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Introduction xiii
spiritual insight in the crucible of daily psychiatric practice. I will report the everyday appearance of subtle, and some not so subtle, spiritual phenomena, as well as some dramatic “miraculous” events, which require a broadening of our concepts to be comprehended.
We’ll examine clinical evidence which supports the hypothesis that all fears—those of patients and those, which prompt our own resistance to spirituality—arise from the mortal fear of facing the delusion of duality. I’ll interview a prominent psychiatrist who exemplifies— and fully admits—such resistance.
We’ll take one more step as well. I will show, through my experience with Sathya Sai Baba, that abstract concepts about consciousness, duality, love and the primacy of the spirit have meaning even to those hardcore behavioral scientists who believe that the final solution to suffering will be found in brain chemistry and psychopharmacology. For them there may be no sense of a connection between biology on the one hand and morality, devotion and higher levels of consciousness on the other. But if Sai Baba’s apparent materializations of matter from “will”—which he calls expressions of love—are found to be real, then we are seeing concrete evidence that matter is a function of consciousness, and not vice versa. If higher levels of consciousness are fundamental to biology, then one day we may ultimately rely on the achievement of these states of consciousness for the treatment of all earthly ills.
In Part II, I will offer suggestions on the type of education and training necessary for the development of the New-Age therapist of consciousness. Drawing upon my experiences with Sai Baba, I will attempt to describe how spiritual insight relates to a psychotherapist’s personal growth, his way of conceptualizing psychological problems, his therapeutic approaches and thus, ultimately, his capability as a therapist. And finally I will relate some of the humorous and moving experiences I’ve had in trying to introduce psychiatric colleagues to spirituality.
In Part III, I will look at the possibility of Sathya Sai Baba’s being an authentic world teacher who will have global influence in the years to come. I’ll present a discourse, in his words, explaining the meaning of his “miracles”; describe an international conference on Service to Mankind, held at his ashram in November, 1980, and attended by 200,000 people from almost every country in the world;