Sathya Sai Baba

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Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (born circa 1926-1929) is a popular but controversial Indian guru who has followers and Sathya Sai Baba groups in many countries. He was born under the name Sathya Narayana Raju.

Sathya Sai Baba

He says that he is an embodiment of love with divine powers like omniscience and omnipotence. Followers believe that he is a reincarnation of the fakir Shirdi Sai Baba. He manifests small objects like rings and watches, seemingly out of nothing and from nowhere, that he claims to materialize. His followers attribute many other miracles to him.

He preaches a rather traditional form of Hinduism with a strict morality. In spite of that, he teaches the unity of all major world religions and says that they all lead to God. His followers and the organizations that he founded are involved in many charity projects.

Critics think that these materializations are done by sleight of hand and believe that he has inappropriate sexual relations with young men and boys.

History

Sathya Narayana Raju was born in the village Puttaparthi in the state Andhra Pradesh of India. His birth date was 23 November, 1926, according to the official hagiographic biography by Narayana Kasturi. [1] Kasturi wrote that he was a relatively normal boy until he was stung by a scorpion in 1940 after which he declared that he was a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. According to Kasturi, he started his mission on 20 October, 1940. The unreferenced biography contains many miracles stories about the guru.

In 1971 the American playwright Arnold Schulman tried to verify the stories from the youth of the guru but heard contradicting stories from the older villagers. [2] Since there year 2000 there is some evidence that he was born some years later. [3], [4] The Australian scholar Brian Steel found evidence that the mission did not start on 20 October 1940 but in 1943. [5]

The guru became popular in western countries by stories of miracles allegedly performed by him. These stories attracted early spiritual seekers, like the Americans John Hislop, Samuel Sandweiss, and the Australian Howard Murphet, who visited the guru and wrote books about their experiences in the 1970s. In turn, these books inspired and convinced other spiritual seekers.

There are no accurate estimates of the number of followers but it is more than one million. Some people claim (without clear evidence) that the number has dropped considerably since 2000.

Beliefs and practices

Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (abode of peace) at Puttaparthi. In the hot summer the guru leaves for his other ashram called Brindavan in Whitefield (sometimes called Kadugodi), a town on the outskirts of Bangalore. His popularity and the donations by followers enabled Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations to build a big ashram near the once poor and isolated village of Puttaparthi.

He is an excellent orator in his native language Telugu. He claims to be the Kali Yuga purna avatar (full divine incarnation of this era) of Lord Shiva and Shakti. He says that he is omniscient, omnipotent and free from desires. He preaches love and the unity of all religions. He says that all religions lead to God and that followers should continue to follow their original religions. He says that he will make Christians better Christians and Hindus better Hindus, et cetera. He says that the will reincarnate again in this century as Prema Sai Baba to finish the spiritual transformation of the world, starting with India, that his previous and current incarnations have begun. [5] He has said that he will die after he has become 93 years old but there is no official statement for the popular belief among followers that he will die when he is 95 years old (96 according to Indian counting). [7] He has left India only once for a visit to Uganda in 1968.

He claims to perform miracles daily in the form of materializations of small objects, for example rings and watches and especially vibhuti (holy ash). He says that he heals diseases of his devotees sometimes by his spiritual power and sometimes by taking over the disease himself. Followers attribute many miracles to him that happen in their own countries, like spontaneous vibhuti manifestations on the pictures of the guru in their homes and bilocation. He says he performs these miracles to attract people and then to transform them spiritually.

He teaches a rather traditional but syncretistic form of Hinduism that come from many sects and movements including advaita, occasionally drawing from other religions like Buddhism and Christianity. In spite of his claim to be a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, a spiritual leader who blended Islam and Hinduism in his teachings, he shows no Muslim traits or habits. He says that he has come to restore faith in, and the practice of the Vedas. His teachings contain few if any original thoughts or philosophies. He says that a very important way a person can emancipate himself is through self-less loving. He stresses the importance of sadhana (Hindu spiritual exercises) and says that there are three forms of meditation that are safe and lead quickly to moksha (liberation from ignorance and from the endless re-births due to karmic consequences). The forms are namasmarana ('remembrance of the name' [of God], usually through repetition), light-meditation (mental concentration on a bright light) and the so ham-meditation (repeating the mantra "so ham" silently; hamsa means Swan, which is a form of Brahma (god) and when repeated sounds like so-ham, "I am"). He teaches the importance of Bhakti yoga (Hindu devotion through selfless love) and that it grows more easily if one has an Ishta-Deva (chosen deity). For many devotees the Ishta-Deva is Sathya Sai Baba himself. He teaches a strict morality and the importance of renouncing worldly desires.

