Phyllis Krystal, Sai thought leader, breaks off with "communicator"; decides "to seek Him in our heart instead of somewhere outside"
Last updated on 17th Oct. 2015
Given below is the declaration of Ms. Phyllis Krystal on her website, http://www.phylliskrystal.com/472.html, entry dated August 29th 2015 (currently at the top of her site):
I, Phyllis Krystal declare from this day forward to have nothing to do with Madhusudan from Mudhanahalli.
My difficult life situation, and weakened physical condition, unfortunately let me drift from my inner contact with Baba, my own HiC [Ravi: (seems to be) High Consciousness]. I started to rely on this outer source.
I wish to return wholeheartedly to what Swami taught us over and over again, to seek Him [Ravi: Bhagavan] in our heart instead of somewhere outside. Which, also corresponds with the Method that was given to me so many years ago.
I therefore want to cancel the planned visit of Madhusudan and his group this weekend, including any further future visits.
Guildford, August 29th 2015
--- end Phyllis Krystal declaration ---
Ravi: I think all of us Sathya Sai devotees need to try harder to connect within, and not fall into some dependence on so called communicators or mediums of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (who has unequivocally said that he never speaks through others). This is not to say that any such communicator or medium may not have some genuine psychic powers. They may, but the words they speak are their words and not that of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. If somebody chooses to follow their instructions they should know that they are following that psychic's instructions and not that of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
I think we must appreciate the courage and sincerity to spiritual truth demonstrated by Ms. Phyllis Krystal at an advanced age (around 100 years old, I believe) with some physical health challenges, in making such a honest and open declaration on her website.
It surely would not have been easy for her to acknowledge that she had drifted. I think almost all of us, if not all of us, do drift away from the right spiritual path at times (I certainly have my flaws and do drift). But how many of us, especially those that are writers on spirituality, have the courage to openly acknowledge that they drifted away from the right spiritual path? Very few, I think.
I hope this stirs other opinion makers and thought leaders in the Sathya Sai community who have drifted away from the safe and solid spiritual path taught by physical form Sathya Sai Baba, and come under the spell of FALSE CLAIMS of the so called chosen communicator of Muddenahalli, Madhusudhan Naidu, to seriously re-consider their spiritual stand. Even if they do not go to the extent of making open declarations like Ms. Krystal, it would be great if they at least stop promoting the FALSE CLAIM of so called communicator, Madhusudhan Naidu.
Thanks again to the courage shown by the centenarian Ms. Krystal in making her open declaration. I pray to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba that Sathya (truth) and Dharma (ethical living/actions) prevail and prevail quickly in this very disturbing and deeply divisive Muddenahalli FALSE CLAIM matter.
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Update on 17th October 2015
A FALSE CLAIM was made in a Muddenahalli group promoter email newsletter (dated 27th September 2015) as follows:
Sukshma Baba Report 110 27-9 -15 Phyllis Krystal
Sai Ram.
Below is the latest statement by Phyllis Krystal. It was made necessary by the twisting of the meaning of the original statement.
"Upon further consideration and now that I am in better mental and physical condition, I want to make it very clear that it was never my intention to disparage anyone nor fuel the flames of dispute or discord between Puttiparthi and Muddenhalli nor to confuse people. I continue to keep an open mind myself about this matter and remain neutral.
Swami has always told us to seek Him heart to heart. Sai Baba in his LightBody is in every one of us and we can reach Him in our own heart as our own true Self."
Please share.
Be Good. Be Happy
Always Have Compassion
--- end extract from newsletter of Muddenahalli group promoter ----
Clarification, October 2015
For many years I have made statements on different topics in public, whether in speeches, seminars, books I wrote, or on my webpage.
Any other statements that are spread on the internet or in emails that do not come directly from these sources, are without my knowledge and without my permission.
So, please pay attention to the precise source of a statement spread in such a manner!
