WHO IS SATYA SAI BABA?
Sri Satya Sai Baba was born Satyanarayan Raju in 1926 in the village of
Puttaparthi, Andra Pradesh, India. At the age of 14 he had a series of
strange experiences, which his family and others believed at the time to
be demonic possession. Soon after one of these, Satyanarayan asserted
that the spirit of a guru known as Sai Baba of Shirdi, Maharashtra, who
had died more than twenty years earlier, had come into him. Shirdi Sai
Baba (1856 -1918) was admired in his lifetime for his austere lifestyle
and particularly for the miracles that were attributed to him. During the
later period of his life, he claimed to be God and was venerated as such
by his followers. Satyanarayan, who appropriated the name Satya Sai Baba,
likewise claims to be God. In support of his claim, Satyanarayan began
early on to work the ‘miracles’ for which he has since become renowned
and which have led to a growing number of followers. The ‘miracles’
include materializing sugar candy, flowers, vibhuti (sacred ash) and
other presents for his devotees. They also include healing the sick and
knowing the thoughts of his disciples whatever be the distance between
them. His followers even claim that Sai Baba has restored two dead men to
life. These ‘miracles’ are adduced as proof of Sai Baba’s divinity and
specifically of his ability to create out of nothing. He says: “It is
beyond you to know how or why I create things.…the objects that I create,
I create them by My Will, the same way I created the universe.” Sai Baba
claims to be a full avatar or ‘incarnation’ of God, greater than Jesus
and founders of the world religions. In his own words: “Buddha, Christ,
Mohammed and others were not avatars. They had some divine power… My
power is infinite.”
Despite his claim to divinity and to infinite power, Sai Baba maintains
that he did not come on earth to establish a religion. Rather he sees his
mission as being to restore the dharma – the proper and original inner
transformation which is the heart and purpose of all genuine religion. As
an expression of his recognition of on-going role of existing religious
traditions, his logo contains the symbols of Cross, Crescent and Star,
Star of David as well as the Hindu Aum and the Buddhist Wheel.
Satya Sai Baba has prophesied that he will leave his present body in the
year 2022, when he would be 96 years of age. But he will immediately be
reborn for a third time as an avatar named Prema Sai Baba. He has
specified that this final appearance will take place in the Mandya
district of Karnataka State.
THE MOVEMENT
Over the years the number of Sai Baba’s followers has increased to several
million, all but a small minority of whom are Indian. Shrines to and
images of him and of his guru, Sai Baba of Shirdi, are widespread in
India. One meets his followers in the streets, in shops and on the buses,
as well as in the many temples and ashrams of the movement. Besides, the
organisation has spread to over 137 countries including the US and most
European countries. It claims to have over 30.000 centres world-wide.
These work to extend Sai Baba’s message and ministry. Members come
together regularly to sing bhajans (hymns) and particularly in India, to
initiate projects to serve the disadvantaged. The main centre for such
development has been Sai Baba’s home village of Puttaparthi – since grown
into a substantial town due to the growth of the Sai Baba movement. The
centre piece is Sai Baba’s magnificent ashram called Prashanti Nilayam
(abode of great peace). There is an airport to facilitate the tens of
thousands of devotees who come annually to pay their respects to the guru
whom they venerate as God Educational institutions have also been
established in his name. The movement produces a wide range of printed and
visual publications and also runs a highly sophisticated Internet site to
propagate Baba’s teaching. In November 1991 the organization established a
modern polyclinic at Puttaparthi. Sai Baba has become a highly influential
public figure in India, and is often visited by government officials and
leaders – in part because of his supposed powers, and in part because of
his reported good works.
MIRACLES CONTESTED
The authenticity of Sai Baba’s miracles have long been questioned. A
Committee was set up by Bangalore University to carry out an
investigation. Through its work Sai Krishna, a 7 year-old ‘miracle’ boy
and protégé of Sai Baba, was exposed as a fraud. Three
members of the committee observed the boy produce sacred ash on July 15,
1976. However, it was no miracle. They found that the ash was hidden in
the boy’s vest and came out when he pulled a string hidden in his
clothes.
The DECCAN CHRONICLE is a Hyderabad-based English daily with a large
circulation. On 23 November, 1992 it published on its front page pictures
from a video recording of Satya Sai Baba’s ‘creation’ of a gold necklace,
in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao.
The video tape of the event appeared to show unambiguously Satya Sai Baba
being passed a necklace clandestinely by his personal assistant
Radhakrishna Menon, which later Satya Sai Baba ‘materializes’ after a
wave of his hand. Working on behalf of the Dutch newspaper DE
VOLKSKRAANT, Piet Vroon was at Puttaparthi to film Baba at “work”. He and
his partner reported that they saw Baba remove rings, necklaces and
watches from behind flower vases and from pillows on his chair. They also
detected Sai Baba holding vibhuti balls in one hand, transferring them to
the other hand, pulverising them and distributing them. Vibhuti was also
alleged to be hidden in his mouth and removed while wiping his face,
which Baba does very often. In his report of December 5, 1992 Vroon’s
conclusion is unambiguous: “we just think that he’s a trickster and a
cheat.”
Sai Baba devotees not surprizingly reject all of the above, pointing out
that modern video technology can be used to produce ‘evidence’ of almost
any kind of faking or for that matter of ‘miracle working’. In any case
the point is made that Sai Baba himself attaches little importance to his
‘miracles’ – the important aspect of his mission being the call to a
spiritual way of living.
SCANDALS IN THE ASHRAM
On June 6, 1993, six inmates of Prashanti Nilayam died violently in Satya
Sai Baba’s bedroom. All were part of the inner circle of Sai Baba, among
whom was Radha Krishna Menon, the personal assistant who was caught on
video passing the necklace clandestinely to Baba. It was alleged that two
were killed by assailants in an attempted murder of Baba and the police
claimed to have shot dead – in self defence – four of the assailants, who
were armed only with knives. However, the police of have been accused of
wilfully destroyed evidence in the case.
The Marathi language weekly LOK PRABHA, of January 19, 1996, published an
account concerning the SATYA SAI INSTITUTE OF HIGHER MEDICAL SCIENCES, in
which a peasant from the Latur district of Maharastra was to have
received his son Balaji’s kidney in a transplant operation. Whereas the
son’s kidney was removed, a scan carried out later revealed that his
father had not received the kidney. This raised the question of whether
this institute was involved in the international organ theft
business.
There have been numerous other allegations against Sai Baba and
his movement. These include accusations of sexual misconduct by Sai Baba
with teenage boys and also the discovery by the police of cyanide, land
mines and plastic-explosives in Prashanti Nilayam. Disillusioned by the
scandals, many disciples have been turning away from Satya Sai Baba and
to the 35 year-old Palghat (Kerala) born Bala Sai Baba. Bala Sai claims
to be the real Sai avatar. He has set up an ashram in Kurnool district of
Andhra Pradesh. He dresses like Satya Sai Baba, performs the same kind of
‘miracles’ and has been successful in attracting a large number of
devotees. He too has western disciples.
Louis Hughes
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