Sathya Sai Baba (born Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju; 23 November 192624 April 2011) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

. At the age of fourteen he claimed that he was the

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrectio ...

of Shirdi Sai Baba, and left his home to serve his devotees. Sai Baba's believers credited him with miracles such as materialisations of ''

vibhuti In Hinduism, ''vibhuti'' ( sa, विभूति, vibhūti), also called ''bhasma'' or ''thiruneeru'', is sacred ash made of burnt dried wood, burnt cow dung and/or cremated bodies used in Agamic rituals. Hindu devotees apply ''vibhuti'' tradi ...

'' (holy ash) and other small objects such as rings, necklaces and watches, along with reports of miraculous healings,

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

s, clairvoyance,

bilocation Bilocation, or sometimes multilocation, is an alleged psychic or miraculous ability wherein an individual or object is located (or appears to be located) in two distinct places at the same time. Reports of bilocational phenomena have been made in ...

and was allegedly

omnipotent Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as one ...

and omniscient. Multiple studies have concluded that his acts were based on sleight of hand or had other explanations that were not supernatural, although his devotees believe them to be signs of his divinity.Palmer, Norris W. "Baba's World". In: In 1972, Sathya Sai Baba founded the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means to spiritual advancement". Through this organisation, Sathya Sai Baba established a network of free super speciality hospitals and general hospitals, clinics, drinking water projects, a university, auditoriums,

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

It has branches in over 40 countries, run by one of its sister organizations - the Sri Sathya Sai Global Council

Biography

Early life

Almost everything known about Sathya Sai Baba's early life stems from the hagiography that grew around him, narratives that hold special meaning to his devotees and are considered by them to be evidence of his divine nature. According to these sources, Sathya Narayana Raju was born on 23 November 1926 to Meesaraganda Easwaramma and Peddavenkama Raju Ratnakaram, to a

Bhatraju Bhatraju is an Indian (sub continent) caste of Telugu origin. Bhatrajus were originally a caste of Scholars, Soldiers, Ministers, Poets. Bhatraju caste claims to be one of the subcastes of the Kshatriyas. They are primarily found in the states of An ...

family, a community of religious musicians and balladeers, in the village of

Puttaparthi Puttaparthi (IAST: ''Puṭṭaparthy'') is a municipality and district headquarters of Sri Sathya Sai district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in Puttaparthi mandal of Puttaparthi revenue division. The original name of Put ...

which was the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including the ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. His birth was alleged by his mother Easwaramma to be of a miraculous conception. He was the fourth among the five children of his parents. Sathya Sai Baba's siblings included elder brother Ratnakaram Seshama Raju (1911–1985), elder sisters Venkamma (1918–1993) and Parvathamma (1920–1998), and younger brother Janakiramaiah (1931–2003). As a child, he was described as "unusually intelligent" and charitable, though not necessarily academically inclined, as his interests were of a more spiritual nature. He was uncommonly talented in devotional music, dance and drama. From a young age, he has been alleged to have been capable of materialising objects such as food and sweets out of thin air.

Proclamation

On 8 March 1940, while living with his elder brother Seshama Raju in

Uravakonda Uravakonda is a census town in Anantapur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the headquarters of Uravakonda mandal in Anantapur revenue division. The town is a constituent of urban agglomeration. Uravakonda was a once a villa ...

, a small town near Puttaparthi, 14-year-old Sathya was allegedly stung by a scorpion. He lost consciousness for several hours and in the next few days underwent a noticeable change in behaviour. There were "symptoms of laughing and weeping, eloquence and silence." It is claimed that then "he began to sing

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

verses, a language of which it is alleged he had no prior knowledge." Doctors concluded his behaviour to be

hysteria Hysteria is a term used colloquially to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that ...

. Concerned, his parents brought Sathya back home to Puttaparthi and took him to many priests, doctors and exorcists. One of the exorcists at Kadiri, a town near Puttaparthi, went to the extent of torturing him with the aim of curing him. On 23 May 1940, Sathya called household members and reportedly materialised sugar candy ('' prasad)'' and flowers for them. His father became furious at seeing this, thinking his son was bewitched. He took a stick and threatened to beat him if Sathya did not reveal who he really was, the young Sathya responded calmly and firmly "I am Sai Baba", a reference to

Sai Baba of Shirdi Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838? - died 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master and fakir, considered to be a saint, revered by both Hindu and Muslim devotees during and after his lifetime. According to a ...

. This was the first time he proclaimed himself to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdia saint who became famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

and had died eight years before Sathya was born. It was then he came to be known as 'Sathya Sai Baba'.

First mandir and development of Puttaparthi

In 1944, a

mandir A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hin ...

for Sai Baba's devotees was built near the village of

. It is now referred to as the "old mandir". The construction of Prasanthi Nilayam, the current ashram, began in 1948 and was completed in 1950. In 1954, Sai Baba established a small free general hospital in the village of Puttaparthi. He won fame for his reputed mystical powers and ability to heal. In 1957, Sai Baba went on a North Indian temple tour.

