the mountains and the lake. One morning Svetlana held in her hands the sacred Shaligram materialized by Sathya Sai Baba through Jaya Lakshmi Amma. Suddenly, the sacred stone disappeared right in her hands (dematerialized). It was clear that for some reason, Sathya Sai Baba had taken away the wonderful Shaligram.
Svetlana immediately called Jaya Lakshmi Amma on the phone. As soon as Svetlana told her about the dematerialization of Shaligram Jaya Lakshmi Amma entered into meditation to seek advice from Sathya Sai Baba on a subtle plane.
Jaya Lakshmi Amma almost immediately announced that God would return the Shaligram to Svetlana and there was no need to worry. After a couple of hours, we went to the top of the mountain, where the ancient temple of the god Shiva is located.
On the way we stopped for a cup of tea in a mountain roadside cafe. Suddenly, the same Shaligram jumped out (materialized) right from Svetlana's navel.
Svetlana was very happy to have the sacred artifact back, which was now doubly valuable. We immediately called Jaya Lakshmi Amma, who said that all this time she’d been praying to Sathya Sai Baba that he miraculously returns the Shaligram.
It is difficult to say why Sathya Sai Baba took away the Shaligram for a while, and then returned it again in such an unusual way. In such situations, there can be many reasons. During the whole story with the disappearance and further appearance of the Shaligram, the boy Prema Sai Baba closely followed the situation.
Naturally, Svetlana called him both after the dematerialization and after the materialization of the sacred stone. He seemed to be idly watching the unfolding events constantly giving hints that he knew exactly how the story would end.
There were some great meetings in Kathmandu. We met Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, who was staying at our hotel. A group of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims introduced us to a high lama from the Nyingma school, from whom we received initiation.
Several times we visited the abbot of the Goraknath temple, whose temple is located on the top of the mountain of the Pashupatinath temple complex.
Another interesting situation showing the care of Sai Baba happened to us at the airport already on the flight from Nepal. In the morning, after leaving the hotel, we did not have breakfast, because it was still too early. Arriving at the airport, we realized it was impossible to eat, because the check-in area was being renovated.
We went into the waiting hall and were offered to relax in the business lounge, but we refused and decided to go through passport control and look for some kind of snack in the landing area. After passing through passport control and checking in our luggage, we realized we would remain hungry because the waiting room was also being renovated.
My wife Svetlana said she would try to negotiate with the officers to go to the business hall area in order to buy something there. Turning to the officer, she realized all requests were useless, and sadly went back to the waiting room.
After walking ten meters, she met a senior officer who strangely asked her if she was hungry. She answered in the affirmative. After that, the senior officer helped her back through the control zone. Then Svetlana went to the business hall where she was not asked for money for entry. Inside the business lounge, she bought food and water.
After that, Svetlana returned to the passport control zone, and the officer who originally did not want to let her out for food was very surprised that she already had a stamp in her passport, although he was the one who put the stamp there before. This is how the blessings and grace of Sai Baba work. He helps his devotees literally at every step.
And that's not all. On the fully loaded plane, the row on which we were sitting was magically empty and we had a great sleep on the flight. Happy and satisfied we returned to Doddamallur to Prema Sai.
24. Divine games in Goa
In the spring of 2022, my wife and I spent two weeks in Goa, where I continued to work on a new book and conducted online seminars on Kriya Yoga meditation. The state of Goa is perhaps one of the most unusual in India. Many associate Goa exclusively with a beach holiday, but actually this is a state with deep culture and history.
This is probably the most Christian territory in India. There are beautiful Portuguese-style churches everywhere. The magnificent nature is wonderfully combined with the most beautiful Catholic cathedrals. If you go a little inland, away from the beach, there are mountains covered with jungle.
The main Christian shrine in Goa is the incorrupt relics of St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552), who lived in the 16th century. Born in distant Spain, he became one of the founders of the Jesuit order and the chief disciple of Saint Ignatius of Loyola (1491–1556).
Ignatius Loyola’s most important contribution to Christian mysticism was the writing of the book Spiritual Exercises, which became a method for many Christians in Europe and around the world on the path of divine transformation.
Francis Xavier was one of the first to apply the methods of spiritual self-improvement set forth in the book of Ignatius Loyola. Now, in the 21st century, some doubt the relevance of the methods described in the Spiritual Exercises. It’s hard to say as any path is always personal. In the distant 16th century, it was thanks to the practices learned in this book that Francis Xavier gained mystical experiences of the Holy Spirit. Feeling the call of his heart, he traveled to the East in order to preach Christianity.
Having gone to the East, he preached the Word of Christ in India, Japan, and China. After his death in China, they decided to transfer his body to India for burial. As a result of