Shiva-Shakthi and Sathya Sai Baba’s alleged self-healing in 1963

Alexandra Nagel has written: “Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the famous Indian guru allegedly born in 1926 in Puttaparthi, a village in South India (now a thriving town) where he still resides in his ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam, ‘the Abode of Supreme Peace’. He is visited daily by thousands of devotees from all around the world. One of the many special, divine claims Sai Baba has made is that he is a combined incarnation of Shiva and his female counterpart, or consort, Shakti. Shiva is one of the trimurti, the Hindu trinity of Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu, who originated as the early Vedic god Rudra, a malignant storm god. Shiva is a destroyer and angry avenger, but also a benign herdsman of souls. With similar ambivalence, Shiva is associated with asceticism and yoga, and with the erotic. He is worshipped in the form of a lingam, the sacred phallus, or a lingam in the” yoni, the sacred representation of the female organ.”

Comment: Leaving aside the association of Sathya Sai Baba with the homo-erotic abuses of which he is very widely accused in sworn testimonies and affidavits,and also whether he was indeed born as a physical hermaphrodite (as some persons have independently claimed), let us look at the claims he himself made when he first announced he was the reincarnated embodiment of both Shiva and Shakthi, resulting from a boon granted to a sage by Shiva in the hoary past.

It is claimed that Sathya Sai Baba illustrated his powers by curing himself  of a severe stroke that he had allegedly suffered for eight days. By using one hand to sprinkle water on the paralyzed side of his torso, he recovered immediately. This he performed before thousands of people, then holding the discourse below in which he told why he had ‘taken on’ the stroke’. In this discourse he also told that he would reincarnate again as Prema Sai. 

Shiva Shakthi
quotes from Sathya Sai Baba’s Discourse Gurupournima Day, 6 July 1963. (see Sathya Sai Speaks III 5, 19.)

Shiva Shakthi quotes from Sathya Sai Baba’s Discourse Gurupournima Day, 6 July 1963. (see Sathya Sai Speaks III 5, 19.)

“This is not Swami’s illness; this is an illness that Swami has taken on in order to save some one. Swami has no illnesses, nor will he get ill at any time.”
Comment: “nor will he get ill at any time”. But dozens of newspapers and the Sathya Sai Hospital authorities constantly reported that he was suffering from multiple organ failure – heart, liver, lungs, kidneys! Whereupon he died (or was ‘disconnected from life support’ very conveniently on Easter Sunday (when Jesus was supposedly resurrected!).

“You must all be happy; that alone will make Swami happy. If you grieve, Swami will not be happy. Your joy is Swami’s food.” Sathya Sai Baba had repeatedly insisted in many public discourse that he is always happy, nothing ever impinged on his joy and bliss, not could it ever do so! He even said in public that he always “kept up a smiling face” (despite the strong criticism he was under!). His account continued:-

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Excerpt from the Shiva-Shakthi Discourse also quoted here. NO SAI BABA WRITERS HAVE EVEN THOUGHT TO SUSPECT THAT THIS WAS CLEVER PLAY-ACTING TO REVIVE HIS FALLING POPULARITY AT THE TIME DUE TO CONTROVERSY ABOUT HIS MIRACLES ETC. HE WAS PRAISED WIDELY AS A CONSUMMATE ACTOR. HIS SERVITORS LIKE KASTURI WERE IN FEARFUL AWE OF CONTRADICTING HIM OR SUSPECTING HIM OF FRAUDULENCE (OR SEX ABUSES) EVEN IN THEIR PRIVATE THOUGHTS , SO HE COULD EASILY HAVE DRAWN THE WOOL OVER THEIR EYES. FURTHER, HIS DOCTORS WERE NEVER ALLOWED TO TOUCH HIM, AS CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTS TELL (SEE KASTURI). TO FAKE SEMI-PARALYSIS AND EVEN A HEART CONDITION ARE NOT EXTREME FEATS, ESPECIALLY IF HE KNEW ANYTHING ABOUT YOGA 8WHICH HE CLAIMED, VIRTUALLY, HE HAD ORIGINALLY INVENTED IN HIS ETERNAL ROLE AS DIVINE OMNISCIENT). THE STORY SEEMS VERY FAR-FETCHED, BUT SAI BABA LOVED TO RELATE FAR-FETCHED STORIES - ESPECIALLY ABOUT HIMSELF - TO ASTONISH HIS AUDIENCES.

“For those who have no refuge, God is the refuge (Dikku lenivaniki devude gathi). That is exactly the reason I had to take on the disease that one helpless devotee was to get. He had to suffer this dire illness, as well as the four heart attacks that accompanied it, and he would not have survived it. So, according to my duty (dharma) to protect devotees (bakthasamrakshana), I had to rescue him. Of course, this is not the first time that I have taken on the illness of persons whom I wanted to save. Even in the previous Sariram at Shirdi, I had this responsibility. The suffering that you saw was too much for this particular devotee, so I had to save him by going through it myself. This is my play (leela), my nature. It is part of the task for which I have come, sishyarakshana. People who were near me during the last week were asking me to give them the name of the person whom I had saved. I told them that it would make them angry against that person, for Swami, they would say, “had to undergo much pain in order to save that one person.”

