Sathya Sai Baba

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Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba in the 1990s
Date of Birth 23 November 1926 (1926-11-23) (age 82)
Place of birth Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh
Birth Sathyanarayana Raju
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Sathya Sai Baba, born Sathyanarayana Raju on November 12, 1926 [1][2] with the family name of "Ratnakaram",[3] is a controversial South Indian guru, described by his followers as a godman and miracle worker.[1][4][5] The Sathya Sai Organization claims an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114 countries worldwide.[6] The number of Sathya Sai Baba adherents is estimated to be somewhere around 6 million, although followers cite anywhere from 50 to 100 million.[7] Followers consider him to be a reincarnation of the saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. This claim, however, has been strongly disputed[citation needed].

Allegations of sexual abuse, deceit, murder and financial offences surround Sathyanarayana Raju.[8][9] A BBC documentary notes that such controversies have persisted for at least 30 years. [10] According to the BBC, "The scale of the abuse has caused alarm around the world... Governments around the world are deeply concerned and are beginning to take action, warning their citizens about Sai Baba." [10][11] The website of the American Embassy in Delhi, in a direct reference to Sai Baba, [10] warns Americans visiting Andhra Pradesh of a "local religious leader" who reportedly engages in "inappropriate sexual behavior" with young male devotees. [10] The embassy states that "most of the reports indicate that the subjects of these approaches have been young male devotees, including a number of U.S. citizens." [12]

Contents

[edit] Biography

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Sathya Sai Baba addresses his followers

Sathyanarayana Raju was born to Peddavenkama Raju and Eswaramma in an agrarian family in the remote village of Puttaparthi, located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh.[13] Biographer and devotee Schulman wrote in 1971 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".[14]

An official four-volume biography was written by devotee Professor Narayana Kasturi under the guidance of Sathya Sai Baba.[citation needed][15] The biography recounts an anecdotal incident where a cobra was found in the bedclothes of Sathya Sai Baba shortly after he was born.[16]. The book claims that the incident led to him becoming known as "lord of serpents" among the villagers.[2] Devotee Arnold Schulman contradicts the story, stating that Sathyanarayana Raju's sister who claims to have been present at his birth recounts the cobra was found outside of the house, several hours after Raju was born, a sight not uncommon in the village.[17] The young Sathyanarayana, the biography claims, was a vegetarian and was "known" for his aversion to animal cruelty.[18]

At the age of eight, Satynanarayana Raju attended higher elementary school in Bukkapatnam.[18]. After that he joined another high school at Uravakonda. The biography claims that on March 8, 1940, Satynanarayana Raju started behaving "as if a scorpion had stung in his foot". He exhibited strange behavior after this and entered a coma state. After some time, he got up and his behavior worried his parents - he did not want to eat but, the biography claims, kept silent for a long time, and some times "recite verses". In May 1940, he proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of the fakir and saint Sai Baba of Shirdi (d. 1918) and subsequently took the fakir's name, Sai Baba. [19] Baba purportedly taught them his bhajans (devotional songs that are sung out aloud in praise of minor Hindu deities or in praise of sai baba himself). Sai Baba claimed himself to be an "avatar". Sathya Sai Baba is listed in the 1942 school record of Bukkapatnam.[20] In 1944 a mandir for followers of Sathya Sai Baba was built near the village which is now called the "old mandir"(old temple).[18][21] The construction of Prashanthi Nilayam, the current ashram, was started in 1948.[21]

In 1958, Sanathana Sarathi, the official magazine for the followers of Sathya Sai Baba, was published for the first time. [21]

Sathya travelled only once outside India to visit North East Africa in 1968.[21]

Sathya Sai Baba had two sisters, one older brother (the late Seshama Raju) and a younger brother (the late R.V.Janaki Ramaiah). [22][23]

Sathya Sai Baba established three temples (referred to as a "mandir") in India. The first center, established in Mumbai, is referred to as either "Dharmakshetra" or "Sathyam". The second center, established in Hyderabad, is referred to as "Shivam". The third center, established in Chennai, is referred to as "Sundaram".[24].

Sathyanarayana Raju has been confined to a wheelchair since 2005 and reportedly his failing health has forced him to make fewer public appearances.[25]

[edit] Beliefs and practices of followers

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Main article: Sathya Sai Baba movement
For more details on this topic, see Bibliography of Sathya Sai Baba.
BBC-Expose-saibabaClaim.ogg
A clip from BBC Documentary The Secret Swami in which Sai Baba is recorded telling his devotees:"Out of the stomach emerged siva lingas of the weight of three tons. That is the reason why some strain on the face and body."

Sathya Sai Baba gives discourses on religious topics in his native language Telugu to devotees.[26] Twice daily, devotees engage in worship of Sai Baba by conducting rituals such as aarti and singing devotional songs in front of his picture.[26] Sai Baba has said that his followers do not need to give up their original religion.[27] His followers view his teachings as syncretic (uniting all religions). Some famous sayings of his are, "Help ever, hurt never" and "Love all, serve all".

