Video Transcript of
Welcome Address by Dr. Leonardo Gutter
11th World Conference of the Sri Sathya Sai International Organization On the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai’s Descent to
Earth, November 20, 2025, Sai Prema Nilayam, Riverside, California
Dr. Leonardo Gutter chairman of Sri Sathya Sai World Foundation
Mr. Dr. Leonardo Pablo Gutter, a psychologist by profession, has been
serving in the SSSIO for over four decades. He has had many personal
interactions with our beloved Pagan. He has traveled all over Latin America and
has lovingly built the Latin American movement of the SSSIO.
He previously served as the chairman of zone 2 Latin America. Mr. Dr.
Gutter is a form founding member of the Shri Satya Sai Trust of
Argentina. He is the chairman of the Shri Sathya Sai World Foundation,
member of Pashanti Council and co-chair of the intellectual property
committee working with the entertainment industry for over 40 years. Mr. Gutter
represents some of the largest American, European, and Japanese TV and cinema
studios in Latin America. Please join me in welcoming Mr. Gutter to the stage.
A Divine Homecoming
at Sai Prema Nilayam
I offer my humble pranams at the Divine Lotus Feet of our beloved
Lord and Master, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and I offer my love to all of
you. You are all manifestations of Sai. When I reached this sanctuary, a very
loving sister said to me, "Welcome home." Truly, since the moment I
entered this place, I have felt an incredible sense of joy and love. I believe
all of you have felt the same. This is why, for me, there is no doubt that
Swami Himself chose the name of this place: Sai Prema Nilayam—the abode
of Sai's Love—because it is here that we feel the love of God most evidently.
The Divine Planner of the 11th World Conference
This conference—this 11th World Conference—was not planned by the
Prasanthi Council; it was planned by Swami long ago in every single detail. Dr. Reddy
has already mentioned the flag procession, and I wish to provide a little more
insight into that. Through such moments, Swami shows us these "drops of
love"—proofs of His Divinity that awaken our spirits and revive our souls.
The Miracle of the Flag Procession
Yesterday, we had a rehearsal. It was a simple walkthrough to instruct
the volunteers and representatives from different countries on how they were to
enter, how to bend in offering their flags to Swami, and where to place them.
This morning at 7:50, we met with all of them outside to distribute the flags.
The situation was somewhat chaotic. We never had a formal rehearsal of the
actual procession into this hall. People were lining up—men on one side, ladies
on the other—but in truth, they were standing wherever they pleased. I was also
concerned because the announcements of the countries were not moving quickly,
and I found myself gesturing to hurry the pace.
Divine Orchestration in Times of Conflict
But you see, Swami is the only Doer. At exactly the right time—and I do
not know if you noticed—the flags of Ukraine and Russia were placed at the same
time. The flags of Israel and Iran were placed at the same time. There was no
way that we, as humans, could have arranged that timing. He is taking care of
everything—everything in this conference and everything in our lives. The other
day, Brother Alex asked me what the theme of my talk would be. I told him: “How
fortunate we are.”
The Rarity of the Human Birth and the Avatar’s Advent
We often do not fully realize how fortunate we truly are. One of the
primary purposes of this conference is to help us realize this profound truth,
so that we may leave here with bigger smiles on our faces and more love in our
hearts. As Dr. Reddy mentioned, being born as a human being is an incredibly
difficult and rare achievement. Not only have we been born as humans, but we
have been born at the precise time when the Purna Avatar descends.
A Chosen Soul in an Ocean of Time
We often say there are approximately 8.2 to 8.5 billion people on this
planet. However, that is not the complete picture, as a person is born and a
person dies every second. Consider how many trillions upon trillions of human
beings have been born on this planet since the time of Lord Krishna, 5,200
years ago. Out of this incredible, infinite ocean of souls, we are the ones who
have been born now, as human beings, while a Purna Avatar walks the
earth. Among those billions, many millions of souls exist, yet only a precious
few are awakened to the spiritual path.