“This is perhaps the longest period when I kept the devotees wondering and worried. That was because of the heart attacks, which had to come later on the devotee, from which also he had to be saved. Then, there is another reason why the 8-day period had to be observed. I shall tell you why. This means I must tell you about myself, about something I haven’t disclosed so far, something that I was keeping within myself for the last 37 years. The time has come to announce it. This is a sacred day, and I shall tell you.”

Let me tell you one more thing: Nothing can impede or halt the work of the Avathaara. When I was upstairs all these days, some people were foolishly saying, ”It is all over with Sai Baba,” and they turned back many who were coming to Puttaparthy! Some said I was in samadhi, as if I were a spiritual aspirant (sadhaka)!

Comment: It IS all over with Sai Baba now, and his influence is dwindling as seen by all the relative emptiness and unprofitability of Puttaparthi and Whitefield areas,complete lack of media interest, falling statistics on visitors to his sites etc. His minions who presided over his demise said he was in samadhi - and they even considered seriously burying him alive (see documentation), calling it the rite of ‘Sajeeva Samadhi’!

Some feared I was the victim of black magic, as if anything can affect me! The splendor of this Avathar will go on increasing, day by day. Formerly, when the Govardhanagiri (a mountain) was raised aloft by the little boy Krishna, the cowherd maids and boys (gopees and gopalas) realized that Krishna was the Lord. Now, not one Govardhanagiri but a whole range will be lifted, you will see! Have patience, have faith.

Comment: This was a typical excessive boast by the self-promoting God Incarnate Father who sent Jesus, Deity of Deities etc. ad. inf. He was affected greatly by his condition from his 85th birthday (when he cried in public, see Sathya Sai Baba crying (video)) to he removal to hospital, when he is reported by a very reliable devotee witness to have called out to devotees to save him (see documentation)!

 

 

Belief and moralism in Sathya Sai Baba’s “5 human values”

Surely we should never let our beliefs stop us from doing what is right and good. Religious beliefs are founded on uncertainty – not on knowledge, but on believing – and are therefore no secure or final criterion of what is right or good. Actions motivated by religious beliefs often conflict with knowledge, and religious morals are often distorted by the hegemony of faith and incomplete moral doctrine over common sense, consensus and shared human values. The nature of human values is much less simplistic than Sathya Sai Baba’s five badly-distinuished and limited values. Values are human ideals which vary in emphasis and application throughout the many cultures and sub-cultures of the world, not set in stone by any divine agency. They have universal features, but are not monolithic and clearly separate values, unlike the vaunted ‘five human values’ of Sai Baba. Those are explained in relation to very traditional and mostly religious examples and the moralizing manner in which they are presented by SB reminds more of a set of biblical Commandments than living ideals working within changing society and world civilisation. See HUMAN VALUES AS COMMON IDEALS AND PRACTICAL RULES OF BEHAVIOUR

Remaining Sai Baba devotees are not facing up to the values of truth, nor of righteousness and even love in that they continue to ignore those who have been harmed by Sathya Sai Baba’s actions (see here and here). As soon as one honestly examines the known facts, one can no longer believe that Sathya Sai Baba’s will should overrule all his followers’ actions and nullify their moral consciences.

The murders again – 1993 in Sai Baba’s private quarters and  The Murder evidence viewed and interpreted in detail

Vanlige medlemmer av Sathya Sai-organisasjonen kan også klandres (are guilty too)

Vanlige medlemmer av Sai Org. bærer også skyld ((oversatt fra engelsk- translation from english)

by Barry Pittard 22 august 2011

Hver og en av oss er ansvarlige for våre egne handlinger, uavhengig av eventuelle formildende omstendigheter.

Hvis tiden noen gang var inne for den introspeksjon som Sai Baba forfektet at hans tilhengere skulle gjøre, er det nå. Dessuten har han lært sine tilhengere at de ikke skulle feste seg ved hans fysiske form eller ved hans ‘mirakler’. Men nettopp her snubler de troende. De gjør ikke det han ba dem om å gjøre. Men selv gjorde han heller ikke det han ba DEM om å gjøre.

Fra mange land verden over, har de som forlot Sathya Sai Baba og hans karismatiske kult måttet møte minst tre store lidelser: Den første var sjokk. For noen var sjokket spesielt akutt; nemlig for de som overlevde hans – og i noen tilfeller hans betrodde medhjelperes – seksuelle og andre overgrep. Enkelte av hans høyskole- og universitetslærere var blant som sto bak disse overgrepene.

Så kom sorgen. Ett av de smertefulle dilemmaene var det som pinte de foreldre som hadde undersøkt beretningene fra egne eller andre hengivnes familiemedlemmer som var blitt rammet av Sai Babas overgrep. De endte opp i en situasjon med små barn og andre familiemedlemmer eller venner – som fortsatt tilba og elsket Sathya Sai Baba.

