Visiting Sathya Sai Baba ashrams (photos)

Necessary information for visitors to Sathya Sai Baba’s ashrams

If you have read and heard about Sathya Sai Baba and his ashrams, you may be expecting it to be ‘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.

The control of some important public information concerning security and other concerns at Sai Baba ashrams is very tightly censored and is held going by very strong social taboos against telling any facts that could reflect badly on the ashrams or Sathya Sai Baba himself. It is wise to learn some of these facts in advance so as not to be too disappointed or endanger oneself.

Getting ahead of the crowd: There are many people who obtain various privileges, some granted officially, some through bribery or personal connections. To go to the head of a queue is allowed for VIPs and students, there are ways of getting chits from the public relations office for a special front place at darshan, and of getting favoured accommodation, often in return for favours to staff (such as under the table donations). The so called ’special guests’, referred to generally and treated as ‘VIPs’ can go ahead of cripples and the blind, and they do so as a matter of course even in there is no observable reason for their haste. This is a cause for envy in many, and I mention this because many devotees believe that all who point out such things are merely envious, jealous etc., as Sai Baba himself is ever insisting about his critics! (Presumably he imagines – or hopes – that everyone is envious of his blessings!).

There are any number of deceitful washerwoman, coolies, taxi drivers, baggage thieves and pickpockets in and around the ashrams… so do not be too trusting in the belief that this ‘Abode of Supreme Peace’ is a paradise free of crime. Far from it! It is, however, generally safer inside the ashrams than outside, because tricksters mostly pick out foreigners for their ploys. Be aware of people trying to get assistance for bogus stories about relatived dying without drugs or blood transfusions – one typical scam among many others.

Why are you going there? Sai Baba has often said that the majority of people coming for something they want from him, not for spiritual reasons and not to do service. One can easily observe who is who on this basis. The pleading faces and begging postures of devotees and many of the staff – and not least the so-called VIPs or ‘special guests’ bears out that most followers came to get something rather than give anything.

Some gain favours by sitting inordinate lengths of time in the ‘lines’ hours before darshan would begin so as to get a prominent place (regardless of others whom they thereby displace), doing so month after month until Sai Baba could hardly fail to reward them without seeming very hard-hearted. [Among such persons who became VIPs were Bernhard Gruber, Erik Henriksen of Denmark, Rita Bruce of the USA]

Prashanthi Nilayam sthula

Who to avoid: Those who strive in all ways to become important in the movement are mostly self-important, self-seeking and often uncivil persons who one should avoid entirely. Most Central Coordinators are like that, unless one treats them as superiors all the time and never asks difficult questions. The battles for prominence are seen to take place daily in the run-up to darshan, but are just as intense at groups and centres around the world among those who take up office in the Sathya Sai Organization.

Residents of the ashram – especially Indians – are know to ‘fight like dogs’ (quotation from former administrative head of Vidyagiri). Hence, Sathya Sai has said: ‘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).

The degree of bitterness and recrimination is sometimes so intense that it is extraordinary that such persons can pose as followers of Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings. To my knowledge, such battles for domination of a Centre or National Council have raged for years in the UK, in Holland, Eastern Europe and Russia, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia and not least India… to name some.

Sathya Sai by rail – vain  attempt to make Puttaparthi a Tirupati

Devotees from abroad who live long-term or permanently at Sai Baba [particularly vintage ashram ladies] 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. The ashrams are full of people doing nothing except take care of their own quotidian affairs… no service work, no proper study or self-discipline… just following the routines, spreading rumours and ‘stories’, learning how to ‘cut corners’ and generally look after themselves. Very few people there – foreigners included – are at all helpful in giving a helping hand to newcomers. So, if you must go to this spiders’ web or find you have entered ‘a snake pit of envy’, be self-reliant!

Avatar: Sathya Sai Baba constantly claimed he was once Rama and Krishna!

Rama and Krishna

Sathya Sai Baba constantly claimed he was once Rama and Krishna!

In this claim he was very far from being alone, as there are dozens of other would-be avatars and deities in India even today and even non-Hindus – have presented themselves as Rama or Krishna reborn. Sai Baba also claimed to be the reincarnation of various other deities and personages of the past, not least Sai Baba of Shirdi (while the official Shirdi Sanasthan and various researchers refute this claim as bogus).

According to fanciful religionists, “Sri Satya Sai Baba is also considered to be the Cosmic Christ. He is so spiritually advanced that he embodies the Christ Principle, an aspect of God (the energy of love) at cosmic level.”

The former long-term US ashram resident, Mr. Alvin Drucker of the USA, later banned from the ashram gave a talk before a thousand or so foreign visitors in Prashanthi Nilayam in 1987, stating that Sathya Sai Baba had said that all who visited him on his 60th Birthday were once also with him when he was Krishna and/or when he was Rama. These ‘divine secrets’ came only from his close servitors on the Sai Central Trust, including Mr. Prasad, who told that Swami said this was also so on the 70th Birthday. Of course, the rumour spread most freely as no doubt intended. It was a great way of making people feel important and staying in his fold!

 Sathya Sai Baba supports Ramanyana and Bhagavatham myths as fact The following except from the most popular book of conversations with Sathya Sai Baba removes all doubt that he believed and propagated the historical existence of a race of veritable giants, one of which was Rama, of the existence of demons (rakshakas) and the mythical eternally young Krishna:-

from ‘Conversations…’, by John Hislop, p. 129, 130

Where are the remains of this race of giants, these demons? Considering the vast amount of discoveries by palaeontologists to date, not one giant skeleton from such a relatively recent era a few thousand years ago has been found. Meanwhile, countless dinosaur fossils from hundreds of millions of years back have been discovered. Since the origins and spread of mankind are now so well known in general outline (through DNA studies) there is all reason to doubt the veracity of Sathya Sai Baba’s ignorant claims yet again!

In Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 3 p. 60 Sai Baba stated: “Raama was the greatest hero in history; he killed the 14,000 raakshakas (i.e. demons) led by Khara, Dhushaasana and Thrisiras, all by Himself! Every raakshasa beheld in every neighbouring raakshasa a Raama; and, in full fury, he slew the Raama and was killed in turn by his neighbour. “

Now, is this a credible claim? Hardly satisfactory to any genuine historian, scientist or person with common sense. The world will never accept such fairy stories and base superstition even though millions of the poorest uneducated peasants know no better.

See more about Sathya Sai Baba’s claims about Rama and Krishna

Sathya Sai Baba identified with man-lion Narasimha

The lion-man avatar, Narasimha destroying Hiranyakasipu

Another mythological figure, a combination of man and lion who ‘materialised himself’ in that form to kill the atheist Hiranyakasipu, is one of Sathya Sai Baba’s favourite avatars. Sai Baba has often stated as fact the following somewhat controversial (!) claims:- “Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu also were ones of very great capabilities. They were great scientists. Hiranyakasipu not only went to the moon; he also went to the sun. Not only the sun, he also reached the stars. When he went to star Dhruva and touched it, the earth spun. With that he suffered. Though he was such a great scientist, things should be done only as much as is needed; but if it is in excess, a very big danger will happen.” (Sathya Sai Baba – Guru Purnima Discourse, July 2002).

“Hiranyakasipu had by rigorous austerity and practice established his mastery, as modern scientists have done, over the elements. He could transport himself through the hydrospheres as a fish, through the atmosphere as a bird, but he denied God…” (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 20, page 33) BUT NOTE! This proves that miracles are NO guarantee of being good or pure, even according to the supposed ‘man of miracles’ himself!

Sathya Sai Baba as the lion man in person? Prof. N. Kasturi and others have reported how Sathya Sai Baba one day apparently somehow assumed the appearance of a lion-man… enough to impress simple villagers in Puttaparthi that he was like Narasimha, the lion-man avatar. Kasturi and Ganapati base their accounts on hearsay from such villagers, since it was many years later they came on the scene.

Sathya Sai Baba acting as Narasimha

Kasturi once told a group of Westerners in the old lecture room about how Sathya Sai Baba had raged like a lion. After years of selfless service, Kasturi had suddenly been ignored totally and excluded from everything for weeks, without explanation. When he asked Sai Baba why, he “raged like a terrifying lion” at him for a mere bagatelle – one for which he was not even responsible. This incident has been toned down in written reports, as is done in most writings about Sai Baba’s many less acceptable so-called “human aspects”, to show Sai Baba in a much less threatening light, and by the fearful Kasturi himself in his written account in his own autobiographical book Loving God (p.344ff).

The present writer has been involved with Sathya Sai Baba for decades and has spent much time with him at his ashrams, which is why it took me so many years since 1993 to come to accept and adjust to the otherwise wholly unbelievable facts of the murders incident in 1993. I vow that my account of it is the truth as I know it. Those facts I could not – for the sake of his own security – make known until after his decease. The top officials and various MBA students who are more or less ‘in the know’ are still surely prisoners of their circumstances, often fearing to break faith with such a socially and psychically powerful and imperious ‘godman’. Few of them may so far be free of the fear of possible retribution to dare to speak out (except in strict privacy to myself and other exposé persons), but it is likely that more will do so eventually. Experience shows that it often takes decades to come to terms with sexual abuse sufficiently to take the step of standing forth.

See also Hidden fears of the avatar

Sathya Sai confirmed ten avatars

Forwarding himself as a Universal Teacher, is it not rather incongruous that Sathya Sai Baba upholds the Hindu teaching on divine avatars (i.e. God appearing and reappearing in human form). But this is totally contrary to Islam, which admits of no representations or embodiments of Allah, nor Christianity, for which only Jesus is a Divine personage, the Son of God – not God as such? Nor does the Buddha reincarnate, and Jews believe in the Messiah, though they also believe God once appeared as a burning bush. This means Sathya Sai Baba is far from promoting universal teachings in his support for the Hindu teaching.

Traditionally, ten avatars or reincarnations of Vishnu are listed (dasavatara) as the most important of an indefinable number of other avatars. There are, in historical order, 1. Matsya, the fish. 2. Kurma, the turtle or tortoise. 3. Varaha, the boar. 4. Narasimha, the Man-Lion. 5. Vamana, the Dwarf Brahmin Priest. 6. Parashurama, Rama with an axe, who avenged wrongs with it 7. Rama, prince and later king of Ayodhya. 8. Krishna, as described in the Gita and the Bhagavatha.

Three primitive avatars: A widely-held belief among Hindus is that God has in ages past actually incarnated as a vast fish (Matsya) turtle or tortoise (Kurma), a giant boar (Varuna) and a lion-man (Narasimha), each time to save the world from one or another threat! Sathya Sai Baba has lent credence to this belief, as shown below.

