After graduating from the Eastern Department of the History Department of Moscow State University (1954) and four years of work at the State Library of Foreign Literature, she began working as a teacher at the Institute of Asian and African Countries at Moscow State University. She also started her postgraduate studies. Professor A. M. Dyakov, whose scientific interests included the study of medieval religious sects (associations) of India, was her scientific director. In 1962 she defended her thesis for the degree of candidate of philological sciences on the topic “Problems of Drama of Bharatendu Harishchandra.” It is quite natural that the theme of N. M. Sazanova’s dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philology was the creative heritage of the medieval Indian bhakti poet Mahatma Sur Das (1478 — 1582), which belonged to the Pushti Marg sect. In 1984 she defended her thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philology on the theme “Creative works of Sur Das and the North Indian literary tradition of the XVI–XIX centuries.”

Sur Das is a great beloved folk poet who composed poetic works (poems) in the Braj language — the Western Hindi dialect (Braj district of North India). He was a disciple of the religious reformer Vallabhacharya (XV century), the founder of the sect “Pushti Marg”, in translation — “the path of support.” “The ideas of the Pushti Marg <…> were mainly based on the authority of the Bhagavata Purana.

To work on the thesis, she went to India, to the city of Agra, known for its ancient Agra University and the library. The city of Agra — the ancient capital of India — was part of the mentioned Braj district of Northern India. During the stay of N. M. Sazanova in Agra, articles appeared in the Indian press about a Russian graduate student studying works of the poet Sur Das. In the newspaper articles, N. M. Sazanova was called the “Russian Radha.” Radha is the feminine hypostasis, the spiritual half of the god Krishna. At that time, a faithful event took place for N. M. Sazanova. The event not only determined the direction of her scientific research but her whole subsequent life. She had met her the spiritual Teacher — Mahatma Baba ji guru dev Sri Pad ji Maharaj.

With a Teacher, N. M. Sazanova went on a spiritual pilgrimage, wearing traditional Indian sari and barefoot, for places associated with the birth, childhood, and youth of the god Krishna. That region known under its medieval name Braj, it included following cities and villages: Agra, Barsana, Vrindavan, Gokul, Mathura, Parasuolі and others. N. M. Sazanova describes her difficult journey: “I had to make a pilgrimage to the ‘holy’ places of Krishna followers, observing all Hindu rules (that is, barefoot, eating purely vegetarian special food for pilgrims, etc.). Only after visiting during this trip all the main Krishna shrines from Mathura to Rajasthan and further to Benares and the Himalayas, I have got permission to see manuscripts, kept under lock and key in the collections of the Maharaja of Jaipur, Udaipur, and temples.”

N. M. Sazanova intensely studied the tradition and culture of medieval India, the Hindi, and Braj languages. She was imbued with the spirit of India and was filled with love for India. In her works, she introduced the spiritual tradition of the medieval Indian sect “Pushti Marg,” hagiographic literature about the saints of India, historical chronicles, the creative heritage of medieval bhakti poets Sur Das, Mira Bai and others to the Soviet audience.
Thanks to her knowledge and love of India, N. M. Sazanova contributed to the deep interpenetration of cultures of the peoples of India and the USSR. N. M. Sazanova strengthened scientific ties in between Orientalists from India and the USSR. She taught Braj language, literature, and history of medieval India to undergraduate and postgraduate students.

N. M. Sazanova is a new type of scientist who combines a strictly scientific approach and methodology with a spiritual practice that allows her to penetrate the essential depth of the matter. N. M. Sazanova spoke of her Master: “Sri Pad Ji is not an ordinary mahatma. One that walks in the mountains or sits in a tree, like Devarahu Baba from Vrindavan, but my Teacher is a new type of Mahatma. He served not only as a cleric but laic, engaged in community service, like Swami Vivekananda.”

