MRS PHYLLIS KRYSTAL & HER STORY...ONE OF THE HOSTAGS OF THE 1975 HIJACKING

November 10, 2008

PLANE HIJACKING -------------------------------- It was the worst nightmare anyone midair could ever go through. With the most menacing looking hijackers staring down at them, the horrified and helpless hostages watched the macabre dance of their imminent end being played out right before their very eyes. Armed to the teeth, the hijackers had strewn broken liquor and perfume bottles along the aisles to ensure that when they did light the fire, the plane would burn brilliantly. Meanwhile, they were running out of fuel and had been denied landing at any of the European cities the flight was hovering over. The hijackers had originally hoped to land in Athens, Greece. They were seeking the release of two of their compatriots imprisoned there for a former similar misadventure. Their ultimatum to the passengers hardly required any translation from Arabic to English. Their intent was clear enough. With their original plan thwarted, they planned to blow up the planeload of passengers over the North Sea.

Mrs. Phyllis Krystal, one of the hostages of the 1975 hijacking

The year was 1975 and caught in the thick of this horrifying episode were the American couple, Mr. Sidney Krystal, a prominent Los Angeles attorney, and his wife, Mrs. Phyllis Krystal, a psychotherapist. The Krystals were returning home from India, after a visit to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Reliving that dreadful moment, Mrs. Phyllis Krystal, now 95, recalls, “One of the hijackers was smoking a cigarette which was hanging out of his mouth. Sydney, being a lawyer, said, ‘We know he is going to blow up the plane here if that cigarette drops on any of this ammunition…. Now, you know, we have had a very good and a long life together…. You are going to have to understand that you will not survive, and you will not see your daughters again.’ And then out of my mouth came the most astonishing sentence. I said, ‘Don’t be so foolish! We are going to survive.’ And I don’t know where that came from. Wielding the Ultimate Weapon of Conquest: Love “I then remembered Baba’s room when we were at Dharmakshetra, [baba’s residence in Mumbai] So, instantly I visualized it again, and really concentrated on that room and started to say in my very excited English accent, ‘Baba! Baba! Baba! Please help!’ “And the next moment the most astonishing thing came into my mind. It was as if His voice was clearly heard. He said, ‘Send love to them.’ ……………………………………………………………………………………..

“And I remember saying, ‘Are You crazy? Have you looked at their faces? Have you seen that they want to kill us and you expect me to send love to them?’ And the next thing that came to my mind, which was again very clear, was that I should be able to send His Love because only Sai Baba could see the God even in the hijackers.

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'Send love to the hijackers' - Baba

“And I remember saying, ‘Are You crazy? Have you looked at their faces? Have you seen that they want to kill us and you expect me to send love to them?’ And the next thing that came to my mind, which was again very clear, was that I should be able to send His Love because only Sai Baba could see the God even in the hijackers.

“I started to visualize Baba in His room in Dharmakshetra. I was breathing in His Love so consciously as I had never done before, and then I just directed it to the hijackers. As I did it, they got more, and more, and more nervous. They were trembling, they dropped the ammunition. One man dropped the cigarette and immediately put it out.”

Through the force of this invisible energy that Phyllis Krystal was transmitting to the hijackers, the situation on the troubled flight began to change dramatically. The evil doers appeared visibly weakened in their resolve. Confessing her own shock at the effectiveness of the simple guidance she had received, she said, “I was so astonished! I was doing what I was told to do, but I suppose I didn’t realize that it would really work! And so, I was really quite surprised. But it was immediate! The one that was smoking started to tremble.

Mrs. Krystal recalls details of the nightmare

“Oh, and I forgot to tell you! He cut his wrist on one of the bottles! And then took a handkerchief and wound it around. And they really began to get extremely jittery and they were looking around wondering whatever was making them nervous and where it was coming from… the entire atmosphere was changing rapidly. Thank God, they didn’t suspect me!”

'Yes, I heard you' - Baba

After hours of undergoing the horrific ordeal, the plane was allowed to land at Amsterdam and all the passengers had to slide down the emergency chute for their dear lives, leaving behind all their belongings, including passports, shoes and jackets. Within minutes, the hijackers set the plane ablaze. They were arrested shortly thereafter. Later the same year, when Phyllis and Sidney Krystal were back in India to see Bhagavan Baba, He confirmed His direct intervention in the situation. Phyllis explained, “As soon as we got there, Swami came to us and I started to thank Him. And He interrupted me saying, ‘Yes, I heard you.’

"And He mimicked my voice in a very English accent which, as my children always tell me, comes out very strongly when I was angry or excited or frightened. It was hysterical and we laughed so much because Baba mimicking an English accent was really very sweet! He invited us for lunch and then gave us a very quick interview. "And when we were with him, He explained what had happened: From what I understood, the most important thing He said was that the entire plane loaded with people was saved because the plane was filled with His Love.” Love that Disarms

A love energy so powerful that it could disable the fierce hatred of the hijackers and disarm them enough to spare hundreds of lives at their mercy, had its source in the petite but potent presence that has graced the planet now for 83 years; an ocean of love that millions revere as the ultimate personification of the highest emotion ever known to any living being. The phenomenon representing this Supreme and Sacred Love was born on November 23, 1926 to blessed parents Peda Venkama Raju and Eshwaramma, and named Sathya Narayan Raju. Today, millions of people from every known culture, religion, profession and race in every single country and continent that lie between the North Pole and the South Pole are celebrating the 83 rd year of His advent as Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

'There is no one in the world whom I do not love' - Baba

'I love even those who hate me. My love is supreme, pure' - Baba

Rejoicing in their good fortune to be living in the awareness of His holy presence as their contemporary, they draw inspiration from His personal example of infinite compassion, organic and indescribable love and unhindered acceptance of all. Those who have studied His life, see it as an endless saga of giving and sacrificing, rescuing and guiding. Since His childhood, the simplicity of His gospel continues to transform millions of hearts. As His devotees vouch, His only weapon of choice for individual transformation and mass reformation of the world remains pure, unadulterated and absolutely inexhaustible love for all living beings on earth, and beyond. During a discourse as recently as October 9, 2008, Bhagavan Baba reiterated His lifelong commitment to love when He declared:

“My love is supreme and pure. I love those who love Me. I love even those who develop hatred towards Me. I also extend My love to those who are demonic and who try to put Me to great inconvenience. There is no one in the world whom I do not love.”

Nothing Binds His Boundless Love Ram ChuganiKobe, Japan