Falsehood and infamy – Sathya Sai Baba

“There are some jealous and petty minds who do false and imaginary propaganda. I take no note of this”

but Sai Baba noted that he does notice… just there!
He sees the need to combat what he knowing lies is ‘imaginary propaganda’ and so he must have been moved to notice it to respond like this! All can see that Sai Baba badly wants to limit the damage to his movement and especially to foreign donations.

“In the single family of humankind, where is the room for jealousy or hatred? These are all imaginary.”
I suppose Baba means among Arabs, terrorists, the most jingoistic Americans perhaps? He is still offering the pseudo-philosophy of ‘whatever you imagine, is true for you’. This may be an effective way of influencing those who can’t face the staring facts… and so choose to follow that old, old trick of mental enslavement, ‘The guru is never wrong, doubt only yourself!’

A frequently repeated complaint by Sathya Sai Baba, parroted by devotees, is that he has through the years been charged with unfair and undocumented accusations of many kinds. Both by sceptics and disaffected followers. These latter he fatuously claims were ‘dissatisfied’ or disappointed by unfulfilled expectations as to getting his, Sai Baba’s attention. Not so at all – not a few of these apostates could never wish to see him, [let along touch him, after what they have learned about him]. Sai devotees call the critics ‘disgruntled’, when many are righteously disgusted and disillusioned by having found him out for what he is – a major deceiver and an impure person, according to over 30 young mens’ testimonies of sexual molestation by him.

His cowed defensiveness towards all who have left him is seen when he churns out his usual illogical defence against criticisms:
“Stones are thrown only on fruit-bearing trees. Similarly, good people receive brickbats.” (Sanathana Sarathi September 2002, p. 267)

But some people who do very bad things receive more brickbats and deserve them! Sai Baba overlooks that the ‘bad men’ of whom he himself sometimes speaks (mainly in interviews) also sometimes receive brickbats. He is certainly a case in point!

In Sanathana Sarathi (11-92, p. 261) we read, “The minds of the so-called devotees are turned in the wrong direction. If their desires are fulfilled, they praise Me. But, once a desire is not realised they go to the extent of even reviling me. Even while they are attempting to understand Me, they harbour doubts from head to foot. Some even leave me, when their worldly desires are not fulfilled.” He also took the transparent precaution of warning devotees that he will have to separate “the grain from the chaff”, as if it were his own plan that devotees who cease to believe or accept him are rejected by him firstly! So he is not at all so powerful as he claims and maybe actually sometimes imagines.

One cannot but note that such precautionary smokescreens are most convenient for those who know they have something to hide. Much that will not stand the light of day has already come to light and his reputation is fading as the word spreads. No follower has not heard some of the reasons, however much they run away mentally from the facts (and knowing more such facts). This is the very nature of longer term mindless ‘surrender’ and blind servility and sacrifice to a God-figure whom they hope upon hope may help them out and deliver them from whatever bad may be to come.

Sathya Sai Baba defends himself by saying he predicted this all along. He KNEW he would be found out eventually because of the sheer scale and depravity of the abuses of which he stands accused and from which he hides from prosecution behind his many devotee judges and Prime Ministers.

Sai Baba loses his cool and lies blatantly about his critics!

See the entire infamous and unforgiving Christmas Day 2000 Discourse here.

The present writer was unable, for obvious reasons, to sustain faith in Sai Baba’s statements or many of his much-blazoned activities. I have come to know that he is by no means infallible, nor is it remotely possible that he all that he claims to be. He seems to possess so-called paranormal powers, which many others have done (and often people of a non-spiritual nature). Further, he has dark sides of which even some very frequent interviewees have no knowledge. Though I have never myself noticed sexual behaviour on his part, the evidence from many countries through decades has piled up to an extent where abuse cannot seriously be denied.

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Sathya Sai Baba exposed by German person

The dispute over the divinity of Sathya Sai Baba

No master of the Indian kind has aroused so much hope and expectation in such large crowds of people as has Sai Baba. With his “miracles” – materializations staged before thousands of supporters,- he binds in the psyche of the believing masses. The religious experiences can be impressive when so much captured spiritual energy and healing force from around him may be going on. Sai Baba is an authority for tens of thousands.

Probably, but no other master has disappointed so abysmally those who came to him, as seen in the report compiled by Faye and David Bailey – “The Findings”. The Bailey couple glorified Sai Baba in their earlier books. They later suffered traumatic experiences, and after many conversations with people who did so too, they collected reports and observations of the disillusioned. Their reports document harrowing experiences of the many victims who had thought they had “found God” – after a life of unquestioning devotion to that they were cheated.

The love of Sai Baba was rejected by most dissidents due to observation that Sai Baba’s “miracles” are pretty unprofessional tricks. From a distance, the trick difficult or impossible be to see  – as I experienced too.  The throng of the faithful wonder at every so-called materialization and acknowledge all the ashes created from nothing with applause. Many who get close to him  that he seem to see him to create ash from nothing (from his right hand). However, he clearly carries the ash in pill form in his left hand from which the. The ashes “materialise”.

