Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba
File:Sai Baba Portrait.jpg Sathya Sai Baba in the 1990s

Sathya Sai Baba (pronounced /sæt jæ saɪ bæ bæ/) (Template:Lang-te), (born Sathyanarayana Raju on 23 November 1926 with the family name of "Ratnakaram") is a South Indian guru, religious figure and orator. He is described by his devotees as an avatar, godman, spiritual teacher, and miracle worker. He has repeatedly claimed to be the reincarnation of the fakir and saint, Sai Baba of Shirdi, often recounting extensive and detailed accounts of the fakir's life.

The Sathya Sai Organization reports that there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114 countries worldwide. The number of Sathya Sai Baba adherents is estimated to be somewhere around 6 million, although followers cite anywhere from 50 to 100 million.

Biography

Further information: Bibliography of books about Sathya Sai Baba

Sathyanarayana Raju was born to Eswaramma and Peddavenkama Raju in the remote village of Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India. In recounting his childhood, Sai Baba says "It is natural for any child to cry when it is born. But this child did not cry at all... to Easwaramma's utter surprise, the baby started smiling. Everyone was mystified to see the newborn babe smiling." "He was given the name Sathyanarayana ("Sathya" is Sanskrit for Truth and "Narayana" is a name for Vishnu) because of his mother's pujas and prayers to that particular name and form of God." "Mother Easwaramma used to perform Sathyanarayana Vratam every full moon day," says Sai Baba of his "mother religious vigil."

File:Youngsaibaba.jpg

Young Sathya Sai Baba

Easwaramma described Sathyanaranaya as being born of immaculate conception. She relates, “I had dreamt of Sathya Narayana Deva and she cautioned me that I should not be frightened if something happened to me through the Will of God. That morning when I was at the well drawing water, a big ball of blue light came rolling towards me and I fainted and fell. I felt it glided into me”. Sai Baba confirmed this in a 2003 birthday discourse.

Narayana Kasturi, in his biography of Sathya Sai Baba, says during the pregnancy, "the household was awakened at midnight and sometimes early in the morning by the tambura twanging melodiously and rhythmically and the maddala (drum) softly beating, as though they were in expert hands."

"On the 24th November 1926, Sri Aurobindo Ghosh came out of his meditative trance and announced," "that Krishna consciousness ("overmind Godhead") descended into the physical". "On the day before this announcement, that is, on the 23rd of november, 1926, avatar Sai Baba was born" Many feel "that Sri Aurobindo's announcement heralded the Sathya Sai Avatar". Sathya Sai Baba adressed this in a 1999 discourse saying, "On November 24, 1926, Aurobindo broke his prolonged silence only to declare that God had incarnated the previous day. After making this significant statement, he continued with his vow of silence.

"Mother Easwaramma looked after her child with love and care. Days rolled by and the child grew into a boy." Her "son was totally averse to non-vegetarian food. He would not even visit the houses where non-vegetarian food was cooked. He kept away from places where pigs, sheep, cattle, or fowl were killed or tortured, or where fish were trapped or caught." According to Sai Baba, "The child was brought up in a noble environment."

"At the tender years of three and four, whenever a beggar appeared at the door and raised his cry, Sathya left his play and rushed inside to force his sisters, Venkamma and Parvathamma, to hand out grain or food."
"The child became the pet of the entire village of Puttaparthi." says Kasturi. His playmates called him, 'Guru' and he was called Brahmajnani, a "Realized Soul", by the neighbors, as "he comforted friends in distress and never seemed to get cross or tired."
A teacher of Sathyanarayna, Sri V.C. Kondappa, recalls his former student. "The boys, gathered around him for the things he 'took' out of his empty bag! When asked about it, he said that a certain 'Angel' obeyed his will and gave him whatever he wanted!" The empty bag often produced "delectable sweets, pencils, pieces of rubber, toys, flowers and fruits."

"His special talents were for drama, music, poetry and acting. He was even writing songs for the village opera at the age of eight." There are numerous stories of plays, poems, dances and songs he wrote as a child. "When he was ten years of age, Sathya formed in Puttaparthi a Pandhari Bhajan Group, or a group of carollers, for the presentation of songs of love and devotion to God." Sathya Sai Baba still recounts some of the prayers to this day.

"Satyanarayana,' says Kasturi, "was a precocious child, learning by himself more than anyone else could teach him and much quicker than most other children."

Sathyam, as Sathya Sai Baba refers to himself during those times, attended the local school in Puttaparthi until third standard. "After advancing to the fourth standard, it became necessary to go to the school in Bukkapatnam since the school in Puttaparthi did not offer studies beyond the third." From the age of eight, Satynanarayana Raju attended the higher elementary school in Bukkapatnam. Upon the heartfelt request of his grandfather Kondama Raju, Sathyam lived with him for a time, helping with household duties and chores (cooking, cleaning etc.)... An avid composer of poems, songs and plays, Sathyam also engaged in acting and dancing in school and community events. In class, he said the morning prayers, and it was around this time Sathyam taught the local children and villagers how to read and write.
At the time he was to enter 6th standard, his elder brother, Seshama, took Sathyam to live with him and his wife in Kamalapuram.
At some point in time, they moved to Uravakonda due to Seshama's teaching position.

