About Baba Vanga’s glory and how some public figures are denying her
Great individuals have always attracted the discontent of small ones. Great deeds have always annoyed those, who couldn’t leave even the smallest trace behind. Tempted by vanity, self-absorbed minds can never truly appreciate the glory of immortals. Bulgarians are very good at that – hating, envying, offending, disparaging, and above all – denying.
Is Baba Vanga a myth or reality? Is she a patron of the Bulgarian people or a simple psychic – an ordinary woman from the masses, turned into a legend by rumors, gossip and mere chance? This question obviously troubles some public figures. That’s normal. But when one decides to prove that Baba Vanga is a cheap myth without supporting this with arguments, or even by making up some, only to attract interest, that is already grotesque.
Baba Vanga Predictions – Luxurious Edition (In Bulgarian) by Zheni Kostadinova
An article appeared in the papers recently, defaming the “mythologized Baba Vanga”, playing a key angry refrain: “They say Baba Vanga is a wise one, a saint, a patron of the Bulgarian people. You wish! Shall we all light a candle for her, and then wait for salvation. Be it in education, be it in healthcare, be it by fixing unemployment or bringing in more investments…”
It’s unnecessary to remind you, that people like Baba Vanga are not politicians, who can solve the country’s problems. Although she did point a way to our politicians how to do that… People like Baba Vanga are not like the traders in front of the temple who know how to make wealth by reselling; she’s one of those who pray for the souls of the poor… For solving problems with healthcare, education and unemployment there are ministers, and it is their job and duty to do that. Baba Vanga has never had any aspirations to be a Savior, a magician, a national hero. But she loved the Bulgarian people and felt for them. She was one of those rare Bulgarians, who lived their lives with a goal. With hope for better days for their country, with hope for a more favorable destiny for those struck by misfortune.
Baba Vanga did not like being called a saint – people named her one. She was a tormented soul, with a heavy destiny and a difficult road to travel, one she did not choose for herself. She was an individual who was trying to unite us, to keep our consciousness alive, to give us courage and national pride. Despite her personal drama, Baba Vanga helped people in need with anything within her powers (and they were indeed different from ours). Hundreds of thousands knocked on her door. The people whom she gave help, support, strength to believe and carry on were innumerable. They still light a candle for her out of gratitude and respect – for more than 15 years already. Because when illness, loss, pain and suffering strangle you, you don’t have time to wait for help from the state, or from the Ministry of Health or any other institution. There is a Bulgarian proverb for such cases – “King is far away, God is high above” – but still there was Baba Vanga. She could find a way, she was given the power to see the truth and name it.To make miracles. To accept this however, one needed to have just a little bit of faith.
Among the people who believed and sought help from “Baba Vanga, the psychic” and whom some outraged persons have called “ignorant” there are professors, presidents, world-famous figures. But above all, the greatest admirers of the prophetess were the ordinary people.
Why are some of us so annoyed by the faith of these people – “people upon whom life has inflicted great suffering and distress”? What else can one do when they’ve lost their way? What’s more valuable than someone giving you a hand and some hope in a difficult moment. Saving a person’s soul is more valuable than building a highway. Because our physical bodies can travel even without highways, but our souls cannot survive without faith and love.
The Secret of Baba Vanga (In Bulgarian) by Zheni Kostadinova
As an author of three books on Baba Vanga’s life and as a person, whose credo is to work towards preserving the Bulgarian collective memory, I want to express my sincere joy from the fact that 15 years after Baba Vanga passed away, the Bulgarian people continue to value and respect her, and light the biggest of candles for her. I would like to congratulate everyone, who, with a clear conscience and out of honest motives, has managed to spare some of their time to pen their memories or other’s memories of this incredible woman. Let God forgive those who are tempted to use Baba Vanga’s name for their own benefit, or those, who in their willingness to attract attention are trying to disgrace the Prophetess and deny what she’s achieved in the ugliest possible way… I am grateful for everyone who is contributing to preserving the memory of Baba Vanga. Because everything fades away with time – only the myths remain. And only the really Great become a myth one day.
I want to give my regards to “Baba Vanga” foundation, which had turned Rupite from a wilderness into an oasis of tranquility – the first place in Bulgaria for pilgrimage tourism that can be on a par with world examples. Instead of uniting around our heros, we Bulgarians are unsurpassed in defaming and denying them. We are kings of envy, as Baba Vanga noted as well. We can never forgive others for being better than us. We despise them! We betrayed Botev, defamed Levski, labeled Petar Danov a sect leader; sent Burov and Maistora into oblivion, and as for that “mad” lady Lyudmila Zhivkova, who passed away 30 years ago, but left behind the National Palace of Culture and the Gallery of Foreign Art – we wouldn’t say a single good word in another 30 years to come.
Why could we not learn from our neighbors who can turn a single stone into a tourist attraction worth millions!? And why have the Viennese turned Mozart, Klimt and Hundertwasser into a total kitsch from the point of view of tourist fetishism (there are sweets with their portraits, there are candles, calendars, mugs, plates, necklaces, posters, umbrellas and whatever you can think of…), but no Austrian would say that’s an example of bad taste.
The Macedonians are building a tourist complex near Novo Selo, Bulgarians are outraged by the proportions the Baba Vanga myth is taking. And why shouldn’t they build one!? After all, the Prophetess, our prophetess, was born there, in Strumitsa and went blind near Novo selo – she has left a trace in the land of Macedonia. So our neighbors would not only build a monument, but may soon declare her as their own saint before the world! A patron of the Macedonian people… While we are looking for ways to defame, deny and turn her into a pathetic myth.
Zheni Kostadinova graduated Philosophy at the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. She has worked as an editor at the student TV show “Ku-Ku”, and as a reporter at the National Radio “Horizon”. For over 15 years she is a columnist at “Weekly Trud” newspaper writing about esoteric and psychology. In the same newspaper she is maintaining a page on literature. Zheni Kostadinova is the author of some of the most popular books written on Baba Vanga including “Baba Vanga The Prophetess”, “Baba Vanga Predictions”, “The Secret of Baba Vanga”. Her first book was translated into Russian, Polish, Latvian, Serbian, and Albanian. Zheni is a member of the Union of Bulgarian Writers. She had published three books of poetry: “Fire Sticks (2002), “17 love colors” (2007), and “Fig Jam” (2008). In 2012 Zheni has founded the art-house “Kuklite”. It is a doll gallery and a mini-museum located in downtown Sofia. The gallery exhibits different dolls placed in specific categories. Besides the exhibitions, the art-house “Kuklite” also have the priority to work with children from the local schools, so they learn more about the traditions and customs of the different nations. The main idea is to transform the art-house “Kuklite” into a centre for cultural exchange, creative collaboration between representatives of different fields of art, science and philosophy. The art-house will hold meetings with interesting personalities, and will be a place of exhibitions, seminars, workshops, premieres of books and documentary movies, puppetry, and many other great events. The art-house “Kuklite” will also be a place where collectors can display their favourite artefacts and can share the history associated with them.
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