In the s and after, riding a wave of popularity in the West he became a celebrated global guru, often providing solace through his twice daily darshan sacred sighting to the tens of thousands of devotees, interacting with them, magically manifesting healing vibhuti sacred ash or talisman for those who sought his blessings. Devotees scrambled to get a good seat during darshan often waiting hours in long queues His devotional base grew to an estimated 20 million in countries around the world and they were predominantly middle class and professional.
Sai Baba used his enormous influence to harness this human power to do seva charitable works including raising money for educational institutions, hospitals to treat the poor and drinking water to parched rural districts in and around his home town.
He grew the Sai Movement into a transnational phenomenon allowing people to remain in the faith they were born into yet offering them hope and solace as his devotees through a strategic set of embedded practices, multivalent symbols and ambiguous performances.
He never denied the magic but rather claimed that the talismen produced were magical merely a pathway for his larger maya divine magic of devotional transformation to occur. In the s a Commission to investigate Miracles and other Superstitions was set up by Dr. More recently ex-devotees and former devotees have accused Sathya Sai Baba and the Sai Trust of more serious infractions including embezzlement, fraud and sexual abuse of young boys which they claimed culminated in the death of four young men within the ashram in A series of films and internet websites detail these allegations.
But neither Sai Baba nor the Trust were ever convicted of any wrongdoing. Rather Sai Baba and his devotees, on his behalf, claimed that he was vilified in the public arena by disaffected devotees.
The Anti Sai movement has been appropriately silent about the current happenings in the ashram. It is a real test of interreligious openness to move beyond respect for the scriptures of another religion to ponder a contemporary representative of another tradition. It is one thing to admire famous figures of the past, or to imitate a reformer like Mahatma Gandhi — but quite another to reflect on the meaning of a figure whose power lay primarily in himself, his claim to divine status; it was on that basis that millions have been devoted to him, and perhaps it is impossible for us to respond to Sai Baba in that way.
But read about Fr. My own contact with Sai Baba was minimal. In , while at a conference in Bangalore, three of us drove up to Whitefield, to visit his afternoon audience.
By that time, he had taken a vow of public silence, and so for about 45 minutes he just walked up and down in front to the crowd, giving blessings, touching the sick, receiving notes from especially devout people who were seeking an audience.
A few years earlier, when studying here in Cambridge, I knew some students who were entirely dedicated to his message, even allowing him to guide them — by spiritual inspiration and dreams — even in their choice of marriage partners. I was impressed, and a bit worried, by their total devotion. Nobody is allowed to go near him, Shama and Nana Chandorkar used to take care of Baba. That day Dawarakamai was busy with all devotees and baba was blessing his devotes and distributing Udi, there came a group of people with a tiger in the cart.
They brought the tiger to the Dawarakamai, the tiger was very weak and it is suffering from some serious diseases. One seeing baba, tiger eyes were filled with love and worship.
And seeing baba fall down on the floor and took his last breath. In that way, baba helped the tiger soul to rest in peace. Sai Baba was becoming weak day by day. He just sat and gave directions to the devotees. He was so weak and unable to do anything by himself. But he never stopped taking biksha Alms from houses. He is used to eating some food and used to feed the remaining food to animals and birds. But there is no change in his determined look for his devotees. He used to give advice and Udi to devote who came to him for help.
Devotes were very much worried for him, they used to stay in Dawarakamai continuously to take care of baba. On the night of Oct 14, the baba was taking rest in Dawarakamai and only a few devotees were with baba and remaining left to their home. Suddenly baba came out Dawarakamai and started shouting and making high noise with Sataka.
Everyone in Shiridi wakes up for that sound. Then baba explained to everyone that he was running after thieves who came to his devotee Kharparde house in Amaravathi. This proves that baba was thinking of his devotes even in his last hours. It was 15 th October it was Tuesday. Last day Sai Baba left his body physically. Those were Navaratri days and that day was Vijayadashmi Dushera. Baba was seriously ill; Baba got up as usual and sat in his place. Devote came for his darshan , as usual, Baba gave blessing by keeping his abaya hasta on their heads and gave Udi Prasad.
He gave necessary advice to their devotees, but all of them thought that is usual advice that baba gives them daily. And baba asked Laxman Mama to do BhagavanNamasamrana.
Suddenly it was seen like some divine light entered Baba. Encouraged by the clout of Sathya Sai Baba, a new clan of miracle mongers imitated him. India would have been a better place without Sathya Sai Baba. Sanal Edamaruku is president of the Indian Rationalist Association.
When I won compensation for abuse from the Church, I used it to search for a better society — and ended up confronting my past. Your email address is for our use only. We will never sell your details to anyone else. We are supported by our members.
Indian rationalist Sanal Edamaruku on the final debunking of a guru. When Sathya Sai Baba died on 24 April at the age of 85 years, he proved once again that miracles and predictions fail. He had predicted at a public gathering at his head quarters in Puttaparthy, in , and repeatedly many times, that he would die at the age of 96 only.
And till the last moment, many of his devotees clung to his word and waited for a miracle. May it be an eye opener for the millions of gullible people whom he misguided and deluded. Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, who died on 24 April aged 85 De mortuis nihil nisi bene , they say: say nothing but good of the dead. A secular pilgrimage When I won compensation for abuse from the Church, I used it to search for a better society — and ended up confronting my past.
Read more. Have world religions been the cause of violence throughout the ages? As always, the devil is in the detail.
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