What weighs heavier for devout disciples than these tricks are reports of the meeting with Sai Baba by some young male followers, who have told their own personal experiences. A tragic attack by former pupils of Sathya Sai Baba’s college in 1993 led to criticism by political observers who discussed Sai Baba’s ritual of ‘anointing’  of young men, relating it to homosexual inclinations. More recently, reports of sexual abuse by Western and Indian students of Sai Baba provided a broad documentation of the degradation and disappointment.  Western observers’ critical question is, why was Sathya Sai Baba not convicted by Indian courts.

While the management at Sai Baba so far managed to go a long way towards silencing some of the disaffected, the abused have  since begun to organize. Despite their heavy accusations tens of thousands still believe in the divinity of their Master, of his super-human and divine qualities and his miracles which they compare with the miracles of Jesus. Christians reject this comparison. The miracles of Jesus do not remind of the kind of circus where Sai Baba performs miracles almost to entertain the masses while Jesus would have done so for the relief of distressing hardships. All these objections contest the claim of Sai Baba to be the authoritative divine incarnation of our time. But they do not diminish the feeling of success  in Puttaparthi:  Sai Baba is still rallying an army of idealistic-minded and self-sacrificing people who really want only one thing: an encounter with God. But, given the present evidence, how long – we ask ourselves –  will it take to break down their hopes and expectations under the weight of the accusations?

Georg Schmid, 2000

The above is translated/abstracted from the German text at:  http://www.relinfo.ch/sai/streit.html

Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and his Worldwide Organization
View ex-follower signatures

Sathya Sai Baba on Moses’ love for Jesus!

What more can one possibly add?

The self-heralded “omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent Godhead” Sathya Sai Baba is in a state of omni-confusion, at least as regards historical time!

“Moses used to think of Jesus all the time. As a result, his face shone with divine effulgence. He resembled Jesus so much that people used to mistake him for Jesus.” (25.3.1999.  Sanathana Sarathi Vol.42, #5,p.116)

Which people mistook Moses for Jesus, one wonders? So far no a single remaining Sathya Sai Baba follower has commented on this in any way…. and it is easy to see why!

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This is one of the most amusing of the huge blunders the self-professed “omniscient” Sathya Sai Baba has made about Jesus Christ. To view some more of them, please click to visit this page

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See also
Sathya Sai Baba reveals what Jesus, the Three Kings etc. really said!

Vishnu come to save the world, as Sai Baba?

For the student boys who sleep in his bedroom, it must be most awesome to be subjected to what many claim he does - the very Lord and Creator of the Universe taking his pleasure with them on the serpent headed bed he had, but which was destroyed in the murders in his bedroom?

The claims made by Sathya Sai Baba as seen in the scan (above right)  amounts to the claim that there is no distinction between himself and the greatest divine incarnations of Hindu mythical scripture. Their tasks are all the same, saving humanity – though the means used and physical incarnations differ.

His constantly repeated belief in the literal truth of myths with which the Ramayana and the Mahabharata are packed – and his usurpation of the identity of all the great figures in those myths – Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, [as well as claiming to have been Jesus’ Father, Kabir and Shirdi Sai Baba] will simply never wash with enlightened humanity. Nor will the religionists of the mainstream religions ever come to consider this remotely likely – for Islam totally denies the possibility of God being incarnate, radical Christians see only Jesus as a Divinity and so forth.

See also Prophecies by and about Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba holds the myths of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Gita to be literally true

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Please go to the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

Sai Baba films by Richard Bock

On the Richard Bock film, Aura of Divinity, made in the 1970s, the commentator asserts that Sathya Sai Baba has said that he will be reborn as Prema Sai eight years after his leaving the Sathya Sai body. But others (such as former UK Central Coordinator Lucas Ralli -deceased) have since asserted that he has said it would be only one year after his death. He has predicted his own death on several occasions – once that he would live until age 92 or 93, then again that he would live to 96 years. He has also said he can decide when he will ‘leave the body’ and it will depend on his will in the circumstances. So take your pick!

The Hollywood film producer Richard Bock also investigated Mayan, Aztec and Hopi legends, presenting them as predictions of Baba’s advent in his film “Sai Baba – In the Light of Prophecy“. These are most unconvincing, however, for he simply mentions them as source materials without presenting them properly or evaluating them.

This is typical of the major propaganda made by people who should have been professional enough to check their materials properly. But Bock and his wife (both deceased) were completely dedicated to Sathya Sai Baba and liked to live at his ashram regularly, where they owned a small apartment in Roundhouse 1. He was a privileged person at the ashrams, of course, because he made many uncritical films eulogising Sathya Sai Baba, such as ‘The Universal Teacher’ in 3 parts, ‘The Aura of Divinity’ in 2 parts, ‘The Endless Stream’, ‘The Message I Bring’, ‘His Life is His Message’, ‘Truth is My Name’ and others.