Guildford, October 1st 2015
--- end extract from Mrs Krystal's website ---
Ravi: The truth has a way of making itself known eventually. Satyameva Jayate! [Truth alone will prevail OR Truth alone will be victorious!] Being supposedly good and supposedly happy and supposedly compassionate should not be at the expense of TRUTH. Especially when it comes to following the TEACHINGS of Kali Yuga Avatar, Bhagavan Sri SATHYA (TRUTH) Sai Baba of PUTTAPARTHI.
[I thank Ms. Phyllis Krystal, and have presumed that she will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from her website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
Thank you sir for posting this. I have benefited a lot from many of your posts on this blog. My sincere gratitude to you.
ReplyDeleteI have one genuine doubt. If you can clarify this, it would be great.
When we have a thought in our mind and we get an unmistakable sign in the outer world which uncannily corresponds to our exact thought at that very moment, can we take it as Swami's positive sign regarding our thought? I have so many such experiences and I truly believe that Swami is responding to me at that moment and so I hold on to that sign. In fact, it is so very unmistakable that it even unsettles me for a few seconds. :)
Would be grateful if you can clarify this.
Thanks Aarthi. I am not very knowledgeable about psychic experiences. So do take my view with a few pinches of salt :-). My belief is that all of us at an intuitive level know a lot about others & the world. However very few of us are able to tune into that intuitive level easily. Some are born with deep intuition/deep psychic powers. For people like me, it is more of a process of slowing down thought and tuning to the intuitive power within. I believe that experiences like what you mentioned may be an indication of the inner prompting manifesting as thought which gets confirmed by unmistakable sign in the outer world. But it could also be a coincidence, howsoever unmistakable we may think it to be at that point of time.
DeleteBut can we view it as a positive sign from Swami which gives approval to that thought? See, I am rather heavily into Advaita belief, which was strongly reinforced by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, my beloved Gurudev, as he would say that you and I both are God, and he would very sincerely urge people to raise themselves to that level of Godliness rather than be dependent on his physical form, for anything and everything. However, most people around him preferred to have that human connection between them and Swami, which I find to be very human and very understandable.
To me it is an article of DEEP FAITH that the spirit essence within me is the same spirit essence that was in the physical form of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. So, rather than say that something is being approved by Swami by some unmistakable sign, I prefer to view it as being approved by the inner God within (which I sometimes refer to as my inner Swami).
So I would view the experiences that you mention as, most probably, a sign from the inner God within you (which is the same God within and without of all of us & the universe) that your thought is right/good/correct. But sometimes it could be a coincidence too. So one needs to develop a good feel of when it is our mind playing tricks and when it is a CLEAR SIGNAL from within. Usually when it is from within i.e. one's conscience, one feels very right and very comfortable about it, even if one realizes that following that thought/prompt may result in worldly difficulties. It is not easy to follow such inner promptings though; that is why only a very few good people reach the level of sainthood, IMHO, as saints just follow their inner prompting no matter what be the material world difficulties.
Hope this helps :-).
14.8.1978 auspicious day of Dahsami - The day on which Swami officially accepted both the institutions of Alike & Muddenahalli into His fold by arriving at Muddenahalli and signing a Deed which made Him the Sole Trustee of Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust.
ReplyDeleteBack then, central trust advised Swami that this merger with MDH will be a loss. Later col. Jogarao said "swami , already we've taken the burden. At least merge it in our trust. Why separate trust and headaches." To which Swami replied "mind your own business."
Looks like our mischievous Swami was planting seeds way back then, sure to bear fruit of exposing limited consciousness to the light of day, in the service of limitless consciousness.
Today, due to controversy over authenticity of sukshma Sai form, Prasanthi Nilayam trustees are suing Muddenahali trustees.
Swami will use everything to bring us all to our enlightenment, be it physical form, death of physical form, sukshma form, resurrection... What a grand stage He sets. How will we all play our parts in the drama?
Once Al Drucker (my husband) asked Swami at Christmas time for the real Jesus story, was he crucified? did he resurrect again? or did he die, end of story...? Baba told that Jesus was crucified, died and was put in tomb, end of story. Al got very excited and asked, Shall I tell this? Baba then replied: Why do you care about what happens to bodies? Where there are bodies, there will always be controversy. Focus on Christ principle. Focus on Atma principle. Swami's Body - ordinary body, used for a sacred purpose. Focus on Sai principle, focus on love for all.