Here are the first three animal forms of God as avatars in Hindu mythology:-

Sathya Sai Baba teaches about the many figures of Indian mythology as having existed. He sometimes speaks of the symbolism of the ancient and more fabulous myths, but he mostly speaks of the famous ten avatars (dasavatara) as historical fact. He has reportedly caused some of his earlier devotees to have visions of the ten avatars, as reported by his official biographer, the impressionable would-be poet N. Kasturi, and by another of his biographers who was helped out by Kasturi, Ra. Ganapati

Two such ’stories’ are believed by many Sai followers to this day. Kasturi first, Ganapati afterwards:-

”A devotee from Kamalapuram was asking Baba to show him some miracle and one day, Baba called him and the members of his family, his mother and the rest, and offered to show them the ten Dasavatharas, the Ten Incarnations of Vishnu! Matsya (the fish), Kurma (the tortoise) and Varaha (the boar) passed off without any incident but, when the terrible form of Narasimha appeared, they shrieked and yelled with fright, fearing that the house might collapse on their heads. They clamoured “Enough,” “Enough,” and Baba calmed down after Mangalarathi (worship of him with a flame) was performed, by persons, who, though they were there, did not see the Forms, because the Vision was not intended for them!” (Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Vol. 1 by Prof. N. Kasturi, page 65)

” … the Purohit of a family whose guest Baba was at Mysore was granted, quite unexpectedly, a Vision of Narasimha, and the Srivaishnava Brahmin swooned and did not recover consciousness for several hours.” (Prof. N. Kasturi in Sathyam, Sivam, Sunderam Vol. 1, page 64f.)

“The Dasavathara Forms were vouchsafed to another gentleman now deceased, a relative of the Karnam family. As a matter of fact, he passed away, because his physical frame was too weak to contain the joy of the Vision. Baba took him to the river and asked him to watch the reflection, His own reflection, in the water. The man announced later that he saw at first Sathya Sai Baba Himself, then, only the halo of hair that surrounds His head, and then all the ten avathars in the order in which they are mentioned in the Puranas; the Kalki avathar on horseback had the form or Baba Himself!” (Baba: Sathya Sai by Ra. Ganapati, p. 81)

The BBC and the 1993 murders

From the BBC’s documentary on Sathya Sai Baba – ‘The Secret Swami’ on the infamous 1993 murders in his bedroom:-

Tanya Datta: Sex abuse is not the only controversy tainting the God man’s reputation. On a June night back in nineteen ninety-three, four devotees broke into Sai Babas quarters. They were armed with knives. Their motives are unclear. All four were close to Sai Baba. Some say they wanted to warn him about corruption in the Ashram. Others claim their intention was to kidnap or even kill Sai Baba. As they approached they were stopped by four of Sai Baba’s attendants.

Mr. V. P. Nair, former Home Secretary of the Andhra Pradesh government

In the struggle that followed two of his attendants were killed and the other two badly injured. Hearing the commotion Sai Baba escaped through a back stairway and raised the alarm. Heavily armed police arrived on the scene.

Transcript of the BBC’s interview with V.P.B. Nair, Home Secretary of Andhra Pradesh in 1993 at the time of the murders in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom, whose position gave him insight into the entire known case:-

VPB Nair: So these boys, they ran and locked themselves up in a room. And then in the whole, all around a lot of pandemonium and people gathered so the boys were shivering like rats in that small hole.
Tanya Datta: The four men barricaded themselves into Sai Baba’s bedroom. There was a stand-off with the police. Then the order was given to go in. What happened next is hotly disputed. The official version seemed clear.
VPB Nair: These four boys charged towards the police with the knives and started stabbing the inspector and other personnel. Because they were attacked they opened fire.
Tanya Datta: In self-defence?
VPB Nair:In self-defence. They opened fire and killed all the four boys. This the police story.
Tanya Datta: Velayudhan Nair rejects the police version of events. He should know. Until two thousand and two he was Home Secretary of Andhra Pradesh and in charge of the state police. On coming to office he examined the files and found that the original police report was riddled with lies and inconsistencies. This was later exposed by a CID investigation.
VPB Nair: Two or three daggers cannot be a match to roaring guns. So this story of the police being attacked and the police shooting in self-defence is totally baseless.
Tanya Datta: So are you suggesting that the police executed the boys that night?
VPB Nair: In absolute… this is absolute cold-blooded murder.
Tanya Datta: Some police officers were arrested but never charged. The case was eventually dropped. Sai Baba has always had a close relationship with the police. Even today, senior officers are special guests at the Ashram. With friends in such high places Sai Baba seems to be untouchable. Any attempt to investigate the goings-on at his Ashram even, murder, appear doomed to failure. Critics say police connections ensured that Sai Baba wasn’t even interviewed, despite being one of the witnesses to the events of that night.

Transcript of interview with Basava Premanand – Rationalist & Author:
Basava Premanand: The only person who was a witness to the murders of mysterious deaths, that was Sai Baba and he was not examined as, for evidence at all and those students also who were there, two or three students they were not examined at all.
Tanya Datta: Why do you think that the nineteen ninety-three murders weren’t properly investigated?
Basava Premanand: The central government stopped the investigation because if the investigation takes place, a lot of things will come out. One thing. Economic offences, sex offences, all these things will come out.
Tanya Datta: Shocked at what he considers a travesty of justice, the former Home Secretary is now seeking to reopen the case.
VPB Nair The killing of the boys was only to buy silence. If the boys are taken to the court of law, if they were arrested and taken to the court of law, they would have stated several things including why did they want to meet Baba. (See also The Sathya Sai Baba bedroom Murders)

Further resources on the BBC documentary and the murders documentation are found here

Indisputable facts about Sathya Sai Baba by BBC

Among the many facts that cannot be disputed in the BBC documentary ‘The Secret Swami’ are the following items of major importance:-

