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Sathya Sai Baba (born Sathya Narayana Raju on November 23 1926 -or later than 1927- with the family name of "Ratnakaram" ) is a South Indian Guru often described as a Godman and a miracle worker . According to the Sathya Sai Organisation, there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 130 countries world-wide . The number of Sathya Sai Baba adherents is estimated between 6 million to 100 million . Several hundred books and media articles have been published about Sathya Sai Baba.

File:Sathyasaibaba.jpg
Sathya Sai Baba in a typical posture during His daily darshan

Sathya Narayana Raju was born into a poor agrarian family in the remote village of Puttaparthi located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. In the 1940s he proclaimed himself to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba and subsequently took the Fakir's name. Sathya Sai Baba claims that he is the second in a series of three Avatars (incarnations) of Shiva Shakti, the future incarnation being Prema Sai Baba

. He claims that he is an embodiment of love with divine attributes such as omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. .

Sathya Sai Baba teaches the unity of all major world religions and says that they all lead to God. He preaches a foundation of five basic human values: Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love and Non-Violence. Sathya Sai Baba's followers report many, sometimes spectacular, miracles of various kinds which they attribute to him. He is observed to allegedly manifest vibuthi (holy ash) and small objects (rings, necklaces and watches) daily. Sathya Sai Baba explained the phenomenon of manifestation as an act of divine creation, but refused to have his materializations investigated under experimental conditions because he felt that the approach used by critics was improper . Critics claim that these materializations are done by sleight of hand.

The most vehement criticisms since the year 2000 are the allegations made by former devotees of inappropriate sexual relations with young men and boys . In the India Today magazine (dated December 2000) no complaints had been filed against the Guru, by any alleged victim, in India . It was also reported, in this same India Today magazine, that the coterie that surrounds Baba dismissed the allegations by denouncing them as "Anti-Hindu" attacks made by foreigners . Nevertheless, for several years the U.S. Department of State has issued an advisory (not mentioning Sathya Sai Baba by name) warning U.S. citizens traveling to India to "be aware that there have been unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader at an ashram or religious retreat located in Andhra Pradesh. Most of the reports indicate that the subjects of these approaches have been young male devotees, including a number of U.S. citizens." . According to Mick Brown, due to the public disclosure of allegations, there was a rash of defections from Western countries and Sweden . In face of the allegations, the Sathya Sai Central Trust is still the largest recipient of foreign donations (as recently as 2001 ) and Bill Aitken and Michelle Goldberg both expressed the opinion that the allegations have not seemed to impact the Guru's following .

Sathya Sai Baba's followers and the organizations he founded are involved in many service projects around the world. He is providing free education through his schools, free healthcare through two state-of-the-art hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore and two water projects serving millions in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The purified water provided to these poor villages through clean pipes have given life to many villagers.Puttaparthi, where Baba was born and still lives, was originally a small village where one can now find an extensive University complex, a World-Religions Museum (Chaitanya Jyoti), a Planetarium, a railway station, an airport and more. High ranking Indian politicians, like the current President Dr. Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh (Former finance minister and current Prime Minister), and Atal Vajpayee (Former Prime minister) have been official guests at the ashram in Puttaparthi. Some quarters of the Indian government consider Sai Baba to be a "national treasure" .

History and origins

Sathya Narayana was born into a poor agrarian family in the remote village of Puttaparthi, located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India, as the son of Pedda Venkappa Raju and mother Eshwar Amma. According to professor Narayana Kasturi in his book Easwaramma, who also wrote Sathya Sai Baba's authorized biography, Sathya was born and conceived through a Virgin birth. After recovering from an unexplained illness in his teens the young Sathya claimed to be the reincarnation of the Fakir Shirdi Sai Baba in the 1940s. According to his own assertion and the biography by Kasturi (which the British journalist Mick Brown of the The Telegraph called a hagiography), he stopped going to school in the town of Uravakonda on October 20, 1940 to start his mission. However, he is listed in the 1942 school record of the nearby village Bukkapatnam. Though the exact year on which he started his mission full-time is uncertain, it is a fact that in the 1940s he took the fakir's name. Kasturi's biography mentions several miracles by and signs of divinity of the young Sathya. According to Howard Murphet, in his book Sai Baba Man of Miracles (see picture) , the young Sathya was a vegetarian and was known for his aversion to animal cruelty and compassion for the poor, disabled and elderly. According to Kasturi and to Sathya Sai Baba himself, the young Sathya composed bhajans spontaneously (even as young as 8 years of age) and was talented in drama, dance, music and poetry. In a discourse in 1963 he claimed to be a reincarnation of Shiva and Shakti in 1963. . In the same discourse SSB said that Shirdi Sai Baba was an incarnation of Shiva and that his future reincarnation Prema Sai Baba would be a reincarnation of Shakti. In contrast, Kasturi’s biography/hagiography stated that Shirdi Sai Baba was to be Shakti incarnated and that Prema Sai Baba was to be an incarnation of Shiva. According to Donald Taylor in a 1987 article titled "Charismatic authority in the Sathya Sai Baba movement”, SSB's 1963 declaration that he would be reincarnated as Prema Sai Baba was SSB's strategy to defuse the problem about his succession and thus continue to have all the authority in his hand.

