Sathya Sai Baba on Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Date of entry May 2005
i.e. before flamers and defamers and cult-biased administrators disfigured this more balanced presentation

Sathya Sai Baba (born Sathya Narayana Raju with the family name Ratnakaram, circa 1926-1929) is a popular, controversial Indian guru who has millions of followers and hundreds of Sathya Sai Baba groups in many countries. When he was in his teens he claimed to be the reincarnation of the fakir Shirdi Sai Baba and subsequently took the fakir's name. He says that he is an avatar (incarnatShakti and an embodiment of love with divine powers such as omniscience, omnipotence .

He is said to manifest vibuthi (holy ash) and small objects like rings and watches daily. He claims to materialize these objects out of nothing. These claims are believed and testified to by his followers. In addition, the followers, and even many non-followers, have testified about many miracles performed by him. He preaches a foundation of five basic values: Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love and Non-violence. He teaches the unity of all major world religionsand says that they all lead to God. His followers and the organizations that he has founded are involved in many charity projects, providing free modern hospitalsand water projects serving thousands in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the city of Chennai Madras). In his ashram and around it there are various costly buildings including a deemed University and a World Religions Museum. He has founded schools all over India and his "values-teaching methods" are slowly being implemented in other countries at a small scale.

Critics, including ex-followers like the skepticBasava Premanand and the pianist David Bailey claim that these materializations are done by sleight of hand, which they say can be verified with video movies available on the internet. They also claim that he has inappropriate sexual relations with young men and boys. Testimonies of these sexual molestations are available on the internet.

History and origins

See Main article History and origins of the Sathya Sai Baba movement

When the boy Sathya Narayana Raju, born in or near the village Puttaparthi, was in his teens, he claimed to be the reincarnation of the fakir Sai Baba who was not well known in that area at that time. In the late 1960s the guru attracted Western spiritual seekers. The number of adherents fell in and after the year 2000 in Scandinaviaand the Netherlandsdue to negative publicity and testimonies by ex-followers such as the Welshmusician David Bailey.

Teachings

Main article Beliefs and practices in the Sathya Sai Organisation

Primary teachings are:

  • Love - for all creatures.
  • Service - to others.
  • Put a ceilingmaya(illusion), only God is real.
  • Every person is God in form, though most do not experience this as their reality.
  • Meditation- Baba teaches two techniques, so ham (Upanishadic mantra for repetition and focus) and jyoti (Light meditation).
  • Inclusive acceptance of all religions as paths to realizing the One (God).
  • Ahimsa(non-violence), shanthi(peace), dharma(right conduct, living in accord with natural law), and sathya(truth).
  • Importance of bhakti(devotion) to God and japaand other sadhana(spiritual excercise) to foster this devotion

Practices

His popularity (despite opponents, see section below) and the donations by followers have enabled Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations to build an increasingly large ashram near the once poor and isolated village of Puttaparthi.

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. He has left India only once for a visit to Uganda in 1968.

He is regarded by some as an excellent orator in his native language Telugu, and also speaks passable Tamil. 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, able to create matter from mere thought. He also stresses he is free from desires. He preaches love and the unity of all religions. Sai Baba claims to be pure divine love.

Baba asserts that he is an avatar of God, and a reincarnation of Lord Rama, of Sri Krishna, and of Shirdi Sai Baba. Many of his followers say that he is the primary avatar of our times. He has repeatedly claimed to be the actual reincarnation of Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Kabir and other famous figures of Indian mythology.

Sathya Sai Baba can be seen in person performing what he claims are miracles daily in the form of materializations of small objects, for example jewelry such as bracelets, rings, watches and especially vibhuti (holy ash) and kum kum. He says that 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 have witnessed in his presence and in their own countries, such as spontaneous vibhuti manifestations on the pictures of the guru in their homes, and bilocation the appearance of Sai Baba in their own presence while he is also in another place. Followers also report that he has materialized out-of-season fruit several times. He says he performs these miracles to attract people and then to transform them spiritually.

