Chris Dokter, professional academic and Baba dissident

Chris Dokter is a fellow academic and educator. Mr. Dokter is an alumnus of one of Europe’s prestigious universities, the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, an institute founded in 1614, with a steady top 100 world ranking (see here). He graduated with highest honours in clinical psychology, with minors in labour and organizational psychology. After graduating he went on to become a licensed health psychologist and psychotherapist (holding five specialties: group psychology and therapy, behavioral therapy, client centered therapy, trauma and EMDR therapy, and relation therapy), foregoing a PhD position. Alongside his therapeutic work, which included counseling students and postgraduates from all over the world at his own alma mater, but also helping heavily traumatized people and working on a ward for chronic psychotics of the university hospital, Mr. Dokter forefronted equal rights for students and graduates with physical and mental handicaps, and was appointed trainer and supervisor in postgraduate schooling. For over a decade, he was also employed as the sole columnist of a nationwide mental health periodical.

Chris, August 1981, Prasanthi Nilayam

As a very young man, at the end of the seventies, early eighties, he, being of a spiritual bent already, became heavily involved in the budding Sathya Sai Baba phenomenon and Organization. He was instrumental in helping shape the first statutes, and subsequently translated several books on the subject of ‘the man of miracles’ into Dutch (e.g. the Howard Murphet classic Sai Baba: Man of Miracles and the equally (in)famous Samuel Sandweiss one: Sai Baba, the Holy Man… and the Psychiatrist), all as a volunteer, non-paid seva worker. Soon after his interest was aroused, he went to India and stayed there for months at a time in 1981, 1983, 1985, and lastly in 1990, attracting special attention from the godman and gaining multiple group and several private interviews, especially in 1983, plus ample ‘materializations’. After his first visit, he toured his home country with slide shows and talks about his special experiences, which in turn led him to co-lead a group of country men and women on organized tours to Brindavan and Puttaparthi.

When in 1992, the idea was launched to start and make a feature lenght documentary about this enigmatic man of miracles, a crew of filmmakers, cameramen and scientists under the egis of Dutch national television (IKON), Mr. Dokter was first asked by the overall, veteran director Philip Engelen (died 2010) to translate the script, ‘Sathya Sai Baba Als in een Spiegel’ into English and, after completion, lending his voice to the international version (‘Sathya Sai Baba, As in a mirror’), which he did.

Weirdly enough, the film, which sparked heated debate in the Netherlands, appeared worldwide almost simultaneous to the infamous murders of 4 people in Sai Baba’s quarters, the latter fully unbeknownst to the general public and even longstanding devotees. By then, Chris had distanced himself from the organization, both national and international, which he found increasingly rigid, and led more and more by quite dictatorial national and European regional coordinators, headed by an overly power-hungry Central Committee. As he had been in close contact with some VIP-devotees, like Sam Sandweiss, Al Drucker and our mutual friend, the late Leo Boogaard, he had been privvy to some behind-the-scenes goings-on, which strenghtened his suspicion that all was not what it seemed.

Also, based on his own personal dealings with Sathya Sai Baba, and his first hand observations of Sai Baba’s behaviour from up close during public functions, darshans and general ashram life in Prasanthi Nilayam, from 1985 onwards, he started harbouring increasingly serious doubts about the alleged unfailing and avataric quality of Sathya Sai Baba himself, and his promises. In 1997, Chris made his last appearance on Dutch TV as a distant follower, in a program called ‘Er is meer tussen hemel en aarde’ (‘There is more between heaven and earth’), after which he distanced himself completely from this part of his life, and many of his earlier beliefs.

It was not until 2010 that his interest re-emerged, quite by chance. Among other things, he started a blog against the man and his movement, feeling an obligation at least in some measure to balance his previous proselytizing, however earnest, by making known his current view on Sathya Sai Baba and his movement, aiding in some small measure to the body of work, done mainly online by whistleblowers and ex-followers, not least many brave young men who testified about sex abuses by Sai Baba.

Among the numerous former devotees who became critics are David Bailey, Barry Pittard, Brian Steel, Eileen Weed  Sergei Badaev, Conny Larsson, and myself.

In his article ‘A Trip down Memory Lane’, Chris Dokter wrote:-

“Because of the ever-increasing unavailability of direct contact with Sathya Sai Baba over the previous decades, which was the inevitable result of the sheer increase in numbers of visitors to the ashram and the very limited amount of time the master provided for interaction with them (twice a day for maybe twenty minutes darshan, plus the rare interview, accosted to the ‘happy’ few), large groups of devotees resorted more and more to indirect ‘proof’, whether through prayer, dreams, premonitions, contact with VIP-devotee-clearvoyants like Phyllis Krystal, and other, sometimes all-too-primitive supposed channelers and channeling of the master…

Being unavailable is one of the devices cult leaders use in order to gain an ever-increasing aura among their believers, by the way. Especially when their followers are cooped up in primitive dwellings, and are deprived of contact with the outside world their whole day revolves around the master. Not seeing him, not being able to come into close, personal contact with him, makes people anxious, which in turn serves as an incentive to listen to tall tales and boosting the master’s omnipotence through any number of stories heard through the grapevine. It also hides the master quite effectively from any altogether too inquisitive a view from people who are a bit more sceptical.

If a master at all, Sathya Sai Baba certainly was one in this respect! He pulled off the most unlikely feat: not letting himself get caught for the massive fraud, deception and abuse he was involved in during sixty odd years. Instead, he managed to achieve an enormous following and influence the world over, culminating in a state funeral, with full honours, and very few awkward questions asked even after his demise.”

Chris has posted numerous blogs on his WordPress site entitled ‘Mind your Mind’. Among his most informative blogs he posted are the following:-

Professor Haraldsson’s final verdict on Sathya Sai Baba and his Western critics Chris presents an overview of Erlendur Haraldsson’s latest up-date of his Sai Baba book on miracles (having no new investigative data) with well-deserved critical comments.

The Sorry Tale of Sathya Sai Baba’s Final Weeks on Earth

The Case of The Missing Death Certificate

Taking a Hard Look at the Facts

Dogged Denial Dutch VIP Devotee Exposed

An Early Example of Sathya Sai Nonsense

Nicolas Maduro: next VIP Sai Disciple who does not lead by Example

God’s Own Stockholm Syndrome

Pray tell: can a dead guru answer prayers?

The Return of the Great Pretender 

On the issue of dealing with sexual abuse

The situation in the early eighties – Prasanthi Nilayam, Puttaparthi

See also The Murders in Sathya Sai’s Bedroom

‘Sathya Sai Baba Als in een Spiegel’