Sathya Sai Baba

Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is a popular but controversial Indian guru who has followers all over the world and Sai Samithis (Sathya Sai Baba groups) in many countries. He was born under the name Sathya Narayana Raju. He claims to have been born on 23 November, 1926 but according to his school register, he was born in 1929.

He says that he is an embodiment of love with divine powers like omniscience and omniscience. Followers believe that he is a reincarnation of the fakir Shirdi Sai Baba. He manifests small objects which he claims to be materializations. His followers attribute many other miracles to him. Critics think that these materializations are done by sleight of hand and believe that he has inappropriate sexual relations with young men and boys. His followers and the Sathya Sai Organisation that he founded are involved in many charity projects. He teaches a rather traditional form of Hinduism with a strict morality.

History

According to the official biography of Sathya Sai Baba by the follower Narayana Kasturi the child Sathya Narayana Raju was born on 23 November 1926. Kasturi wrote that he was a relatively normal boy until he was stung by a scorpion in 1940 after which he declared that he was a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. According to Kasturi, he started his mission on 20 October 1940. The events from the early youth of the boy could not be confirmed independently nor does Kasturi provide references for his biography.

It has become clear in the last four years that the youth of the guru and early history the new religious movement that he founded can't be separated from the controversy that exists about him. [1]. His school register as published in the book Love is my form by R. Padmanaban states that he was born in 1929. The Australian scholar and ex-follower Brian Steel has found some evidence that supports this year.

Beliefs and practices

Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (abode of peace) at Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, India. In the hot summer the guru leaves for his other ashram called Brindavan in Whitefield (sometimes called Kadugodi), a town on the outskirts of Bangalore. His popularity and the donations by followers enabled Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations to build a big ashram near the once poor and isolated village of Puttaparthi.

He is an excellent orator in his native language Telugu. He claims to be the Kali Yuga purna avatar (full divine incarnation of this era) of Lord Shiva and Shakti and a re-incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba. He says that he is omniscient, omnipotent and free from desires. He preaches love and the unity of all religions. He says that all religions lead to God and that followers should continue to follow their original religions. He says that he will make Christians better Christians and Hindus better Hindus, etc. He says that the will reincarnate again in this century as Prema Sai Baba to finish the spiritual transformation of the world, starting with India, that his previous and current incarnations have started [2]. No official statement can be found for the popular belief among followers that he will die when he is 95 years old (96 according to Indian counting) [3]. He has left India only once for a visit to East Africa in 1968.

He claims to perform miracles daily in the form of materializations of small objects e.g. rings and watches and especially vibhuti (holy ash). He says that he heals diseases of his devotees sometimes by his spiritual power and sometimes by taking over the disease himself. Followers attribute many miracles of all kinds to him that, they say, even happen in their own countries, like spontaneous vibhuti manifestations on the pictures of the guru in their homes and bilocation. He says he performs these miracles to attract people and then to transform them spiritually.

His rather traditional Hindu teachings come from many sects and movements of Hinduism including advaita and occasionally from other religions. He says that he has come to restore faith and the practice of the Vedas. His teachings contain few if any original thoughts or philosophies. He proclaims that love is his form, and the most important way man can emancipate himself is through self-less loving. He stresses the importance of sadhana (spiritual exercises) and says that there are three forms of meditation that are safe and lead quickly to moksha (liberation from ignorance and from the endless re-births due to karmic consequences). The forms are namasmarana (repetition of the name of God), light-meditation (mental concentration on a bright light) and the so ham-meditation (repeating the mantra "so ham" silently). He teaches the importance of bhakti (devotion) and that it grows more easily if one has an Ishta-Deva (chosen deity). For many devotees the Ishta-Deva is Sathya Sai Baba himself. He teaches a strict morality and the importance of renouncing worldly desires.

One important practice in his ashrams is darshan (visit), i.e., Sathya Sai Baba shows himself to his followers, accepts letters and materializes and distributes vibhuti. Sathya Sai Baba claims that his darshan has spiritual benefits for people who attend it. Usually people wait hours to get a good place for darshan. During darshan Sathya Sai Baba invites people for a group interview with him in a room in the ashram 's temple. Among followers it is considered a great privilege to get such an interview. Sometimes a person from this group is invited for a private interview.

Bhajan (devotional singing) culture is important to Sai Baba. The local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans, study Sathya Sai Baba's teachings and the holy books of the various world religions. Besides they are often involved in community service that they call seva. His followers generally don't proselytize.

Sathya Sai Organisation official logo

The logo of the Sathya Sai organization is a stylized lotus flower with the so called five human values in its petals i.e. sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct), ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love) and shanti (peace). It has replaced the old logo with the symbols of the 5 or 6 world religions in the petals.

He runs a number of educational institutions and hospitals on charity most notably the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of higher learning in the main ashrams and Anantapur town. [4] He has made large contributions to the drinking water project for the whole of Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. The Educare programme seeks to found schools in all countries with the explicit goal to educate children in the five human values and spirituality. Schools have already been founded in Canada (Toronto), Zambia, Australia and several in India.

