, there will be electric
vibrations, like an electric shock.

Why are we still going today and touching Shirdi Baba’s samadhi?
His soul is gone, but why are you going and touching his samadhi?
That samadhi is a huge magnet.

EARTH ELEMENT 61
That place, those rocks, that land, that sand – are all a huge magnet.
Who comes in that area can get that energy. He commanded that
earth to have very high radiating and magnetizing power vibrations.
The earth has that type of magnifying capacity; it can multiply the
energy some millions of times.

MAGNIFYING AND M A G N ET I C E N E R G Y
The magnifying energy of the earth refers not only to its capacity to mag-
nify energy in a place, but also to its effect on the energies within a person.
Under certain circumstances, when someone comes in contact with the
earth, whatever they are feeling at that moment, their emotions or thoughts
can become magnified, they can be increased one hundred fold by the power
of the earth. The earth is reflecting back and magnifying the emotion, the
energy. The earth has that kind of power. The enormous magnetic quality
of the earth is also very powerful. This type of energy can be found, not only
in holy places, but in other places as well, especially in nature. Generally,
any place in nature has some amount of magnetic energy, which can be used
in powerful ways.

The magnetism of earth can suck in negative energy. It helps people

to decharge – or discharge their stress. without our noticing it we can
decharge – or discharge our soul. We can be healed and the earth can
easily transform energy changing it from negative to positive.

Anyone who uses the earth mantras, who charges them, will become mag-
netized. A channel is created to the earth energy. Through this channel or
connection, negative energy will automatically be pulled into the earth, or
can be intentionally decharged into the earth. This process of charging the
earth element automatically creates strong protection, positive energy pro-
tection circles. Once charged, this higher magnetic energy can be used with
positive intent, to pull negativity from others, to heal their emotions and
mental sicknesses. Becoming charged with the earth’s magnetism by using
the earth mantras is a natural process of energy.

62 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Suppose you take a big magnet and you take a small iron needle, rub-
bing these together a few minutes. It becomes like a magnet, magnet-
ized. If you take another needle, it attracts to the magnetized needle.

T H E H E A L I N G PO W E R OF E A RT H
It is the same if you go on putting your thumb to earth, perfectly pro-
nouncing this earth mantra from the Vedas. This is highest supernat-
ural energy formula – this has highest energy. Highest energy. If you
touch anybody to heal them, any negative energy, it comes to you.
After that, again you must put your thumb to the earth to decharge
with the same mantra.

The earth mantra removes mental stress, mental sicknesses and psy-
chiatric problems. It works on the emotions one hundred percent. It
pulls, it sucks different types of huge mental sicknesses and stress.
Suppose you did three days non-stop hard work. You have huge stress.
You are using sleeping pills to rest and it’s not working, you’re using
different remedies and they are not working. Just simply you need to
meditate on the earth mantra, taking in your hands some sand, some
dust, some clay, and meditating. Holding the earth, meditating, put-
ting the soil to the garden. The stress is gone.

If you meditate on the earth mantras using the earth element, con-
centrating on the earth element, when you are starting to meditate,
first think on God. Each part of the soil is created by God. Your body
is also created by God. If you have perfect magnetism power with the
mantra, you can attract that energy to your soul. After getting the
energy our soul becomes Divine elevated soul. Elevated. This is the
beautiful power of the earth.

EARTH ELEMENT 63
 E A RT H E L E M E N T M A N T R A S

1 S T E A RT H M A N T R A

Om Aim Kleem Sauom

Sera Hana Bhava
Saya Noli Bhava
Tri-pura Bhava
Tiga Yoli Bhava
Wari-pura Bhava
Bhava Noli Bhava
Pari-pura Bhava
Bhava Noli Bhava
Om Adi Ti-ru Mu-ru-ga
Om Guru Guru Paramaguru
Om Kumaraa Rana Kalaam
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti-Hi.

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite 108 times for 41 days, at the same time everyday. The best
time is before bed or early in the morning. While reciting the
mantra, put your thumb on some earth. The earth outdoors is best,
but a pot of dirt can be used. If these are not available use the floor.
Keep your thumb on the earth during the whole 108 recitations of
the mantra. In the beginning it’s best to recite the mantra aloud to
become familiar with the language and to check yourself to make
sure you are pronouncing it correctly.

64 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

When you recite line eleven of the mantra think specially on “Guru
Guru Paramaguru” (Guru is the master; Guru Guru is the master’s
master; and Paramaguru is the highest, is God). After saying this
mantra for 41 days your soul is purified with the earth element.

Note: If two or more persons in a household are charging the 1st

and/or 2nd earth mantras during the same period, each person must
hold a flower or leaf while reciting the mantras. Following each ses-
sion of reciting the mantra(s), each person should put their flower or
leaf aside for one day, then throw it into the bushes.

S Y M P TO M S W H E N YO U A R E C H A R G E D
W I T H T H I S E N E RG Y

• Your thumb on the earth gets hot.

• Your thumb feels magnetized to the earth; you feel you can’t
pull your thumb away from the earth.
• You may have a tingling sensation.

B E N E F I TS
• It is used for stress, depression, and all types of mental sick-
ness and psychiatric problems.
• It is used against negative energy. This mantra has the hig-
hest magnetic power to heal anyone with a negative soul. It
removes negativity.

EARTH ELEMENT 65
 H O W TO H E A L W I T H T H E 1 ST E A RT H M A N T R A
Two methods:

1) Put your thumb pointing downward on the person’s 3rd eye

and recite the mantra 108 times. Following the healing you
need to decharge by going outside and putting your thumb
on the earth reciting the mantra again for 108 times.
2) This method is specifically used for negative souls:
Sit in front of the person and recite the mantra one time
then blow one time in the person’s face. After 108 times
reciting the mantra and blowing the air into his face, take
two hairs from the person’s head and put them in a bottle.
Then close the bottle and throw it in any water; any lake,
stream or ocean. After throwing the bottle into the water
the negative energy disappears.

After these methods of healing, the soul of the person being healed
becomes elevated.

D E C H A RG I N G
To decharge, put your thumb on the earth for 15 to 20 minutes or 108
times following the healing. It’s important to remember to decharge
immediately following each healing to eliminate any negativity you
receive from doing the healing. If you are doing more than one heal-
ing at a time, you can decharge following all the healings but it’s
essential to decharge within that same day period immediately fol-
lowing the last healing session.

66 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 2 N D E A RT H M A N T R A

Om Sra Nam Bhuum Bhuteshvari

Mama Kuru Svaha

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite 108 times for 41 days, at the same time each day. Put your
thumb on the earth, in a pot of dirt, or indoors on the floor while
reciting (same as with 1st earth mantra). Follow the same procedure
mentioned for 1st earth mantra if two or more persons are doing the
process in the same house.

S Y M P TO M S W H E N YO U A R E C H A R G E D
W I T H T H I S E N E RG Y
Your body will become very light, weightless, or warm.

B E N E F I TS
Same as the 1st Earth mantra.

H O W TO H E A L W I T H T H E 2 N D E A RT H M A N T R A
If you use the 1st earth mantra and the person is still not feeling good
then use this 2nd earth mantra. It is a second “arrow” to use for heal-
ing. Put your thumb upward (the opposite direction when used for
the 1st earth mantra) on the person’s third eye and recite the 2nd
earth mantra 108 times.

Again, do not forget to decharge after all healings, by placing your

thumb on the earth, reciting the mantra another 108 times.

EARTH ELEMENT 67
For First Two Earth Mantras: Always decharge 108 times or 15 to 20
minutes, minimum. If you did a healing for 30 minutes, decharge for
30 minutes.

Note: If two or more healers are healing in the same house at the
same time, each healer must tie a thread around his/her own wrist
and knot it three times. Following the healing session, the healers
then remove their own thread and throw it in a bush or fire. This pro-
tects against any magnetic interference from the earth energy.

3 R D E A RT H M A N T R A

Om Aim Kleem Sreem

Om Maha Lakshmi Ayna Namaha

C HARGING T HE M ANT RA

Recite 108 times for 21 days, anywhere. You need to do this mantra
at dusk. On the 21st day draw the Lakshmi yantra (see instructions
below) while reciting the mantra.

Note: This mantra belongs totally to Lakshmi, goddess of wealth and

prosperity. Lakshmi is the light and doing the mantra at dusk you’re
inviting the light to come into your house.

B E N E F I TS
This mantra is useful for anyone suffering with money problems or
mental suffering due to not being able to hold onto money, as in easy
come, easy go.

68 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 L A K S H M I YA N T R A
Draw nine concentric circles in different colours (not black) on a
large sheet of white paper. Around the outside of each circle in a
clockwise direction write the 3rd earth mantra,

repeating as many times as you need to fill all the space around the
circle. The point to begin writing the mantra is at the 12 o’clock posi-
ton on each of the nine the circles. Each word is assigned a unique
colour which is used each time that word is written. It is quite in
order to end writing the mantra in the middle of it, but each con-
centric circle must have at least one full repetition of the mantra. Try
to write the mantra in the same size print on every circle, it is more
likely that the individual words of the mantra will remain aligned
around the circles.

After completely writing the mantra on the innermost circle, draw

the Om symbol in the centre of the inner circle in orange or red.
There is no particular order of the colours but you can make them
like a rainbow with red in the inside and violet on the outside. Put
one drawing of circles over the entrance of your house or any friend’s
house and hang the other over your bed or your friend’s bed so it can
be seen immediately upon awakening. While drawing the circles and
writing the mantra, from beginning to end, continuously recite the
mantra to charge the circles with the Lakshmi energy.

This is to be done as a focused meditation. The entire process must

be completed in one sitting, in privacy and without interruption i.e.,
phone calls, talking to family members.

See next page for example of the yantra.

EARTH ELEMENT 69
70 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 FIR E E LE M ENT
God created the sun, forever giving light
and energy and heat to us. We can see
the energy of God in its entirety in the
sun. God created the sun to make all of
creation happen. Without the sun, the
fire, there would be no light, no cre-
ation, no circulation of the energy. The
sun energy is equal to one part of God’s
highest energy; it is His mirrorism
(reflection). Like a mirror He sees His reflection through all of creation.

Through the sun, the fire comes to the earth in the form of sun rays.
The fire energy comes to the earth evaporating some of the water into
steam, spreading out the huge vibrations to the universe. Suppose in
the early morning hours if you go in front of a lake you can see a lot of
heat, steam, coming out. In the steam is a lot of energy, a lot of vibra-
tions. The fire element is heating the water temperature; it is giving the
vibrations. It’s changing the cosmic energy into high positive energy.

TH E B I G H EA L E R
Your sun is the big healer. You can heal yourself through the sun
immediately. You don’t need to consult any healer. The sun is the
greatest healer and it appears every day. You can use him. Just watch-
ing him in the early morning and evening hours. But you have to
open your heart to receive that energy.

In the Indian tradition, most of the people in the early morning hours
go to the water, the river, to take the water (in a vessel or in their
hands) to take a bath. When the sun is rising they start chanting the
Vedic bhaskara mantras, sun prayers. They release the water, then
they take the bath, then they come out.

FIRE ELEMENT 71
72 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
They are saying through their sun prayers that God is the direct sun.
You don’t need to see any God. The sun is God; the God is the sun.
That’s why in the early morning hours they greet and look at the sun.

What I recommend to everyone who is doing the five elements is to

simply sit watching the rising sun for one hour to receive the highest
positive energy. You will automatically receive a huge dose of healing
power in the energy you will receive.

Then again at sunset, there is a lot of energy in the sun’s rays. Open
your heart to God, to the sun, to receive its energy. You have to think
you’re receiving the energy from the sun. Whatever negative circles
are around you, the sun’s rays can wash them out. They bring enor-
mous positive energy to wash out all your negativity.

FI R E C E R E M O N I E S
In India, people have been using the spiritual power of fire for thousands of
years. The priests perform sacred fire rituals, called yagyas that specifical-
ly work to heal and to give blessings. Throughout history, the emperors of
India spent huge fortunes to have these yagyas performed to protect their
kingdoms from plagues, drought, and enemies.

Yagyas have been performed since ancient times. They still work, and
the process is continuing; millions of people are doing them benefi-
cially. The yagya work for each person who performs them. They
bring many benefits. To do the yagyas, five to six priests sit around
the fire purifying it. They send the person’s problem into the fire to
wash and cleanse it, to burn it, using Vedic mantras, prayers.

The vedas are the oldest spiritual texts in India. They are prayer formulas
of God that came from the meditations of the great rishis, the supernatural
holy men. They contain powerful energy vibrations.

FIRE ELEMENT 73
The priests channel these mantras through specific deities, gods, and
goddesses (energy forces) according to the specific problems. They
continue chanting and chanting and chanting using ghee (clarified
butter), flowers and fruits to feed Agni, the holy energy of fire.

What they are doing is to put all the person’s karma into the fire, puri-
fying it. That’s why they call Dipam jyothi Parabrahmham,
Parabrahmham jyothi dipam, mayam dipam prakasha vantum
prakasha vantum. Prakasha vantum, prakasha vantum, “It’s the daz-
zling of the light, it’s the light of the dazzling.” Through these mantras
the priests are saying to the fire (about God), “He is everywhere but
even though I am foolish (ignorant), I am seeing Him in a small fire. I
am creating here a small fire and I am offering all the karmas to Him.
I am using some ghee, some flowers, some fruits. I am feeding Him.
Right now, He is in the fire. He came in the fire. The fire has the vast
capacity and potential to burn anything. Whatever the obstacles are
around me right now, I am sending them into the fire. I am helping
this person, to sending his karma into the fire. Oh God, I know you
are here inside, in this fire, please help this person.” They recite all the
great attributes of God in front of the fire.

In former days, if you did the fire yagas to bring rain, the rain would
come. That happened many, many times. It worked because of the
strong faith the people had on the fire. Still, it continues, it works to
fulfil all desires. Today the yagyas are used for all purposes. A lot of
benefits they’re seeing: curing of diseases, problem solving, bringing
success in business, spiritual growth, mental strength, healing broken
hearts, washing out depression and other forms of personal failure, or
bringing happiness and prosperity to one’s property and family.

For example, one man does a yagya for the purpose of making pro-
tection circles around his property for one hundred years. It works to
give the highest protection level against disease or tragedy for his
family, his children, for the entire hundred years.

74 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

The yagya’s power is like that. How much time you want the request to
last depends on the number of priests and the time they’re spending on
the fire. They can also work over long distances. If a person asks to have
a yagya done, then, wherever he lives in the world, the fire purifies and
the energy vibrations are sent to him. It works automatically sending
this person the highest positive energy. It works like a radio (transmit-
ting) dharmic energy. It can go anywhere; that is the power of fire.

Indirectly that’s why Shirdi Baba kept the fire burning in his
Dwarkamai (temple). He made an order – a very important one – to
keep the fire burning there. It is still burning, burning, burning after
over one hundred twenty five years. Baba simply sat in front of his
dhuni (fire pit) continually purifying and purifying the negative ener-
gy of the people. He had enormous commanding power over the fire
through his soul – a huge source of energy. If a person came on a visit,
that fire energy automatically affected their soul without them even
noticing. It sucked in their negativity. He cured diseases and illness-
es by sitting in front of the fire, taking the smoke from the fire and
blowing that smoke in the people’s faces. The smoke contained the
burning heat energy from the fire.

THE FLA ME , T HE EY E S , TH E SOUL

The flame is the tiny symbol of the huge light of God. It’s a portion
of God’s light, burning in every part of creation. Candlelight is sym-
bolic of the energy of God. Suppose you put a candle in your dark
room in your home – no electricity, only a candle. When you see the
candlelight automatically you feel the love in your heart. Suppose if
you see a hundred candle lights. This is gorgeous. When I was in Los
Angeles, in the hall (inside the church), everybody is waiting.
Hundreds of candles surrounded me, and just I came and sat there.
What Happened? For five to ten minutes everybody was completely
silent and you could hear a pin drop. The energy is like that. With
those candles there, a huge opening was created in their hearts.

FIRE ELEMENT 75
It is the same when you see the fire. Seeing the fire with our two eyes
gives us enormous benefits. The eyes are a very powerful focus for us in
the universe. Suppose you see one hundred Jesus statues, but you par-
ticularly like one of these statues. Why is that? The eyes are looking at
you very directly with a peaceful melodious look. When you see that,
even if you aren’t aware of it, automatically your heart channel is open-
ing. Then whenever you see that statue you start to cry. It is a rock, a
statue, it is true but the eyes are capable of hooking you completely.

That energy that is contained in fire comes to you automatically. The

eyes are the number one receiver in our lives. They receive either
positive or negative energy automatically. In our eyes there are two
chakras, sudarshana and adarshana. When you watch the fire you are
sucking that energy through your eyes. You are getting the benefit
and it is going to your heart, which means it is going to your soul.

In the temples in
India, the priests per-
form the arathi (wav-
ing of the light) in
front of the eyes of the
deities. This connects
the light of the small
flame to the light and
energy of the huge
soul or God power.
Then the priest passes
the flame to all the
people. They receive
the flame, bringing it
into their own eyes
connecting the light of
God’s power to their
individual soul.

76 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Everyone has a third eye, a spiritual eye, called gurustan, between our
two eyebrows. When you close your eyes to sleep, that energy spot
automatically opens to radiate the highest energy. It’s our ‘inner-side’
eye. When we’re opening our two eyes, our inner eye is closing.
When we’re closing our two eyes in our meditation, automatically our
third eye starts to open. It is the main flame, the biggest energy spot
in the human body.

Shiva alone in the universe is the only person who has three eyes. He
uses his third eye only at certain times whenever it’s highly important
and necessary. Every person has this same third eye (attribute) of
Shiva. They have the third eye but it’s covered with a lot of negativ-
ity, illusions, maya. Through spiritual energy, spiritual focus, when
you hit that, when you make a hole there, then it starts to open. You
have to start to make it open. Then you can see the entire universe.
Through that eye you can heal anybody, you can send energy, you
can do every work, and you can create your own protection circles.
The protection circles start from there. When the huge energy is
working in your third eye negativity doesn’t affect you.

In the five elements, fire has the highest burning nature. This mantra
burns negativity. It has the capacity, when used properly, of bringing
the highest positive energy; to give prosperity and bring your com-
plete heart’s desire.

FIRE ELEMENT 77
78 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 F I RE EL EM EN T MA N TR A

Om Hreem Hessraim Hreem

Om Dheem Dheem
Kleem Kleem
Sauom Sauom
Maha Agni Swarupa-nyana Namaha

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite 108 times for 41 days. Do this mantra at night in a closed
room; no fan or open window. Light a candle and while reciting the
mantra watch the flame without blinking until 2 or 3 tears come to
your eyes. Blink as little as possible until you are finished with the
108 repetitions. When the tears come from your eyes, water comes to
your retina and causes blurring to your sight creating a triple vision
like three flames. When we close our two eyes our third eye opens;
when we open our two eyes our third eye closes. This third eye is
called gurustan or energy spot. It flames like a candle. It is a light. It
is your spiritual eye.

S Y M P TO M S W H E N YO U A R E C H A R G E D
W I T H T H I S E N E RG Y

• When you’re sleeping or driving, the candle flame will

come in front of your third eye.
• An inner noise like buzzing.

FIRE ELEMENT 79
 B E N E F I TS
• It burns negative energy. If any person has a negative desi-
re to harm someone, this mantra will destroy that desire.
• It works powerfully on negative souls and on people who do
black magic, as well as burning negative karmas.
• You can send and receive strong, positive energy from fire.

H O W TO H E A L W I T H T H E F I R E M A N T R A
When doing this mantra light a candle and burn some incense next to
the person. Put your fire finger (first finger) into the smoke of the
incense and touch the person’s third eye. Then concentrate your eyes
on the person’s eyes until 2 or 3 tears come from your eye, all the while
silently reciting the mantra and touching the person’s third eye with
your fire finger. When the patient becomes drowsy or tired that’s the
sign the healing is working. Do this for 10 to15 minutes maximum. To
decharge, put the fire finger to the earth and recite the fire mantra 108
times. (It’s not necessary to charge prior to the healing but absolutely nec-
essary to decharge immediately following the healing).

Use this technique only for healing negative souls and black magic:
Make a circle of candles. In front of each candle put one rose. You
have to make sure none of the flames burn out during the healing.
The healer and/or patient sit in the middle of the circle, surrounded
by the burning candles, chanting and washing out all negativity.
After the process is over, throw the flowers in the bushes.

80 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 S KY E L E M E N T
Through the sky, you can connect to
the angels. You can obtain the highest
healing power. You can prepare your-
self, change yourself to be a big healer
through nature and through the power
of the sky. You have a direct command
to Shiva. You can achieve great things
through the Shiva energy. The sky
mantra belongs to Shiva, to the Shiva
energy. It is the prayer of Shiva. He completely covers this galaxy and
all the galaxies beyond with inconceivably vast energy, huge cosmic
energy. It has no limit. That’s why the Vedic tradition compares the
Shiva energy to the sky. It is unlimited, infinite.

The most incredible things are contained in the sky creation, in the sky
nature. There are other galaxy beings that have no human body forms,
only energy forms. These other galaxy beings are very, very strongly
related to the Shiva energy; they are strongly hooked into it. They
have sucked in huge cosmic energy and become very, very powerful
supernatural souls. They can lift any object. They can move the great-
est distances in a fraction of seconds, like astral bodies. Their souls have
huge capacities. All of this comes directly from the Shiva energy.

But among the many galaxies is the planet earth, the people on this
earth on our globe, are afflicted by much jealousy, ego and pride. It
was not always like that. Seven hundred, eight hundred years ago, on
our planet, forty percent of the human beings had capable souls. And
five thousand years back, this planet was a home to the most power-
ful souls. Rama, Krishna, even Shiva came here directly with the
form of a human body to take care one of things on this level. That’s
why we can see, in India especially, so many remarkable things that
are a testimony to supernatural energy and the miraculous.

SKY ELEMENT 81
82 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
The kings of old and their fathers, their kings and their fathers, rec-
ognized the energy. They built huge forts, huge temples. They never
built big palaces; they built temples. Most of the people lived in the
temples. At that time there were not many people and the population
was low; a village had typically only sixty inhabitants. In a first task
they built huge temples. Then they started to live in small huts.
Everybody is going and sitting; doing their duties, cultivating the
food, vegetables, then coming back to sleep and connecting to Shiva.

They practiced great mantras; they received the highest energy.

Some thousands of years ago the holy saints found (discovered) the
Gayatri mantra, all the Vedas, the secret formula mantras, the ener-
gy angels. Each village, each king, everybody whatever their position
devoted and sacrificed their lives to connecting with God. That is
why we can still see the power in the ancient temples in India today.

