Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Eternal Companion - November 2025

Aravind: I am grateful to Swami for this opportunity to speak with a very distinguished longtime devotee–the only one whom Swami called “My lawyer!” Robert, knowing that you have a treasure trove of experiences from your long association and proximity with our beloved Swami, I want to make the best use of our time together. 

Robert: Let’s begin with a quote, one that feels especially timely as we approach Swami’s 100th Birthday celebrations. It comes from the great Indian sage Sri Aurobindo in the early 20th century. As you know, Swami was born on November 23, 1926, and Sri Aurobindo wrote this the very next morning:

When he says, “a power infallible shall lead the thought,” it refers to Swami’s transformative power to influence our minds, guiding us toward divinity and truth. “In earthly hearts kindle the Immortal’s fire” points to Swami’s unique ability to awaken divine yearning within us. And “even the multitude shall hear the voice” reminds us that in the decades to come, tens of millions from India and around the world will receive Swami’s darshan.

Almost one hundred years later, Sri Aurobindo’s words remain a beautiful and accurate description of Swami’s life and work.

Aravind: Beautiful indeed! This Swami of ours truly inspires awe! Please tell me, how did you first come to Swami? Did you go searching for Him, or did He come searching for you?

Robert: He came searching for me long before I started looking for Him. That’s a story in itself.

In the early 1970s, I was a law student in Washington, D.C. Between my second and third years of law school, I decided to spend the summer traveling through the Yucatán and Guatemala, exploring ancient Aztec and Mayan ruins. I have always been fascinated by archaeology and anthropology. So, I bought a van, converted it into a camper, and set off.

Driving south through Tennessee, I stopped for the night at what looked like an old rock quarry. Alone in the van, I noticed something strange: every time the refrigerator cycled on, the ceiling lights turned on; when it cycled off, the lights went out. I realized I had an electrical problem that needed to be fixed before I crossed into Mexico.

The following morning, I pulled into a small gas station near Nashville that had a mechanic’s shop. The mechanic, an older man, greeted me. I said, “I have a problem,” but before I could explain, he replied, “I know–you have a phantom circuit.” I was stunned. How could he know before I even described it?

He explained the problem, told me exactly which parts I needed, and directed me to a nearby store. “Come back and fix it yourself,” he said, “I’ll guide you.” So, I did, spending the day rewiring under his direction.

As night fell, he invited me to his farm, which also housed a small meditation center. I accepted, and what was meant to be one night turned into almost a week. That’s when I learned his remarkable story.

He told me that for lifetimes, he had been the keeper of an ancient mystical doctrine. Before he met someone from his past, he would first hear celestial music, which would reveal details about that person’s life and the reason for their meeting. That, he said, was how he knew my problem before I spoke.

As a teacher, he drew on the works of Roy Eugene Davis, a disciple of Paramahamsa Yogananda, a renowned saint and author of the book Autobiography of a Yogi. One of Davis’s books was a small volume about Sathya Sai Baba, based on his visit to India. That was the first time I heard Swami’s name.

At that time, I didn’t pursue it any further. I have always been a seeker of truth, especially metaphysical truth, but my path had not yet led me directly to Him. I graduated, became a lawyer, and began practicing in San Francisco. Yet, as before, I found that worldly success did not bring the deeper fulfillment I was seeking. I was still searching for the higher truth.

Aravind: That’s fantastic and phenomenal. You must have been in your twenties then?

Robert: Yes, I was 27.

Aravind: At 27, most people are chasing careers and worldly pleasures. But you seemed to feel that the world had nothing more to offer. Was it because you had already seen enough of life’s luxuries? Or was there something deeper that nudged you toward this path? And why study law, for example, if this inner quest was always part of you?

Robert: The man I met in Tennessee–who could see my past lives–told me I had been a lawyer or judge many times before. I do not doubt it, because I decided I wanted to be a lawyer when I was only five years old. From that point on, I never wavered.

Even as a child, though, I had a deep interest in the unseen mysteries of life. I always sought the motive behind the act, the truth behind the teaching. That’s why I majored in philosophy in college, travelled through Europe, explored ancient civilizations, and looked eastward toward India for truths I could not find in Western philosophy or religion.

Five years after that encounter with the mechanic, while practicing with a firm in San Francisco, I had what some would call an epiphany. One morning, as I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge into the city, a thought arose: “What would I do if I had only one year to live?”

I didn’t know what I would do–but I knew very clearly what I would not do. And that was virtually everything I was doing at the time. The realization led me to quit my job and resolve to go to India in search of a teacher.

At that stage, I wasn’t looking for a religious or spiritual master. I was looking for a principle–a ‘truth-force’–that could guide my life. Around that time, I remembered having first read about Sai Baba in the book by Roy Eugene Davis. But it didn’t leave any lasting impression on me. But just a few days after my epiphany, a friend handed me a book she had received but not yet read–Sai Baba: Man of Miracles by Howard Murphet. That was my first real introduction to Swami. 

