Zodiac Times

In 2004, I had a gum infection that cost me $7000 to take care of and sent me over the edge into bankruptcy (so what’s the deal with the Universal health care idea? How many people should choose between financial and physical hardships before it becomes reality?…)
Anyhow, this spring an oral surgeon pointed to my x-ray and told me, “it’s baaack. Pony up another $6000 as an implant is now needed” (well, maybe, the words were different, but the meaning was the same) – where’s that universal health care again… Needless to say, I don’t have this money, so I left for my summer vacation with an uncertain future.
As time went on, I began feeling pain and sensitivity to cold. Dismayed, I made an appointment with another dentist. Terrible foreboding of the utter financial ruin killed many of my plans.
But before I went to see a doctor, I prayed to my guru, Sai Baba, and put a bit of vibuhti (a sacred ash He creates) in my mouth.
As I was doing it, I felt as if He looked down on me from His portrait up on the altar. At that moment I knew my prayer was answered.
I still went to my appointment. More x-rays were taken. I was cleared. No infections. Not even a cavity.
ANOTHER MIRACLE FROM SATHYA SAI BABA!
As my way of thanking Him, I’ve decided to dedicate this post to my experiences with Him, as I am so blessed to have Him in my life!

I first heard of Sai Baba either in late 1996 or early 1997 from my astrology student. She was his devotee and she gave me a few books to read about Sai Baba.
Although I found some of the books interesting, I could not believe their main assertion that Sai Baba is the Avatar of our age. Moreover, I regarded the whole idea of a guru as a dangerous fallacy. I thought that when people put gurus / priests and the like between themselves and God, they separate themselves from God, giving up on having direct connection with the Creator and relieving themselves of responsibility for their own spiritual growth.
Personally, I have enjoyed and cherished such direct connection with God since childhood. God has always been my Guru, and I did not see the need for another.
In December of 1997, everything has changed.
I was stuck in Katmandu, Nepal with my youngest sister and her 3-year-old boy, my nephew. Due to unforeseen circumstance, we had very little money. On top of it, my relationship with my sister was deteriorating.
In the beginning of our trip, we were planning to travel through India, and I still had Indian airline tickets, which I bought in advance.
My sister’s Nepalese husband has not arrived from Russia, as planned, and her Nepalese relatives were advising us against the trip to India. I did not want to go there by myself, all alone during the Holidays. I was afraid to travel with my sister and nephew, as money was unexpectedly tight, and the boy was so young. Spending another month in Nepal did not inspire me either. I felt like I was there already 1 month too long. But my ticket back to the U.S. was on 1/15, more than a month away.
As I was considering all these options in my mind, I was passing by merchants’ stalls, and I’ve noticed little medallions of Sai Baba on sale. Spontaneously, I bought one. I looked at it and thought: “If you are an Avatar, like they say, what should I do?”
Immediately, a thought came into my mind: “Go home for the Holidays”.
The thought felt foreign to me, there was unmistakable Indian accent there, not to mention, that I did not even consider such a possibility before. “How am I going to do that?”, I asked, “How can I change my ticket less than 2 weeks before Christmas?”
“Don’t worry”, I heard a thought with an Indian accent in my head.
That very day, I went to a travel agent, and asked him to change my ticket to December 20th or so. He was skeptical. “You are asking for a miracle,” he said.
Ten days later, he called me and announced, “The miracle has occurred. You are going to get home in time for Christmas!”
And I went home for Christmas, and it felt so good to be home!…
Since then, I started taking Sai Baba seriously.
Some time later, he came to me in my dream. In that dream, I was standing in front of a mirror, practicing a lecture on astrology. Suddenly, Sai Baba appeared, saying, “So, you like to teach?”. I was so startled, I woke up. That week, I related that dream to my student, Sai Baba’s devotee. “Yes”, she said, “he does scare people sometimes. But if he comes into someone’s dream, it is for real. They say, one cannot dream about Sai Baba without him actually coming into the dream”.
