Who was Major General Taylor?

 After watching Sri M’s Last Podcast On TRS? When Sri M manifested Vibhuti and criticized Sathya Sai Baba, as he has done in several previous podcasts, my immediate reaction was to ask him for clarification. I posted a comment asking: 

“Could you explain the phenomenon of vibhuti (sacred ash) manifesting in photographs of Sathya Sai Baba, which continues to occur in many homes today? Additionally, are you familiar with the Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave associated with Mahavatar Babaji? Do you know the story of how Major General Taylor's driver was saved, leading the General to become a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba and later being guided to this cave in a dream? Finally, do you have any idea regarding the past life of Major General Taylor? Who was he?”

I had previously published an article on this subject on my blog in January 2017: https://drpsdeb.blogspot.com/2017/01/satya-sai-and-mahavatar-baba-and-ret.html. However, due to lapses in memory regarding an earlier conversation I had with Sai Gollapudi during a flight back in February 2016, a few inaccuracies had crept into that post. To rectify these details, I contacted Sai Gollapudi again to clarify specific points—particularly how Krishna Ji (whom I had previously referred to as Shyam) came to know that Major General K.A. Taylor (MGT) was the reincarnation of Lahiri Mahasaya.

Krishna (Shyam) resides in Haridwar, where he maintains a small Krishna temple. He had been having a recurring dream about meeting his spiritual Guru, though he was initially uncertain of the Guru's identity. Eventually, he came to recognize Major General Taylor as that long-sought Guru. 

The backstory of how Major General Taylor became attached to Sathya Sai Baba traces back to 1975 when Taylor was commanding an army convoy along dangerous Himalayan mountain tracks. One of the jeeps slipped and fell into a deep ravine, leaving the driver apparently killed on impact. Unwilling to give up, Taylor instructed that the driver be carried back up to the road and rushed by another jeep to the nearest hospital, fully expecting him to be pronounced dead on arrival. In that crisis, Taylor prayed intensely to Sathya Sai Baba—a spiritual figure he had recently learned about—putting his faith to an ultimate test. To his profound relief and astonishment, the driver miraculously survived and recovered completely. This event marked a pivotal turning point, turning Major General Taylor into a dedicated devotee of Sathya Sai Baba.

Years later, during an interview at Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi, Sathya Sai Baba informed General Taylor that he would eventually have to shoulder a grand spiritual responsibility. That prophecy materialized when Baba appeared in a dream, showing General Taylor a distinct winding path near a temple in the Himalayan mountains and pointing out the precise location of a hidden cave. While on duty in Pithoragarh district in 1989, General Taylor visited a nearby local shrine and recognized the exact landscape from his dream. Following the path, he rediscovered the ancient underground cave complex of Patal Bhuvaneshwar. General Taylor subsequently helped arrange electricity for the cave complex using a diesel generator and brought wider attention to the site.

Around 1990, Sai Gollapudi was working in Dallas, Texas. An acquaintance named Joe (James), a photographer who practiced Transcendental Meditation (TM) and had become a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba after meeting Sai G in Puttaparthi, invited Sai G to travel with him to India. General Taylor had asked Joe to document and record a videotape of the Patal Bhuvaneshwar cave. Even before Sai G could formally apply for leave, he received a phone call from Rishikesh informing him that accommodation arrangements were already finalized. Surprised by this unexpected orchestration, Sai G secured paid leave and traveled with Joe to Rishikesh, where they met Krishna and Major General Taylor.

On their journey toward Patal Bhuvaneshwar, the group halted at Almora and met two spiritual yogis. One of these yogis was a slender, enigmatic figure. During their meeting, the yogi asked Sai G if he knew the true spiritual identity of Major General Taylor, before disclosing that General Taylor was the reincarnation of Shyama Charan Lahiri (Lahiri Mahasaya). Sathya Sai Baba had previously revealed this past-life identity to General Taylor privately, instructing him to keep it confidential, which is why the General had remained quiet about it.

Earlier that year, Sai G had taken a vow to refrain from watching television, spending his time acquiring and reading spiritual books, including Autobiography of a Yogi, as suggested by friends. He had been praying for an opportunity to meet great spiritual masters. The mysterious thin yogi led Sai G into a private room, showing him portraits of Lahiri Mahasaya and various revered saints. Finally, he displayed a remarkably detailed depiction of Mahavatar Babaji, resembling the iconic image from Autobiography of a Yogi, but uniquely vibrant, clearly revealing the inner subtle energy chakras. The yogi then made the astonishing revelation: “I am Mahavatar Babaji.”

The Sai G pointed out that General Taylor's physical appearance, posture, and subtle features—such as his slight pot belly and posture while sitting—bore an unmistakable resemblance to the classic likeness of Shyama Charan Lahiri Mahasaya. The second yogi present was reported to be an astral traveler who revealed intimate personal insights, including details regarding the health of Sai G's mother. Through these extraordinary encounters, Major General Taylor's identity as the reborn Lahiri Mahasaya was affirmed in connection with Mahavatar Babaji and Sathya Sai Baba.