See also Sathya Sai prophesied as ‘king of the world’ from 2000
Bogus Prophecies about Sathya Sai Baba
Sai Baba prophecy as the Islamic Saviour ‘Mahdi’?
Predictions. prophecies and promises

Sathya Sai Baba – the spirit of Christmas

Sathya Sai Baba with Father Christmas and young boys

The true spirit of Christmas is almost universally recognised as celebration of the birth of a man who taught compassion and unconditional forgiveness, who even forgave those who crucified him with the words ‘they know not what they do’. This is the spirit which Sathya Sai Baba firmly tramped underfoot in his Christmas Day Discourse of 2000 – on the very day of celebration of a historical figure of true compassion. Sai Baba thereby fully negated the very essence of his own ‘teaching’ on compassion and his claims total purity, human perfection, freedom from all desires, total divinity etc. His vehement attack told enough about him and his aims and nothing whatever about his accusers. A person is rightly to be judged by both words and actions…Sai Baba has always pretended that he was so even-minded and beyond praise and blame that he never reacted to either, yet he rants about his critics are “not human beings at all”. He compounded his antipathy with dire threats to them as being “thousands of Judases” who will suffer lifetimes of disgrace for their sins in accusing him for his behaviour! He harangued his audience:- “These types of publicity are shameless. Truly they are not human beings at all. The ones who put obstacles in the way of all sacred works are demons, not human beings. The determined vow of Sai will never change, even if demons like this may be all over the world. (Swami bangs his fist decisively on the table to emphasize His point. The audience applauds for long.)” Mendacious attack: Flaunting his anger at being criticised by beating his lectern, issuing condemnations of his former followers and telling outright lies about those who accuse him of sexual abusing them, Sathya Sai Baba demonstrated in action how little faith one can have in his ‘teaching’ on never criticizing anyone, loving all and never diverging from the truth. He said those who accused him did so for money, which is a patent untruth. Neither he, nor his crony Indulal Shah who also promoted this lie, mentioned even a shred of evidence for their wilful libels, nor has any emerged since then. The aim was of course to ensure that devotees (who must believe everything he says to be God’s word) would ignore the many very credible accusers. He  also falsely claimed that ex-devotees were offered bribes to write stories against him. Of course there is no scrap of evidence of this, and there is no shadow of doubt that it was a calculated lie to confuse, cow and hang on to his devotees. He said:- “From the feet to the hair on the head, Sathya Sai Baba is doing service without any selfishness. Can’t even these people with brains understand this? Why are they doing this propaganda? Even this bad propaganda is for money. All these bad thoughts are for money only. Even these bad thoughts are for money only… … Switzerland, America, Japan, Germany, China, Russia – our children have entered in all directions. Some foreigners are trying to bribe them. They are saying, “See, foolish ones! I will give this much money. I will give so many dollars. I will give this many pounds. You write and give some stories against Sathya Sai Baba.” (Guru Purnima Discourse of 2002) Bribery is widely reported to be one of Sathya Sai Baba’s methods to silence the victims of his homosexual abuses, as proved by the courageously outspoken Alaya Rahm, one of Sai Baba’s favourites for a long period. He did not, however, manage to silence Alaya with the bribes he gave him.  (see this on the BBC documentary ‘The Secret Swami’ – a summary showcase with transcripts and short video clips) In a later discourse he proclaimed that there is not even a spark of divinity in his critics, adding:-“… a hard-hearted person cannot be called a spark of Divinity; he is verily a demon.” (p. 323, Sanathana Sarathi, November 2002). This is a total contradiction to his constant previous claims that there is a spark of Divinity in every living being (actually sometimes even in all matter, as I quote: “All beings are sparks of the Eternal Divinity” (page 101 from his Discourses in Kodaikanal 1998). Why did Sathya Sai Baba descend to such spiritual depths? One can reasonably conclude that the fall-off in donations due to the world-wide publicity about his accusers and their descriptions of his behaviour was surely one of the main causes of his bending to the wishes of his worried cronies and financial dependents to try to punish his accusers with lies. He has also said:- rants on…“These types of publicity are shameless. Truly they are not human beings at all. The ones who put obstacles in the way of all sacred works are demons, not human beings. The determined vow of Sai will never change, even if demons like this may be all over the world. (Swami bangs his fist decisively on the table to emphasize His point. The audience applauds for long.)” (Guru Purnima Discourse of 2002) See the hypocrisy in denouncing people in public with an angry face, and later saying:– “There is no trace of anger or hatred in Me and hence everyone loves Me” (Sanathana Sarathi September 2002, page 257f) He would like to imagine that the many victims of his abuses of faith and worse love him? Not to mention the ca. 5 billion  people who have doubtless no idea who he is or claims to be, having heard nothing about him?

read the crux of the Xmas Discourse 2000 here

Sathya Sai Baba’s Christmas message

Glum look, the spirit of Christmas Past – but no doubt his Spirit of Christmas Present is grimmer

This is the 7th anniversary of Sathya Sai Baba’s message on Christmas Day in 2000. His continued pretence at radiating nothing but love and light broke down completely on that day when he railed against his critics as ‘thousands of Judases’ and slammed his fist down on his lectern in the Prashanthi Nilayam temple (mandir). He lied that his accusers (of serial sexual molestation including rank pedophilia) were acting for money. Of course, he gave no evidence whatever, none exists because it is untrue! (See his damning message and further evidence here) That was how Sathya Sai Baba celebrated the supposed birthday of a person, Jesus of Nazareth, who preached forgiveness and turning the other cheek! But Sathya Sai Baba qualified himself with Untruth, Libel and unrelenting threats to his critics (many shameful rebirths etc.!)

