Ms. Nooshin Mehrabani was born in Iran and worked as a reporter for Iranian National Radio and Television. She continued her career with an Iranian TV station after moving to Los Angeles, USA. Since 1991, when she first heard about Sai Baba, she has made many trips to India and has been blessed with several chances of interaction with Bhagavan Baba. She now lives in Puttaparthi.
I was born in Iran, worked in Canada and USA, and since January 2007 have been living in Puttaparthi, basking in the bliss of being in the physical presence of Bhagavan Baba, my Spiritual Father and Master. In July 2008 I received many phone calls from my mother asking me to visit Iran and stay with her for a couple of months. It had been over two years since I had seen her and she was getting older, so I seriously considered making a trip to Iran.
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Ms.
Mehrabani's
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During one of those days I went to sleep with this heavily on my mind and Swami appeared in my dream. I saw myself in typical western clothes, ready to leave for Iran, when Swami walked into the room and stood right in front of me. Before I even opened my mouth to ask for permission, He shook His finger at me, and firmly said, “No! Don’t go to Iran to see your mom.”
When I woke up, I was
both happy and a little
sad. Happy that Swami
had come in my dream but
sad for my mother. How
could I give her this
message? She is very
attached to me and has
always worried about my
life in India. Also she
was not a devotee of Sai
Baba and there was no
way I could explain to
her that I was following
Baba’s directions. The
idea that I have
surrendered my life to
my guru and that I seek
His permission before
making my decisions was
completely unacceptable
to my family. Now, I had
no other option, but to
pray to Swami that my
mother does not insist
on my visiting her.
Mutually Mysterious
Calls
A few months later, one day as I was cooking in my apartment in Puttaparthi, the cell phone rang. I washed my hands and went to the drawing room to answer the call. No one was on the other end; instead, I heard the sounds of an Iranian television program. After a few seconds, I did hear a voice. It was my mother. She was asking who was calling her. When she found out that I was on the other end she was extremely delighted, but wondered why I had called her cell phone instead of the landline.
I was really surprised –
I told her that I did
not even know that she
had a cell phone, let
alone calling that
number. I had to
convince her that not
only had I not made a
call, but also that I
was busy in the kitchen
when my own cell phone
rang. Then she told me
that her cell phone too
was also in another room
and the maid had pushed
the answer button and
brought it to her.
In fact, it was a new
phone and she had not
yet given her number to
anybody. That is why she
persisted with her
question “How did you
know this number?” It
was very difficult for
her to accept these
mysterious happenings as
Swami’s miracle, even
though I knew this to be
the case firmly in my
heart.
I did try to explain to her that there is nothing that Swami cannot do. We talked that morning for 45 minutes and during the course of this conversation, she revealed to me that just two days prior to that day she had visited a holy shrine in Tehran and prayed to God saying how much she missed me and sought His divine intervention to see me. And in the next 48 hours God had connected us so amazingly! |
I did try to explain to her that there is nothing that Swami cannot do. We talked that morning for 45 minutes and during the course of this conversation, she revealed to me that just two days prior to that day she had visited a holy shrine in Tehran and prayed to God saying how much she missed me and sought His divine intervention to see me. And in the next 48 hours God had connected us so amazingly!
I had no doubt that all this was the making of Sai Baba. This was more proof that God is only One and there truly is no separation whatsoever between Allah, Jesus or Sathya Sai Baba. And now it was up to the Lord to make my mother believe this miracle. As we talked more that day, she again asked if I could come to Iran to see her. I had to let her know that this was not the right time for me to make a visit.
Then, without having any real hope, I asked, “Mom, why don’t you come to India and see me?” Immediately she said, “When should I come?” I was really amazed. In fact, I had been requesting my family to come and see Baba for quite some time but they had always been against my spiritual path. Now, seeing her interest, I was pleasantly surprised. I let her know that November and December would be busy months in Puttaparthi and she could come in the January of the next year.
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Then I asked my mom to
remember the date of
this conversation. I
knew that if I was not
charged for this call,
and if my mother too was
not billed for this long
conversation, it was
surely Baba’s grace.
After a month I received
another phone call from
my mother letting me
know that she had
purchased a ticket to
India. She also
told me that when she
received her telephone
bill, there was no
record of our
conversation!
Sai Needs No Instruments
Many a times I have thought of myself as being an instrument in the Divine Hands. But, this incident was a revelation. I realised that Swami does not need any of us as His instruments. It was His invisible hands that dialed the phone. And it is His Grace that gives us the pleasure of imagining that we are His instruments. In reality, He doesn’t need anyone.
My mother arrived on January 2, 2009 and stayed in Puttaparthi with me for two weeks. I don’t know if this turned her into a Sai devotee, but what I do know is that she felt a lot of peace in India staying with me and it was Swami who had answered her prayer quite inexplicably. When she finally left for Iran, she was more confident than ever that God was indeed looking after her dear daughter.