Frano Selak, the most blessed man

Frano Selak, a music teacher and a pensioner now, is mostly dubbed as the world's luckiest man by many websites, but some others consider him as the unluckiest! How can you describe him: the luckiest or the unluckiest? It is like the old proverb about the glass that is half empty! Quite philosophical, as you cannot blame one who is disappointed that the glass is half-empty, or the one who is happy that it is half-full!

But Frano Selak says, “I never thought I was lucky to survive all my brushes with death… I always think I was unlucky to have been in them in the first place but you can't tell people what they don't want to believe." Perhaps this can be the most appropriate assessment of the situation, as it comes from the same man who went through the harrowing experiences and escaped from situations of instant death seven times in his life, and survived every time, unscathed, to tell his story!

Frano Selak is a resident of Petrinja, which is south of Zagreb in the centre of Croatia. He is 81 years old now. He is married five times and says about his fifth marriage, "I guess all the earlier marriages were disasters too."

Five years ago he won one of the biggest lotteries in the world, worth £600,000, and he has now decided to give away his lottery fortune, because, now he does not think money alone can bring in happiness.

Selak said he has never been happier, adding about his wife, “All I need at my age is my Katarina. Money would not change anything… When she arrived I knew then that I really did have a charmed, blessed life."

As he has decided to live a frugal life, the world's luckiest man Frano Selak, has sold his luxury home on a private island, given away all his fortune to family and friends, and moved back to his modest home in Petrinja. He only kept a very small last bit of his winnings for a hip replacement operation so that he can enjoy life with his wife, and also ‘he could build a shrine to the Virgin Mary to give thanks for his luck’.

Selak’s amazing escapes are as follows:

In 1962, Selak was travelling from Sarajevo to Dubrovnik by train. The train derailed and plunged into an icy river killing 17 people. But he miraculously managed to make it to the riverbank, though after breaking his arm, bruises and suffering from hypothermia and shock. It was his first escape from death.

Hardly a year passed when in 1963 he had his first flight, and the only one in his life, when a door of the plane was thrown open killing 19 people. But Selak was lucky to escape death a second time, because he was thrown clear of the crash and he landed on a haystack.

His third encounter with death was in 1966. He was travelling in a bus that skidded into a river, drowning four people. But Selak swam to safety and suffered only some cuts and bruises on his body.

In 1970 Frano Selak was driving in his car along a motorway when his fourth accident happened. Unexpectedly his car caught fire and he fled out of it just seconds before his car’s fuel tank exploded.

Three years later, in 1973, a faulty fuel pump of his car spewed petrol over the hot engine and blew flames through the air vents. He escaped it, though most of his hair was lost to fire.

His sixth accident was a bit later, in 1995 when Frano Selak was knocked down by a bus in Zagreb. As you may expect him to do by now, he walked away with only minor injuries.

In 1996 Selak was driving in his Skoda in a mountainous route and just when he negotiated a corner turning to see a truck of the UN coming straight for him. His Skoda careered through a crash barrier and over a 300-feet precipice. He decided to leap clear in the last seconds and sat on a tree from where he saw his car hit the bottom and explode in flames.

About his many brushes with death Frano Selak said, "I never thought I was lucky to survive my brushes with death; I thought I was unlucky to be in them."

Now, don’t you think it is unusual or miraculous for a man to survive death so many times, and then be lucky to win one of the biggest lotteries, a fortune of £600,000? I think it is one of those rare ‘believe it or not’ stories, just miracles. And I think he is not only the luckiest, but ‘the most blessed man’. Watch him in the video report on Frano Selak in this blog.

The children of Fatima

Lucia Santos (left) with her cousins Francisco and Jacinta in 1917

Our Lady of Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary, gave reported apparitions of her to three shepherd children at Fatima in Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months, starting from May 13, 1917. The three children were Lucia Santos and her younger cousins Jacinta Marto and Francisco Marto.

