Sathya Sai Baba
Melbourne Spiritualist
Chapel Talk, 10/11/15
Om Sai Ram Dear Sai Family
Our beloved Lord Sai graced me with the opportunity to speak about Him this Sunday, October 11th.
The President of the Spiritualist Chapel of Melbourne, Emma Principe approached me during the Summer and asked me to speak about Bhagavan in the Fall. She had recently been exposed to Swami's extraordinary presence by Marie Dooley another Sai devotee at the Chapel. So, I agreed and set the date for October 11th.
As the time approached I prepared and organized the talk on our wonderful Baba. Then just this past Friday, Swami in His inimitable way created a lovely leela:
I was Gallery sitting at the new location and a man walked in and asked about our relocation. We chatted for a while and then he asked about my artwork. I point out my work and he recognized Sai Baba. So now we had even more to talk about. The conversation got really mystical and transcendental. At some point he mentioned that he attended the Spiritualist Chapel and is in fact, Vice President of the church. My mouth dropped open, this is where I was giving the talk on Swami Sunday!!! We were both totally blown away by this LEELA.! I felt like Swami had His giant eyeball watching everything to do with His Sunday talk at the Spiritualist Chapel in Melbourne, FL!
Saturday evening I made the mistake of eating something too heavy before bed. My stomach was heavy as lead and I had difficulty falling asleep, plus my mind was over excited. So, I thought well let me do a head to toe deep relaxation at least. After awhile I drifted into a rather shallow sleep. I woke up after 2 and half hours, my stomach was still giving me difficulty so I got up and drank some apple cider vinegar water, this helped and I was able to fall back asleep. This time I had a fabulous dream:
I was in a room seated at a table with a young Indian girl. There was a little boy also seated at the table.
The girl got up and turned the table around. The little boy objected insisting that it should be put back the way it was. I bent down cupping the little boy's chin he was so adorable and cute. I said, "okay you want the table like this and we turned it back as I coddled the little boy I noticed his skin was a soft blue.
I kept looking at him and he had the same chubby sweet cheeks of baby Krishna. And then I saw it was baby Krishna! Heaven of Heavens!!!!
At that beautiful moment, my hubby David came into wake me up for the talk. I felt confident that although I did not get adequate sleep for the talk, Sri Krishna's energy would sustain me.
The talk went very well with Swami's Supreme Grace. Here is the reprinted text:
Spiritualist Church Talk (about 25 min)
I offered a song to Bhagavan Baba and everyone:
Deena Dukhiyon Se Prem Karo Mera Sai Prasanna Hoga
Will you Love the poor, the downtrodden, distressed;
My Lord Sai will be very happy
Sai Mera Mein Tera Ye Prem Ki Bahati Dhara
Lord Sai is my Lord and I am His…
Hey a love eternal flows between us
Ye Prem Ki Bahati Dhara
Hey a love eternal flows between us
Mera Sai Prasanna Hoga
My Lord Sai will be very happy
INTRODUCTION
Namaste Everyone, I am very happy to be here this beautiful Sunday morning to share some of my spiritual experiences with you. Over the years I have traveled to India over 12 times. Most of these trips were to an ashram in Puttaparthi, South India called Prashanti Nilayam, which means the abode of highest peace. It is the home of my Guru and Teacher Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, you may have heard of Him, He is pretty renown throughout the world. From my Guru I learned a way of life that has brought great transformation, personal and spiritual growth. I have also journeyed to the Himalayas in North India twice, in 2009 and 2012, 12,000 feet above sea level to a place I can only describe as the threshold of Heaven, Badrinath. This was a dangerous, arduous trek, but well worth the effort. During these trips we also visited the sacred Ganges in Haridwar.
(SHOW PHOTOS OF HIMALAYA/GANGES TRIP)
As a result of my travels and inner explorations I have written 2 books that embody these adventures and transformations: the first book is Sai Rapture, The Ecstatic Journey of a Modern Day Gopi (explain Gopi). And the second book is 108 Bhakti Kisses, The Ecstatic Poetry of a Modern Day Gopi.