Across the globe, local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans (devotional songs in praise of Sai Baba) often accompanied by rhythmic clapping of hands, to do collective community service (called seva), and teach "Education in Human Values" (Sai Sunday School). While devotees claim that the movement is not missionary, some analysts assert that it is cultish in nature.[28] 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. Hindu chants are sung out aloud with the deity's name replaced by Baba's name, and the worship of Sai Baba are all known happenings.[citation needed]

According to the Sathya Sai organization, Sathyanarayana Raju has written several articles on religious topics, later collected by the trust in the form of books, titled "Vahinis" (vehicles).[citation needed] There are sixteen vahinis.[citation needed]

Sai organization claims to advocate five values: sathya (truth), dharma (Hindu word for right conduct), ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love for God and all his creatures)[29] and shantih (peace).

Other claimed teachings are:

  • Service and charity (seva) to others.[30]
  • Love for all creatures and objects.[30]
  • Putting a ceiling on one's desires is sadhana.[30]
  • Celibacy after age of fifty.[30]
  • Vegetarianism[29], moderate and sattvik diet.[30]
  • Abstinence from drinking alcohol,[30] smoking cigarettes,[30] and taking drugs.
  • Meditation (dhyan).[30] Baba teaches four techniques: repetition of the 'name of God'( "Sai" or "Sai Baba") ,[30] visualizing the form of God(often on sai baba's physical form),[30] sitting in silence, and jyoti (Flame/Light meditation).[30]
  • Importance of bhakti (devotion) to Sai Baba.[30]
  • Developing "prashanti"( vaguely translates to carefree-ness) and eschewing vices of character.[30]
  • Japa (ritual chanting of Baba's name) and other sadhana (spiritual exercise) to foster devotion.
  • Highly committed devotees use the phrase "Sai Ram" as a salutation.[30]
  • Conducting pooja or aarti( a form of ritual worship) twice daily in front of Baba photos.[citation needed]
  • At the ashram frequent "yagnas" or ritual worship involving ritual sacrifices of vegetable matter and ghee to a pyre is conducted for the baba.[30]

[edit] Claims of materialization and other purported miracles

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SaiBabaAshCreationExposed.ogv
Denmark National Television documentary analyzing one of the most common purported "miracles" of Sai Baba. The documentary also draws attention to many videos where he is seen hiding the compressed ash pill between his figners before doing the "materialization" of ash.
SaiBabaFakeRegurgitation.ogv
The BBC documentary The Secret Swami draws attention to another one of the purported "miracles" of Sai Baba. The video draws attention to deceit involved in the act in which he claims to "materialize" a lingam shaped artifact from his mouth.
BabaNecklacefake.ogv
A video broadcast on Indian state controlled television in which Sai Baba is seen apparently faking the "materialization" of a necklace.

In some books, magazines, filmed interviews and articles, Sathya Sai Baba's followers report miracles of various kinds that they attribute to him.[30] Claims have been made by devotees that objects have appeared spontaneously in connection with pictures and altars of Sathya Sai Baba.[31][32] None of the described incidents have been independently verified and several critics have questioned the occurrence of the miracles described by devotees.[33]

Documentaries produced by the BBC and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation have analyzed videos of the supposed miracles and suggested that they can be explained as sleight of hand tricks.[10][34] In the 1995 TV documentary Guru Busters, by UK's Channel 4, Sathya Sai Baba was accused of faking his materializations. A videotape was provided which suggested that magician's tricks were being utilized. The same videotape was mentioned in the Deccan Chronicle, on 23 November 1992, on a front page headline "DD Tape Unveils Baba Magic".[35]

The documentary Seduced By Sai Baba, produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio was aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway. The documentary carried interview in which former long-term devotees who recount experiencing sexual violations in the hands of the godman. The documentary also carried exposés of how the purported miracles are done by the godman.

In April 1976, Dr. H. Narasimhaiah, a physicist, rationalist and then vice chancellor of Bangalore University, founded and chaired a committee to investigate supposed miracles and other supernatural activities. Narasimhaiah wrote Sathya Sai Baba several letters in which he challenged Baba to perform his miracles under controlled conditions.[36] Sathya Sai Baba said that he did not consent to Narasimhaiah's challenge because he felt his approach was improper, and that his the spiritual nature of his abilities was not within the realm of science.[37] The committee did not produce any evidence to support the miracles, and was dissolved in August 1977.[citation needed] Narasimhaiah considered the fact that Sathya Sai Baba ignored his letters as one among several indications that his miracles are fraudulent.[38]

The retired Icelandic psychology professor Erlendur Haraldsson investigated Sathya Sai Baba and documented the guru's reported miracles and manifestations through first-hand interviews with devotees.[citation needed] Haraldsson's research yielded many testimonies of various objects being materialized.[39] Haraldsson said that the largest object claimed by some devotees to have been materialized that he saw was a mangalsutra necklace, 32 inches long, 16 inches long on each side.[40] Haraldsson believed that healings do not play a prominent role in Sathya Sai Baba's activities.[41]