After that period the population grew greatly and the natural condi-
tions went down. The negativity rose and the robbery, cheating, and
egoism came, taking a strong hold on the people. Before that there was
a great and largely unpopulated land. Even in the Krishnadevaraya
Fort in Hampi, you can see some thousands of temples. Each rock they
made into a sculpture. Millions of sculptures were made from these
rocks. If you walk through, step by step, each rock is a sculpture.

They completely dedicated the sculptures to specific energy forms:

Brahma statue, Krishna, angels, dancing ladies, elephants, Lord
Ganesh, Shiva. They completely dedicated their whole lives, from
childhood until their last breath, to God. They dedicated their wor-
ship to sculpturing on the rocks. Just they ate and worked, ate and
worked, ate and worked. They never cared about getting anything for
themselves, about money or anything. They simply performed their
great task; making a beautiful temple; putting a Shiva statue inside;
putting a Krishna statue there.

SKY ELEMENT 83
At that time, up in the mountains, they built their statues by placing
one huge rock by after another. There were no cranes. In very narrow
places, no elephants, nor people even could walk up there easily. The
task was deadly hard. How on earth did they manage? It is truly amaz-
ing what these people accomplished. Even the elephants that helped
them, how did they manage to lift such vast and heavy rocks? The
answer is through their total devotion, sacrificing their life to God,
this gave them the leverage to lift any weight. They were also familiar
with a special energy and used the power of commanding the rocks.

In our modern times we have produced rockets and have travelled

to the moon. Our scientists are developing and using technology.
Previously, seven hundred to two thousand years back, people cul-
tivated connections to the angels and they had pure hearts, devo-
tional hearts.

T H E I N F I N I TE E N E R G Y OF S H I VA
From the beginning the energy came from Shiva. He is the main per-
son to connect to infinity. The sky is limitlessly huge. There is no
explanation for this. That is why I say, if you start to concentrate on
the sky, to Shiva, you must satisfy him, you must touch him with your
heart. You must make t his connection to him to suck his energy.

You can’t say exactly Shiva is here, Shiva is here, Shiva is here. If you
start to meditate and meditate and meditate, you can feel the light
inside you start to grow. When your soul starts to pull the energy to
itself like a magnet, then you will automatically be able to suck the
cosmic energy, the Shiva energy.

When you start to suck that energy, you will feel that you are in a
trance, drowsy. The huge sixth sense is growing up. After that, if any
person comes with an illness, you can feel a strong energy looking on
him. Through your eyes you can feel a strong capable energy.

84 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Even though the people around you do not recognize your power, by
way of your touching and giving the energy, you can make them feel
great, confident and happy. This is only possible through a strong,
direct hook to Shiva; connecting to the Shiva mantra through the sky.

We don’t need to do enormous things. A small seed of the energy is

enough to make it grow. As in the sky mantra, Saha Mogatay. It
means, “Entire in this universe, entire in this planet there is only one
person, Shiva, we can depend on. I’m completely depending on you.”
Shivayna Saha Mogatay – Saha Mogatay – Gatay, “You are the final
person to reach. You are the final person to ask to give some help. I
need it. Before I die, please make me happy, make me feel better, try
to wash out all my illusion nets.”

If you go through the sky mantra deeply, these are all meanings you
will find. The sky is like a huge unbounded energy. Why I am talking
to Shiva means, sky is Shiva, Shiva is sky. It means he’s the sky indi-
rectly. There is no limit. The sky and the earth are the two we can
see like two plates, Shiva and Shakti. In the middle, all the mecha-
nism is running. The fire created from the earth. And in the water, it
is completely having huge miraculous energy.

In the future, looking forward to 3000 – 5000 AD, people are going
to discover incredible miraculous things through the science – God
powers, God energies. They are going to find many miraculous things.
That is a future astrology. They are going to find some more galaxies.
They are going to find some more information to bring to this plan-
et, whenever it is needed. That is going to happen. Beings from other
galaxies will also arrive on earth. They are going to help us greatly.

Whoever comes in a human body and is born on this planet, cannot

help it. The beings from another galaxy will provide their help here.
The day is coming, and it is going to happen. It is the result of Shiva’s
cosmic energy.

SKY ELEMENT 85
Shiva is a very straight master, a straight god. You can easily satisfy
him; you can easily suck him in to your life to fulfil your desires. What
I recommend is to ask Shiva; ask him for the beautiful things. If you
do meditation for ten years to Krishna or if you meditate for ten
months to Shiva, the benefits you get are the same. Of course, you
can get positively everything from Krishna. Krishna is like a Krishna
lila. Always testing, making fun of you with illusions. That’s what the
Krishna energy in the Vedic tradition says. When Krishna starts to
like you, that is real heaven. If he stops the flow of illusion to you,
with no more testing, the greatest and happiest life is yours. Complete
happiness and enjoyment.

86 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 USE TH E S KY E N E R G Y FOR YO U R S E L F
What I recommend is to keep and enjoy the sky energy for yourself.
Keep it; take it higher and higher and higher. The other elements you
can suck, you can purify, and you can use to heal the people. You
don’t need to use the unbounded, unlimited energy of the sky on oth-
ers; it’s a huge incredible power, the Shiva power. No need to suck
that, and give it to the people. The affects it has are on you. The sky
is unlimited so if you try to heal with this unlimited energy, then,
again you will have to purify and charge the Shiva energy. That’s why
I don’t recommend to try and heal anybody with the sky.

CO M M U N I C AT I N G WIT H T HE AN G EL S
What are the angels? They are pots of energy. There is no one struc-
ture of the energy. The energy is God. The energy is full of light. The
light is God. Angels are like a whirlwind or vortex of energy in the
nature. When this appears to you, you will feel some weight. You
can’t see the vortex but you can feel the magnetic power. It’s the heat
that attracts the energy to your body like a magnet. In nature you can
identify lots of pots of
angels. This cosmic
energy vibration cir-
culates like a ball.
Sometimes you can
observe the air mak-
ing circulating, swir -
ling. It rolls and it
whirls, then it goes up
to the sky. In rolls and
circulates as the cos-
mic energy rolls. The
rolls come and run
through all of nature.

SKY ELEMENT 87
When someone is doing meditation sometimes this will disturb them.
Or, if you are walking in the house, suddenly you may feel as though
somebody has pushed you, “Oh, what happened?” That energy when
it comes makes your body shake. You can experience it sometimes.

When you are sitting calmly going on meditating on this mantra your
soul can magnetize those circles of energy to come in front of you.
You already have the fire energy and the earth energy and with the
help of the sky mantra you can suck those circles of energy to your
soul. Automatically you can feel, “Wow! Oh, my God.” Full of ener-
gy in your body. You touch its vibrations.

After you get one circle in your body the second circle comes auto-
matically. The meditation depends on your hard work, making your
soul like a magnet. When you get that energy in your soul your body
becomes full of excess energy. When you sit in meditation again,
automatically thoughts will flow and you can hear the voice from
nature. This is a deep, deep meaning. Everybody must be thinking
about this deeply.

When you once get that energy from the circles of energy it will help
you to converse and communicate with different kinds of energies.
Talking or converse means passing on soul knowledge. What is
meant by talking in this sense is not our words, not like these spoken
words, but telepathic thoughts.

I will tell once more. When one pot of energy comes to your soul,
your body is filled with energy. This means your soul is purified.
When your soul is purified and in that state, when you are meditat-
ing again, using the sky mantra, you can magnetize a lot of souls, a lot
of energies. It all depends on your hard work.

88 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 S KY E L E M E N T M A N T R A

Om Lingastakam Needum Punyam

Yaha Patay Shiva Sanni-dhow
Shiva Loka Mavap Noti
Shivayna Saha Mogatay

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite the mantra for a minimum of 108 times and a minimum of 41
days, anytime of day. It is best to do it in the nature while sitting alone,
quietly. There is no limit for doing this mantra. You can go months or
years, however long it takes for the angels souls to appear to you.

B E N E F I TS
This mantra is used for communicating with the angels and for send-
ing messages or objects long distance. If you chant the mantra per-
fectly in nature, the energy comes to your soul. After that you can
hear many things through telepathic thoughts. It manifests like a
voice from a phone.

SY M P TO M S
This mantra is a direct command to Shiva. This is the prayer of Shiva.
It gives powerful energy for healing and for communicating with the
angels. When sitting calmly in nature meditating with this mantra,
the energy will appear before you. You can suck the circles of energy
into your soul then as you do so you can feel the circle of energy com-
ing into your body. When you have got the energy, your body starts to
shake. That is the symptom you have got one circle of energy.

SKY ELEMENT 89
Once you get one circle of energy in your soul, your soul is purified with
the sky element. After that your soul can magnetize many souls, any
divine angels in the sky. It takes six months to two years, maximum.
The angels can assist you in manifesting and transporting objects.

Note: It is best not to use this mantra for healing on others. It is best
to do it only for your own enjoyment. The power of the sky is unlim-
ited; if you use it directly for healing others it is possible all of your
sky energy will go out of you and you will need to recharge the ener-
gy all over again.

90 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 WAT E R E L E M E N T
Every element has an inner secret, why
you open your heart to that element
and connect to the energy. The inner
quality of the water is the creating of
energy. It creates energy in a person. It
creates huge vibrations very easily. It
can also balance energy. It can also set-
tle the energy easily, within seconds. It
can make energy balanced and calm.

Water is a huge force on this planet. Look at the force of the ocean, a
waterfall, the rapids of the river. Enormous energy is manifested there. It
is God’s creation – a perfect cycle of water flowing throughout the planet,
supporting all life. “If there is no water, there is no creation by God.”

M OT H E R D I V I N E
Water is also the Mother Divine, the nurturing energy. This energy flows
in the oceans, lakes, and rivers – channels of energy. In India, the great
rivers are considered goddess energies. In the water mantra, Durga, the
Mother Divine, is called upon.

Mother Divine, she’s always taking a bath, using the rose water, like
a fragrance – making peace and calm. She has huge depth, but still
very calm and peaceful. Even though she is the essence of energy, of
a huge Shakti (energy), she is very peaceful. That is why in the Vedic
tradition, the Mother Divine is usually very much more powerful
than the Shiva.

In the Indian tradition, Shiva commands the five elements. This is illustrat-
ed in the story of the struggle between the devas (gods) and the demons (rak-
shasas) to get the amrutha (God’s nectar of immortality) from the ocean.

WATER ELEMENT 91
As they churn the ocean, poison comes along with the amrutha. The poison
threatens all of creation. Shiva is the only one who has the power to take
away the poison. He takes it into his throat. But he needs the water in order
to wash the poison out so Shiva uses Goddess Ganga River to keep the poi-
son from destroying him. He takes the waters into his form, letting it spring
like a fountain from the top of his head.

He called on the Mother Divine, “Please come, pour out over my

head. I’m suffering with snake poison in my throat. Come and cool
me.” Ganga is another form used with the meaning Mother Divine.
He invited her. He said to her “You are the big powerful energy;
please pour on top of my head. Please cool me. And settle down my
energy. Make me alive (keep me alive), settle down the poison, calm
it. Make my energy balanced.” Ganga, Mother Divine, she is the
water, making him balanced, peaceful.

H E A L I N G V I B R AT I O N S IN WAT E R
Having the capacity to hold energy, water can be charged with holy posi-
tive energy, the vibrations of God. It can be taken into the body, where the
healing vibrations spread throughout all of the water contained within the
human body.

Whoever knows the water mantras, who does them once, purifies their
body, even if they drink water once, once a day, for a single minute,
this will help and boost the entire water system in their body – it starts
giving the highest healing vibrations. The vibrations work on the
water in them and starts to heal. If you use the water mantra, you no
longer need to go in the temple to take the holy water. You can purify
any water as a holy water. Then you can drink that holy water and then
the holy water is inside you. And suppose if you’re drinking water, if
you are chanting that mantra, all of the water inside your body can heal
you. If you’re chanting the mantras, the vibrations start in your body.
It only comes when you have the strongest faith on this process.

92 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Being in the water also gives high healing. When we swim in the ocean or lake,
or sit in a hot spring or bath, we naturally become peaceful, our mind is
calmed. The water pulls out our negativity and balances our emotions, our
mood. In the shower or bath, the water can make the mind very capable, very
focused. The thinking capacity is increased greatly and a problem can be solved
very quickly. For decharging, once the water element has been charged using
the mantra, it is beneficial to do the mantra in the daily bath or shower.

You should do the water mantra every day in the shower. You are
purifying yourself, you are washing out, you’re decharging. You are
chanting the mantra; you are taking shower. Everyday you can heal
yourself when you’re taking shower, chanting this mantra. Like a God
prayer “Oh God, please heal me. Please help me.” Chanting the
mantra I have given to you.

H O LY WAT E R IN TE M P L E S
In India, holy water is
made by the priests in
the temples from the
water which has
washed the murti
(statue), of a saint or
deity (aspect of God).
The water becomes
imbued with the vibra-
tions of that saint or
deity. The water holds
that energy and those
visiting the temples
receive some of the
water. This brings the
holy vibrations into
the body.

WATER ELEMENT 93
In the temples in India, they give a spoonful of the water to each per-
son to drink. That water has the huge, highest vibration. They are
chanting a lot of mantras, Vedas, when they’re washing the deity.
The water gets the highest energy charge, completely. That water,
when you start to drink it, it goes through your entire body system.
Whatever water you have in your body starts to get the highest heal-
ing vibrations. It washes out the negativity automatically. Negativity
is washed out of your system.

That is why secretly, they give you holy water in every temple you go
to in India. Millions of the temples, they all maintain this same tra-
dition. That is the secret, the water itself. That is the main impor-
tance of why they wash the deities.

Even the coconuts in the temples are important. They break the
coconuts open because of the water and gas inside. The air and the
water are two elements in the coconut. When you break the coconut
there is some gas of the highest, positive energy. It releases.

That is why everywhere in the world and in India especially, people

break open coconuts. The intention is to release the energy in the gas
they contain – charged with the highest, positive vibrations. The
coconut water has highest energy, and they’re chanting the Vedas,
commanding on the water to heal the person and they’re giving them
the water. They’re commanding on the water to help this person
wash out all his negativity.

You can have that water also. It comes from the nature, from the
ground to the plant. The plant starts to form the coconut. And the
water starts to build up in the growing coconut. It is the creation
process of the plant – water, pure water of God energy. They are used
in millions of temples throughout India,. The coconuts and the
coconut water have the huge energy.

94 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Christians all over the world use water in their rituals to receive God’s
blessing. In the Catholic Church, holy water is used as a blessing upon
entering and departing from the church. The holy water is also used to bap-
tize, to purify and to heal.

Using the water in any temple or church symbolizes purification; it signifies

surrender to God and opens the heart to receive his blessings. This starts the
purification and healing. Around the world there are waters that have spe-
cial capabilities – springs with holy origins that produce healing water. In
India, millions of people flock to the Ganges River for its powerful blessings.

PO W E R F U L H E A L I N G FOR MI N D AND B O DY
Using the intrinsic qualities of the water for healing others, the water
mantra works powerfully for the mind and the body. It is the highest
healer for emotional problems.

Psychiatric patients respond to the calming and decharging quality of

the water. Being healed with water, the patient relaxes or becomes
drowsy and the negative mind energy is pulled out.

The water heals the physical problems, body pains, mental depression,
and psychiatric problems. Fire and water are best for healing these
things. The water washes the negative emotions very powerfully.
Suppose I have nervousness, I’m too tired, I have depression – I have
and aching body. If I take hot shower or bath, after 30 minutes, when
I come out, the angry feeling, nervousness, all of that stuff – the crazy
feeling, is simply washed away; and I come out with a fresh mood.

In India, people go to the rivers, everybody goes to the water. I do

too, sometimes, I sit in the water at my farmhouse. I’ll sit in the well,
in water that comes up to my chin. I do this many times and often sit
in the water for a long while.

WATER ELEMENT 95
 USING THE WAT E R E L E M E N T
If you do the mantra in the rain, you lose a lot of commanding on the
water element. If you are doing the mantra in heavy rain, the energy
circles you’re creating at that time, whatever energy you’re sending at
that time, is not very strong or effective, and it will reduce your com-
mand of the element in the future. Anytime you are charging the
mantra or using it to decharge and it starts raining, you must stop.
When you are healing somebody and the rain starts, stop immediate-
ly. If the rain comes when you are chanting, the rain makes you lose
the boundaries to your water. It goes to the sky. There are no bound-
ary limits. If you are in your bathtub you have boundaries, if you are
outside in the water and the rain comes, you can lose your boundaries.

When you are meditating in the water and the rain starts to come, it
means it’s taking your energy. You have no control on balancing that
energy because there are no boundaries. You can’t control that huge
rain. Suppose a huge wind comes, bringing huge rain. You’re doing
the water element, healing. Still the rain is coming. You’re chanting
and chanting. Still the rain is coming. If you keep on chanting, you
are trying to go against the element. Do not do this. You have to obey
(the energy of the elements). You have to bend your consciousness to
the elements. You have to surrender. Then you have to sneak in and
you have to come out (treat the elements carefully). Do not try to dom-
inate too much. In the future, if rain is coming, if huge wind is com-
ing, do not sit in the water! There is no need to waste the energy. No
need to waste your time. No need to waste attention. No need to play
the games with the five elements. Respect the elements.

The water element fills our body with highest healing vibrations.
This can calm you and make you peaceful, or it can give the highest
energy of all the other elements. If anybody touches your body after
you charge the water mantra, they feel it. Just like an electric charge.
It gives you highest energy connecting to your soul.

96 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 WAT E R E L E M E N T M A N T R A

Om Kluum Dhluum Jum

Kanaka Durgamba
Om Kluum Dhluum Jum Hum
Kanaka Durgamba
Durga Devi Prasaanam

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite 108 times for 41 days anytime of day in the shower, bath, lake
or swimming pool. Do not do it in the ocean, because it has no
boundaries. 90% of your body needs to be in the water. If you do it in
the open air and it starts to rain, STOP chanting immediately and get
out of the water. Resume when the rain stops.

S Y M P TO M S W H E N YO U A R E C H A R G E D
W I T H T H I S E N E RG Y
You will feel very drowsy, sleepy.

B E N E F I TS
• It is used for psychiatry patients, depression, all types of
mental problems.
• Also used for physical problems, body pain, severe head-
aches, and bone pains.

WATER ELEMENT 97
 H O W TO H E A L W I T H T H E WAT E R M A N T R A
You need to pass the energy from one body to another body in the
water. The healing must be done in either an outdoor swimming pool
or any large quiet body of water that can accommodate the healer,
the patient and two assistants to hold the patient. At no time during
the healing should the patient be able to touch the healer. You and
the person must be sitting in water, covering at least 90% of your
bodies. Starting at one end of a large tub, pool or lake, recite the
mantra 108 times while looking into the person’s face.

The person will feel an electric shock. He might become hysterical or

out of control. You will need two assistants to help hold the person
during this time. DO NOT touch the person or let them touch you,
but keep reciting and looking into the patient’s face. Continue the
mantra for about 15 to 20 minutes. The patient will become calm and
drowsy; then you can pull him out of the water. After the healing, go
to the opposite side of the pool or lake to decharge with the mantra
for 15 to 20 minutes. If you are doing the healing in any indoor swimming
pool or body of water, you must completely drain the water and refill with
fresh water before doing the decharging. If done in an outside pool there
is no need to drain it; the sun purifies the water naturally.

Note: When charging or healing with the water, do not drink one
drop of the water or do this manta if it’s raining. If it starts to rain,
STOP, get out of the water and wait until the rain completely stops
before doing the process again.

98 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 AIR ELEM ENT
The air is our most basic connection to
life. Our bodies can only live because
our breath is circulating. We can go
five days without eating food, two days
with no water. Our bodies can even
adjust to extreme cold. But if my
breathing stops, in five minutes there
will be no Swami Kaleshwar in the uni-
verse.

WIND S IN N ATU R E
There are different types of air and wind energy. Each type affects human
beings in a different way. The element of air can be very gentle, carrying
the soft smell of a rose, or extremely destructive. It is a very powerful force.
,People can receive powerful cosmic energy through the air.

How do tornadoes happen? What is the inner secret in of tornadoes?

When two strong winds come from different angles, when they hit
each other, they start to rotate. When it starts, the wind is a little
weak. Then as it rotates it gets stronger. That rotating energy auto-
matically sucks in the highest cosmic energy. When it starts rotating
faster and faster, it starts to suck in energy like a huge magnet – from
the earth, from the sky, from the wind. It creates a huge energy of its
own, air energy. Sometimes the holy saints receive the energy at that
time, from that wind. That is one type of the wind.

Second, suppose some persons they start to meditate and meditate

and meditate outdoors in nature. Natural angels, divine angels, they
come. When we meditate the angels come in the form of the wind,
like a small whirlwind, flowing like a bird, creating a huge pot of the
energy, of light. When it comes and it strikes you like a force.

AIR ELEMENT 99
100 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
This can happen when you are in highest mountains. Why is Mount
Kailash (in the Himalayas) so powerful? Why do the highest moun-
tains have such enormous energy? Because of their wind capacity,
wind energy is the highest, most powerful there up among the peaks.
And because of the vibrations in the wind. Natural energy from the
earth, from the sky, it comes to the air – through the wind. It starts
to create a lot of vibrations. The vibrations circulate in the form of
the energy circles. They are angels. That energy is a different type of
the angels. That’s why highest mountains wind is so powerful. Then
there are the desert winds. In a great desert there is no grass, there is
no greenery, there are no flowers. That wind is like a negative torna-
do, negative wind. It brings up huge, crazy energy. It throws a moun-
tain of the sand on you, like a disaster, like a destroying nature.
Sometimes in the ocean it makes the huge wind, then it brings up the
water. It picks up huge amounts of water (like a water funnel).

The winds can be very powerful. A Shirdi Baba story tells how a great
storm of rain came once together with a vast and powerful wind. For
two days the rain and wind did not stop. The people all cried out in
fear, they believed their houses would be destroyed, their families
killed. This great wind killed all the trees and all the birds. Then went
to Baba crying, “Please Baba, what is this disaster?” Then Baba simply
came out from his Dwarkamai (old temple where he lived). He was
watching the sky. “Can you stop or do you want my punishment?” he
said. He repeated this again: “Can you stop or do you need my pun-
ishment? I’m commanding the wind and rain to stop right now.” In a
very few minutes the rain and the wind died away and stopped.

HANU M AN
In India there is a god called Hanuman who is the deity of the air. He is
called upon in the first air mantra. His master was Rama, an incarnation
of Vishnu. Hanuman meditated only on the name of Rama and became so
powerful that he surpassed his own great master.

AIR ELEMENT 101

Hanuman represents the peaceful and controlled mind. He represents what
needs to be mastered, what is called the “monkey mind”, that tendency of
our minds to always be active. As the mind goes down in activity it becomes
quiet. From that place the equalization comes. By mastering the mind, the
capacity comes to balance all of the other elements and to use the energies
of the other elements.