INDIAN GOVERNMENT BELIEVE SAI ‘DIAMONDS’ ARE FOR REAL

Still the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and a long line of ex-PMs and Presidents of India worship this self-proclaimed Hindu Deity of Deities and self-avowed Triple Avatar, Saviour of the Age and the Father who sent Jesus… (though somehow he apparently forgot about being the Holy Ghost Itself!). One can only wonder how much further their reputations will fall if this ever becomes world news! Many of these dignitaries wear cheapo false “diamond” rings given by Sathya Sai Baba (palmed to make it seem they are materialised) and none of them have dared to get them assayed, it would seem. The result would be the same as a number of ex-devotees experienced when they took Sai Baba ‘Diamonds’ to reputable jewellers. Dirt cheap synthetic sapphires, zircons, paiste ‘gems’ with tinfoil behind the encased stones so as to make them much brighter!

SANTA CLAUS A HINDU DEITY?

In greater need of attracting Westerners, Prashanthi Nilayam’s Hindu Deity, Sathya Sai Baba, has stooped to using massed Santa Clauses – children and youth dressed up in the style of the famous Coca-Cola Santa advert series and cavorting about in tasteless fashion, as numerous long, boring videos from Sai Radio demonstrate. How pathetic!

Sai Baba’s ‘Religious Universalism’ is based on gross ignorance

Sathya Sai Baba has preached with extreme insistence and constant repetitively that all religions have the same essential, good values. This is very easy to say, but not possible to back up reasonably, let alone prove – especially to the heads of the main religions. The present Pope, for example, leader of over 600 million Catholics, rejects as heretical all religious doctrines which do not accept the primacy of Jesus Christ. Islam rejects Hinduism at a very most basic level – that God cannot incarnate in a human body (as Sathya Sai Baba constantly claims for himself) and cannot be represented in any idol (while Hinduism accepts thousands of deities and idols of all kinds). Judaism awaits a Messiah, but Sathya Sai Baba most evidently does not fulfil their conditions so Judaism does not proclaim him as their Messiah. Buddhism, in the main, rejects the whole idea of a God Creator of the Universe, as Sai Baba claims he is. What Sathya Sai Baba also asserts again and again is that all the religions are ignorant of God, who is unknowable (i.e. himself, as he has repeatedly boasted).

Sathya Sai Baba has claimed that he is the Father who sent Jesus to the earth. But he is ignorant of much about Jesus and his life. How can this be so in one who claims to be omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent? Here is one of his classic blunders – one of many, many – about the Christian religion. The personal name of the betrayer of Jesus is very widely known: Judas. But what was his second name, or the name which singled him out among the many Judas’ of his time? Anyone familiar with the Christian literature knows that he is referred to as Judas Iscariot. Sathya Sai Baba, however, also refers to him as ‘Judas Simon’: “Judas Simon is well known today as the disciple who was treacherous to his spiritual guide and guardian.” Sai Baba stated that “Judas Simon is well known today as the disciple who was treacherous…” Equally important, in Gospel materials, the betrayer of Jesus is referred to simply as ‘Judas’, or as ‘Judas Iscariot’, or as the son of a man named ‘Simon Iscariot’. Actually, ancient materials do not recognize Judas Iscariot as ‘Judas Simon’ any more than people today do. Another disciple of Jesus, however, was named Peter Simon (see for example, Mark 14: 37) and it appears that Sai Baba has confused these names. This was not just a single slip of the [omniscient?] mind, because Sai Baba also stated: “Jesus Christ had twelve foremost disciples. Among the twelve only Judas Simon would injure Jesus, their teacher and spiritual saviour.” [Sai Baba, quoted in An Eastern View of Jesus Christ, p. 111]. The issue of whether Judas actually betrayed Jesus, or simply delivered him to the Romans according to Jesus’ intention (and reent research has shown that such  payment s were a known Roman legal formality and not a bribe at all.  See this:-

William Klassen, “Judas: Betrayer or friend of Jesus,” Fortress Press, (1996).

Sai Baba claims that all religions worship the same God. However, this is also a facile statement… for even the different mainstream religions worship each their own peculiar and theologically-determined ideas of God, and whether any being exists which fits with one or other of these often distinctly different ideas is itself, of course, beyond any proof. That all people worship the same god is just about equivalent to saying that all cows which are black at night are the same cow. However, some see God as creator of the universe, others do not accept God created the universe (Official Catholic doctrine today!) Besides, most Buddhist sects do not accept a God creator, but only a supposedly fully realised human being as a Buddha. Apart from all this, there are thousands of ideas of deities, gods, goddesses and powers worshipped by every variety of tribe, sub-culture, sect and cult. Who can know that this is the same God? Nobody! And certainly not anyone who is ignorant of human history and other cultures than Sai Baba’s own childhood faith, namely, an eclectic hodge-podge, superstitious, multi-deity, idolatrous version of Hinduism. He believes this to be ageless and the true origin and essential truth of all religion. Thus, he has stated: “The Hindu religion knows no growth or decline. It belongs to all countries. It is acceptable to all people.” (Sathya Sai Speaks p. 172, Volume XX11)

Under the tutelage of his history professor, lifelong Ramakrishna devotee and student of English culture, Prof. N. Kasturi, Sathya Sai came to understand that the main religious approach of the West was towards an external God, while the Eastern view seeks the God within oneself. He also learned – quite mistakenly – that all Westerners regard death as that not only of the body, but also the soul (totally wrong, of course, as regards Christian belief). This illustrates how ill-informed he is about other religions than those on his doorstep, and even there he is completely untutored as regards Islam (which he therefore only mentioned in a few brief, vague sentences throughout all his thousands of discourses). Yet he preaches the ‘Sai religion’ as a universal religion, yet it is based primarily on the Hindu ‘Sanathana Dharma’ or way of righteousness. This latter is not at all the basis of Christianity or Islam, though some similarities are obviously found.