Dale Beyerstein, Professor of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, expressed that there is sufficient evidence against believing in materialization of objects by the Baba. Bayerstein opines: "The overwhelming evidence - given the film analysis, the loose anecdotal nature of the claims etc. all point so definitely in this direction. Moreover the widespread claims of sexual hanky panky and the evidence of association with the gold business - although not conclusive - must be seriously entered into the overall picture."[42]

The magazine India Today published in 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.[43] Basava Premanand, a skeptic and amateur magician, asserted that he has been investigating Sathya Sai Baba since 1968 and emphatically believes the "guru" to be a cheater and charlatan. Premanand sued Sathya Sai Baba in 1986 for violation of the Gold Control Act for Sathya Sai Baba's purported "materializations" of gold objects. The case was dismissed, but Premanand appealed on the ground that claimed spiritual power is not a defence recognised in law.[44] Premanand later said that he could duplicate some of Sathya Sai Baba's acts using sleight of hand and the production of a lingam from his mouth.

The British journalist Mick Brown discussed in his 1998 book that Sathya Sai Baba's claim of "resurrecting" the American Walter Cowan in 1971 was probably untrue.[45] His opinion was based on the letters from attending doctors, provided in the Indian Skeptic magazine (published by Premanand).[46][47][48] A letter from Dr. Vaz, Cowan's attending physician, states that "He was perfectly conscious in bed. At no stage had I pronounced him dead then or later." The doctor states that, on the other hand, with medication, he was showing "rapid improvement". According to Dr. Viz, "That morning Mrs. Cowan requested me whether there was any objection for Sai Baba, his spiritual guru to pray for him in the room for which I said he was most welcome and I was there when Sai Baba was offering prayers. Mr. Cowan was conscious then and also right through." He states that he is "surprised" that the story has gone through such and that to all who had interviewed him, he had "emphatically given the correct version that Mr. Cowan was not dead at all at any stage and he also had a normal recovery here."[48] Mick Brown also related, in the same book, his experiences with manifestations of vibuthi, from Sathya Sai Baba's pictures in houses in London, which he felt were not fraudulent or the result of trickery.[49] Brown wrote with regards to Sathya Sai Baba's claims of omniscience, that "skeptics have produced documentation clearly showing discrepancies between Baba's reading of historical events and biblical prophecies and the established accounts."[50]

In October 2007, Baba reportedly announced that he would "appear on the moon" and asked devotees to proceed to the local airport. The miracle failed to happen and the baba and his devotees turned back after waiting for an hour. Police officers found it difficult to disperse the utterly disappointed crowd and no explanation was offered by the Sai Trust for the failure of the miracle. Rationalists claimed the publicity was an attempt to boost the Baba's waning popularity.[51]

[edit] Ashrams and mandirs

The daily program at Sathya Sai Baba's temples usually begins with the chanting of "OM" and a morning prayer (Suprabatham). This is followed by Veda Parayan (chanting of the Vedas), nagarasankirtana (morning devotional songs) and twice a day bhajans and darshan (baba walks around or is wheel-chaired around amongst the gathered devotees) [52] Particularly significant are the darshans during October (the Dasara holidays and November (the month of Sai Baba's birth). [52] During darshan Sathya Sai Baba walks among his followers and may interact with people, accept letters, "materialize" and distribute vibhuti (sacred ash) or call groups or individuals for private interviews. Interviews are chosen solely at the Sai Baba's discretion. Followers consider it a great privilege to get an interview and sometimes a single person, group or family will be invited for a private interview. It is claimed by the Sathya Sai Organization that meeting him has spiritual benefits. [53]

[edit] Criticism and controversy

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Critics of Sai Baba have been met with strong and often violent opposition from devotee circles, especially in India.[10] Sanal Edamaruku, the leader of the Indian Rationalist Association,[54] said that the Indian media is scared of Sai Baba's political influence, emphasizing that critics of the movement are often attacked by devotees.[34]

Basava Premanand, a person who has exposed gurus in the past, concluded in his research that Sai Baba is deceptive and sexually abusive. To date, Basava Premanand has sustained injuries for severe beatings, survived four murder attempts, and has had his house burgled three times.[44]

Conny Larsson, a former devotee of 21 years claims to have been sexually abused by Sai Baba. He later broke away from the movement, outraged at witnessing the Baba's behaviour of a sexual nature with a young boy. Once outside of the movement, Larsson expressed worry over being mistreated by current followers of the movement, and said that devotees circulated slanderous accusations that he was a pedophile.[34]

In an interview with an Asian Voice correspondent, Mr Ashok Bhagani, a trustee of the Sai Organization in the UK, said that he believed the allegations in the Secret Swami BBC documentary were baseless and have never been proved.[55] The secretary of the Puttaparthi ashram, K. Chakravarthi, refused to comment on the accusations.[15] A spokesman for the BBC told Asian Voice that the documentary had gone to great lengths to be balanced and fair, but that as the research developed it became clear that the story was one of a crisis and 'ultimately a betrayal of faith.'[55].