T H E B R E AT H
The wind, the air, is vitally important. So is our breathing system. But
if someone smokes cigarettes this injures their self-healing capacity.
Smoking cigarettes, or anything else, makes their self-healing capac-
ity go very, very, very badly – every day, day by day. Temporarily it
makes them feel strong emotionally, but they are decharging the self-
healing vibrations, the energy – through the smoke. If you stop the
smoking, it is possible to get that capacity again.

The practice of prana yoga is based on breath control as a means to bring

quiet and stillness to the body and mind. Prana is the life force. To quieten
the mind and to bring it to stillness opens the door to the silence, which under-
lies everything. Experiencing that silence brings great peace and happiness.

AIR AND T HE AN G E L S
The air feeds life, it feeds the fire. It affects the water, it affects the
earth. Its energy can come in the form of a natural disaster, but it can
also help human beings to receive the highest cosmic power and to
do so and quite simply immediately. Then you can use the air to do
incredible things, to heal people over long distances and to send your
thoughts or energy over any distance.

All of angels live in the wind as their natural element. All the angel
energy is contained in the wind. When you start to chant in the
wind, in the air, all the angels are around you, and you can suck in

102 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

their special energy. Wherever you go the protection of the angels is
with you. All their positive energy is with you in its entirety. You can
breathe in the angel power, you can breathe out the angel power.
This will make you very relaxed, happy and relieved. You can feel the
very strong happy breath when you purify the air in yourself. This is
a beautiful sensation.

AIR ELEMENT MANTRAS

1 ST A I R M A N T R A

Om Sarvam Brahmha Mayam

Om Sarvam Brahmha Shaktim
Bhaja Hanumantha Manasa Smarami
Neeja Bhagavantha Sirasa Smarami

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite 108 times for 41 days. This mantra must be done between sun-
rise and sunset during the daylight hours.

B E N E F I TS FO R A L L T H R E E A I R M A N T R A S
• They are used for sending your energy and blessings to
anywhere.
• You can work through your dreams.
• You can call any soul to you from any place.

AIR ELEMENT 103

 2 N D AI R M A N T R A

Om Brahmham Vishnuum Maheshvaram

Om Dheem Kleem Sauom
Maha Shakti Ayna Namaha

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite this mantra only 9 times for 9 days at dusk (no sun, no moon,
no stars). You can do it anywhere.

3 R D AI R M A N T R A

Om Ram Ram Ram

Ra-maa-mee Ram-am

C H A RG I N G T HE MA N TR A
Recite 108 times for 41 days. You MUST begin the mantra on a full
moon night. When you start this mantra, go outside and look at the
full moon then begin reciting. After seeing the moon and beginning
the reciting of the mantra, you can move indoors to complete all 108
cycles if you prefer. Do the mantra exactly at midnight. Continue
the mantra through the 41st day. Then on the 42nd, 43rd and 44th
midnight hour (until the 45th day) recite only: Guru Guru
Paramaguru. The whole process should be completed on the new
moon (no moon).

104 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Arrange the timing for completing the Air mantras so that they are
all finished before starting Guru Guru Paramaguru, so you can con-
tinue right into this from the finish of the 3rd Air Mantra. All other
elements must have been completed as well, before starting this.

Note: Due to the irregular number of days in a month, the new moon
(no moon) might be over or under 45 days. After completing the 41
days of the 3rd Air Mantra, continue chanting Guru Guru
Paramaguru until the new moon (for a minimum of 3 days).

After you complete all of the mantras and are fully charged, you only
need to chant Guru Guru Paramaguru to do healings with any ele-
ment.

AIR ELEMENT 105

 E D I TO R ’ S N OTE
Living day by day for several years at Swami Kaleshwar’s
ashram in Penukonda, India, the students included in
this chapter relate glimpses of their experiences with
him, including miracles and blessings they have received
and their first hand accounts of how their lives have
been dramatically changed in a divine way.

They are only a few of the many students of Swami.

They reflect a diversity of backgrounds and ages. Some
came from other spiritual traditions, some were teachers,
artists or professionals who for one reason or another
found themselves coming to India to spend time in the
presence of Swami.

106 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

SECTION THREE

G L I M PS E S O F
T H E M A STE R

107
 RA MA K RI SHN A

M E ET I N G S WA M I
It was the third time my friend approached me to let me know about
a beautiful young saint from India who could do miracles. I had been
to India five years earlier and, feeling salty in the ways of miracles was
nonplussed by my friend's enthusiasm. For the third time I thanked
him and let him know I wasn't interested. After all, I knew about the
siddhic powers, had seen them in action and also knew that most of
the saints displaying the powers were usually doing so for "name and
fame." But my friend had arranged for the young saint and my stepfa-
ther to meet and, since my mother Gaya and sister Kim were curious
and we all decided to see a movie afterward, I tagged along.

The four of us arrived at the tiny white house converted into a church
and as we stepped on the property all of us were a bit surprised by the
energy. Internally my senses were twisted.

108 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

It was like a powerful vortex that made one feel a bit dizzy. In unison
we all spoke our surprise not knowing whether it was the result of the
little church or the visiting swami.

Turning into the back yard I saw an Indian boy sitting in a chair talk-
ing to a young couple sitting at his feet. The chair was big and deep
and exaggerated Swami's diminutive stature. His eyes swung over to
look at us and in my thoughts I heard, "Oh, there you are. I've been
waiting for you a long time." For some reason as soon as those words
rang in my head I felt a deep relief. My next thoughts were "This
can't be him. The Swami is probably inside." I was expecting to see
some guy in his 50's, heavy, balding, you know, all those distin-
guished marks of wisdom. Looking at him while he sat there I realized
this was the guy we had come to see. He looked to me to be about 15
years old and that intrigued me even more. As it turned out, he was
24 at the time.

The four of us sat down in the grass, leaned against the wall, and
closed our eyes to enjoy the amazing peace and to give the young cou-
ple as much privacy as possible. The energy was glorious; sounds of
enjoyment and surprise passed between us. The joy and peace was
tangible. My mind came to a halt.

After sitting with closed eyes for about five minutes the four of us
simultaneously opened our eyes. At that moment Swami began mov-
ing his hand, palm facing down, in a very small horizontal circle in
front of the young couple. Swami nodded and the young man cupped
his hands. We watched as Swami barely jolted his hand down twice
and each time a little white object fell from his palm into the couple's
hands. He then closed his hand and swung it in a circle for a few sec-
onds then, with hardly a movement, flung a small opalescent stone
more than 20 feet to land perfectly in my mother's hands that were
resting palm up on her lap. Ok, he had my attention.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 109

He asked us to follow him inside the small house. Upon entering the
house we were in a small kitchen area in which no less than fifteen
people were crammed into. We stood and waited a few minutes to fol-
low Swami into the next room where we would clearly have our
meeting. The phone rang and the girl answering it told Swami it was
for him. To my shock, he took the phone and started talking. I know
this sounds silly but he was talking slowly and calmly in English to
someone he obviously didn't know. The idea of an Indian saint using
any modem devices like a telephone just seemed strange to me for
some reason. After he finished the conversation he hung up the
phone and it immediately rang again. He answered it! It was some-
body else. Again and again the phone rang almost as soon as he hung
up and each time he answered it while we stood watching him. Each
time it was a different person asking a different question. Finally he
told the girl to disconnect the phone for a while. I guessed people
were probably calling 24 hours a day, desperate to have just a few
words with Swami. What surprised me was that he obliged.

The interview began with us sitting on the floor and Swami in a com-
fortable chair draped with red silks. He asked if we had any questions
and none of us said a thing. We had no questions, as we were not
seeking spiritual advice. My mother, sister and I had come on a whim
and the visit was actually arranged for Swami to meet my stepfather
Don Miguel Ruiz. Don Miguel is a renowned Toltec nagual and my
friend thought the two masters would want to meet and talk. For half
a minute or so Swami sat with his eyes closed. He then opened them,
looked at Miguel and said, "You are from India'?" Miguel smiled and
answered. "Not in this lifetime." Swami smiled and closed his eyes
again. That was the extent of the 'meeting'.

A few moments later he looked at my sister, pointed to her ring from

another saint and said, "He dreams with you." My sister smiled beau-
tifully and explained excitedly how only the night before she had had
a dream with the saint, the first dream in a very long time.

110 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

During the remaining fourteen minutes and thirty seconds our fif-
teen minute interview, Swami looked and talked almost exclusively
to me. At times I became a little uncomfortable as he practically
ignored my other family members. He talked to me about money,
what is real worth, what should be my focus and attitude, and other
beautiful messages, which at the time were quite exactly overriding
concerns in my life.

At the end of the meeting Swami stood up and told us to gather

around him. He had me open my hand and then asked me what were
my fingers called. I began. "Thumb, forefinger, middle finger, ring fin-
ger, and pinky!" Holding up his hand and pointing to his fingers he
said, "No. Earth. fire, sky, water, air," each time bending the appro-
priate finger. I looked down at my hand and repeated it. Then he
asked me, "What do you get when you mix fire and earth?" I was per-
plexed and almost said mud when my mother standing next to me
joyfully called out, "vibhuti!" I felt stupid for nearly saying mud as an
answer. "Oh, you know the vibhuti?" he asked smiling and rubbed his
forefinger and thumb together directly in front of our faces while vib-
huti gently flowed out of his fingers into Gaya’s hands. "Say when,"
he said and continued to manifest the ash until my mom called out
"when!" She then passed her hands around and each of us dunked our
faces to eat the vibhuti like kids bobbing for apples.

The four of us visited India five years earlier and had seen vibhuti
many times, so none of us were so very surprised. But there was a dif-
ferent result; we all became like happy children. I will never forget
that moment as long as I live. It felt as if we had been together for-
ever. We were like close family just playing and enjoying each other's
happiness. It was an eternal moment. After the interview was over I
felt so close to Swami I forgot myself and nearly hugged him goodbye,
as I would have done with any good friend. We walked out with big
smiles and vibhuti moustaches happy to have shared the afternoon
with a divine soul.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 111

We completely forgot about the movie and drove home mostly in
silence as we all shared the same inexplicable happiness. Miguel said,
"I've never seen such a clean mind," clean meaning without fear. As I
sat in the back scat and replayed the entire event in my mind over and
over, I realized Swami's voice was ringing quite clearly inside my head.
I knew it wasn't my own internal dialogue because the voice was heav-
ily accented and spoke in broken Pidgin English. That voice began to
tell me many things that were fascinating but fleeting at the same time.
One thing the voice said that I remembered quite clearly was, "I'm
going to make you a supernatural healer." I had never heard that term
before, 'supernatural healer', but healing was my passion and the more
I thought about the young swami the more my desire to know and
understand him grew. By the time we arrived home, I had replayed the
entire event in my head many times and realized I was going to spend
as much time with Swami as I could. I was already hooked.

I hadn't said anything about the voice or the things it told me but a
few hours after returning home I was walking into the kitchen to get
something to eat. My mom was already there cooking some food for
her two neurotic Maltese puppies and she said quite plainly but mat-
ter of factly, "I think this guy is going to take you to India and make
you a supernatural healer." I had no words. I tried to recall if I had
said something to her since the interview about having the exact
same words ringing in my head but knew that r hadn't. I asked her,
"How do you know that? Did I tell you that?" She shrugged casually
and said, "No, his voice is in my head and it won't stop talking. He's
telling me about his plans for you." Wow, now that was both impres-
sive and unnerving.

Over the next week or so I drove forty minutes at least twice a day to
see Swami and attend some lectures he gave. One day he started talk-
ing about visiting the sacred places in Peru and Jim, the guy who
arranged the first meeting, called me again to arrange another meet-
ing between Swami and Miguel.

112 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Miguel had done only a few power journeys to Peru but was consid-
ered an expert authority by many of the guides and curanderos. Who
better to answer all of the questions Swami began asking?

Miguel was in San Diego so my mother, aunt, sister Jules, and I head-
ed down to talk with Swami and see if we could help him plan a trip.
The small home was packed with hundreds of people awaiting a lec-
ture Swami would begin in a few hours. Swami called us into a small
room, sat down, and asked how far it was to Peru. I said, "Total flying
time to Lima is about nine hours." He then asked if we could arrange
a weekend workshop for twenty or so of our friends where he would
teach us the fundamentals of supernatural healing and performing
miracles. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "What about Peru?" I
thought. Then, "Forget Peru, think about what he just said! Learning
supernatural healing and miracles." It was so incredible I felt like I
was dreaming. A weekend of private teaching with a supernatural
swami? Who's going to teach us how to do supernatural healing and
manifestation and who knows what else? That's when I asked him if
such things could be learned, if normal people like us could actually
do those things. As if telling the obvious to a child he said,
"Absolutely." I was numb. Two days later, over Fourth of July week-
end, Swami taught us the Five Elements in the serene setting of
Krishnamurti’s mountain retreat in Ojai.

M A L I B U CO U R S E
The first course was so incredible that Gaya organized a 7-day
course in Malibu over Labor Day weekend. There were forty of us in
Ojai and everyone was highly impressed with Swami and his infor-
mation. We all began practicing diligently and even by the time the
next workshop rolled around six weeks later every person was mar-
velling at the energetic experiences from practicing the Five
Element mantras.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 113

114 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
On the sixth evening of the course, after days of intense learning of
mantras and information, Swami asked everyone to stay up very late
that evening because he wanted to "bring huge healing energies and
miracles". At about l0pm he asked us to begin meditating for 2 to 3
hours and most of us, unaccustomed to meditation especially in the
midnight hours, moaned at the thought of it. What he didn't tell us
was the energy was beginning at that moment and no sooner did the
meditation start than everyone fell into a deep trance.

The next thing I knew, Swami had entered the room and was saying,
"Everyone open their eyes. Don't miss the chance." I hadn't recog-
nized how deeply into trance 1 had gone until I tried to open my eyes.
1 couldn't. I couldn't even move. My body was so completely relaxed,
my mind so peaceful, I had never felt anything remotely equivalent.
It was obviously miracle time, but I couldn't care less. No miracle was
going to make me feel any better than the state I was experiencing at
that moment. I just wanted to stay as I was for as long as possible.
After a minute or so I thought better of it and forced open my eyes.
Looking at my watch I calculated I had been out for over 2 1/2 hours.

I turned my head to observe Swami. He had tied a long yellow scarf

around his head and wore an orange silk robe. The yellow and orange
against his dark skin and thick black hair was striking. I couldn't help
but think, "My God this man is beautiful." Swami went to each per-
son, took their right hand, rubbed it vigorously between his hands for
5 seconds or so, touched their third eye, then passed to the next per-
son. He was giving shaktipat and opening the energy channels in the
hand in order to allow us to transmit high healing energy.

Working his way down the line to each person, he stopped in front of
a friend of mine, Terry Clark, and began swinging his entire arm in
huge circles like a softball pitcher. All at once I saw water flow into
Terry's lap from seemingly nowhere. It seemed as though it had come
out of the middle of the circle of his arm swing.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 115

Terry jumped with a squeal of surprise. A month or so earlier Terry
had been involved in a bad construction accident where his shin
was shattered and at the Malibu course his lower leg looked like a
high school science project held together literally by bolts, screws
and a metal pipe. The water was clearly a special healing and Terry
later told me how much better his leg felt afterwards. Terry hadn't
seen Swami in front of him and the water, which has hot, came as
a complete shock.

Swami continued going to each person and rubbing his or her right
hand. Only a few feet from me, he started again with the big arm
swing. I was observing everything intently now as I had just seen the
water and didn't want to miss a thing, I had never even heard of
someone mani resting water. All of a sudden, as his hand hit the l2
o'clock position, it was as if somebody had thrown 10 pounds of ash
into his palm at high velocity and it all arrived at the same time.
Vibhuti literally exploded above his head and a cloud filled the entire
room (a circle 30 feet wide) in a matter of seconds. Immediately the
most ethereally beautiful smell filled the room. As he continued
swinging his arm. ash just poured out of his hand.

He only manifested the vibhuti for 3 or 4 seconds but it was enough

to put a one-inch layer over a large portion of the floor. The vibhuti
manifested in this way always comes with the same glorious smell.
There is no way to describe it and I personally have never smelled
that scent anywhere else. If I could bottle it, I'd be a billionaire. The
effect of that smell is a most extraordinary sense of love and well
being. I liken it to Krishna's flute playing.

When he invited me to study with him in India it was a dream come

true. To be honest, since our first meeting this desire had grown to
unbearable proportions and when he made the offer I felt a gigantic
relief: the greatest of my dreams had just been fulfilled. He said, “I’ll
call you."

116 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 S E N DI N G T HE FI R E
A few weeks after Swami had returned to India, he told everyone
interested to gather at Whiteagles House (this is the small house
where I had first met him) on a certain day because we would receive
something special. An important Indian holy festival was beginning
on that day and he invited everyone to be in meditation at
Whiteagles house to receive the energy he would be sending. A few
family members and I arrived at Whiteagles around 5:30pm, a half-
hour early, and sat in the back yard around the fire pit Swami had
used during his stay.

A few minutes later a man began stacking wood at the fire pit so we
could have a fire for the ceremony and I helped him as he methodi-
cally leaned all the wood pieces in a teepee like structure. A few times
my hand touched the ashes in order to arrange the pieces and
although there had been a fire the previous evening the ashes were
completely cold. The man then began stuffing crumbled newspaper
into the centre of the wood structure.

Whiteagle came out at that moment, said she had been in meditation
and had a very clear vision of Swami telling her, "the fire wil1 come."
I understood what she said but didn't get the point. Whiteagle told us
not to put paper or lighter fluid or anything on the wood. "The fire
will come," she repeated. "Ok." 1 thought. "that's probably expecting
way too much."

We had been there about an hour and the sun was just beginning to
set. Fifteen minutes later the guy came back with matches and was
getting ready to light the fire. Whiteagle again came out at that
moment and told us not to touch anything. She recognized she had
no idea what was going to happen, but she was doing her level best
to faithfully follow the signs. She again said, "Swami said, 'the fire
will come', so just leave everything," this time a bit annoyed.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 117

I've always been critical of people who have a strong need to believe
in something super-spectacular and obviously impossible just so they
can feel a momentary happiness through their escapist fantasy. I
never understood why someone could say something like, 'What if I
could just win millions of dollars in the lottery' and then feel happy
as if all their financial problems were suddenly solved. A lot of peo-
ple in spirituality are like this and all too eager to carelessly disregard
their lives just for the promise of something miraculous. But
Whiteagle was a mother with children, and a very down to earth and
highly practical person. Her faith in Swami was admirable precisely
because it was not devoid of, and yet not overcome by rational doubts
like "is this just my imagination?" or "what if nothing happens and
the people think I'm crazy". Yet Whiteagle chose to give the miracu-
lous a chance in the face of doubts because of the faith she had in
Swami. As I closed my eyes to meditate, I was touched by her faith
and the realization that I lacked faith, or any connection, to the
beautiful and miraculous. These seemed to be qualities of some imag-
inary universe. But I had glimpsed that world through Swami and
now because of Whiteagle I felt her conviction would be something
wonderful to have.

After 10 or 15 minutes I opened my eyes and found myself staring

blankly into the fire pit. Just as the first time I had met Swami, it felt
as if my eyes opened without my volition being involved. They
focused on a spot at the fire pit and I couldn't take them away.
Something was drawing my attention there but 1 didn't know what
or why. Then, exactly where my eyes were looking, a wisp of smoke
curled upwards. As 1 watched carefully 1 realized it was not smoke
but ash. Directly in front of me, a foot below the lip of the fire pit, a
little whirlwind of ash formed and danced. It was fascinatingly beau-
tiful. I couldn't help but laugh, partially out of disbelief, and looked
around to see if anybody else noticed it. This was so unreal, like a car-
toon character.

118 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

There were about ten people sitting around the fire and I mean every
single person, although meditating for the last half-hour, was
absolutely glued to this little vortex of ash. Something was going on.
Each person's eyes shone as they watched. I felt strangely joyful
myself. It was a few inches away from the edge of the wood and
seemed like a little breeze might be passing through but there was no
wind. The vortex danced back and forth for more than a minute
until I clearly saw smoke coming from the wood. I was jolted because
I realized in a flash the 'fire was coming', and Swami was sending it.
My belief system flinched, as I knew that the impossible was about
to happen. I felt like jumping away or fainting or yelling something
out loud.

It was as if someone had turned on a propane fireplace. All at once,

there was a fire burning strongly and evenly. After a moment a few
people began asking who started the fire, not sure of what they had
just seen. When we clarified with each other what had just happened,
that nobody had done anything to start the fire, we all were stunned
into silence. I was dumbfounded.

The implications of what had just happened were too surreal. It was
inconceivable to think of someone starting a fire in this little pit from
16,000 miles away; but there was no way to doubt it because it was-
n't only that the fire started by itself, It was the entire experience. A
part of me was aware something special was happening the entire
time but I only realized this upon later reflection. I'm sure it was the
same for all the people present. Why else would we all instinctively
open our eyes at the same time and stare at the same spot? For days
that fire staggered and challenged my imagination. Who was this lit-
tle guy I had played with for a few weeks and treated as casually as I
would a brother or best friend?

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 119

 MO RE S U RP RI S E S
Ten days after I arrived in India six of us, including Swami, were hav-
ing lunch and discussing how on a special day, called
Mahashivarathri, a few avatars bring up lingams that have been form-
ing in their stomachs for 7 or 8 months. The lingam is a symbol of
Shiva and to see the birth of the atma lingam on Shivarathri day is
highly auspicious. Gaya had been to India on three different occa-
sions to witness Mahashivarathri with a few different saints and, as
she was the expert, was asking for Swami's verification on her under-
standing. I remember her saying, "Have you heard about the two
saints that do this'?" She was referring to the two saints she had pre-
viously witnessed birthing the lingams. It was at this point, not want-
ing to point out Gaya’s little misunderstanding, that Swami sheep-
ishly revealed he also birthed lingams on Shivarathri. We were
speechless. Although all of us had already seen many wondrous things
from Swami we still had no idea as to his spiritual capacity.

Our idea of avatars was they either lived naked in the Himalayas
away from civilization or were surrounded by millions of followers
and completely unapproachable. They did not constantly joke
around with you, shake hands with you, drive their own cars, sleep in
cheap hotels, and generally have fun. At least that was my under-
standing at the time.