He teaches a rather traditional but syncretic form of Hinduism that has come from many sects and movements including advaita, occasionally drawing from other religions like Buddhism, Sikhism, 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 teaches no Muslim rituals. The only real Christian influence 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 Rasavahinï advocate the literal truth of Hindu mythology.

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. 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). Followers consider it a great privilege to get such an interview. Sometimes a person from this group is invited for a private interview.

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). His followers generally do not proselytize. Bhajans are sung at nearly every meeting with the names of the traditional Hindu deities occasionally replaced by Baba's name.

Several testimonies seem to indicate that he can change into a woman instanteneously. These puzzling testimonies has led some to the conclusion that he is a hermaphrodite.

Organizations

He has founded 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 Medicine" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sri_Sathya_Institute_of_Higher_Medicine&action=edit">Sri Sathya Institute of Higher Medicine, located within or near the main ashrams and Anantapur town. [8] These organizations seek to provide free education and health care to the public. They are private 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 Canada Toronto, Zambia, Australia, the United States, and several in India. As all these operations are public. Critics of these institutions and their figurehead online often use that information to email nearby citizens of what they see as a danger. A projected college in Denmark was stopped by local residents who objected to the Sai Organisations as a cult, having seen the film "Seduced by Sai Baba" as broadcast repeatedly on Danish national TV.

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 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). 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 occasionally explicitly solicit donations. All donations and expenditures are allegedly a matter of record which are legally 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.

Sceptics and opponents

Main article Allegations against Sathya Sai Baba

Sceptics say claims about Sai Baba are unproven or false. They say that his “miracles” are performed by sleight of hand; his devotees have imagined his bilocation “appearances”; his reincarnation claims are dubious and unverified; his teachings are unoriginal, often mere platitudes and unremarkable; and that his charity projects are exaggerated, and in part, a front for money-laundering and other personal gain of the coterie of the top of the organizations who know the Baba to be a cheater.

In 1993 four people who were armed with knives were killed after they had intruded in Sai Baba's bedroom. The main body of Indian journalists investigating the ashram murders in 1993 were unable to obtain more than very sparse information on the Central Trust's accounts and dealings. The drinking water projects were claimed to be the result of Sai Baba's "Divine Will". However, they have largely failed to function in most of the villages due to a sinking water table, contractor corruption, and failure to arrange for maintenance. Due to this, the Rayalaseema project had to be taken over by the Andhra Pradesh State government.

Some ex-devotees including the American Glen Meloy accuse him of being a cult leader who uses mind control, and propaganda and who has created a personality cult. Other critics say that school records revealed several different birth dates for the boy (under his original name Sathyanarayana Raju) and suggest that he invented the 23 November 1926 day of birth because on 24 November the famed Hindu philosopher-mystic Sri Aurobindo said that the Divine had descended on Earth.

Another critic, ex-devotee and retired researcher/lecturer in philosophy, University of Oslo, the former national coordinator of the organization in Norway, Robert Priddy, has pointed out that Sathya Sai Baba's assertions on many subjects exhibit basic ignorance of physics, geology, religious history and much more. For example, Sai Baba's 'teaching' on magnetism differs greatly from generally accepted science, being wholly incommensurate with many simple and basic known facts.

Additionally, the Australian ex-follower and scholar Brian Steel has documented strong indications that the original Telugu discourses by Baba have been heavily edited to improve them. Followers were given the impression, if not explicitly told, that the discourses published in the Sathya Sai Speaks series were the literal translation of what the guru said. Steel also wrote that many authors who wrote or still write positive books about Baba did not fulfill their responsibility of adherence to basic intellectual, journalistic and scholarly standards and hence may unintentionally misguide both followers and the general public. He contends that the claims of Baba about himself fluctuate and are inconsistent. He has recently discovered a trend to tone down the extraordinary claims that the guru makes about himself which Steel thinks is done to avoid embarrassment and loss of credibility.

