The path to Sai Mandir Olst
Why Etienne?
Before sharing my spiritual path, I should begin with a question I am asked almost every day of my life:
“How come your name is Etienne? That’s not an Indian name.”
When my mother was pregnant, she heard the name Etienne while living in Moengo-a peaceful, serene town in the east of Suriname in South America.
Suriname, once a Dutch colony, became independent in 1975.
My ancestors came from India-Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The first Indians arrived in Suriname 5th of June 1873. The country borders Guyana and French Guyana, the latter still an overseas territory of France.
My parents lived beside a Chinese shop in Moengo, a beautiful, quiet town in Suriname. People from French Guyana often visited Moengo for business. One day, my mother heard the name “Etienne” spoken lovingly to a little boy visiting the shop with his parents.
She fell instantly in love with the sound-its softness, its purity.
That same evening, when my father came home, she told him:
“If this baby is a boy, I want him to be named Etienne.”
He agreed with his heart. I became the firstborn of seven children.
My paternal grandfather later gave me my sacred second name: Bhagwan.
After me, three boys and three girls were born. My father gave all of them Italian first names with Indian middle names.
Etienne is also the name of a revered Christian monk in France-Saint Étienne.
There is even a large French city bearing this name since the 13th century.
In India, however, my name is nearly impossible to pronounce.
Most people prefer calling me Bhagwan, as it feels familiar, devotional, and rooted in our tradition.
My Story
This is how Shri Shirdi Sai Baba entered my life—eventually blessing me to build the Shirdi Sai Mandir in Olst, The Netherlands, as well as my Premdani Ayurveda Clinic.
The First Call of Sai
I first heard the divine name Shri Sai Baba when I was eight years old, living in Moengo.
A paternal uncle visiting from Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname, mentioned Sai Baba to my father.
When my ears caught that name, something deep inside me shook with ancient recognition-like a distant memory from another life awakening suddenly.
That moment never left me.
My father, André Bisnoedat Premdani, was a spiritual seeker and a freemason-always searching for truth.
Only later in life did he become a devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba, through whom he hoped to find liberation.
He loved traveling, especially to India.
He passed away unexpectedly on a radiant sunny day-November 10th, 1993-at the age of 59.
Sitting on his bed, he made a small joke, leaned back with the sunlight in his eyes, and his soul quietly left the body.
It was a tremendous shock for our family.
We consoled ourselves with the belief that his soul had been lovingly called home.
At that time, I was rediscovering Hinduism and spirituality.
Growing up in Suriname, I attended Catholic school until I was 15.
When we moved to Amsterdam-driven by my dream of becoming a doctor-I still knew very little about Hinduism, despite being born into a Hindu family.
At 19, I began Sunday Bhagavad Gita classes at the ISKCON temple in Amsterdam and read Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
That book transformed my life.
My Father’s Ashes in the Ganga
In February 1994, we traveled to Haridwar to fulfill my father’s final wish:
that his ashes be immersed in the sacred Ganga.
Together with my wife Beena, my mother Ilse, my brother Ricardo, and my paternal aunt Betsy, we performed the rites in Kankhal, Haridwar.
A local pandit and my father’s guru, Swami Pragyanand of Saket, Delhi, officiated the ritual.
I sprinkled my father’s ashes into the crystal-clear Ganga.
Within moments, they dissolved completely-becoming one with the Mother Ganga.
It was a deeply emotional moment of surrender.
The Journey to Shirdi
After returning to Delhi, my Guru instructed me:
“Go to Shirdi. Your Sadguru awaits you.”
Initially, I resisted-I felt tired of saints.
But he insisted, and for this, I remain eternally grateful.
Early next morning, we flew to Mumbai. At the ashram, Swami had just permitted vendors to sell Sai Baba flowers and books for the first time. I bought a book, Sai Baba, An Unique Saint, and read it all the way to Shirdi. At that moment I realized that the Baba in that picture given to me by Hari Om Sharan was Shirdi Sai
The night before, I had watched the film Shirdi Ke Sai Baba by Manoj Kumar.
I hardly slept-something mystical was unfolding inside me.
On the way from Mumbai airport, we stopped to visit bhajan legend Hari Om Sharan and his wife Nandini. They had stayed with me in the Netherlands in 1982. His blessing that morning would later prove prophetic.
After eight hours in the scorching heat-no AC cars existed then-we reached Shirdi.
A mysterious man guided us to buy flowers, then disappeared the moment I turned to thank him.
Inside the Samadhi Mandir-still quiet, calm, and filled with divine presence-we sat for hours.
Later, we visited Guru Sthan, Dwarkamai, Lakshmi Bai’s cottage, Khandoba Mandir, and Lendi Garden.
The serenity was overwhelming.
My life began changing from that day onwards.
Sorrow loosened its grip. Miracles began to enter my daily life.
My First Meeting With Sai (1982)
My true first encounter with Sai had unknowingly happened twelve years earlier.