En gruppe, som omfattet høyt kvalifiserte terapeuter med seksuelle overgrep som spesialfelt, tok på seg en rekke oppgaver. Et av første behovene var å forsøke å varsle og advare, som vi begynte med i 1999. Dette gjorde vi via nettverk blant tidligere hengivne, i håp (noe naivt, slik jeg ser det i ettertid) at de hengivne ville høre på dem som i mange år hadde vært respekterte Sai-arbeidere (noen av dem svært høyprofilerte ledere) i den internasjonale Sathya Sai Baba-organisasjon. Vi sendte mange henvendelser til representanter på høyt nivå for utenrikstjenestene i forskjellige land, til UNESCO, Interpol, forskjellige institusjoner som Sathya Sai Baba-organisasjonen hadde begynt å liere seg med og til internasjonale medier.

Noen tidligere tilhengere var så heldige å ha venner og kolleger som støttet seg. Kampen for å opprettholde effektiviteten i  familien, i det sosiale og det profesjonelle livet var uunngåelig. De som var pensjonister hadde på noen måter en fordel, for de hadde anledning til å gjøre det indre sorgarbeidet. Denne gruppen hadde også møtt mange av livets andre problemer, og fra dem kom noen som var i stand til å bringe innsikt og modenhet til andre som var yngre og ofte uten de dypere perspektivene, eller som hadde mer enn nok med studier eller en ung familie å ta seg av til å komme seg ordentlig gjennom sorgen.

I de siste månedene mange har tilhengere satt spørsmålstegn ved oppførselen til tjenestemenn i Sathya Sai Central Trust. Ikke bare har de blitt stilt overfor det faktum at deres “Gud” døde mange år før tiden han hadde forutsagt. De har også måttet erkjenne at han i hemmelighet hadde gjemt unna milliardbeløp i ulik valuta, sammen med store forråd av verdifullt gull, edelstener og andre luksusartikler i sitt forseglede boligkvarter. Dette fikk enorm dekning i de store mediene i India og i noen internasjonale aviser. Blant tilhengere, er det nå dyp bekymring angående tjenestemenn i Sathya Sai Central Trust. Det antas at noen har handlet riktig, andre galt, ja endog kriminelt.

Mange Sai Baba-hengivne vet nå at Sathya Sai Central Trust ikke er til å stole på.

I mer enn ti år har vi sagt at det var et stort behov for ansvarlighet, åpenhet og en plikt til å gi omsorg. Tilhengerne ignorerte oss og skjelte oss ut, og utviste ingenting av den sannheten, den riktige handlingen, freden eller kjærligheten som de alltid snakker om.  De så bort fra sin lærers formaning (slik han selv også gjorde): “alltid hjelpe, aldri såre”. De fortsatte å tilbe og støtte en som lot symboler på keiserlig prakt reises rundt seg. De visste at det var utallige uregelmessigheter, feilslåtte profetier, brutte løfter om healing, brutte løfter om å gi barn plass på skolene hans…

De visste at mange av lederne hans var ubehagelige, eneveldige, bøller på ego-tripp. Noen visste om skandaler i forbindelse med salg av leiligheter til hengivne, og at tjenestemenn på hovedkontoret hans snudde det døve øret til bønner fra dem som var blitt fralurt pengene de hadde betalt for leiligheter. Mange visste (men bare hvisket om det seg imellom) at det hadde vært dekkoperasjoner i forbindelse med dødsulykker, mistenkelige dødsfall og selvmord, og ikke minst de kaldblodige drapene i Sathya Sai Babas private rom i 1993. Noen forteller om tilfeller av brutalitet, inklusive de som ble utøvet mot Sai Babas college-studenter.

Kanskje vil mange av disse klanderverdige tilhengerne alltid klare å skjule sin skam. Men for andre er det en plikt å minne dem om deres ansvar som borgere, og som mennesker som gjør hevd på å ha et hjertelag.

I  also recommend a brief but  important summing-up of the Sathya Sai Baba situation by Barry Pittard:-
Sathya Sai Baba Cult Now Distraught and Broken, Like Its Founder In Last Year
and also Dr. John Hislop: Sathya Sai Baba Both Fallible and Infallible 

See the UNSECO Media Advisory warning against Sathya Sai Baba due to sexual abuse allegations and the Notice of Withdrawal by UNESCO from an educational conference in Puttaparthi
http://web.archive.org/web/20031003020809/http://www.unesco.org/education/highlights/media_advisory.htm

http://web.archive.org/web/20001207234100/www.unescobkk.org/news/aceid-withdrawal.htm