There are also critics who allege that he has sexual relations with young men and boys among his followers, and has done so for more than forty years. No Indian court of law has accepted any case on sexual abuse by Baba. Nor have any of the alleged victims filed charges in the appropriate district. This may be due to the perceived status of the Baba as being too powerful, with supporters throughout the High Courts and the judiciary in India. Besides there is a testimony by Jens Senthi who claimed to have been sexually abused by the Baba but who was treated as a criminal by the Puttaparthi police. Supporters of Baba say the allegations are baseless rumors created with the malicious intention of sabotaging the guru's work. Top official of the Sathya Sai Organisation's Central Coordinator of Europe, Thorbjørn Meyer, have confirmed in public that Sai Baba regularly takes down boys and young men's trousers and oils their genitals. This is an illegal act, also done without consent. Much worse abuses are described by dozens of young men in affidavits, also published widely on the internet and backed up by filmed testimonies in films, including the BBC's 1-hour documentary film Secret Swami, aired on 17 June, 2004.

Critics include the Indian atheist and sceptic Basava Premanand ("Lure of miracles" and "Divine Octopus") [10], and the Welsh ex-devotee musician David Bailey who compiled “The Findings” in the year 2000. This document shocked followers worldwide.

The media and governments

Several media articles have appeared on the guru. The Sunday Telegraph of Britain published "Divine Downfall" in October 2000, a well-researched article reporting interviews with one of SSB's closest associates and alleged sexual partners, Dr. N. Bhatia, formerly employed in the SSB Super-Speciality hospital. Dr. Bhatia stated that an underage student he examined had been raped by Sai Baba and that he had confronted him about it. Directly thereafter Dr. Bhatia was accused of fraud and sexual offences and forced to leave his work and the ashram. Dr. Bhatia, like several former devotees, had written a very positive book about Sai Baba without mentioning any sexual allegations. Many devotees feel that persons who change their story regarding their initial account cannot possibly be credible. While making allegations Dr. Bhatia, who is married, at the same time still admitted he believed Sai Baba is God and has divine powers. The article was republished in other papers [1]  (http://www.saiguru.net/english/media/001028divine.htm). One of the more important critical articles was a front page article in the nationwide India Today magazine called "A God accused" on 4 December, 2000. In December 2002 the New York Times published a rather positive article on the guru without mentioning the allegations at all. [28] There have also been numerous positive articles about Sai Baba as well as articles he has written in Indian papers.

There was also an extremely critical TV documentary "Seduced By Sai Baba", produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway. The Danish jounalist Ojvind Kyro who was involved in the production of the documentary asserts, as published in Robert Priddy's book "The End of the Dream", that he has in his possession ten signed affidavits of young men from around the globe who claim to have been seriously sexually abused by SSB. He writes that these affidavits are open to see for official investigators and accredited journalists but not for the public.

The Indian President Abdul Kalam and the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visit the ashram and pay respect to the guru. Vajpayee has written a letter which is published on the internet, also signed by two former Supreme Court Justices, expressing that Sathya Sai Baba is innocent of sexual molestations and that the accusations are concocted and malicious. [32] Sceptics are confused as to whether Vajpayee's signed statement is based on government information not made available to the public. But it was made clear during the recent documentary, "Secret Swami" that the Indian government has taken the position that the allegations against Sai Baba are false.

The European parliament accepted a motion to have no cooperation with any of the Sathya Sai Baba affiliated organizations until the sexual abuse charges had been investigated.

Questions have been asked in the Parliament of the United Kingdom about the suicide of a British young man who a friend claims told him he was sexually abused by the guru. The young man had HIV, and overdosed on the painkiller commonly known as Tylenol. Since the alleged victim is deceased the accusation is hearsay and cannot be taken as evidence in a court of law. One Member of Parliament 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.

The United States Department of State has issued a travel warning about a "prominent local religious leader" under the section Andhra Pradesh without mentioning Sathya Sai Baba explicitly. Since about June 2004 embassy or consulate staff in India confirm that they referred to Sathya Sai Baba in the travel warning. The warning was placed as a result of the notarized petitions by several alleged victims even though they have never filed formal charges in India.