[edit] Deaths in the ashram

Main article: 1993 Murders in Prashanthi Nilayam

On 6 June 1993, six deaths happened in Sai Baba's ashram. Four devotees, aged between 25 and 40 years and all resident in the ashram, went to Sai Baba's residence armed with knives.[10][56] As they approached they were stopped by four of Sai Baba's attendants.[56] In the struggle that followed, two of his attendants were killed and the other two injured.[56] Hearing the commotion Sai Baba escaped through a back stairway and raised the alarm.[10][56] When heavily armed police arrived at the scene, the men locked themselves in Sai Baba's bedroom and refused to give themselves up.[56] The police stated that they were charged at by the men, who were subsequently shot by the police.[56] Others claim the cornered assailants were deliberately shot at and that political influence of Sai Baba kept investigations from proceeding.[10]

Several sources, including a Central Bureau of Investigation and V.P.B. Nair (Former Secretary to the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh) stated that the official police report contained inconsistencies.[10] R.R. Gogineni, the Former General Secretary of the Rationalist Association of India, stated that all the people killed were part of the inner circle of Sai Baba.[57]

A previous case of alleged murder related to the ashram was reported on 20 February, 1987, when the body of a student at a college run by the Sathya Sai Trust was found in a semi-charred state. While the case was dismissed as suicide, Narendra Nayak, writing in the Indian Skeptics Journal, opined that the "powerful force around the Baba got the [police] inquiry turned into a farce." He notes that circumstantial evidence did not support suicide being a plausible cause of death.[58]

[edit] Reports of sexual abuse

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In 2004 the BBC aired the documentary titled Secret Swami in the United Kingdom. The documentary covered the allegations and experiences of former devotees. The BBC team states that they discovered that there are a number of former devotees who have turned away the from Sai Baba claiming that he ruined their lives.[10] In the documentary Alaya Rahm, who was brought up as a devotee by his parents, recounts his experience of being sexually abused by the swami: "I remember him saying, if you don't do what I say, your life will be filled with pain and suffering. And that’s a pretty heavy thing to hear being sixteen and God’s telling you do what I say or your life is going to be full of pain and suffering." In what the BBC states was as "an intimate and powerful" portrait, Alaya's family discusses how they became devotees and how they were betrayed. The documentary also touches upon the experience of Mark Roche. Roche, who first heard of the Baba in 1969 and had devoted twenty-five years of his life to the movement, recounts his experience of suffering sexual abuse in the hands of the Baba.[10] BBC states that "Genuine Sai Baba followers like the Rahm family have had their faith shattered in the most disturbing manner. The man they believed to be God was repeatedly sexually abusing their son. All over the world similar stories are emerging from former devotees. Governments around the world are deeply concerned and are beginning to take action warning their citizens about Sai Baba." According to a BBC reporter, so many western devotees have undergone genital oiling by Sai Baba that they have come to believe it is some religious ritual. Indian writer Khushwant Singh reacts to this by saying that this genital oiling is not part of any Indian tradition and that there is no basis to the claim whatsoever.[10][55] The documentary was also broadcast in Australia and ,by the CBC, in Canada.

The documentary Seduced By Sai Baba, produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio was aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway. The documentary carried interview in which former long-term devotees who recount experiencing sexual violations in the hands of the godman. The documentary also carried exposés of how the purported miracles are done by the godman.

Ex-devotees have contacted the FBI, Interpol, the Indian Supreme Court and a host of other agencies, hoping for help in their battle against the guru. A California man named Glen Meloy, who spent 26 years as a Sai devotee, is trying to organize a class-action lawsuit against Sai Organization leaders in America, modeled on the one recently launched against the Hare Krishnas. [11] His faith was shattered when he was shown excerpts from the diary of his close friend's 15-year-old son, detailing several incidents of molestation. The child of devotees, the boy had been raised to worship Sai Baba as God, and obliged when the master reportedly ordered his disciple to suck his penis. "You've got all these kids who are scared to death to do anything that will do disrespect to their parents, in a room with someone they believe to be the creator of the whole universe," said Meloy, his voice choked with fury. "This isn't just any child abuse; this is God himself claiming to do this."[11] According to The Times, a complaint was lodged with India's Central Bureau of Investigation on March 12, 2001 but there has been no apparent result.[27]

Hari Sampath, an Indian software professional now living in Chicago and a former volunteer in the ashram's security service, is petitioning India's Supreme Court to order the central government to investigate Sai Baba. His greatest concern is for Sai Baba's Indian victims, who generally have a much more difficult time speaking out than Westerners do. During his time at Prasanthi Nilayam, he said, many students at the ashram's college told him they were pressured to have sex with the guru. "I've spoken to 20 or 30 boys who have been abused, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. There are 14-year-old kids made to live in his room and made to think it's a blessing. In most cases, their parents have been followers for 20 years and are not going to believe them," Sampath said by phone from Chicago. "Westerners have little to lose by coming forward. The Indians have to go on living among Sai Baba devotees."[11] Sampath also wants the American government to intervene, on the grounds that "American citizens have been knowing about this abuse and taking American boys to Puttaparthi and feeding them to him."[11]

