44. The amazing life of Ratan Lal
Ratan Lal was born and raised in the west of India, in the city of Mumbai, which at that time was called Bombay. From a very early age he was interested in philosophy, mysticism, and meditation. In Mumbai, Ratan Lal visited various spiritual centers and read many books. One day he met a mystic named Nirmala Maharaj. At first, their communication was rather superficial, later Ratan Lal became his close student.
Ratan Lal’s greatest desire was to be initiated into mantra practice. But much to his surprise, Nirmala Maharaj refused him initiation, and explained that for the young Ratan Lal he had prepared a completely different system of practices. Nirmala Maharaja advised Ratan Lal to meditate on his reflection in a mirror.
Ratan Lal followed the Guru’s recommendation and put a large mirror in his room. Every morning he concentrated on his own reflection for a long time. This practice completely transformed the young man. Behind his usual human form, which he saw in the mirror, Ratan Lal more and more began to feel the presence of infinite cosmic consciousness.
Nirmala Maharaj lived in another city, and he stopped coming to Mumbai. This happened right after he initiated Ratan Lal into the amazing practice of meditation on his reflection in the mirror. After some time, Ratan Lal learned of an amazing saint who lived in the south of India: Sathya Sai Baba.
He first met Sathya Sai Baba in the mid-sixties. Ratan Lal realized that in order to gain enlightenment, one’s own effort in the practice of meditation is not enough, one needs divine grace.
Only a teacher of the highest level can bring down the divine grace, which completely transforms the spiritual state of the student. In 1965, Ratan Lal felt he could not leave Puttaparthi, he realized he must live his whole life next to Sathya Sai Baba. Ratan Lal left his body in 2005. For the long and happy forty years of his life from 1965 to 2005, he lived without a break in Puttaparthi, next to Sathya Sai Baba.
The essence of the philosophy that Ratan Lal preached was simple. The only thing that is obvious to any person is the feeling «I Am» … «I exist.» The feeling of one’s «I» is the central experience of being for every living being. «I» think, «I» speak, and «I» act. Since ancient times, Vedanta philosophy has asked the greatest question: who is the «I»? Ratan Lal guided people on the path of self-exploration and self-contemplation. In his opinion, the role of Sathya Sai Baba in the process of spiritual self-knowledge was enormous.
Ratan Lal said that practicing meditation or studying philosophy is not enough. Sathya Sai Baba is a divine teacher, an Avatar, who possessed the greatest spiritual power, it was his blessings that helped people go along the endless path of self-knowledge of the higher Self.