On Sunday, 13 May 1917, ten-year-old Lucia Santos, along with Jacinta and Francisco, was tending sheep at the Cova da Iria near their home village of Fatima in Portugal. Lucia reported seeing a woman ‘brighter than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal ball filled with the most sparkling water and pierced by the burning rays of the sun.’ Further visions were reported to have taken place on the 13th day of the month in June and July. In these, the woman exhorted the children to do penance and to make sacrifices to save sinners. According to Lucia’s account, in the course of her appearances, the woman confided to the children three secrets, later known as the Three Secrets of Fatima.

Thousands of people flocked to Fatima and Aljustrel in the next months, drawn by reports of visions and miracles. On 13 August 1917, the provincial administrator, a self-professed atheist, Artur Santos, believing that the events were politically disruptive, intercepted and jailed the children. The administrator interrogated the children and attempted to get them to divulge the secrets, by telling them that he would boil them one by one in a pot of oil unless they revealed the secrets. But the children refused. That month, instead of the usual apparition in the Cova da Iria on the 13th, the children reported that they saw the Virgin Mary on 19 August at nearby Valinhos.

Later, Lucia who became a nun reportedly saw Mary in private visions periodically throughout her life. Most significant was the apparition in Rianxo, Galicia, in 1931, in which she said that Jesus visited her, taught her two prayers and delivered a message to give to the church's hierarchy. In 1947, Sister Lucia left the Dorothean order and joined the Discalced Carmelite order.

Lucia’s cousins Francisco (1908-1919) and Jacinta Marto (1910-1920) became victims of the Great Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918-20. Francisco and Jacinta were declared venerable by Pope John Paul II in a public ceremony at Fatima on 13 May 1989. Pope John Paul II returned there on 13 May 2000 to declare them 'blessed'. Jacinta is the youngest non-martyred child ever to be beatified.

In 1941, Lucia claimed that the Virgin Mary had predicted the deaths of two of the children during the second apparition on 13 June 1917. Some accounts, including the testimony of Olímpia Marto, mother of Francisco and Jacinta, stated that her children did not keep the secrets and ecstatically predicted their own deaths many times to her and to the curious pilgrims. According to a 1941 account, on 13 June, Lucia asked Virgin Mary if the three children would go to heaven when they died. She said that she heard Mary reply, "Yes, I shall take Francisco and Jacinta soon, but you will remain a little longer, since Jesus wishes you to make me known and loved on earth. He wishes also for you to establish devotion in the world to my Immaculate Heart." Lucia died on 13 February 2005 at the age of 97.

On Tuesday, 13th May 2010, Pope Benedict XVI, who is marking the 93rd anniversary of the Virgin Mary's reported apparitions, visited Fatima, now one of the most popular Christian shrines in Europe. The chapel there is built on the site where Lucia Santos, Jacinta and Francisco claimed to have seen visions of the Virgin Mary in 1917.

The site was also popularized by the late Pope John Paul II, who visited three times, believing it was Our Lady of Fatima who helped save him from an attempted assassination in 1981. On Wednesday, Pope Benedict prayed in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary, who wears a gold and silver crown in which his predecessor placed the bullet which nearly killed him.

Off-the-track: note the number of times the number 13 repeats in this historical story. Does number 13 have any significance? Do you believe in miracles?

Shirdi Sai Baba

Photo: To Sai Baba's right is Gopal Rao Mukund Buti, a millionaire of Nagpur. Behind Baba and holding the umbrella is Bhagoji Shinde, his devotee whose leprosy was cured by Baba. To Baba's left is Nanasaheb Nimonkar, a devotee.

Sai Baba of Shirdi aka Shirdi Sai Baba, is regarded as a godly saint by his followers, including Hindus, Muslims and other faiths. Some of his Hindu devotees believe that he was an incarnation of Shiva or Dattatreya. Sai Baba taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, contentment, inner peace, devotion to God and guru.

He practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals. One of his well known epigrams says of God: ‘Sabka Malik Ek Hai’ (One God governs all). He frequently used to say, ‘Allah Malik’ (God is Master).

The most important source about Baba's life is the Shri Sai Satcharita, written in Marathi in 1916 by Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar, apart from several other books. Also, several movies and television presentations have been produced on Sai Baba’s life and teachings.