In 2000 UNESCO withdrew its cosponsorship of an education conference in Puttaparthi, explaining that it was "deeply concerned about widely reported allegations of sexual abuse involving youths and children that have been leveled at the leader of the movement in question, Sathya Sai Baba."[11]

After Conny Larsson, a Swedish film star who once traveled the world speaking of Sai Baba's miracles, went public about his coerced sexual relations with the guru, the Sai Organization in Sweden was shut down, along with a Sai-affiliated school[11][10]. A cover story in the weekly magazine India Today reports that following a story in Brtain's Daily Telegraph, "Labour MP Tony Colman raised the issue in Parliament. A former home office minister, Tom Sackville, also took up the matter, saying, 'The authorities have done little so far and that is regrettable.' There is a movement now to urge the British Government to issue warnings to people wanting to visit Baba's ashram." [10]

According to Michelle Goldberg, the fact that the Baba has high ranking Indian politicians as his supporters and the purported charity works 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. Goldberg notes that Sai Baba's charities have reportedly been plagued though by "rumors of chicanery and worse."[11]

In an article that was published in the India Today magazine in December 2000, it was stated that no complaints had been filed against Sathya Sai Baba by any alleged victim, in India. The magazine stated they are in possession of an affidavit signed by Jens Sethi (an ex-devotee) and reported that he filed a complaint with the police in Munich.[43][11]

According to The Times, "Suicides and suspicious deaths have long marred his [the godman's] reputation. A German man was found hanging from a rafter in Puttaparthi in the early 1980s. A father and daughter took fatal overdoses in Bangalore in 1999 after failing to get an audience with the guru."[27] In August 2001, The Times reported: "Michael Pender, a student, hoped that Sai Baba would be able to cure him of HIV. Like thousands of devotees from around the world, Mr Pender went on a pilgrimage to Sai Baba's ashram in Puttaparthi, southern India, expecting to find magic and divinity. Instead Mr Pender, known as "Mitch", was found dead after taking tablets in the lonely bedroom of a hostel for the homeless in Highbury, North London. He was 23." The article notes Kathleen Ord, who first told him of Sai Baba's teachings, has since destroyed her books and videos on the holy man, stating: "I blame myself in many ways because, if I hadn't introduced them, Mitch would probably be alive now. That's what he went to India for, thinking he'd find a cure...He tried to commit suicide in the ashram. He had overdosed on drugs more than once. He had some strange, very powerful experiences there. There was something sexual that was frightening." Her son, Keith, has given a detailed account of what Mr Pender said in his last weeks about meeting Sai Baba. The guru flattered the British student by describing him as "the reincarnation of St Michael." Mr Ord's evidence, posted on the Internet, states: "He told me that the very first private interview that he had with SB was a sexual encounter.".."After telling me of his experiences, Michael became quite depressed." On January 12, 1990, Mr Pender's body was found by the supervisor of his hostel. Traces of paracetamol and alcohol were found in his blood, but a pathologist found it impossible to determine if they were lethal doses. An open verdict was recorded at an inquest in St Pancras. [9]The Times article goes on to outline two more stories, one of which is about Andrew Richardson, a 33 year old British national. Richardson made a pilgrimage to Sai Baba's ashram, booking in for a week, but mysteriously leaving after only two days. On September 19, 1996, Mr Richardson travelled to Bangalore and hired a taxi at the railway station to one of the city's tallest buildings, the State Bank of Mysore. Mr Richardson flung banknotes and travellers' cheques in the air, ran into the bank and up the stairs to the eighth floor, where he smashed a window and leapt 84ft to the ground, killing himself. A suicide note was found saying he was in a deep depression: "I came to India in search of peace but could not find it." [9]

The Guardian and DNA note that a travel warning was issued by the US State Department about reports of "inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader", which officials confirm is a direct reference to Sai Baba.[59][60] The Guardian further expressed concerns over a contingent of 200 youths travelling to the Baba's ashram in order to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Awards. [15]

"Sai Baba was my God -- who dares to refuse God? He was free to do whatever he wanted to do with me; he had my trust, my faith, my love and my friendship; he had me in totality", says Iranian-American former follower Said Khorramshahgol. What Sai Baba chose to do with him, Khorramshahgol says, was to repeatedly call him into private interviews and order him to drop his pants and massage his penis.[11]

The Daily Telegraph reported, in October 2000, of the allegations. The article touched upon the testimony of several ex-devotees and their children who shared their experience of sexual abuse by the baba. [15] Koert van der Velde, a reporter for Dutch newspaper Trouw, noted that Sathya Sai Baba apparently started forbidding his devotees to not look at the internet after the allegations arose.[61] In the years 1999 and 2000, Sai Baba has repeatedly belittled internet and technology and discouraged its use.[62][63]

The BBC states that "The scale of the abuse has caused alarm around the world. In Sweden a Sai Baba school closed down after disturbing revelations from a young boy."[10] The Swedish wing of the organization also closed down shortly following the allegations and exposés.