As soon as Swami said he produced the lingams, I knew we were sit-

ting at the table with an avatar. I think a few others realized this too
and suddenly we were all quiet as if we didn't know how to act. It was
so incongruous with the way we had all interacted with him since our
arrival in India. Talk about taking someone for granted. One would
think a person of avatar status is easily recognizable but Swami is so
naturally audacious, personable, innocent, and fun, none of us had an
inkling as to his level of mastery, For the ten previous days we had
spent with him he was just like a young guy that likes to drive fast,

120 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

play his Indian music loudly, laugh about people's foibles and medi-
tate in different holy places. With Swami spirituality is a dynamic
process of discovery, a playground or science of sorts, and not the dog-
matic way of life I had always felt Hinduism to be. Hence Swami's
disposition is usually playful and jocular, while at the same time an
air of royalty and grace flows from his presence regardless of what he's
doing. Far from being reckless or uncaring, he's very humane. Always
anticipating others needs or concerns and ever humble. All these
characteristics mixed with the personality of a spirited twenty¬-
something at the top of the world.

Swami never desired pomp and circumstance. He was always very

casual and informal. We didn't have to touch his feet, avoid touch-
ing him, throw flower petals for him to walk on, address him in cer-
tain ways, none of that. It was like being around a close friend.
During my first few weeks in India it was so weird to see people rec-
ognize him, fall at his feet and stand around staring at him as if enjoy-
ing the most important moment of their lives. Then the next minute
we're racing each other up the steps of a temple, or he's pretending to
punch me in the stomach only to stop short and tickle me, or he's
pointing to a small naked boy saying, "That's you, man." and then
laughing hysterically. The real miracle of Swami Kaleshwar is the way
he balances humanity and divinity.

Anyhow, back to the story. We were slack-jawed with surprise. at

least I was. Pretty soon we were barraging him with different ques-
tions about the atma lingams, I had been with Gaya during one
Shivarathri and seen the birthing and power of the atma lingams, and
then, looking at me, he said the next lingam he birthed would be
given to me. Everyone looked at me to see my reaction but I was
caught completely off guard. A thank you just didn't come close to
the level of gratitude I wanted to express so instead of saying some-
thing I looked down at my plate and began to eat.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 121

122 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
Five years before, Swami Premananda had given atma lingams to
some visiting foreigners and at the time I dreamed for days about
receiving such a gift: the chance to take care of one of those sacred
objects. Again there was silence except for a few surprise murmurings.
My mom began to cry. Otherwise there was quiet as our imaginations
tried to probe the depths of this seemingly new person sitting at the
end of the table.

A few minutes later, after some light chitchat began flowing to break
the awkward silence, Swami asked me out of the blue, "Are you ready
to take sannyasin?" I think I might have still been in the process of
putting two and two together to reassess this little man at the end of
the table because without hesitation or forethought I found myself
saying yes. "Good," said Swami, "we'll do it after lunch." After lunch?
I actually choked on my chutney. Monica laughed while Phillip hit
me on the back a few times to help me out.

To take sannyasin means to leave the world and dedicate yourself

only to the spiritual life. I had seen one sannyasin ceremony and it
took three days. It was a big deal. In answering Swami my mouth
seemed to work of its own accord. Before I even understood the ques-
tion I had responded. To this day I’m convinced Swami used some
crazy yogic power on me. Then there was the 'after lunch' thing. I was
stone silent to the outside world but inwardly my mind spun furious-
ly. No more women, no more cheeseburgers, no more wine, no more
movies, no more fun! The more I thought, the more reluctant I
became about the whole endeavour.

I was praying Swami wouldn't make me beg for food, live in the jun-
gle, wear orange clothes, and forgo small pleasantries like, oh I don't
know, a bed - a roof - food - warm water! Fearing the worst I was
already looking for an escape and, barring that, I would do something
subtle yet ingenious to get out of this one like ... lock myself in the
bathroom for a few days.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 123

After lunch our small troupe drove out of the small village some dis-
tance into the surrounding forests and stopped arbitrarily along the
road. A little bit off the road there was a large dried out sandstone
riverbed running through the forest. I was a bit anxious, to say the
least and followed Swami as he began wandering up the riverbed. He
told me to find a stick or break a branch and that whatever I touched,
whether on purpose or accident, I had to take as my stick for life. I
quickly found the perfect stick and broke it from the tree.

After a minute or two he called me to where he stood on the rocks.

When I arrived he cupped his hands and, motioning at his feet, told
me to give him some sand. I looked down at a pocket in the rock
filled with sandstone dust, grabbed a pinch, and put it in his cupped
hands. "More." he said. So I grabbed a pinch with each hand and put
those into his hands. "Mooooore," he sang melodiously to let me
know I was missing the point. Suddenly I understood. Fill up his
hands. I have pretty large hands so I scooped up a lot of sand and
allowed it to slowly pour into his hands until they were nearly full. He
then instructed me to put my hands around the outside of his hands
and hold them there. After a minute or so of holding his hands with-
in mine the energy began growing to nearly unbearable levels. I had
to refocus many times to answer the questions he asked as I was reel-
ing from the energy.

From the questions Swami was asking I knew this was the ceremony
but I couldn't bring myself to care much about it. All my anxiety of
the whole event dissolved into an ocean of peace as I experienced
what I can only call divine energy. I can't repeat the questions but I
can tell you I was surprised at some of my answers. At the time I felt
like Swami was talking to someone inside of me and upon reflection
I can say it was my soul. The answers coming from my mouth were
truthful and wise beyond my capacity and giving detailed answers
about things past and future. Answers that, once I heard them, I
knew to be absolutely correct.

124 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

After a few minutes I took my hands away and he asked me how
much sand I put into his hands. "A lot," I said knowing he was sim-
ply making a point. He put his hands to the side and started rubbing
them together. Less than a teaspoon of sand fell out. At one point I
actually saw the sand sticking to his hand like a type of cement. He
then gave me what I consider the most beautiful object I've ever seen:
a sandstone lingam that looks as though it holds a universe of stars
inside. He asked me what colour it was and said, "Check it." I knelt
down and held it against the sand I had taken up. A perfect match.
On the side of the stone pocket there was a streak of dark sand bro-
ken by where I had scooped it up and on the lingam a small dark line
of the exact colour. There was no doubt where the Shiva lingam had
come from. It was made in that moment from that sand.

With empty hands Swami had taken something as common as dirt

and made it exquisite. I saw that he could be naked in the wilderness
but nature would be at his command. It was incredible. I smiled and
said, "Swami, you didn't have to do this, I know what you are and
what you can do. I only want your love."

His love is the highest gift and this trinket, although beautiful, can-
not compare. He replied, "No. When you put your life into a master's
hands, they have to show their energy. They have to prove them-
selves to you." With these words I realized the magnitude of what had
just happened. The entire ceremony was like a work of art, an expres-
sion of his love. Tears came to my eyes as my heart swelled with grat-
itude. I knew Swami was going to take my life into his own hands,
dirt and all, to reveal and fulfil the shining potential of my soul.

The real miracle for me was not how he made the lingam, but why.
From that one gesture I glimpsed the absolute deepest desire for
which I was willing to give up everything else in the world to attain.
So I did. That day I walked out of the world and into Swami's hands.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - RAMAKRISHNA 125

At the end of the ceremony, Kaleshwar gave me the succinct appel-
lation of Ramakrishnananda. I've kept the name, against a mael-
strom of ridicule from friends and family, as a reminder of the com-
mitment I made upon seeing my soul's desire. Something that
dwarfed the importance of everything else in my life and revealed an
unimagined magnificence within. Nothing short of a life altering gift
from Swami Kaleshwar.

The ceremony happened within ten days of my arrival to India. Like

I said in the introduction, Swami's not interested in the long road if
something can be accomplished sooner. In the three years since, I'm
happy to say it was the first time Swami changed the course of my life,
but certainly not the last.

126 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 N A N CY F E N G L E R

I A M S O L U C KY

Swami Kaleshwar is at once divine cosmic force and human being. He

likes to have fun, drive fast, and take chances, as both master and
human, and he definitely has his own style. In America we would call
him a “maverick”. His methods are quite out of the ordinary, but bring
lightening fast results to the soul. He will spend many hours sitting in
his swing, happily teasing those who come and sit before him. His teas-
ing is masterful, it can totally transform you or simply make you laugh.

Swami once described someone as having “dare and dash”. I think

this description fits him best of all. But as bold and daring as he can
be, he is equally humble, kind and without ego. His sweetness will
melt your heart in a “dash” of a moment. Innumerable times I’ve seen
him helping others for endless hours, at the expense of his own health
and well-being.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - NANCY FENGLER 127

In many ways he is not at all what you would expect a great spiritual
being to be, and he is so many things that you could never even ima-
gine. In this singular being you find the wise, ancient, divine soul, and
when you see that aspect of him your only impulse is to throw yourself
at his feet, knowing that the divine is standing right there in front of
you. That presence permeates your heart, your soul, your entire being,
with peace and love. But you can also find in him the human being,
living a life that includes many aspects of any ordinary life.

He is unique to be sure. He is pure God energy – ploughing through

his life on this planet with such great force that it will change the
course of this age. His gift to the world is the opportunity to heal and
to create positive energy for the planet. It is the greatest fortune in
my life to have my souls’ cosmic course in his hands. I am so lucky.

I N D E P E N D E N C E DAY
On the 4th of July, 1997, I met this “force” at a fire ceremony in East
Los Angeles. I sat waiting with a group of people around an enormous
fire pit centred in the middle of a tiny backyard. Swami Kaleshwar
came seemingly floating out of the house – and this being was so
striking, so beautiful, so radiant, so unusual. I had never seen anyone,
or anything, quite like him. I looked and looked at him. He was like
a hologram and I felt that I didn’t have the kind of sight necessary to
really see him, to see who he was and what he was. He had the qual-
ity of a vision.

Swami sat down and tied a yellow silk scarf around his head and
began his work without saying a word. The ceremony gave huge
blessings, well beyond my understanding at the time. As the fire
intensified, his face reflected the intense energy. But that was all you
could see; the work he was doing was clearly taking place in another
realm – that of the soul. During this ceremony I just stared across the
fire at this being.

128 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Occasionally I closed my eyes to meditate, but mostly could not
resist looking at him. And he looked back for a time, at my soul.
Later that evening I had a brief interview with him, which was fast
and surreal and masterful. Within the three minutes I was with him,
he had done a healing on me, manifested a rudraksha bead, and
hooked my soul forever.

Of course at that time I was not aware he had hooked me, because it
happened only to my soul. He is magnetic indeed – and you can
attribute this to anything; he’s interesting, he’s funny, he’s dazzling.
But it is his glorious soul that your own soul cannot resist. When I was
leaving the room he asked me if he would ever see me again. As if on
remote control, I quickly said “yes” although I didn’t have any idea
how it would be possible to again see this man who lived on the other
side of the world.

MA L I BU
He returned to America two months later. For one week, about forty
people got to listen as Swami shared some incredible, unbelievable
spiritual knowledge that marked the beginning of my spiritual
process. It was magical, up on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean,
under the vast western sky.

After a few days of teaching, Swami said something I will never for-
get, “Some of you will manifest tonight.” He spoke with a sweet and
divine voice, and in the most humble way. Without him saying, we
knew that a huge spiritual gift was coming from him. And it did.

A process of initiation, meditation and miracles began that after-

noon. Later that evening, after being covered with fragrant vibhuti
that he manifested, I received an eye to eye transmission of healing
energy. I was then sent with a few others to another room, where I sat
with my eyes closed, trying to meditate.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - NANCY FENGLER 129

I was acutely aware that I was in the middle of a momentous and beau-
tiful process for my soul. With my eyes closed I saw Jesus and Shirdi
Baba. I had never seen anything in meditation, and had never really
even meditated much, but there they were. I knew that their energy
was there as part of this initiation, to be present for it, and I started to
weep. I realized that the process I was in was much greater than I could
ever imagine and I felt the magnitude of Swami’s soul. He was giving
out this huge blessing with so much love and graciousness, and asking
nothing in return. Sharing Gods love and energy.

Swami came into the room, sat down, and teased me about crying,
and I nervously explained that I was very moved by his incredible
gift to my soul. Then he had me come and sit in front of him. I was
kneeling, leaning back on my heels, and in front of me on the floor
was a pot of sand. Ray, one person in the group, had checked it to
make sure that only sand was inside the pot. Swami asked for people
to tell their favourite colour and Ray said red. Swami then had me
close my eyes and he placed one of his hands on my head and the
other on my lower back.

He had me hold my hand over the pot for a minute or two and then
he told me to reach in a take some sand from the pot, so I picked up
a few specs. “Take more!” I took a pinch of sand. He was laughing,
“No, take more! Take a lot!” So I reached in and grabbed a large
handful, trying to keep my eyes closed. I turned my hand, palm up,
with the sand in it. After a moment I felt something other than the
sand in my hand and I peeked to see what was there, but I saw only
the plain sand. It didn’t make any sense to my mind, but then the
very next moment I realized all but a few specs of the sand had dis-
appeared, and in my hand was a mala with red beads! It had hap-
pened in a flash. It was as though the energy or form of the mala had
come in my hand before it had actually become visible. Through my
body, swami had manifested a beautiful red mala. I was so blessed to
have that divine energy come through me.

130 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 INDIA
The following February I was on my way to India and my life would
never be the same again. It was another world, not India the country,
but the spiritual world within India. After several incredible days of
miracles and travelling to holy temples, I finally got a second inter-
view with Swami. By this time I knew I was hooked to his soul and I
made a commitment to follow my souls’ true path. Since then I’ve
had the great fortune of spending many months at a time in India and
many hours sitting at the feet of Swami Kaleshwar.

At his Ashram in Penukonda, I have watched countless times from

afar as Swami has dealt with the enormous responsibilities of a mas-
ter. He works all day and late into the night taking care of the hun-
dreds of people in his charge: his staff, his devotees, his students, the
workers at his ashram. Then even later in the night, although he is
seemingly resting by the fire, he begins his inner spiritual work, med-
itating, decharging, blessing and checking on the thousands of souls
that are connected to him.

Occasionally, the night will also be a time when he arranges for a

beautiful process for his students. One night, well after midnight, he
set up an elaborate yantra (sacred design) on the floor of the temple.
It was made with grains of bright red and yellow, huge banana leaves,
coconuts, and the entire design was laced with lit candles. It was gor-
geous and took up a large portion of the marble floor. The yantra and
the candlelight set the energy for a beautiful initiation, a transmission
of divine energy to the souls of his students. These are some of the
most sacred experiences I have ever had.

As Master, as Teacher, as Healer, Swami Kaleshwar brings the presence

of divine energy. He is also a great storyteller and is extremely quick and
witty. In a split second he can find just the right angle for teasing some-
one. But he also has another interesting and unusual quality.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - NANCY FENGLER 131

It’s hard to describe, other than to say he is like a spiritual “mad sci-
entist”, a true sign of brilliance. In the spiritual realm, he lives on the
edge, always pushing the limit. For his own spiritual practices he is
always breaking the rules; trying to find a new way to do something,
trying to bend the spiritual laws, or trying to do a process faster than
is advisable or even possible.

We fondly call him the shortcut master. As his students, we benefit

from this quality enormously. Swami wants to take as many students
as possible, as far spiritually as possible. He can whittle down a forty-
one day spiritual process into one evening or even one moment. He
calls this an exemption. We call it a huge blessing. This is the grace
of the master.

Late one night, following an incredible miracle, Swami was particu-

larly in his “mad scientist” mode. After a long day of teachings and
celebrations and two hours of chanting, Swami told us he would give
us some new mantras later, and then he had us sit, in the temple, in
the formation of a cross for meditation. He stepped into the side room
to do some miracles and healings for a few people while we settled
into the hall for meditation. After a while he suddenly stepped into
the hall and started chanting a new mantra to us. It was as if he’d
gone into his cosmic laboratory and emerged with a magical formula.
He had to share his new creation with us before it could vanish, back
into the cosmos.

We love him so much. He’s a lot of fun and unbelievably masterful.

Out of nowhere one evening he casually mentioned that he was
going to bring a dead bird back to life, to demonstrate the miraculous
use of divine energy.

The next night he did just exactly that. The night turned out to be a
huge teaching, and everyone present received the intense cosmic
God energy of that spectacular miracle.

132 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

But this path is not always easy or fun. There is always the constant
process of inner change, inner growth and purification. Swami,
through some simple teasing, or whatever other means it may take,
becomes the catalyst for this process. It is like being in turbo psy-
chotherapy; and as difficult as this can be, a student can quickly
transform and get on with the work of the heart and the soul.

One time in Hampi we began a new practice. During the first few
days of this I was in a constant state of heartbreak and didn’t know
how long I could sustain it. Everything I saw or experienced broke my
heart. This is part of the process as Swami’s student; the heart aches,
then heart is broken, then it melts into even deeper love.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - NANCY FENGLER 133

In this cycle the hearts’ capacity to experience love continually
expands. Then, as the love capacity increases, so does the healing
capacity, because more of God’s energy can pass through; you can
hold more, generate more, attract and send more energy. I learned
that it is through love that everything happens, in this process with
Swami Kaleshwar.

He is so many things, so loving and compassionate. He is your father,

your mother, your brother and best friend. And he is also a strong and
tough master, but can quickly become a lamb. He will sleep on the
floor of the temple to share his divine energy with his students as they
meditate or sleep, or he will gently place a blanket over a sleeping
child as he passes through the temple.

His ashram is the sweetest place on Earth. One night, as I descended

the steps down to the temple to meditate, I could hear some beautiful
singing. When I arrived at the doors of the temple I could see Swami
sitting in his rocking chair. He was rocking back and forth and singing
a glorious mantra to everyone in the hall. I had never heard him sing
like this before, so loud and clear and strong. It was a prayerful mantra
that I had never heard before, but will now never forget.

I quickly put down my blankets and sat down to meditate, but I could
not. I was so moved by the devotional melody, the sound of Swami’s
sweet voice, by him singing so lovingly to us. It came straight from
his divine soul. I had to just sit there and look at his form, rocking in
his chair in the barely lit temple. I sat and wept, silently thanking
him for this blessing, hoping to never forget the vision and sound and
the sweet energy of this moment.

After Swami stopped singing he laid down in front of the murti to sleep,
at Shirdi Baba’s feet. At some point I decided to meditate. Eventually I
slipped into a reverie and could only be in a consciousness that includ-
ed Swami. I felt his energy as I have so many times in meditation.

134 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

But soon I was no longer thinking of him or feeling his energy. I was
in his energy. And he was now the embodiment of the Mother
Divine, and I just drifted in his love. His soul is pure love. My heart
poured forth love to him, and I spent the rest of the night in Heaven.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - NANCY FENGLER 135

 V I RG I N I A G R AY

M E ET I N G S WA M I
Two and a half years ago my brother invited my mother and I to
attend a course that Swami was giving. I had heard that he could
manifest the Vibhuti ash, a sweet smelling ash that is used for heal-
ing and that he had manifested many gifts. A friend who had met
many Indian saints was telling me how powerful his meditations had
become since Swami had given him a personal mantra. He also told
me that Swami did a process with him and a few others where Swami
had him manifest Vibhuti. From all that I had heard, I couldn’t wait
to meet him.

When I arrived at my brother’s house I hugged my brother, his wife,

and their daughters. Then there was this beautiful man standing
there dressed in a long orange beautiful silk gown. I knew this was the
Swami my brother had spoken so lovingly about.

136 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

He had told me that he was a “modern Swami”. I wondered how to
greet him and Swami walked up to me, said “Hello” and just shook
my hand. I thought wow, a saint that would shake my hand. The
other Indian saints that I have met do not greet people like this.

That night we took a long walk to Muir beach. Swami enfolded my

eighty year old mother’s arm in his to help her along. It was so very
sweet. It was cold out and he radiated heat to keep us all warm. I felt
so hot I had to take my jacket off in weather that normally I would
have had to bundle up in. We had many laughs that evening, as is
usual around Swami.

Then we attended his course in Mill Valley where he manifested

many necklaces and lingams for people. It was incredible and amaz-
ing, something I had never seen before. He even pulled out of the fire
a lingam and necklace. His hand was clearly in the fire and was not
burned. It became so normal to see these manifestations. Yet, I felt
very fortunate and blessed to be in the presence of this divine being
and to witness the things he did.

At the end of the course, Swami did the most outstanding miracle.
We were sitting in meditation for two hours in a deep trance when
Swami went around the room with divine ash, Vibhuti, shooting out
of his hands. My mother had opened her eyes and watched him. She
said, “There was ash flying everywhere, shooting across the room.”
When Swami came to me I felt that his hands were right above my
head showering Vibhuti down on me. I lost all feeling of being in my
body and could only feel these powerfully high divine vibrations.
Then my soul went straight out through the top of my head. It was
such a wonderful divine experience. My mother and sister-in-law also
had the same experience. Then we all knew what a great master he
was and I knew that he could guide me to experience God in my life.
We all felt so thankful and blessed to be in his presence. After this I
was yearning to go to India to study with him

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - VIRGINIA GRAY 137

I had seen a great many women receiving necklaces on this course.
Some women even received necklaces that actually changed colours
to their favourite colour. Well, I wanted something too. At the very
end of the second day of the course just before leaving, he comes out
and walks down the stairs with both hands down and with his palms
forward. There was nothing in his hands. Then he stopped and swung
his right hand around and around in front of me on the stairs. Then
he opened his hand and there was a brown seed he had manifested.
He handed it to me and told me to meditate with it. It was a treas-
ured gift that he was giving a meditation tool since I had been medi-
tating for hours each day. He had definitely touched my heart.

I was so ecstatically happy to hear I was invited to attend a course

being given by Swami in India. I stayed in India for six months. We
went to holy places and received many blessings in the holy temples.
It was a treat to sit on the bus with Swami and his divine energy. I
would feel powerful love and divine sweetness around him. It is
always special to be near him or to have his attention.

During this course Swami invited me and a friend to have lunch at a

devotee’s home. It was so funny. After eating, we were sitting and
talking when Swami asked a doctor, “Where are your keys?” He
checked his pocket and they were gone. He looked everywhere for
them and they were nowhere to be found. Then Swami pulled them
out of his own pocket. “Oh, are these your keys?” Then the conver-
sation went on and Swami later said, “Are your keys in your pocket?”
He checked, and to his amazement there were his keys, back in his
own pocket. The next morning, Swami said the doctor had called
him telling him he was worried because he couldn’t find his keys and
Swami had told him they were in the toilet.

Swami had asked me to come to Penukonda to visit. He was so sweet;

he opened up his whole home to me. He said, “You can sleep in my
living room where there is more of a breeze.”

138 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

This was so amazing to me that this great saint, who has the same
powers as Jesus, is offering his home to another person. Other saints
I have met are not this sharing. My heart was so touched with his
divine sweetness. I felt so blessed.

That night he slept outside under the stars. I was hardly able to sleep
because the energy was so strong. In the morning we were in the med-
itation hall next to the Shirdi Baba statue when Swami asked “What
would you like?” I said I wanted a rudraksha bead like the one he had
given a friend of mine. This friend is a massage therapist and he had
given her a gigantic rudraksha bead that had more divine energy than
any other I have ever held. So he waved his arm around and around
and then a ten eyed Rudraksha bead appeared and he gave it to me.
He told me, “If you drop it on the ground, it will disappear.”