In the late 1960s he attracted Western spiritual seekers and became increasingly popular. One of those spiritual seekers was the Hollywood screenwriter Arnold Schulman, who wrote in his 1971 book called Baba that "For any episode of Baba's childhood, there are countless contrasting versions and, at this point, the author discovered that it was no longer possible to separate the facts from the legend." According to Schulman, contrasting versions about Baba's childhood may be due to the fact that he needed interpreters to interperet other interpreters (as in the case of his interview with Baba's sister). Schulman concluded that what the translators said may well have been quite different from what was actually said

Sathya Sai Baba had several sisters, one older brother, the late Seshama Raju, and one younger brother, the late R. V. Janaki Ramaiah.

Beliefs and practices

It has been suggested that Beliefs and practices in the Sathya Sai Organisation be merged into this article. (Discuss)
Main article Beliefs and practices in the Sathya Sai Organisation

Miracles and ashrams

Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (abode of peace) at Puttaparthi. In the hot summer Baba leaves for his other ashram called Brindavan in Whitefield (sometimes called Kadugodi), a town on the outskirts of Bangalore. He regularly visits Kodaikanal. He has left India only once for a visit to North East Africa in 1968.

He is a prolific orator about religious topics in his native language Telugu and he is regarded by some as an excellent speaker. He is known by his devotees to speak all languages fluently, and there is anecdotal evidence available to support this claim. Apart from his claim to be Shirdi Sai Baba, Satya Sai Baba also asserts that he is an Avatar of God, a reincarnation of Lord Rama, of Sri Krishna, the Kalki purna avatar (full divine incarnation), Lord Shiva, and Shakti. But he also says that everybody else is God and that the difference is that he is aware of this and others are not. He says that he is omniscient, omnipotent, and able to create matter from mere thought. He also stresses he and humans should always free from desires and states that desires bring pain. Sai Baba is pure, divine love.

Sathya Sai Baba can be seen in person performing what followers believe to be miracles daily in the form of materializations of small objects, for example food, jewelry such as bracelets, rings, watches and especially vibhuti (holy ash) and "kum kum" (the red-colored powder used by Hindus to make the ritual mark between the eyebrows). He can heal diseases of his devotees sometimes by his spiritual power and sometimes by taking on the disease himself. . There is anecdotal evidence that supports this claim. Followers attribute many miracles to him which they claim have witnessed in his presence. There are international claims, from Sathya Sai Baba's followers and neutral observers, that vibuthi, kumkum, turmeric powder, holy water, brass statues of deities, sugar candy, fruits, herbs, amrita (a fragrant, nectar-like honey), gems and coloured string spontaneously manifest on the altars and pictures of Sathya Sai Baba in the privacy of their own homes.

The Icelandic psychology professor Erlendur Haraldsson wrote that he did not get Sathya Sai Baba's permission to study him under controlled circumstances but investigated and documented the guru's alleged miracles and manifestations by interviewing witnesses first-hand and compiling results from a questionnaire given to a sampling of 29 people, including 7 former followers. According to the people that Haraldsson interviewed, and the results to his questionnaire, many extraordinary miracles were attributed to Sathya Sai Baba such as levitation (both indoors and outdoors), bilocation, physical disappearances, changing granite into sugar candy, changing water into another drink, changing water into gasoline, producing objects on demand, changing the color of his gown into a different color while wearing it, multiplying food, healings, visions, dreams, making different fruits appear on any tree hanging from actual stems, controlling the weather, physically transforming into various deities and physically emitting brilliant light. These people also claimed that Sathya Sai Baba materialized many substances from his hand such as vibuthi, lost objects, statues, photographs, Indian pastries (both hot and cold), food (hot, cold, solid and fluid), out of season fruits, new banknotes, pendants, necklaces, watches and rings . Haraldsson wrote that the biggest materialized object that he saw was a mangalasutra necklace, 32 inches long, 16 inches long on each side . Haraldsson wrote that some miracles attributed or performed by the Baba resemble the ones described in the New Testament, but also with some differences. According to Haraldsson, although healings certainly figure into Sai Baba's reputation, his impression is that healings do not play a prominent role in SSB's activities as in those of Jesus

One important practice in his ashrams is darshan (spiritual sight). During darshan Sathya Sai Baba walks among his followers. He may listen to a few chosen persons, accept letters, or materialize and distribute vibhuti (sacred ash of Lord Shiva). Sathya Sai Baba claims that his darshan has spiritual benefits for those who attend it and this is consistent with Hindu beliefs regarding spiritual preceptors. 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).He also makes assurances of divine protection to his devotees. Followers report help from Sai Baba in difficult or dangerous situations as well as in dreams. Followers consider it a great privilege to get such an interview. Sometimes a person from this group is invited for a private interview. When asked about the divinity of Sathya Sai Baba, many of his followers readily attest to it by accounting anecdotes about the numerous miraculous occurrences and strange coincidences they have experienced.