Not much is known about his birth or early life. According to legends, Baba arrived at the village of Shirdi in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, India, when he was about 16 years old. It is generally believed that Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year and returned around 1858, which indicates his possible birth year as 1838.

Baba led an ascetic life, sitting motionless under a Neem tree and meditating while sitting in a Yoga asana. The ‘Sai Satcharita’ describes the early reaction of the villagers, “The people of the village were wonderstruck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not minding heat or cold. By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid of nobody.”

Sai Baba attracted the curiosity of the villagers, and the religiously-inclined people regularly visited him, while the Shirdi village children considered him mad and threw stones at him. After some time he left the village, and it is unknown where he was, though there are some indications that he spent time with many saints and fakirs, and even worked as a weaver.

In 1858 Sai Baba returned to Shirdi, when the Khandoba Temple priest greeted him with the words "Ya Sai" (Welcome saint!). From this, the name Sai stuck to him and later he was being called Sai Baba. It was around this time that Baba adopted his dress style consisting of a knee-length one-piece robe (Kafni) and a cloth cap, and he sported long hair' when he returned to Shirdi. He never had his head shaved.

For about five years Baba lived under a Neem (Azadirachta indica) tree. He often wandered for long periods in the jungles in and around Shirdi. He undertook long periods of meditation. Later, Baba was persuaded by the local people to take shelter in an old mosque, where he led a solitary life. He survived by begging for alms. In the mosque he maintained a sacred fire, referred to as a Dhuni, from which he had the custom of giving sacred ash ('Udhi') to his guests. It was believed to have powers for healing and protection from dangerous situations.

Initially, Sai Baba is believed to have functioned as a Hakim and treated the sick by application of Udhi. Baba also delivered spiritual advice to his visitors. He recommended the reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Qur'an, insisting on the indispensability of the unbroken remembrance of God's name. He also participated in local religious festivals. He used to prepare food for his visitors, which he distributed to them as Prasad.

After 1910 Sai Baba's fame began to spread in Mumbai, when many people started visiting him, revering him as a saint, or even an avatar, capable of performing miracles. Sai Baba neither nominated his spiritual heirs, nor initiated disciples, despite requests from some of his devotees, though some of them later became famous as spiritual figures, such as Upasni Maharaj of Sakori and Meher Baba of Ahmednagar.

Sai Baba shunned any kind of regular rituals but allowed the practice of Namaz, chanting of Al-Fatiha, and Qur'an readings at Muslim festival times. Sai Baba also opposed all sorts of persecutions and discriminations on religious or caste grounds, and opposed superiority and orthodoxy based on caste and birth. Although Sai Baba himself led the life of an ascetic, he advised his followers to lead family lives.

Sai Baba encouraged his devotees to pray, chant God's name and read Holy Scriptures such as Qur'an, Ramayana, Vishnu Sahasranam, Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Vasistha. He advised his followers to lead a moral life, help others, and love every living being without any discrimination. In his teachings Sai Baba emphasized the importance of performing one's duties without attachment to earthly matters and being always content regardless of the situation.

Sai Baba had a profound knowledge of Muslim and Hindu religious texts. He explained the meaning of the Hindu scriptures in the spirit of Advaita Vedanta, and emphasized the elements of Bhakti. The Hindu spiritual paths of Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga and Karma Yoga were pronounced in the teachings of Baba. An example of the way he combined both faiths is the Hindu name Dwarakamai that he gave to the mosque where stayed.

Sai Baba taught that God penetrates everything and lives in every being, and God is the essence of each of them. Baba said that the world and all that the humans may have is transient and only God and his gifts are eternal. Sai Baba also emphasized the importance of devotion to God (Bhakti) and surrender to His will. He advised his followers to overcome the negative features of character and develop positive ones. He taught them that one’s fate is determined by Karma.

Sai Baba left no written works for posterity. His teachings were oral, typically short, pithy sayings, rather than elaborate discourses. Baba used to ask his followers for money (Dakshina), which he would give away to the poor the same day and spend the rest on buying wood to maintain the Dhuni. According to his followers he did so in order to rid them of greed and material attachment.

