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Sai Baba Man of Miracles – Howard Murphet

 Throughout the 1940s, and for most of the 1950s, Baba often went into a trance during his out-of-the-body journeys. Suddenly and unexpectedly he would become unconscious, and those near him would know that he was away, probably with some devotee at a distant place. On returning, he might or might not tell those around him something of what happened.

On occasions there would be reciprocal effects on Baba's physical body indicative of what he was doing. Sometimes, for instance, a few words of what he was saying at the distant place would issue from his physical lips. At other times vibhuti would emanate from his body.

This latter was usually when he had gone to be present at the death of a devotee. Mr. Kasturi says, "On such occasions, symbolic of death, destruction and the end of the temporary and the evanescent, sacred vibhuti issues from the mouth of the body that Baba leaves behind in order to proceed to the death-bed."

Kasturi then gives an example.

At about 5.20 p.m. on November 15th 1958 Baba was reading a letter aloud to some people around him, when suddenly he exclaimed, "Ha!" and fell to the floor. The body was quiet for ten minutes, then it appeared to cough. Puffs of vibhuti were coming from the mouth, shooting out, Kasturi says, "to a distance of more than a foot and a half'.

At 5.35 p.m., having been unconscious for fifteen minutes, he resumed the reading where he had left off, quite naturally and showing no signs of exhaustion. When requested, he told the devotees where he had been - Dehra Dun in the Himalayas. There he said the mother of a doctor, well-known in the ashram, had just passed away. Baba had gone to give her help at the time of transition, which was 5.30 p.m. He also remarked that the doctor, her son, was present at the woman's death in Dehra Dun, and that people were singing bhajan songs in the room there. He further described how the old lady had at the end announced to everybody: "This is my last breath", and then expired.

Two days later, on November 17th, a letter came to Baba from the doctor whose mother had died. He wrote, "My mother drew her last breath on Saturday, at 5.30 p.m. We were doing bhajan during her last hours as per her wish. She was remembering you constantly."