Teachings

Sathya Sai Baba preaches love and the unity of all world religions and asserts that people who follow him do not need to give up their original religion. His teachings are sometimes seen as completely syncretic (uniting all religions) and sometimes as Hindu. He teaches among others a rather traditional form of Hinduism that has come from many sects and movements including advaita, occasionally drawing from other religions like Buddhism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity. One of the Christian influences can be felt in the institution of regular Sunday School sessions for devotees. He says that he has come to restore faith in, and encourage the practice of the teachings in the Vedas. Several books and discourses by him, such as the book Ramakatha Rasavahini teach the literal interpretation of Hindu mythology and advocate the practice of Hindu Dharma.

Across the globe local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans (Hindu devotional songs), study Sathya Sai Baba's teachings, do collective community service (called seva), and teach Education in Human Values (Sai Sunday School). Baba's movement is not missionary and Baba discouraged publicity for him in a public discourse in 1968. Bhajans are sung at nearly every meeting with the names of the traditional Hindu deities as well as saints and prophets of other religions occasionally replaced by Baba's name.

The Sathya Sai organisation advocates the five basic human values. These values are sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct, living in accord with natural law), ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love for God and all his creatures) and shanti (peace).

Other primary teachings are:

  • Six Commandments
  1. Sathyam Vada (Speak Truth Alone)
  2. Dharmam Chara (Walk the Path of Dharma )
  3. Matru Devo Bhava (Revere your mother as God)
  4. Pitru Devo Bhava (Revere your father as God)
  5. Acharya Devo Bhava (Revere your guru (preceptor) as God)
  6. Atithi Devo Bhava (Revere a guest as God)
  • Service and charity (seva) to others.
  • Love for all creatures and objects
  • Put a ceiling (limit) on one's desires.
  • Everything that has been created is maya (illusion), only God is real.
  • Every creature and object is God in form, though most do not experience this as their reality.
  • Vegetarianism
  • Detachement from the material world
  • Meditation - Baba teaches four techniques, repetition of the name of God, visualising the form of God, sitting in silence and jyoti (Light meditation).
  • Inclusive acceptance of all religions as paths to realizing the One (God).
  • Importance of bhakti (devotion) to God
  • Developing virtues and eschewing vices of character
  • japa and other sadhana (spiritual exercise) to foster devotion.
  • Reverence for parents, teachers and elders

Dominic Kennedy, a journalist from The Times, described his teachings in 2001 as "a collection of banal truisms and platitudes."

Organizations

Sathya Sai Baba is the figurehead to a number of educational institutions and charitable hospitals, most notably the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and the Sri Sathya Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, located within or near the main ashrams and Anantapur town. These organizations provide free education and free health care to the public. They are private, non profit institutions and their admission criteria are not published, admissions being decided on individual merits as decided by Sai Baba or his executives. Many of the patients are devotees from India and abroad.

The trust organization has made large contributions to drinking water projects for the whole of the Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh and Chennai.

His Educare (formerly called Education in Human Values) 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 Toronto, Zambia, Australia, the United States, and several in India. A highly successful pre-school in New Zealand has been studied as a model for public New Zealand schools to follow .

File:Sathya Sai Organisation official logo.jpg
The new official logo of the Sathya Sai Organisation

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 Michael Goldstein of the USA. The logo of the Sathya Sai organization is a stylized lotus flower with the text of the five human values, highly influenced by not only Hinduism but also Jainism and Buddhism, in its petals. This text version 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 charities such as the Rayalaseema water project. The trust has tax exempt status and is a major recipient of donations from abroad though Baba and his organizations never solicit donations. All donations and expenditures are recorded which are documented by the bank holding the sums .

The Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust is the official publisher of the Sathya Sai Organisation. It publishes the international monthly magazine called Sanathana Sarathi. In various nations similar publication trusts maintain in their own native language.

Opposition, controversy, and allegations

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SSB has been and still is the target of criticism by skeptics, ex-followers and other critics that question his claims to perform miracles and other paranormal feats. For example, in 1976 the physicist rationalist and then vice chancellor of Bangalore University Dr. H. Narasimhaiah who founded and chaired The Committee to Investigate Miracles and Other Verifiable Superstitions publicly challenged Sathya Sai Baba to perform his miracles under controlled circumstances, a challenge which Sathya Sai Baba ignored. He justified this by saying that the approach by Narasimhaiah was improper . The committee exposed a boy called Sai Krishna as a fraud, that the committee alleged had Sathya Sai Baba's patronage . Sai Baba said, in one of his rare interviews with the press, that he had absolutely no connection to the exposed Sai Krishna and that there are people who masquerade as devotees who attempt to make money using his name . According to Erlendur Haraldsson, the formal challenge from the committee came to a dead end because the negative attitude of the committee was obvious and perhaps because of all the fanfare involved. As a result of this episode, a public debate raged for several months in Indian newspapers

In the 1995 TV documentary "Guru Busters", by UK's Channel 4, Sathya Sai Baba was accused of faking his materializations and a videotape was supplied alleging fraud. The same videotape was mentioned in the Deccan Chronicle, on November 23rd 1992, on a front page headline "DD Tape Unveils Baba Magic". Erlendur Haraldsson stated that he and his associates carried out a careful analysis of the videotape shown in the "Guru Busters" documentary and mentioned by the Deccan Chronicle. Haraldsson stated that the videotape's quality and resolution left much to be desired and limited the inferences that could be drawn from it. Haraldsson claimed that Dr. Wiseman took the video to a company that specialized in coroporate fraud, and which possessed some of the world's best equipment designed to enhance poor quality videotapes. According to Haraldsson, after the videotape was enhanced using a three-fold process, the resulting tape contained no firm evidence of fraud. The same company analyzed several still frames from the videotape, enhanced and enlarged them and the images still did not reveal any further information .