But that still was not enough for me to become a full-blown Sai Baba’s devotee. I was apprehensive, and I did not want anyone to bud into my direct relationship with God.
In the early September of 1998, I got very sick. My period has presumably ended, but I continued to bleed, and I was bleeding with such force – as if someone turned on a faucet. I was afraid to go to a doctor, and for a few days, I simply prayed for healing.
I continued to bleed, however, getting weaker and weaker. Soon, it was hard to get off the couch, but I continued to work and pray for healing. By the fourth day, I could hardly feel my body, and a few steps would make my heart beat, as if I ran a marathon.
That night, Sai Baba came into my dream. “What kind of healing do you want?”, he asked. Again, I was startled, and said the first thing that came into my mind: “A classical one”. Suddenly, pipes were playing, and I saw a huge stage curtain made of red velvet.
Sai Baba waved his hand, the curtain opened, and Jesus Christ came into the opening.
All I can say, that it was more real, then our everyday reality, and I was so overcome with joy, seeing Jesus Christ walking towards me, that I lost my mind. Like a little child, I was overcome with excitement. “Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!..”, I kept screaming his name over and over again. He smiled, and as I realized that I was behaving like a child, I saw myself being a child in my dream. I felt embarrassed, but I could not help myself. I was besides myself with joy and excitement. Jesus Christ came over to me and picked me up. “So, what do you want?”, he asked me.
At that moment, my strange bleeding and the urgent need for healing have totally left my mind. I was so happy to see him, that I totally forgot I needed healing! All I could remember was one thing I have always wanted: “Faith”, I said.
For the longest time, I have wanted to have faith as strong as the faith of Jesus Christ. Even though God has created numerous miracles for me almost on everyday basis (from mundane (making onto a leaving bus, healing my puppy when all vets gave up on it, etc., to breathtaking (taking me back in time)), I knew my faith was rather feeble.
Jesus Christ smiled, put me down, and placed the palm of his hand on mine. I knew, that he was transmitting faith to me symbolically.
Then I woke up. Because the dream was so real and more vivid than my reality, I felt like I grew wings.
However, I continued to bleed. But that morning I was able to summon up the courage to go to the doctor.
At first, the doctor could not believe my claim. Then he checked my blood pressure, fixed the bleeding problem (at that point, I hardly bled, because, according to him, I hardly had any blood left) and sent me to the hospital for emergency blood transfusion. At the hospital I was told that I should have gone into shock or be dead already, because I lost some incredible percentage of blood. I do remember that, after the transfusion, the higher number of my blood pressure was 37.
In other words, I should have been dead, but I was not. Another miracle?
I also must say that my faith has grown slowly but steadily since then.
After Sai Baba brought Jesus Christ to me, any doubt that I had about him, has disappeared from my mind, and I became his ardent devotee.
Meanwhile, one day, as my boyfriend was fixing something in my apartment, some acid got into his eye, and he collapsed onto my rug in pain. That second I felt so helpless, I picked up the phone to dial 911. But suddenly I remembered: Sai Baba’s vibuhti!
My student, who told me about Sai Baba, gave me a tiny paper pouch with his vibuhti before I left for India. I totally forgot about it, and never took it with me. Now, almost a year later, I remembered it and found it immediately. I poured a bit of the grey powder onto my boyfriend’s eye, and immediately he stopped crying. “What did you do?”, he asked in surprise, “My pain is gone!”. I was just as amazed at the power of vibuhti as he was.
Soon afterwards, my boyfriend complained of the terrible pain in his liver area. As he took off his shirt, I saw his liver being so enlarged that it raised the ribs above it.
Without saying anything, I poured water in a glass, squeezed there a few drops of lemon, and mixed it with the rest of the vibuhti I had left. My boyfriend drank the mixture, and soon, within that day (!) he was fine.
I began to feel the need to visit Sai Baba’s center, and so I ventured there one Thursday.
