This book has been written by one during the period when she was passing through a traumatic period in her life with her daughter unemployed and marriage having ended in divorce.
After being indoctrinated into the Catholic faith in childhood, the author left for Australia at the age of 23 where she went through ups and downs in her life. Her association with Satya Sai Baba began in April 1997 when she dreamt of him and his giving her vibhuti (blessed ash). Then she also began to see Shirdi Sai Baba both during her waking hours as also in sleep. She made her first trip to Puttaparthi to meet Satya Sai Baba. Once while meditating, she suddenly felt as though her neck was being healed by Baba after she had suffered from pain for some days. It all began with her neck and shoulder becoming hot to the touch. So she mentioned the intensity of the heat to Baba in her meditative state. After this, she felt as though a fool breeze began to blow across her face. She even felt her body levitate and a general feeling of bliss. She had a beautiful darshan of Swami (Satya Sai Baba) in Puttaparthi.
It is experiences like this that the author recounts in this book. She cites an incidence pertaining to the Shirdi Sai Baba during the period when she was reading the Sai Satcharita. In it was given that he had said, ?Even if you call upon my bones, they will come to you.? Before retiring for the night, she retorted in her meditative state to Shirdi Sai Baba, ?Then let your bones come to me and let me see them.? Next morning she noticed a gaunt, bony, emaciated lady trying to light the arati and this woman looked at the author who was shocked to find her looking just like Shirdi Baba. She was thrilled to see this and concluded that as Shirdi Baba had claimed, he had sent the old lady in ?bones? as promised in the book.
In no time, the author began to see Shirdi Baba'spresence in the picture of him kept by her bedside. She even found his eyes blinking at her from the photograph and ?I saw this ?puff of smoke? (probably from his chillum) which hit my face and I moved my head back.? As a devoted disciple of Satya Sai Baba, she finds vibhuti materialising from his pictures kept everywhere; not only that, the vibhuti starts spurting out of her fingers.
Whatever be the truth or significance of this all, it goes without doubt that the author, who was passing through a phase of intense despair and had even planned on committing suicide on being afflicted with cancer, could find solace by placing faith in both a living and a non-living saint.
Hence this is a book which describes the importance of faith, be it reposed in a living or a supernatural entity.
(Sterling Paperbacks, A-59 Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi-110020.)