1) Sai Baba’s public lie exposes him as a total charlatan

Sathya Sai Baba ‘collapses’ for the BBC

In 2004, while being filmed by the BBC during the Shivarathri festival, Sathya Sai Baba failed to produce the expected golden egg-shaped ‘lingam’ from his mouth and soon collapsed (whether really or feigned). He was helped off into a private room by servitors. On his return he spoke about the incident saying that the lingam (the egg-shaped golden object) weighed three tons. Sathya Sai Baba was filmed making this mendacious and absurd statement (and the direct translation of his words) by the BBC! This alone is sufficient to condemn him as a complete charlatan in the eyes of any unbiased person. Besides, the lingam is seen not to emerge from his mouth – but from a towel he was holding! (See transcript and/or choose a video clip)
Andrew Billen of The Times also wrote: “Producing necklaces and rings from thin air may seem small beer to us, but then we have watched Derren Brown. And there is no doubting Baba’s miraculous ability to raise money to pump fresh water to remote villages in Andhra Pradesh and to build a new, free hospital designed by one of Prince Charles’s favourite architects, Keith Critchlow (worryingly, given his proximity to the Crown).”

Isaac Tigrett worships Sai Baba

2) One of Sai Baba’s foremost devotees and donors, Isaac Tigrett, believes in sexual abuse by his guru. Andrew Billen, of The Times (of London) wrote:-

“One of the richest supporters of the Indian guru Sai Baba – no less than Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe – told his interviewer that he was perfectly willing to believe that Baba was simultaneously a) quite likely a paedophile and b) God incarnate.” from The Times (of London) Andrew Billen. Here is a short excerpt of the BBC interview with Tigrett:
Tanya Datta: But even if it was proven to you that Sai Baba was a paedophile and a serial sex abuser, you¹re saying it wouldn’t change the fact that he is your guru. (Tigrett laughs uproariously)
Isaac Tigrett: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He could go out and murder someone tomorrow, as I said, it’s not going to change my evolution, it’s not going to change the good things that have come out of my relationship down there.
Tanya Datta: Does that mean that some part of you believes there could be some truth to the rumours?
Isaac Tigrett:Oh, absolutely I believe there is truth to the rumours. (See full transcript and/or video clip).

3) Vile sexual abuse and threats by Sathya Sai Baba alleged:
Tom Adair in The Scotsman wrote: “The programme gathered American former devotees who claimed that Sai Baba had abused them, had exposed himself to them, indulged in oral sex and then sworn them to secrecy. This sexual degradation had shaken their faith. These victims included a father and a son who were alleged to have been abused over many years. It was implied that many Indian boys had also been taken advantage of but were too scared to make public statements.”

That the last sentence is true, many former devotees worldwide in good standing in their professions and wider communities can attest, including former prominent leaders in the Sathya Sai Organization. Survivors of sexual abuse of young males by Sai Baba and certain of those close to him have confidentially shared their accounts of abuses and other deceptions not only with others, including qualified and experienced counselling professionals but and also with leading media such as the BBC, DR (Denmark’s national broadcaster, and major newspapers in the several countries. The accounts are deeply saddening and extremely convincing. (see short video clips) Some Sai students have also posted their accounts on the Internet, though mostly anonymously for obvious reasons, not least considering the murders of students that took place and were condoned by Sathya Sai Baba and the ashram.

Karl French of the Financial Times wrote: “Sai Baba is allegedly given to subjecting some of his young male acolytes to a “ritual healing process” in which he rubs oil into their genitals. Those seeking a definition of denial should tune in to hear Tigrett insist that his devotion to his guru would be undiminished even it were proved beyond question that these accusations are well founded.”
Note that they were admitted (in e-mail and/or on National Danish news TV) by leading Danish leaders in the Sathya Sai Organization, who denied that it could be any form of sexual molestation (see here).

Terry Ramsey in The Evening Standard U.K. wrote: “Let Alaya, a young American man who is one of Sai Baba’s former followers, explain about a private meeting he had with the guru while a boy: “He took me aside and put oil on his hands and told me to drop my pants and rubbed my genitalia with the oil. Then he pulled me close and started kissing me hard on the mouth. And this is just one of the milder allegations of abuse. Sai Baba, it seems, has been doing this sort of thing for years, but no one ever dared question him.”

Alaya Rahm tried to get legal redress against Sathya Sai Baba to book via a case against the US Sathya Sai Organization, but since a case against Sathya Sai Baba in absentia was disallowed and since there was no registered organization in the USA, the case had to be withdrawn. Meanwhile, he has not withdrawn a single word of his allegations, not have any of the other 30 or so persons who have made public statements alleging being sexual abused by Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Baba cannot be sued in India, for he has up to now been protected by the highest authorities from investigation and attempts at prosecution for sexual and other crimes. See Alaya Rahms Lawsuit vs Sathya Sai Society of America – Joint Statement by the International JuST Group and the Rahm family

4) ‘Cold-blooded’ Police Executions in Sai Baba’s bedroom:

Mr. V. P. Nair, former Home Minister of the Andhra Pradesh government

VPB Nair, former Home Secretary, Andhra Pradesh, at the time of the murders (see transcript/video clip)
It is essential to note that any inaccuracies in the film were trivial and do not affect the main thrust of the evidence, which all neutral press observers regarded as very damning.

With gross dishonesty, proxy defenders of Sathya Sai Baba (eg. Gerald Joe Moreno) on the Internet and elsewhere have made much of the small inaccuracies, as they did, for example, in the case of the Paul Lewis article in British newspaper The Guardian [and always do on every issue]. See, The Indian living god, the paedophilia claims and the Duke of Edinburg Awards This technique is used wilfully to mislead and cover-up, since no Sai defender can refute the facts documented by the BBC as pointed out in the above.The same applies to Sathya Sai Baba’s chief propagandist, Prof. G. Venkataraman, head of a Sathya Sai Baba world-wide radio broadcasting network.