The magazine India Today published on 4 December 2000 a cover story about the Baba and the allegations of fake miracles quoting the magician P. C. Sorcar, Jr. who considered the Baba a fraud. Basava Premanand, a skeptic and amateur magician, asserted that he has been investigating Sathya Sai Baba since 1968 and believes the guru to be a cheater and charlatan. Premanand also displayed, in the 2004 BBC documentary Secret Swami, that he could duplicate some of the same acts that SSB presents as miracles; such as materializations by sleight of hand and the production of a lingam from his mouth. However, one must note that Premanand's lingams were much smaller than Sai Baba's (Sai Baba's lingams are larger than a lemon).

The British journalist Mick Brown discussed, in his 1998 book "The Spiritual Tourist", that the letters, from attending doctors, provided in the Indian Skeptic magazine (published by Premanand) about SSB's claim of resurrecting Walter Cowan, as described in the books My Baba and I by the follower John Hislop and in SSB's authorized biography by Kasturi, was probably untrue . In this same book, Mick Brown also related his experiences with manifestations of vibuthi, from Sathya Sai Baba's pictures in houses in London, and felt that these miraculous manifestations were not fraudulent or the result of trickery .

On June 6, 1993 four people who were armed with knives were killed after they had intruded in Sai Baba's bedroom. The intruders had killed two aides of Sai Baba. The incident was widely published in the Indian press. SSB claimed in his 1993 Gurupurnima discourse on July 3 that jealousy among his followers was behind the incident, without giving a detailed explanation of the events . The former Secretary of the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh, V.P.B. Nair who came from of a police background expressed in the BBC documentary his belief that the four assailants in 1993 had unnecessarily and illegally been shot by the police. Both Premanand and Nair wanted the case to be re-opened and believed that it had been silenced to prevent revelations about illegal practices by Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations. According to Kevin Shepherd, the former national leader of the Sathya Sai movement in Norway Robert Priddy expressed the opinion that SSB was an accomplice to the 1993 murders, among others based on information given to him by his friend V.K. Narasimhan.

The debates about Sathya Sai Baba were fueled by a document published in 2000 called "The Findings" , written by David and Faye Bailey (former followers who together wrote three books on Sathya Sai Baba ), in which they described their disillusionment with the guru . According to an article in salon.com in the year 2001, a great part of the Findings contains testimonies of sexual harassment and sexual abuse . Apart from that, Faye wrote, in The Findings, that an unnamed college student requested David's help to stop SSB from sexually abusing other students . The Findings contain allegations of fakery, claims that SSB does not heal sick people and allegations of financial irregularities with charity projects, such as the Super Specialty Hospital and water project . David Bailey previously wrote, in his two books about SSB, that he personally witnessed manifestations, healings, miracles and was saved from a car accident by Sathya Sai Baba .

The Divine Downfall article alleges that Sathya Sai Baba rubbed oil on the genitals of a young male devotee. A few followers say that this is done in order to awaken a flow of kundalini power to the energy centres in the human body . The testimonies of sexual abuse of young men were shown in TV documentaries, including "Seduced by Sai Baba" by Denmark's national television, and documentary film "Secret Swami" by BBC. The India Today article referred to a signed affidavit in their possession by the Jens Sethi, a German man, who claimed to have been sexually abused as an adult by the Guru. The magazine wrote that although Sethi filed a criminal complaint in Munich, he did not file one in India. The TV documentary "Seduced By Sai Baba", produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway. Al Rahm said in the Secret Swami programme that he talked with the highest leader in the USA (Dr. Michael Goldstein) about the alleged sexual abuse of his son by Baba, who was 18 at the time. According to Al Rahm, the leader responded by saying that he hated the idea of having wasted 25 years of his life and that he accepted SSB's statement "Swami is pure" as the truth. Dr. Goldstein, the International Chairman of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisations, stated in the BBC documentary Secret Swami, that although he felt that Sathya Sai Baba was not above the law, it was against his "heart and conscience" to believe the allegations because he had personally observed Baba interact with students very frequently, in very informal circumstances, and he had never seen anything inappropriate, ominous or anything indicative of fear or apprehension . Isaac Tigrett, a prominent follower and co-founder of the Hard Rock Café, stated in the documentary that his admiration for the Baba will not change even if the charges of paedophilia and murder were proved beyond all doubt . According to the journalist Michelle Goldberg of salon.com the fact that the Baba has high ranking Indian politicians as his supporters and the charity works done by the various organizations associated with the Baba help to explain why he has not been brought into a court of law in India. The Indian consulate website states that crime victims must file charges with the police. In the India Today magazine (dated December 2000) no complaints had been filed against the Guru, by any alleged victim, in India .