I slept with the bead in my hand that night. I had heat throughout my
hands all the way up to my elbows. It was especially strong in the hand
with the bead. He gave me that bead and told me to wear it at certain
times. It holds a special divine charge of energy that charges me.

The next day I had to wear it and have free use of my hands so he told
me to wrap it in a knot on my Sari. So I did this and later I dropped
that part of the Sari with the bead and it landed on a piece of furni-
ture. I was really frightened that I might loose this treasured gift.

So later I asked, “Oh Swami, can’t you do something to keep it from

disappearing if it drops? Please Swami, you must make this to where
it will not disappear.” And so he said, “Let me see it,” and then he
took it, said some mantras, and then threw it down on the ground
right next to Baba and said “It’s done. It will not disappear.”

Next he asked me to hold my hand out. Then he waved his arm

around and around; and then he rubbed his thumb and forefinger
together and ash came out of his fingers into the palm of my hand.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - VIRGINIA GRAY 139

He then put his hand up and said, “Pick a finger.” I picked the mid-
dle finger which represents sky. So he started waving his hand around
and around and then a stone appeared in my hand. His hands were
nowhere near mine and it didn’t just drop there. It appeared out of
nowhere in my hand.

It was a beautiful purple stone, an amethyst, with a lot of pink in it.

I had admired a stone like this earlier in the trip and had wanted to
find an amethyst like that one. It happens to be my birthstone. It was
amazing that he should have manifested the exact stone I had
desired. It had more brilliance of colour than those in the states. He
said it was blue and that sometimes I would be able to see the colour
of the sky in it and that it had control on the four elements. Purple is
considered blue in India because in their language blue covers a range
of blue into purple.

On another trip to Penukonda, Swami was holding a miracle evening

with the Indian devotees. We came into the Mandir. Swami was sit-
ting with about forty Indian devotees in front of him. He motioned
us to sit on the other side where we could see. Swami would call one
devotee at a time to come up. They would talk a little. Then he
would call their wives and children to come up too. Swami had given
these devotees special little boxes that they were to meditate with.
They saw that nothing was in the box except maybe a little ash when
they had received it. They knew they had to keep it closed and med-
itate with it daily until this miracle day.

One by one Swami called each person and their family up to him. He
would talk with them about their practices and their lives and then he
would ask for their box. Then he would play with the box hitting it with
his finger, turning it over, hitting it again. Listening to it, hitting it
again, shaking it and then when it was ready, he would open it. Inside
there was a special gift in each box. There were many miracles all with-
in a couple of hours. These were very sweet gifts for his devotees.

140 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

One time in Sri Sailam, a friend of mine had been told to go down to
the lake, get some sand and cover it with a cloth. He did this and then
Swami had him meditate with this sand several different times. Then
Swami called everyone together one afternoon to watch this big plate
of sand. Swami took the cloth off the sand and then said, “Everyone
look; Have you all seen this?” Everyone says, “Yes.” Then he covered
the sand back up with the cloth and said some mantras. Then the
cloth was removed and this sand had become red kum kum right in
front of us. Kum kum is the red powder which women in India use to
put on their third eye. It signifies the divinity within women. Some
was given to everyone there. It was another divine gift from Swami.

Sometimes Swami sleeps in the meditation hall close to where his

students are sleeping. This is a special gift that he gives his students
because he radiates divine energy. If he is close to me and his energy
is not blocked by someone else, my body fills with this high vibration
of blissful energy.

When I travelled with Swami and my brothers, he would sometimes

let the Indian devotees, who were there serving him, sleep in the
same room as he. This is a great blessing for them and shows the love
and humbleness of Swami.

After this, he began sleeping in the hall with his students. It is very
sweet. His nature is very loving and compassionate to share his divine
energy to enlighten the souls of others. I have been around other
Indian saints and it is rare to find a saint who will share so much.

In Sri Sailam two years ago, I watched Swami materialise a Shiva

lingam. Ramakrishna who is very tall and has large hands was to
catch it coming out of Swami’s mouth. We were chanting when
Swami began spitting up blood. Much blood came up, much more
than expected and we were hoping we had enough cloth.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - VIRGINIA GRAY 141

For Swami, it was just like giving birth to a baby – very painful. The
lingam, when it is ready, starts moving up from the stomach through
the oesophagus and out the mouth. There was much blood that came
up before it ever came out of the mouth.

Ramakrishna who was trying to catch it was following Swami. It was

very dark outside. Swami was moving around, bending over in pain
and moving about moaning. Ramakrishna looked like he was danc-
ing from one place to another as Swami was moving around in pain.
His hands cupped together with a cloth on them. There he was mov-
ing from here to there to there to there moving his hands up then
down, up then down, up then down as Swami was moving. Finally it
came. It was an exciting experience. We were happy it was clearly
captured on video and that Swami didn’t have to suffer any more
pain. It was very important that the lingam was caught because if an
atma lingam ever touches the ground then it will disappear.

It is a great gift to the world that Swami delivers these lingams with
his great compassion. We have heard him say, “I am never giving
birth again to another lingam. This is the last one.” Just like that, a
mother after she has given birth says “I never want to do this again.”
And then like a mother with her great love Swami changes his mind
and wants to give another.

After my first trip to India, I went home and taught a meditation course
before Christmas. I had about eleven or twelve students and I talked
about meditation and India for some two hours and then we meditated.

I gave shaktipat which is a spiritual transmission of energy that awak-

ens a person’s spirituality. They all loved it and most people there saw
light in their third eyes. Afterwards, I felt as though I had experi-
enced a great spiritual awakening. Many blessings were flowing from
God for doing this service.

142 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

On Swami’s birthday, in January 1999, it was very crowded in the
ashram and there was much entertainment. Many Americans,
Germans and Japanese had come. On the evening of his birthday, it
seemed as though there were a thousand Indian devotees in the Baba
Mandir. On this evening, Swami decided that he was going to give
me and a friend an angel experience. To prepare us, he had us sit for
hours doing meditation in selected places. Then we were called to his
room. He had us check to make sure the two doors were locked. Then
he gave us a new mantra and instructions of what to do when the
angel came. He had us begin by meditating and told us to open our
eyes when we heard the angel speaking. I was in a heavy trance so
when the angel spoke, I could not hear her. I heard Swami tell me
loudly in my ear, “Open your eyes.”

When I opened my eyes I saw an Indian goddess in physical form nine

feet in front of me. She looked just like the Indian goddesses in the
pictures. She was perfect in every way. She was dressed in a red sari
with a gold headdress, gold belt, gold arm bands and gold bracelets.
She looked absolutely perfect, too perfect to be from this world and
she was not from this world. She was so beautiful and she stood with
her hands in a blessing stance. One hand was up with the palm giv-
ing blessings and the other hand was in a down position, palm for-
ward, giving blessings. She had come in from another dimension into
physical form. I was in a deep trance doing my best to remember what
I was suppose to do.

Swami had briefed us in advance as to what would happen. As usual

nothing occurred as it was suppose to be. It had all changed due to cer-
tain circumstances. Swami spoke to her in the most loving voice.
After we had finished the process with the goddess standing up,
Swami had us lie down on our backs. Then she and Swami came over.
She was kneeling and bending over me. With her face one foot above
mine, she looked straight down into my eyes for a short period of time.
She was just peering into my eyes with love. It was so divinely sweet.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - VIRGINIA GRAY 143

Afterwards, Swami told us that we had so much shakti energy from
the angel that he wanted us to go and give shaktipat to everyone here
by putting our palm down on the top of their heads for a few seconds.
They were all meditating in their rooms at that time. The next day
people were thanking me for the shaktipat. Some people said their
crown chakras had opened. Others who had never gone through spir-
itual experiences said they really felt a powerful opening. It was all so
normal and yet very extraordinary.

On my birthday last year, Swami told me the day before that he was
giving me two boons and that I was to be ready with what I wanted.
So I thought and thought. I discussed it with friends and they were
telling me, “Oh no, you can’t ask for that.” Well, asking others was a
mistake. Swami always teaches, “Don’t depend on others for your
decisions. Always listen to your heart and ask yourself what you
want.” You can always ask for what you want.

So on my birthday, Swami gathered the whole group together of

about thirty people, and asked me what I wanted for my boons. He
was radiating huge energy. I told him of my discussion with a friend.
He did not want to hear that. He said, “Tell me what you want.” So
I said, “God, to be one with God and to see the Self in all others.”
Then he said he could give me Sat Chit Ananda. Chit means con-
sciousness and ananda means bliss. It is a state of blissful conscious-
ness. And then he suggested something great for the other boon
which had to do with developing greater faith. I tried to think of
something better than what he was thinking, but I just couldn’t
think. I was completely in a trance, so I just accepted whatever it was
he said. It sounded good and I always know he has my best interest at
heart. The energy was so high and I felt so much love from Swami. I
was so thankful for the boon of Sat Chit Ananda and the other boon
as well. People were surprised that Swami would give Sat–Chit–
Ananda for a boon.

144 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

For the Sat Chit Ananda I was suppose to go to Sri Sailam to receive
a teaching from him that would bring that experience. However, one
day I told Swami about a powerful meditation experience I had in
Hampi, a holy town in India, and he said, “Oh, you got it, you got the
Sat Chit Ananda.” And then he gave me a new practice right there
on the porch. That night I was full of the bliss of God.

In this powerful meditation that I had told Swami about, the mantra
had become very subtle and then I was experiencing a point. From
that point I could feel huge power that reverberated out in waves. I
felt a great surge of power, more than ever before in my life. I had no
awareness of my body at all and felt that my soul was going to come
out or had come out the top of my head for a moment. I was in a bliss-
ful trance for a long time.

Swami is an incredible master. I can feel him work on me from a dis-

tance as well as in a room without even touching me. He has called
me and asked me to do certain prayers at a certain time. I could feel so
much tremendous energy while he was working on me from a distance.

One time he sent me to Hampi for a process. I was in a temple with

other people who were visiting. He was talking to someone and it felt
like he was working on me at that same time. I could feel my heart
being rearranged. Then a little later, we went for a ride in his car and
he told me on the way to a temple, that his work was done and I could
now go back to Penukonda. I keep telling him, “I want to learn to do
what you do.” He is so masterful, much more so than any of the other
enlightened Indian masters I have been with or met. And I truly
believe it takes lifetimes as a master to do what he does and he has
spent many lifetimes as a master.

Another time I came to Penukonda and stayed in the room on the top
floor until my brother John arrived shortly. On the morning he arrived,
Swami had given me the seva of leaving at four thirty in the morning

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - VIRGINIA GRAY 145

to pick him up. It was a nice gift to go and pick him up. I set two alarm
clocks to wake me at four o’clock. At three thirty I heard a knock on
the door and then the most beautiful angelic singing to awaken me.
Swami had sent some angels to wake me up. It was very sweet.

My life has completely changed from the moment I met Swami. He

is a master at working with people. It makes me realize how much I
have changed. In subtle ways he helps people eliminate their pride,
jealousy, egoism, and anger. He teaches us that if you are upset, you
feel it and let it go. Focus on something else. You must have an
adjusting nature. This means accepting what happens to you. If you
are not hanging on then you are free.

146 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 M AY U R I

I grew a big dream to send an arrow to Swami. To offer something

that would align with his mission to spread his messages to the world.
I took aim and with my deepest heart’s desire I compiled a book of all
his healing techniques and spiritual teachings that I had received in
1997. At this time there were no formalized writings on Swami’s
teachings in print. I was a brand new student, with less than one year
behind me. And as they say, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

I spent unlimited hours rereading my many notes again and again and
again trying to understand the deep meaning behind his words. Then
I listened to hundreds of hours of his tapes reliving every moment
that I had spent with him over the past one and a half years. It took
me four months to complete it. Wow, I did it. It was an enormous task
direct from my heart; something that had my deepest feelings
attached to it. I felt proud and accomplished.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - MAYURI 147

I was so happy to return to India to present it to him. My heart was
thumping as he sat in his chair in front of Baba looking through it.
He looked very surprised and pleased “ooo, uum, hum.” I wondered if
he really thought it was a worthy offering or whether he was just
being nice. I put that thought aside returning to my high feeling of
sharing the moment with him. But deep inside I was curious if my
arrow had hit its mark.

For two months he never mentioned the book. I thought, perhaps he

just needed some time to look it over. I imagined that one beautiful
day he would sit with me at his swing, like I saw him do with other
select students, to discuss some points about it – what to change,
what to correct, things to make it better, useful – maybe even making
it a working tool for others. I was already onto my new dream.

Then one afternoon as a large group of us were sitting under the tree
listening to another one of Swami’s rapturous talks, he brought up the
story of Eckalavya from the Mahabharata.

It’s a compelling story that shows the power of the master’s energy
and how a low caste tribal boy, who was not permitted to learn from
such a great master, hooked the master’s (Dronacharya) energy with-
out being in his presence. The story has a strange twist. Even though
the tribal boy, Eckalavya becomes a greater archer than the master’s
best student, Arjuna, the master promises Arjuna that he will make
him the greatest archer in the universe.

So, being a tricky master Drona devises a plan that will fulfil his
promise. He asks the tribal boy for a special dakshina (the student’s
gift to the master). He asks for the thumb on the boy’s right hand,
which will destroy the boy’s desire, and his whole life as an archer.
The boy’s devotion is supreme. He obeys immediately and cuts off
his thumb. The master achieves his goal but his conscience feels
badly for the boy.

148 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

He balances his karma by giving the boy a special boon. From the
power of his meditation, he gives the boy enlightenment and in the
entire student kingdom in the future, all students who hook strongly
to the energy of the master will also get the enlightenment.

It’s such a poignant story and one that ironically has always held a
deep relevance to me because it’s the same story my Indian kathak
dance guru urged me for years to perform. It paralleled, on one level,
my love and devotion with my teacher and the dance.

As my mind went off into that thought, the next thing I remember
Swami saying was how John’s latest book was a big missile doing
Swami’s work in America. Then, he briefly mentioned my book but
summarized it by saying it had many mistakes. I was stunned. Then
he turned to Ramakrishna, and told him he should write the book on
his mantras. It was not so much what he said but the energy behind
it that sent an arrow straight to my ego, cracking it wide open, making
me feel like a big zero! That was it, my book was obliterated.

After his talk, I went and sat alone thinking about his statement and
feeling worse and worse and worse. It was hard for me to know why I
was even feeling so bad. My intention from the beginning was to pres-
ent the book as an offering to him, not to expect something from it. But
here I was experiencing so much hurt and pain in my heart. Why was
I suffering so badly? My monkey mind made the doubts grow bigger and
bigger by repeating inside my head, “Is it really because the book has
some mistakes or is it because you are not worthy enough to write a
book of his work?” And on and on and on the nagging voice grew.

It grew so loud inside that I had to completely isolate myself from

everyone. I stayed hidden with my face down on my bed for two days
crying and crying and crying. I never cried like this in my life. I was
so surprised at my self, why this was affecting me so much. I could not
find any way out, no way to stop my doubting self, my wounded pride.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - MAYURI 149

On the third day, still lying on my bed, after everyone had gone off
for a talk with Swami, everything around me became peacefully still.
Then, mysteriously, something simply, let go. I dropped down into a
deep place inside myself where nothing mattered; all was equal. It
was a huge feeling of relief. As I lay there absorbing this most won-
derful tranquil state, I heard the most beautiful singing coming
through my ears.

The purest softest angelic female voice was singing the guru mantra,
“Guru Brahmha, Guru Vishnuhu, Guru Devo Maheshwaram, Guru
Sakshat Parabrahmham, Tasmai Sri Guru Vena Namaha.” She contin-
ued singing it over and over and over again. Her singing put me into
a trance. I lied there timelessly soaking it in, floating peacefully in her
voice of love and grace. Slowly, slowly I became aware of the singing
as being outside myself and I realized that there was no one else in the
room but me. But I could not open my eyes. The feeling of softness
and godliness was so close I dared not interrupt it.

As the moments passed, my curiosity forced me to open my eyes.

Instantly the singing was gone, the presence evaporated. But she left
an incredible memory in my heart, in my soul. She cleaned my heart
of all its sadness. She washed away all my doubts and feelings of rejec-
tion. I felt transformed in a very natural and true way. Slowly I start-
ed to move around. I washed my face from the two days of tears. I
emerged back into the life outside myself.

The next day Swami was giving a talk. He asked me, “Mayuri, did
Swami hurt you?” Feeling his energy directing me by remote control,
I answered, “No.” Then he said, “Did you hurt yourself?” Still held by
his remote, I answered “Yes.”

Then again the following day as I was passing Swami in the temple,
he said to me, “Who are you? What is your name? Who gave you your
name? Did you lose your job?”

150 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

His words zoomed in to me from out of left field. “What is he talking
about? What is his meaning?” I gave some mindless response, my
words still feeling on remote, coming from someone outside or was it
inside of myself.

For the next several days, I continued to feel undeniably different,

like a new person had just moved in and taken over. The sadness, all
the suffering had completely evaporated. More than that, it was as
though none of it had ever been there at all. Like when you have a
baby and you immediately forget the pain once you see the baby and
feel that tremendous love and happiness. Everything truly had been
washed away and I was floating in an ocean of euphoria.

The finale came one day later, as Swami and a small group of us were
waiting for everyone to arrive for his talk. He casually glanced at me
out of the side of his eye and said in his soft, melodious voice, “Mayuri
dived into the ocean.” My mind drew a blank, it could not catch the
depth of his meaning but his arrow went direct to my heart, to my
soul. He hit the target. A huge cosmic connection opened at that
moment followed by a big gap – then, suddenly a lightening bolt of
realization. I understood everything – the whole play came into view.
It was a perfect karma caper – the book, the set up, the lesson, the
miracle, the healing, and the deeper cosmic connection behind it all.
Only a supernatural avadhuta like Swami, could master mind all the
elements to create a perfect lila (divine play) tailored for the benefit
of one small bug, Mayuri.

My deepest love and blessings to you Swamiji!

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - MAYURI 151

 M A R I E FO N TA I N E

T HE WHI TE NECK LAC E

Meeting Swamiji in Los Angeles was an opening into a new way of
being. It was a deep look into the world of the miraculous. I sat with
a group of fifty people. A number of them had been with him previ-
ously, but there were also many new students. Not knowing quite
what to expect, we all waited in high anticipation. The yurt was filled
with flowers; a fragrant oasis – perched high on the cliffs overlooking
the sea. A pathway of rose petals lay at our feet, aglow with candles
and incense. We sat in hushed suspense, awaiting his arrival.

What seemed hours passed. Then as though floating on a cloud, he

‘wafted in’, his feet barely touching the ground. He shattered every
preconception I had of Indian masters! He was in his early twenties,
with short-cropped raven hair and flashing white teeth. His orange
robe blazed in the sunlight, its vibrancy filling the room!

152 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

A grace and elegance were inherent in every gesture. His smile dis-
armed us completely, dissolving any traces of the fatigue of our long
wait in the scorching sun. We watched in admiration as he wove his
beautiful teachings between miraculous headings and manifestations
of sacred ash. His stories and laughing banter charmed us, keeping us
utterly fascinated. We were all completely stunned by him. He did
miracle after miracle, manifesting beautiful healing objects, malas,
lingams and stones. He gave several people ‘magic boxes’. These held
special gifts, which later changed from one object into another over
a period of time. Learning the Brahma Kundalini Nadi teachings, a
part of his sacred healing system, was an incredibly beautiful experi-
ence. The powerful vibration of these ancient Sanskrit words filled
the room with their energy. Nobody wanted it to end.

There was to be another workshop in San Francisco in a few days and

many students wanted to attend. I was very fortunate to be able to
continue. For me it was in San Francisco that the ‘reality’ of Swami’s
miracles was stamped indelibly on my soul. I had been told that the
workshop was full, but Swami looked me directly in the eyes and said,
“I think I will be seeing you in San Francisco.” Taking him at his
word, I stayed on a few days, calling the workshop host to inquire
about coming. “Well”, he laughed, “you are in luck! Someone has just
cancelled! But since you have already had time with Swami at Malibu,
please be courteous and sit somewhere at the back. Leave a chance for
the new people to be close to him– no sitting at the gurus feet!”

I was oh so courteous when I arrived – so grateful to be there and so

happy! I sat quietly at the side of the room, my cushion on the floor,
waiting for the other spaces in front to fill. The chairs filled readily,
but no one was very interested in sitting cross-legged on the floor. At
last the workshop began and there was absolutely no one there on the
floor. I edged closer to be nearer to Swami, still staying to the side in
case some latecomer should arrive.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - MARIE FONTAINE 153

The day passed as if in a dream. The powerful meditations, showers
of vibhuti and Swami’s teachings filled us all to the brim with love! I
laughed when the next morning, the room had been set up different-
ly and my pillow had been placed at his feet. So I bathed in the bliss
and beauty of the powerful energy that radiated all around him. Soon
he began preparing us for a fire ceremony. It was to be held outside in
the garden. We filed out and being last, I took my place at the back.

The fire reached up into the sky as Swami chanted the beautiful
Sanskrit mantras. Then he asked each of us to each tell him our
favourite colour. “Red, orange, green…” the cries of the people grew
louder as he continued his chant. It was coming to my turn. I was pre-
pared to say blue, but an inner voice interrupted me. “Say white” my
inner guidance directed. “But my favourite colour is blue…” my mind
argued. “Say white!!” the inner voice insisted. He was looking hard
at me now- waiting for me to answer. “What is your favourite colour?
“White!” I squeaked. “What did you say?” His voice rang like thun-
der. “White!” I cried, my voice strong. He stopped still. “She is the
only person who said white! You! Come here! Sit by me!”

He placed me at his feet before the fire as he chanted and poured on

the blessings, the offerings and the ghee. The flames towered over my
head, reaching into the sky – into the inner dimensions of magic,
touching me deeply, blowing its flaming spires through my con-
sciousness. I fell into a trance, the flames taking me into the stillness
of another world. I don’t know how long I was there in that perfect
silence – perhaps several minutes. Then the roaring sounds of the fire
brought me back into focus. I opened my eyes once more.

The intense heat of the flames was searing my face, burning, burning.
I watched steadily as the flames rose higher. Then Swami plunged his
hands into the burning red coals! There were gasps from the onlook-
ers, as he pulled out a powdery handful of ash and held it over me.

154 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

The video cameras zeroed in on his hands as the pile of ash began to
form little round bumps glowing as red as the flames, slowly turning
white. The ashes disappeared into nothingness, leaving a beautiful
white necklace in their place. He held it up and with great force he
threw it to me. Something in me changed in that moment. I knew
there was no going back. People there told me that they noticed the
necklace continue to change slowly throughout the afternoon. Its
beads became more and more refined. I have worn it always from that
time – a treasured gift of my beloved guru.

