Faked miracles to try to promote Sathya Sai Baba

Since the entire Sathya Sai Baba myth has collapsed around them, those who remain devotees despite the widespread revelations about his deceptions, lies, fraud, crimes and early death often struggle to convince other by reporting ordinary events as miracles, or even faking would be proofs of miracles (see manipulated photo below right). 

The depths of widespread superstition in India can hardly be plumbed, it takes very little to blow up a commonplace event in to a miracle. This is seen in the absurd obscurantism of the legal charge of blasphemy by the Catholc Church against the well-known rationalist Sanal Edamaruku who has had to flee India so as to be able to act freely to defend himself because the police were trying to arrests him. He had discovered that the alleged miracle of water from the feet of a Jesus statue was caused by a blocked drain! 

Slithering cobra! The Mumbai Mirror is keen to promote superstitions, as is seen (on right) in the account of how a cobra (read ‘Sathya Sai Baba in his sesha form) visited his grave for a slither round (‘samadhi‘). Anyone who knows Puttaparthi well is aware that cobras are not at all uncommon and have frequently been found in  the ashram. My wife was sitting at darsan one day in the 1980s when a cobra fell from the overhanging trees among the ladies near her. We have seen other cobras in the village, and one came up the drain pipe into the toilet of a foreign devotee. But in the Indian mind, cobras are associated most firmly with Shiva and divinity. It was claimed by early biographers that a cobra rocked Sai Baba in his cradle, but his sisters and elder brother both denied this, saying a cobra was seen outside the house. Now, again, the cobra rears its head as a divinity in the deluded minds of his devotees who are constantly seeking proofs of his continued existence (somehow, some when) and of his utmost claims of divinity, over which so much doubt has been cast.

The following account is being circulated by e-mail to SB devotees, more attempts to help them keep their chins up, I suppose:-

Dear Sai Brothers & Sisters, Sai Sons & Daughters,

 Here is an amazing miracle photo. On the first anniversary of Bhagawan’s Maha Samadhi, Sai devotees of Palembang ( South Sumatra-Indonesia ) celebrates the day as a thanksgiving day. To express their gratitude to Swami, they did seva for many poor, aged and leprosy people at hospitals. They also did Nagar Sankirtan.

   This photo was taken on Sunday, 22 April 2012 when they were doing Nagar Sankirtan at Sriwijaya Museum Palembang. We can see clearly the rays from the sky covering only the area where the devotees were doing Nagar Sankirtan. All the devotees were fully covered by rays. It is really a blessing by Swami.

Comment: The photo (reduced in size here) shows a ray of white light which manages to penetrate the foliage above most evenly, which gives away the origin of this colourless ray… a superimposition by a zealous deceiver. The full-sized photo shows other subtle signs that it is a manipulation. This will not matter to devotees, for they have such faith that they can mostly believe whatever they want. 

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