35. The statue of the deity disappeared, and Sathya Sai Baba appeared instead
In the late ‘90s I returned to Whitefield, the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, which was located on the outskirts of Bangalore. Literally a few days after my arrival, several buses drove up to the ashram, from which a large number of Hindus, dressed in festive attire, got off. They solemnly entered the ashram, and it was clear from their appearance they all belonged to the Brahmin caste. In their hands were gifts and offerings. This caught my attention and I decided to find out what happened.
I managed to discover that all these people came from the ancient city of Tirupati, which is located on the east coast of India. Tirupati is the largest temple complex in India, in the center of which is the majestic statue of Lord Venkateswara.
There is a curious version about the history of Venkateswara. According to legend, the statue of this deity is actually not stone, but alive. Allegedly, several centuries ago, a spacecraft landed on earth, on which an alien flew in and settled in this city. The alien entered a deep meditative state and remained standing in this place. A huge temple of Lord Venkateswara appeared around the alien. Over time, the alien was covered with special robes so parishioners could not notice that it was a living being and not a statue. I will not argue that this version is true, but the fact that the statue in this temple does not look like an ordinary stone statue is remarkable.
In the late ‘90s, an amazing miracle happened at the Venkateswara temple. Vedic tradition dictates that the main worship services be performed at sunrise. In India, sunrise, both in winter and summer, occurs around six in the morning, therefore, worship services always begin at the same time.
One morning, the priests of the temple were worshipping the statue of the deity with everything going on as usual. The many hours of ritual action included washing the statue, offering flowers, incense, and various oils while the priests sang mantras and made symbolic offerings to the statue of the deity.
When the priests began to wash the statue, they felt the feet of the statue were alive. All those present saw very real, living, human feet at the statue of the deity. Instinctively, the priests raised their heads to see what was happening to the statue itself. The head of the statue disappeared and the head of Sathya Sai Baba appeared instead. A little later the statue itself disappeared and Sathya Sai Baba himself stood in its place. This miracle was seen by a large number of clergy and pilgrims who came that morning to worship.
A huge number of people witnessed this unique miracle, the statue of Venkateshwara simply dematerialized, and instead of it, Sathya Sai Baba, who could be seen and even touched, appeared for some time. Then Sathya Sai Baba disappeared, and instead of him, the statue of Venkateswara, which was familiar to everyone, appeared.
This event made such an awe-inspiring impression on all those present that the priests who performed the service immediately informed their families about this miracle. On the same day, they decided to go immediately to the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba in order to thank him for such a miracle and blessing.