Sai Baba teachings childsplay, claims Phyllis Krystal

Phyllis Krystal, the prolific and most uncritical propagator of Sathya Sai Baba’s “teachings” claimed that they are so clear that a child can understand them and follow them. Were that so, it would be a real problem for anyone who would take them seriously in an adult world! However, the much-trumpeted teaching are superficial when they are simple… known to most devotees only in the form of aphorisms, a few sayings and statements. When they are not simple outpourings of the wonderful ‘eternal’ nature of universal love for God (i.e. for Sai Baba himself not least) and not least its otherworldly benefits, they are often little more than penny proverbs (eg. ‘see, hear, speak no evil’, ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’, ‘nature is the best teacher’). However, those who study the discourses and books by Sai Baba in any detail will soon find his “teachings” to be an amalgam of all manner of religious speculations, overwhelmingly of ancient Hindu origin or taken without acknowledgement from Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Swami Shivananda and other Indian figures. The teachings are often inseparably intertwined with mythological stories, or contemporary sayings and beliefs that circulate among the Indian populace, spiced with what amount to Indian ‘urban myths’ (known to those who have mixed with the lower classes of Indians, such as I did when a young officer cadet on a ship with an Indian crew). Sai Baba also promotes diverse and often mutually inconsistent Hindu theologies and philosophies with convoluted speculations, from the Vedas to advaita… not as “clear and simple” as children can understand, nor even at least 90% of adults. This cult of the simple and psychologically superficial is Krystal’s forte. 

Phyllis Kristal is known for having based her life and work exclusively on Sai Baba, writing books with spiritual advice of a simpler but as unrealistic content and Sai Baba usually expressed. She has no known qualifications as a psychologist or recognised practitioner of professionally accepted therapy, which is all too evident from her writings and also from her various talks to audiences of Sai Baba devotees. Her writing can be classified as New Age non-realism, the excessively positive thinking (Pollyanna) approach to problems, seeing them as overwhelmingly due to wrong thinking and attachment to desires and habits, nothing more. Her titles encapsulate the essence of her philosophy (‘Cutting the Ties that Bind’ and ‘Taming Our Monkey Mind’) She also made it known to devotees – including those who were defecting after the wave of sex abuse testimonies appeared on the Internet, that she accepts that Sathya Sai Baba molests young men and boys sexually, but attributed it to the fact that he is God and God can do anything since his ways are inscrutable. This belief has been stated in terms of (pseudo) Hindu theology by a person calling himself Datta Swami, as shown on a recent blog here.

See also Phyllis Krystal: Sathya Sai Baba believer

Mother Easwaramma’s ghostly visitations to Sathya Sai Baba

In a discourse on May 6, 1998, at Brindavan, Sathya Sai Baba told the audience how three boys sleep in his actual bedroom

One several occasions Sathya Sai Baba related at length and most bizarrely about visitations by the ghost of his mother, Easwaramma (alt. Eashwaramma). One such is shown in a scan of part of the discourse published in the official Sai Baba journal (see on right):

Some time after that, I asked my good friend V.K. Narasimhan – then the editor of Sanathana Sarathi -  why on earth he (with Sai Baba’s overview) had endorsed the publication of the revealing text, considering the allegations Tal Brooke had made about pedophilia against Sai Baba. At that time I was still a convinced devotee – though troubled by many inconsistencies and unanswered questions about him – and I had heard reports that Sai Baba was a homosexual, but I had consistently ignored and even ridiculed them, but I knew that a former close devotee, Tal Brooke, had written a book accusing Sai Baba of pedophilia, though I had never read it. Narasimhan said there had been no option, though he had disliked the account and its rambling nature. He even called it a concoction. 

Then I was still completely unable to believe that Sai Baba had any sexual relations whatever, and had some years earlier tried to convince a Belgian professor – Dr. Gabriel Spillers – that his strong opinion that Sai Baba had homosexual relations after talking to several young men could not possibly be true! (This is the classical response of an indoctrinated believer). During one of our many long private conversation sessions I asked VKN about the boys who slept in Sai Baba’s room and he was clearly uncomfortable, saying said it was a tradition (I assumed it was a boon granted by a spiritual master, such as to be allowed to massage his feet and legs etc. so I never thought to ask him more exactly what may be involved. According to him, the boys who slept in Sai Baba’s bedroom apartment were on the ground floor, while Swami slept in his room on the floor above, on his own. Despite this, in his discourse, Sai Baba stated definitively “Three boys sleep in Swami’s room.” Either VKN did not recall this or was embarrassed and so mislead me because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Narasimhan made clear that close relationships between elderly men and young boys, which he said is commonplace in India, were generally accepted (I then assumed he was referring to chaste guru-chela relations).  I asked him the age of the boys, which he gave as about 18 to 20 years old (which is above the age of assent). I do not recall his exact words when he asked me whether such things would cause any problems in the West. I said that if it involved sexuality it would it create a huge stir. (I did not pick up on the silent implication I now see that he was aware of the homosexual relations, not simply of cohabitation). He was evidently quite disturbed by that and – after a longish silence – said that homosexuality was not considered as abnormal in India as it is in the West, where he thought it was condemned too roundly. (I did not point out to him that homosexuality was still then a capital crime in India, though no longer even a crime in most Western countries). In what I now know was my too naive trust in Sai Baba, I did not pick up on the implication that he was aware of the homosexual relations, and not simply speaking of cohabitation. Further, I never wanted to be too invasive in questioning him about Sai Baba, but rather left it to him to tell me what he considered correct. Unfortunately, therefore, I failed to think of putting the crucial question which I have since wished I had pressed home… namely, did he know for certain of Sathya Sai Baba having homosexual relations. In retrospect, I am convinced from my recall of the somewhat awkward ambience of those exchanges – his various non-verbal language and silences – that he did know enough damning facts.

