Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan | Group VII | Mr. Christopher St. John

Mr. Christopher St. John,
USA.

         Mr. Christopher St. John from the USA turned into an ardent devotee of Bhagavan with an extraordinary experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai. The following is an extract from the book 'Swamy Saranam' by Mr. E.U.Madhavan of the experience of Mr. Christopher St. John recorded therein.

'Christopher St. John of USA was baptized in the Catholic faith. At the age of seven, he mastered Latin and became an altar boy, assisting the priests in their rituals. His dream was to become a priest when he grew up, and his parents too had the same wish. But as the saying goes, man proposes and God disposes. Christopher went on to become a well-known Hollywood personality, juggling many roles - as film producer, director, actor, scriptwriter and playwright!

In the year 1972, Christopher was inspired to write a screenplay called 'A Man Called God'. In his career, Christopher had written many a script, but there was something unique about this particular one - it seemed to him that the writing of the story flowed through him of its own accord, as though guided by some unknown power. It was the day of his completion of the play. Christopher's wife was sitting relaxed in their drawing room when, to her utter amazement, a man in Afro-hairstyle, wearing a red robe from neck to toe, stepped out through the wall of the drawing room, and seated himself on the sofa before her! Though taken aback, she managed to gather herself, and asked the stranger 'who are you? What do you want?' The stranger replied 'I am an East Indian holy man. I am the Hero of the play you have just completed. I have known you both for many generations. It is I who inspired him to write the screenplay of 'A Man Called God'. The 'East Indian holy man' conversed with her for sometime. Before parting, he advised her to take the script of the new play to Charles Boke, president of Aura Film Productions.

Four days later, Christopher and his wife went with their script to Charles Boke. When they entered the drawing room, Mrs. Christopher stood dumbfounded for a moment - the walls of the room were adorned with beautiful coloured photographs of the same 'Holy Man' who had visited her house! It turned out that Charles Boke was the head of the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centre in California, and he answered the Christopher's many queries about the 'Holy Man' - Sri Sathya Sai Baba. From then onwards they had many experiences and found many positive changes both within themselves and in their lives, which they attributed to the entry of Baba into their lives.

A few years later, they came down to Puttaparthi to see their 'East Indian Holy Man' in flesh and blood. They stayed with Swami for some months at Puttaparthi. Christopher says of his encounter with Baba, 'when I came face to face with Baba after many years of observing Him from afar, I now came to realize the divine inspiration. Without doubt, Divinity moved amongst us showering love and truth'. Christopher wept like a child for the years he had spent in darkness. He further adds 'in Baba's presence, one discovers what life is really. All about life is truly only about God. Everything else is unimportant and extraneous. Baba's love is so high, so wide and so deep. Baba is the Universal Mirror and the Reflection.'

-- Mr. Christopher St. John

         (Extracted from the book Swamy Saranam by Mr. E.U. Madhavan, resident of Prasanthi Nilayam)