On 8 March 1940, Sathya was stung by a "big black scorpion."" "He fell as though unconscious and became stiff. He did not speak and his breathing became faint." He was given medical attention and by the next morning the doctor said that he "was out of danger."
Within the next few days there was a noticable change in Sathya's behavior. Concerned, his brother "wrote his parents that Sathya was not answering anyone who spoke to him and that it was a Herculean task to make him accept food. He told them Sathya was spending his time mostly in silence, sometimes bursting into song and poetry, sometimes reciting long Sanskrit verses, sometimes expounding the philosophic wisdom of ancient India." Doctors believed it to be hysteria, but "the symptoms of laughing and weeping, eloquence and silence continued."
Within the week, they came and brought Sathya home to Puttaparthi. "The parents were disheartened", says Kasturi, "and watched his behavior with increasing fear." They brought him to many priets, 'doctors' and exorcists. "Since the first reaction to an illness in any village is usually to fear that it is the result of some... spirit's taking hold of the patient", many severe treatments were performed to force the 'spirits' out. Sai Baba says, "I submitted Myself to all this torture without demur." During one anguishing visit to one of the 'doctors', says Sai Baba, "Venkamma (his sister) could not bear the sight of this torture. Quietly, she called the cartman and in the darkness of night, she took Me back home to Puttaparthi."

File:SAI-BOOK.jpg

Sathya Sai Baba

Kasturi describes soon after, Sathya was to be taken to another "clever "doctor"". About half an hour into the journey, "Sathya said emphatically, "I do not want to go anywhere; let us go back." Upon saying this, the bullocks came to a halt and could not be persuaded to budge! The struggle went on for over an hour, Finally their faces were turned home-ward."

Two monthes later, in May 1940, he proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of the fakir and saint Sai Baba of Shirdi and subsequently took the fakir's name, Sai Baba. Sai is a Persian word which means "Saint", and Baba is a Hindi term of endearment for father. Since that time, many had come to challenge his claim to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. Arnold Schulman in his book "Baba" said, "there is no record of the number of people who went away unimpressed but dozens of doubters have documented how they were convinced." Family members and neighbors however were not convinced. They approached the young Sathya and said, "If you are Sai Baba, give us some proof." "Give me those jasmine flowers," said young Sathya. After receiving them, he threw them on the floor. The flowers, according to those present, "arranged themselves as the letters Sai Baba in Telugu."

Kasturi write, "Seshama still had not given up his plans to push Sathya through High School, regardless of everything. He took him back to Uravakonda in June."

In October 1940, Sathya accompanied Sehsa and his wife to Hampi. Sathyam was told to look after the couples luggage while they went to the Siva temple. "(He) sat down there with the luggage while the brother and his wife entered the temple to have the darshan of Virupaksha (Siva). Inside, they did not see the Virupaksha idol but Sathya! Then Seshama Raju said, “Look, Sathya is here! Who is taking care of the luggage?” He came out running and saw Sathya there! He ran back inside and saw Sathya there also." A municipal chairman also witnessed the phenomenon and presented Sathyam with "a collar pin made of gold." With the insistence of his sister-in-law, Sathyam reluctantly accepted the pin. After returning to Kamalapuram, Sathyam was to begin school again. In a May 2000 discourse, Sathya Sai Baba describes what happened then, "He (Sathyam) left the house and went about ten feet when the collar pin fell (and) could not be found... The collar pin symbolised worldly attachment, and when it was lost, it was also symbolic of the end of the ‘Raju phase’ and attachments implied by it."

Declaring that he had no worldly relationship with anyone, ("I don't belong to you; Maya (illusion) has gone; My devotees are calling Me; I have My Work.") Sai Baba "ran to the house of one Anjaneyulu. In front of his house there was a small rock. Sai Baba went and sat on that stone." Sai Baba recalls his brother "Seshama Raju came there and forced me to return home. I said I would not." For three days, Sai Baba stayed with Anjaneyulu; having his food in Anjaneyulu’s house, and spending time sitting on the rock.

People asked him, “Who are You? What is Your name?” Sai Baba replied, “My name is Sai.” "At that time, the Commissioner (Anjaneyulu)’s son ran inside, brought a camera and clicked a photo. In the picture, Shirdi Sai could be seen in front of Swami. Thereafter, Anjaneyulu gave Swami the name Sai Baba, and in due course the name remained."
On being informed of the events by Seshama, his parents came to Uravakonda. His mother, Eswaramma pleaded with him to return with them but he refused. He did, however, eventually agree to return to Puttaparthi.

Upon returning to Puttaparthi, Kondama Raju (Sai Baba's grandfather) asked his son if they would let Sathya stay with him for a while. Sai Baba says, "He kept me with him and looked after me with great love and care."
Later says Sai Baba, "Karanam Subbamma gave one acre of land where a small house was built. There I used to live.

"Sathyanarayana Raju was hereafter commonly known either as Bala Sai (Boy Sai) or Sathya Sai Baba, an appellation which he himself accepted." Slowly devotees began to gather around Sai Baba. On Thursday bhajans were sung, and soon it became everyday. From this time, Narayana Kasturi relates, "a shed was put up which was enlarged as the months passed. A tent also was rigged up, and some devotees who came from Bangalore and Anantapur pitched their own tents." "Because Sai Baba insisted on feeding all who came to see him; huge dining halls became necessary." "Subbamma looked after the comforts of the pilgrims for some years until the building now called the "Old Mandir" (or Old Temple) was built."

