Page 28 - WLMIG_6132004.indd

story about Swami appearing in multiple forms of divinity gave me courage just before I was to speak to a London audience of 2,500 people in 1996.
Always uneasy before speaking about Swami in front of large groups, I was trying to calm myself during the ride to the auditorium. I never feel quite sure of myself, especially as I prepare to talk about the incomprehensible. Perhaps that’s how we should be under such circumstances, never taking anything for granted, while wanting to be immediate, open, unpretentious, and vulnerable.
A lovely young Indian couple was driving me. I asked the driver, “How were you first aracted to Sai Baba?” He replied, “It was really something quite unusual. My wife was the devotee of Sai Baba, not me. I believed in God in the form of Rama, Krishna, and in the ancient texts of Hinduism, but not that God would come again in human form in this modern day and age. I sort of tolerated her devotion to Sai Baba. Then, one evening while I was in bed, I looked toward the wall, and there against the wall stood Sai Baba. At first, I thought it might be a misperception and shook my head. Yet, no, it was he in the flesh! I first thought that he had made a mistake and actually wanted to visit my wife. I wasn’t frightened or alarmed, just a bit put out because I didn’t want to see him. Then I turned away to look at another wall, and there he stood again. I looked upward, and there he was again in front of my eyes on the ceiling. I was frustrated and rolled over, puing my head in the pillow, and went to sleep.
“The next day, I had the strong feeling that he would come again. I was worried, and did not want to see him alone. I thought he would come to the bedroom again. I waited that evening until my wife was ready to go to bed. Then I followed her up the stairs, wanting her to go into the bedroom before me. I hadn’t told her of the incident, nor of my relief that she was with me now. However, there is a devotional room off to the right, just before entering our bedroom, and as we walked
28