Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group II | Dr. John S. Hislop

Dr. John S. Hislop
USA

Dr. John S.Hislop was an ardent devotee of Bhagavan. He spent considerable time with Bhagavan, when he was alive, experiencing the Divinity of Bhagavan in varied ways. He authored several books on the Divinity of Bhagavan. The following experience is extracted from his book 'My Baba and I', carried in the bimonthly newsletter of Sri Sathya Sai International Centre, New Delhi for July - August 2004.

'The evening before the Mahasivaratri Day of 1973, we were told to be ready in the early morning for a trip. Our destination was the Bandipore Game Sanctuary, several hours away in Mysore State. We arrived at the forest rest house in the early afternoon. The next morning, we drove through the hills and chose a place for our congregation in the evening.

We returned there at dusk. The cars halted at the side of the road and we started to climb down the bank to the sandy river bottom. I was beside Baba. As we passed a bush, Swami broke off two twigs, placed them together and asked me, 'what is this Hislop?'

'Well, Swami, it is a cross,' I answered. Baba then closed His fingers over the twigs and directed three somewhat slow breaths into His fist, between thumb and forefinger. Then he opened His hand to reveal a Christ figure crucified on a cross, and He gave it to me.

He said, 'this shows Christ as he really was at the time he left his body, not as artists have imagined him or as historians have told about him. His stomach is pulled in and his ribs are all showing. He had no food for eight days.'

I looked at the crucifix, but found no words. Then Baba continued, 'the cross is wood from the actual cross on which Christ was crucified. To find some of the wood after 2000 years took a little time! The image is of Christ after he died. It is a dead face.'

I noticed something odd and asked, 'Swami, what is that hole at the top of the cross?' Baba replied that the cross had been originally hung from a standard.

Within a few weeks we were back at our home in Mexico. The cross is so small that the details on the figure of Christ escape the eye. A friend, Walter, came down to our home and took some colour photographs of the crucifix. Walter made some enlargements to bring out the details. When we saw the enlargements, my wife and I were astounded. I wrote to Walter and said that if the pictures were seen around the world, they would create an art sensation. I am sure it is the greatest sculpture of Christ ever made. In my estimation, it is the most extraordinary object Sri Sathya Sai has ever created for the joy of his devotees.'

-- Dr. John S. Hislop.