The moment we take sides, we are on the battlefield. To stay above the battle ground does not require us to remain neutral. We just don't need to defend our position. TRUTH IS TRUE and needs no defense. My position is that Sukshma Sai is authentic and that Baba will resurrect. I think BOTH are true, however I have no need to convince anyone. No need to convince others to agree with you about the stuff that just does not matter - the body consciousness stuff.
A pure heart resides in the unchanging truth and that is its strength. When we love all, without needing to be right at another's expense, without needing anyone to agree with us, that is unity. That is following Sai Principle.
... Cont'd from earlier.
DeleteFreedom of religious belief is a vital freedom in many countries of the world including USA and India. I entirely respect the freedom of believers in so called subtle body of Muddenahalli and its so called chosen communicator, to follow their beliefs, within the law of the land. Today when one looks up discourse material about Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we need to know that Muddenahalli group also puts out Madhusudhan Naidu's discourses in the name of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba!!! That makes it very confusing. Further, I think it may even be illegal, if challenged in an Indian court of law, for Madhusudhan Naidu to use the name of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba for his discourses! My suggestion is that he and others use a slightly different name (which is what Sathya Sai did even when he claimed that he is reincarnation of Shirdi Sai). I think they should use a name like Sukhsma Sai Baba as the speaker name for the discourses spoken by Madhusudhan Naidu. That would solve the confusion problem and bring it within the law of the land.
I further have no objection to Muddenahalli people creating a separate trust and platform for their activities. I have always been very appreciative of the Free Naya Raipur Heart hospital work that they have done. And if they are able to create and run similar free hospitals in USA states like Missisippi, it would be truly wonderful.
Let us not have a DUAL LOYALTY problem within the Sai organization. That creates horrific trauma. Employees and office bearers associated with Puttaparthi Sai orgn. should be loyal to it, and similarly employees and office bearers associated with Muddenahalli subtle body orgn. should be loyal to it. Then we can be respectful of each other without any fear of CONFLICT OF INTEREST.
At an individual level one can perhaps simply focus on Swami's teachings and try hard to practise them. Sukshma Baba or no Sukshma Baba is not really an issue. But from a viewpoint of the organization that Swami established as one vehicle for his mission of reinforcing Sathya, Dharma, Shanti & Prema in the world, I think it is not possible to simply ignore the claims of Sukshma Baba and to ignore the DUAL LOYALTY problem it has created in many Sai centers. I must also mention here that, as of now, I am not associated with any Sai orgn., and am writing in my individual capacity as a former Sai orgn. member and former teacher in the Sai university.
Jai Sairam!
My comment of September 2, 2015 at 10:47 PM had to be edited. So copy-pasted it here and edited it. AFter this comment is put up I will delete the old version.
DeleteThank you visiting my blog and commenting on this blog post. I also take this opportunity to thank you and your husband Mr. Al Drucker for sharing their conversations and interactions with (physical form) Bhagavan with all interested Sai devotees. I certainly enjoyed reading them :-)
I do respect your view but have a different view on the matter. As I was a teacher in the Sai university, Prasanthi Nilayam campus from Jan. 2003 to Mar. 2012, I have personally been through the TRAUMA that belief in so called subtle body of Swami based in Muddenahalli brought to some Sai university faculty (especially Prof. Anilkumar Kamaraju) as the then vice-chancellor, Prof. --Name-snipped--, fully believed in it but the Central Trust did not. What a terrible CONFLICT OF INTEREST right in the institution which had the task of teaching Swami's students about Swami and His values!
It is utterly inconceivable not only to me, but many senior teachers (most of whom quit for one reason or the other), that Swami would create such CONFLICT in His own university. It is utterly inconceivable for me that the same Swami who openly declared that he never speaks through mediums and communicators, would change his stand after taking on a so called subtle body. Are you aware that Madhusudhan Naidu made claims of seeing and communicating with Swami some months or years prior to Swami's Mahasamadhi? We dug up the info. and know that that is the case. This matter is not publicised by the Muddenahalli group. Such medium activity while Swami was in physical form has been EXPRESSLY CONDEMNED by physical form Swami Himself on so many occasions.