In the following he also related two more visitations by the spectre of his dead mother, Easwaramma, one in daytime and one at night when his “boys”(!) were sleeping in his room at 1 a.m. :-
 
That the above texts are not so popular with Sathya Sai Baba disciples is hardly surprising. They are just one part of the huge testament of wild accounts, superstitious beliefs and claims which reveal so much about the unruly mind and fictional views of reality propounded by that self-appointed “saviour of mankind”. - These revelations, which I later learned from many sources were known to many in the ashram, were very damning because of Sai Baba’s constant claims about his purity, abstinence from sensual pleasures and preachings about sexual celibacy outside marriage  and much more that turned out to be sheer deception.

Indian swami fully defends Sathya Sai Baba sexual abuse of children!

What some Sathya Sai Baba followers say to affirm and support child sex abuse as a divine act continues to shock any decent person! On the other hand, most will probably laugh at the reasoning and marvel at the level of perverse-minded delusion and immorality that Indian swamis and other Sai followers who cannot deny the massive testimony can attain. Fortunately for India and Hinduism, this kind of fanatical theology is not accepted by the vast majority of Hindus! The following tract was was found posted on the ‘Lisa Shea Forums’ website with its laughable sub-title of “Parakeet, Romance, Literature”. There is plenty more where that came from… and some ironists who comment there have had a great time parodying this too. (Editors note: Datta Swami is himself a claimant to avatarhood… the absurdity of all these avatars who are really only impostors trying to gain followings they can control and which will serve them obediently in awe):-

Datta Swami answers the Scandals against Shri Sathya Sai Baba

Q. How can the reports of the scandalous actions of Shri Sathya Sai Baba be explained?  

[The question is again eloborated as below]

We recently came across a website describing the various scandals pertaining to Shri Satya Sai Baba. Apparently there have been hundreds if not thousands of cases of alleged (homosexual, and mental) abuse of men and young children. There have also been cases of murder. Some of the abuse cases have firsthand witnesses or the abused persons have themself reported their own experiences. There are just too many cases to simply dismiss them as rumours. If these incidents had been rare or few in number, one could neglect them considering them to be special exceptions such as the affairs of Krishna with the Gopikas.

Lord Rama who killed Vali from the back, which was a violation of Kshatriya Dharma but it can be argued that He did so only to protect Sugriva who had approached Him for help. So Lord Rama was only proving that He can even violate dharma for the sake of a devotee who approaches the Lord. Not only, that, He also suffered the consequences of this violation during Krishna Avatara. Lord Rama certainly did not have multiple “murder cases” pending on him. All the other people that He killed, were killed only while following Kshtriya dharma on the battlefield. Moreover, the people who He killed were evil people. Thus the violations of dharma done by Rama and Krishna were only in exceptional cases.

However in case of Shri Baba these ‘exceptions’ seem to be very common. If the Sadguru who is an incarnation, abuses (mentally or sexually) or even murders a very close devotee who is on the path of nivrutti, then it is acceptable. It can be considered as an advanced test for an advance devotee. However based on the sheer number of Sai devotees, who have had such experiences, it is unlikely that all these people were advanced seekers on the path of nivrutti. This is because, at any given time, there can be only a handful of such highly advanced devotees. Even though the abused persons believed in Him as God, they cannot be technically said to be on the path of nivrutti. This is proved, since they objected to the abuse; an advanced devotee like Gopikas would not have objected. This means that the abused people were on the path of Pravrutti.

In dealing with people who are in Pravrutti, doesn’t the Lord follow the rules of dharma? If we take the example of Shri Ganpati Shachidananda Swami, we see that he recommends rituals, chanting, singing etc. This shows that He is dealing with devotees who are in Pravrutti. He does not show any such extremely negative qualities and does not have any such cases pending on Him. Shri Baba too, based on His general teachings, appears to be dealing mostly with people in Pravrutti. However His tests are so severe that they can only be justified for the path of Nivrutti.

Even if these cases of abuse or murder are treated as tests of Shri Sai for His devotees, how can one justify the abuse of young children who are too young to either gain any knowledge or to understand that they are being subjected to spiritual tests? Suppose those souls were sinners and had to undergo suffering or abuse in this life. Then they could have got abused by anyone or died at the hands of anyone else. Such incidents are common in the world. What is the necessity that they had to come to Shri Baba just to exhaust their karma, which could have been done by anyone else?

The identification of a human incarnation becomes extremely complicated, if not impossible in the case of a personality like Shri Baba. From the point of a common ignorant man Shri Baba can either be an incarnation of a demon like Ravana or an incarnation of God. Ravana showed many fantastic miracles, he was also a scholar of the scriptures. But his personal behavior was extremely negative. He had sexually abused innocent people like Vedavati, kidnapped Sita, killed innocent people and sages etc. The only thing that could separate Shri Baba from Ravana would be Divine knowledge. However we find that Shri Baba does not focus much on knowledge. We find many other ordinary teachers of Vedas, who preach more extensively than Shri Baba.