Faked “miracle”: crucifix given by Sai Baba to Dr. Hislop

The crucifix given to John Hislop was supposed to have been materialized by the paranormal powers of Sai Baba.

For hundreds of thousands of readers, My Baba and I by Dr. John Hislop, [1985: Birth Day Publishing, San Diego] has been one of the principal introductory books on Sathya Sai Baba. It is translated into many languages. The title was chosen by Sai Baba and the book deals with Hislop’s prolonged and intimate experiences of Baba’s teachings, some miracles (notably that of the famous Crucifix materialised for Hislop by Baba on Mahasivatratri, 1973. This occurred on a car trip to have a picnic. These trips were arranged by his servitor, Colonel Joga Rao (who did not believe in Sai miracles, but who evidently conspired with Sai Baba to facilitate the fraudulence. Joga Rao’s reason for this reportedly was that Sai Baba would thereby become able to get funds to help the poor etc.. Sai Baba took a twig [certainly enclosed it in his hand as he always does] and blew on it, and when he opened it the crucifix was seen.

Dr. John Hislop readily believed what Sai Baba told him, namely, that the crucifix was made from a piece of the original wood of the Cross. Of course, no carbon dating was done – for it would surely disprove that. Serious scientists would not bother to go to such lengths to disprove such a cheap trick, and Hislop would never have tried because he worked entirely on blind faith.

However, a magnified photo of the amulet was examined by an art expert emeritus professor and proclaimed most likely to be a commonly manufactured amulet from 19th century UK, with visible small defects due to the mass/casting process. There is a serious defect in the crucifix too, for the nails in actual crucifixions passed through the wrist, because nails through the hand could not support a weight of the body. It also has a hole at the top of the cross, so Hislop asked his Lord and master what it was. Sathya Sai Baba, improvising as usual, told him the cross had been suspended from above!

The same kind of small crucifix is available from shops and markets in India for a small amount of money. The hole is quite evidently for a locket chain so it can be worn around the neck, not for Sathya Sai’s reason – i.e. hanging of the original cross from above. (See “The fake crucifix” and also comments at http://www.exbaba.com/articles/premanand3.html).

Piet Vroon, wrote in “Santa Claus in India” in Indian Skeptic 6(4), August 1993: 8-16. an article (which appeared on Saturday December 5, 1992 in De Volkskrant (a Dutch national newspaper, under the title ‘Sinterklaas in India’):-
”The crucifix given to John Hislop was supposed to have been materialized by the paranormal powers of Sai Baba. The question might also be raised as to the plausibility of a true materialization which reproduces such details as air bubbles identical with those caused by techniques of inexpensive mass reproduction, and standard but historically inaccurate iconographic features such as nails through palms.”

Another Version Of Sai Baba’s Remark: In 1973, Sai Baba produced a small crucifix, gave it to his disciple named Dr. Hislop, and, according to Dr. Hislop, said, “this shows Christ as He really was at the time when He left his body. No writer or artist has imagined him this way before.” [Eastern View, p. 7]. As for the claim Sai Baba makes that the crucifix “shows Christ as he really was at the time he left his body, not as artists have imagined him or as historians have told about him”, and “no writer or artist has imagined him this way before,” the following are comments from Uno Langmann, a highly reputable art, antique, and curio dealer headquartered in Vancouver B.C., and Dr. William S. Dale, Professor Emeritus in Fine Arts at the University of Western Ontario, upon inspection of the full page magnified colour photograph of the crucifix reproduced at p. xi (Plate 2) of Dr. Hislop’s book, My Baba & I:

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Uno Langmann’s Comments on the Crucifix:

Judging from the photograph, the sculpture would be an ordinary inexpensive crucifixion depiction. The material of the Christ figure would probably be of soft metal such as pewter or lead. Of course this is hard to tell from a photograph. It might be bronze or conceivably silver, but neither of these is likely. The casting is cheap and not very skillful, which supports the idea that the material would be lead perhaps. You can see little air bubbles around the feet which indicates that it was made by cheap plaster of Paris mold. The sculpture is affixed to the wood by small manufactured nails. The rendering of the feet and toes is especially coarse, which also indicates the cheapness of the piece. The wood appears to be low-grade hardwood of some sort. Finally, as to the image itself, it is a typical artistic conception of the crucifixion. I believe I have seen this sculpture image before. I would guess that it’s a medieval European representation originally perhaps 12th or 13th century. At least that would be a period to check. In this miniature reproduction form it would not be a particularly interesting piece.
Uno Langmann, personal communication, 1988

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William S. Dale’s Comments on the Crucifix:
Dear Friends,

Your letter of February 8, enclosing the material on Sai Baba and the miraculously-produced crucifix, has arrived, and I have studied it with great interest.

From the photograph it is quite clear that the metal figure closely resembles those on crucifixes of the 19th and early 20th centuries (As is normal with these, the suppedaneum is cast in one piece with the figure.) Its small scale suggests that it may once have been attached to a rosary.