To describe the beauty of Swami’s presence is impossible. His gifts are

truly divine. The powerful shakti pot, a gift of his energies that he
bestows on his devotees by touching their third eye, brings them deep
inner experiences. Clouds of vibhuti and beautiful objects manifest
spontaneously from his graceful palms. But these ‘outer material man-
ifestations’ are not his true gift. He says, they are only ‘chocolates’ to
make us happy and to ‘bring us to him.’ His mastery as he works on
those near him is remarkable. Whether it is through some form of
‘loving torture’ or as gentle as a mother’s caress, he always finds the
places that need to be touched and healed. He often answers each
person’s thoughts as though his words were meant for their ears alone.

“Sometimes when I am talking here to this one”, he says, “my focus

is really over there.” He points out at an angle to the side. “I am
always working to bring the soul up, up.” This true gift of healing and
cleansing of the soul, he bestows on his devotees “without their
notice” in the wee hours of his morning meditations. “I know when
the best time is to be working on them,” he says, “It is not when we
are talking.”

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156 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 L I F E W I T H S WA M I J I I N I N D I A
The Ashram in Penukonda is like a world set apart. The white tem-
ple surrounded by lush gardens is set against the side of a beautiful
mountain. This holy mountain has many caves that have been the
home of saints for hundreds of years. A powerful sacred energy sweeps
down the mountainside, flowing through the temple and over the
grounds of the ashram. Swami has taken great care in building the
ashram to be sure the vastu or energy angles are exactly right, so that
these energies are the most beneficial to the people who come here.
Vastu is very important to Swamiji. He walks among the new con-
struction, watchfully taking care of everything from the largest design
plans of the new buildings to the smallest details. He has had large
walls removed and rebuilt a few feet to one side- just to make sure the
angles for the flow of the energy are exactly right. Those few feet
make a huge difference. Swamiji is a master of energy.

Watching first hand the way Swami works with his devotees, his
powerful headings and miracles, his care and attention to each detail
of life is a powerful teaching in itself. Even ordinary things become
extraordinary in his presence.

Sometimes in the evenings, we sit before the fire, listening to his sto-
ries. Whether serious talks or laughing banter – his words always have
some deeper level of meaning. He is constantly working on those
near him in the most loving way. Late in the night he sits alone at
the fire, as the faces of his devotees come before his minds eye. One
by one and he checks in with them and sends his love, answering
their souls needs.

Swami works closely with us in ways unheard of by other masters. At

night he often calls us into the temple to meditate. We sit for hours
with our blankets and sleeping pads. One by one we fall into trance
in a deep state between meditation and dream.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - MARIE FONTAINE 157

Sometimes he lays there in the temple at Baba’s feet, his head wrapped
in a red scarf, showing he is ‘on duty’ – just giving his energy out into
the room. It is a holy sight. We may awaken in the night, covered in
vibhuti or feel his soft touch on our foreheads as he gives us shaktipat,
speeding our progress on our souls journey to God. It is a divine bless-
ing to sleep on the floor of the temple, feeling his energy and presence.

During the day you will see Swami surveying the grounds, his prince-
ly form easily recognizable from a distance. His attention on his
workers, his staff and his students is meticulous. His ‘boys’ are always
taken care of in whatever way is needed, whether medical, their per-
sonal problems, marriages or housing. He cares for them like his own
children.

His students are watched over with the same loving attention. He is
continuously monitoring our progress, even as he casually passes by.
Once I was in the garden and had just had the most ecstatic experi-
ence in my meditation. I had reached a new level in my awareness,
but as I came out of the trance, my mind began to doubt. I opened my
eyes to see Swami walking by with a big smile on his face. He gave
me the thumbs up signal! He had ‘seen’ my meditation and wanted to
let me know that it had ‘really happened’. He is like that. Each per-
son is encouraged in a different way.

F U L L M O O N DAY S
Full moon days are a time when Swamiji takes care of hundreds –
sometimes thousands of his devotees. As the full moon approaches,
the hall begins to fill with huge crowds of people – all wanting a
word, advice, healing or help in some way. Their mats cover the floor
of the temple and all the side rooms as they patiently await their
interviews. Sometimes there is an overflow into the grounds and they
wait under plastic tarps in the rain. Always Swamiji is concerned for
their well-being. If needed, food is provided for them.

158 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

There are the very rich and the very poor. All wait together for his
time and attention, each hoping for something, some wish, some need
to be fulfilled. And Swami is there to give and give and give, some-
times sitting for hours and hours without moving, seeing one person
after the other. When there are too many to see each one individual-
ly, he puts them in groups and has them meditate or do prayers while
they wait. Days go by, two or three days it lasts, until the last person
has gone, receiving his blessing and all that he has to offer, given from
the depths of his boundless love. It is incredible to watch.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - MARIE FONTAINE 159

 A N YA D ’A Z EV E D O ROS E N

LIF E IN P E N U KO N DA
Swami lives in a very simple way. He says that all he wants are a few
sweet fruits, and a few good students. That is what makes him happy.
He sleeps on his cot every night by the sacred fire pit that is built
right in front of the temple. We are always watching to see when he
goes out there. Is he alone? Can we go to say something? Is he very
busy? Should we leave him in peace?

The fire pit is set on a huge granite terrace amidst trees and bushes.
And at night he sits under the beautiful sky filled with stars, staring
into the fire. He is usually accompanied by two of the ashram dogs
who snuggle at his feet and under his bed. Sometimes while they are
lying there he will rub them with his feet, sort of absentmindedly, and
sometimes, absentmindedly they climb into his bed to sleep with him.

160 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

When suddenly they bark he scolds, holding up his finger in a “no!”
and saying, “Hey, hey hey!”

He sees many people by that fire in the evening, his staff, his devo-
tees and visitors. But later, when everyone has gone to bed, he sits or
lies, looking into the fire, meditating for the whole night. Finally
about five or four in the morning he goes to his rooms to sleep away
from the noise at the start of a new day.

Sometimes Swami looks at us and says, “I’m going into the temple
tonight to meditate, will you be there?” We all say immediately, “Yes.”
Then, if it is evening and getting close to meditation time, maybe ten
at night, we all rush to get our mattresses and put them as close as pos-
sible to the altar, making sure to leave a space for Swami. We place a
mattress for him sometimes, but often when he comes he just lies on
the floor on his favourite towel. And then we all meditate, frequently
just lying down, and waiting for him to come. We love him more than
anything, and to have this little family of his all sleeping in the tem-
ple around him is an incredible sensation. Sometimes he comes right
away, and sometimes he comes in the middle of the night. Everyone
knows at once when he has arrived because you can feel his energy
radiating out to fill the temple. It is so sweet to look up and see him
there in front of Baba, doing his work. He lets us be with him like a
little troop of gypsies. Sleeping here and there, meeting under this tree
and in that field, leaving at a moment’s notice for this or that temple
town. It is the sweetest, simplest life that he lives, and that he lets us
share with him. It is heaven.

IMPRESSION
One night we were sleeping in the temple as usual. Swami was in and
out, either by his fire on his outside bed or back in his room. He is
always wandering around with great purpose throughout the night. It
must have been about two or three in the morning.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - ANYA D’AZEVEDO ROSEN 161

I had just begun to turn over and I looked up to see Swami standing
over me. I saw his form get larger and larger as though it expanded into
the universe – he seemed to be infinite and forever. I also had the dis-
tinct impression that he looked down at me with infinite compassion
tinged with great sadness, as though a mother looked at her helpless
child lying there. The sadness of one who knows all there is to know
and sees you still caught in the web of your own ignorance. It was very
deep and moving. He leaned down and touched me on the forehead
and then went around to the others who were sleeping.

I got up soon after to go to my room. As I passed his room I saw that

his door was open and from inside came the sounds of a glorious
Beethoven quartet – totally unusual as Swami almost always listens to
Indian music. The music poured out from his room, with a kind of infi-
nite yearning sadness which seemed to mirror the feeling that I had
from him in the temple and I burst into tears. It was as if Swami
revealed to me a part of himself that he keeps well hidden. A deep well
of feeling I have only heard him mention, once or twice, in passing.

S ILE NCE
One afternoon we sat with Swami under his tree while he was in his
swing. It was very peaceful and quiet. Two of his students came up
and asked to sit with him. One of them said in a very purposeful voice
as he sat down, “Swami, what are the mechanics of healing? You have
been teaching us about healing and you haven’t really explained how
it happens. What is really going on?”

It was totally quiet. We were all wondering what would happen, how
Swami would respond. Swami was looking down as though thinking
deeply and profoundly about the question, but then very, very slowly,
his head fell to one side, his eyes closed and he went into a huge trance
right in front of us. The student was sort of still questioning but we all
just closed our eyes and felt an enormous peace and silence descend.

162 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

The wind blew sweetly, the birds played around in the trees, but
everything was still and deep and silent. This incredibly deep trance
went on for about forty-five minutes. Then Swami came out, opened
his eyes and sat there until we all literally, came to. It was so lovely
and peaceful just sitting there quietly with him.

A voice from behind piped up loudly, “So what’s the answer?”

Another voice responded, “That was the answer.” – Silence.

M E ET I N G S WA M I
I first met Swami in America about two and a half years ago. I saw
him as he walked into the room and I thought, “He isn’t real. He’s a
projection from another realm, a hologram of incredible energy.” I
really thought this. He looked vastly more than real, like one of those
incredible dreams you have where everything is more clear and bright
than anything in ordinary life.

Swami is the most loving and careful of teachers, and like your broth-
er, or your father or your closest of friends. He talks about anything,
and he knows about everything. When you are around him he is
always amazing you with what he knows about your daily life, about
your needs and your fears and whether you had your breakfast or not.
No detail is too small or too petty for him to think about. To me, that
is his unbelievable greatness, that he can be so intimately involved
with your life and at the same time be so vast and beyond everything
that you know. It is the perfect vantage point. He can see you, where
you are, and then see your soul and where you need to go. The love
that he has to be able to do this is greater than any I have ever expe-
rienced, and continually amazes me when I see him lovingly dwell on
some tiny detail of someone’s life, their food, their children, the kind
of shawl they are choosing.

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 THE M IRA CLE OF T HE B IRD
The miracle of the bird was one of the most beautiful things I have
ever experienced with Swami. It was a great miracle and it was a
teaching of enormous proportions for all of us about the rules of using
the energy and the deep meaning of surrender. It was a night of
supreme success and of failure. It was the night of the Master in his
element.

In order to bring something back to life it must be dead. And in order

to really have a complete circle of life and death and life, you have to
be the one to take life and give to it back. It is a serious matter.
Although Swami is a very happy, light-hearted person, he is totally
serious about his work and the consequences for the lives involved,
his students, the bird’s and himself. He is scrupulous and meticulous
about taking you to the moment when all of the energies come
together to make things happen. All of those energies come together
because of him. Because of his vast knowledge and his deep mastery
of the forces of nature and the souls of all beings.

Every player in this drama was important – the birds’ body and soul,
our souls and bodies, Swami’s soul and body. Each had to be handled
correctly. So, the first part of the drama was, who will kill the bird so
it can be brought back to life? Who will take the responsibility for
that act? Who will take the life so that the miracle can happen? Who
will shed the blood?

He asked us, sitting by the fire, who will kill the bird? You want to see
the miracle, who will do it? It is so beautiful, it is crying and crying.
Who will kill it so Swami can bring it back? Who?

People said, perhaps we shouldn’t do this, taking a life, it is selfish –

who are we to want this miracle at such a cost? And why do this mir-
acle anyway?

164 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Nancy said, “Okay, I’ll do it.” And Swami said, looking at her, “This
beautiful bird – crying and crying and crying…” and she backed
down. Every time someone would say they might do it, he would
paint a horrible picture of what would happen. No one could say yes.
Everyone was afraid of the consequences to themselves. After awhile
of putting everyone through this huge testing he finally said that
everyone had failed. Everyone had failed the test of faith – to say yes
regardless of what he asked. We were big fat failures all. That we had
no faith in him to take care of us, to take care of the bird, to take care
of everything. It was a big blow. We sat in silence.

After awhile of letting this sink in he said very well then, he would
do it. That it was a very special thing that he could only do once or
twice in his life. He would take the life and then give it back. So that
we could see the miracle – the energy. He would do it for us. A great
gift. That is our Swami. Unbelievably generous and kind hearted.
Giving always that extra something – the special something to his
students, his friends, so that they get as much as possible from every
situation, even if they miss the way.

The bird had been caught, it was waiting in his rooms. He proceeded
there and we went along with him. The next step was that he sent us
into the temple to meditate in front of Baba. Virginia was sent in to
meditate with the bird – to say beautiful prayers over it.

Then he divided us up – some to the fire outside to meditate – a few to

wait for the bird – I was one of those. He had each of us hold it when
it was brought out. It was a large pigeon and very much alive.. Very
calm. Its’ heart beating slowly for a birds’ heart, looking calmly around
as we passed it from hand to hand. Then he said, “Let’s go” and he lead
the way out into the fields, saying, “Who will hold the bird while I cut
its head?” I said, “I will” and he said, “Good” – and handed me the bird
as we followed him out under the stars in that very dark night over the
rough uncultivated earth to a large bush at the back of the property.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - ANYA D’AZEVEDO ROSEN 165

He stopped and said, “We need a little more privacy” and we went to
another larger bush and finally stood still there in the darkness. I
could see his eyes burning there in the night their energy was so
strong. There was some reflected light from the lights on the ashram
gardens so we could just faintly see one another and him. It was as
though everything had stopped and become very still. As though the
stars and the space above became part of us.

This was the moment when it started for me. Something shifted in
me to another place. Swami made me stand facing west, he was fac-
ing north. I held the body of the bird in my hands, still very much
alive, and Swami took the head. He yelled at me to stand in the right
place – so I moved closer – and I was sort of yelling too, “I am, I am”.
Then he took his knife and cut the birds head almost off. The blood
poured out. Then he made us all look at the bird saying, “Is it dead?
Look at the head, is it hanging?” We all looked, and I saw that
indeed, the bird’s head was hanging by a thin piece of skin still
attached to its neck. And then he had us walk with him, as he car-
ried the birds body, to a pool of water near the back boundary wall.
He said, “I’m holding the soul and now I’ll put it back. I have to do
soul and physical healing on the bird.”

We looked at the bird again – he was saying, sort of dancing around,

“See guys, I have nothing in my pockets, nothing up my sleeve” he
was laughing. Then he took his white scarf and whirled it, dipping it
in the pool of water, and wrapped it around the head of the bird. He
held the bird in both of his hands looking off into the night. It was
the supreme moment.

Everything was suspended. It was beyond life, beyond death, beyond

what I knew of anything. It was through a door into another reality,
a reality where all the energies of life seemed to be in his command,
as if the energies from all the stars and the whole of the universe were
in him and in his eyes and he held the power of life and death.

166 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

I also felt his tremendous compassion and love, very huge and all per-
vading. He stood for a long time staring out into the night, into the
sky as though sucking the energy from the heavens, the stars. Then
he looked down and breathed on the bird, blowing and blowing and
blowing his breath on its’ body. I could feel the energy like a silent
river. And then he unwrapped the scarf and the bird was suddenly
alive and whole, looking around just as it had been before.
Everything about it was intact and unruffled. There was something so
unbelievably ordinary about the whole thing. But it had blown open
a door to the infinite.

This was the answer to the question, “Why do the miracle?” To see
beyond the illusion of life and death. To see that the energy remains
the same, nothing dies, nothing comes back. That the soul dies not.
It was a huge gift of energy from Swami. Your eyes were seeing the
same usual things but you knew inside that everything had changed
completely. What had been unseen had moved to the front of your
attention. The soul was on the front of the stage for the first time.

He had us sit and meditate while he untied the birds’ legs. He had to
cut the string with his teeth and I peeked at him while I was medi-
tating. He had the bird up to his mouth chewing on the strings and
occasionally spitting out a feather or two with that same incredible
look in his eyes staring off into the night. And then he said, “Shall I
let it go? Let it go free?” We, of course all said, yes. He threw the bird
up into the night sky. It flew a bit and then came back to earth. He
said, “It’s the full night so it is sleeping. What can we do?” We all
said, “What about a tree Swami?” He thought for a moment and then
said, “Anya, take the bird and put it in a tree.” And he walked off
towards the temple with everyone.

I took the bird and found a small tree in the garden that I could reach
and seemed to offer protection and put the bird on a branch which it
grabbed with it’s feet and sat there very quietly just resting.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - ANYA D’AZEVEDO ROSEN 167

I walked up to the temple and Swami came asking where I had put
the bird and to show him. We walked back through the bushes to the
small tree and after he looked and saw that it was there and all right,
he said, “good”. And we walked back to the temple.

Everything was different. Everything was changed. It was among the

best of my experiences with Swami. The energy which he used and
which we experienced was so amazing that it truly altered my view of
him and the world. It was as though a door to another world opened
and would now never close. A place beyond life and death, beyond
my body and mind, beyond life as I had known it. The door had
opened to my soul, and I looked beyond and now I could never look
back, nor did I want to. Once I experienced that moment I have
wanted more, to walk further through that door, until I look back and
see from the side that Swami looks from. From that place of infinite
love and compassion which holds the keys to life beyond our know-
ing. From the eyes of the soul. I can only say with all my love forev-
er to him, to my Swami, thank-you.

168 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 C I N D Y R E N FO RT

B E WA R E OF T HE CO B R A S !
My first encounter with Swami was at his Ashram in Penukonda,
India. It was during the evening hours, of my first day there, when I
met him on the roof top. He was about to go down the stairs, but
stopped when he saw me. He told me to beware of the cobras (not to
go walking around the grounds after dark) it could be dangerous. My
eyes got very big and I immediately asked, "What do you do if you run
into a cobra?" Swami looked at me with a twinkle in his eyes and said,
"You grab them by the tail" Then he made the motions of wrapping
the cobra around himself, bringing the hood of the cobra up over the
top of his head. He had a huge smile on his face and was clearly hav-
ing great fun playing with my naiveté. I was a bit surprised by his play-
ful nature, joking on what I thought to be a such a serious matter! I
said, "Really Swami, what do you do?" He just smiled and said to be
careful at night. Then he gracefully descended down the stairs and
slipped out the door.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - CINDY RENFORT 169

 T H E S CO R P I O N B I T E
It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon when Swami drove into the
Ashram. A man from the village was running in behind Swami's car.
He appeared to be in a great deal of pain; he kept moving his body
around in jerky movements, unable to stand quietly. Apparently a scor-
pion had just bit him on the thumb while he was moving a pile of junk.

Swami went to sit in his basket swing and told the man to hold his
hand as close to the fire as he possibly could. He did this for around two
minutes. Then some men ran up to him and began massaging leaves
into his hand. This procedure lasted for another couple of minutes. The
man was then told to go and sit in front of Swami. His pain was clear-
ly intensifying as his body swayed back and forth. Swami remained very
calm. He held the man's thumb with his thumb and index finger for
approximately two minutes. During this time, the man's movements
were slowing down and he began to relax. All of a sudden, both Swami
and the man jumped up and began to walk towards the temple with big
smiles on their faces. The man was happily pointing from his shoulder
to his thumb, while moving his arm around testing it out.

That evening I asked Swami about the man. He was delighted that I
had witnessed the event. I asked what had happened and he replied
that the scorpion's poison had travelled up the man's arm to his
shoulder and that he was in extreme pain. He told me that he held
the man's thumb and sucked all of the poison out. He was totally
healed! What an amazing miracle.

N EG AT I V I T Y
One evening Swami came out and said that he wanted to do an
experiment with us. He said that for the next five days we were to
pick a flower and place it over our hearts when going to bed. He
intended to use the flowers to check our souls.

170 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Every morning I woke up and looked at my flower. The first three
mornings the flowers were wilted, but apart from that had not much
changed. On the fourth morning however, I woke up to the feeling that
huge love had been poured on me. I just lay in my bed, soaking up the
beautiful love energy – it was absolutely incredible. When I looked at
my rose, I was surprised to see it was a quarter of its original size and it
had completely dried up. “Hmmm, Swami must have done his work
last night.” I finally tore myself from my bed and began my day.

There was so much construction going on around the ashram. I tried

to meditate in various different places, however I just couldn’t focus.
The noise of tearing down walls, cutting marble, pouring cement –
loud sound was everywhere. I tried desperately to hold onto that
beautiful love, but as the day wore on, it began to fade away replac-
ing itself with negativity.

It was 4 pm – shower time. During my shower, I began to feel a great

frustration settle in. I wanted to ask Swami for help. When I got out,
Swami was nowhere to be seen. So I went upstairs and asked Terry if
he would like to take a walk with me. I bribed him with some enor-
mous, beautiful grasshoppers coloured in brilliant shades of blues, yel-
lows, reds and greens – a great treasure and I knew where they were.
Terry is always so nice and accommodating. He said, “Sure,” with a
big smile, “Show me.” So, off we went traipsing around the field,
checking out the exotic insects. I was complaining to poor Terry
about the decline in my day, from the morning’s beautiful love to the
noisy afternoon. He was so kind and understanding; I began to feel a
little bit better.

As we were walking back to our rooms, we saw Swami on the steps of

the temple. He stopped and asked, “ What are you doing?” I told him
I was feeling bad and that I had grabbed Terry for a walk around the
grounds. Swami said, “Oooo Terry, what is your phone number? I’d
better call Michelle and tell her.” We laughed.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - CINDY RENFORT 171

Then I asked Swami how to deal with negativity. I explained to him
how I had woken up with great love poured on me that morning. It
was so strong and beautiful that I wanted to hold onto it forever and
never let it go. However, the negativity had set in. I also told Swami
about the shrinking rose and asked him if he had been working on my
soul last night. He smiled and said, “Yes.” I said, “Swami, the noise is
really getting to me. I can’t meditate anywhere. Please teach me
about negativity.” Then, luckily for him, the phone rang. I said, “It is
OK, I will see you later.”

I felt very bad about complaining to Swami and dumping all of my

negative energy on him. It was not a very friendly thing to do. I was
disappointed in myself and I couldn’t wait to tell him how sorry I
was. Then I began to think about how I could take care of myself.
Why of course, it was so obvious. I know Swami’s Five Elements. I
will simply pick two roses and decharge into them while chanting
the earth mantra. So I picked two beautiful red roses and went
upstairs to meditate.

I sat peacefully on the rooftop, with a flower in each hand, chanting

away. When all of a sudden, someone snatched the rose out of my left
hand. It was quite a shock. I opened my eyes and looked around. To
my surprise, Swami was standing in front of me twirling my rose. I was
so happy to see him. I had felt so bad about my behaviour earlier that
afternoon and I desperately wanted to apologize. Swami is so sensitive
to our feelings; it wasn’t necessary for me to express them to him that
way. I told him how terribly sorry I was for dumping on him like that.
He said it was OK. I said it was not OK – it wasn’t a nice thing to do
and to please accept my apology. He said, “OK” but I will have to
bribe him for it.