One of the first books written by N. M. Sazanova was “The Ocean of Sur Das Poetry” (1973). The study of the work of the Indian poet Mahatma, translations of his legacy, continued throughout the al creative scientific life of N. M. Sazanova. So, in 1978, in the German Democratic Republic, in Leipzig, the book of poet Sur Das “Krishnayana” was published with commentaries in English, German and Russian, with facsimile color reproduction of the manuscript book. In 1992, the publishing house of Moscow University published the book “There Is No Life Without Krishna” (From medieval Indian poetry); compilation, general edition, introductory article, and comments by N. M. Sazanova. In 1996, the publishing house of Moscow University and the publishing house “Sirin” published a book “Literature of the East in the Middle Ages” edited by N. M. Sazanova.

Odessa Roerich House Museum, in the series “Commonwealth”, published a collection of selected scientific works of Natalia Mikhailovna Sazanova, “Let’s go to the country where dear…”. The collection includes works previously published in scientific digests of Moscow State University and the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as in various scientific journals from 1966 to 2002.

Since 1990, N. M. Sazanova has been a member of the board of the Moscow Roerich Society, headed by the artist and disciple of N. K. Roerich B. A. Smirnov-Rusetskiy. She was a long time friend of S. N. Roerich, the youngest son of N. K. Roerich and E. I. Roerich. They had known each other for thirty years. N. M. Sazanova stood at the origins of the Commission on the creative heritage of N. K. Roerich (1984). Throughout her life, she supported the spiritual aspirations of young people and people who turned to her with questions related to the spiritual tradition of India, the work of the Roerich family. Since the foundation of the N. K. Roerich Society at the Japanese Club of the Russian-Japanese Society in Odessa (1990), N. M. Sazanova rendered constant support: meetings, correspondence, evenings devoted to the history and spiritual and philosophical heritage of India.

In 1995, N. M. Sazanova first arrived in Odessa at the invitation of the Odessa Committee of the Pact of Culture and Peace named after N. K. Roerich, and later she visited Odessa annually in the summer. In 2000, N. M. Sazanova visited the opened Odessa Roerich House Museum and donated valuable scientific materials about poet-Mahatma Sur Das, her books, and Indian philosophical literature. In the museum hall dedicated to India, N. M. Sazanova gave relics of the Indian spiritual tradition of the cult of God Krishna and His feminine hypostasis Radha. In each of her visits, N. M. Sazanova made scientific reports in the House of Scientists of Odessa, in the Odessa Roerich House Museum, and gave interviews on television and radio. She participated in scientific conferences dedicated to the birthday of the oriental scientist Yu. N. Roerich (1902-1960), as well as evenings dedicated to memorable dates — Indian Independence Day and others. Speeches by N. M. Sazanova always attracted a broad audience and were received by Odessa public with keen interest. Official and unofficial meetings were held with the Consul General of India in Odessa, Dr. Pankaj, Ambassador of the Republic of India to Ukraine, Mr. Soni. She was a welcome and beloved guest, generously sharing her knowledge, spiritual experience; she was always benevolent and open to people. Arrivals of N. M. Sazanova caused a spiritual upsurge and created a festive mood.

What was N. M. Sazanova like? She was different and multifaceted, free and independent, courageous, persistent, and strong-willed in all life situations. No one had ever heard from her any complaints, neither about her health conditions nor about her life’s troubles. She never bored anyone with tales of her experiences. In all situations, and even during the loss of her loved ones, she remained optimistic; she was cheerful. Joy and good mood were the constant states of her wise soul. Often N. M. Sazanova was contrasting, seeming contradictory and paradoxical for the nearsighted. With these methods, she knocked out the soil of pride and overconfidence, self-limitation, and self-conceit from the interlocutor. Often she deliberately shocked to return a man his simple human face. She could be harsh, but at the same time, loving and soft, motherly gentle and caring, insightful, and condescending. She was demanding for herself, and most importantly — she was a person of integrity and faithful to her Teacher and spiritual tradition. With all her soul, with every bit of her nature, she loved India. With the personal example, she taught to those around her how to love what was dear to her. She revered and devotedly served Giridhara, Govinda, and Krisna. For N. M. Sazanova, it was an absolute reality that there is NO LIFE WITHOUT KRISHNA!

Based on the article by E. G. Petrenko, “A Word About Natalia Mikhailovna Sazanova”