One important practice in his ashrams is darshan (spiritual sight). During darshan Sathya Sai Baba shows himself to his followers. He accepts letters and materializes and distributes vibhuti (sacred ash of Lord Shiva). Sathya Sai Baba claims that his darshan has spiritual benefits for people who attend it. Usually people wait hours to get a good place for darshan. Sathya Sai Baba sometimes invites people for a group interview with him in a room in the ashram 's mandir (Hindu temple). Among followers it is considered a great privilege to get such an interview. Sometimes a person from this group is invited for a private interview.

The local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans (devotional songs), study Sathya Sai Baba's teachings and the holy books of the various world religions. Besides they are often involved in community service that they call seva. His followers generally do not proselytize. Bhajans are sung on nearly every meeting.

Most of his followers come from the educated middle class but includes some high ranking Indian politicians.

Organizations

He has founded a number of educational institutions and hospitals on charity, most notably the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of higher learning in the main ashrams and Anantapur town. [8] He has made large contributions to the drinking water project for the whole of Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.

The Educare programme seeks to found schools in all countries with the explicit goal to educate children in the five human values and spirituality. Schools have already been founded in Canada (Toronto), Zambia, Australia and several in India.

Sathya Sai Organisation official logo
Sathya Sai Organisation official logo

All the local Sai Samithis (Sathya Sai Baba groups) are part of a hierarchical structure called the Sathya Sai Organisation. The chairman of the organisation is Indulal Shah. The logo of the Sathya Sai organization is a stylized lotus flower with the so called five human values, highly influenced by not only Hinduism but also Jainism and Buddhism, in its petals. These values are sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct), ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love) and shanti (peace). It has replaced the old logo with the symbols of the 5 or 6 world religions in the petals.

The Sri Sathya Sai central trust was founded in 1972 and is mainly involved in charity such as the Rayalaseema water project. The trust has tax exempt status and is a major recipient of donations from abroad]. [9]

The Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications is the official publisher of the Sathya Sai Organisation. It publishes the international monthly magazine called Sanathana Sarathi.

Allegations and controversy

Sathya Sai Baba is the subject of intense controversy. One of his most long-standing critics is the Indian skeptic Basava Premanand who has published several critical books about him with telling titles such as "Lure of miracles" and "Divine Octopus". [10] He has also dragged Sathya Sai Baba to court alleging his violation of the Gold Control Act. [11] Premanand was even arrested by the police in Puttaparthi for a demonstration in the village.

In 1976 Dr. H. Narasimhaiah who was a member of a miracle committee, publicly invited Sathya Sai Baba to perform his miracles under controlled circumstances which Sathya Sai Baba refused. [12] The controversy that was the consequence of this incident made Sathya Sai Baba become well known in India. [13] Sathya Sai Baba said in one of his rare interviews that he found the attitude of the committee improper. [14] In 1994 another skeptic, Dale Beyerstein from Canada, published a study that supposedly proved that Sathya Sai Baba's claims of omniscience and omnipotence are untrue. [15]

On 6 June, 1993 six inmates of Prashanti Nilayam were killed in Sathya Sai Baba's bedroom. Four of them were assailants armed with knives, who were shot dead by the police. Initial reports by the police and media claimed this to be a failed attempt on the life of Sathya Sai Baba. Later the murders were attributed to internal squabbles in Prashanti Nilayam. Basava Premanand went to court accusing the police and the government of destroying evidence. The appeal was dismissed by the High Court.