The Spiritual
Awakening in a Material World
If you
go out into the world today, you will see that most people on this planet are
completely oblivious to the spiritual path. They rarely think of God. Instead,
their lives are consumed by a cycle of waking up, filling their stomachs,
earning money, and indulging the senses before going to sleep. Many live as if
they will never face the end of this physical journey; they simply try to
enjoy.
However,
one day, every soul will be awakened to the spiritual path and realize the true
purpose of this life. We are among the fortunate ones who are already
awakened—all of us present here, all members of the SSSIO, and all those who
have come to know Swami’s name, His image, and His message.
The Distinction
Between the Called and the Chosen
Out of
the small number of people awakened to the spiritual path, only a very few have
been specifically called and chosen by Swami as His disciples. I prefer the
term “disciples” over “devotees,” because only Swami truly knows who a real
devotee is. But I can assure you that we are all His disciples.
Many
lifetimes ago, He called our souls into His presence. He made a sacred promise:
"Yes, I will be your Master. I will be your Guru. I will guide you,
protect you, teach you, and love you until you wake up and merge back into
Me." One of the primary aims of this conference is to help each of us
say "Yes" to Him in return—to follow His teachings and apply them to
every single aspect of our lives.
The Voice Within: A
First Encounter
Allow
me to share an experience from my first trip to see Swami. I heard He was
touring South India and was heading to Madras (Chennai). From the moment I
decided to see Him, miracles began to happen one after the other.
The
very first time I saw Swami physically, He was standing right in front of me.
In my mind, I desperately asked for an interview. Though His lips did not move,
I heard His voice clearly within me saying, “But you are seeing Me now.”
That was my first telepathic communication with Him. I replied internally, “No,
an interview.” He simply smiled and walked away.
A few
days later, at a large gathering in Abbotsbury, I saw another opportunity.
Still wearing jeans and unaware of ashram protocols, I decided to
introduce myself. I walked right up to Him with my business card. No one
stopped me. He took the card, looked at me, and said, “Yes, you are very
lucky.”
The Shield of Divine
Protection
Truly,
brothers and sisters, I am lucky, and so are we all. If we are truly aware of
how lucky we are to be guided, protected, and loved by God, we will never feel “sorry”
or “worry.” Sadness cannot stay in a heart that realizes it is in the hands of
the Divine.
However,
we often get confused by focusing only on His physical form. To say Swami is an
Avatar is to say He is God. On my fourth trip to India, I found myself
walking through the ashram, struggling with a profound question: “Are
You the Paramabrahman? Are You Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva all together in one?”
At that time, I was traveling across Latin America speaking about Him, but I
felt like a hypocrite. I felt I could not tell people He was God unless I was
100% sure myself.
The Miracle of the
Vanishing Watch
In my
room, I challenged Him. I said, “I will ask You for a proof. If You make a
watch for me, I will believe.” I had a nice-looking watch at the time, but
it was temperamental—always fast or slow—yet I was attached to it and refused
to replace it.
That
night, I put the watch next to my mattress on the floor and went to sleep.
Swami appeared in my dream and spoke about my watch—how I wanted to change it
but hadn't. Then He said, “I will solve your problem”, and the watch
disappeared. The dream was so intense that I woke up in the middle of the night
and reached for my watch. It was gone. I searched everywhere, but it had
vanished from a locked room. My heart began to race; I thought He was punishing
me for my skepticism.
The
next morning at the first Darshan, Swami looked directly at me and
called me for an interview.
The Manifestation of
the Divine Watch
During
that first interview, I saw Swami's hand reach out; it came toward me, but then
continued its way to a student sitting behind me. He was proving that these
students had strong hearts. Thirty days later, on my last day of Darshan,
Swami looked at me. Instead of his usual question, "When are you
leaving?" He asked, “At what time are you leaving?” I replied, “After Darshan,
Swami”, and He said that beautiful word: “Go, interview.”
In the
interview room, after speaking with everyone, He suddenly raised my sleeve and
asked, “What time do you have?” As I began to say I had no watch, he stopped
me. He said, “I know, I know... your watch disappeared”, using the exact words,
tone, and expression from my dream. I was stunned—it was truly He who had taken
it. He then looked at me again and asked, “How is your mad monkey mind?” In
that moment, I had an insight: a monkey is never quiet; if it is, it is dead.