In 1982, Hari Om Sharan and his wife stayed with us in Amsterdam.
Before leaving for the Airport, he wanted to give me a gift.
I refused.
He insisted and handed me a photograph from his pocket and said lovingly:
“Son, put this in your mandir and pray to Baba. He will protect you. I have prayed to this picture my whole life.” He never mentioned Sai Baba’s name.
Since that day, I have prayed before that picture in my Radha Krishna mandir at home.
It was Shirdi Sai Baba Himself who had entered my life through this picture in 1982.
His wife Nandini placed vibhuti on my forehead-I felt an electric current through my body. Only later would I understand what vibhuti meant.
For twelve years, I prayed every day before that picture without knowing who Baba was, until I visited Shirdi the first time.
Sai in My Life (1994 Onwards)
In Shirdi in 1994, during my second visit, I finally understood the value of that sacred gift.
In Dwarkamai, I spontaneously prayed:
“Baba, bless me to build a temple for You in The Netherlands.”
That single prayer would one day become Sai Mandir Olst.
Blessings From Shri Satya Sai Baba (1996)
In 1996, on the advice of the renowned Ayurvedic Vaidya Dr. Khim Naram, we traveled to Puttaparthy.
Satya Sai Baba blessed both Beena and me with His divine Yoga Drishti.
He materialized vibhuti, placed it on my left shoulder, and a surge of energy went through my body.
He looked deeply into my eyes-a moment I would later understand as Yoga Drishti.
Soon after returning to the Netherlands, Beena became pregnant.
Our son Pawan was born on January 21, 1997.
The Farm in Olst (2002)
In 2002, I was shown a farm for sale in a town I had never heard of-Olst.
It was a risky decision.
Before deciding, Beena and I visited Puttaparthy again, this time with Pawan as well.
With a VIP pass from Baba’s brother Janakiramaiah, Pawan and I stood before Satya Sai Baba took the envelope containing only an air-photo of the farm and the name “BABA.”
He accepted it-placing it under His left armpit without opening it.
He looked deeply at me and nodded:
“Go ahead.”
That was my sign.
I purchased the farm on Dussehra, Tuesday October 15, 2002.
Baba’s Maha Samadhi was also on a Tuesday-October 15, 1918.
The Promise Remembered (2014)
In December 2014, upon entering Dwarkamai, I felt a tap on my shoulder:
“Where is My Mandir?”
I knew Baba was reminding me of my promise from 1994.
With full support from Beena and Pawan, I searched intensely for a suitable building.
On January 15, 2015-Makar Sankranti-I learned that a church in the village would soon be auctioned.
I felt Sai’s guidance instantly.
Renovation began with complete cooperation from the authorities.
Trip to Jaipur & Baba’s Murthy
On March 19, 2015, I traveled to Jaipur to purchase Baba’s murthy-a replica matching the size and form of Shirdi’s original.
On Ram Navami, March 28, 2015, the murthy reached Shirdi and was blessed by priest Shri Dilip Sulakhe.
It arrived in the Netherlands three weeks later by ship and stayed in my Clinic for almost a year.
On Maha Shivaratri, March 8, 2016, the murthy was installed (Pran Pratishta) in Sai Mandir Olst.
On Akshaya Tritiya, May 9, 2016, the Mandir officially opened.
Babu Saheb Talim Lineage
A marble Kachua (Turtle) in the Mandir was crafted by Rajiv Talim, grandson of the legendary Babu Saheb Talim, sculptor of the original Shirdi murthy.
Visiting his studio-where Baba appeared to his grandfather-was profoundly moving.
Kashi, Varanasi & Ram Lala (2023–2024)
My spiritual journey began at 19 with Autobiography of a Yogi.
Since then, I longed to visit Kashi.
In November 2023, I was blessed to attend Dev Deepavali and the first Koti Parthiva Shiv Lingarchana in Varanasi
I took 108 dips in the Ganga and visited countless sacred places like Kashi Vishwanath, Kaal Bhairav, Sankat Mochan, and Ganga Aarti, etc.
In eight weeks, I visited Kashi three times.
It felt like returning home.
The Intuition to Bring Ram Lala to the Netherlands
The morning after leaving Varanasi, back in a Mumbai hotel, I suddenly felt a powerful intuition:
“Bring Ram Lala to the Netherlands.”
Within hours, friends in Kashi arranged everything.
The murthy-carved from Krishna Sheela, the same sacred stone used for Ayodhya’s Ram Lala-was sculpted by master artisan Kanhaiyalal Sharma of Benares.
Now Sai Mandir Olst holds two Ram Lala Murthies:
- One full-size replica of Ayodhya
- One smaller murthy
The smaller murthy was taken by my family and me to Ayodhya, where it spent a night beside the main Ram Lala.
It then received blessings in Shirdi at Khandoba Mandir and Baba’s Samadhi.
On Sunday July 21, 2024, both Murthies were consecrated by priests from South India.