The BBC TWO documentary Secret Swami showed two American men under their real names who testified about Sathya Sai Baba's sexual abuse when they were still young and his manipulation of them. The former secretary of the Home minister of Andhra Pradesh, V.P.B. Nair who came from of a police background expressed his firm 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. In the documentary, Premanand showed that he could perform, seemingly the same acts, or at least some of them, as Sathya Sai Baba that the latter claims to be miracles.

Dr. Michael Goldstein, International Chairman of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisations, stated in the documentary that it was against his "heart and conscience" to initiate or approve of a proper legal process to investigate the allegations against Sathya Sai Baba. Isaac Tigrett, a prominent follower and co-founder of the Hard Rock Café, states clearly that his admiration for the guru will not change even if the charges of paedophilia and murder were proved beyond all doubt.

Views on the guru

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 directly, for example answers to prayers which they attribute to him or clairvoyance during an interview. Hence quite a lot of ex-followers believe that while he has siddhis (psychic abilities) it is only because he is a powerful rakshasa or demon.

Other ex-followers such as David Bailey and Hari Sampath, an Indian national, consider Baba a cheat and believe that some of the miracles are real but are mistakenly attributed to Sathya Sai Baba. They believe that when a follower prays to Baba while having faith that he is God, God will listen to his prayer, in spite of his mistaken belief.

Sceptics such as Premanand believe him to be an out and out cheater and charlatan while his followers are but gullible at worst, naïve at best, and are all suffering from the true-believer syndrome (belief in supernatural explanations for events caused by wishful thinking in spite of proof of natural explanations).

Tal Brooke, an American evangelical Christian who says his book about Sai Baba was banned in India sees him as a false prophet and an Antichrist, as predicted in the Bible.

Anti-cult activists consider Baba just one of many cult leaders, though an exceptionally successful one, with the usual sexual abuse, false claims about himself, false miracles, propaganda, mind control, and misappropriation of funds to enrich the coterie at the top of the organization.

Finally, the view of the followers on the guru is identical to the claims made by Baba about himself. They believe that the allegations are just passing clouds that have accompanied the lives of all avatars that are part of the leelas of his life. Some followers say that the allegations have been made by people who are criminals themselves and try to distract people from that fact by instead accusing Baba of being a criminal. Some followers believe that the allegations that Baba performs acts that can be interpreted as sexually intended are true but that he must have good reasons for them, like helping the young men with sexual problems or to awaken their kundalini. Tigrett believes the allegations are true but is at a loss to explain them saying that Sai Baba is an enigma.

Books by Sai Baba or by his followers

  • 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 IISBN 81-7208-050-6
  • Kasturi, Narayana Sathyam Sivam Sundaran Part I, II, III & IV available online in Microsoft Word format (http://satya-sai.tripod.com/literature/resources.htm)
  • Krystal, Phyllis “The Ultimate Experience” ISBN 81-7208-038-7
  • Murphet, Howard Man of Miracles (1971) 0333-91770-7
  • Priddy, Robert “'Source of the Dream'” (1998) ISBN 1-57863-028-2
  • 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
  • Sathya Sai Baba Many online books (http://www.saibabalinks.org/booksaibaba.htm)
  • Schulman, Arnold Baba (1971) Out of print but available in some public libraries

Books by sceptics and critics

  • Beyerstein, Dale Dr. (1994) Sai Baba's miracles: an overview available online (http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/p_holbach/dbbooke/cont.htm)
  • Brooke, Tal Avatar of the Night [2]  (http://www.scp-inc.org/president/index.php)
  • Premanand, Basava The Murders in Sai Baba's bedroom
  • Priddy, Robert The End of the Dream published and edited by Basava Premanand

Other books

  • Brown, Mick The Spiritual Tourist (1998), chapter 4 In The House of God 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

External links

Yahoo Share Group 1 about Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

  • [3] (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saibabanews/)

Yahoo Share Group 2 about Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

  • [4] (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/saibabalist/)

Official websites and websites of followers

Websites of critical former followers, skeptics and other critics

Other articles and websites

Media articles

Rebuttals of criticisms

  • SAI BABA and SEX: A Clear View (http://www.saibaba-aclearview.com/) Ram Das Awle's attempt to reconcile the allegations with the claims of Sathya Sai Baba
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