So I said, “Swami, if you teach me about negativity, I will be able to

take care of myself and I won’t let the dumping happen again.”
Swami backed off and said, “Oh Terry, this is a dangerous woman!”

172 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Then he gave the rose back to me and rubbed my head. He gently
said, “It will all be OK.” I said that I will try to be more patient. He
said, “Are you sure – really?” I said, “Yes.” And then he gracefully
slipped away into his room for a rest.

Wow! What did Swami do to me when he rubbed my head? I felt so

good. It was as if he had pulled all of the negativity out of my body.
I no longer needed to decharge anymore. I couldn’t believe how
great I felt – high energy, no more negativity. I was totally blissed
out and full of the love once again. This was truly a miracle. Thank
you dear Swamiji.

WILL IT RAIN?
One humid evening, during the monsoon season, I went outside to
look at the sky. Was it going to rain again? Terry, Christin and I usu-
ally dine outside on the rooftop under the brilliant starry sky.
However, the weather had not been very cooperative lately. As I
looked into the night sky, I put my hand up to block out the temple
lights. I wanted to see more clearly.

Swami just happened to be on the upper roof, looking down at us. He

asked me what I was doing and I told him I was checking the sky for
rain. He asked me if I wanted it to rain. “No!” I said. Then I asked
him, “If I were to say yes, would you make it rain?” I had read in a
book, once, that changing the weather was a power that some mas-
ters had obtained. Why not our Swami?

He eagerly said that he would make it rain for me. Then, he pro-
ceeded to tell Terry, my roommate, to get a glass of water and put it
in our room. When we go to bed tonight, he is to sprinkle me with
water! Oh Swami!

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - CINDY RENFORT 173

 HEALING WI T H TH E F I V E E L E M E N TS
I spent the summer of 1999 in Penukonda, India studying under
Swami Kaleshwar. By the end of the summer he had told me to go
home and begin to teach about God, teach people how to meditate
and heal themselves, and then heal, heal, heal. So I did just that. I
made posters and hung them up all around my town and I began prac-
ticing Swami’s healing techniques on some of my friends.

Then one afternoon, I received a phone call from a man who had
been attracted to my flier and wanted to set up an appointment for a
healing. He was my first client who I didn’t know. He had been on
the spiritual path for around 30 years, practicing different disciplines
from Hatha Yoga to Buddhism. He was very intellectual and knowl-
edgeable on Eastern thought. He told me he had some blocks that he
wanted to remove, so we went upstairs for the healing. I used several
different techniques from Swami’s teachings. He began crying and
moving around in different yoga postures. He said that the healing
was remarkable for him, the blocks were removed and he wanted me
as his teacher.

We met several times after that and talked spiritualism--each time I

told him some of Swami’s teachings and gave him a new mantra to
practice. He expressed to me how confused he had been by all the dif-
ferent paths that he was following. I agreed that it would tend to
make the mind go crazy being pulled in so many different directions.
His mind appeared to be broken and he was desperately trying to
piece his world back together again, to make some sort of sense.

He went home and began the Earth One and Gayatri mantras. Two
days later he called and wanted the entire Five Elements program
from me. He was going to devote all his time to purifying and charg-
ing these mantras. He said the earth mantra was incredibly powerful;
it made him feel so good, he wanted to do them all!

174 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

So we set up a time for the teachings and he took the new mantras home
to begin his practice. A week later he called me up to let me know how
he was doing. I couldn’t believe I was talking to the same man. The
change was so dramatic. He sounded so peaceful, calm and full of love.
He wasn’t intellectualizing anymore and he was so happy. I asked him
what had happened – he seemed so different. He said he was doing all
the five elements at once. He was so happy and thanked me again for
giving him this great gift. I told him we owe it all to Swami. Thank you
so much for these beautiful gifts Swamiji – we love you.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - CINDY RENFORT 175

 T E R RY C L A R K

T R U ST I N G HIS J UD G E M EN T
A teacher that I was currently working with told me about this won-
derful opportunity to attend a class in Malibu with a Swami from
India. He was very impressed with this man, and, trusting his judg-
ment, I decided to go.

I say, “trusting his judgment”, because my previous exposure to

Indian Gurus and mantras had a bad flavour to it.

I received my first shock when, right at the beginning of the class,

Swami told us that we would need paper and pens. In no spiritual
class I had ever attended had I been expected to take notes or to be
“quizzed” on the information. From past experiences in school, I had
a strong negative reaction. Being a “student” in the traditional sense,
isn’t my forte.

176 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

The class was taking place in a yurt – semi-enclosed, and I had a bro-
ken leg at the time. I needed to sit up in a chair with my leg elevat-
ed. Since there were many people on the floor, the chairs were in the
back of the room. Between being in the back of the room where I
couldn’t hear well, having no knowledge of what we were doing,
Swami speaking in a soft voice and with a heavy accent, I was hope-
lessly lost.

Even when he would try to help by spelling out words, due to his pro-
nunciation, I couldn’t make it out. In between giving mantras, he
would speak about Hindu mythology, Gods and cosmology, none of
which I was familiar with. Having some “perfect pictures” about
being a good student didn’t help and I was becoming more desperate
and frustrated by the minute.

Swami had us repeating the mantras and other people seemed to be

able to do it while I sat clueless in the back. I finally got so desperate
that I just started copying from someone in front of me.

During a break in class, Ramakrishna came up to me and asked how

it was going and what I thought of Swami. I told him how I was feel-
ing and he said to just do my best. At that point, if I hadn’t already
paid for the 7-day class, I would have just gone home. It was very
painful to feel so inadequate.

When we went back into session, Swami began to walk around the
room. Up to this point, he had only been in the front. Now he was
coming near me. As he got closer and closer, I got more and more
nervous. As he was going around he was checking people’s notes for
accuracy on the written mantras. I was terrified that he would ask me
to repeat a mantra or would look at my notes. Most of the mantras I
had only half done and there was no way I could have said any of
them with any accuracy.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - TERRY CLARK 177

He came right up behind me. I was sweating bullets. He looked over
my shoulder at my notes. All he said to me was that I had misspelled
a really simple word. He didn’t say anything else. I felt so relieved and
grateful when he walked away. I knew that he knew how hard this
was for me and it touched me deeply that he had chosen to not
embarrass me in front of the class.

Somehow, the rest of the day passed. I picked up whatever I could

from the class. I took notes even though I really didn’t know what
they meant.

It was the first or second night of the class when Swami wanted us
to stay and do a meditation after dark. I had been doing meditation
for years, so it was one thing I figured I could do – not like sitting in
class learning Sanskrit mantras. Swami had us sit dispersed around
the room. He gave us a short mantra to say and left us to meditate.
Since I had been meditating for years, I had set ideas about what
meditation was.

Very quickly, I lost consciousness. This was not what I though medi-
tation was. It felt like I went to sleep. I came “awake” unable to
remember the mantra and just in time to see Swami doing something
to the person sitting next to me. I was trying desperately to remem-
ber the mantra and get back into my idea of meditation before he got
to me. I was in the middle of a big fight in my mind and I didn’t want
him to touch me while I was in that state. Of course I was thinking,
“at least he didn’t come while I was asleep!”

Swami came up to me and touched my third eye. I was still in the

middle of “the big battle”, but I just tried to relax as much as I could.
Shortly afterwards, the meditation was done. He asked a few people
to talk about what they had experienced. Someone said they had
gone into a trance almost immediately. Swami told him that a trance
state is what true meditation is.

178 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Here I had thought I was asleep when I was really in a trance. I had
never had any experience like this in my life. Even though Swami
had talked about sucking energy while in a trance state, when he said
we were going to meditate, I immediately went to my definition of
meditation and it never occurred to me that I might actually experi-
ence that very thing. As he continued to speak, I realized that,
although my mind was telling me that I had fallen asleep, it didn’t
really feel the same as dozing off. Instead, when I regained conscious-
ness, I felt energized, fulfilled and full of Divine Energy in a way that
I had just never experienced before. I may not be very speedy at
learning mantras, but, if I could reach experiences like this, I would
do whatever it took to achieve it again.

LEG HE ALI N G
Later, during that same class in Malibu, as Swami was leaving one
time, at someone’s prompting, I stood where my leg, with its big,
shocking and ugly, black, metal fixator (an external metal bar
screwed into the bones of my leg above and below the break to hold
the pieces together) on it, was clearly visible to Swami and asked if I
might get a healing on it. He looked at me and told me, “Later.” He
didn’t say when or how this would happen.

At least a day later, maybe two, he had us come back after dark to do
a meditation at night. We sat in a circle around the wall of the yurt.
The lights were very dim. He gave us a mantra to do and asked us to
meditate. Then he started to go around the room. I peeked and saw
him across the room spinning his arm in big circles from the shoul-
der. The vibhuti was spraying out of his hand like a fire hose. He was
spraying a person who had a serious physical ailment. He proceeded
around the room choosing only certain people to spray. When he got
to me, I had my eyes closed. What I felt was like hot water that
smelled of roses. It shocked me because it was very hot. In fact, it
made me jump it was so hot. I was too scared to open my eyes.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - TERRY CLARK 179

After he finished going around the room and the lights went back up,
I opened my eyes. I had on black sweat pants and I was covered with
vibhuti. It was a big surprise to see a physical manifestation since all
I had felt was hot rose water.

Later, he called us into a separate room in small groups for interviews.

Again, because of my broken leg, I sat in the back of the room where
there was more space for my leg and my crutches. He called me to the
front of the room and asked me what I was covered with. I wasn’t sure
how to say vibhuti (at least not in front of him), so I said “sacred ash”.
And then he said that that was my healing and that was when I
noticed that it was mainly on my left, the side of my broken leg.

This was a definite turning point in my healing process. My mobility

and comfort level went up considerably after this. The type of break
I had experienced had shattered the bone and it was a contaminated
wound. Because of this, there were many chances of complications
such as infection and that the bone would perhaps never grow back,
but my healing went extremely well.

A G I FT F RO M S WA M I
It was my first trip to India and a group of us were in Sri Salem. We
were on a power journey with Swami visiting sacred places around
the South of India.

Swami was giving interviews to his students before they left India. I
had to return to the United States earlier than most of the students,
so I was in the first group to be interviewed.

I went into Swami’s bungalow and sat down before him on the floor.
He asked if I had any questions. I asked my question. He gave a short
answer and then told me that he would do a healing on me, then
touched me on the third eye with a red rose.

180 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

After the healing, he started to spin his hand. From having seen it
before, I knew that he was going to manifest something and I thought,
“I would like a ring”. He reached across and placed a silver ring with
a white stone on my right little finger. I was surprised that he didn’t
put it on my left ring finger, but it fit perfectly on my little finger.

The next morning, the ring fell off my finger and bounced on the
marble floor. I was surprised that the ring no longer fit. So I put it on
some dental floss and wore it around my neck so that I wouldn’t lose
it or break it. I wanted to have it on my person since it was manifest-
ed by Swami as a special gift to me.

Later that morning, while eating, Ramakrishna asked why I wasn’t

wearing the ring. I told him I was wearing it around my neck because
it had fallen off earlier. He suggested asking Swami to resize the ring.
He said that Swami could do that just by blowing on it. Swami was-
n’t around at the time and it occurred to me that, before I bothered
him with this, maybe I should check and see if the ring would fit on
another finger. I tried it on the ring finger of my left hand and it fit
perfectly. I then realized that my hands had been swollen from sitting
and travelling on the bus the day before and Swami had gotten the
size perfect after all!

S WA M I C H A N G E S M Y M I N D ( A G A I N )
After my first journey to India, I knew that I wanted to study more
with Swami – to come to India and stay for an extended period of
time. I had some medical and monetary loose ends to take care of.
Until those were done, I would have to stay in the U.S. and contin-
ue my spiritual practices there.

There were many things to take care of. For a while, I was doing very
well – saving money, healing, changing jobs, moving, and changing
girl friends. In general, my life was going great.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - TERRY CLARK 181

Then my Father was killed in an accident. I went back to my home-
town and ended up spending time and money I hadn’t intended to
there. Life is about change and it doesn’t always come the way we
think or plan. Because of spending a lot of my “cushion” money, it
made me uncomfortable and I postponed coming to India. I had an
expectation of what “going to India to study with a Spiritual Master”
would look like and already it was getting infringed on.

After 1½ years, I was finally ready to come back to India. Throughout

this time, I was sure that I would be back here. My girl friend had
heard my stories of Swami and, since in all the time we had been
together he hadn’t come to the U.S., she had never met him.

My friend Ramakrishna, who had been in India most of this time, was
in the U.S. and said that it would be a good time to go. The idea of
going and finally setting a date was a little overwhelming. Not only
that, but my girlfriend decided she wanted to go along to see what I
was so attracted to. Now, on the one hand, I really felt that if she
wanted to go and meet Swami, it was a great idea. On the other hand,
however, I know that Swami has a penchant for matchmaking and
might push me to get married if she were there. My ideas of being a
“Spiritual Master” and marriage had nothing to do with each other.
In fact, because of the pain of my parents’ marriage and the marriages
I had witnessed amongst my friends, I was terrified of the idea and
had managed to avoid the issue for all of my life. To add to the diffi-
culty, my girlfriend only had a two-week window that she could be
here and, due to it being Swami’s “down” time, I wasn’t sure that we
would be able to stay at the Ashram. Already I was feeling stressed.
One difficulty was removed when we found out that we could,
indeed, stay at the Ashram.

Well, we were on our way. Everything that was going to get done was
done – all else would have to wait. On our flight I was thinking how
this is not working out as I would have thought.

182 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

My idea was that I was leaving the U.S. and all I knew in a single-
minded pursuit of my spiritual development. I had tried very hard to
set up everything so that I was leaving my entire life up to this point
behind me and here I was taking a big piece along with me in the
form of my girlfriend.

It was late afternoon when we arrived in Penukonda. I was so excit-

ed to be back here. Swami was sitting in his swing talking on the
phone when we pulled up. It was very nice to see him. His conversa-
tion ended so he waved us over to say hello. He could tell we were
tired, so, after saying hello, he suggested we rest and that he would
talk to us more later.

That night we had an informal and friendly conversation with Swami

and two other Americans, the only other visitors in the Ashram at
the time. First he asked each of us how long we would be staying and
then immediately followed it with, “So, Terry, when are you two
going to get married?” In spite of sort of expecting, it was a shock. (I
was in a little resistance. Can you tell? What’s more, Swami knew it
and was going for the jugular with a big grin on his face.) I stam-
mered, “I don’t know” several times while my girlfriend sat and
laughed at me.

A couple of days later, we went to Hampi. We had a wonderful time.

While we were out meditating in a beautiful spot overlooking the
river, my girlfriend, on the spur of the moment, suggested that we say
our own wedding vows to each other. By then, I had warmed up to
the idea enough that it actually felt pretty good. The next day, we
returned to the Ashram.

The day before my girlfriend was to leave for the States, Swami said
that he would be going out of town for a few days and we said our
goodbyes. I felt off the hook as nothing more was said about us get-
ting married.

GLIMPSES OF THE MASTER - TERRY CLARK 183

To our surprise, Swami returned that very afternoon. We didn’t inter-
act much that afternoon though.

That night was the summer solstice and we four Americans had
planned a ritual to celebrate. After doing a meditation in our room,
we headed out onto the roof to do another part of the ritual under the
moon. Swami had been sitting out on the roof on the phone, but,
when we came out, he called us over and started talking to us. He
seemed determined to find some way to lure my girlfriend back for his
Samadhi in spite of the fact that she didn’t feel she could afford it.
After suggesting that he was going to give special healing powers to
all who attended and still not “hooking” her, he took a different tack.
He began to ask me, once again, when we were going to get married.
Knowing that she was going to leave in the morning, I said unless he
was going to do it right now, I didn’t know when. He pretended he
didn’t hear that and asked again. This time I asked him if he would
do it. And he said, “Oh! You want me to marry her?” We made it
clear that I had meant would he perform the ceremony. With a gleam
in his eye, he said if he was going to do it, he got to decide when and,
of course, it would be on the day of his Samadhi. Not only did he
hook my girlfriend into coming back for her wedding day when he
wanted her to be there, he hooked me into getting married, some-
thing which I never thought I would do!!

184 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 SECTION FOUR

TA ST I N G T H E
MANGO

185
 J E S U S V I S I TS A D E N T I ST
I used to feel some things in life were too wonderful or intimate to
share with another as doing so can sometimes reduce their precious-
ness. The beauty and power of some experiences just cannot be relat-
ed in their full import and if I encounter a person with a closed mind,
I sometimes feel the sparkle of these gems hidden deep within my
heart dims. At least, that's what I used to believe before my last visit
to the dentist.

After studying with Swami in India for over two and a half years,
the appointment was in March of 2000; my view of life had been
altered dramatically. The miraculous, a rare event in any person's
life, was to me a completely natural and everyday kind of occur-
rence. The dental assistant had asked the seemingly innocuous
question, "What did you do for the holidays? Were you with your
family?" Uh, kind of.

Highly aware of my radical departure from the views of normal soci-

ety, I was sure the lady stranger would become uncomfortable and
think me insane upon hearing what I did for Christmas. Someone
poking around in my mouth with sharp objects is the last person I
want to upset. Plus, my experience was so profound to me it was
beyond words. I hadn't shared what really happened with anyone, as
I didn't want to defile the experience by turning it into idle gossip.

But for some reason while reclined in the electronic chair with my
mouth wide open, a blue bib across my chest, a halogen focused on
my tonsils, and Linda the unknown dental assistant leaning over me
replete with surgical mask, rubber gloves, and plastic goggles, I began
relating my Christmas story.

186 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

 A C H R I ST M A S STO RY
In November of 1999 Swami told me that the upcoming Christmas
program at his ashram would be very special because of the changing
of the millennium. He didn't know exactly what would happen.
"We'll see," he said, "I have no idea what the energy will do."

The last two months of the year were especially intense for the few of
us at the ashram as Swami said the energy for all of December '99 was
very special, a once in a lifetime opportunity. He had those of us liv-
ing at the ashram on a program involving many hours of meditation
and certain practices everyday. One such programme was that we
each had to carve a small wooden cross entirely of our own doing;
nobody else could touch the wood of our personal cross. Those cross-
es, if properly prepared, were going to become powerful healing
objects for each one of us. Swami told us that when we used them for
healing, sometime in the future, the crosses would bleed and that
blood would perform many miraculous healings.

After creating the crosses we then meditated with them everyday

while chanting a mantra Swami gave specifically for calling the ener-
gy of Jesus. We only had to chant the mantra 108 times everyday for
4l days, the last day being Christmas. It's not that the mantra itself
was hard, although it was a bit longer than most, but the energy was
so heavy that we could not help but continually slip into a deep
trance. For me to finish one mala (108 repetitions) would take at
least 3 hours where normal repetition would have finished in one
hour. Half the time I actually couldn't tell whether I was awake or
lucid dreaming. After a few minutes of chanting the mantra, no mat-
ter what time of day I began, I would go into trance. The energy was
so strong that sometimes when I opened my eyes everything was sur-
rounded in a haze and I heard no noises, so I assumed I was dreaming.
While in trance with my eyes closed, at times I would see everything
around me quite clearly.

TASTING THE MANGO 187

So I would assume I was awake until a moment later when I would
open my eyes and then see everything exactly like it was when my eyes
were closed, only a little hazy. You would think I would be surprised
or shocked to be seeing without using my eyes, but I couldn't care less.
The peace was so heavy I couldn't muster any emotions. It was like I
was drunk on energy. I couldn't keep my eyes focused, my breathing
was very laboured, and I would fitfully pass in and out of trance.

Thus for hours, although inwardly the mantra would ring loudly inside
my head as if someone were playing it over a loud speaker, my hand
would be frozen in a raised position without counting a single bead.
Sometimes I would gain enough of my senses to look at my watch and
find I had been going in and out of trance for nearly three hours. Then
drunkenly focusing my on my mala to see how many repetitions were
left I'd discover I'd barely counted 15 or 20 beads. One time I had only
counted 3 in two hours! At that rate it would take me three days to
finish one mala! Since I felt it was such an important process I want-
ed to make sure to do it right so sometimes I would spend literally 4 to
6 hours trying to finish one mala. Honestly, however, most times I
never counted even half a mala although I must have chanted the
mantra inwardly a thousand times. No mantra I had ever practiced,
before or since, affected me so strongly as that Jesus mantra during the
last month of the millennium.

Incidentally, after the Christmas programme I continued doing this

mantra everyday but the effects were hardly nil. Without telling
Swami anything, one day I feigned innocence and asked if it was
advisable to continue practicing the mantra. He casually said, "Sure,
no problem, but it won't affect. I cut the energy." Before we finished
meditating with the crosses for the prescribed 41 days, Swami collected
them and gave them to a silversmith so that decorated silver could be
moulded around each cross. As I write this that was over eight months
ago and that's the last time any of us have seen the crosses. Will we ever
get them back? Nobody knows, except perhaps Swami.

188 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

The day before Christmas Eve Swami told me and three other stu-
dents that the following day we had to build a six foot cross com-
pletely from scratch and that nobody else could touch the wood after
the branches had been cut from the tree. However strange some of
Swami's requests sound, he says everything for a reason. So many
times I have found out the hard way that if his instructions are taken
for granted and not followed to the letter, things don't get done or go
terribly wrong all by themselves. The four of us worked from 10 a.m.
to 11 p.m. making the cross. At one point a female student, trying to
help, touched one of the pieces and we had to start over again. Finally
that night, unshowered, sunburned and tired, we carried the cross
into the meditation hall. The four of us had built it by hand and the
cross was never out of our sight even for a minute. It was quite sim-
ply two pieces of notched wood held together by two iron nails. It
stood about five feet tall
and it was beautiful.

The scene inside the hall

was breathtakingly beau-
tiful. All the women
were on the left side of
the hall dressed in red
silk saris and all the men
in white punjabis on the
right side. There were
about 150 people total.
Hundreds of candles,
flowers, and sweet
smelling incense trans-
formed the hall into an
idyllic, glowing garden.
We leaned the cross
against the stage and left
to shower and dress.

TASTING THE MANGO 189

I was the last one of the four to return from showering and I sat in the
back of the hall a little tired from the days work. Swami then gave an
incredible lecture about the greatness of Jesus and his personal under-
standings of how Jesus became the greatest saint in the history of the
world. Then Swami told everyone that at 12:30, just after midnight,
the Jesus energy would come and the cross would bleed. We would
each be able to touch the blood and see the cross bleeding. That
perked up my attention immediately. It was already midnight.

