Of all the physical objects that Sai Baba has manifested, or materialized, out of thin air, sacred ash, or vibhuti, is the most common. Because ash is the final end product of all matter on earth, it holds a special sacred place in the world's religions. In the spiritual sense, vibhuti is the most precious object. To quote Sai Baba: "I apply vibhuti to your brow to remind you that you too are divine."

There have been countless healings by people who have put vibhuti in water and drank it, or rubbed the ash on some ailing body part. Here is one example I witnessed. Upon returning from a trip to India, I brought back some vibhuti for a number of friends. One friend had recently given birth to a baby girl, Katy, who was sickly at birth and in and out of hospitals. I went to visit Katy and her mother, and for the first hour that we talked, Katy screamed - the entire time. Finally, I asked G. if she would like to see the gift I had brought her. When she opened up the ceramic container which held the vibhuti, she was thrilled and immediately took some and rubbed it on Katy's abdomen. Within one or two seconds Katy's pain, restlessness and screaming ended. Within five seconds, Katy was soundly asleep. This was not the end of the story however, as Katy required several months of intensive medical care before she was permanently on the road to health.

Of all the miracles Sai Baba performs, everyone who has visited him has witnessed the materialization of vibhuti. Sai Baba's biographer, the late N. Kasturi, wrote that his calculations showed that Sai Baba had materialized several tons of vibhuti. Kasturi died in about 1990, so the above figure is understated.