Further Reading The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision

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Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization
See also Devotee attacks on the Sai petition and petitioners

Sai Baba miracles

Were Sai Baba’s alleged miracles what they seemed or not?

For a start, if one’s faith depends upon believing in miracles as performed by Sathya Sai Baba, then it will waver and fall when such miracles are explained by science or especially when they exposed as fraud. Even in the face of indisputable evidence against miracles, ones dependency on faith that is entirely blind – and all that it involves in social and emotional terms – can be so powerful that one cannot free oneself from it.

Sathya Sai miracles, when filmed, are NOT what they seem

No miracles have been scientifically validated, but in many cases fraudulence has been exposed. Fraud by Sathya Sai Baba has been demonstrated in his case – and testified by numerous former devotees (and even some present devotees). One can see a prime example of this on the film made by the BBC team at Shivarathri in 2004 See video clip of the failed/faked lingam production file size only 700 Kbs. Further to underline the falsity of this alleged ‘materialization’ of a golden egg-shaped ‘lingam’ in his stomach is provided in his explanation afterwards as to why he collapsed – that the golden lingam (which did not come from his mouth at all but from the towel he was holding) weighed three tons!! Yet it was put on a flimsy table without any problem. View Sai Baba’s collapse to cover up his failure file size only 1.6 Mb  View Sai Baba’s collapse (file size 1.6 Mb), and See Sai Baba make his preposterous claim explaining the collapse – file size only 1 Mb

The transcripts of the commentary on these videos is available here

A selection of video clips showing Sathya Sai Baba perform like a bad magician are available here

Alleged miracles are reported in connection with most religions from over the entire globe all the time, and have been throughout history. One example is the Shirdi Sai Baba statuette in Bangalore claimed to have ‘miraculously’ opened an eye. Whether this is fraud or not is hard to determine with complete certainty, probably even for the owner of the statuette (for example, it could have been substituted without his knowledge for a number of possible reasons. Note that I am not claiming this as fact in this case, just pointing out how many possibilities there are).

Sathya Sai Baba Educare teaching

Sathya Sai Baba’s supreme spiritual teaching

The educational system started in Sathya Sai Baba’s name on his recommendation – variously called Sathya Sai Education in Human Values or Sathya Sai Educare, claims to be spiritual for teaching of values, not religious. However it is totally shot through and through with religious ideas and superstitions, the so-called “human values” being, according to this self-proclaimed Incarnate Godhead Creator of the Universe, eternal values instituted by him! In short, unchanging and Divine, and not thereby human values.

The above quotation shows the peak of Sathya Sai Baba’s supposed wisdom! What a marvellous aim for education – total mindlessness, erasing all knowledge as an illusion. This is not taught to children, but it lurks behind the entire system of ‘education’ through which children would be inducted into the faith in God and not least – obviously – in Sathya Sai Baba as that being. This negation of the world in which we live is derived from Hinduism’s teaching of Advaita… philosophically one of the most alienated and self-contradictory forms of abstract ‘metaphysical’ or otherworldly speculation ever devised. Sathya Sai Baba holds this to be the highest teaching, while – in outrageous self-contradiction – he also employs the full spectrum of Indian beliefs and superstitions to supplement it! The result, a pick-and-mix teaching which incorporates every kind of Indian religious viewpoint, with some Christianity thrown in, into a huge hodge-podge.

The so-called Educare or Education in Human Values system has, however, been adopted in numerous communities around the world, invariably deprived of other educational opportunities and hence open to any influence that seems beneficial. The rigidity of the ideas, the total absence of any critical thinking or research, the rejection of all educational wisdom of the ages as represented in world education systems and universities, and the complete lack of any teaching qualification of the majority of the voluntary ‘teachers’ in these schools is appalling, despite the good but misguided intention of those devotees of Sathya Sai Baba who would wish to improve the world.

Examine the educational system and human values of Sathya Sai Baba here, here, his religious fundamentalism here and here

The moral and intellectual dangers of his Educare schools are examined here

Unique Shirdi Sai Photo – private ownership

In 1984 I visited a (supposedly) reformed thief who has long presided over what is often called ‘the Thief’s Temple’ in Sri Ranga Patnam near Mysore, known as Halagappa. He told me he was a baggage lifter (thief) when he was younger, and Sathya Sai Baba told him to stop and open the Sri Ranga Patna orphanage, which he did. We were alone and he told me his life story, beginning with how he has been taken by his uncle to visit Shirdi Sai Baba. As proof he showed me a very old framed photograph on the wall of his temple (it was then a very simple building without the marble he later installed). There was Shirdi Sai Baba with his uncle. At that time there were reputedly only five other known photographs of Shirdi Sai Baba. However, Halagappa was not more than 50 years old then (in 1985), but since Shirdi Sai Baba died in 1918, Halagappa would have had to be at least 70 years of age to be able to visit Shirdi with his uncle. That would make him 90 years old now. Conclusion; Halagappa cannot have been telling the truth! Doubtless another part of his mercenary deception whereby he gathers huge funds from Sai Baba devotees?

I do not know whether Halagappa’s photo is genuine or whether he has ever allowed it to be copied by any means. It may be of interest for Shirdi Sai Baba followers to research into this question. It does however show Shirdi Sai Baba, not as a portrait but standing amid a group of persons. However, be warned about the so-called “miracles” of vibuthi, amrit and other supposed ‘materializations’ that Halagappa shows visitors. Sathya Sai Baba devotees ought to know that several warning have been made in Sanathana Sarathi against visiting this ‘Thief’s Temple’ and at one time Alvin Drucker told me and others that Sai Baba warned him against going there.