Swami then told four guys to bring the cross to 'the cave'. The cave
is actually an underground room used as a Shiva temple. In the past
it was Swami's private meditation place. The energy of that cave is
incredible. Swami would go down in the cave every night at lam or
2am, light a small oil lamp, stand praying for a few moments, and
then just collapse into the sand and remain for hours in meditation
as he had fallen. He's told everyone many times that cave is the main
energy spot of the ashram. One year back he put down slate floors and
allowed students to meditate inside.

So the guys carried the cross out of the hall and into the cave. The
rest of us meditated for about twenty minutes in the hall until Swami
returned with the bottom few inches of his pants a bright red as if
they'd been dunked in Kool-Aid. I knew it was supposed to be blood,
but it was so bright I thought it might be fake. I didn't have much
experience with blood in real life and only knew what I thought
looked like real blood in the movies, like a dark purple-red.
Nonetheless the tension and anticipation was building as Swami
nonchalantly strolled to his chair in the front of the hall. He sat
down, wiped his hands on his towel, and then sat in silence for a few
minutes. I had never before seen his eyes so heavily glassed. Swami is
always hyper-present and aware; never does any new jewellery, sari,
haircut, or minute change escape his attention. His eyes are always
sharp and shiny and he never exaggerates his emotions even when
experiencing intense physical pain.

190 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

He can sit and talk with devotees for hours without anyone being the
wiser. But as he sat in the chair it was obvious he was unable to bring
his senses and attention into full focus. He gulped down nearly a full
litre of cold water, again something I've never seen him do, and then
proceeded to speak. His words came slowly and not too clearly.

He said, "Well, it's done, guys. The blood is flowing from the cross."
He then described how three of the guys are holding the cross and
their clothes are soaked with blood and blood is running across the
floor in litres and all down the cross. Swami never approached the
cross but stood about six feet away with his arms open. When the
energy came the cross began to fall over and one of the men dived to
hold it up. Then all three. Then Swami had them close their eyes.
Swami began clapping loudly and all at once litres of blood poured
from the cross. The three guys all shared their experience later on and
as best I can remember each one of them felt they were holding the
legs of Christ. Although the cross could easily be carried by one per-
son, the three of them had a time keeping it upright.

I pictured gallons of blood spattered everywhere like some “B” rated

horror film. Swami looked at me and said, "You and Clint go down,
send whoever is there back up, touch the blood, and return quickly."
As we were leaving, he again emphasized 'quickly'. Clint and I imme-
diately made for the cave. Phillip was meditating on top of the cave
and as we descended the stairs my first thought was, "Where’s all the
blood?" Three guys were kneeling huddled against the base of the cross
with two oil lamps burning on the altar next to them. About a litre of
blood had flowed between them and out into the middle of the slate
floor, hardly the blood bath I expected. We told the guys Swami want-
ed them in the hall and as they rose-up I could see that their pants and
shirts were indeed soaked in various places. But it just didn't seem like
blood because it was bright red. I dismissed these doubts quickly and
got down to the business at hand. This was the moment I had prepared
months for and I wanted to make the most of it.

TASTING THE MANGO 191

Once the three had gone out Clint and I knelt down, touched the
'blood' that had flowed into the middle of the floor, looked carefully
at the cross for a few moments, said some prayers and then left. Swami
had told us to be quick and while walking briskly back to the hall I
asked Clint if he thought it was blood. It didn't feel sticky and smelled
somewhat perfumed, not like the metallic smell of blood. I asked
Clint, a highly regarded medical doctor, if it was blood or maybe
Swami had just transported some liquid from somewhere else to make
it appear like the cross was bleeding. Clint, not wanting to disagree
with me, looked at his fingers as he rubbed them together and then
made a completely unintelligible grunting noise accompanied with an
equally unintelligible motion of his head. He didn't say a thing.

Later I found out he had no doubt it was blood, as he dealt with the
stuff every day, and here I was interrupting his sacred experience. At
the time, however, I didn't know whether he was upset or agreeing
with me or not understanding me. I said, "Do you think he's just mak-
ing the people happy? Do you think Swami would ever do that? It's
not like him." Clint said nothing and, as we had reached the hall, I
left my questions hanging in the air for the time being.

We re-entered the hall and I went up and sat at Swami's feet so that
I could ask him if it was actually blood, but I never got a chance.
While talking to everyone he asked me to massage his feet. They
were burning hot and swollen. I give Swami a foot massage nearly
every day and his feet get hot whenever he's doing strong energy work
for a long time. But I had never felt his feet so hot before. I told some-
one else to touch them and they were shocked. The feet felt like
rocks that had been close to a fire for a long time. Not scalding, but
still inconceivably hot for human skin.

Swami told people to go down in groups of five and quickly complete

the process of entering the cave, touching the blood, saying a prayer,
and coming out. No one was to touch the cross.

192 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

After ten minutes, unhappy with how slowly things were going,
Swami asked me to stand at the entrance of the cave and hurry the
people along. So out I went to be the taskmaster. When I stood, I
only then noticed the effect of the energy. I wasn't light-headed but
I felt very light and had to focus a little more than normal to walk
though the crowd

The stairs leading down into the cave are wide enough only for one
person at a time. So I became a traffic signal letting the groups of five
know when to come up and when to go down. The energy blasted out
of the cave like an oven. As I stood at the entrance of the cave telling
the people down below when their fifteen seconds were up, I noticed
everyone was completely out of it. They were like zombies. I'm sure,
however, at the time nobody noticed how the energy was affecting
them. It's a funny thing but normally we notice the incredible story
of supernatural events only upon reflection. In the moment we're
general1y engaged in the mind and not taking notice of the story
unfolding around us.

Swami came out of the hall and made a beeline for me. He asked how
many people went, how many were left, and how much more time
was available. I gave him my best estimations and then he went down
into the cave for a few minutes hurrying the people even faster than
before. He didn't allow anyone to even stand for more than a few sec-
onds. They touched the blood and then went out. When Swami
came out of the cave he looked completely drunk. He told me in
slightly slurred words to make it go faster.

I had never seen Swami in that condition before or since. At that

moment a woman standing in the line began breathing uncontrol-
lably. It wasn't hyperventilation; it was more like emotional overload.
I started to go to the woman but Swami stopped me and said he would
take care of her.

TASTING THE MANGO 193

Swami stumbled and nearly fell down as he made his way to the
woman. There were two strapping young German men on either side
of the young woman but they didn't even notice the woman about to
faint between them. When Swami approached they looked at him and
it wasn't until Swami put his hands on the woman to help her that
they noticed she was in trouble. Immediately they both jumped with
surprise and steadied her. I headed down into the cave to speed things
up. I had been down in the cave hundreds of times. In fact, I had lived
down there for a few months one time. But as I headed down the stairs
I felt like I was entering another world. It was about 45 minutes after
I had first gone down with Clint and the energy had taken its toll on
me. I could now feel how strong that energy was. It was so thick and
powerful it weakened me to the point of having rubbery legs. I under-
stood then how Swami was being affected and why it was important
to get everybody through the process as quickly as possible.

I stayed in the cave ushering people in and out for only ten minutes
or so but it felt like an eternity. Leaning against the far wall directly
opposite the cross, I nearly fell several times because the power felt
like a weight upon my whole body. It was as if my body had to carry
100 extra pounds of weight with every minute that passed. Finally
Anya came down to me and said. "Swami says we have to get the rest
of the people done in the next 2 to 3 minutes, otherwise he might
die." I understood. She was speaking absolute truth. Swami was the
doorway that made it possible for the energy of Christ to come
through. I knew that the magnitude of that force was proportional to
Swami's capacity and that the tremendous energy pouring through
must be taking a toll. I pulled myself together and managed to get the
rest of the people through in a few minutes.

After everyone was done, I went up to the cross and studied it careful-
ly. Along the crossbeam the blood had formed a perfectly symmetrical
decoration. I couldn't believe it. It wasn't drawn on there, it had obvi-
ously fallen from above and then dripped down, but it was absolutely

194 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

perfectly symmetrical. A human hand could not have done it. I want-
ed to find the place from where the blood was flowing. From the time
I first came in the cave to that time the blood pool had expanded and
extended several feet, so it was obviously still flowing from the cross, In
the dead centre of the cross, where the two pieces met, I saw blood
slowly flowing out. It was coming more than expected.

By candlelight, however, I thought possibly my eyes were deceived

because it was hard to see if the blood was moving. So I pressed the
back of my finger against the cross, just below the spot, and watched
as the blood flowed over my finger and continued down to the floor.
Suddenly the import of what was happening struck me.

I realized in that moment that Christ's energy was there so strongly

that it manifested itself as blood coming from a cross. The words
don't do justice, I know, but I’m not merely stating the obvious. More
than the miracle of blood coming out from the cross is the signifi-
cance of it. The force was so strong as to actualize such an incredible
symbol. It's almost as if the symbol itself is so sacred that it cannot be
reproduced falsely. Christ was there and the incredible sign of his
presence was the symbol of blood coming from a cross. This realiza-
tion hit me and all of a sudden I was standing in front of Jesus.

I took a few steps back and looked not at the cross but seemingly
above it. The entire wall behind the cross disappeared into blackness.
It was like a huge window into the universe. A faint but steady light
the size of a man appeared in the middle. It was Jesus. The presence,
the power, the love, the glory, it was completely overwhelming. He
was so familiar to me I nearly cried from relief: as if I had been look-
ing for him for thousands of years. It felt so terribly wonderful I
opened my arms wide, closed my eyes, and inwardly said, "Thank you.
I've been waiting for you for so long. It's so wonderful to feel you
again. I love you so much, please be with me forever."

TASTING THE MANGO 195

196 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
The power for those few moments was like nothing I had ever experi-
enced. I have never stood in front of a tidal wave or a tornado but that's
what I imagined it to be like. My impression of Jesus from my experi-
ence of Christmas Eve is that his energy is absolutely unstoppable.
Whatever He wants to do, it will be done. It was so strong that my body
felt fear, as if confronting a fierce 10,000-pound lion. I was completely
at its mercy. And yet his energy was so familiar not because of some
past life or anything like that, but because Jesus is a fundamental part
of each human. My feeling is that anybody in the same situation would
have felt that familiarity. The divine is in all of us and is what we
unknowingly long for. Jesus is a part of that divine energy and espe-
cially the human aspect of the divine energy. Swami says the definition
of Jesus is love. Like an equation, Jesus = Love, Love = Jesus. Just as you
cannot separate heat from fire, you cannot separate Jesus from Love.

I felt it was time for me to go because the energy, however beautiful,

was really hitting me strongly. I floated up the stairs and into the hall
where I found a corner to sit in. I felt like I was being microwaved.
My very cells seemed to be swirling and cooking, as if the organizing
principle of my life force was ebbing away. I closed my eyes to pull
myself back together. I had knowingly taken the chance of staying in
the cave too long and it was probably a mistake. I surrendered to
whatever would happen to my body. After a few minutes everything
began to normalize. Then Swami started singing some mantras in his
high melodious voice.

My stomach seized in pain. Swami would sing a mantra then pause

then start another. His singing weakened me to the point of extreme
nausea and nearly fainting. Every time he paused, I would be able to
recover a second or two until he started singing again. My body
slumped to the side as I lost the strength to even sit up. I immediate-
ly understood how the experience in the cave had opened me beyond
my limits and as Swami sang, the power of his prayers hit me full
force. I could barely handle the energy. I had no barriers.

TASTING THE MANGO 197

He must have sung for five minutes and it was so torturous that
regardless of my discomfort I had to notice the irony. Here is my
beautiful Swami singing his heart out, something that can easily
bring tears to anyone's eyes, and it's killing me. If I could have
moved I would have left the hall. After about 3 minutes I seriously
considered calling out to Swami and asking him to stop singing but
there were so many other people present enjoying this time that it
seemed a selfish thing to do. So again I gave up trying to stop myself
from vomiting or passing out or keeping my head from exploding and
just weathered the storm.

After the whole affair was over Swami asked 5 of us to go down and
clean the cave completely. With paper towels we soaked up the
blood. As I moved the cross and the large rocks around the base sup-
porting it, I was confronted with huge globs of coagulated blood.
There was no more possibility for any doubts. The perfumed smell in
the cave I and many others had noticed was now gone and replaced
with the metallic scent of blood. It was blood. Blood, blood, blood
and a lot of it. Now I saw that much of the blood had pooled at the
bottom of the cross and never flowed out into the middle of the floor
although that which did had reached nearly to the other side of the
ten foot wide cave. Considering the few litres soaked up in the
clothes of the three men present when the energy first came, I would
guess a total of around eight or nine litres of blood had flowed during
the one hour process.

My Christmas present from Swami was to meet Jesus. I was permitted

to glimpse his greatness and his glory. Since that time I know with-
out a doubt that he is real and that he takes care of those that look to
him. Swami always has the highest praise and love for Jesus.

Because of Christmas, I now know that it's not important who we

perceive as God, whether it's Jesus, Buddha, Krishna, or Mohammed,
it's only important that we're looking to God.

198 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Faith in any divine soul is enough as God can and does take care of
everyone. Again Swami's words come to mind, "Candles are differ-
ent, light is the same." Nothing is beyond God's power and if we can
truly understand this, then our faith is no longer blind. If we truly
realize this, then we have a direct relationship with God.

L I N DA M E ETS J E S U S
I looked up at the mesmerized dental assistant and noticed she had
literally been motionless, holding up her cleaning hook in one hand
and little mirror in the other, for the 10 minutes I dared to recount
my Christmas experience. I had described only the main points of
Christmas Eve itself, a mere drop in the ocean of the entire 6 week
program, but as Swami has said many times, "We don't need to drink
the entire ocean to discover its taste. Just one drop is enough." It was-
n't until my dental appointment that I understood the profundity of
this statement. My brief recapitulation, though absurdly incomplete,
was enough to have a profound effect on Linda.

While relating my experience of Jesus on Christmas Eve, the very

same energy, enormous and undeniable, filled the tiny white office.
Intensely thick yet so gentle. As I began to relate my impressions of
Jesus after 'meeting' him that night, energy started pouring through
me. I said, "Any divine soul can take care of your problems, you only
need to believe in them." After this sentence I found myself, much to
my surprise, telling her a few very specific problems in her own life
and that her prayers to Jesus had been heard. The problems would be
taken care of in a few weeks.

It was the first time I had ever met Linda and there's no way I could
have known anything about her or her personal family life. Internally
I was hesitant to say these things because I had no idea whether or
not they were true. As soon as the words carne out of my mouth,
however, I knew their truth.

TASTING THE MANGO 199

By taking the chance to speak these words it was as if I had opened a
door and I physically felt the energy enter my body. It was the very
same Jesus energy I had experienced.

All of a sudden I felt as if I was talking to my own daughter, even

though I have no children. Such extreme caring and compassion I've
never felt coming from my own heart. My voice softened as I felt like
telling her, "I am here. Do not doubt it. You are in my hands forever.
I will be with you always." But instead I told her, "Jesus is real, he is
there. Do not doubt it. He can do anything. You are in his hands for-
ever. Whenever you need him, he will be there. He is with you
always." The power carried by these words coming from my mouth
cannot adequately be expressed. At that time, at that moment, they
were undeniable Truth. Nothing else in the universe had more reali-
ty than those words.

As I looked into her eyes, tears of joy streamed from under her plas-
tic goggles. Jesus was taking care of His child through me. I was
allowed to feel His feelings. I felt his incomparable love and com-
passion for Linda. It was simply amazing. My heart had physical pain,
as if trying to open beyond its limits from the terrible sweetness of
that love.

I realized what a crime it is to not share the gifts I had received,

regardless of how people may react. How truly selfish to keep the pre-
cious gems and, by not sharing them, cut off the chance for others, as
well as myself, to taste a drop of the God essence. Linda said she had
a direct experience with Jesus through my sharing and was "touched
to the core" of her being. Her faith in him had been affirmed and
strengthened. Years of prayers had been answered. She thanked me
profusely during the rest of the appointment but had no idea what a
great gift I also received by sharing my experience. I wanted to thank
her! And I did!

200 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

What a wonderful way to learn the true value of what I had received
at Christmas! So many understandings and realizations of what I had
learned with Swami came from my dental visit and were tied togeth-
er in a flawless little package. In a ten minute period in the least
expected of times and places, in a dentist chair all prepped and ready
for my bi-annual teeth cleaning, I learned invaluable life lessons: I
gained the courage to express what I know to be true; to take the risk
to touch another's heart; I understood how a seed given is meant to
produce a fruit that will in turn give another seed. Seed to fruit to
seed to fruit, a true gift continues to give and grow.

Everything I received from or through Swami has been both wonder-

ful to receive and even more wonderful to share. I felt the unimagin-
able compassion and devotion of Divine love. Many more life lessons
hit me all at once from that little dental visit and, though simple
sounding, changed me indelibly. Most of all I realized God's ways are
inscrutable. We never know how the Divine will be manifest but we
can be sure this will always be greater than anything we can imagine.
That's how I feel about meeting my lovely master. As I drove away, I
displayed my newly polished teeth to the world as I thought about
Swami Kaleshwar.

Ramakrishnananda

TASTING THE MANGO 201

 G L O S SA R Y
Amrutha The nectar of immortality.

Arathi The waving of a flame in front of the statue or picture of

Deity or Master.

Atma Lingam An egg shaped stone grown and birthed from the body of
a saint.

Bijakshara A seed word or phase that is the central power or energy

of a mantra.

Brahma The creative force of the universe. Part of the trinity:

Brahma,Vishnu, and Shiva.

Chakra Energy centres on the body.

Dattatreya A saint often depicted by a statue with three heads to

symbolize him as an incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu and
Shiva. Shirdi Sai Baba was an incarnation of Dattatreya.

Dhuni A sacred fire pit used in temples. Shirdi Baba kept the
fire in his dhuni burning constantly. Ash from the dhuni
has healed tens of thousands of people both during and
after Baba’s life. Baba’s fire has been burning for more
than 125 years.

Durga An aspect of Mother Divine with eight arms, holding

eight different weapons and riding on the back of a tiger.
The eight arms are symbolic of the eight siddhic powers.

Dwarkamai The name given by Shirdi Baba to the dilapidated mos-

que he lived for the last 60 years of his life.

202 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Ganesh God that removes and places obstacles for protection.
He is the first god honoured in every Hindu ceremony.

Ganga The holiest river in India named after a form of Mother

Divine. The river begins from a pot atop Lord Shiva’s
head. The pot of water cools him from the heat of the
poison he swallowed and keeps in his throat to keep it
from destroying creation.

Gayatri The most powerful mantra purported to be equal to the

entire four vedas. A Goddess of enlightenment.

Ghee Clarified butter used as an offering in sacred ceremonies.

Gurustan Literally, “seat of the guru” also known as the third eye;
the highest energy spot in the body.

Hanuman Monkey King that attained divine status because of the

strength of his devotion to Rama. The god of the air.

Homa Sacred fire ceremony used to direct divine energies for

specific purposes.

Kali A form of Mother Divine as the destroyer of negativity.

Kali Yuga The present yuga, or age, that is the darkest of the four
yugas but has the advantage of being the yuga where it is
easiest to reach God.

Karma The result of actions, good, or bad.

Lakshmi Goddess of wealth. Krishna’s first wife.

Lila Divine play or drama.

GLOSSARY 203
Lingam A stone which is the symbol of the power and energy of
Siva. It is usually round and naturally formed.

Mandir Hindu name of a temple..

Mala A necklace of 108 seeds or beads used for counting the

number of times you say mantras. Rudraksha or lotus
seeds are preferred.

Mantra A prayer formula to command on cosmic energies.

Maya Illusion covering the soul. The dream or false reality.

Mother Divine The source energy aspect of creation from which every-
thing is produced.

Mount Kailash The sacred Himalayan mountain said to be the home of

Shiva and Shakti.

Murthi A statue of a god, goddess or divine teacher.

Paramaguru The supernatural guru.

Parvati The Mother Divine aspect married to Siva. Also called

Shakti.

Penukonda The town in India where Swami resides.

Prana Yoga A discipline used to calm the body and mind.

Puja A ceremony of offerings to a picture or statue using light,

incense, fruit, and flowers.

Rama One of the incarnations of Vishnu, hero of the Ramayana.

204 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA

Shakti A Goddess. The creative aspect of Mother Divine. The
energy of creation.

Shirdi Sai Baba Swami’s master. The foremost saint in India who died in
1918. He performed many miracles both during and after
death.

Shiva Destructive aspect of God’s energy but also considered to

be all of creation. He makes possible the transformation
of all energy in the universe.

Sri Sailam A temple town in the mountains of South India dedica-

ted to Siva. The third most important Siva/Shakti tem-
ple in India.

Tatya The closest person to Shirdi Baba when he was alive. He

took care of Baba throughout his lifetime. Baba died short-
ly after taking Tatya’s terminal cancer into his own body.

Tirupati The most sacred of all temples in India and one of the
world’s leading pilgrimage spots. The place where
Krishna turned himself into a statue.

Vedas The body of knowledge about all things divine created by

supernatural saints thousands of years ago. The basis of
Hinduism culture and religions.

Vishnu The preserving aspect of the trinity, Brahma, Vishnu,

Shiva. Rama and Krishna were incarnations of Vishnu.

Yagyas A fire ceremony performed for specific purposes.

GLOSSARY 205
206 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA
 P H OTO I N D E X
Page 1 Picture of Ganesha
Page 5 Swami touch the feet of the Shirdi-Baba-Statue
Page 12 Atma Lingams
Page 28 Shirdi Baba in the street of Shirdi
Page 32 Shirdi-Baba-Statue in Shirdi
Page 36 Swami in his swing
Page 41 Shirdi-Baba-Statue in the Ashram, Penukonda
Page 43 Jesus-Statue in the Ashram
Page 45 Show using a Mala
Page 50 Shirdi-Baba-Statue
Page 52 Picture of Ganesha
Page 54 Goddess Gayatri
Page 56 Shiva-Statue in Bangalore
Page 58 Ashram, Penukonda
Page 61 Swami touch Samadhi of Shirdi Baba
Page 70 Lakshmi-Yantra
Page 72 Sacred Fire Ceremony, Penukonda
Page 76 Arati in front of the Shirdi-Baba-Statue
Page 78 Puja with Swami
Page 82 Ancient temple in Hampi
Page 86 Shiva-Lingam in the Shiva-Cave
Page 93 Abishek
Page 100 Hanuman-Statue in the Ashram
Page 114 Swami at home of a student in California
Page 122 Ramakrishna and Swami
Page 133 Swami with students at the river in Hampi
Page 135 Swami in the Baba-Temple
Page 156 Sunrise in the Ashram
Page 168 Swami with a bird
Page 189 Cross at christmas 1999
Page 196 Jesus-Statue in the Ashram

PHOTO INDEX 207

208 GIFTS OF SRI SHIRDI SAI BABA