Organisations: Sathya Sai Organisation and Sathya Sai Central Trust

All the local Sathya Sai Baba groups are part of a hierarchical structure called the Sathya Sai Organisation. The chairman of the organisation is Indulal Shah.

The Sri Sathya Sai central trust was founded in 1972 and is mainly involved in charity such as the Rayalaseema water project. The trust has tax exempt status and is a major recipient of donations from abroad [5].

Allegations and controversy

Sathya Sai Baba is the subject of intense controversy. One of his most long-standing critics is the Indian skeptic Basava Premanand who has published several critical books about him with telling titles such as "Lure of miracles" and "Divine Octopus" [6]. He has also dragged Sathya Sai Baba to court alleging his violation of the Gold Control Act. Premanand was even arrested by the police in Puttaparthi for a demonstration in the village.

In 1976 Dr. H. Narasimhaiah who was a member of a miracle committee publicly invited Sathya Sai Baba to perform his miracles under controlled circumstances which Sathya Sai Baba refused [7]. The controversy that was the consequence of this incident made Sathya Sai Baba well known in India. Sathya Sai Baba said that he found the attitude of the committee improper [8] . Another skeptic, Dale Beyerstein from Canada, has shown that Sathya Sai Baba's claims of omniscience and omnipotence are untrue. [9]

On 6 June, 1993 six inmates of Prashanti Nilayam were killed in Sathya Sai Baba's bedroom. Four of them were assailants armed with knives, who were shot dead by the police. Initial reports by the police and media claimed this to be a failed attempt on the life of Sathya Sai Baba. Later the murders were attributed to internal squabbles in Prashanti Nilayam. Basava Premanand went to court accusing the police and the government for destroying evidence of the murders. The appeal was dismissed by the High Court.

He has been accused of being a cult leader that uses mind control, propaganda who has created a personality cult. Critics say that one of the many examples of lies and propaganda is his claim that he was born on 23 November 1926 to support his claims. On 24 November the Indian guru Aurobindo said that the Divine had descended on earth and stopped speaking from then on. Sathya Sai Baba said that Aurobindo referred to him. Later, his school record showed a different birth date [10].

The most prominent accusation by ex-members is that he is a homosexual and a paedophile and that he sexually abuses his young male followers and the students from his schools and the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning during private interviews. These followers say that they have had a bad experience because of his behaviour. Several first hand testimonies of this have been published on the internet [11]. Some of these testimonies have been written down under a fake name to protect the privacy of the young men and boys involved. In some cases these young men are willing to talk to serious enquirers. There are far more second hand testimonies [12]. The first one to publish these allegations was the American Tal Brooke in his book Lord of the Air, later extended and called Avatar of the Night (published 1976). From the perspective of a follower this is a very serious allegation because homosexuality would prove that Sathya Sai Baba is not the desireless saint that he claims to be.

In and after the year 2000 the allegations against Sathya Sai Baba became louder, mainly because a Welsh musician, David Bailey, and his wife Faye Bailey became ex-followers and published the experiences, opinions, and testimonies of theirs as well as other ex-followers in a document called The Findings. This document was published on the internet [13]. Until that document followers were generally unaware of any allegation or were aware but found them unconvincing. A lot of followers were shocked and became ex-followers after reading the document. For some long-time ardent followers, it took years to recover from the shock. Most ex-followers left silently but some became activists. The activists wrote letters and supported websites to warn others against Sathya Sai Baba. Usually they felt cheated, angry and betrayed and wanted Sathya Sai Baba to stop sexually abusing boys and young men.

The Australian scholar and ex-follower Brian Steel accuses the Sathya Sai Baba organization of editing the discourses to improve them which is rather peculiar for the discourses of a person who claims to be omniscient.

Ex-follower Robert Priddy from Norway has pointed out that Sathya Sai Baba's assertions about magnetism differ greatly from generally accepted science. Robert Priddy also accuses him of having contradictions in his teachings and, in general, having major discrepancies between word and deed in a variety of subjects. He accuses the Sathya Sai organization of being unnecessarily secretive.

Critics claim that the materializations are fake and done by sleight of hand as, they say, can be seen on footage available on the internet [14]. On the other hand, it is very difficult to find a rational explanation for some of the miracle stories. Some ex-followers believe in the truth of the allegations but at the same time refuse to retract the stories of miracles that they claim to have experienced which they attribute to him. Hence quite a lot of ex-followers believe that he has siddhis (psychic abilities) or is a powerful demon, or is the Antichrist. Other ex-followers believe that some of the miracles are real but mistakenly attributed to Sathya Sai Baba. Skeptics believe him to be a charlatan and his followers naive and suffering from the true-believer syndrome.