Contrary to Sai Baba’s claim, there is nothing unusual about the iconography of the piece. The representation of the dead Christ, his body sagging, his head drooping onto his right shoulder, and his eyes closed, is frequently found in monumental crucifixes after the 10th century. From the late 12th century one foot is placed over the other, and a single nail is used to fasten both to the cross, instead of one for each foot. By the middle of the 13th century the braided crown of thorns becomes a prominent feature, and in some examples the stomach is drawn in, showing the ribs.

As for the statement that this crucifix “shows Christ as he really was at the time he left his body”, it has been demonstrated that nails through the palms of the hands, as in the artistic convention followed here, could not have supported the weight of Jesus’ body on the cross. Instead, it has been suggested that the nails would have to go through the wrists, as the image on the Holy Shroud of Turin seems to indicate.

With mass-produced objects such as this it would be impossible to pin down any single source of inspiration, since it draws on such a long and rich tradition. In any case it seems unnecessary.

Yours sincerely, (signed)
William S.A. Dale, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus

P.S. A good basic reference for the iconography of the crucifix is Gertrud Schiller, Iconography of Christian Art (Lund Humphries, 1972) Vol. 2.

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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

GODS OF GODS ABOVE ALL GODS – SATHYA SAI?

Even if you believe only half you hear, you are in deep trouble with the following claims by Sai Baba. Will he go down in history as the Saviour of Mankind from global disaster (as he claims) and human evil? If so, he would necessarily displace Jesus Christ and Christianity, Jehova and Judaism, Buddha and Buddhism, Islam and Allah and Whoever and Whatever? One must certainly hope not – if only for the sake of human rationality and progress in empowering people to improve their lot and that of the world rather than become fixated in prayer to God and his traditional “teachings” about fate and the futility of worldly engagements. His many deceptions – so firmly demonstrated here and elsewhere – and his bogus  “universal religion” are accepted by a long line of Indian Presidents and Prime Ministers – and also by those of today and much of the Indian Government! It is an enigma… for can they truly believe in the following words of Sathya Sai Baba? They must… or else they’d have to view him as a megalomaniac.

“I am all deities in one. You may endeavour your best for thousands of years and have all mankind with you in your search. But you cannot understand My Reality.”US ed. of Kasturi’s Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Vol 3 page 315)

“There was no one to understand Me until I created the whole world”(Official biographer N. Kasthuri’s direct quote in ‘Pathway to Peace’ p. 64.)

Sathya Sai Baba said in 1968: “This is a human form in which every Divine entity, every Divine principle, that is to say, all the names and forms ascribed by man to God, are manifest… You are very fortunate that you have the chance to experiences the bliss of the vision of the form, which is the form of all gods, now, in this life itself.”(Sathya Sai Speaks Volume VIII. page 99f)

“God can do anything. He has all power in the palm of His Hand. My Body, like all other bodies, is a temporary habitation; but, My Power is eternal, all-pervasive, ever-dominant.”Christmas Day Discourse, Bombay 1970. ed. of Kasturi’s Sathyam Sivam Sundaram Vol 3 page 136)

 “On previous occasions when God incarnated on earth, the bliss of recognising Him in the incarnation was vouchsafed only after the physical embodiment had left the world, in spite of plenty of evidences of His Grace. But, ponder a moment on this Sathya Sai Manifestation; in this age of rampant materialism, aggressive disbelief and irreverence, what is it that brings to It the adoration of millions from all over the world? You will be convinced that the basic reason for this is the fact that this is the Supra-worldly Divinity in Human Form.” (Sathya Sai Baba 17/5/1968. Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 8, p 100)

 “If I had come as Narayana with four arms, they would have put me in a circus, charging money for people to see Me. If I had come only as a man, like any other man, who would listen to me? So I had to come in this human form but with more than the human power and wisdom.”(US ed. of Kasturi’s Sathyam Sivam Sundaram -Vol 3 page 309)

Further, on the task of the revival of dharma, he says “… who has to take it up? It was said that I have taken up this Form in answer to the prayers of sadhus (noble souls) and others… I have come, because I felt I had to come. I resolved upon this… This campaign will succeed, it will not fail. The welfare of the world will be ensured through the fostering of the Godly everywhere, and more particularly of these ancient reservoirs of the ancient wisdom of this land.”(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 3, page 205)

“The Lord is the refuge of all who seek refuge, the saviour of all who have to be saved. He is the Embodiment of Being-Awareness-Bliss (Sat-chit-ananda). He is now at Puttaparthi as the Effulgent Emperor over the region of Truth, Goodness and Beauty.” (Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. XIII, p 114)

“When dharma declines or rather, when those who have a duty to regulate their lives according to dharma lose faith in it, then, its restoration cannot be taken up by all and sundry… The Lord has come again on this Mission. He has collected the engineers and contractors and the labour for this purpose. He is not set on the task.”Let me tell you one more thing: Nothing can impede or halt the work of this Avathaara… Formerly when the Govardhanagiri (mountain) was raised aloft by a little boy, the gopis and gopalas realised that Krishna was the Lord. Now, it is not one Govardhanagiri, a whole range will be lifted, you will see!” (Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 3, p. 106)

Sai Baba caught in cheating about the Christian Bible

    

