Sathya Sai Trust expands membership

Until now it has been virtually impossible to ascertain exactly who is and is not on the Sathya Sai Central Trust. News in msn.com has reported that it has added four new Trustees, including K. Chackravati (its long-serving Secretary and head of Prashanti Nilayam ashram for many years). Confusion has reigned in the press over who is and who is not a member of the Sathya Sai Central Trust. For example, one source (http://helloap.com/satya-sai-central-trust-members-and-activities/) reports that Sathyajit is a member, which is entirely incorrect. It states
“Satyajith : He is a personal care giver of Satya Sai Baba and believed to be a close confidant of Baba. He is known as more powerful in trust decisions and has been in news for some bad reasons recently.”
The same report does not even include V. Srinivasan, who is perhaps the most central Trustee at present. As with almost everything concerning the Sai Trust, there is no exact information available as to what distinguishes a trust ‘member’ from a Trustee, or a director or board member, if anything. 

Current Sai Trust members:
V. Srinivasan, industrialist from Chennai
R.J.Ratnakar:  Satya Sai’s nephew. Ratnakar was included in the Trust after the death of his father Janakiram.
K Chakravarthi: former IAS officer (disgraced) and a district collector. He has now resigned as secretary of the Shri Sathya Sai Central Trust.
S V Giri: He  resigned as Central Vigilance Commissioner during 1998. The Vice Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai University.
Justice P N Bhagavati: former Chief Justice of India (for one year).
Indulal Shah: Chartered Accountant from Mumbai, former government minister.
S.S. Naganand: Supreme Court Lawyer.
J.V. Shetty: Canara Bank – former Chairman
T.K.K. Bhagavat:  former Indian Overseas Bank Chairman.

Former Sathya Sai Central Trust members of ill-repute Other reports which have figured prominently include even US citizens Dr. John Hislop (who died of brain cancer in 1996 despite Sai Baba’s prediction that he would outlive his wife, which he did not),  Dr. Michael Goldstein – successive International Chairmen of the Sai Organization and Isaac Burton Tigrett (the original Hard Rock Café owner and donor of the Super-speciality Hospital in Puttparthi). However, no foreigner has ever been allowed to join the Central Trust, which was the true inner coterie, which also conducted the main rumour-propaganda, cover-up and undercover work to protect Sathya Sai Baba from prosecution. 

Several former members have been excluded by Sathya Sai Baba for embezzlement, including Colonel Joga Rao, ashram engineer and closest confidant of Sai Baba through decades and former Head of Prashanthi Nilayam ashram in the late ’80s, Narayananda. Other former member have gone off the radar, such as Mr. Prasad of Bangalore, and famous ‘liquor baron’ D.K. Adikesavulu of the TDP of whom it was reported in India Today “Soon spirits and spirituality became a heady cocktail that enabled him to become an influential manager of the Sri Sathya Sai Trust and a member of the board of the Tirupathi Tirumala Devasthanams (TTD)—custodians of the richest place of worship in the world” This just shows what kind of people were invited by Sathya Sai Baba to join his Trust… a salesman of illegal liquor! Nagananda, a Karnataka lawyer was once listed, as was Dr. G. Venkataraman (head of Radio Sai and official websites)

Please see important announcement: Appeal to former donors to Sathya Sai Baba