In 1944, a mandir (temple) for Sathya Sai Baba's devotees was built near the village. It is now referred to as the old mandir. The construction of Prashanthi Nilayam, the current ashram, was started in 1948. "Prasanthi Nilayam was inaugurated on the twenty-third of November, 1950, the twenty-fourth birthday of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. It took about two years to build." Today, Puttaparthi has undergone enormous change. It has been transformed from a small village to a world pilgrimage center. Sathya Sai Baba's efforts have resulted in a deemed university with three campuses and two "super specialty" hospitals that cater to the needs of the poor free of charge.

Around this time, there were two attempts on Sathya Sai Baba's life. Sai Baba talks about it in a 2003 discourse. "Those who were opposed to Subbamma on caste grounds decided to get rid of Swami (Sai Baba) by poison. I was very fond of vadas (Indian delicacy) in those days. So, these people made some vadas and mixed some virulent poison in some of them... I visited this house and picked up the specific vadas that had been poisoned and ate them" "without hesitation. My body at once turned blue."

"Another attempt of this kind was when some of them set fire to my improvised house. The house had a thatched roof. Some miscreants set fire to the house.... Suddenly, there was a cloudburst which poured down just above the house and put out the fire. There was however, not a drop of rain anywhere else." "The roof was fully burnt and only the walls were standing. They peeped over the wall and found Me sleeping peacefully. I was totally unharmed."

In 1960, Sathya Sai Baba said that he would be in this mortal human form for another 59 years.

In 1963, Sathya Sai Baba suffered a stroke and four severe heart attacks. On 29 June he suddenly fell unconscious. Upon gaining some coherency, he refused any proposed medical assistance and over the next five days suffered four severe heart attacks. At the end of the five days, his left side was paralyzed, and the sight of his left eye and his speech were also badly affected. He indicated that he had taken on the illness of a devotee who was to have suffered a stroke and the accompanying heart attacks and that the disease for the devotee would have been dire. Two days later, his left side was still paralyzed and his speech was a feeble, scarcely intelligible mumble. Guru Poornima celebrations had started and assisted by several disciples, he practically had to be carried to the dais. After a few minutes, he gestured for some water. He drank some (with assistance) and then sprinkled a few drops onto his paralyzed left hand and leg. With both hands he began to stroke his left leg. "In a second Swamiji's leg, eye, and all his left side became normal," and for the next hour he delivered a discourse for Guru Poornima. It was during this discourse that he brought to light his future incarnation as Prema Sai Baba. That night he ate his normal meal, and the following days saw him back in his usual vigorous, hearty health.

During the Guru Poornima discourse, Sai Baba made statements declaring himself a reincarnation of Shiva and Shakti. He also claimed that Sai Baba of Shirdi was an incarnation of Shiva and that his future reincarnation, Prema Sai Baba, would be a reincarnation of Shakti. He publicly repeated the claim that he is the second of three incarnations in 1976. Baba's biography states that Prema Sai Baba will be born in Mysore State. . He said, "I have been keeping back from you all these years one secret about Me; the time has come when I can reveal it to you. This is a sacred day. I am Siva-Sakthi," He declared, "born in the gothra of Bharadwaja, according to a boon won by that sage from Siva and Sakthi. Siva was born in the gothra of that sage as Sai Baba of Shirdi; Siva and Sakthi have incarnated as Myself in his gothra now; Sakthi alone will incarnate as the third Sai (Prema Sai Baba) in the same gothra in Mysore State."

Sathya Sai Baba has made the claim that the three Sai Baba's have come and will come invested with the totality of cosmic power to save dharma (righteousness) from anti-dharma. In a 1976 interview with Blitz Magazine, Sathya Sai Baba was asked by Sri R.K. Karanjia (Senior Editor of Blitz Magazine), why he had incarnated. Sai Baba responded, "Because that is the only way to incarnate the God within man.; Therefore, in My present Avathar, I have come armed with the fullness of the power of formless God to correct mankind, raise human consciousness and put people back on the right path of truth, righteousness, peace and love to divinity.".

On 12 May 1968, Sathya Sai Baba established the Dharmakshetra mandir (temple) in Mumbai. It is also refered to as the "Sathyam" mandir. It was the first of three spiritual centers established by Sathya Sai Baba in India. Five years later, in 1973, a second center, Shivam, was inaugurated in Hyderabad. A third spiritual center, "Sundaram" was enshrined in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on 19 January 1981.

On 29 June 1968, Sathya Sai Baba made his first, and only, trip overseas. Having his passport prepared six weeks earlier, Sathya Sai Baba "emplaned the Boeing leaving for East Africa from Bombay."
Landing in Kenya, the party proceeded by car to Kampala, the capital city of neighbouring Uganda. Though passing the Rift Valley and the soda lake of Nakuru, Narayana Kasturi writes, "Baba told us, "I have no need to see places. I am everywhere, always! You may drive around. I have my work, work for which I have come."" "During His stay He addressed gatherings of lions and rotarians, doctors, businessmen, members and workers of service organizations," as well as governemnt ministers and officials. During a discourse in Nairobi (Kenya, East Africa) Sathya Sai Baba stated, "I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion. I have not come on a mission of publicity for a sect or creed or cause, nor have I come to collect followers for a doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love, this virtue of Love, this duty of Love, this obligation of Love."
On July 14th, 1968, Sathya Sai Baba departed Kampala via East African Airways for Nairobi. After a small delay, he then returned to Bombay (Mumbai), India.