(HOLD UP BOOKS)
(I brought the painting, Kalki Avatar to the talk)
The cover of this book comes from the painting, Kalki Avatar, and refers to the prophetic coming of Sai Baba who we believe is an incarnation of God, like Lords Krishna, Buddha and Jesus. Sai Baba says, "I am God. And you too are God. The only difference between you and Me is that while I am aware of it, you are completely unaware." Sai Baba possesses the 16 characteristics of an Avatar. The most prominent being Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence. A verse in the holy Bible, Revelation 19 inspired me to paint this: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True" (Sathya means truth), "and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire" (Sai Baba's Eyes are dazzling and full of life), "and on his head were many crowns (could refer to His afro); "and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood (Baba's robe is sometimes a deep red): and his name is called The Word of God (Sai is Bhagavan)."
Other prophecies about the advent of Sathya Sai Baba can be found in: the Prophet Mohammed's book Ocean of light, in which he clearly describes Sai Baba and His miraculous powers; Nostradamus also predicted the coming of Sai Baba in his Centuries book. This symbol, Sarva dharma in the painting is the Unity of faiths which has attracted people of different faiths all over world to experience the unifying love of Baba.
The Sai Baba Advent comes in 3 incarnations: The first: Shirdi Sai Baba came in 1835; the second Sathya Sai Baba came in 1926; and the third Prema Sai Baba is yet to come. Each of these incarnations have specific missions for awakening the divinity in mankind. Sathya Sai Baba says:
“For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evil-doers and for establishing righteousness on a firm footing, I incarnate from age to age. Whenever disharmony overwhelms the world, the Lord will incarnate in human form to establish the modes of earning peace and to reeducate the human community in the paths of peace. At the present time, strife and discord have robbed peace and unity from the family, the school, the society, the religions, the cities, and the state. The arrival of the Lord is also anxiously awaited by saints and sages. Spiritual aspirants prayed and I have come”
( PHOTOS OF 3 SAI AVATARS & PRASHANTI)
Before I delve more into my books, let me tell you briefly about myself I grew up in Queens, New York; my parents were from Jamaica, West Indies, myself and 4 siblings were raised in a Protestant church. So, my background is Christian. However, as I matured and during my college years, I became increasingly disenchanted with traditional religion. It just didn't seem to add up, there was a lack of tolerance for other faiths, hypocrisy and a tremendous amount of fear. Consequentially, I was headed in an agnostic direction.
Around this time something crucial happened that changed my life forever. I became pregnant at age 22, which in itself is life changing. What happened to me in the delivery room truly completely altered the course of my life. I describe this in the book, Sai Rapture in great detail and I would like to read that chapter to you:
The Awakening flower: ( Sai Rapture P. 17)
As I mentioned before, this experience was the beginning of my spiritual journey. I started avidly exploring mysticism and yoga, later joining the Rosicrucian Order and studying the teachings of the great Saints in India.
In 1990, after reading the fascinating book The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist, which describes the experiences of an American psychiatrist with Sathya Sai Baba. my first husband and I became very interested in knowing more about this mysterious person. Sai Baba came in a dream around this time inviting us to India and that began a series of pilgrimages to the ashram and ultimately to His Lotus Feet. The teachings of Sai Baba were universal, tolerant of other faiths with the emphasis on leading a life of loving service, right conduct, peace, truth and nonviolence. There was such a deep love and peace emanating from Sai Baba, which made Him so irresistible that I just couldn't stay away for long and found myself crossing the Atlantic Ocean time and time again. And another incredible thing is that this relationship was not limited to His physical presence. Sai Baba would come in dreams, in astral projections, guiding me as He has thousands of other devotees. His tremendous and mind-blowing service projects were another huge attraction. He has built schools, universities, Superspecialty and general hospitals, all free of cost. He also initiated a huge drinking water project that has brought relief to drought stricken villages in South India.
(SHOW SERVICE PHOTOS )
As always with any teacher or spiritual path, there are tests and painful lessons that are necessary in order for us to evolve. Sai Baba says “Therefore, man has to be unmade and remade with his ego destroyed and replaced by a transcendental consciousness, so that he may rise above the Karmic bondage to the freedom of averting such disasters. This is the work of the Avatar, which I am presently doing.”
This was made clear in the following experience:
Around the year 2000, my husband and I were going through very difficult times. Swami came in a dream and told me he was changing, subsequently, we divorced in 2001. In 2003, I retired from my job and was able to spend 6 months at the ashram with Sai Baba's permission. Now I still hadn't settled all the financial baggage that came with the divorce. After the 2003 trip I returned to the states to face that challenge.
I would like read the chapter from the book Sai Rapture describing this period in my life:
Faith a flower at His Feet: Sai Rapture P. 121
You can't talk about Sai Baba without sharing His incredible miracles and manifestations.