How then can we distinguish between the two? If Shri Baba had preached extraordinary Divine knowledge like Yourself, then we can argue that He is God based on this characteristic. Once we have thus established that He is God, we can further say that since He is God, He is above dharma. Then all His cases of abuse, murder can be neglected. But when there is no characteristic in a personality like Him that would doubtlessly identify Him as God, how can the rules of dharma be neglected?

Whenever a teacher subjects the student to a test, he always first gives the knowledge of the appropriate level to the student and then tests him only at that level. Thus the Satguru who has subjected the devotees to the most severe test has also earlier given the devotees the highest knowledge, which will enable the student to pass the test. How can the teacher give the knowledge of the first standard level and subject the student to a test of Ph.D. level?

See also Outright defender of sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba

Delhi University in row over Ramayana epic

The BBC reports on a major conflict essentially over whether the Ramayana is correctly represented by Hindus in India, or whether it has been changed and arisen in many different versions:- “ A row has broken out in the Indian capital over whether Delhi university should teach a controversial essay about the Hindu epic, the Ramayana. The essay by the well-known scholar AK Ramanujan was dropped from the history syllabus earlier this week after protests from Hindu hardline groups. The article describes 300 different retellings of the epic story found in India and other Asian countries. Protesters say the versions recounted in the essay offend Hindu beliefs. Entitled “Three Hundred Ramayanas: Five Examples and Three Thoughts on Translation”, the essay has been part of the university’s history course since 2006. Hindu groups have protested against its inclusion since 2008. Following an order from the Supreme Court, an expert committee was formed to look into the issue. Last week, three of the four committee members recommended that the essay should remain part of the syllabus. Nevertheless, the university’s academic council [which decides the syllabus] voted to drop the essay from the syllabus earlier this week.” READ REST OF ARTICLE HERE

One should realise that the Ramayana is one of the most revered scriptures in India and probably a majority of Hindus take it as gospel! It is again coming under the same historical, scientific scrutiny as biblical text have, and the results are – not surprisingly – similar as regards the authenticity and authorship of the various versions. Sathya Sai Baba often presented the Ramayana stories as literally true, even saying he was there in the figure of Rama himself. Devotees are programatically obliged to believe that if they are to be reckoned as being good disciples with sufficient unquestioning faith in the omniscient avatar. The sublime soon becomes the ridiculous where mulish defenders of the truth of ancient scriptures are involved, whatever the religon.
See also:
Sathya Sai sees Hanuman as a real figure
Sai Baba declares he is Vishnu and Krishna come again
How can so many Indians be fooled so much of the time?

More false, impractical advice from Sathya Sai Baba

Every so often I get comments and e-mails directing me to follow Sai Baba’s advice and speak softly, kindly, obligingly and not use harsh words. Many of these requests are from devotees who at the same time denounce, accuse, vilify, and attack me in very harsh terms, and sometimes denounce others in similar terms! It is quite remarkable how devotees are so blind as to do the very thing they claim is sinful, evil and so on as if in the same breath! Sai Baba was no exception… he spoke in very harsh terms of his critics – outright lies about them doing so for money! At the same time he was ever advising everyone as in the quote taken here from one of his discourses in Sanathana Sarathi:

That wounds by words can never be healed is utterly unreasonable, as anyone with an ounce of sense can soon establish! He based his advice originally on the penny proverb of the “three wise monkeys” – no wiser than monkeys indeed!  He would tell people at interviews that they had “monkey minds” (so as to raise a laugh).  When someone said she had a ‘monkey mind’ Sai Baba told her “No. A MAD monkey mind!” Big laugh!  (Yet in the last analysis he clearly had about the maddest monkey mind possible!)

It was an insidious ploy to quell all criticism against himself (first and foremost). To follow this bogus ‘divine, sublime advice’, one will soon come to view immoral and criminal acts as not being such at all, but as being blameless, not to be mentioned or investigated. Yet worse, on the same principle if really followed it, one may even tend to see them as inherently good (SB has stated that everything in the universe is actually good – while also saying there is no such thing as good or bad in reality!) This explains why those who know SB to be a sexual abuser still condone it as being the will of God, or at best, something the true meaning of which we cannot understand. See  Sathya Sai Baba: “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil”

India’s legal system covering up for many gurus

Kristina Jure from Lithuania made a thought-provoking comment to yesterday’s posting as follows:-
“I just was figuring out what impact on all of those who were present and involved in Baba’s sexual abuse did the cold blood murder episode could have. On their consciousness and subconsciousness… Their feeling of any security vanished then because they clearly saw by their own eyes that there was NO justice and i can really imagine ho afraid are people to speak up after all this incident. No leagal investigation, no nothing – as devotees could clearly see, they simply wiped the bood from the floor and THAT’S IT. From this point on this crime could have been investigated only by the Interpol due to the fact of murder of the Swiss lady or some other pretext on international grounds. The inner legal system in India is not worth longer discussion: you can see this widespread business of Swamises everywhere all over India from Hialayas down to South. They pretend to live on only solar energy and not being able to speak due to their silence vows and thus collecting money from gullible spiritual seekers infused with all those lies from sai baba writings: gods live in India. The most perfect sharlatans most surely live and dwell in India… This is their national property like green parks and preservs in Europe.”