Sathya Sai Baba pretends that this is a very special tiny Bible – which he was claimed to have “materialized” during his Christmas Discourse in 1996 (but did not let anyone inspect it and it was seen no more after the discourse). Now the reason for its “disappearance” is obvious… for it is on sale in many shops, and can also be bought on-line as in the above capture of details from the website.In fact, this Bible contains nothing but a selection of texts from the Old and New Testaments, including all of the four gospels. >However, that is not at all what Sai Baba claimed it to be:  “a book compiled in Britain around 1530 A.D. containing all the information about Jesus gathered during the preceding centuries. The Russians condensed all the material in a small book [in which language?] which they preserved in a place on the Black Sea coast [not named].”  (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XXIX, p.394). The official report continues: Svaami produced the little book by a circular wave of His hand and held it before the audience.] “This is the book. You can see the cross on the cover page. The book was designed to demonstrate the common features of all religions. What is contained in this book is not to be found even in the Bible. It contains an entirely new account of the life of Jesus.” [Bold type added].

This last claim is a complete and utter calculated lie, for it contains no such thing whatever! Someone had obtained a copy and given it to him, no doubt, and – assuming that his followers would automatically believe he had materialized it – he invented a cock-and-bull story about its origin. Did he not carry out this charade – this adharmic cheating – to try to attract more Christians to his sheepfold and give his lagging followers a bit of news, which they always crave?

The researcher Brian Steel writes: “Apart from Sai Baba’s three conflicting descriptions of the book’s contents, this is a most disturbing performance because on a video of the ‘materialisation’, Baba merely seems to pluck the miniature book (2 and a half centimetres by 3 and a quarter) from below the ledge of the table he is leaning on. Photographs of Baba holding up the tiny book were immediately circulated in Puttaparthi. One of these is on the cover of the Spanish edition of the January 1997 issue of Sanathana Sarathi Eterno Conductor) for that same month. However, the mysterious book appears to be nothing more than a copy of the “Good News” edition of the New Testament, freely and cheaply available in India, and overseas. (See Chapter 6)  [Of Sathya Sai Baba: God or Guru?]” ( Check Steels’ webpage)

Sai Baba (Baa-Baa Black Sheep) a misunderstood ‘Second Coming’

After almost 30 years of Mission (24 -12 72, in Bangalore), Sathya Sai Baba gave the first of a series of annual Discourses on Jesus Christ. . The Discourse culminates in a preposterous claim that Jesus announced Sai Baba’s future Advent from the Cross. This is still taken seriously by devotees and the Sathya Sai Organization (who accord this Discourse and three others pride of place on one of their websites).

Sathya Sai Baba makes a categorical and surely megalomaniacal claim (at the end of the Discourse), extraordinary even by his inflated standards:
“There is one point that I cannot but bring to your special notice today. At the moment when Jesus was merging in the Supreme Principle of Divinity, He communicated some news to his followers, which was interpreted in a variety of ways by commentators and those who relish the piling of writings on writings and meanings upon meanings, until it all swells up into a huge mess.”
“The statement itself has been manipulated and tangled into a conundrum. The statement of Christ is simple: ‘he who sent me among you will come again!’ and he pointed to a Lamb. The Lamb is merely a symbol, a sign. It stands for the Voice – Ba-Ba; the announcement was the Advent of Baba. ‘His Name will be Truth,’ Christ declared. Sathya means Truth. ‘He will wear a robe of red, a blood-red robe.’ [Here Baba pointed to the robe He was wearing.] ‘He will be short, with a crown (of hair). The Lamb is the sign and symbol of Love.’
But that is not all. Sathya Sai Baba adds that he is not just Christ, but God the Father:
“Christ did not declare that he will come again. He said, ‘He who made me will come again.’ That Ba-ba is this Baba and Sai, the short, curly-hair-crowned red-robed Baba, is come. He is not only in this Form, but he is in every one of you, as the dweller in the Heart. He is there, short, with a robe of the colour of the blood that fills it.” (Sathya Sai Speaks, XI, 54:346)
“The great teachers belong to mankind. It is wrong to believe that Jesus belongs only to the Christians and that Christmas is a holy festival for the West only. To accept one of them as one’s own and discard the rest as belonging to others is a sign of pettiness. Christ, Rama, Krishna – they are for all men everywhere.” (XI, 54:338)

To see the ignorance and confusion of Sathya Sai Baba about the historical Jesus and Christianity in general, see Brian Steel’s academic analyses here.

Sathya Sai Baba and the Turin shroud photos

1) Original photo of the Turin Shroud negative image by National Geographic

2) Painting by Ariel Agemian, combined with the image on the Holy Shroud of Turin, scanned it from a three-dimensional card which had both images on it.

Image by artish Aggemian on left - Turin image right

3) Alleged colour photo ‘transformed by Sai Baba miracle’ from the black-and-white version

It was shown on a recent exhaustive Discovery Channel research programme exactly how one can recreate the exact three-dimensional effects as seen on the Turin shroud with technology available at the time of Leonardo (involving stereoscopic mirrors and lenses) . Whatever the truth about it, however, Sathya Sai Baba has exceeded himself in allegedly taking a black-and-white photo of the Turin shroud image, passing his hand over it and thus turning it into the colour image seen above right! As one would expect, there is no documentation of this event, no independent witnesses and even the Australian lady who made the claim that she had handed him the photo and experienced this cannot be found, nor has she deposited any affidavit or other verifiable statement anywhere to affirm this, as far as can be found.