The most prominent accusation by ex-members, first voiced by Tal Brooke in 1976, is that he is a homosexual and a paedophile and that he sexually abuses his young male followers and the students from his schools and the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning during private interviews. [17] and [18] These followers say that they have had a very unpleasant experience because of his behavior. Several first hand testimonies of this have been published on the internet. [20] Some of these testimonies have been written down under a fake name to protect the privacy of the young men and boys involved. In some cases these young men are willing to talk to serious enquirers. There are far more second hand testimonies. [21] From the perspective of a follower this is a very serious allegation because homosexuality, or indeed any sexual activity, would prove that Sathya Sai Baba is not the desireless saint that he claims to be. Homosexuality is forbidden in India, even between consenting adults. Defenders of Sai Baba point out that none of these allegations have been substantiated by a court of law or even an independent inquiry, and suggest that they are baseless rumours, put out with the intentional purpose of casting discredit on Sai Baba.

In and after the year 2000 the allegations against the guru became louder, mainly because a Welsh musician, David Bailey, and his wife Faye Bailey became ex-followers and published their experiences, opinions, and testimonies, as well as those of other ex-followers in a document called The Findings. This document was soon published on the internet].[20] Until that document, followers were generally unaware of any allegation or were aware but found them unconvincing. Some followers were shocked and became ex-followers after reading the document. For some long-time ardent followers, it took years to recover from the shock. Most ex-followers left silently but some, like the Australian Barry Pittard, a former teacher at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of higher learning, became activists. These activists wrote letters and supported websites to warn others against Sathya Sai Baba. Usually they felt cheated, angry and betrayed and wanted Sathya Sai Baba to stop sexually abusing boys and young men.

The Australian scholar and ex-follower Brian Steel accuses the Sathya Sai Baba organization of editing the discourses to improve them which is rather peculiar for the discourses of a person who claims to be omniscient.

Ex-follower and retired philosophy professor Robert Priddy from Norway has pointed out that Sathya Sai Baba's assertions about magnetism differ greatly from generally accepted science. Followers, however, suggest that it may be science, not Sai Baba, that is ignorant, and noting that some Hindu teachers indicate that magnetism will only be widely fully understood during the Treta and Satya Yuga ages and not in the near future.

Robert Priddy also accuses him of having contradictions in his teachings and, in general, having major discrepancies between word and deed in a variety of subjects. He accuses the Sathya Sai organization of being unnecessarily secretive.

Critics claim that the materializations are fake and done by sleight of hand as, they say, can be seen on footage available on the internet. [23] On the other hand, it is very difficult to find a rational explanation for some of the miracle stories.

Several followers have requested investigation of the allegations but they ultimately felt that they had to leave because they found the answers that they got unsatisfactory or unconvincing. These followers include Ella Evers [24], Matthijs van der Meer [25]. The Russian follower and member of the organisation Serguei Badaev was expelled from the organisation because of lack of faith in Sathya Sai Baba. [26] There is one testimony by Terry Gallagher in which he says that he personally asked Sathya Sai Baba about the truth of the allegation but he got no answer from him. [27]

Crtics accuse the guru of keeping his followers ignorant about the allegations. Sathya Sai Baba says that his followers should not rely on the internet but focus instead on the innernet by which he means that they should follow spiritual practices.

Ex-followers like the American Glen Meloy accuses him of being a cult leader who uses mind control, and propaganda and who has created a personality cult. Critics say that one of the many examples of lies and propaganda is his claim that he was born on 23 November, 1926. On 24 November, 1926 the Indian guru Aurobindo said that the Divine had descended on earth and stopped speaking from then. Sathya Sai Baba said that Aurobindo referred to him. Later, his school record showed a different birth date. [16]

Some ex-followers believe in the truth of the allegations but at the same time refuse to retract the stories of miracles that they claim to have experienced which they attribute to him. Hence quite a lot of ex-followers believe that he has siddhis (psychic abilities) or is a powerful demon, or is the Antichrist. Other ex-followers, like Hari Sampath believe that some of the miracles are real but mistakenly attributed to Sathya Sai Baba. Skeptics believe him to be a charlatan and his followers naive and suffering from the true-believer syndrome.

