VISITING SAI BABA ASHRAMS (2)

Newcomers who have read some of the many gushing, over-rosy books about Sai Baba’s supposed perfection, purity and total overview and divine control of his ashrams and the intimate detail of everyone’s lives, expect ‘The Abode of Supreme Peace’ to be either a paradise or at least a place where people are more virtuous, kind, fair and civil than elsewhere. Many devotees from abroad who live long-term or permanently at Sai Baba develop a noticeable ‘residential patina’ which seems to serve as protection against all the abrasions and scours that they receive regularly from the native powers-that-be, from members of the Seva Dal, other residents, visitors and the inevitable low caste workers of all kinds. Particularly vintage ashram ladies have this veneer, along with carefully adopted Indian traits like perfect use of saris, outwardly condescending attitudes towards newcomers. I have never seen or heard of more than an exception few of these people doing anything except take care of their own quotidian affairs… no service work, no proper study or self-discipline… just following the routines, always knowing how to ‘cut corners’ and generally get ahead of others. The experience of many followers who I have accompanied to Prashanthi Nilayam as group leader was that very few people there – foreigners included – are at all helpful in giving a helping hand to newcomers.

From public discourses by Sathya Sai we learn: ‘Residents of ashram have derived little benefit’ Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 27, p. 78: ‘Residents at ashram who have aged but not grown’ Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 10, p. 28: and ‘Seniority imagined by long-term residents’ Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 5, p. 306).

A Vigilance Officer – a government official in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) – Mr. V. Ramnath, who moved about in India (eg. Madras, Coorg, Bangalore, Delhi) – himself a Sai follower – told me many of his experiences of people around Sathya Sai Baba. These included a variety of close Sai Baba devotees who were friends or relatives of his (some of whom I met)- including high officials in the Indian administration and in Sai institutions and ashrams. He said that people really believe that, once they have a place at Puttaparthi or Whitefield so they can spend their time near Sai Baba at darshan etc., they have done everything required for salvation! Because being within the area of ‘divine vibration’ ensures their spiritual development. They proceed to live lives empty of social or other useful meaning, waiting for heaven to fall into their laps like ripe fruit through gratuitous grace. In the rat-race to ‘Swami’s feet’, otherwise fairly virtuous persons there become as vicious as piranhas, very jealous of those who get interviews or other ‘grace’, whom they defame through back-biting. (This view is supported by many talks Sai Baba has held, both in public and not least in very strict correctives to the assembles Seva Dal in the various ashrams.