Warnings from Sathya Sai Baba about Halagappa:

Sathya Sai Baba has himself warned strongly in discourses against “happenings in Mysore and Madras” (Sathya Sai Speaks vol. 10, p. 186) and “in Mysore state there are some who distribute amrith, vibhuuthi and other articles announcing that they are showering from their pictures at their places… Devotees should keep far away from such places and persons” (Sathya Sai Speaks vol. 11, p. 147). Sanathana Sarathi also published warnings against the Mysore/Sri Ranga Patna orphanage and unauthorised money collections there, as seen here.

Official Warning against Halagappa in Sathya Sai Baba's journal

So much for the genuineness of Halagappa’s tricks and his collection of funds (another financial competitor to the Sai Central Trust!) Crowds of visitors who do not get what they hope from Sathya Sai Baba flock there (aided by a fleet of taxi drivers which promote the place and earn large sums from foreigners who have no idea of the going price).

The supposed ‘miracles’ at Halagappa’s ‘Thief’s Temple’ in Srirangapatnam
It was reported by Sai Baba’s biographer, N. Kasturi, and many others that Halagappa had a box which refilled itself when shaken, but Halagappa did not have one when I visited him in 1985. The vibuthi which reportedly “never runs out” is clearly extremely elusive! I have tried to investigate this alleged phenomenon during nine visits to the ashrams – a total of well over 1 year sitting at one or two darshans daily – but never did I see it or meet anyone else who had. Professor Erlendur Haraldsson, who my wife and I have known since 1989 and who still visits us, has still not been able to get any evidence of endless vibuthi supplies, despite decades of interest in the matter. I have seen how people take smaller and smaller pinches of the stuff to make it seem that it never runs out… and somehow it gets more precious as the amount diminishes!!

Why have no independent, critical scientists been able to carry out fully controlled experiments to prove that vibuthi or amrit “never run out”. Or that they “manifest” on pictures and elsewhere. In the YouTube video of the amrit amulet and apparent flow, one does not see how he puts the spoon back into the jar full of amrit each time he scrapes away the apparent flow, for the spoon conveys amrit back onto the medallion The spoon in the jar can just be seen in the second showing of this in the YouTube video. That the amulet or medallion is curved at the back also allows amrit to collect there, and it may well be hollow too. No one has ever been allowed to study this alleged phenomenon properly, without Halagappa’s well-practices interference, always exactly the same routine! Why? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFq_fnyXKSk). It is no use “watching like a hawk” as someone claims to have done, one must also use one’s brains, apply critical investigation and at least some knowledge of conjuring and illusions etc. Read more about the methods by which Halagappa convinces visitors that the amrit is a genuine miracle.

Cessation of vibuti ash and amrit nectar for some years
However, Halagappa has told that his pictures stopped producing vibuthi, and his locket no longer produced the liquid nectar, saying he thought it because Sathya Sai Baba was angry with him for throwing out his wife and taking another! Then he claims it began again later. The orphans Halagappa looks after were wearing rags, had no books or other facilities, while his wife wears diamonds and the concrete room where the ‘temple’ was has been marbled and beautified in a costly way.

Sathya Sai Baba has by no means cornered the ‘spiritual market’ on amrit, as one may see here;- http://sivakvepa.blogspot.com/2006/02/sai-amrit-vani-at-veena-maas-place.html

If anyone wished to confirm that amrita is based on tea rose essence, (Not jasmine, as has been mistakenly stated) one may search the words ‘tea rose’ on Google and select one of the wide range of tea rose scented products. Tea roses have long been famous for their exceptional fragrance and there are many variants. Some of these are literally identical to the scent of Sai Baba amrit, so this fragrance is an earthly product, not heavenly, as many Sai devotees imagine!

Sathya Sai Baba as the Vedic Trinity

Sathya Sai Baba claimed to be Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva

Sathya Sai Baba claims to be all Gods rolled into one (see here)

Not satisfied with claiming to be the central figure of the supposed triple avatar of this Kali Age, Sathya Sai Baba lays claim (through his close followers – see left) to being Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. This is an affront to Hinduism – because Brahma and Shiva are regarded throughout Hinduism as never incarnating. (as proof Search Google for “Shiva does not incarnate”) That Brahma, believed by most Hindus to be the Creator, should also appear incarnated as part of his own creation is just ridiculous. For example see this quotation from Ramananda Prasad on the Gita, “In a true sense Para Brahma does not incarnate. He actually never leaves His Param Dhama, the Supreme Abode!”

Sathya Sai Baba has said many conflicting things about Shiva – that he is a real disincarnate Being existing beyond the senses, that the name Shiva actually represents a form of bodily energy in everyone, that the Shiva-Parvathi story is a myth, that Shiva never incarnates and that Shiva has incarnated as himself!

See also Sathya Sai Baba’s excessive claims
Sathya Sai Baba – claims to world fame

Miracles vs. Magic – Sathya Sai Baba

P.C. Sorcar Jr. shows ‘magic miracle’

The outspoken and modern Indian journalist, Vir Sanghvi, challenged Sathya Sai Baba in the Hindustan Times in 2006 by showing that the allegations of sexual abuse against him are too numerous to dispute.

Now in 2008 he does the same, showcasing the famous Indian showman magician P.C. Sorcar (Jr.). Vir Sanghvi claims that “every single “miracle” performed by India’s swamis can be reproduced – with more skill – by any moderately talented magician”.

His article about the abilities of magicians who are sceptics can be read here.

View the original article in the Hindustan Times by Vir Sanghvi here

Or click on the thumbnail images below to view scans of Sanghvi’s article.