Imagine then, a mad monkey. I realized my mind was oscillating even in
the heights of faith. I replied, “Very bad, Swami.” Swami smiled and said, “No,
it is not so bad”, and with a wave of His hand, He materialized the watch and
placed it on my wrist.
The Power of Pure
Thought
Swami
told me what that watch represented for me. He placed His finger on it and
said, “I will give a special power to your watch. Whenever you have a bad
thought, it will stop.” He cautioned me to cover it so others would not feel
envy. After a while, I looked at the watch and it had stopped. I actually
screamed in the middle of the interview! Swami smiled and said, “I know, I
know... because you thought this, this, and that”, repeating my exact thoughts
back to me. From then on, the watch was “alive.” Whenever I faced a problem,
the date on the watch would jump to the number 23. These experiences proved His
absolute divinity to me: He is Parabrahman—the omniscient, omnipotent,
and omnipresent God of the universe.
The Eternal Presence
Beyond the Physical Body
He has
no form; He simply took a form for a time. Before going to Prasanthi for the
opening of the Mahasamadhi, I had a dream. I saw the Mahasamadhi
exactly as it was—though it was still hidden behind a wall in the physical
world. In the dream, it was covered in cement, and I was crying in deep pain.
Suddenly, Swami’s "cement arm" reached out, felt heavy and real, and
pulled my head toward Him. He breathed a warm breath into my ear. Later, at the
opening in Prasanthi, I realized He was telling me: "I have not gone
anywhere. I am everywhere, all the time." He is here now, beside each one
of us and within our hearts.
The Purpose of the
Conference: Awakening and Sadhana
The aim
of this conference is to give us a deeper understanding of His teachings—the
way to wake up. It is an opportunity to share love and experiences that
increase our faith. Swami says, “If you take one step toward Me, I will take a
hundred toward you.” I have written forty-five of these experiences in a book,
and since He left His physical body, the experiences have only become more
profound.
Dr.
Reddy spoke of the theme “Purity is Enlightenment.” I often use
the example of a window. Imagine God is on the other side. If the window is
clean, you see Him and you wake up. Our Sadhana—the study circles, the bhajans,
the meditation—is the process of cleaning that window. But if we react poorly
or harbor bad thoughts in our daily lives, we put dirt back on the glass. Real
spiritual life is a divine way of living; it is remembering Him all the time
and being “Always Be Careful” (ABC) with what we see, hear, and consume.
We must replace “Netflix” with Satsang.
The Journey of
Thousands of Lifetimes
This
conference is a spiritual experience. I felt it through the choir; I saw the
beauty of the Divine in them. We have been brought here to wake up faster.
Swami says our dharma is to advance in this awakening. What is sin? Sin is
anything that takes us away from God. What is merit? Anything that brings us
closer.
You may
have traveled hundreds of miles to be here, but in reality, you have traveled
thousands of lives to reach this moment. It has been a long journey. We must
have the determination and courage to "dare to be divine." This path
is not for the shy. Whether you are an office bearer or a devotee, Swami has a
role for you to play in His organization.
A Commitment to
Humanity
Narendra
said this is the first time in human history that an Avatar created a spiritual
organization during His lifetime—not Rama, not Krishna. We were selected as His
instruments for the most magnificent change in human consciousness. Do not be “part-time”
devotees. Use this conference to gain clarity of mind and commitment.
We have
two legs to walk on: one is our self-awakening, and the other is helping others
to awaken. We must fulfill both. I feel a great desire to share more with you,
which I will do on Monday morning. I hope you will all stay.
source: 11th World
Conference, Day 1 - Morning Program | SSSIO
Note on this
Transcript
This text was prepared and refined
from a video-recorded address by Dr. Leonardo Gutter given on
November 20, 2025. To ensure the preservation of the Divine message while
maintaining professional clarity, the original transcript was organized and
edited for flow and grammar with the assistance of AI technology (Gemini),
acting as a humble instrument in the service of the Lord.