Aravind: Just like that? You gave up your career and simply went to India?

Robert: Yes, but I took the long way to get there. I spent a year traveling through the South Pacific and Southeast Asia–immersing myself in primitive cultures, staying in Buddhist monasteries in Thailand and Burma, and slowly making my way toward India.

Aravind: That’s incredibly brave. No bookings, no fixed plans–you just travelled?

Robert: Just travelled. By the time I reached southern India, I had already come across another book on Swami–this one written by V.K. Gokak, a distinguished educationist who later became the first Vice Chancellor of Swami’s university. What struck me most in his book was his observation that one did not have to come to Sai Baba as a believer–you could come, see, experience, and discover the truth for yourself. That greatly appealed to me.

So, with that mindset, I first walked into Brindavan Ashram in Whitefield, near Bengaluru, in March 1978. I had never met a devotee of Swami before. But I had read a few books about Him. I was a sincere seeker of truth, but I was still a doubting Thomas–trained to question everything, searching for the motive behind the act, the truth behind the teaching.

I had corresponded with Professor Kasturi, asking him if it was possible to attend the 1978 Summer Course, which began in May. Kasturi replied that only Swami could invite someone, but he welcomed me to come and meet him. So, I arrived on a Saturday afternoon, knocked on his door, and he kindly received me. He explained my timing was unfortunate–Swami was leaving that very afternoon for a two-week trip to North India. But he suggested I go to Puttaparthi, where I could await Swami’s return, and introduced me to a gentleman from Brindavan Press who would accompany me there the next morning.

That afternoon, I had a choice. For six months, I had been receiving mail at the Kadugodi Post Office near Whitefield. I hadn’t collected it. I could either collect my long-accumulated mail or go for darshan to see Swami for the very first time.

I made the right choice. I went for darshan.

I wasn’t used to sitting on a hard cement floor, but I waited. After some time, I noticed a Western man leaning comfortably against the wall. I went over and introduced myself. His name was Don Heath, president of the Sai Center in San Francisco.

“What a coincidence,” I said. “I lived in San Francisco.”

He asked for my name. When I told him, he laughed and said, “You’ve just solved my dilemma. I’ve been looking for you for two weeks.”

Puzzled, I asked why. He reached into his bush coat pocket, pulled out a packet of about twenty letters, and explained: “When I arrived, the Kadugodi postmaster handed me your mail. He asked me to find you before he sent it all back.” Then he handed me the letters.

“What a coincidence,” I repeated.

To which he dryly replied, “If you’re around here for a while, you may learn to call it something else.”

Aravind: Wow! So, you got to have your very first darshan, and the mail from the post office as well! 

Robert: Yes. Swami came out for darshan. Everyone thought it would only be a ‘car darshan,’ on His way to the airport, but instead, He stepped out and walked through the lines of seated devotees. He didn’t say anything to me or come very close physically, but He looked directly in my direction with the most piercing gaze imaginable. I had never experienced anything like it. In that instant, I felt He saw right through me–into my very soul. That was my first darshan of Swami, and also the first time I met a Sai devotee.

After that, I traveled to Puttaparthi when Swami was away in North India for about ten days. The ashram was almost empty–it was March, the dry and hot season when most people stayed away. But for me, those days were filled with quiet contemplation, meditation, and reading Swami’s books.

Every night, from the moment I fell asleep until I woke up, I felt a constant sense of Swami’s presence. He appeared in my dreams. He was there, watching–though not speaking. That silent, watchful presence was incredibly transformative. 

Aravind: So, by the time you came to Puttaparthi itself, you had accepted Him as the Supreme Being due to His one piercing look?

Robert: Oh no, not at all. I was still the same doubting Thomas, full of questions, but a sincere seeker of truth and Self-realization. When I learned Swami had returned to Whitefield, I went back there. What I thought might be a one- or two-month stay turned into two years, through the end of 1979.

Aravind: So, you got to attend the 1978 Summer Course. But tell me–at what point did you say, “If there is a God on earth, this is Him”?

Robert: It didn’t take long. Within a week or two of returning to Whitefield, Swami started calling me for interviews. Without me saying a word, He spoke of my past–things no one in India could have ever known: my education, my background, family experiences, even my interests. He also told me about my future.

He said I would return to the U.S. after my stay in India. I would first work in government service, which turned out to be two years as an administrative law judge in the federal government, then enter private practice, serve His organization in various legal roles, marry, and have two children.

During one interview, He asked me, “Do you know Ojai?” I misheard it as “Ohio,” but He laughed, spelled out O-J-A-I, and moved on. At that time, I had never heard of Ojai. The following year, I discovered that Diana–the woman Swami had chosen for me, whom He Himself introduced, and later married us–was from Ojai, California. After returning to the USA, I settled there, where we lived together until she passed away 11 years ago.

