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our limitations, and impels us to go through the process of detaching from the unreal and aaching ever more fully to him. In this story, we see Swami being the master teacher of detachment, helping me with the purification process.
First Contact with Russia
In March 1988, while with Swami in Brindavan, a Russian woman approached me with the newly completed Russian translation of Sai Baba: The Holy Man And The Psychiatrist. I asked Swami if I could go to Russia to find a publisher. He first said that it could be published in Chicago, USA (without having been told that the translator lived there and taught Russian at the University of Chicago). I should have let the subject rest there but instead, thinking that I could improve on Swami’s advice, said, “But Swami, it would be easier if it were published in Russia so the books would not have to be shipped so far for distribution in Russia.” Swami paused a moment and then gave permission for me to make the trip. When I asked if I should go soon, he inquired, “Why wait?” I guess he was hurrying me through the purification process.
Where to start? I had no contacts in Russia, and I did not know how spiritual books, which had been banned until recently, were published and distributed. I called a friend who was active in holistic healing and knew a wide variety of people. He had aended a conference in Washington DC with Russians, and he gave me some leads. I contacted two Russians who were not interested and half-heartedly dialed the third number. Here I met with unexpected success! An American woman, who had taken on the Indian name of Ramaa, knew about Sai Baba and had read my book. She actually felt that Sai Baba had helped her develop her program, Center for Soviet-American Dialogue, a method of opening up a discussion between USA and Soviet citizens. Over the preceding four years, she had made over 20 trips to Moscow to help establish a connection between the USA, the Soviet Union, and India, and, in particular, to bring
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