Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group III | Mr. Warren Bailey

Mr. Warren Bailey
USA
E-mail: aprilb@ptd.net

Mr. Warren Bailey, an African American from the USA, relates his experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in his own words in their family website http://www.thebaileysisters.com/

‘This is the year 2005 AD. My name is Warren E. Bailey and I will be fifty-seven years old this November. I was born on a hot day in August 1988. If this sounds a bit contradictory, it is because I was given a new Life in 1988, while visiting the abode of the highest peace.

Before that time, although my parents and family had spared no efforts to expose me to a life of high morals and disciplined industry, I had chosen a life that took me to the gutters of our society. This was the year I came to meet Sathya Sai Baba. The story of how I came to meet Sathya Sai and the transformation that happened, subsequently, was truly miraculous.

To begin with, I had lived close to my two sisters, Audrey and April Bailey, as well as Audrey’s two sons Tony and Christopher, since the demise of our parents.

My sister Audrey took on the added responsibility of raising our younger sister April, who was only ten years old when our mother died. This was an arduous task because she was already raising one son, and expecting the birth of another. Her husband was not up to the task, and abandoned them.

Consequently, I attempted to help her as often and as much as I could. We had been able to work interdependently to overcome myriad economic and social crises that threatened our ability to prosper, or even survive in the twentieth century America.

It seemed, at times, as if we were destined to spend our lives on the economic and social periphery of society, endlessly struggling to live the American dream we see on our television screens day and night.

These conditions prevailed despite the fact that I was, continuously, employed. This employment, however, did not pay enough to meet the families’ needs. In fact, I found myself underemployed and undereducated in a society that demanded increased education. I unfortunately began to take solace in alcohol and drugs.

My sojourn into the world of illegal drugs began after my father’s death in 1967, and intensified after my mother’s death in 1973. I became, in effect, a functioning addict. My drugs of choice ran the gamut; however, I grew to, overwhelmingly, abuse cocaine and crack cocaine with marijuana.

The paradox, which developed, was my desire to help my family, while also serving at the altar of growing dependency on drugs.

In 1988, however, we were able to secure employment that would allow us to turn our economic conditions around. My sister Audrey secured a job teaching school, and my sister April and I worked at Cable Television. We were, finally, in a position to shape our own economic destinies.

My sisters wanted to travel to India to meet a guru they had been reading about for some time. I was not thrilled with the idea of travelling to India during the only vacation period we had.

I relented and agreed to go only because I feared for their safety on such a long journey. The lines at the passport office in New York City were horrendous. My sisters had each spent over five hours waiting to be processed.

I was having none of that, I waited until the last day to get a passport for the trip, half hoping my trip would be blocked and I would not be able to go. When I arrived at the passport office, there were no lines and I was processed in less than half an hour.

When we arrived in India, I was quite disturbed by the third world poverty, in which I was forced to live. Moreover, there were no drugs to be had. I resented going to Darshan, twice a day, only to sit and worship at the feet of a man who I saw as a charlatan.

On the second day of Darshan, while sitting, in the dirt and dust, in the midst of a crowd of thousands, Sai Baba called me for an interview. I must admit that at the time he called me I had been thinking that I should hit and beat him, and expose him for the charlatan I knew him to be.

When I approached Baba at his beckoning, he looked at me and said, “You have many evil thoughts”. Suddenly the anger in my heart began to melt.

In the interview, he spoke to me of facts, in my life, that only I knew about. I witnessed his creation of rings and watches, apparently, out of thin air. I secretly wanted one of these gifts, as evidence of what I had been witness to. He did not give me any physical gifts.

When I returned from the interview, I learned that my sister had uttered a silent prayer to Baba asking Him to see me if He did not call them. It was at the instant of her prayer that I was called.

The miracle performed that day only became apparent years later. From the time I met Sathya Sai Baba I have neither desired nor partaken of any illicit drugs. This miracle was not a cure but rather a resurrection. I had been spiritually dead for years and he breathed life back into my soul.

I have, since that time, been able to positively impact the lives of thousands of young people through my Karate school and while teaching for the New York City Board of Education.

I have truly learned the importance of starting, filling, and living each day with love.

-- Mr. Warren Bailey

(The experiences of Mr. Warren Bailey are extracted from their family website on his request to info@vedamu.org .)