Baba emphasized the importance of sharing with others. He said, "Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If any men, or creatures, come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect. Shri Hari (God) will be certainly pleased if you give water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked and your verandah to strangers for sitting and resting. If anybody wants any money from you and you are not inclined to give, do not give, but do not bark at him like a dog." Other favorite sayings of his were, "Why do you fear when I am here", "He has no beginning... He has no end."

The Shirdi Sai Baba Movement began during his lifetime with a small group of Shirdi inhabitants and a few people from other parts of India. It started growing in the 20th century. During his lifetime Hindus worshipped him with Hindu rituals and Muslims revered him greatly as a saint. In the last years of Sai Baba's life, Christians and Zoroastrians started joining the Shirdi Sai Movement.

Around twenty thousand pilgrims visit the Sai Baba Mandir in Shirdi every day, and during religious festivals it will be a hundred thousand. A spiritual organization of Baba's devotees, Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust is based there. The first ever Sai Baba Temple is situated at Bhivpuri, Karjat, in the Indian state of Maharashtra.

While there are at least one Sai Baba Mandir in most Indian cities, the Shirdi Sai Movement has also spread to other countries such as USA, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, and in the Caribbean countries.

Sai Baba's disciples believe that he had performed many miracles. Inhabitants of Shirdi talked about these miracles and wrote about how they were witnesses of his unusual Yogic powers such as levitation, entering a state of Samadhi at wish, even removing his limbs and sticking them back to his body (Khanda Yoga) or doing the same with his intestines. Some of his followers claimed he appeared to them after his death, in dreams, visions and even in bodily form, whence he often gave them advice.

In the mosque in Shirdi in which Sai Baba lived there is a life-size portrait of him. Numerous monuments and statues depicting Sai Baba have also been built after his death. A marble statue is in the Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi where Sai Baba was buried.

Pope to investigate apparition of Virgin Mary in Bosnia

Our Lady of Međugorje, aka Queen of Peace, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary, who appeared to six Croat children in Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 24, 1981. On that day young Mirjana Dragicevic and Ivanka Ivankovic saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in a village in Bosnia-Hercegovina in Europe. The next day four more children, Marija Pavlovic, Jakov Colo, Vicka Ivankovic and Ivan Dragicevic had the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary, according to reports.

Reports say, since then she has purportedly been appearing to the six visionaries, and many miracles have been reported, such as, ‘the sun spinning, dancing in the sky, turning colors, or being surrounded by objects such as hearts or crosses.” Many people claim that they could look at the sun without any damage to their eyes, and the tall cement cross erected on Mount Podbrdo has disappeared and reappeared, or glowed as if lit with lights, although there is no electricity there. Miracle healing has also been reported.

It may be noted that Vatican has not endorsed these claims. However, the Roman Catholic Church has declared that it cannot be affirmed that the reported apparitions are supernatural in character.

On 4th June 2008 Pope Benedict XVI blessed the statue of Our Lady of Međugorje in Saint Peter's Square, Vatican City. On 28 July 2009, the Pope granted a request for laicisation from Father Tomislav Vlašić, who had been under investigation for ‘dubious doctrine, the manipulation of consciences, suspect mysticism and disobedience towards legitimately issued orders.’ He was also accused of sexual immorality with a nun which case he had covered up.

"We are now awaiting a new directive on this issue", Cardinal Vinko Puljic, who is the head of the Bosnian Bishops' conference told the press. "I don't think we must wait for a long time, I think it will be this year, but that is not clear… I am going to Rome in November and we must discuss this…It is not a sin to pray, it's not a sin to hear confessions, it is not a sin to give penance, this is a good climate. But this phenomenon, apparitions or visions, falls to the (Vatican) commission... It is a very delicate question."

Currently Međugorje has become one of the most popular pilgrimage sites, with over30 million pilgrims having visited since the first sighting of ‘Our Lady, as the local people call her. Many people have claimed to have witnessed strange phenomena including ‘the sun spinning in the sky or changing colors and figures such as hearts and crosses around the sun’.

On Wednesday, 17 March 2010, Vatican announced a commission to investigate the claims, and that Pope Benedict XVI had formed an investigative commission composed of cardinals, bishops, and other experts that will report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the top doctrinal body.