[edit] Political row

Sister project Wikinews has related news: Sai Baba upsets Telangana activists

In January 2007, Sathya Sai Baba found himself embroiled in a political row after his remarks opposing the proposed partition of Andhra Pradesh as a "great sin", claiming that there was no demand from the people to bifurcate the state into Telangana and Andhra states.[64] The comments caused an outcry among pro-Telangana activists who angrily voiced their protests in street marches and attacks on the Sivam building, Sathya Sai Baba's temple in Hyderabad, which was staffed by a few followers. Shouting anti-Sai Baba slogans, the protestors pulled down a large picture of Sai Baba and trampled on it before taking it outside and setting it on fire. An effigy of Sathya Sai Baba was also reported to have been burnt, and twenty protestors were arrested following several police complaints.

A number of political figures criticised Sathya Sai Baba including K. Chandrasekhar Rao, leader of the Telangana Rashtra Samithi and former Union Minister, who suggested that Sathya Sai Baba should restrict himself to religious functions and not involve himself in politics. Sai Baba's followers responded by calling a 'bandh' in which shops and business establishments were shut down to protest against the remarks of the Telangana leaders, and effigies of the critics were set alight.[65] K. Kesava Rao, President of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee, maintained that Sathya Sai Baba's comments had been "misinterpreted" and that the remark was not political. Digvijay Singh, Congress secretary-general, disagreed with suggestions that Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy could have instigated Sathya Sai Baba to make his statement, and confirmed that his party approved plans for the creation of a separate Telangana state. "With due respect to Sai Baba we can say that the work for setting up the second state reorganisation commission will go on," he said.[66]

[edit] Raising of funds

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Central to the activities if the Sai organization is raising of funds which, the organization claims, are used for charity. According to an article by the Indian news-agency Thehelka, all donations to the Sathya Sai Central Trust have been given tax exemptions and the total value of the Sai Baba's recorded assets, movable and immovable, both within the country and abroad, is Rs 5,000 crores (approx. 1 billion USD), "give or take a bit". The article states that every year, the Sathya Sai Central Trust is bloated with donations worth approximately Rs 65 crore. It also has about Rs 130 crore in fixed deposits (FD) and other term deposits all over the world. The trust has so far raised about Rs 385 crore in the form of loans for some of the Sai Baba's projects.[67]