International awards and Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba has never won any recognised international award. Yet it was made known that his ‘holy’ name was submitted by Vajpayee’s Indian Government for the Nobel Peace Prize (politically naive and doomed from the start!). Firstly, Sathya Sai Baba supports those who have been vastly increasing the militarism and the nuclear arsenal of India, not least by patronising the designer of atomic weapons (Dr. Bhagavantam, deceased) and the designer of the latest nuclear delivery missiles – President Kalam. Despite this, some inconsequential relative of Alfred Nobel (who thus bears the same surname) has pronounced that Sai Baba ought to get the Nobel Prize, which suggestion followers trumpeted to the firmament repeatedly. A pathetic attempt to draw attention to their self-proclaimed God Incarnate, who – despite all the billions of dollars in hand – has not made one inch of progress in getting international recognition from any serious institutions. UNESCO has – as is well known – washed its hands of him and has since it posted its advisory on him never accepted invitations to partake in his self-glorifying ‘conferences on education’.

Sathya Sai Baba as Nobel Peace Prize Candidate The human values and moral standing of anyone who is seriously considered for the Nobel Peace Prize must be impeccable. However, Sathya Sai Baba has been more widely accused of sexual abuses in public than any comparable figure, but the Indian Government, being led by devotees of Sai Baba, has successfully quashed all court petitions against him – so far! Moreover, he was present to the murder of six of his devotees within his private apartment in June, 1993 and the case has never been cleared up, no court proceedings and politically quashed Indian Central Bureau of Investigations case! The Nobel Committee has been fully apprised of these facts and – even were it to regard Sathya Sai Baba as having done anything to forward peace in the world other than to preach – the unresolved murders and uninvestigated sexual abuses would sink his candidature in advance. Then there was his warm appreciation of Dictator Idi Ami… just the ticket for a Nobel Peace Prize winner?

Satya Sai bogus representation by Sai officials

“Every man should show his sense of gratitude to society by rendering selfless service. It was for this purpose that the Seva Organization was started. But even here the Seva Organizarions are being used to promote one’s name and fame and not to render service for its own sake.” (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 30., p. 122).

World-wide publicity but no world-wide recognition The Sathya Sai Organisation worldwide, however, puts great effort into spreading the name and fame of Sathya Sai. Just witness the number of websites extolling him by official Sathya Sai Organisation centres! Virtually all group meetings are primarily for praising Sathya Sai through devotional singing (bhajans) and talking about him to newcomers, holding public meetings to spread his name and his word! The inevitable conclusion is that it is Sathya Sai baba above all others who uses the Sathya Sai Organisation to promote his name and fame!

How Sathya Sai Baba was deluded into thinking he would be able to get the Nobel Peace Prize!

Sai Baba’s Mission to Save India

Consider the unsupportable claims of Sathya Sai Baba that his “Divine Mission” – which cannot possibly fail – is to clean up India before doing the same for the rest of the world! He is acclaimed by so many Indian Prime Ministers, Presidents as a holy and divine personality, an infallible spiritual master and a God Incarnate, who they have proclaimed officially to be an Indian ‘National treasure’!

Sathya Sai Baba has long claimed that his “Divine Mission” cannot possibly fail So far neither he nor those who follow him have accomplished very little indeed in changing India, as proved by many horrifying statistics over poverty and a wide range of ill that still haunt most of the long-suffering Indian populace. He is now wheelchair-ridden and reportedly partially senile octogenarian. These elitist, well-heeled Sai devotee politicians are largely responsible for most of the continuing mega-problems of the state of India. Sai Baba himself told in an interview (where Mr. V. Ramnath of the IAS was present) that India is not a poor country, only the sum equivalent to India’s massive debt is hidden in Indians’ Swiss bank accounts!

Take a lookat one problem, India’s battle against AIDS:-

NEW DELHI, India, 30 November 2006 – “On the eve of World AIDS Day, former US President Bill Clinton and Sonia Gandhi, one of India’s leading politicians, launched India’s first National Paediatric Programme on HIV and AIDS. During the launch, Mr. Clinton noted that as many as 11,000 people are infected by HIV daily, and children represent a significant number of cases.”

Number of AIDS orphans

• There are over 15 million children orphaned by AIDS around the world.
• Experts believe that millions more orphans remain unaccounted for in India, China and Russia.
• At least 10 million more children will be orphans by AIDS by 2010.

A universal difficulty in obtaining accurate data may be that individuals fail to report child labour participation during surveys, for fear of persecution. UN statistics shows that there are ‘2.5 million people in India living with HIV, according to new estimates’, UNAIDS (2007, July 6th), ) of which countless thousands are children!

HIV and AIDS are but one of India’s crises. Unlike Sai Baba, the world in general knows that India- despite its improved economy – is still full of the homeless, of slum cities, beggars of every kind and the land where the degradation of human beings exceeds all limits of decency. Harrowing reports of killings, violence, unrest, injustice, and worse continue to come forth on the international media. The pavements of polluted cities are home to the poorest of the poor, lepers, limbless mendicants deformed horribly in childhood into broken-legged ’spidermen’ and head-narrowed ‘rat-headed children’ and other pitiful shapes and forms – for the purposes of begging. See more here

Note also that India’s progress is being hindered by Sathya Sai Baba promoting belief in black magic , in fabulous ancient myths and superstitions which are patently not real and many other false beliefs besides.

See also Sathya Sai Baba’s “divine teaching” on sexuality
Sathya Sai Baba’s unfulfilled promises about orphans

India: God-driven or God-forsaken

Sai Baba’s health – miracle or self-sacrifice?