On August 20th, 1988, Sathya Sai Baba slipped in his bathroom. Of the incident, he says,"On Saturday morning i slipped on a piece of soap in the bathroom and fell on my back. The injury i sustained was a natural consequence of the fall..." X-rays showed he had fractured his hip bone. Six days later he gave a discourse and addressed the subject.
On 4 June 2003, Sathya Sai Baba suffered another fall and broke his hip and femur. In a discourse a month later, he says "You are all aware of the fact that Swami fractured His hip, and it was in three pieces. The ball in the hip was in two pieces. The pain was so excruciating that it cannot be described in words. It was impossible to move this way or that way. It pierced the body as if it were an electric shock. But I was unaffected by it... I was all smiles when I was being taken to hospital." "He was given anesthetic during the operation but it didn’t put Him to sleep; and He was talking to the surgeon all the way through" After the surgery, he was able to walk within a span of three days.

In 2006, a third accident occurred. Sai Baba relates, "Once it so happened that a student was trying to tie buntings on a door while standing on an iron stool. As he saw Me coming, he felt nervous and fell from the stool. Both the stool and the boy fell on Me and My hip bone was fractured." He gives darshan now from a car or his Porte Chair.

Since 2005, Sathya Sai Baba has used a wheelchair, and his failing health has forced him to make fewer public appearances.

Before 2000, virtually all existing accounts of Sathya Sai Baba's life had been based on the writings of the late secretary of Sai Baba, professor Narayana Kasturi. Kasturi wrote a biography, which Babb described as "hagiographic", depicting the life of Sai Baba not as a development of the person but as revelations about himself. Arnold Schulman tried to verify some stories from Katuri's writings. He came to the conclusion 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.”

In 2000, after years of work by a team of researchers, the first volume of a proposed biographical series of at least 6 volumes on Sathya Sai Baba was published in Bangalore by the well known publisher of books about Sathya Sai, Sai Towers: Love is My Form, Volume 1. The Advent. 1926-1950.

This 600-page volume dealt in great detail with the early years 1926-1950 and, although it relied heavily on Volume 1 of Kasturi's biography, it also added more detail based partly on books by early devotees who had met Sathya Sai Baba from 1944 onward and partly on a series of tape-recorded interviews carried out in the 1990s with some of Sathya Narayana's surviving teachers and with some of the his early devotees.

The 600 pages of LIMF also offer a large number of valuable early photographs, mainly from 1944 to 1950. In addition, Love is My Form, Volume 1 reveals a few discrepancies in the official biography, especially with reference to Sathya Narayana's school years Important details about local knowledge of the Maharashtran saint Shirdi Sai Baba (d. 1918) in the 1930s are also discussed. The publication of Volumes 2-6 of this biographical series was discontinued without explanation but the original publishing plans and details of the proposed scope of the volumes may still be verified here.[3]

After all biographical information has been presented, Sathya Sai Baba himself says, "I am beyond the reach of the most intensive enquiry and the most meticulous measurement. Only those who have recognized my love and experienced that love can assert that they have glimpsed my reality. Do not attempt to know me through the external eyes."

Beliefs and practices of devotees

Main article: Sathya Sai Baba movement

Further information: Bibliography of books about Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba gives discourses on religious topics to devotees in his native language Telugu. Twice daily, devotees engage in worship of Sai Baba by conducting rituals such as aarti and singing devotional songs in front of his picture. Sai Baba has said that his followers do not need to give up their original religion, saying "My objective is the establishment of sanathana dharma, which believes in one God as propitiated by the founders of all religions. So none has to give up his religion or deity...I have come not to disturb or destroy any Faith, but to confirm each in his own Faith, so that the Christian becomes a better Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim and a Hindu a better Hindu." According to "Ocean of Love", a book published by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, "there is no new path that He is preaching, no new order that He has created. There is no new religion that He has come to add or a particular philosophy that He recommends ... His mission is unique and simple. His mission is that of love and compassion."

Around the world, Sathya Sai Baba devotees gather daily or weekly (Sunday and/or Thursday) for group devotional singing (bhajans), prayer, spiritual meditation, selfless service to the community (Seva), and to participate in "Education in Human Values" (SSEHV) (Sai Sunday School). The Australian Sai organization states, "we come together as spiritual seekers to sing our devotion to God, singing to many different names and forms that God is worshipped by." Sathya Sai baba himself says of bhajans, “I do not need songs glorifying God which like gramophone records, reproduce songs and strings of Gods names without any feeling or yearning while singing. Hours of shouting do not count, a moment of concentrated prayer from the heart is enough.”

File:SAI-OPERATE.jpg

Sathya Sai Baba

Seva (selfless service) activities, being "at the heart of Sathya Sai Baba's teachings," strives to take an active role to serve the needs of the community. Center Seva activities and projects include

• Arranging food bank drives and donations
• Visiting nursing homes
• Greening (tree planting and park cleanup)
• Medical camps
• Donating blood (giving liquid love)
• Serving food to the homeless
• Collecting old and used spectacle frames for distribution to disadvantaged people in various parts of the world

Other Sai Center activities include study of the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba and the sacred literature of all religions, Sai Spiritual Education (SSE), dynamic value parenting programs, and study circles (taking a point and each person discussing what it means to them).