Kennedy Dominic, a journalist for The British newspaper The Times, reported in August 2001 that three men had died after placing hope in Sathya Sai Baba. According to the Times articles Michael Pender, an HIV infected man who overdosed on drugs more than once, complained to a friend that he had been repeatedly sexually molested by the guru. Pender apparently committed suicide in a hostel for the homeless in North London. Aran Edwards, a British national, was described as "quite an ill person, mentally unstable and needed orthodox help", by David Bailey. Edwards was encouraged to write letters to the guru to help solve his "psychological problems". Edwards had never traveled to see the guru first-hand. David Bailey said that he eventually told Edwards, "Wake up. He doesn't even read these letters." Edwards was so distraught about the situation, he decided to commit suicide. Edwards was found hanging from a staircase in his home in Cardiff, London. Andrew Richardson, another British national, hurled himself off a bank building in Bangalore, India. Two letters were found on his body in which he said he was in a deep depression. He expressed a desire to see Sai Baba and Mother Teresa.

SSB did not give a detailed public rebuttal to the accusations of sexual abuse. In his Christmas 2000 discourse SSB said that people disseminate false negative stories about him because they have been bribed . According to Koert van der Velde, a reporter for a Dutch newspaper, SSB had forbidden people to take a look on the internet . In the years 1999 and 2000 SSB has repeatedly belittled the internet and discouraged its use . In 2003 SSB had an accident that injured his hip, according to the official of the Sathya Sai Organisation, Michael Goldstein. As of 2005, SSB sometimes uses a wheelchair.

There are a couple of claims that Sathya Sai Baba can change into a woman instantaneously. For example, in a Dutch article entitled "De Wonderdoener", Keith Ord claimed that he personally experienced Sathya Sai Baba literally transform his genitals from male to female. Keith Ord said that Baba was not a hermaphrodite but, from one moment to the next, completely changed from male to female, with the corresponding genitals of each. Keith Ord felt this gender transformation was a type of miracle and expressed the opinion that Sai Baba lives on another level than mere mortals . Alexandra Nagel, in her Dutch article, De Sai Paradox, also related the story of Tal Brooke, as taken from his book Avatar of the night, in which Brooke related an account from a man named "Patrick" who alleged that Baba had a vagina and that he had coital sex with the guru . These puzzling accounts have led Alexandra Nagel to the conclusion that Baba is a hermaphrodite. Nagel argued, in her 1994 Dutch language article, De Sai Paradox, published by the Free University Amsterdam press, that this alleged sex change may be related to Baba's claim to be the incarnation of both the male and female aspects of God, Shiva and Shakti respectively .

According to the journalist Sacha Kester, in a 2003 article in the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant, Sathya Sai Baba is a good example of a swindler. According to Kester, "the sorrow of those who after years of devotion saw through his deception is indescribable. The jewels and watches that he materializes are hidden in his chair. Followers who make large donation are given preferential treatment. He advises ill people not to take their medicine. He invites good looking young boys for a private interview to grope in their underwear and then to invite them to satisfy him orally."

The critical former follower Glen Meloy described him as 'a demented demonic force' . Tal Brooke, an American evangelical Christian wrote in his book Avatar of the Night that SSB is a false prophet and the Antichrist, as (according to him) was predicted in the Bible.

Stances by devotees and proponents

Bill Aitken (a Sai Devotee, described in his own words in an article in The Week as an expert in comparative religion and author of the book "Sathya Sai Baba: A life") stated that Sathya Sai Baba's reputation has only increased despite negative stories being published against the Guru, by rationalists, critics and skeptics, for at least a generation. Aitken contended that critics are so distemperate in their dislike that their vituperation comes across as near comical. Aitken also expressed the opinion that the BBC is ultimately governed by the Anglican establishment and does not criticize public icons like the Queen, who happens to be the head of the Anglican church. Aitken felt that the Church of England can have no objection to programmes that weaken perceived threats, such as the Sai Movement .

In an interview with an Asian Voice correspondent, Mr Ashok Bhagani, a trustee of the Sai Organisation in the UK, said that he believed the allegations in the Secret Swami BBC documentary were completely factless and baseless and have never been proved. This was later found to be a hoax. Mr Bhagani also stated that when devotees are selected by Baba for a private interview, there is always someone else present in the room, and this is especially the case when women and children meet him . Navin Patel, a biochemistry student at the Sathya Sai Arts College in Bangalore during the 1970s, told Asian Voice that he visited Baba's ashram many times and studied at Baba's college long enough to know the allegations are untrue. Patel claimed the Secret Swami BBC documentary was very misleading and was based on only two westerners who had their own monetary agendas. Patel expressed the opinion that western journalists were bashing Baba collectively .

The secretary of the Puttaparthi ashram, K. Chakravarthi, refused to comment on the accusations. Anil Kumar, Sathya Sai Baba's principal translator, believes that the controversy is part of Baba's divine plan and said that every great religious teacher has had to face criticism in his/her lifetime. Kumar said that allegations have been levelled at Sai Baba since childhood, but with every criticism Baba becomes more and more triumphant .

Thorbjørn Meyer, in a letter to the DR, called the allegations undocumented and untrue. In the Seduced documentary, Peter Pruzan stated that he believed Sathya Sai Baba is not a pedophile nor does he perform conjuring tricks. Pruzan claimed that he personally experienced Sathya Sai Baba's "wholly extraordinary powers" both in Baba's presence as well as in Denmark .

