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Delhi Talk 169
I have seen the miracle of the Vibuthi Abheshekam on film, but seeing it first-hand is quite another experience. Baba first materialized a beautiful necklace, which he placed around the Shirdi Baba statue— Shirdi being Baba’s previous incarnation and also an incarnation of Shiva. As the lovely bhajans slowly rose in tempo and excitement, he washed the statue with milk and water. Then, placing his hand in an empty upturned urn held over the statue, he created a steady shower of vibuthi which poured from the urn, bathing the silver statue of Shirdi.2
This ritual washing continued for about five minutes. Sitting fairly close, I was enveloped by the cloud of sweet-smelling ash as it blew out over the crowd. Here was Baba the Father, totally in command of the elements, transcendental and other-worldly as he brought the spiritually rejuvenating ash from fathomless space. Baba’s radiance and my immersion in the materialized vibuthi and exquisite bhajans created an unforgettably sublime experience.
Then the forgiving and redeeming Baba walked into the audience, blessing his devotees with the beautiful teerth ceremony. With the milk- and-water mixture from the washing of the Shirdi statue, in an act of purification, he washed his devotees. Dipping a small straw hand broom into the fluid, he walked in among his devotees, sprinkling them with this mixture and creating immense joy. All felt their souls washed clean by the Lord Himself. What grace!
Following the ceremony, I had a conversation with Professor Kasturi, who has been with Baba some thirty years. He said that when Baba places his hand in the empty urn, it immediately and completely fills with vibuthi. In fact, Baba leans over to warn the man holding the urn to prepare for the sudden increase in weight. He churns his hand inside the urn until it is emptied, then replaces it with his other hand and the whole process is repeated, the urn again instantaneously filling with vibuthi. This is repeated until five or six times the amount of vibuthi that the urn could normally hold has been created.
Professor Kasturi has been fortunate enough to hold the urn during many different Mahashivarathrìs. He says the moment is so spiritually intense that he completely loses contact with the crowd and is filled only with Baba’s presense and the sacredness of the miracle. When asked whether he had ever inspected the urn to make sure it was empty before the miracle, he simply laughed and said, “Of course.”