Sathya Sai Baba was born on November 23, 1926, [at 6:36 hours a.m.] in a small remote village called Puttaparthi in the South of India, approximately 160 km north of Bangalore as the son of Pedda Venkappa Raju and mother Eshwar Amma and was named as Sathya Narayana Raju. — with the family name of "Ratnakaram". ^[1])He is referred as South Indian Guru or Godman^[2][3] and a miracle worker.^[4] According to the Sathya Sai Organisation, there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 130 countries world-wide.^[5] The number of Sathya Sai Baba adherents is estimated between 6 million to 100 million.^[6][7][8] Several hundred books and media articles have been published about Sathya Sai Baba.

Sathya Narayana Raju was born in the remote village of Puttaparthi located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh. In the 1940s he proclaimed himself to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba and subsequently took the Fakir's name. Sathya Sai Baba claims that he is the second in a series of three Avatars (incarnations) of Shiva Shakti, the future incarnation being Prema Sai Baba.^[9][10]Ashram: In 1950 Prasanthi Nilayam (Sai Baba's ashram) was inaugurated it was built by his devotees close to the village where he was born., was inaugurated on November 23, 1950. It is called Prasanthi Nilayam (the Abode of Divine Peace).He claims that he is an embodiment of love with divine attributes such as omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence.^[11]

Sathya Sai Baba teaches the unity of all major world religions and says that they all lead to God. He preaches a foundation of five basic human values: Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love and Non-Violence. Sathya Sai Baba's followers report many, sometimes spectacular, miracles of various kinds which they attribute to him. He is observed to allegedly manifest vibuthi (holy ash) and small objects (rings, necklaces and watches) daily. Sathya Sai Baba explained the phenomenon of manifestation as an act of divine creation, but refused to have his materializations investigated under experimental conditions because he felt that the approach used by critics was improper.^[10]

Sathya Sai Baba lives in Puttaparthi. He is 80 Years Old. Since 2003, he has had multiple hip surgery and other surgeries. He can hardly walk with out assistance and uses Wheel Chair to move around. . Inspite of all his physical ailments he continues his Service for the poor and needy. Sathya Sai Baba's followers and the organizations he founded are involved in many service projects around the world. He is providing free education through his schools, free healthcare through two state-of-the-art hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore and two water projects serving millions in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The purified water provided to these poor villages through clean pipes have given life to many villagers. Puttaparthi, where Baba was born and still lives, was originally a small village where one can now find an extensive University complex, a World-Religions Museum (Chaitanya Jyoti), a Planetarium, a railway station, an airport and more. High ranking Indian politicians, like the current President Dr. Abdul Kalam, Manmohan Singh (Former finance minister and current Prime Minister), and Atal Vajpayee (Former Prime minister) have been official guests at the ashram in Puttaparthi. Some quarters of the Indian government consider Sai Baba to be a "national treasure."^[12]

History and origins

Sathya Narayana was born in the remote village of Puttaparthi, located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh, India, as the son of Pedda Venkappa Raju and mother Eshwar Amma. According to Professor Kasturi, young Sathya composed bhajans spontaneously (even as young as 8 years of age) and was talented in drama, dance, music and poetry. Sathya claimed to be the reincarnation of the Fakir Shirdi Sai Baba. On October 29, 1940, at the age of 14, he started his mission. According to Professor Kasturi - Sathya Sai Baba's Mission was to bring about the spiritual regeneration of people by demonstrating and teaching the highest principles of truth, righteous conduct, peace, and love.

Sathya Sai Baba says "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 the Hindu, a better Hindu." Kasturi's biography mentions several miracles by and signs of divinity of the young Sathya. According to Howard Murphet, in his book Sai Baba Man of Miracles (see picture) , the young Sathya was a vegetarian and was known for his aversion to animal cruelty and compassion for the poor, disabled and elderly.

In the late 1960s he attracted Western spiritual seekers and became increasingly popular. One of those spiritual seekers was the Hollywood screenwriter Arnold Schulman, who wrote in his 1971 book called Baba 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." According to Schulman, contrasting versions about Baba's childhood may be due to the fact that he needed interpreters to interperet 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.^[13]

Sathya Sai Baba had several sisters, one older brother, the late Seshama Raju, and one younger brother, the late R. V. Janaki Ramaiah.^[14][15]

Beliefs and practices

Main article Beliefs and practices in the Sathya Sai Organisation

Miracles and ashrams

Sathya Sai Baba resides much of the time in his main ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam (abode of peace) at Puttaparthi. In the hot summer Baba leaves for his other ashram called Brindavan in Whitefield (sometimes called Kadugodi), a town on the outskirts of Bangalore. He has left India only once for a visit to North East Africa in 1968.