Through center activities, the hope is to achieve the practical spirituality of incorporating the universal human values in all aspects of life and during every conscious moment.

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). There are fifteen vahinis, comprising sixteen books (the Ramakatha Rasavahini having two parts). See also bibliography of Sathya Sai Baba.

As a form of devotion, some devotees write books about Sathya Sai Baba. (Also see Bibliography of books about Sathya Sai Baba) One such devotee was Narayana Kasturi, who wrote and edited Sanathana Sarathi the monthly magazine of the Sathya Sai Organization. "Mrs. Geeta Ram, who watched and played with Professor Kasturi as a tiny girl in those days, recalls, "The whole process of type-setting would be repeated so many times. After the sheets were printed, the ink would still be wet. They would then have to be spread all over the floor to dry, so the ink would not smear. Later, the pages were carefully collated, stapled together, packed and addressed in preparation for mailing – all done by hand. Although there were a few volunteers to help him, I remember Professor Kasturi doing all these jobs, month in and month out, for so many years. This was truly his labor of love for Swami (Sathya Sai Baba).""

The author of "Love is my Form, Volume 1. The Advent", R. Padmanaban, spent seven years researching, writing and collecting photographs for his book. Published in late 2000, Padmanaban states, "this unique enterprise became my penance, my darshan, my meditation and prayer for seven years."

Sathya Sai Baba recommends meditation (dhyan) for acquiring one-pointed attention on the Lord. Having written a vahini on the subject of meditation (dhyan), Baba suggests four techniques: repetition of one’s own favourite 'name of God'(Rama, Sai, Allah, Aum etc...), visualizing the form of God (ie. Guru, Buddha, Jesus, Sai Baba, etc...), sitting in silence, and jyoti (Flame/Light meditation).

The Sai organization promotes and advocates five human values: Sathya (truth), Dharma (Sanskrit word translated as "right conduct"), Ahimsa (non-violence), Prema (love for God and all his creatures) and Shanti (peace).

Other teachings are:

• Non-dualism or Adwaitam which implies Oneness of existence.
• "Love all, Serve all", Love for all creatures and objects.
• Reverence, adoration and gratitude to the Mother, (and parents) as being God, and the first (and foremost) teacher and guru.
• Putting a ceiling on one's desires.
• "Help ever, Hurt never"
• Celibacy after the age of fifty.
• Vegetarianism, moderate and sattvik diet.
• Abstinence from drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, and drug use.
• Importance of bhakti (devotion) to Sai Baba.
• Developing "prashanti" (translates to "Highest Peace") and eschewing vices of character.
• Japa (ritual chanting of Baba's name), thinking of God always, and other sadhana (spiritual exercise) to foster devotion.
• Highly committed devotees use the phrase "Sai Ram" as a salutation.
• Conducting pooja or aarti (a form of ritual worship) twice daily in front of Baba photos.
• "Yagnas" (or ritual worship, involving ritual offerings of fruits, vegetables and ghee to a pyre) are frequently conducted at the ashram.

Ashrams and mandirs

Puttaparthi, where Sathya Sai Baba was born and still lives, was originally a small remote South Indian village. Now one can find an extensive University complex, Chaitanya Jyoti (a World-Religions Museum that has won several international awards for design), a spiritual museum, a Planetarium, a railway station, a hill-view stadium, an administrative building, an airport, an indoor sports stadium and more. High ranking Indian politicians, like the former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee have been official guests at the ashram in Puttaparthi. On Sathya Sai Baba's 80th birthday celebration, it was reported that well over a million people attended, including 13,000 delegates from India and 180 other countries.

Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (Abode of Highest Peace) at Puttaparthi. In the hot summer, Baba leaves for his other ashram called Brindavan in Kadugodi, Whitefield, a town on the outskirts of Bangalore. Occasionally, he visits his Sai Shruti ashram in Kodaikanal.

Sathya Sai Baba established three primary mandirs (Spiritual centers) in India. The first mandir, founded in Mumbai in 1968, is referred to as either "Dharmakshetra" or "Sathyam". The second center, established in Hyderabad in 1973, is referred to as "Shivam". The third center, inaugurated on 19 January 1981, in Chennai, is referred to as "Sundaram"..

The daily program at Sathya Sai Baba's ashrams usually begin 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(appearance of Sai Baba to devotees). Particularly significant are the darshans during October (the Dasara holidays and November (the month of Sai Baba's birth). During darshan Sathya Sai Baba walks among his devotees and may interact with people, accept letters, materialize and distribute vibhuti (sacred ash) or call groups or individuals for interviews. Interviews are chosen solely by the guru's discretion. Devotees 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, people who receive such interviews may be startled by the materializations and the disclosures that Sathya Sai Baba as a clairvoyant reveals of their own lives. Sathya Sai Baba claims that his darshan has spiritual benefits.