According to The Times:"Sai Baba is being challenged on another more prosaic front. Questions are being asked about the fundraising techniques employed by his followers. Some are accused of targeting vulnerable rich people and claiming that the miracle worker might be able to cure the afflictions of old age." The Times reported on the case of Clarissa Mason, the second wife of the film star James Mason: "When Clarissa died of cancer in 1994, she willed a large part of her late husband's £13 million estate to the cult, although, due to a dispute with Mason's children, Portland and Morgan, who contend that the estate was not hers to will in the first place, it will be some time before the cult can hope to see any of the Mason millions. Clarissa Mason believed utterly in the powers of Sai Baba, filling her house near Lake Geneva with pictures of the "godman". Her legacy has gone to a trust whose beneficiaries are believed by Mason's children to include a follower of Sai Baba." Joseph Edamaruku states: " He raises enormous amounts of money from India and around the world. We do not believe claims that it is spent on hospitals and charitable works." [27]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Edwards, Linda (2001). A Brief Guide to Beliefs: Ideas, Theologies, Mysteries, and Movements. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 137. ISBN 0664222595. 
  2. ^ a b Lewis, James R. (Editor) (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions:Second Edition. Prometheus Books. ISBN 1-57392-88-7. 
  3. ^ Haraldsson, Erlendur, An investigative inquiry on Sathya Sai Baba (1997 revised and updated edition published by Sai Towers, Prashanti Nilayam, India) ISBN 81-86822-32-1
  4. ^ Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Vol. 2 N-Z). New York: Rosen. ISBN 0-8239-2287-1. 
    Hindu religious figure of the type known as avatar, godman (pg 583)
  5. ^ 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, December 2005, pp. 14-17 (Dutch)
    *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, Prasanthi Nilayam, India) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 page 55: "They carried the family name of Ratnakara and belonged to the Raju caste [..]"
    *Menon, Amarnath K.; Ashok Malik (April 12, 2000). "A God Accused". India Today. http://www.india-today.com/itoday/20001204/cover5.shtml#shadow. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. :
    *Woodhead, Linda; Paul Fletcher. Religion in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformation. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-21784-9. 
    *Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Vol. 1). Rosen. ISBN 0-8239-3179-X.  Entry: "Godman"
    *Hummel, Reinhart; Linda W. Duddy (translator) (1984). "Guru, Miracle Worker, Religious Founder: Sathya Sai Baba". Dialog Center. http://www.dci.dk/?artikel=572. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. : "People's motives for that journey are often serious or incurable diseases, for Sai Baba has an unrivaled reputation as a miracle worker."
  6. ^ The Sai Organization: Numbers to Sai Centers and Names of Countries
    "The inspiration of Sathya Sai Baba's example and message of unselfish love and service has resulted in the establishment of over 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114 countries throughout the world."
  7. ^ *Nagel, Alexandra "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 press, (1994) ISBN 90-5383-341-2 reports the following estimates: Beyerstein (1992:3) [skeptic]: 6 million; Riti & Theodore (1993:31): 30 million; Sluizer (1993:19): 70 million; Van Dijk (1993:30) [follower] "between 50 and 100 million."
    *Adherents cites Chryssides, George. Exploring New Religions. London, UK: Cassells (1999) (10 million)
    *Brown, Mick (2000-10-28). "Divine Downfall". Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2000/10/28/tlbaba28.xml. Retrieved on 2007-03-12. "The guru Sai Baba has left India only once, yet his devotees across the world are estimated at up to 50 million."
    *Edwards, Linda (2001). A Brief Guide to Beliefs: Ideas, Theologies, Mysteries, and Movements. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0664222595.  (venerated by hundreds of millions in India and abroad)
  8. ^ Suicide, sex and the guru, Dominic Kennedy, The Times (UK), August 27, 2001.
  9. ^ a b c "'I sought peace and couldn't find it'". The Times. 27 August 2001. 
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Eamon Hardy, Tanya Datta. (2004). Secret Swami [Documentary]. BBC News.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Michelle Goldberg (25 July 2005). "Untoucable?". Salon.com. http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2001/07/25/baba/index.html. 
  12. ^ Consular Information Sheet - India, Released by the Bureau of Consular Affairs, on January 19, 2007, US Department of State
  13. ^ Chennai Online, "Sri Sathya Sai Baba : A living Devil" by Ramakrishnan R, Available online
  14. ^ Schulman, Arnold (1971). Baba. Viking Press. pp. 122–124. ISBN 0-670-14343-X. 
    According to him, contrasting versions about Baba's childhood may be due to the fact that he needed interpreters to interpret 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.
  15. ^ a b c d Brown, Mick (2000-10-28). "Divine Downfall". Daily Telegraph. 
  16. ^ Kent, Alexandra (2001). Divinity and Diversity: A Hindu Revitalization Movement in Malaysia. Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. pp. 37. ISBN 8791114403. "The birth was symbolically marked by a frog in the bedclothes [..]" 
  17. ^ Schulman, Arnold (1971). Baba. Viking Press. pp. 122–124. ISBN 0-670-14343-X. "One of Baba's two sisters, however, who claims to have been present at his birth, says that the cobra was not found under the blanket, but several hours after Baba was born a cobra was seen outside the house, a sight not uncommon in the village." 
  18. ^ a b c Murphet, Howard (1977). Man of Miracles. Weiser. ISBN 0877283354. 
  19. ^ Babb, Lawrence A. (1983). "Sathya Sai Baba's Magic" (PDF). Anthropological Quarterly (Washington DC: The George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research) 56 (3): 116–124. doi:10.2307/3317305. http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-5491%28198307%2956%3A3%3C116%3ASSBM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-H. Retrieved on 2007-12-18. : "In 1940, at the age of fourteen, he proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of the celebrated Sai Baba of Shirdi-a saint who became famous in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries."
  20. ^ Padmanaban, Ranganathan (2000). Love Is My Form (Vol. 1: The Advent). Sai Towers Publishing. pp. 68, 132–133, 147. ISBN 8186822763. 