Sathya Sai Baba also established three primary centers 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 "Sundaram". The third center, established in Chennai, is referred to as "Sundaram".

He is a prolific orator about religious topics in his native language Telugu and he is regarded by some as an excellent speaker. He is known by his devotees to speak all languages fluently, ^{[citation needed]} and there is anecdotal evidence available to support this claim. Apart from his claim to be Shirdi Sai Baba, Satya Sai Baba also asserts that he is an Avatar of God, a reincarnation of Lord Rama, of Sri Krishna, the Kalki purna avatar (full divine incarnation), Lord Shiva, and Shakti. But he also says that everybody else is God and that the difference is that he is aware of this and others are not.^[10] He says that he is omniscient, omnipotent, and able to create matter from mere thought. ^[16] He also stresses he and humans should always free from desires and states that desires bring pain. ^[10]

Sathya Sai Baba can be seen in person performing what followers believe to be miracles daily in the form of materializations of small objects, for example food, jewelry such as bracelets, rings, watches and especially vibhuti (holy ash) and "kum kum" (the red-colored powder used by Hindus to make the ritual mark between the eyebrows). It is claimed that he can heal diseases of his devotees sometimes by his spiritual power and sometimes by taking on the disease himself.^[17] There is anecdotal evidence that supports this claim. Followers attribute many miracles to him which they claim have witnessed in his presence. There are international claims, from Sathya Sai Baba's followers and neutral observers, that vibuthi, kumkum, turmeric powder, holy water, brass statues of deities, sugar candy, fruits, herbs, amrita (a fragrant, nectar-like honey), gems and coloured string spontaneously manifest on the altars and pictures of Sathya Sai Baba in the privacy of their own homes.^{[18][19][20][21]}

The Icelandic psychology professor Erlendur Haraldsson wrote that he did not get Sathya Sai Baba's permission to study him under controlled circumstances but investigated and documented the guru's alleged miracles and manifestations by interviewing witnesses firsthand and compiling results from a questionnaire given to a sampling of 29 people, including 7 former followers. According to the people that Haraldsson interviewed, and the results to his questionnaire, many extraordinary miracles were attributed to Sathya Sai Baba such as 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 people also claimed that Sathya Sai Baba materialized 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.^[1] Haraldsson wrote that the biggest materialized object that he saw was a mangalasutra necklace, 32 inches long, 16 inches long on each side.^[22] Haraldsson wrote that some miracles attributed or performed by the 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 SSB's activities as in those of Jesus.^[23]

One important practice in his ashrams is darshan (spiritual sight). During darshan Sathya Sai Baba walks among his followers. He may listen to a few chosen persons, accept letters, or materialize and distribute vibhuti (sacred ash of Lord Shiva). Sathya Sai Baba claims that his darshan has spiritual benefits for those who attend it and this is consistent with Hindu beliefs regarding spiritual preceptors. Usually people wait hours to get a good place for darshan. Sathya Sai Baba sometimes invites people for a group interview with him in a room in the 'ashram's mandir' (Hindu temple).He also makes assurances of divine protection to his devotees. Followers report help from Sai Baba in difficult or dangerous situations as well as in dreams. Followers consider it a great privilege to get such an interview. Sometimes a person from this group is invited for a private interview. When asked about the divinity of Sathya Sai Baba, many of his followers readily attest to it by accounting anecdotes about the numerous miraculous occurrences and strange coincidences they have experienced.

Teachings

Sathya Sai Baba preaches love and the unity of all world religions and asserts that people who follow him do not need to give up their original religion. He says "Let the different faiths exist, let them flourish; let the glory of God be sung in all languages in a variety of tunes. That should be the ideal. Respect the differences between the faiths and recognize them as valid so far as they do not extinguish the flame of unity"'.He says that he has come to restore faith in, and encourage the practice of the teachings in the Vedas. Several books and discourses by him, such as the book Ramakatha Rasavahini teach the literal interpretation of Hindu mythology and advocate the practice of Hindu Dharma.