Institutions, organizations, and projects

File:SSB Super Specialty Hospital.jpg

Sathya Sai Baba Institute of Higher Medicine, (Super Specialty Hospital)

Sathya Sai Baba supports free schools and other charitable works in 166 countries. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in Prashanthi Nilayam is the only college in India to have received an "A++" rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission). His charity supports the Institute of Music and the Institute of Higher Learning in Anantapur, which is a women's college.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi is a 220 bed facility that provides free surgical and medical care and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on 22 November 1991. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore is a 333 bed hospital meant to benefit the poor. The hospital was inaugurated on 19 January 2001 by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The hospital has provided free medical care to over 250,000 patients.

The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was opened in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977 and provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cost. The hospital has treated over 2 million patients.

The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, two specialty hospitals, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India. The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects. One project completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway named "Sathya Sai Ganga Canal". Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi praised the Chennai water project and Sai Baba's involvement. Other completed water projects include the Medak District Project benefiting 450,000 people in 179 villages and the Mahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350,000 people in 141 villages. In January 2007, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust said it would start a drinking water project in Latur, Maharashtra.

Sai Baba's Educare program seeks to found schools throughout the world with the goal of educating children in the five human values. According to the Sai Educare site, schools have been founded in 33 countries, including Australia, Mexico, UK and Peru. The Times of Zambia states, "The positive influence of Sathya Sai is unprecedented in the annals of education in Zambia. Sai Baba’s education ideals as embodied in his human values-based approach in education are an eye opener to educationists in Zambia."

In Canada, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian research and educational organization, ranked the Sathya Sai School of Canada as one of the top 37 elementary schools in Ontario. The Sathya Sai School scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in the Institute's overall rating for academic performance.

On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts, Government of India, released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses.

On 23 November 2001, the digital radio network "Radio Sai Global Harmony" was launched through the World Space Organization, USA. Dr. Michael Oleinikof Nobel (distant relative to Alfred Nobel and one of the patrons for the radio network) said that the radio network would spread Sathya Sai Baba's message of global harmony and peace.

In January 2007, an event was held in Chennai Nehru stadium organised by the Chennai Citizens Conclave to thank Sathya Sai Baba for the 200 crore water project which brought water from the River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai city. Four chief ministers attended the function.

Claims of materialization and other miracles

File:VibhutiAbhishekam.jpg

Sai Baba performs Vibhuti Abhishekam to the idol of Shirdi Sai Baba

In some books, magazines, filmed interviews and articles, Sathya Sai Baba's followers report miracles of various kinds that they attribute to him. Claims have been made by devotees that objects have appeared spontaneously in connection with pictures and altars of Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Baba's devotees believe that he relieves his devotees by transferring their pain to himself. Daily, he is observed to allegedly manifest vibuthi (holy ash), and sometimes food and small objects such as rings, necklaces and watches.

In devotees' houses in various parts of the world, there are claims from observers, journalists and devotees that vibuthi, kumkum, turmeric powder, holy water, Siva lingams, statues of deities (brass and gold), Sugar Candy, fruits, herbs, amrita (a fragrant, nectar-like honey), gems, colored string, writings in ash and various other substances spontaneously manifest and materialize on the walls, furniture, pictures and altars of Sathya Sai Baba.

The retired Icelandic psychology professor Erlendur Haraldsson wrote that he did not get Sathya Sai Baba's permission to study him under controlled circumstances. Nevertheless, he wrote, he investigated and documented the guru's alleged miracles and manifestations through first-hand interviews with devotees and ex-devotees. Haraldsson's research yielded many extraordinary testimonies of reported miracles. Some of the reported miracles attributed to Sathya Sai Baba included 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 devotees and ex-devotees also claimed that they witnessed Sathya Sai Baba materialize 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 largest allegedly materialized object that he saw was a mangalsutra necklace, 32 inches long, 16 inches long on each side. Haraldsson wrote that some miracles attributed to Sathya Sai 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 Sathya Sai Baba's activities as in those of Jesus.

Sathya Sai Baba has explained the phenomenon of manifestation as being an act of divine creation, but refused to have his materializations investigated under experimental conditions. In a 1974 discourse, he stated, "The optical sense cannot visualize the truth. It gives only false and fogged information. For example, there are many who observe my actions and start declaring that my nature is such and such." Critics claim that these materializations are done by sleight of hand and question his claims to perform miracles and other paranormal feats.
In April 1976, Dr. H. Narasimhaiah, a physicist, rationalist and then vice chancellor of Bangalore University, founded and chaired a committee "to rationally and scientifically investigate miracles and other verifiable superstitions". Haraldsson stated that Narasimhaiah wrote Sathya Sai Baba a polite letter and two subsequent letters that were widely publicized in which he publicly challenged Baba to perform his miracles under controlled conditions. Sathya Sai Baba said that he ignored Narasimhaiah's challenge because he felt his approach was improper. Sathya Sai Baba further said about the Narasimhaiah committee, "Science must confine its inquiry only to things belonging to the human senses, while spiritualism transcends the senses. If you want to understand the nature of spiritual power you can do so only through the path of spirituality and not science. What science has been able to unravel is merely a fraction of the cosmic phenomena [...]" 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. Narasimhaiah stated that he considered the fact that Sathya Sai Baba ignored his letters as one among several indications that his miracles are fraudulent. As a result of this episode, a public debate raged for several months in Indian newspapers. Narasimhaiah's committee was dissolved in August 1977.