Sathya Sai Baba is known for His miraculous materializations I personally have witnessed Him materializing vibhuti which is a fine white ash used for healing and blessing ( described Swami in Darshan).
Vibhuti can be smeared on body or eaten in small amounts, a pinch dropped in water and drunk Sai Baba says:
The Vibhuthi I materialize is a manifestation of divinity with a potent significance as well as symbolization. It is symbolic of the cosmic, immortal and infinite nature of all forms of God, Atma or spirit; that is what is left when everything worldly, transient and changeable has burnt away.
(SHOW VIBHUTI PHOTOS)
I have also witnessed Sathya Sai Baba materializing an object. I Described 2002 Interview where Swami created a ring.
During His Shirdi and Puttaparthi avatars, Baba cured innumerable devotees. In Puttaparthi, sometimes a cancer patient would visit Baba, if he was selected during Darshan, Baba would wave His finger and say “Cancer is cancelled!” True to Baba’s words, no matter how serious the disease, it would just vanish. Doctors and subsequent X-rays would confirm these miracles. Sai Baba says:
"I can cure, save, even resurrect people provided they are in a spiritually receptive condition. It is like the positive and negative currents of electricity. My capacity to heal can be compared to the positive current. Your devotion to Me is like the negative current. Once the two come together, the devotion provides what is called the miracle of healing."
"It is man's mind that is really responsible for his illness or health. He himself is the cause or motivator of either. So when it comes to healing or curing, the necessary faith has to be created within his mind for the purpose. All I do is invest him with the confidence, will and power to cure himself. It is My abounding love reciprocated by the intensity of the devotee's faith in Me that produce the desired result."
I would like to share 2 poems from my book 108 Bhakti kisses:
Window on Infinity: P. 102, Swamiji: P. 17
Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba passed away April 24, 2011. I would like to end with a quote from Sai Baba that I particularly Love:
There is only one religion, the religion of Love;
There is only one language, the language of the Heart;
There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity
There is only one God, He is Omnipresent
Om Jai Sai Ram! Hand out vibhuti packets
I Thanked everyone. (Scroll down to see video clip)
Our beloved Lord Sai graced me with the opportunity to speak about Him this Sunday, October 11th.
The President of the Spiritualist Chapel of Melbourne, Emma Principe approached me during the Summer and asked me to speak about Bhagavan in the Fall. She had recently been exposed to Swami's extraordinary presence by Marie Dooley another Sai devotee at the Chapel. So, I agreed and set the date for October 11th.
As the time approached I prepared and organized the talk on our wonderful Baba. Then just this past Friday, Swami in His inimitable way created a lovely leela:
I was Gallery sitting at the new location and a man walked in and asked about our relocation. We chatted for a while and then he asked about my artwork. I point out my work and he recognized Sai Baba. So now we had even more to talk about. The conversation got really mystical and transcendental. At some point he mentioned that he attended the Spiritualist Chapel and is in fact, Vice President of the church. My mouth dropped open, this is where I was giving the talk on Swami Sunday!!! We were both totally blown away by this LEELA.! I felt like Swami had His giant eyeball watching everything to do with His Sunday talk at the Spiritualist Chapel in Melbourne, FL!
Saturday evening I made the mistake of eating something too heavy before bed. My stomach was heavy as lead and I had difficulty falling asleep, plus my mind was over excited. So, I thought well let me do a head to toe deep relaxation at least. After awhile I drifted into a rather shallow sleep. I woke up after 2 and half hours, my stomach was still giving me difficulty so I got up and drank some apple cider vinegar water, this helped and I was able to fall back asleep. This time I had a fabulous dream:
I was in a room seated at a table with a young Indian girl. There was a little boy also seated at the table.
The girl got up and turned the table around. The little boy objected insisting that it should be put back the way it was. I bent down cupping the little boy's chin he was so adorable and cute. I said, "okay you want the table like this and we turned it back as I coddled the little boy I noticed his skin was a soft blue.
I kept looking at him and he had the same chubby sweet cheeks of baby Krishna. And then I saw it was baby Krishna! Heaven of Heavens!!!!
At that beautiful moment, my hubby David came into wake me up for the talk. I felt confident that although I did not get adequate sleep for the talk, Sri Krishna's energy would sustain me.
