first met Sathya Sai Baba three years ago. I went to India as Western psychiatrist to study the psychology of religion at first hand and left with a deep sense of mystery about a being I could not comprehend. L Sai Baba says, My life is my message. He teaches about spirituality in a universal language, attracting the attention of people from all over the world, all walks of life and all religious beliefs. He is breathing new life into age-old truths for millions. There is only one caste, he says the caste of humanity; there is only one language-the language of the heart; there is only one religion-the religion of love; there is only one God-and He is omnipresent. What is it about this world teacher that is so captivating? His followers believe him to be much more than a revered spiritual leader. Scientists, educators, leaders of government and public figures, as well as the poor, the weak and the sick-the whole spectrum of humanity-attest to the claim that Sai Baba is capable of the most extraordinary feats. It is reported that he can materialize objects from thin air and is capable of remarkable clairvoyant, telepathic and healing powers; that he is able to transform himself into other forms and identities and transport himself great distances instantaneously; that he has been seen in two or more places at once. The scope of his reputed powers boggles the mind; it is in fact thought by his followers to extend beyond the limitations of time and space, To them, this charismatic and mysterious man is an avatar: a superhuman embodiment of the divine in human form. It is hard, to put it mildly, for most Westerners to take such claims powers, and the increasing documentation available on him, are seriously. Yet the caliber of people convinced of Sai Baba's paranormal impressive. Dr. S. Bhagavantam, for example-physicist, former scientific adviser to India's Defence Ministry and past-president of the Indian Science Congress Association-describes himself as "rational man, practically, an agnostic, who would not accept anything without a scientific explanation." This is how he has resolved what was once a conflict between his scientific training and the evidence of his senses: "In our laboratories", he says, "we scientists may swear by reason, but we know that every time we have added a little to what we know, we have learned of the existence of many other things, the true nature of which we do not know. Thus while adding to knowledge, we add more to our ignorance too. What we know is becoming a smaller and smaller fraction of what we do not know. "How do I reconcile my background of science with what Sathya Sai Baba does? I have seen miracles performed by Baba perhaps in the thousands during the fifteen years that I have known him: materializations of an infinite variety of physical objects, healings of every description. I must confess that with the logic I know and the training I have, I cannot accept that Sai Baba is like you and me. He can transcend the laws of physics and chemistry. I have therefore to describe and to declare that he is phenomenon, that he is transcendental being, that he is divine." The world today appears on the brink of insanity. Half its population may be starving or undernourished. We are witness to shootings on the streets, suicides and terrorist attacks on a daily basis. The most grotesque inhumanities to man and a virtual rape of the land are practiced by us as a way of life.
As a young psychiatrist wondering about the mysteries of man's mind and about the extent of its capabilities, Dr. Sandweiss heard about the miracles and works of Sathya Sai Baba. This book takes us along his fascinating journey to a remarkable Holy Man, resulting in a well-observed and clearly described inner spiritual transforma-tion. Dr. Sandweiss allows us to witness his Western scientific mind struggling with the incomprehensible - materializations of objects, knowledge of the unknowable, miraculous healings, and a synthesis of spiritual teachings which opens the door to vast new possibilities. Could man actually have the potential for transcen-dence beyond death and into the domain of pure love? Dr. Sandweiss discovers that what passes as psychiatry is an incomplete science and that quite essential additions have to be made to it from the field of spiritual awareness to make it truly effective. It is his sensitive discernment, his honesty and forthrightness in the course of his exploration that will endear Dr. Sandweiss to the readers of this book. A transparent sincerity permeates this piece of writing. The writer takes the readers into his confidence regarding all the changes in his thoughts and moods as he journeys towards sai Baba and into his own heart. This is what makes it a genuine document of human sensitivity and of the psychology of profound inner changes.
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Journal (181)
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