It was during my second interview that He materialized a ring and placed it on my finger, a five-metal panchaloha ring with a Krishna in relief and an “OM” on it. It glowed with an ethereal brightness.

Within minutes of leaving the room, I entered a higher state of consciousness that persisted for almost two days. It was pure bliss. 

From my first meeting with Swami, I made it a practice to record every word Swami spoke to me or to others in my presence. If you would like, I can read to you what I wrote in my journal at the time. My late wife later included it in her book Divine Lessons.

Aravind: Yes, please.

Robert: This is from my entry dated April 7, 1978:

“Since my second interview on April 5th, I have been filled with unimaginable bliss. The energy that Baba infused into me has eradicated every thought or desire other than a steadfast wish for union with God. Love has entered my every thought and profoundly colored my perceptions. People have remarked that they could hardly believe they were speaking with the same person.

My meditation sessions these past two days have been sublimely calm, with an absence of mental activity. I find love and beauty everywhere. I have felt as if released from all past karma. Toward all, without exception, I felt peace, forgiveness, and compassion.

Yesterday morning at darshan, Swami stood in front of me, inscribed something in the air with His finger, and I felt a stirring in my heart. That evening, He stood on my foot for several seconds, and the elevated state began to subside.

The entire experience was a revelation of our true consciousness and a demonstration of His unconditional love and forgiving grace. I don’t know why I was the fortunate recipient of such grace–but I know it has transformed me forever.”

Aravind: Wow!

Robert: I think those words that I wrote at the time of the experience say it better than anything I can say now.

Aravind: You know, this is the second time I’m hearing about an experience like this. One of my teachers also described something similar–Swami patted his head, and he went into a superconscious state. Two days later, Swami patted him again and brought him back to what he called “abnormal” state–what we think of as ‘normal’. 

Robert: It doesn’t even take physical contact. I had an even more intense experience seven years later in the ashram, in the Poornachandra Hall. It was at the end of a festival. My wife Diana and I were there. It was our last darshan before returning to the U.S. After I first left India in 1979, we continued to return every year for the next 35 years–at least once a year, often twice, and sometimes even three times when Swami invited us.

On that particular occasion, I was about 10 or 15 feet away from Him when He looked at me and said, “Have a son.” With Swami, you never know whether His words are symbolic or literal. In His parlance, “son” represents truth and “daughter” represents peace.

As soon as He spoke, I felt an overwhelming state of bliss–so intense I couldn’t even function. It lasted for 12 hours. Normally, when we travel, I go into my “organization mode”–handling passports, tickets, airport counters, taxi drivers, luggage, and all the logistics. But this time, I was so absorbed in blissful consciousness that Diana literally had to take me by the hand and lead me through the airport to the plane.

By the time we landed in Los Angeles, the experience had faded. But that–and the 1978 experience–revealed something profound to me. Swami always tells us: “You are not human, you are divine. You are a divine being having a human experience.” He even goes so far as to say to us, “You are God. You are not separate from God. Low thinking is a crime. Think of yourself as divine.”

Those two experiences gave me a direct taste of that truth–the realization that our normal waking consciousness is not our ultimate reality. Higher consciousness is our true nature. When we leave this body and the human experience, we return to that divine state of bliss. These moments have profoundly shaped my life and are perhaps the greatest lessons He has taught me.

Aravind: So beautiful. And it’s easy to see how, after that first experience in 1978, you would have felt that your search had led you to the goal–that this was it. Am I right?

Robert: Yes, absolutely. From that experience onward, I knew Swami was divine. I did not fully understand what that divinity was–I have only been given a small glimpse of it–but it left me with complete certainty. In my mind, since then, He is the Avatar He proclaimed Himself to be. 

To Be Continued...

Robert Baskin, Esq
USA

Robert Baskin, Esq. first met Swami in 1978. He came to India for an intended one or two-month stay for the 1978 Summer Course and stayed at the Ashram with Swami’s encouragement for two years. He and his wife, Diana, returned to Prasanthi Nilayam to be with Swami more than 50 times. Their experiences are memorialized in her published books Divine Memories and Divine Lessons. He is a sincere seeker of spiritual truth and Self-realization and is devoted to Swami and His divine mission. 

In 1983, after he returned to California, Swami appointed him as a director of the Sathya Sai Society of America (SSSA). As its longest-serving member, he has served as an officer and director and has provided legal counsel for four decades to the SSSA, SSSIO–USA, and the SSSIO at the international level. He was a regional director of the SSSIO–USA and served in various roles for many years. He is currently a director of the Sri Sathya Sai World Foundation, which focuses on policy issues and legal matters of the SSSIO.