Sathya Sai Baba says of "miracles", "those who profess to have understood me, the scholars, the yogis, the pundits, the jnanis, all of them are aware only of the least important, the casual external manifestation of an infinitesimal part of that power, namely, the "miracles"! This has been the case in all ages. People may be very near (physically) to the Avathar, but they live out their lives unaware of their fortune; they exaggerate the role of miracles, which are as trivial, when compared to my glory and majesty, as a mosquito is in size and strength to the elephant upon which it squats. Therefore, when you speak about these 'miracles,' I laugh within myself out of pity that you allow yourself so easily to lose the precious awareness of my reality."

Criticism and controversy

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. His opinion was based on the letters from attending doctors, provided in the Indian Skeptic magazine (published by Premanand). 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. 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."

In 2000 UNESCO withdrew its co-sponsorship of an education conference in Puttaparthi, explaining that it was deeply concerned about the allegations that have been leveled at Sathya Sai Baba.. However in 2006 it was reported that UNESCO withdrew its media advisory on Sai Baba from the archive website. In a statement sent to the Sathya Sai Organization, UNESCO stated," I do appreciate this concern and wish to inform you that following your personal intervention, the media advisory in question was immediately withdrawn from the archives of the UNESCO’s website for education.". The Guardian and DNA noted that a travel warning was issued by the US State Department based on allegations.'. The Daily Telegraph reported concerns over a contingent of 200 youths travelling to the Baba's ashram in order to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Awards..However, by 2009, the travel warning, which was issued in 2006, has since been removed from the consular page of India.

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. 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. 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 Vancouver Sun in 2001 reported that Sai Baba told his adherents whose numbers range from 10 million to 50 million, depending on whom you talk to, not to sign on to the World Wide Web due to the rapid allegations circulating on various Internet sites and in a few newspapers. Although the article does not offer any direct quotes as to what Sathya Sai Baba actually said, in a 2000 public discourse Sai Baba did say, "These teachings (the Vedas) are highly sacred. Today people are ready to believe all that they see on television and internet but do not repose their faith in the Vedic declarations. Internet is like a waste paper basket. Follow the ‘innernet,’ not the internet."

The Salon.com's "Untouchable" article published in 25 July 2001 reported that after Conny Larsson, a Swedish film star alleged his abuse allegations the Sai Organization in Sweden along with a Sai-affiliated school was shut down. It also carried other alleged allegations. . However neither Sai Baba nor any organisation associated with him has been charged or implicated for sexual abuse, either directly or indirectly, and that reputable media agencies and independent journalists have not been able to confirm a single instance of sexual abuse linked to Sai Baba or his organisations.. The article stated that though rumors of chicanery and worse swirl around all these ventures, even Sai Baba's critics admit that he has eased some of the region's suffering. Illustrated Weekly of India stated that no one doubted the good work done by the Sai organization whether Sai Baba was truly god or not..

Though former devotees maintain that ‘hundreds’, indeed ‘thousands’ were abused no alleged victim has ever filed a police or court case against Baba in India for alleged improprieties.

Documentaries produced by the BBC and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation, analyzing videos of the supposed miracles, suggest that they can be explained as sleight of hand tricks. In the 1995 TV documentary Guru Busters, produced by filmmaker Robert Eagle for 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".

In 2004 the BBC aired the documentary entitled The Secret Swami in the United Kingdom and on BBC World TV in well over 100 countries. The documentary was balanced and wide-ranging, yet it also covered testimonies alleging serious sexual abuse and the issue of unsolved murders in Sai Baba's apartment in 1993. The BBC team states that they discovered a number of former devotees who have turned away from Sai Baba claiming that he ruined their lives. 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." The documentary also has an interview with Mark Roche upon his experience of oral sexual abuse. 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.[] 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. Another documentary, Seduced By Sai Baba, was produced Denmark's National television and radio broadcaster Danish radio. It was aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway. The documentary carried interviews in which three former long-term devotees claim they were sexually violated by the godman.

In October 2007, an official of the Sai Trust announced that Sai Baba would make a 'moon appearance' and asked devotees to proceed towards the (Puttaparthi) airport. The miracle failed to materialise and the baba and his devotees turned back after waiting for an hour. Police officers found it difficult to clear the traffic on the airport road and no explanation was offered by the Sai Trust for the failure of the miracle. Rationalists claimed this was an attempt by the Sai Trust to boost the Baba's waning popularity, while others felt the clouds played spoilsport in hiding the moon (it was overcast in Puttaparthi). Across the globe, however, many reported seeing a 'moon apppearance' by Sai Baba.

Political row

In January 2007, Sathya Sai Baba made an 11 day trip to Chennai. During the trip he attended the 'Chennai Citizens Conclave' held on 21 January in the Nehru Indoor Stadium where politicians gathered to discuss water projects. Sai Baba having initiated and completed several water projects himself. This was the forum in which the "political row" originated.

Later that month, 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. 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. 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.

