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.
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.
“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.
“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.
“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!”
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.”
-- Mrs. Phyllis Krystal, one of the hostages of the 1975 hijacking
There was a wide array of Mathadipathis (heads of Maths) from different Maths of India. These luminaries are the heads of prominent Maths in India. They had come to grace this auspicious function by their presence and also shared the dais with Bhagawan. They were: Sri Sri Sri Dr. Shivakumara Swamigalu, Head of Sri Siddaganga Math, Tumkur is a nonagenarian and also spoke a few words on this occasion, Sri Jagadguru Madhwacharya Mahasamsthana Pejawara Mathadeesha H.H. Sri Vishwesha Tirtha, Sri Sri Sri 1008 Sri Sushameendra Thirtha Sri Padulavaru, Sri Jagadguru Kanchi Kamakoti Peetadhipathi Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, Jagadguru Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra Mahaswamiji, Suttur Math, Sri Sri Rangapriya Mahadesika Sri Sri and Sri Sakthiamma, Sripuruam, Golden Temple, Sri Narayani Pitham. Pujya Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji graced this occasion on 16th November. Sri Vilasrao Deshmukh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra also shared the dais with Bhagawan and sought His blessings. This most auspicious and holy function concluded with Jaikars – Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ki Jai and offer of Arati to Bhagawan at 11.00 a.m.