Several followers have requested investigation of the allegations but they ultimately felt that they had to leave because they found the answers that they got unsatisfactory or unconvincing. These followers include Ella Evers [15], Matthijs van der Meer [16]. The Russian follower and member of the organisation Serguei Badaev was expelled from the organisation because of lack of faith in Sathya Sai Baba [17]. Faith in Sathya Sai Baba is a condition to become a member of the organisation. There is one testimony by Terry Gallagher in which he says that he personally asked Sathya Sai Baba about the truth of the allegation but he got no answer from him. [18]

Sathya Sai Baba says that his followers should not use the internet but focus instead on the innernet (i.e., follow spiritual practices). Critics use this admonition to show that Sathya Sai Baba wants to control the information that followers receive. In spite of Sathya Sai Baba's advice, some followers maintain websites.

The media and governments

Several media articles have appeared on the guru. One of the most important critical articles was a front page article in the nationwide India Today magazine called "A God accused" in December 2000. The New York Times published a rather positive article on the guru without mentioning the allegations at all in December 2002 [19]. The newspaper chose to ignore the letters of several ex-followers that pointed to the serious allegations without giving any reason. There was also an extremely critical TV documentary "Seduced By Sai Baba", first broadcast on January 30, 2002 that has been screened several times in Denmark and Norway. The 54-minute documentary was produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish Radio and was also aired in Australia on 12 February 2004 [20].

The United States Department of State has issued a travel warning against Sathya Sai Baba under the section 'Crime in Andhra Pradesh' [21]. The warning however doesn't mention his name explicitly. Critical questions have been asked in the British Parliament about the suicide of a British young man who claimed he had been sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba and in the European Parliament about human rights violations by Sathya Sai Baba.

The Indian government has made no attempt to arrest the guru. High ranking officials such as the current President Abdul Kalam and especially the Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee continue to visit the ashram pay respect to the guru. Vajpayee has even written a letter in defence of Sathya Sai Baba that has been published on the internet [22].

Answering the allegations

The followers point to the small number of first hand non-anonymous testimonies of sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba. Consequently, they say, the allegations are not proven and Sathya Sai Baba is like everybody else innocent, until proven otherwise. Sathya Sai Baba himself has not given a detailed rebuttal of the allegations but has said in an atypical discourse that people who tell bad stories about him have been bribed or do this out of jealousy because of Sathya Sai Baba’s fame [23] & PDF file.

Followers also argue that a person who has the ability to perform miracles can never be a sinner because from the traditional Hindu literature it is a well known fact that the ability to perform miracles diminishes if a person sins. And after all, even some ex-followers believe him to perform miracles. It may be true that some materializations are what critics would consider fake but followers say that this is Sathya Sai Baba's leela (divine play) or a test of faith. Besides thousands of uninvestigated miracles could remain as true as always.

Believers say that one should judge a prophet by his fruits as Jesus said according to the Bible (Matt 7:16). The fruits in terms of charity are a fact and the fruits of personal transformations are their personal experiences. These fruits are good and are certain for the followers. The allegations would be bad, if true but are not proven. So purely based on the weight of evidence one can trust Sathya Sai Baba.

Followers purport Sathya Sai Baba's group is not a cult because it displays atypical characteristics like charity and tolerance towards other faiths. Also, it does not claim to be the only way to God and truth, and does not advocate proselytizing [24]. They point out that often cults will expect their adherents to abandon worldly duties and to severe ties with their families, which is something Sathya Sai Baba has explicitly said not to do. Nor does Sathya Sai Baba portray the world and life outside the organisation as evil. Besides they say that faith in Sathya Sai Baba should not be blind. Sathya Sai Baba explicity invites people to investigate his authenticity as can be read in the booklet Sandeha Nivarini [25].

Followers find it implausible that the allegations would be justified because Sathya Sai Baba has never been successfully prosecuted. They assert that if this is due to a conspiracy or corruption or influence by Sathya Sai Baba on politicians, as critics believe, then the burden of proof of this assertion is on those critics.

Bibliography

Books by Sathya Sai Baba

Rama Katha Rasavahini, translated into English by Narayana Kasturi
Sathya Sai Speaks, many volumes. Many of these public discourses have been published on the internet PDF files
Many online books
Gita vahini, online book

Books by followers about Sathya Sai Baba

Kasturi, Narayana Sathyam Sivam Sundaran Part I,II & III
Padmanaban, R. Love is My Form
Murphet, Howard Man of Miracles
Hislop, John My Baba and I
Sandweiss, Samuel H. The holy man ..... and the psychiatrist First published in 1975

Critical books about Sathya Sai Baba

Premanand, Basava The Murders in Sai Baba's bedroom
Brooke, Tal Avatar of the Night

Miscellaneous

Haraldsson, Erlendur PhD Miracles are my visiting cards - An investigative inquiry on Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian mystic with the gift of foresight believed to perform modern miracles
Brown, Mick The Spiritual Tourist ISBN 1-58234-034-X Bloomsbury Publising 1998

Quotes

Teachings
- Hands that help are holier than lips that pray.

Sathya Sai Baba about himself
- Why fear when I am here?
- My life is My message.
- Love my uncertainty

Sathya Sai Baba

Contents