Parliamentary, governmental and political issues and responses

In an official letter released to the general public, in December 2001, A.B. Vajpayee (the then Prime Minister of India), P.N. Bhagawati (Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India), Ranganath Mishra (Chair Person, National Human Rights Commissioner of India and Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India), Najma Heptulla (President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union; UNDP Distinguished Human Development Ambassador) and Shivraj V. Patil (Member of Parliament, India; Formerly of the Lok Sabda & Union Minister) all signed a letter that called the allegations against Sathya Sai Baba "wild, reckless and concocted allegations made by certain vested interests" and that they "unequivocally condemned" the allegations as "baseless and malicious" .

The Indian President Abdul Kalam and the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, as well as other Indian dignitaries, visit the ashram and pay their respects to Sathya Sai Baba.

In the year 2000 UNESCO withdrew its co-sponsorship of an educational conference at Puttaparthi and stated the reasons, in a press release issued on 15 September, as "Certain decisions were taken by the ISSE without consultation, such as plans to hold some of the sessions at the Ashram of the Sathya Sai movement in Puttaparthi, and the inclusion of some speakers in the conference programme without their previous consent. Furthermore, the Organization is deeply concerned about widely-reported allegations of sexual abuse involving youths and children that have been levelled at the leader of the movement in question, Sathya Sai Baba" . In the year 2003, Unesco removed this press release from their site.

Former MP Tony Colman of the Parliament of the United Kingdom asked, in the parliament in 2002, whether a travel warning was appropriate due to the reports of sexual abuse . Since 2002, neither Tony Blair nor the Parliament ever issued a travel warning against Sathya Sai Baba. Nor has the British Government released any official statement regarding this matter.

Tom Sackville, a former Home Office Under-Secretary of State and current chairman of the anti-cult organisation Family Action Information and Resource (FAIR), has expressed concern about the alleged indoctrination of children by devotees who volunteer at public schools and propagate the Educare/Education in Human Values teachings and asserted that this should be forbidden by law .

On October 1, 2001 the European Commission answered a question from Lousewies van der Laan, then a member of the European Parliament, about no EU funding going to organizations associated with Sathya Sai Baba, due to allegations of sexual abuse . The Commission answered that the Sathya Sai Trust never received, and was not receiving, any funding from the European Commission.

A travel advisory by the United States Department of State, in which neither Sathya Sai Baba or other persons are mentioned, warns US citizens traveling to Andhra Pradesh of unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual behavior toward young male devotees by a prominent local religious leader .