Across the globe local Sathya Sai Baba groups assemble to sing bhajans (Hindu devotional songs), study Sathya Sai Baba's teachings, do collective community service (called seva), and teach Education in Human Values (Sai Sunday School). Baba's movement is not missionary^[24] and Baba discouraged publicity for him in a public discourse in 1968.^[25] 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.

The Sathya Sai organisation advocates the five basic human values. These values are sathya (truth), dharma (right conduct, living in accord with natural law), ahimsa (non-violence), prema (love for God and all his creatures) and shanti (peace).

Other primary teachings are:

• Service and charity (seva) to others.
• Love for all creatures and objects
• Put a ceiling (limit) on one's desires.
• Everything that has been created is maya (illusion), only God is real.
• Every creature and object is God in form, though most do not experience this as their reality.
• Vegetarianism
• Detachement from the material world
• Meditation - Baba teaches four techniques, repetition of the name of God, visualising the form of God, sitting in silence and jyoti (Light meditation).
• Inclusive acceptance of all religions as paths to realizing the One (God).
• Importance of bhakti (devotion) to God
• Developing virtues and eschewing vices of character
• japa and other sadhana (spiritual exercise) to foster devotion.
• Reverence for parents, teachers and elders

Organizations

Sathya Sai Baba is the figurehead to a number of free educational institutions and charitable hospitals. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in Prashanti 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) ^{[26] [27]}. Besides this institute, there is also an Institute of Music and an Institute of Higher Learning in Anantapur, which is a women's college. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Prashanti Nilayam (also known as the Super Specialty Hospital) is a 220 bed facility providing advanced surgical and medical care free of cost to the public. It is situated 6 kilometres from the guru's ashram and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on November 22nd 1991 ^[28]. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore was inaugurated on January 19th 2001 by the then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ^[29] and is reputed as serving 250,000 patients, free of cost, from January 2001 to April 2004 ^[30].

The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust also funded several major drinking water projects. The first drinking water project, completed in 1996, supplies water to 1.2 million people in 730-800 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh ^{[31] [32]}. The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai (formerly known as Madras) through a rebuilt waterway named "Sathya Sai Ganga Canal" ^{[33] [34]}. The third drinking water project, expected to be completed in April 2006, would supply water from the Godavari River to half a million people living in five hundred villages in East and West Godavari Districts ^[35]. Other completed water projects include the Medak District Project benefitting 450 thousand people in 179 villages and the Mahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350 thousand people in 141 villages ^[32].

His Educare (formerly called Education in Human Values) programme seeks to found schools in all countries with the explicit goal to educate children in the five human values and spirituality. According to the Sai Educare site (authorized by the Sathya Sai Organization), schools have been founded in 33 countries world-wide ^[36].

All the local Sai Samithis (Sathya Sai Baba groups) are part of a hierarchical structure called the Sathya Sai Organisation. The chairman of the organisation is Michael Goldstein of the U.S. The logo of the Sathya Sai organization is a stylized lotus flower with the text of the five human values, highly influenced by not only Hinduism but also Jainism and Buddhism, in its petals. This text version has replaced the old logo with the symbols of the 5 or 6 world religions in the petals.

The Sri Sathya Sai central trust was founded in 1972 and is mainly involved in charities such as the Rayalaseema water project. The trust has tax exempt status and is a major recipient of donations from abroad though Baba and his organizations never solicit donations.

The Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust is the official publisher of the Sathya Sai Organisation. It publishes the international monthly magazine called Sanathana Sarathi in English and Telugu. According to their website, they shelve over a thousand books and provides Sai-related literature in 40 languages. The book trust also supplies CDs, DVDs and audio tapes. In various nations, similar publication trusts are maintained in their own native language.

Opposition, controversy, and allegations

SSB has been and still is the target of criticism by skeptics, ex-followers and other critics that question his claims to perform miracles and other paranormal feats. For example, in 1976 the physicist rationalist and then vice chancellor of Bangalore University Dr. H. Narasimhaiah who founded and chaired The Committee to Investigate Miracles and Other Verifiable Superstitions publicly challenged Sathya Sai Baba to perform his miracles under controlled circumstances, a challenge which Sathya Sai Baba ignored. He justified this by saying that the approach by Narasimhaiah was improper.^[10][37] The committee exposed a boy called Sai Krishna as a fraud, that the committee alleged had Sathya Sai Baba's patronage.^[37] Sai Baba said, in one of his rare interviews with the press, that he had absolutely no connection to the exposed Sai Krishna and that there are people who masquerade as devotees who attempt to make money using his name.^[10] 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. As a result of this episode, a public debate raged for several months in Indian newspapers.^[38]

