Guest guest Posted October 29, 2003 Report Share Posted October 29, 2003 Book Review of the week Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My Baba and I by Dr. John S. Hislop Birth Day Publishing Co., California (June 1985) 282 pages - ISBN: 0960095888 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Contents AUTHOR'S PREFACE HAPPENINGS Our First Meeting with Sri Sathya Sai Baba >From Age 16 The Crucifix The Weeping Saris A Mirror of the Moon The Resurrection of Walter Cowan Touring with Baba Baba in Havana, Cuba The Double Halo Baba Protects His/Our Home Baba Knows Our Mexican Gardener Sugar Candy Master of Time and Space Choosing a Cow in Bangalore Baba's Miracle of Life Gita, Her Destiny Is to Be a Human Person Three Rings and Prema Sai Sai Krishna For This, One Cannot Look to Baba The Heart May Be Open and Free BABA'S TEACHINGS Become as a Little Child The Inner Voice God, Himself, Is the Only Reliable Guru Self-Inquiry Karma Reincarnation If All Is God, Who Does Evil? Sadhana The Divine Name Meditation Our Pure Mind Surrender to the Lord Awaken, My Dear, Awaken He Who Knows Silence Our Discontent Creation Carefree and Happy The Will, Free or Not? His Life Is His Message Our Experience with Happiness Ceiling on Desires Pandora's Box The Priceless Secret Our Body Seva Divine Vision Holding to Truth Three Sai Messages Baba Talks to the Indian Air Force CONCERSATIONS WITH BABA LETTERS EPILOGUE On Directly Experiencing the Presence of God (A Talk to a Gathering of Sai Devotees) To Sum It Up GLOSSARY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Back Cover Who is Sathya Sai Baba of India? Who is this holy man whom millions of Indians believe to be an Avathar, an embodiment of God? The miracles witnessed by his devotees transcend the known laws of science and parallel the miracles of Jesus. And he comes with a similar message – to bring unity and love to a despairing world. Dr. John Hislop, professor and author, recounts his experiences with Sathya Sai Baba during the past 17 years and tries to acquaint the reader with the depth and grandeur of Sai Baba's spiritual philosophy. Sai Baba has said that Dr. Hislop has had more face-to- face confrontations with him than any other Western person. In "My Baba and I", Dr. Hislop gives the reader a rare look into the life, miracles, teachings, and writings of the most unique and powerful religious personage of the 20th Century – Sathya Sai Baba of India. "Realize the Heaven within you and all at once all desires are fulfilled, all misery and suffering is put an end to. Feel yourselves above the body and its environments, above the mind and its motives, above the thoughts of success of fear. The great cause of suffering in the world is that people do not look within, they rely on outside forces." Sri Sathya Sai Baba - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://www.saibooks.org/newsletters/1997/oct97.htm One of the most insightful books on Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and essential reading for anyone wishing to go beyond the initial thrill of discovering Sai Baba, is My Baba and I by Dr. John S. Hislop. Dr Hislop recently passed away, and has left us all with a valuable legacy. The book is in four sections - each a gem in its own right. The first he calls `Happenings' - the phenomenal experiences he and his wife had over more than 28 years. Some of these stories have become legendary, Swami's materialization of the crucifix on a piece of the actual cross on which Jesus was crucified; the resurrention of Walter Cowan; the prevention of their home in Mexico falling into the ocean; the car crash prevented by Swami in his role as Master of Time and Space; and finally the famous Prema Sai ring. The second part called Baba's Teachings, is equally valuable for he tackles questions that we would all like to ask Swami; Where does evil come from? What does surrender really mean? How can there be free will when everything is God's Will? Hislop has the advantage of having been able to ask Swami to get the definitive answer on these knotty points. The third and fourth parts Conversations with Baba and Letters, both give us Swami's direct words on the numerous points which arise in daily life. Hislop himself had a varied background of spiritual seeking which took him from his Episcopal church to involvement with Dr. Annie Besant and Theosophy. He and his wife explored Yoga, then embraced the Transcendental Meditation of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Leaving that for Buddhist meditation they finally found Swami in 1968 and their search was at an end. His book was published in 1984, and although 13 years has passed it is still vitally relevant today. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/sathya/bookstore/FILES/mybaba.html In this remarkable book, the former president of the American Sathya Sai Organization asks Swami many of the questions, that we always wanted to ask, including: what prevents us from seeing the truth?; the limit of one's responsibility; how can one develop love?; what does "surrender to the Lord" mean?; how does one get devotion to God; what is the short-cut to self realization; how does one dtermine the dharma (right action) appropriate to oneself; what does Swami see when he looks at us; and hundreds of additional questions. The dialogues, taken from 10 years of interviews, are presented in an easy-to-read question-and-answer format. The book provides valuable insight into our own lives, and Swami's answers are sometimes unexpecteda but always sweet, profound, and deeply illuminating. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The book is available at: Sri Sathya Sai Book and Information Center, Toronto Cananda http://www.saibooks.org Netnews Bookstore http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/netnews/bookstore/index.html Sathya Sai Book Center Of America http://www.sathyasai.org/inform/tustin.htm Sathya Sai Book Centre, London UK http://www.srisathyasaibooks.org.uk/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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