Now people like me feel it is our duty born out of gratitude to both our beloved Lord, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the Sathya Sai fraternity, to put out the truth as well as our views based on such truthful information we have gathered, regarding the claims made by Madhusudhan Naidu and strongly endorsed by Narasimhamurthy. If any material on my blog (or on my Facebook pages) is pointed out as faulty (has happened a few times) I correct it right away.
Madam, you may not be aware of how much division and heartache this has caused in some Sai centers in the world like in Singapore. Should we keep quiet while the Sai organization that Swami has created Himself and nurtured with so much care & attention, Himself, gets divided? My view is that we should not. Contd....
I'd like to know how devotees reconcile this with the experiences of Shivangini Baile. Mrs. Drucker may know her since Ted Henry did an interview series on her also.
ReplyDeleteShivangini was in constant telepathic communication with Swami. If you read her book, He would give her mantras and the like to give to others, etc.
As far as I know, from people like Srikanth Sola, she was a well-respected member of the sai.org.
She was recognised as a fully-realised jivanmukta before she died in 2005.
Thank you in advance to anyone who answers.
This is a sensitive topic and as Mrs. Baile, you wrote, passed away in 2005, I prefer not to comment specifically on her claimed constant telepathic communication.
DeleteIn general, my view is that faith is the big thing in these matters, rather than the mantra or advise a spiritual leader/master gives. As Sathya Sai had become a very powerful holy name & form some decades before Mrs. Baile passed away, perhaps devotees who were given mantras/advise by her in the name of Sri Sathya Sai, got far more faith in the mantras/advise due Sathya Sai name being associated with it by Mrs. Baile. And so they may have benefited from the mantras/advise far more than if they were given in Mrs. Baile's name alone.
Seema Dewan is in telepathic communication with Swami also. She writes a letter to her brother everyday, which is advice from Swami. She also made a video about two years ago that was a general message from Swami.
ReplyDeleteIs she controversial too? I only know what I see on Souljourns.
Thank you.
Well, you know, Swami was very, very categorical that he does not speak through mediums. However, some made and still make the claim of being a medium of Swami (Seema Dewan may be one of them). I prefer to go by what Swami has said in public discourses on multiple occasions. If you have not seen this video clip, Sathya Sai Baba: Direct connection between you & me, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp-4N2W3S8c, 1 min. 12 secs, you should have a look to see & hear Swami directly on this matter.
Delete"She writes a letter to her brother everyday" Please ask Swami if you should write a letter to your brother while he is still alive.
Delete
DeleteFirst: "Sathya Sai Baba: Direct connection between you & me, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp-4N2W3S8c, 1 min. 12 secs, you should have a look to see & hear Swami directly on this matter."
Coming from Ravi's (and your) point of view, you see one thing. Coming from my (and likely Seema and Shivangini's) point of view, I see that Sai Baba never took such a rigid position.
Sounds like classic Sai Baba to me :-) And, please, allow me a little humour; Sai Baba was known for his sense of humour, among many other things.
Many, many, many people, lots of them, in fact, reported not only visions, dreams and communications from Sai Baba when he was alive but also Visits! He was well able to bi-locate at will. Jim Sinclair received two visits, which he shared when interviewed by the sai.org.
It would be better to question the accuracy of the communication people report they receive, not that they (among so, so many others) received it. If they don't have a completely quiet mind, than they are vulnerable to mixing their own thoughts in with the communication.
Sri Aurobindo received what he called Adeshes (Divine Commands) from Krishna (Sai Baba said in print while alive that he was Krishna). Sri Aurobindo also said it was necessary to have a completely quiet mind to receive these instructions accurately.
Gyani mentioned in one of their books that Shivangini had a quiet mind from birth. I don't know about Seema, but I don't think either one of them are lying. Maybe inaccurate, but not lying.
Yukteswar communicated with Yogananda and others after his death, so did Lahiri. This isn't uncommon.