Debating the allegations

The followers point to the small number of first hand non-anonymous testimonies of sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba. Consequently, they say, the allegations are not proven and Sathya Sai Baba is like everybody else, innocent until proven otherwise. Sathya Sai Baba himself has not given a detailed rebuttal of the allegations but has said in the Christmas discourse of the year 2000 that people who tell negative stories about him have been bribed or do this out of jealousy because of his fame. Besides, he says that it always been the fate of saints and avatar to be exposed to calumny. [33]

Followers also argue that a person who has the ability to perform miracles can never be a sinner because from the traditional Hindu literature it is a well known fact that the ability to perform miracles diminishes if a person sins. And after all, even some ex-followers believe him to perform miracles. It may be true that some materializations are what critics would consider fake but followers say that this is Sathya Sai Baba's leela (divine play) or a test of faith. Besides thousands of uninvestigated miracles could remain as true as always. In turn, critics say that even one fake miracle proves that the guru is a fraud.


Believers say that one should judge a prophet by his fruits as Jesus said according to the Bible. [34] The fruits in terms of charity are a fact and the fruits of personal transformations are their personal experiences. These fruits are good and are certain for the followers. The allegations would be serious, if true, but are not proven according to them. Critics say that one should include the unpleasant experiences of the young who allegedly have been sexually abused and the disillusionment of ex-followers though they are difficult to prove. Besides, critics say that the allegations should at least be investigated. Skeptics argue that the burden of proof for his miracles and his many extraordinary claims are on him. They consider his refusal to show his miracles in controlled circumstances as evidence that he is a fraud, because any magician can perform similar "materializations" as the guru.

Followers purport Sathya Sai Baba's group is not a cult because it displays many atypical characteristics. These characteristics include charity and tolerance towards other faiths. Also, it does not claim to be the only way to God and truth, and does not advocate proselytizing]. [35] They point out that often cults will expect their adherents to abandon worldly duties and to severe ties with their families, which is something Sathya Sai Baba has explicitly said not to do. Nor does Sathya Sai Baba portray the world and life outside the organisation as evil. Besides they say that faith in Sathya Sai Baba should not be blind. Sathya Sai Baba explicity invites people to investigate his authenticity. [36] Partial faith in, and idenfication with Sathya Sai Baba is tolerated.

Followers find it implausible that the allegations would be justified because Sathya Sai Baba has never been successfully prosecuted. They assert that if this is due to a conspiracy or corruption or influence by Sathya Sai Baba on politicians, as critics believe, then the burden of proof of this assertion is on those critics.

The media and governments

Several media articles have appeared on the guru. One of the most important critical articles was a front page article in December 2002 in the nationwide India Today magazine called "A God accused". The New York Times published a rather positive article on the guru without mentioning the allegations at all. [28] The newspaper chose to ignore the letters of several ex-followers that pointed to the serious allegations without giving any reason. [29] There was also an extremely critical TV documentary "Seduced By Sai Baba", first broadcast on January 30, 2002 that has been screened several times in Denmark and Norway. The 54-minute documentary was produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish Radio and was also aired in Australia on 12 February 2004 [30]

The United States Department of State has issued a travel warning against Sathya Sai Baba under the section 'Crime in Andhra Pradesh' [31] The warning however does not mention his name explicitly. Critical questions have been asked in the British Parliament about the suicide of a young British man who claimed he had been sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba and in the European Parliament about human rights violations by Sathya Sai Baba.

The Indian government has made no attempt to arrest the guru. High ranking officials such as the current President Abdul Kalam and especially the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee continue to visit the ashram and pay respect to the guru. Vajpayee has even written a letter in defence of Sathya Sai Baba that has been published on the internet [32]