Sathya Sai brags about his perfect health

Do you want to remain young always?

The text inset on the left is part of what Sathya Sai Baba said on Mahashivaratri 2000. It was not very long before he had a second hip fracture, in 2003. Though operated on by six doctors and a hip-joint was implanted – did not heal properly. This simple operation carried out on countless patients in modern hospital was either botched (not a good advertisement for his much vaunted “Super-speciality” hospital!) or else Sai Baba did not take the precautions and put stress on his hip too soon. In either case, it shows that there is no truth in what he has proclaimed about himself. He has been wheel-chair ridden since 2003.

Worse than al this, Sathya Sai Baba had set about ‘misleading’ his followers before the hip joint collapsed by claiming that he was staggering because mother earth was so attracted to his hold feet that he had difficulty walking. This he put down to magnetism – even claiming it caused everything to stick to him!! Such a barking mad idea is strange indeed, coming from one who claims Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omni this and that. See ‘Magnetism of feet and hands farce’

How can one believe in a person who lies so much?
Not only his integrity and truthfulness, but also his supposed purity have thus come under suspicion yet further – in additions to the widespread and credibly detailed testimonies by young men about his sexual abuses of them. After the botched job, he made further impossible claims about his hip and bones, which were soundly refuted by the course of actual events.

Another article also exposes the hip injury. Some devotees even try to deny that Sathya Sai Baba ever said anything about magnetic feet or tried to cover up his hip joint deceptions, but all is thoroughly documented from his own discourse and propaganda machine.

Sathya Sai miracle of transformation of India?

Sathya Sai Baba has proclaimed that he will clean up India’s problems before tackling those of the rest of the world. What has he achieved in that respect? There are still vast problems of social inequality, racial discrimination, poverty, health, child labour, child prostitution, debt slavery, violent religious conflict and ecological deprivation. There is low public unaccountability and constant major failures in law enforcement. Above all corruption is still virtually systemic in India. The rise in the Indian economy has only benefit ted the 800 million agricultural population and city slum dwellers peripherally at best. (as one example, half of Mumbai’s more than 17-million population are slum dwellers).
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Sathya Sai Baba, HIV and AIDS
One of the many crucial problems India has is HIV-AIDS and its consequences, such as loss of breadwinners in a family and orphaning of children. However, Sathya Sai Baba has a view which is more puritanically Catholic than both the former and the present Pope, and he has influenced India’s leaders who are his devotees into concentrating on telling people to abstain from sex as a policy against HIV and AIDS – in short, a totally unrealistic and traditional head-in-the-sand ignorance.

In India the population of actual AIDS sufferers in India some years ago was estimated incorrectly as over 5 million persons. However, the current estimate is 2.5 million, almost 50% of that figure. The reduced figure is due to improved methodology in assessing who suffers from AIDS (not due to cures, while a reduction can have partly be influenced by the great numbers of deaths from AIDS). The problem of establishing the numbers of AIDS sufferers and predictions of future developments are considerable for various reasons, including prurience (see here)

The authorities in power, many of whom worship Sai Baba, argue that it would be offensive to speak to people about sex and AIDS, condoms etc., but experience by independent organisations show this to be wrong. Leaders are simply out of touch with the population, from whom the live as far as possible in physical and social isolation.

That Sai Baba cannot touch on sex discussion is revealing! It strongly suggests that his real views would awaken astonishment and would cause many to fall away from his movement and might also draw more attention to his own very widely testified sexual proclivities and preferences. He lists lust as one of the seven or cardinal sins, without explaining what kind of lust even, though he always claims to have no bodily desires. However, many factual and convincing accounts by a wide variety of young men indicate clearly that Sathya Sai Baba has tried to change them into homosexuals for his own gratification. In India, the government researchers – together with Save the Children and UNICEF – have revealed the huge extent of sexual physical abuses in a prestigious study the extent of sexual abuse of girls and boys in India

Sathya Sai Baba never speaks up on India’s worst sufferings: One of mankind’s most basic needs and drives is virtually unmentionable by the supposed ‘world universal teacher’! Avoiding subjects like condoms, AIDS and other sex-related issues like a pestilence (except in the privacy of the inner interview room with young men or with his very closest confidantes), he has one or twice spoken in public that the best for everyone is abstention from sexual behaviour (and of course ‘Love, love, love!!). His real views, if more widely known, would awaken astonishment and most people would have to leave his movement (unless they were to act as hypocrites). He does not want to draw ANY attention to himself where sex – especially gay sex – is involved. He lists lust as one of the seven sins, without explaining what kind of lust! He always claims to have no bodily desires, so how does he force himself to eat, sleep or whatever else he does? However, many factual and convincing accounts by a wide variety of young men indicate clearly that he has tried to change young men into homosexuals and for his own gratification!

What a parody of “spiritual guidance to mankind”! What is ‘spiritual’ about totally avoiding the issues connected with sexuality? Usually it is prurience. very often caused by guilty secrets! In contrast to Sathya Sai Baba shyness in addressing sexuality strongly suggests guilt and shame feelings about sexuality. The great Sufi mystic and famous poet, Rumi, regarded sexual desires in youth as ‘letting one’s feathers grow out’, without which dangerous problems can be caused later. (The Essential Rumi, p. 64). This is enlightened attitude is favoured by an increasing majority in most modern countries nowadays, especially young people. As for Sathya Sai Baba’s deranged and megalomaniac claim that the whole world will be in his organisation, it seems the most unlikely future scenario possible.

See also The full, long history of Sathya Sai Baba sex allegations and testimonies
On the officially accepted oiling of young male genitals by Sathya Sai Baba