See also

References and Footnotes

  1. Nagel, Alexandra (note: Nagel is a critical former follower) Een mysterieuze ontmoeting... :Sai Baba en mentalist Wolf Messing published in Tijdschrift voor Parapsychologie 368, vol. 72 nr 4, Dec. 2005, pp. 14-17 (Dutch language)
  2. Haraldsson, Erlendur, 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 published by Sai Towers, Prashanti Nilayam, India) ISBN 81-86822-32-1
  3. Woodhead, Linda & Fletcher Paul, Religion in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformation. Routledge (UK), ISBN 0-415-21784-9
  4. Lochtefeld, James G., The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. I ISBN 0-8239-3179-X, New York Rosen 2002
  5. Hummel, Reinhart, German article published in Materialdienst der EZW, 47 Jahrgang, 1 February 1984, Translation by Linda W. Duddy and is reprinted by their permission, available online on the website of the Dialog Center, a Christian Anti-Cult Site
  6. Sathya Sai Org: Numbers to Sai Centers and Names of Countries
  7. Adherents
  8. ^ Brown, Mick,Divine Downfall, The Telegraph, October 282000, online
  9. Nagel, Alexandra "De Sai Paradox", 1994, nr. 29. published by the Free University Amsterdam, (1994)
  10. Gurupournima Day, 6 July 1963, Sathya Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Speaks III 5, 19., Available online
  11. Interview given by Sathya Sai Baba to R.K. Karanjia of Blitz News Magazine in September of 1976, Available online
  12. SSB as quote in Narayana Kasturi's authorized biography Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Vol 3 page 315
  13. The Extended Interview given by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to the Senior Editor, Sri R.K. Karanjia of Blitz News Magazine in September of 1976, Available online
  14. Goldberg, Michelle, Untouchable? (25 July 2001) in salon.com available online
  15. Velde, Koert van der in Trouw newspaper Downfall 6 Sept. 2000 Dutch original Ondergang
  16. UNESCO press release issued on 15 September 2000 available online
  17. India Today December 04, 2000 A God Accused
  18. Goldberg, Michelle, Untouchable? (25 July 2001) in salon.com available online
  19. India Today December 04, 2000 A God Accused
  20. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, April 12, 2006 Consular Information Sheet for India, April 12, 2006
  21. George Iype Sathya Sai Trust Gets Most Foreign Donations article on Rediff.com (August 16, 2003)
  22. Aitken, Bill, Miracle of Welfare (November 27 2005) Available online
  23. Goldberg, Michelle, Untouchable? (25 July 2001) in salon.com available online
  24. Sri Sathya Sai Baba - A Living Legend - An Embodiment Of Love For All Mankind, Letter from A.B. Vajpayee (the then Prime Minister of India), Available online
  25. http://www.sathyasai.org/discour/1963/d630706.htm Shiva Shakthi] Gurupournima Day, 6 July 1963, (Sathya Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Speaks III 5, 19.)
  26. Taylor, Donald Charismatic authority in the Sathya Sai Baba movement by Donald Taylor in 'Hinduism in Great Britain', Richard Burghart (ed.), 1987, London/New York: Tavistock Publications, pp. 130-131.
  27. Schulman, Arnold Baba 1971, pp. 122-124, ISBN 670-14343-x Template:Invalid isbn
  28. Sathya Sai Baba's younger brother dies article on 18 Oct. 2003 in The Times of India retrieved March 2006
  29. Sathya Sai Baba's brother dies article on 18 Oct. 2003 in The Hindu retrieved March 2006
  30. Interview with Sai Baba in the magazine Blitz 1976
  31. Public discourse by Sathya Sai Baba on 29 June 1963
  32. Nair, Yogas, "Raisins, ash raise eyebrows", The Post April 19, 2006, available online
  33. Brown Mick, The Spiritual Tourist, Ch: The Miracle In North London, pp. 29-30, 1998 ISBN 1-58234-034-X
  34. March 17, 2004 in the newspaper Post South Africa available online
  35. "House of Miracles", Sunday 24 Mar 2002, Durban news, Sunday Times available online
  36. Haraldsson, Erlendur 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 published by Sai Towers, India) ISBN 81-86822-32-1; Chapters 7-20.
  37. Haraldsson, Erlendur 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 published by Sai Towers, India) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 pp. 43
  38. Haraldsson, Erlendur 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 published by Sai Towers, Prashanti Nilayam, India) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 pages 231, 239-241
  39. Knott, Kim Dr. South Asian Religions in Britain page 766, Table 22.1 Principal Sectarian movements in Britain and their primary characteristics in the Handbook of Living Religions edited by John R. Hinnels (1997), second edition, ISBN 0-14-051480-5
  40. Public discourse by Sathya Sai Baba on November 23, 1968 (also published in Samuel Sandweiss 1972 book Sai Baba: The Holy man and the psychiatrist Part II Coming Home) available online on the website of the Sathya Sai organisation
  41. Kennedy, Dominic The Times (England), Aug. 27, 2001 ”Suicide, sex and the guru” available online
  42. The Extended Interview given by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to the Senior Editor, Sri R.K. Karanjia of Blitz News Magazine in September of 1976, Available online
  43. Haraldsson, Erlendur, "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" (first published in 1987, 1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 chapter The Critics pages 204-205
  44. Haraldsson, Erlendur "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" (first published in 1987, 1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 chapter The Critics pages 204-205
  45. The Extended Interview given by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba to the Senior Editor, Sri R.K. Karanjia of Blitz News Magazine in September of 1976: Available Online
  46. Haraldsson, Erlendur, "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" (first published in 1987, 1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 pp. 206
  47. Haraldsson, Erlendur, "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" (first published in 1987, 1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1: pp. 295-301: Chap. 31 "Public Reaction"
  48. Brown, Mick The Spiritual Tourist 1998 Bloomsbury publishing ISBN 158234034 Template:Invalid isbnChapter In the House of God pp. 73 - 74
  49. Brown Mick, The Spiritual Tourist, Ch: The Miracle In North London, pp. 29-30, 1998 ISBN 1-58234-034-X See Miracles, Claims and Ashrams section.
  50. Guru Purnima Discourse, July 3rd 1993, Keep Truth as Your Aim: Available online
  51. Shepherd, Kevin R.D. "Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism" (2005) ISBN 0-9525089-3-1 page 293
  52. Goldberg, Michelle in salon.com 25 July 2001
  53. "Bailey, David, A Journey To Love, 1996 ISBN 81-86822-04-6
    Bailey, David, A Journey To Love Book 2: Love and Marriage, 1988 ISBN 81-86822-60-7
    Bailey, Faye, Another Journey To Love: Experiences with Sathya Sai Baba, 1998 ISBN 81-86822-40-2"
  54. Goldberg, Michelle in salon.com 25 July 2001
  55. Goldberg, Michelle in salon.com 25 July 2001
  56. David Bailey: A Journey to Love
  57. Secret Swami Programme, June 2004, Available online
  58. Secret Swami Programme, June 2004, Available online
  59. India Today December 04, 2000 A God Accused
  60. Goldberg, Michelle, Untouchable? (25 July 2001) in salon.com available online
  61. Dominic Kennedy , The Times British News, I sought peace and couldn't find it Available online & 'Three die after putting faith in guru' Available online
  62. Discourse by SSB on 25 December 2000 [http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume33/sss33-23.pdf available online pdf file
  63. Velde, Koert van der "The Downfall of a guru, Sai Baba" 6 September 2000 in the Dutch newspaper Trouw
  64. Discourse by SSB on October 15, 1999, Available online
  65. Discourse by SSB on September 26, 2000, Available online
  66. SSB in wheelchair
  67. Dutch original by Piet van der Eijk under the title "De Wonderdoener" in the magazine HP/De Tijd, dated 31/1/1992, pages. 46-50
  68. Brooke, Tal, Avatar of the night, ISBN 1-930045-00-X, Chap. 8, pp 125-132
  69. Nagel, Alexandra (note: Nagel is a critical former follower)De Sai Paradox: Tegenstrijdigheden van en rondom Sathya Sai Baba/The Sai Paradox contradictions of and surrounding Sathya Sai Baba from the magazine Religieuze Bewegingen in Nederland, 'Sekten' /Religious movements in the Netherlands, 'Cults/Sects' , 1994, nr. 29. published by the Free University Amsterdam, (1994) ISBN 90-5383-341-2 available online
  70. Swallow, Deborah A. 1982 Ashes and Powers: myth, rite and miracle in an Indian God-man's cult. In Modern Asian Studies jaargang 16 (1) pp.123-158.
  71. Kester, Sacha Sacha Kester “Ticket naar Nirvana”/”Ticket to Nirvana”, article in the Dutch Newspaper De Volkskrant 7 January 2003
  72. Aitken, Bill, Miracle of Welfare (November 27 2005) Available online
  73. New Allegations Of Abuse Against Sai Baba by Payal Nair, Asian Voice, June 26th 2004: Available online
  74. New Allegations Of Abuse Against Sai Baba by Payal Nair, Asian Voice, June 26th 2004: Available online
  75. "Seduced" TV documentary produced by Danish Radio broadcasted on January 30, 2002 at 8:05 pm. transcript available online
  76. Sri Sathya Sai Baba - A Living Legend - An Embodiment Of Love For All Mankind, Letter from A.B. Vajpayee (the then Prime Minister of India), Available online
  77. Unesco Press Release, September 2000, Available online
  78. Colman, Tony 26 February 2002 Tony Colman SAI BABA AND SEXUAL ABUSE OF CHILDREN Early day motion EDM 886 Sai Baba and sexual abuse of children 26.02.2002 Colman, Tony
  79. British law against Sai Baba sought, by Rashmee Z. Ahmed, The Times Of India, September 5 2001: Available online
  80. Question to the Commission pdf file
  81. United States Department of State website: "U.S. citizens should be aware that there have been unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader at an ashram or religious retreat located in Andhra Pradesh. Most of the reports indicate that the subjects of these approaches have been young male devotees, including a number of U.S. citizens." Available online (Retrieved Feb 2006)