I was unimpressed with the gathering. It did not have the charged meditative atmosphere I was used to, when I would come to meditate at the SRF center.
Afterwards I went for coffee with one of the ladies, and she said that next week they are going to celebrate Sai Baba’s birthday.
I remember that the day of celebration we were supposed to go skiing, and I begged my friends to postpone the departure, so I could be at the celebration. We agreed to leave early next morning, but I was to spend the night at my friends’ house, so we don’t lose any more time.
So I went to celebrate Sai Baba’s birthday dressed in skiing jacket and pants.
Actually, I ran, because I was certain that I was an hour late.
I was shocked to find out that I have arrived an hour early! There was no one there except for people in charge of arrangements.
In front of the stage, in the midst of the seats for the audience, there was a chair prepared for Sai Baba. It had flower garlands and his orange robe on it. There were also flowers spread all around it.
I was told that no one expects Sai Baba to appear in person. “He is here in spirit”, a lady said to my questions.
Boldly, I sat down to the left of Sai Baba’s chair and began to meditate. I felt his presence strongly, and my meditation was deep and satisfying.
But I had to leave before the festivities were over.
Before I left, I picked up an orange flower from the floor, where Sai Baba’s feet would have rested. I put it in my sack, that was already filled to the rim.
As I was going to the exit door, I’ve decided to take the flower out of my sack and put it in the pocket of my skiing jacket, so the flower would not get crushed.
As I left the building, I went to have a cigarette before heading for the subway. I sat down in the tiny square right across the street. My cigarettes were in the same pocket where I have placed the flower. Carefully, I moved the flower to another pocket, and light up my cigarette.
I could not truly enjoy that cigarette though, because, in about 10 feet away from me, there was a young man, who was obviously mentally disturbed. He was talking to himself, gesticulating widely (it was the time before cell phones).
“He is the one who needs a blessing”, I thought, and decided to give him Sai Baba’s flower. I finished my cigarette and unzipped the pocket where I have placed the flower. To my total awe, I found 2 flowers that were completely identical!
So I gave one flower to the young man, and went to my friend’s house.
While on my way there, I contemplated the miracle and realized what Sai Baba was saying to me with this gesture: God has enough blessings for everyone, so when blessing is shared, it does not lessen, it only grows!
A month later I had a dream I could not remember, but, because of it, I found myself in the morning talking outloud to my higher-self. I was given a choice: I may continue my life as it was then (happy, professionally and emotionally fulfilled, independent, but with romantic attachments), or I may choose to have a family (husband, children) and be able to express love and care. I was told / shown that the second choice is going to be painful.
To me, it was not even a choice. Of course, I want to be able to live and express love and care! After all, I know God as Supreme Love and Care, and I want to be just like Him!
So that morning I made a commitment to God to start a family.
My boyfriend was an obvious choice. We loved each other, and for the past 3 years he begged me to marry him and start a family.
But wait, just last night I threw him out, being totally mad at him for a good reason, and thinking that our relationship should be finally over!
I immediately called him, and told him that I am ready to take him back. He said something like: “Great! I am going to step by to see you as soon as I can, but I just got a lucrative contract and I am extremely busy.”
A month later, I found out that he got a new girlfriend, not a contract, and all this time he was extremely busy with her.
To be sure, I was pulling away from him for a good year, thinking that we should break up. But now, instead of feeling relief, I felt the most intense emotional pain. My self-importance was slighted as never before (he chose another woman over me!), but also my most important commitment to God was in obvious jeopardy.
For the next 18 days I could not either eat nor sleep. None of the sleeping pills were helpful, and I was afraid of losing my mind.
Since I could not sleep, I meditated. But, even as I would banish every thought out of my mind, I would still feel the most intense emotional pain.
And then I had two the most important meditations in one day:
In the morning, as I was meditating, I caught the presence of my higher-self. It felt as if It was staring at me with utmost interest, thinking “How dramatic!..”, while I was being pierced by intense emotional pain in the absolute stillness of my mind, voided of all thoughts. This allowed me to shift my perspective, and I got out of that meditation, laughing. The pain was gone.