The British journalist Mick Brown discussed, in his 1998 book "The Spiritual Tourist", that the letters, from attending doctors, provided in the Indian Skeptic magazine (published by Premanand) about SSB's claim of resurrecting Walter Cowan, as described in the books My Baba and I by the follower John Hislop and in SSB's authorized biography by Kasturi, was probably untrue.^[39] In this same book, Mick Brown also related his experiences with manifestations of vibuthi, from Sathya Sai Baba's pictures in houses in London, and felt that these miraculous manifestations were not fraudulent or the result of trickery.^[40]

Dr. Goldstein, the International Chairman of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisations, stated in the BBC documentary Secret Swami, that although he felt that Sathya Sai Baba was not above the law, it was against his "heart and conscience" to believe the allegations because he had personally observed Baba interact with students very frequently, in very informal circumstances, and he had never seen anything inappropriate, ominous or anything indicative of fear or apprehension.^[41] Isaac Tigrett, a prominent follower and co-founder of the Hard Rock Café, stated in the documentary that his admiration for the Baba will not change even if the charges of paedophilia and murder were proved beyond all doubt.^[41] According to the journalist Michelle Goldberg of salon.com the fact that the Baba has high ranking Indian politicians as his supporters and the charity works done by the various organizations 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. In the India Today magazine (dated December 2000) no complaints had been filed against the Guru, by any alleged victim, in India.^[42][43]. In his Christmas 2000 discourse Sathya Sai Baba said that people disseminate false negative stories about him because they have been bribed.^[44] David Bailey previously wrote, in his two books about SSB, that he personally witnessed manifestations, healings, miracles and was saved from a car accident by Sathya Sai Baba.^[45]

Stances by devotees and proponents

Bill Aitken (a Sai Devotee, described in his own words in an article in The Week as an expert in comparative religion and author of the book "Sathya Sai Baba: A life") stated that Sathya Sai Baba's reputation has only increased despite negative stories being published against the Guru, by rationalists, critics and skeptics, for at least a generation. Aitken contended that critics are so distemperate in their dislike that their vituperation comes across as near comical. Aitken also expressed the opinion that the BBC is ultimately governed by the Anglican establishment and does not criticize public icons like the Queen, who happens to be the head of the Anglican church. Aitken felt that the Church of England can have no objection to programmes that weaken perceived threats, such as the Sai Movement.^[46]

In an interview with an Asian Voice correspondent, Mr Ashok Bhagani, a trustee of the Sai Organisation in the UK, said that he believed the allegations in the Secret Swami BBC documentary were completely factless and baseless and have never been proved. This was later found to be a hoax. Mr Bhagani also stated that when devotees are selected by Baba for a private interview, there is always someone else present in the room, and this is especially the case when women and children meet him.^[47] Navin Patel, a biochemistry student at the Sathya Sai Arts College in Bangalore during the 1970s, told Asian Voice that he visited Baba's ashram many times and studied at Baba's college long enough to know the allegations are untrue. Patel claimed the Secret Swami BBC documentary was very misleading and was based on only two westerners who had their own monetary agendas. Patel expressed the opinion that western journalists were bashing Baba collectively.^[47]

The secretary of the Puttaparthi ashram, K. Chakravarthi, refused to comment on the accusations. Anil Kumar, Sathya Sai Baba's principal translator, believes that the controversy is part of Baba's divine plan and said that every great religious teacher has had to face criticism in his/her lifetime. Kumar said that allegations have been levelled at Sai Baba since childhood, but with every criticism Baba becomes more and more triumphant.^[7]

Thorbjørn Meyer, in a letter to the DR, called the allegations undocumented and untrue. In the Seduced documentary, Peter Pruzan stated that he believed Sathya Sai Baba is not a pedophile nor does he perform conjuring tricks. Pruzan claimed that he personally experienced Sathya Sai Baba's "wholly extraordinary powers" both in Baba's presence as well as in Denmark.^[48]

Parliamentary, governmental and political issues and responses

In an official letter released to the general public, in December 2001, A.B. Vajpayee (the then Prime Minister of India), P.N. Bhagawati (Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India), Ranganath Mishra (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 V. Patil (Member of Parliament, India; Formerly of the Lok Sabda & Union Minister) all signed a letter that called the allegations against Sathya Sai Baba "wild, reckless and concocted allegations made by certain vested interests" and that they "unequivocally condemned" the allegations as "baseless and malicious".^[49]

The Indian President Abdul Kalam and the former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, as well as other Indian dignitaries, visit the ashram and pay their respects to Sathya Sai Baba.

