Could it be magic at last?..

If you thought that St Petersburg's culture didn't extend beyond the Mariinsky and Hermitage, then you'd be quite wrong.

In fact there's a thriving sub-culture which non-Russians rarely learn about. One area of alternative culture is the growing interest in New Age and Indian spirituality.

While this may not be radical in California, such beliefs in Russia still sit on the fringe, although they are growing in popularity.

Possibly the best eatery in town and a welcome change from stodgy Russian fare is a cafe run by devotees of Sai Babba. An Indian holy man, he has been called the most unusual man this century.

With a trademark halo of jet-black hair Sai Babba has attracted followers all over the world but is a relative newcomer to Russia, his teachings brought here by an Indian student in the late 1980's.

Talking to two of his devotees, Oleg and Nadya, I asked them what the appeal of Sai Babba was for Russians. Oleg replied that he doesn't force you to believe anything, a welcome change from the indoctrination of communism. Sai Babba's spiritual guidelines are a belief in one religion -- love, one nationality -- humanity, and one language -- of the heart.

In practice his followers say mantras (prayers) reciting the different names of God whether it be Allah, Jesus, Shiva, and they also meditate. If you are a Muslim or an Orthodox Christian, Sai Babba's aim is to make you sincere in your own religion.

An incarnation of Divine Love, he encourages all to see the divine in themselves and to seek truth. His full name, Sathya Sai Babba, means Truth Mother Father. The delicious Indian food in the cafe is vegetarian and it's healthy as well as extremely popular with the locals. There are curries on rice, salads, breads, and not a dumpling to be seen.

A comment book is evidence of satisfied customers, one person calling it an "oasis in the middle of a spiritual and anti-vegetarian desert." The decor is light and airy with Indian paintings on the walls and plenty of greenery. Interestingly, against one wall is a shrine with photos of Sai Babba, an icon of Jesus and a garland of flowers.

This community has twice-weekly meetings, so anyone interested should go to the cafe and ask for Oleg as he speaks English. The cafe is a few minutes walk from Metro Gorkovskaya on Malaya Posadskaya (opposite the Mercedes showroom).

St Petersburg has a growing number of eclectic bookshops. Not far from the cafe is Logos bookshop at 6 Prospect Mira. (Metro Petrogradskaya) Upon entering I was amused to hear a muzak version of Abba's hit "Money, Money, Money" which seemed a little out of place. A huge noticeboard advertises different courses and belief-systems. For example, there's a Holistic Center for Integral Breathing to follow the path of your consciousness.

If that's too much of a mouthful then there's the School of Spiritual Development which has practical hints for family relations, sitting next to an announcement by the Orthodox church. Books in Russian included "The Path of Shiva," "Dianetics," "Dream Interpretation" and various astrological magazines.

Magic was well represented, particularly the popular Mexican tradition of Carlos Casteneda, the Masons, and a book by Tolstoy on the teachings of Christ. Assorted Indian nick-nacks were for sale, as were a variety of nose studs, although I have yet to see this fashion statement on Nevsky Prospect.

While the books were generally of a spiritual nature, the music selection was a little more bizarre. The healing sounds of "Music for Meditation" were outnumbered by a wide selection of Richard Clayderman discs, fantastic disco compilations, and even a Donna Summer album. Who says New Age music has to be all dolphin calls and sounds of the forest? The New Age Center on 57 Ulitsa Galernaya is connected to the local Rajneesh Center. Rajneesh is a spiritual guru who died recently and he is very famous in the West, particularly because of controversial business deals and his rise to New Age stardom.

His teachings are based on Zen Buddhism and a mixture of philosophies, emphasising the concepts of peace and freedom. While the vegetarian cafe in the center no longer exists, this is still a good place to buy incense, music, crystals and spiritual literature. Possibly one of the largest communities connected with Indian spirituality is Sahaja Yoga, with over a thousand members in the city. Talking to Jack, Svetlana and Veta I had an insight into their beliefs and values, which they pointed out are not a religion but a philosophy.

Nobel Peace Prize? Shri Mataji

Sahaja Yoga means spontaneous union and it was developed by Shri Mataji, an Indian woman and mother-figure for the yogi community. Only one month ago she spoke at the International Scientific Conference in St Petersburg. The vice-president of the Science Academy, Juri Voronov is a member of Sahaja Yoga and he believes Shri Mataji should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

According to Sahaja Yoga our body has three channels of energy which need to be properly balanced. The forces of the body are concentrated on points called chakras (which means "wheel" in Sanskrit) which are easily blocked. The aim of Sahaja Yoga is to awaken the mother energy (kundalini) within each of us. She will then rise through the central channel, piercing the chakras, to emerge from the top of our brain when the union of Kundalini and self-realization occurs. If you're thinking this all sounds very complex, it in fact involves very simple yoga and meditation techniques.

When asked if Russians are more suspicious about such philosophies than those in the West, Jack said it was to the contrary. While many Westerners have preconceived notions of God, Russians do not, so they are often more open-minded about various spiritual practices.

Veta spoke very openly about how Sahaja Yoga has transformed her life. She has overcome severe depression and heavy drinking and claims that obstacles are now like teachers for her.

All three of the yogi!s are very optimistic about the future and Shri Mataji herself has said that this is "the blossom time " when many people will get their enlightenment.

The Sahaja Yoga Community has just started holding weekly meditation meetings in English. These are on Saturday evenings at 6:45pm at 22 Ulitsa Caravanaya (near the Anichkov Most). The meetings are always free and open to the public. For information you can call 164-6566 between 6pm-9pm.

If this foray into Indian culture makes you yearn for the real thing then you might be interested to know that small, uncommercial tours are taken to India, mainly the Himalayan region. The cost for two weeks, including the flight, is from $700 with an English speaking guide. The number to call is 150-3582 (late on weekdays) or the travel agency Voyage on 110-4477 (during the day) where they don't speak English. Several tours to India are planned for the winter.