  21. ^ a b c d Bowen, David (1988). The Sathya Sai Baba Community in Bradford: Its origins and development, religious beliefs and practices. Leeds: University Press. ISBN 1871363020. 
  22. ^ "Sathya Sai Baba's younger brother dies" (CMS). Times of India. 2003-10-18. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/239253.cms. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  23. ^ "Satya Saibaba's brother passes away" (HTML). The Hindu. 2003-10-18. http://www.hindu.com/2003/10/18/stories/2003101806030300.htm. Retrieved on 2007-12-20. 
  24. ^ Sathyam, Shivam and Sundaram Mandirs On Official radiosai.org website Available online
  25. ^ Sai Baba turns 82, is still going strong, IBN Live. "However, he has been confined to a wheelchair for over two years now and his failing health has forced him to make fewer public appearances."
  26. ^ a b Babb, Lawrence A. (2000) [1986]. Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press Inc.. pp. 198–199. LCCN 85-28897. ISBN 1577661532. OCLC 45491795.  "Sathya Sai Baba is, among other things, considered a teacher by devotees. The devotees' focus is on worship, in singing devotional songs in praise of Sathya and conducting rites invoking and praising Sai Baba - which involve arti - which is performed by devotees in front of his picture, twice daily. He frequently gives "discourses", now compiled in several volumes. He usually speaks in Telugu, and before a Hindi-speaking audience an interpreter is required. One of his most characteristic rhetorical devices is the ad hoc (and often false) etymology. For example, he has stated that Hindu means 'one who is nonviolent' by the combination of hinsa (violence) and dur (distant)."
  27. ^ a b c d "Suicide, sex and the guru", Dominic Kennedy, The Times (UK), August 27, 2001
  28. ^ 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
  29. ^ a b The Baker Pocket Guide to New Religions, by Nigel Scotland , 2006, ISBN 0-8010-6620-4
  30. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Babb, Lawrence A. (2000) [1986]. Redemptive Encounters: Three Modern Styles in the Hindu Tradition. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press Inc.. LCCN 85-28897. ISBN 1577661532. OCLC 45491795. 
  31. ^ Brown Mick, The Spiritual Tourist, Ch: "The Miracle In North London", pp. 29-30, 1998 ISBN 1-58234-034-X
  32. ^ Kent, Alexandra Divinity and Diversity: a Hindu revitalization movement in Malaysia, Copenhagen Nias Press, first published in 2005, ISBN 8791114403, page 125
  33. ^ Dale Beyerstein. Sai Baba’s Miracles: an overview
  34. ^ a b c Øyvind Kyrø, Steen Jensen. (2002). Seduced by Sai Baba [Documentary]. DR.
  35. ^ Haraldsson, op. cit., pp. 295-301
  36. ^ Haraldson, op. cit, pp 204-205
  37. ^ Interview given by Sathya Sai Baba to R. K. Karanjia of Blitz News Magazine in September of 1976 Available online
  38. ^ Haraldsson, pp 209
  39. ^ Haraldsson, op. cit, pp. ??
  40. ^ Haraldsson, op. cit, pp. 43
  41. ^ Haraldsson, op. cit., pp 231, 239-241
  42. ^ Dale Beyerstein, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC Canada. In reply to a letter sent to him from Dr Elwndur Haraldsson, University of Iceland - October 1985. Letter Reproduced in Several Sourced - including Premanand's research
  43. ^ a b India Today, "A God Accused", 4 December 2000 Available online
  44. ^ a b Tanya Datta (17 June 2004). "Sai Baba: God-man or con man?". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/this_world/3813469.stm. 
  45. ^ Brown, Mick The Spiritual Tourist 1998 Bloomsbury publishing ISBN 1-58234-034-X Chapter In the House of God pp. 73 - 74
  46. ^ Hislop, John S. My Baba and I 1985 published by Birth Day Publishing Company, San Diego, California ISBN 0-960-0958-8-8 chapter The Resurrection of Walter Cowan pages 28-31
  47. ^ Brown, Mick The Spiritual Tourist 1998 Bloomsbury publishing ISBN 1-58234-034-X Chapter "In the House of God" pp. 73-74
  48. ^ a b B.C. Skeptics. "Does Sai Baba resurrect the Dead?"
  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. ^ Brown, Mick. The Spiritual Tourist 1998 Bloomsbury publishing ISBN 1582340013 Chapter "In the House of God" pp. 73
  51. ^ IANS (2007-10-04). "Sai Baba's 'moon miracle' fails". Indiatimes.Com. http://spirituality.indiatimes.com/articleshow/2431106.cms. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. 
  52. ^ a b The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions: Second Edition, Editor, James R. Lewis, 2002, ISBN 1-57392-88-7
  53. ^ Hummel, Reinhart "Guru, Miracle Worker, Religious Founder: Sathya Sai Baba" article in Update IX 3, September 1985, originally published in German in ;;Materialdienst der EZW;;, 47 Jahrgang, 1 February 1984 (retrieved 20 Feb. 2007)
  54. ^ Angel, Leonard (1994). Enlightenment East and West. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press. pp. 234. ISBN 0-7914-2053-1. 
  55. ^ a b c New Allegations Of Abuse Against Sai Baba by Payal Nair, Asian Voice, 26 June 2004: Available online
  56. ^ a b c d e f Ruhela, Satya Pal (1997), Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the Press, 1972-1996, M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd., ISBN 9788175330412, pp. 106–107
  57. ^ SATYA SAI BABA. Retelling The Story, Babu R.R. Gogineni Former General Secretary of Rationalist Association of India
  58. ^ Investigate the Murder at Satya Sai Baba's Collage, The Indian Skeptic.May 1998.] Image of body as carried on Indian Skeptic( warning: graphic images ).
  59. ^ Paul Lewis, The Guardian, "The Indian living god, the paedophilia claims and the Duke of Edinburgh awards", 4 November 2006, page 3, Available online '
  60. ^ Ginnie Mahajan/Brajesh Kumar, DNA World, "A holy furore rages in Britain", Available online
  61. ^ Velde, Koert van der "The Downfall of a guru, Sai Baba" 6 September 2000 in the Dutch tabloid newspaper Trouw
  62. ^ Discourse by Sathya Sai Baba on 15 October 1999, Available online
  63. ^ Discourse by Sai Baba on 26 September 2000, Available online
  64. ^ "Telangana activists upset with Sai Baba". hindustantimes.com. http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1908397,000900020004.htm. Retrieved on 19 February 2007. 
  65. ^ "Spiritual guru criticised for opposing statehood for Telangana region". gulf-times.com. http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=128913&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22. Retrieved on 19 February 2007. 
  66. ^ "Cong ignores Sai Baba's remarks". timesofindia.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/India/Cong_ignores_Sai_Babas_remarks/articleshow/1437539.cms. Retrieved on 19 February 2007. 
  67. ^ M. Seetha Shailaj (29 November 2000). "Sathya Sai Central Trust: grab as grab can.". Tehelka. 

[edit] See also

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