Comment: The murder of the Swiss lady was done by two young Puttaparthi village men. They were apprehended and jailed. Some weeks later they ‘escaped’ and have not been sought or found since.  According to my source, V.K. Narasimhan, the police let them go in return for the hiding place of the money they killed the lady for – some Rs. 80,000.-. The knowledge of this corruption was the lever used by Janakiramiah, Joga Rao and other ashram and Trust officials to force them to execute the four young men in cold blood. It has proven most difficult for the relatives of those suffering fatal accidents at the ashram, disappearances or murder to obtain adequate help from Indian authorities. Proving this to the world was the infamous case of the all round cover-up of the internationally-reported murder of a British girl at Goa proves. See Top people protected from prosecution in India and Will India clean up its Augean police and political stables?

Sai Baba on seeking pardon and accepting punishment

“Actually, one should never seek pardon for the mistake committed. One should be prepared to undergo the punishment. Only then can one be free from defects.”
Sanathana Sarathi August 2001 p 229ff

Now we can say that Sathya Sai Baba kept his own words insofar as he never sought pardon for mistakes committed. He was not prepared to undergo the punishment for his defects, and so he moved “heaven and earth” to get the government to quash the investigation of the murders in his bedroom where he stood by and let his brother order the police to kill 4 students in cold blood! Not to mention the many other crimes for which he could never be brought to book due to top level protection by both government and judiciary. If you know the material already, please ignore it… but these facts and documentations cannot be repeated often enough for the sake of new visitors.

ASHRAM MURDERS
SIX DEVOTEES OF SATHYA SAI BABA WERE MURDERED ON JUNE 6TH 1993, NO OFFFICIAL INVESTIGATION WAS COMPLETED SINCE THE GOVERNMENT QUASHED THE CBI INVESTIGATION. NO CHARGES WERE BROUGHT.

• SATHYA SAI BEDROOM MURDERS OVERVIEW A summary presentation of known events – the incident, questionable points, the investigations, and the quashing of the CBI investigations.
• REVIEW OF THE SAI BABA MURDERS ISSUE A summary overview of the suppression of facts and investigations by Sai Baba, his officials and the Government of India
• SCANNED RECORDS OF V.K. NARASIMHAN REPORT ON THE MURDERS & PART TWO Recorded notes in situ of conversations with V.K.N. where he revealed covered-up facts about the six murders in Sai Baba’s temple complex
  
• INDIAN PRESS REPORTS Excerpts from the Indian press coverage of the incident and it’s follow-up.
• SUMMARY OF VITAL MURDER EVIDENCE 
• MORE UNTOWARD INCIDENTS – MURDERS, SUICIDES, DISAPPEARANCES Through the years many highly suspicious incidents have occurred at both the Andhra Pradesh ashrams of Sathya Sai Baba, some of which are reported here.
• HOW THE BLACKMAIL BY JANAKIRAMIAH WAS CARRIED OUT Details of the basis for blackmail uses by PN authorities to force the police to shoot down the 4 assailants
• FURTHER VIEWS ON THE UNSOLVED MURDER CASE IN THE SAI MANDIR
• SAI BABA JUDGES OTHER NEGATIVELY BUT HIS WORDS APPLY EQUALLY TO HIS OWN ACTIONS
• MURDER REPORT IN ‘THE WEEK’ – INDIA Detailed account some weeks after event, with diagrams and comments
• FEAR OF SATHYA SAI BABA How fear is a means which helps the guru control and subtly threaten his following
• SUICIDES DUE TO SAI BABA’S CLAIMS OR PROMISES 
  
• PREMANAND’S ANALYSIS OF THE MURDER SCENE PHOTOGRAPHS

Movie on Sathya Sai Baba launched

All dancing, all singing, all cover-up Bollywood-type promo?

A large number of films – sold mostly as videos – have already been made about Sathya Sai Baba – but none have had the success and world-wide audience that the BBC 1-hour documentary achieved. (See here). So his followers intend to try to make a full-length film to promote him as a philanthropist, miracle man etc. There will be no mention, we can be assured, of the large number of sexual abuse allegations that the Supreme Court rejected out-of-hand, nor the infamous murders in his bedroom while he stood by and was implicated but protected by the Indian government, nor the fraudulent ‘materializations’ also caught on diverse film clips and videos, nor yet of the gigantic claims of being the Incarnate Godhead, Creator of the Universe and countless other impossible fantasies he promulgated about himself and his works (see some here). The article about this film went on to state:-

“The film will be directed by Kodi Ramakrishna, the Telugu filmmaker. He announced “This film will showcase the services done by Sai Baba and his love for the people. Puttaparthy became world famous only due to Satyasai. We are making this film in many languages. A prominent actor is going to essay the role of Sathya sai. We will announce the complete details of it soon”

This film will doubtless appeal to hard-necked devotees and a section of Indian religious nationalists, but one may predict that it will not be a success outside India and some of the diaspora. Not after all that has now become know and reportedly made Sathya Sai Baba a despised person in much of India, especially the North. Perhaps they might do better if they got the services of a major figure like Johhny Depp, Sean Connery or some similar unexpected figure to play the Divine fraud!