In February 2007, Radio Sai published an article concerning the subject. Sai Baba, "after stressing the need to rise above petty differences and seek unity, made a passing reference to the division of States that came about after Independence and the continuing passion to carve out more and more States for seemingly ethnic reasons but in reality more for grabbing political power. (Sai Baba) stressed that it is in unity we can find progress, peace and prosperity."
In relation to the situation that had developped, the article says, "They took Swami's (Sai Baba's) remarks [as reported in the Andhra Press] to state that Sai Baba was opposing the formation of a separate Telangana State , thereby denying the legitimate aspirations of the people of these regions for self-expression. Based on this imagined and contrived interpretation, they started agitating and that promptly became front-page news in Andhra. There were protests and counter protests by people who argued that Swami was being unnecessarily dragged into a manufactured controversy, etc." The article includes a quoted portion of a newspaper report that appeared in the Madras edition of The Hindu. ""HYDERABAD : Noted social activist and president of All- India Arya Samaj, Swami Agnivesh has criticised spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba for his recent remarks favouring an integrated State.""

In 2008, during Shivaratri celebrations, Sathya Sai Baba directly spoke on India's unity. "Today Andra will be broken for Telangana; tomorrow there will be a demand and break up for Rayalseema too. These things should not happen. Similarly Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada - such divisions are bad. There is only one country - India."

Responses to criticism

The Pioneer newspaper published an article about the failed smear allegation campaigns on Sathya Sai Baba. Reports from The Pioneer said that an insidious smear campaign against Sathya Sai Baba quietly fizzled out when Channel Nine MSN removed a biased anti-Baba broadcast from its official Website. The Pioneer said the reasons for removing the video were due to legitimate complaints about the disinformation in the video. The Pioneer has published the details of the 2006 failed Alaya Rahm sexual allegation case on Sathya Sai Baba. Alay Rahm allegations on Sathya Sai Baba gained media attention and was covered in the BBC documentary and later in Seduced By Sai Baba and in Secret Swami. It was also published in Britain's The Daily Telegraph and India's India Today.

During an interview with Asian Voice magazine Ashok Bhagani, a trustee of the Sai Organization in the UK, said that the allegations in the Secret Swami BBC documentary were baseless. Bhagani said that devotees never meet Baba alone. 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. However, in the Asian Voice interview Navin Patel shared his positive experiences as a biochemistry student at the Sathya Sai Arts College in Bangalore during the 1970s. He said he studied there long enough, and visited the ashram many times, to know that these allegations were untrue. He felt that the documentary was very misleading and was biased and did not interview any Indian or British devotee. Asian Voice also stated that another devotee, Gitaben Shah said that Sai Baba motto is particularly evident in the charitable works that he has orchestrated of building several schools and the Super Speciality hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore, and the large water project he initiated in Bangalore in the 1990s.

Devotee Bill Aitken (traveller) was quoted by The Week as saying that Sathya Sai Baba's reputation has not been harmed by the negative stories published about the guru. He opined that the more detractors rail against Sai Baba, the more new devotees went to see him.

In the Divine Downfall published in the Daily Telegraph Professor AnilKumar, the ex-Principal of the Sathya Sai educational Institute said that he believed that the controversy is part of Baba's divine plan and that every great religious teacher had to face criticism in his/her lifetime. AnilKumar also said that allegations have been leveled at Sai Baba since childhood, but with every criticism he becomes more and more triumphant.

In an official letter released to the general public in December 2001, A.B. Vajpayee (then Prime Minister of India), P.N. Bhagawati (Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India), Ranganath Misra (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 Patel (Member of Parliament, India; Formerly of the Lok Sabha & Union Minister) all signed a letter which stated as follows "We are deeply pained and anguished by the wild, reckless and concocted allegations made by certain vested interests and people against Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. We would normally expect that responsible media would ascertain the true facts before printing such calumny - especially when the person is revered globally as an embodiment of love and selfless service to humanity. Since this professional ethic has not been observed by a section of the media, we have elected to go public with this signed statement."

The Times Of India article, dated 26 December 2000, said that Sathya Sai Baba "lashed" out at his detractors referring to the criticism printed in a magazine, the newspaper quoted him saying as follows “Jesus Christ underwent many hardships and was put to the cross because of jealousy. Many around him could not bear the good work he did and the large number of followers he gathered. One of his disciples, Judas betrayed him”. Further it says Baba said “Today there are thousands just as that Judas was tempted to betray Jesus, the Judases of today too are bought out to lie. Jealousy was the motive behind the allegations levelled at him”.

Sai Baba responded to the allegations against him in a public discourse on 25 December 2000. He states that "Some people out of their mean-mindedness are trying to tarnish the image of Sai Baba. I am not after name and fame. So, I do not lose anything by their false allegations. My glory will go on increasing day by day. It will never diminish even a bit if they were to publicise their false allegations in the whole world in bold letters. Some devotees seem to be perturbed over these false statements. They are not true devotees at all. Having known the mighty power of Sai, why should they be afraid of the ‘cawing of crows’? One should not get carried away by all that is written on walls, said in political meetings or the vulgar tales carried by the print media."

See also

• Bibliography of Sathya Sai Baba
• Bibliography of books about Sathya Sai Baba
• Sathya Sai Baba Movement

External links

• International Sai Organization
• Online Resource: Sathya Sai Speaks Series
• Buddha Poornima in Prasanthi Nilayam
• BBC Documentary on Sai Baba. 'Secret Swami. (Google Video)
• Clip from Richard Bock film, "The Endless Stream". Sathya Sai Baba Explains the Significance of Miracles