The talk went very well with Swami's Supreme Grace. Here is the reprinted text:
Spiritualist Church Talk (about 25 min)
I offered a song to Bhagavan Baba and everyone:
Deena Dukhiyon Se Prem Karo Mera Sai Prasanna Hoga
Will you Love the poor, the downtrodden, distressed;
My Lord Sai will be very happy
Sai Mera Mein Tera Ye Prem Ki Bahati Dhara
Lord Sai is my Lord and I am His…
Hey a love eternal flows between us
Ye Prem Ki Bahati Dhara
Hey a love eternal flows between us
Mera Sai Prasanna Hoga
My Lord Sai will be very happy
INTRODUCTION
Namaste Everyone, I am very happy to be here this beautiful Sunday morning to share some of my spiritual experiences with you. Over the years I have traveled to India over 12 times. Most of these trips were to an ashram in Puttaparthi, South India called Prashanti Nilayam, which means the abode of highest peace. It is the home of my Guru and Teacher Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, you may have heard of Him, He is pretty renown throughout the world. From my Guru I learned a way of life that has brought great transformation, personal and spiritual growth. I have also journeyed to the Himalayas in North India twice, in 2009 and 2012, 12,000 feet above sea level to a place I can only describe as the threshold of Heaven, Badrinath. This was a dangerous, arduous trek, but well worth the effort. During these trips we also visited the sacred Ganges in Haridwar.
(SHOW PHOTOS OF HIMALAYA/GANGES TRIP)
As a result of my travels and inner explorations I have written 2 books that embody these adventures and transformations: the first book is Sai Rapture, The Ecstatic Journey of a Modern Day Gopi (explain Gopi). And the second book is 108 Bhakti Kisses, The Ecstatic Poetry of a Modern Day Gopi.
(HOLD UP BOOKS)
(I brought the painting, Kalki Avatar to the talk)
The cover of this book comes from the painting, Kalki Avatar, and refers to the prophetic coming of Sai Baba who we believe is an incarnation of God, like Lords Krishna, Buddha and Jesus. Sai Baba says, "I am God. And you too are God. The only difference between you and Me is that while I am aware of it, you are completely unaware." Sai Baba possesses the 16 characteristics of an Avatar. The most prominent being Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence. A verse in the holy Bible, Revelation 19 inspired me to paint this: "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True" (Sathya means truth), "and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire" (Sai Baba's Eyes are dazzling and full of life), "and on his head were many crowns (could refer to His afro); "and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood (Baba's robe is sometimes a deep red): and his name is called The Word of God (Sai is Bhagavan)."
Other prophecies about the advent of Sathya Sai Baba can be found in: the Prophet Mohammed's book Ocean of light, in which he clearly describes Sai Baba and His miraculous powers; Nostradamus also predicted the coming of Sai Baba in his Centuries book. This symbol, Sarva dharma in the painting is the Unity of faiths which has attracted people of different faiths all over world to experience the unifying love of Baba.
The Sai Baba Advent comes in 3 incarnations: The first: Shirdi Sai Baba came in 1835; the second Sathya Sai Baba came in 1926; and the third Prema Sai Baba is yet to come. Each of these incarnations have specific missions for awakening the divinity in mankind. Sathya Sai Baba says:
“For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evil-doers and for establishing righteousness on a firm footing, I incarnate from age to age. Whenever disharmony overwhelms the world, the Lord will incarnate in human form to establish the modes of earning peace and to reeducate the human community in the paths of peace. At the present time, strife and discord have robbed peace and unity from the family, the school, the society, the religions, the cities, and the state. The arrival of the Lord is also anxiously awaited by saints and sages. Spiritual aspirants prayed and I have come”
( PHOTOS OF 3 SAI AVATARS & PRASHANTI)
Before I delve more into my books, let me tell you briefly about myself I grew up in Queens, New York; my parents were from Jamaica, West Indies, myself and 4 siblings were raised in a Protestant church. So, my background is Christian. However, as I matured and during my college years, I became increasingly disenchanted with traditional religion. It just didn't seem to add up, there was a lack of tolerance for other faiths, hypocrisy and a tremendous amount of fear. Consequentially, I was headed in an agnostic direction.
Around this time something crucial happened that changed my life forever. I became pregnant at age 22, which in itself is life changing. What happened to me in the delivery room truly completely altered the course of my life. I describe this in the book, Sai Rapture in great detail and I would like to read that chapter to you:
The Awakening flower: ( Sai Rapture P. 17)
As I mentioned before, this experience was the beginning of my spiritual journey. I started avidly exploring mysticism and yoga, later joining the Rosicrucian Order and studying the teachings of the great Saints in India.