See also

• Nārāyana Kasturi - Links and info about Sathya Sai Baba's biographer.

References and footnotes

Sathya Sai Baba's presence in popular culture

Sathya Sai Baba's name is mentioned on the popular incense Nag Champa.

Further reading

Books by Sathya Sai Baba

Online Resource: Sathya Sai Speaks Series

Online Resource: Vahini Series Written By Sathya Sai Baba

Other

• Directory Of Books About Sathya Sai Baba on SaiBabaLinks.org
• Antonov, Vladimir PhD "Sathya Sai — the Christ of Our Days", 'Zolotoy Vek', Saint Petersburg, 1997
• Baskin, Diana "Divine Memories of Sathya Sai Baba" (1990) ISBN 1-878599-00-3
• Beyerstein, Dale "Sai Baba's miracles: an overview", Published by Basava Premanand, Podanur, India, (1994)
• Brooke, Tal "Lord of the Air", first published in 1976 with a revised edition was released in 1990. Revised and renamed "Avatar of the Night" (1999) ISBN 1-930045-00-X
• Brooke, Tal "Riders of the Cosmic Circuit" (1986) ISBN 0-7459-1217-6
• Brown, Mick "The Spiritual Tourist" Bloomsbury Publishing (1998) ISBN 1-58234-034-X
• Goldthwait, John "Purifying the Heart" (2002) ISBN 81-7208-339-4
• Guillemin, Madeleine "Who Is In The Driving Seat?" (2000) ISBN 0-9583617-0-3
• 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" (first published in 1987, 1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1
• Hislop, John "My Baba And I" ISBN 81-7208-050-6
• Kasturi, Narayana "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" Part I (first published in 1961), II, III, IV Available Online (zip file, 787 kb)
• Krystal, Phyllis "The Ultimate Experience" ISBN 81-7208-038-7
• Mazzoleni Don Mario "A Catholic Priest Encounters Sai Baba" (1994)ISBN 0-9629835-1-9
• Murphet, Howard "Man of Miracles" (1971) ISBN 0-333-91770-7
• Padmanaban, Ranganathan "Love Is My Form" Sai Towers (2000) ISBN 81-86822-76-3
• Premanand, Basava "The Murders in Sai Baba's bedroom" (2001)
• Priddy, Robert "The End of the Dream", published and edited by Basava Premanand, Podanur, India, (2004)
• Priddy, Robert “'Source of the Dream'” Weiser Books (1998) ISBN 1-57863-028-2
• Sandweiss, Samuel H "Spirit And The Mind" (1985) ISBN 81-7208-056-5
• Sandweiss, Samuel H. "The Holy Man ... And The Psychiatrist" (1975) ISBN 0-9600958-1-0
• Schulman, Arnold "Baba" (1971) Out of print. ISBN 0-670-14343-X.
• Shepherd, Kevin R.D. "Investigating the Sai Baba Movement: A Clarification of Misrepresented Saints and
• Steel, Brian The Powers of Sathya Sai Baba (1999) ISBN 81-7646-080-X
• Steel, Brian The Satya Sai Baba Compendium: A Guide to the First Seventy Years (Paperback) Weiser Books (February, 1997) ISBN 0877288844
• Thomas, Joy "Life is a Game – Play it" ISBN 81-7208-175-8

External links

Official Sathya Sai Baba websites

• The Official Website of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam, India
• The Official International Web Site of the Sri Sathya Sai Organization
• The Official Website of the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam, India
• The Official Website of the UK Sathya Sai Bookcentre at 19, Hay Lane, London NW9 0NH
• The Official Website of Sai Cast - Streaming Videos Of Sathya Sai Baba, Prashanti Nilayam, India
• The Official Website of Radio Sai Global Harmony - the digital radio channel from Prasanthi Nilayam, India

Other websites

• 1008 Pearls of Sayings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
• Love is my form Biographical overview of the early years from the book Love is my Form.
• Sai Baba (pdf file) Leaflet dispersed by INFORM (Information Network Focus on Religious Movements), which is based at the London School of Economics. INFORM in an independent charity that is funded by Mainstream Churches. Their Patrons and Governers are Bishops, Priests or members of Orthodox Churches: About INFORM (pdf file).