Robert Perry has written an article (‘The Face of Jesus’) on the image on the Sai Baba photo where he traces the original of it – which a painting created in 1935 by an Armenian artist named Aggemian and which is copyrighted in 1979 by VARI-VUE in Pelham, New York. Sai Baba’s alleged ‘manifestation’ is a poor reproduction, but of exactly the same image including the facial dimensions  and every hair in the moustache and beard!

It is not hard to palm a colour photo of a well-known image (which was probably held out to Sai Baba for days on end  – as is the rule – before he deigned to touch it). This gave him time to arrange for the substitute and for palming it at darshan. He uses misdirect of attention quite skilfully often. However, if you believe in Sai Baba, you would have to believe in anything and everything that is claimed about him, because he says he adheres 100% strictly to the truth. He has never denied that story, and it has been spread far and wide throughout the Sai Organization and movement, not least by the fully signed-up believer and devotee, David Jevons of the Ramala Centre in Glastonbury, and on various websites.

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The historical Jesus and Sathya Sai Baba – comparisons

The following striking comparisons between some aspects of Sai Baba and Jesus of Nazareth were made by Barry Newton of Australia (ex-devotee):-

Jesus had no fears at all, nor bodyguards in the face of vigorous objection to His tirades directed at the temple priests, and even during his arrest showed the most divine loving compassion when he healed the severed ear of the Roman soldier who was there to arrest Him at His betrayal. Yet armed guards are everywhere in Sai Baba’s ashram.

Jesus spoke by His actions, the like of which no number of words could describe, yet we were very often warned in the Sathya Sai Organisation that “the hollow vessel makes the most noise.” Funny that, because Sai Baba and all but a very rare few in the Sathya Sai Organization talk lots and do little (actually nothing).

Jesus had no home and fed the multitudes, yet Sai Baba lives in luxury while the villagers outside the ashram live in squalor and obviously go hungry.”

Jesus chose to be among the outcasts of society – publicans, prostitutes, tax collectors, the sick and despised, yet Sai Baba invariably interviews the obviously well off, wealthy, or important, and the ashram is walled off from the villagers outside.

Jesus traveled to all parts of the land and to different countries to give the benefit of His presence and message, yet Sai Baba will not leave his native area.”

Jesus’ life was open for all to witness at all times, yet Sai Baba has two appearances of around twenty minutes a day only.

Jesus ate with whomever offered food, Sai Baba eats specially prepared meals away from all in private.

Jesus healed the sick in open view of all, Sai Baba does not.(There are reports that some sick people in the village of Puttaparthi say that they are not allowed into the so called free “Super Specialty Hospital”, and were too afraid to go there even after a devotee offered to accompany them. Actions such as these speak far more convincingly and louder than the innumerable talks on such topics as the five human values).

Jesus said (aphorism #5, Gospel of Thomas) “Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed.” and (aphorism #40, Gospel of Thomas) “A grapevine has been planted away from the father. Since it is not strong, it will be pulled up by the root and will perish.”

Sathya Sai Baba’s claims about Jesus Christ

Image from screen capture of Radio Sai propaganda

but only in some few things, evidently!

Many Sai Baba devotees say that he is Jesus, and Sai Baba himself told Peggy Mason and Ron Laing that he is the Cosmic Christ. (in their book ‘The Embodiment of Love’ in the chapter ‘The Second Coming has Come’ p. 149-160, See also here). Of course, there are thousands who have claimed to be Christ and even now many are in psychiatric care in Jerusalem and elsewhere around the world. However, when Hislop had identified Sai Baba with Jesus in a talk, Sai told him not to confuse devotees, that Sai Baba and Jesus are different persons. Sathya Sai Baba has also claimed in a discourse to be Jesus’ Holy Father, the one who sent Jesus to earth etc.! It is evident that he has very considerable difficulties in explaining himself in all this, and the amazingly ignorant howlers he has stated concerning Jesus through the years rob him of all credibility on the subject. (see the academic Brian Steel’s analysis of Sai Baba on Jesus under ‘Christmas Declarations’)

Various other Sai-devotee authors (eg. Victor Kanu) have tried to show the similarity between the teachings of Sai Baba and Jesus. Interestingly and typically, none of these writings contain source references either to the Bible or to Sai Baba’s discourses and some contain quotes that are not even correct. Incidentally, such similarities can also, of course, be shown between the teachings of hundreds of Indian and other spiritual figures and Jesus. That Sai Baba plagiarises the actual words of spiritual figures without acknowledgement (such as Gandhi, Vivekananda, Shivananda, Ramana Maharshi etc.) has been proven, and he has evidently also taken much from the scriptures on Jesus, sometimes in garbled fashion as if filtered to him through the conversation of a third person more literate than himself, such as Prof. N. Kasturi. However, the apologists for Sai Baba always conveniently neglect the large discrepancies between Jesus and Sai Baba in both word and action. Perhaps most significant is that Jesus was never widely and credibly accused of child abuse, pedophilia or sexual abuses against boys and young men, nor was he in any way involved in a governmentally quashed murder case.