In 1990, after reading the fascinating book The Holy Man and the Psychiatrist, which describes the experiences of an American psychiatrist with Sathya Sai Baba. my first husband and I became very interested in knowing more about this mysterious person. Sai Baba came in a dream around this time inviting us to India and that began a series of pilgrimages to the ashram and ultimately to His Lotus Feet. The teachings of Sai Baba were universal, tolerant of other faiths with the emphasis on leading a life of loving service, right conduct, peace, truth and nonviolence. There was such a deep love and peace emanating from Sai Baba, which made Him so irresistible that I just couldn't stay away for long and found myself crossing the Atlantic Ocean time and time again. And another incredible thing is that this relationship was not limited to His physical presence. Sai Baba would come in dreams, in astral projections, guiding me as He has thousands of other devotees. His tremendous and mind-blowing service projects were another huge attraction. He has built schools, universities, Superspecialty and general hospitals, all free of cost. He also initiated a huge drinking water project that has brought relief to drought stricken villages in South India.
(SHOW SERVICE PHOTOS )
As always with any teacher or spiritual path, there are tests and painful lessons that are necessary in order for us to evolve. Sai Baba says “Therefore, man has to be unmade and remade with his ego destroyed and replaced by a transcendental consciousness, so that he may rise above the Karmic bondage to the freedom of averting such disasters. This is the work of the Avatar, which I am presently doing.”
This was made clear in the following experience:
Around the year 2000, my husband and I were going through very difficult times. Swami came in a dream and told me he was changing, subsequently, we divorced in 2001. In 2003, I retired from my job and was able to spend 6 months at the ashram with Sai Baba's permission. Now I still hadn't settled all the financial baggage that came with the divorce. After the 2003 trip I returned to the states to face that challenge.
I would like read the chapter from the book Sai Rapture describing this period in my life:
Faith a flower at His Feet: Sai Rapture P. 121
You can't talk about Sai Baba without sharing His incredible miracles and manifestations.
Sathya Sai Baba is known for His miraculous materializations I personally have witnessed Him materializing vibhuti which is a fine white ash used for healing and blessing ( described Swami in Darshan).
Vibhuti can be smeared on body or eaten in small amounts, a pinch dropped in water and drunk Sai Baba says:
The Vibhuthi I materialize is a manifestation of divinity with a potent significance as well as symbolization. It is symbolic of the cosmic, immortal and infinite nature of all forms of God, Atma or spirit; that is what is left when everything worldly, transient and changeable has burnt away.
(SHOW VIBHUTI PHOTOS)
I have also witnessed Sathya Sai Baba materializing an object. I Described 2002 Interview where Swami created a ring.
During His Shirdi and Puttaparthi avatars, Baba cured innumerable devotees. In Puttaparthi, sometimes a cancer patient would visit Baba, if he was selected during Darshan, Baba would wave His finger and say “Cancer is cancelled!” True to Baba’s words, no matter how serious the disease, it would just vanish. Doctors and subsequent X-rays would confirm these miracles. Sai Baba says:
"I can cure, save, even resurrect people provided they are in a spiritually receptive condition. It is like the positive and negative currents of electricity. My capacity to heal can be compared to the positive current. Your devotion to Me is like the negative current. Once the two come together, the devotion provides what is called the miracle of healing."
"It is man's mind that is really responsible for his illness or health. He himself is the cause or motivator of either. So when it comes to healing or curing, the necessary faith has to be created within his mind for the purpose. All I do is invest him with the confidence, will and power to cure himself. It is My abounding love reciprocated by the intensity of the devotee's faith in Me that produce the desired result."
I would like to share 2 poems from my book 108 Bhakti kisses:
Window on Infinity: P. 102, Swamiji: P. 17
Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba passed away April 24, 2011. I would like to end with a quote from Sai Baba that I particularly Love:
There is only one religion, the religion of Love;
There is only one language, the language of the Heart;
There is only one caste, the caste of Humanity
There is only one God, He is Omnipresent
Om Jai Sai Ram! Hand out vibhuti packets
I Thanked everyone. (Scroll down to see video clip)
A clip of the Talk at the Spiritualist Chapel.
Posted by Sonya Tomlinson-Warren on Sunday, October 11, 2015
Here is another clip from the Sai Baba Talk <3
Posted by Sonya Tomlinson-Warren on Monday, October 12, 2015