References


1. Kasturi, Narayana Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Part I
2. Dadlani, Sanjay K. Sai Baba Shiva or Sadhaka? http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/sanjay.htm and Steel, Brian Arnold Schulman's Baba - an Embarrassment for the SSO? http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/Schulman.htm
3. Padmanaban, R. Love is My Form
4. Steel, Brian More Circumstantial Evidence about SB's Date of Birth (April 2002) http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/Dob.htm
5. Steel, Brian 1940-1945: the Need to Revise the Official Sathya Sai Baba Story (2004) http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/1940.htm
6. Sathya Sai Baba/Sathya Sai Organisation (6 July 1963) http://www.sathyasai.org/discour/1963/d630706.htm
7. Priddy, Robert Information about Sri Sathya Sai Baba of India (1998) http://home.no.net/anir/Sai/Sai1.html
8. http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/instts/HighLearn.htm
9. Yesodharan, Devi in the India Times http://www.saiguru.net/english/news/031022charitybigbusiness.htm
10. Indian Skeptic http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/is_books.htm
11. Indian Skeptic http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/saigold.htm
12 Narayana, A in the Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/04/04/stories/2002040400540200.htm
13. Haraldsson pages 205-211
14. Karanjia, R. K. in Blitz magazine (1976) http://home20.inet.tele.dk/saibabaofindia/blitz4.html
15. Beyerstein, Dale Sai Baba's miracles: an overview (1994) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/p_holbach/dbbooke/cont.htm
16. Balaraman, Suresh and Sampath, Haresh Lies proved by Sathya Sai Baba's School Record (2002) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/schoolrecord.html
17. http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses.html#abused
18. Brooke, Tal Avatar of the Night
19. Nagel, A A guru Accused - Sai Baba, from Avatar to Homo-paedophile (August 2001) http://tinyurl.com/2nexl
20. http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses.html#abused
21. http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses.html#not%20abused
22. Bailey, Faye and David et al The Findings http://home.hetnet.nl/mr_2/121/ex-baba/engels/findings.html
23. http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/movies.html
24. Evers, Ella (2000) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/evers.html
25. Meer, Matthijs The truth will prevail...a Sai-devotee’s struggle for disenchantment, Published in Dutch magazine Spiegelbeeld (October 2000) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses/matthijs.html
26. Badaev, Serguei The Story of my disqualification (March 2001) http://www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/10disqualification.htm
27. Gallagher, Terry Disillusionment - a letter to the Bailey's http://www.saiguru.net/english/personal_exp/01gallagher.htm
28. Bradsher, Keith in the New York Times Sathya Sai Baba A Friend in India to All the World (December 1st, 2002) http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2002/Sri-Sathya-Sai-Baba.htm
29. Steel, Brian Sequel to a Controversial New York Times Article About Sathya Sai Baba http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/nytgate2.htm
30. SBS Australia http://www.sbs.com.au/whatson/index.php3?id=547
31. US State Department Consular Information Sheet India http://travel.state.gov/india.html
32. Vajpayee, A.B., Prime Minister of India; Bhagawati, P. N., Former Chief Justice to the Supreme Court of India; Ranganath Mishra, Ranganath, Chair Person, National Human Rights Commissioner of India,Formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India et al Sri Sathya Sai Baba, A Living Legend, An embodiment of love for all mankind http://www.saiguru.net/english/news/020228.htm
33.Sathya Sai Baba http://www.geocities.com/the_sai_critic/respond.html (25 December 2000) and Jealousy root cause of evil (3 July 1993) http://www.sathyasai.org/search/volume26/sss26-25.pdf (PDF file).
34. Bible Matthew 7:16.
35. Sathya Sai Baba (23-11-1968) http://www.sathyasai.org/discour/1968/d681123.htm
36 Sathya Sai Baba Sandeha Nivarini http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/askbaba/sandehanivarini/sandeha01.html

Bibliography

  • Beyerstein, Dale (1994) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/p_holbach/dbbooke/cont.htm
  • Brooke, Tal Avatar of the Night [1]
  • Brown, Mick The Spiritual Tourist (1998) ISBN 1-58234-034-X Bloomsbury Publising
  • Haraldsson, Erlendur PhD Miracles are my visiting cards - An investigative inquiry on Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian mystic with the gift of foresight believed to perform modern miracles (1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1
  • Hislop, John My Baba and I
  • Kasturi, Narayana Sathyam Sivam Sundaran Part I, II, III & IV
  • Murphet, Howard Man of Miracles (1971)
  • Padmanaban, R. Love is My Form Sai Towers (October 2000)
  • Premanand, Basava The Murders in Sai Baba's bedroom
  • Sandweiss, Samuel H. The holy man ..... and the psychiatrist (1975)
  • Sathya Sai Baba Many online books
  • Sathya Sai Baba Gita vahini, online book
  • Sathya Sai Baba Rama Katha Rasavahini, translated into English by Narayana Kasturi
  • Sathya Sai Baba Sathya Sai Speaks, Volumes I-. Many of these public discourses have been published on the internet PDF files
  • Schulman, Arnold Baba (1971)


Official websites and websites of followers

Website of ex-followers and critical articles