In the afternoon, I meditated again, as it was my usual practice before starting teaching my regular astrology class.
Nothing unusual seemed to have transpired during the meditation itself. But I must have been in the state of “second attention”, as Carlos Castaneda would have called it. Because I got out of it truly feeling / realizing my Divinity.
Yes, intellectually, I knew for the longest time that I am part of the Divine, and Divinity is my true nature, which is true for every human being. But I never felt it before, therefore I could never own it.
This was the most significant realization in my entire life: finally, even if for a fleeting moment, there were no spiritual distance between me and God, finally I was able to “touch” God!
I have also felt the imprint of Sai Baba’s presence at that moment, and I knew he made this realization possible. He was not just an omniconscious miracle-maker, he was a true guru.
In less than a year, I’ve met a man, who became my husband and the father of my child.
In the fifth month of my pregnancy, I was stricken with lime disease. My husband went to Sai Baba’s meeting, asking for vibuhti. Incredulously, there was a man, who had a packet of vibuhti, given to him by Sai Baba himself.
It relieved my fever, and there were no bad consequences to this dangerous illness.
In the seventh month of my pregnancy, I performed a Hindi ritual, dedicating my child to Sai Baba.
Although I felt like my pregnancy was ordained by God, and I felt constant loving presence of the Divine, I was still worried about karmic intent of the soul that was about to become my son.
So Sai Baba came to me in the dream, saying that this soul is my friend, and how to name the child.
My son was born on Thursday (Sai Baba’s day), on the 9th day of a month, at 9 PM.
Giving him birth was surprisingly easy, and I had none of the usual complications and problems, except for occasional backache.
Sai Baba’s birthday was coming, and I was intent on coming to the celebration. I was thinking of it, while sitting in a rocking chair and nursing my son. My back was bothering me, and I thought to myself, that I should not forget to ask Sai Baba at his birthday celebration to cure my backache. Immediately, pain stopped never to return!

There were many big and little miracles of that nature since then. Although I stopped doing spiritual healings myself, because I was overly tired and overly stressed most of the time, occasionally I had either a request or an urge to do so. During those few times, I felt Sai Baba’s presence, and I knew it was his energy that facilitated healing.
In 2003, He summoned me to India, as I had hard time with my marriage and the terrible turn the world took in 2001. I did not know I needed help, but He did!
While I did not get the interview, He took my letter, and, on my last day at the ashram, despite the exceptionally huge crowd (there was some kind of celebration that day), He came out to the outskirts where I was and LOOKED AT ME. Our eyes met, and I felt my soul being scanned and cleaned.
Oh, there were many miracles, coincidences and teachings. Too many to put all in one post. But that moment of Him looking at me was a more defining spiritual experience than when another Indian guru raised my kundalini.
As I am about to end this story, I want to mention a few other interesting miracles I have received from Sai Baba in the past few years.
In 2004, my husband and I needed to move. A month later, after seeing lots of apartments, I have found the one we are living in now. It is a spacious 2 bedrooms, 2 baths apartment with incredible view of the park, in the building that is well kept, and it is cheaper then other apartments I’ve seen.
A few months after the move I found a letter to Sai Baba that I wrote in my PDA in February of 2004, asking him for a precisely such apartment! I wrote it obviously on my way to work, without much hope, and totally forgot about it!
Moreover, my neighbor next door just happened to be a Sai Baba’s devotee! He came to her in a dream and told her to to talk to me, so she went over and introduced herself to me. Even better, we have discovered that we both have memories of the same past live where we were sisters! (How’s that for a coincedence?)
Yes, there have been plenty of other miracles too, but I am not writing a book, just a “Thank You” note to Sai Baba. He has always been there for me, since He came into my life in 1997.
It’s been enormous privilege to have a true Avatar as a guru. With Sai Baba at the helm, my life is the greatest ride ever:-)!