Sathya Sai Baba's Presence in Popular Culture

Sathya Sai Baba's name is mentioned on the popular incense Nag Champa.

Bibliography

Books By Sathya Sai Baba

Online Resource: Sathya Sai Speaks Series

Online Resource: Vahini Series Written By Sathya Sai Baba

Selected Books By Followers

  • Baskin, Diana "Divine Memories of Sathya Sai Baba" (1990) ISBN 1-878599-00-3
  • Goldthwait, John "Purifying the Heart" (2002) ISBN 81-7208-339-4
  • Guillemin, Madeleine "Who Is In The Driving Seat?" (2000) ISBN 0-9583617-0-3
  • Hislop, John "My Baba And I" ISBN 81-7208-050-6
  • Kasturi, Narayana "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" Part I (first published in 1961), II, III, IV Available Online (zip file, 787 kb)
  • Krystal, Phyllis "The Ultimate Experience" ISBN 81-7208-038-7
  • Mazzoleni Don Mario "A Catholic Priest Encounters Sai Baba" (1994)ISBN 0-9629835-1-9
  • Murphet, Howard "Man of Miracles" (1971) ISBN 0-333-91770-7
  • Padmanaban, Ranganathan "Love Is My Form" Sai Towers (2000) ISBN 81-86822-76-3
  • Sandweiss, Samuel H. "The Holy Man ... And The Psychiatrist" (1975) ISBN 0-9600958-1-0
  • Sandweiss, Samuel H "Spirit And The Mind" (1985) ISBN 81-7208-056-5
  • Thomas, Joy "Life is a Game – Play it" ISBN 81-7208-175-8
  • Schulman, Arnold "Baba" (1971) Out of print. ISBN 670-14343-x Template:Invalid isbn
  • (Note: Hundreds of English books have been written by followers) Directory Of Books About Sathya Sai Baba on SaiBabaLinks.org

Books by skeptics and critics

  • Beyerstein, Dale "Sai Baba's miracles: an overview", Published by Basava Premanand, Podanur, India, (1994)
  • Brooke, Tal "Lord of the Air", first published in 1976 with a revised edition was released in 1990. Revised and renamed "Avatar of the Night" (1999) ISBN 1-930045-00-X
  • Brooke, Tal "Riders of the Cosmic Circuit" (1986) ISBN 0-7459-1217-6
  • Premanand, Basava "The Murders in Sai Baba's bedroom" (2001)
  • Priddy, Robert "The End of the Dream", published and edited by Basava Premanand, Podanur, India, (2004)
  • Shepherd, Kevin R.D. "Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and Opportunism" (2005) ISBN 0-9525089-3-1

Other Books

  • Brown, Mick "The Spiritual Tourist" Bloomsbury Publishing (1998) ISBN 1-58234-034-X
  • 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" (first published in 1987, 1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1

External links

Official Sathya Sai Baba Websites

Other Websites