Sathya Sai Baba believed in Indian astrology

'Graha' means a malign influence 'seizing' the individual! 'Vichara' means consciousness or awareness or the unfathomable intelligence.

Sathya Sai Baba was a believer in astrology (of the Hindu variation), as is evident from the scanned quotation here. The only way to protect oneself against the malign influences of the planets and stars, according to his view, was to follow the doctrine he prescribes here. One again, a bundle of sheer superstitious, unscientific ignorance from the self-heralding ‘all-knowing’ God Incarnation! In this he was playing up to the very large part of the population that believes in Vedic astrology… as Shukavac . N. Dasa has written “Even now, most educated Hindus will seek astrological advice at some point in their lives.” (http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Hindu%20Primer/navagrahas.html). He endorsed astrological superstition in various connections throughout his life, such as Auspicious and Inauspicious times (Rahakala and Gulikakala) 

We know that Indian PM’s (Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee) have sought astrological advice and the former head of the Electoral Commission T.N. Seshan wears a navagraha or nine-stone protective ring (‘made’ by Sai Baba) and so on ad. inf. For the world at large, this is an indictment of the lack of rational thought and scientific insight among much of the elite? This despite definitive exposure of the complete failings of the top (most expensive) Indian astrologers (see Top Indian Astrologers fall down on the job – badly defeated by events. This superstition is not acceptable in developed political systems, even though Nancy Reagan took (Western) astrological advice, which made her a laughing stock among educated Americans (especially democrats!)

Good sense found in Sai Baba’s journal?

Now and again I look at some quotes in Sai Baba literature, like Sanathana Sarathi. As I was locating a page there recently, my eye was caught by an interesting text. I was surprised that such things were allowed to be written in any official Sai literature… until I saw the name of the author at the end of the article from which the following excerpt is taken:-

Click on image to see my contributions to Sanathana Sarathi – edited by V.K. Narasimhan

The reason it was permitted was my close friendship with V.K. Narasimhan who sympathized with many of my views. It was primarily him who opened my eyes finally as to the most important deceptions of Sathya Sai Baba, as can be seen from my extensive notes made after each of our long conversations through many years (see scans and transcripts here).

Sai Baba excused his many self-contradictions

In a discourse (excerpt shown here) Sathya Sai Baba was clearly trying to explain away the many self-contradictions that are found throughout his published booklets and his endless public discourses. Unfortunately for him, though, his explanation that each person requires a different ‘teaching’ according to the spiritual circumstances etc. would only sometimes be valid when he was addressing a particular person (or perhaps some very specific group). The self-contradictions which are legion and have been exposed on many websites (such as his four different, conflicting predictions of how long he would live, just as ‘one small example’) have been stated in discourses before large numbers of vastly differing people… and further, have been constantly repeated on Radio Sai for the (no doubt small and diminishing) audience around the world. His excuse cannot apply in such circumstances!

Sai Baba always wanted to make his supposed ‘teachings’ sacrosanct – unavailable to the slightest criticism (i.e. subjected to the truth functions of logic, or rational ‘argument’). His followers ensured that no word of criticism or doubt could EVER appear on any of the pro-Sai webpages, blogs nor in any books or articles his minions have endorsed. Total censorship is necessary only when there is too much that is weak, doubtful, false, deceptive or otherwise has to be hidden from view and protected against. By “properly understood” in his words one may read “taken as gospel without demurs”!

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Sathya Sai Baba: world to be united as Hindus by India!

“Today is Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. I am making a promise today that the people of all the countries, viz. Pakistan, China, Germany, Russia will be united. That should be our goal. The goodness of Bharat will lead to this unity.” (p. 267 – Sathya Sai Baba’s Convocation Discourse 22-11-2008) See http://www.sathyasai.org/discour/2008/d081122.html). This makes any well-informed person think both how vague and how extremely unlikely Baba’s ‘promises’ often are.

“Very soon, the entire world will be united. In fact, after 28 years, the world itself will become “Bharat”. Everyone will call themself a Bharatiya (one imbued with godliness — ‘Bhagavat rathas’). No one will refer to themself as belonging to this state or that state, this region or that region.” This fancy-bred statement (Bharat means India, especially as it was in ancient times) exceeds even the ambitions of Islamic radicals, not to mention: “The VHP leader, while disclosing his discussion with Satya Sai Baba, said that Sai Baba had informed him that between 2020 and 2030 the whole India would be of Hindus and after 2030 the whole world would be of Hindus.” See VHP’s Singhal Reports what Sathya Sai Baba Told Him