Stroke, prediction of reincarnation and sole foreign tour

In 1963, it was asserted that Sai Baba suffered a stroke and four severe heart attacks, which left him paralysed on one side. These events culminated in an event where he apparently healed himself in front of the thousands of people gathered in Prashanthi Nilayam who were then praying for his recovery. On recovering, Sai Baba announced that he would one day next be reborn as an incarnation named ''Prema Sai Baba'' in the neighbouring state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

. He stated, "I am Shiva-Sakthi, born in the

gotra In Hindu culture, the term gotra (Sanskrit: गोत्र) is considered to be equivalent to lineage. It broadly refers to people who are descendants in an unbroken male line from a common male ancestor or patriline. Generally, the gotra ...

(lineage) of Bharadwaja, according to a boon won by that sage from Siva and Sakthi. Siva was born in the gotra of that sage as Sai Baba of Shirdi; Shiva and Sakthi have incarnated as Myself in his gotra now; Sakthi alone will incarnate as the third Sai (Prema Sai Baba) in the same gotra in

Mandya Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of Mandya district and is located from Mysore and from Bangalore. Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output. It is also called Sugar city (which in Kannada mea ...

district of Karnataka State." He stated he would be born again eight years after his death at the age of 96, but died at the age of 84. On 29 June 1968, Sai Baba made his only overseas trip, to

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

and

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The ...

Later years

In 1968, he established Dharmakshetra or the Sathyam Mandir in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

. In 1973, he established the Shivam Mandir in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

. On 19 January 1981, in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

, he inaugurated the Sundaram Mandir. In a 1993 incident, four intruders armed with knives entered his bedroom, either as an assassination attempt or as part of a power struggle between his followers. Sai Baba was unharmed. During the scuffle and the police response, the intruders and two of Sai Baba's attendants were killed. The official investigation left questions unanswered. In March 1995, Sai Baba started a project to provide drinking water to 1.2 million people in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region in the

Anantapur district Anantapur district officially: Anantapuramu district is one of the eight districts in the Rayalaseema region of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The district headquarters is located at Anantapur city. It is one of the driest places in So ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. In April 1999 he inaugurated the Ananda Nilayam Mandir in

Madurai Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration i ...

, Tamil Nadu. In 2001 he established another free super-speciality hospital in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

to benefit the poor.

Old age, illness and death

In 2003, Sai Baba suffered a fractured hip when a student standing on an iron stool slipped and the boy and stool both fell on him. After that he gave

darshana In Indian religions, ''Darshana'', also spelt ''Darshan'', (Sanskrit: दर्शन, , ) or ''Darshanam'' (darśanam) is the auspicious sight of a deity or a holy person. The term also refers to six traditional schools of Hindu philosophy ...

from a car or his porte chair. After 2004, Sai Baba used a wheelchair and began to make fewer public appearances. On 28 March 2011, Sai Baba was admitted to the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital, named after and started by himself, at Prasanthigram at Puttaparthi, following respiration-related problems. After nearly a month of hospitalisation, during which his condition progressively deteriorated, he died on Sunday, 24 April at 7:40 IST, aged 84. Sai Baba had predicted that he would die at age 96 and would remain healthy until then. After he died, some devotees suggested that he was referring to that many lunar years, as counted by Telugu-speaking Hindus, rather than solar years, and using the Indian way of accounting for age, which counts the year to come as part of the person's life. Other devotees have spoken of his anticipated

or awakening.

Funeral and mourning

His body lay in state for two days and was buried with full state honours on 27 April 2011.News 9, 24 April 2011, 16:00 IST An estimated 500,000 people attended the burial. Political leaders and prominent figures attending included then Indian Prime Minister

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

president Sonia Gandhi, Gujarat Chief Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

(who later became Prime Minister of India), cricketer

Sachin Tendulkar Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-sco ...

and Union Ministers S. M. Krishna and

Ambika Soni Ambika Soni (born 13 November 1942) is an Indian politician belonging to Indian National Congress. She had served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting. She was a Member of Parliament representing the state of Punjab in the Rajya Sabha. ...

. Political leaders who offered their condolences included the then Indian Prime Minister

, then Nepali Prime Minister Jhala Nath Khanal, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

. Cricketer

, whose birthday was that day, cancelled his birthday celebrations. ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the sec ...

'' newspaper reported that "Sri Sathya Sai Baba's propagation of spiritualism and preaching of Hindu philosophy never came in the way of his commitment to secular beliefs." The Government of

declared 25 and 26 April as days of mourning and Andhra Pradesh declared 25, 26, and 27 April as days of mourning. Sri Sathya Sai Baba Mahasamadhi at Sai Kulwant Hall

Sri Sathya Sai Baba Mahasamadhi at Sai Kulwant Hall

Sathya Sai Organisation

The Sathya Sai Organisation (or Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization) was founded in the 1960s by Sathya Sai Baba. Initially called the "Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi", it was established "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means to spiritual advancement." In 2020, Sri Satya Sai Central Trust was granted Special Consultative status by United Nations Economic and Social Council The Sathya Sai Organisation reports that there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centres in 114 countries. However, the number of active Sai Baba followers is hard to determine. Estimates vary from 6 million up to nearly 100 million. In India itself, Sai Baba drew followers predominantly from the upper-middle-class, the urban sections of society who have the "most wealth, education and exposure to Western ideas." In 2002, he claimed to have followers in 178 countries.Palmer, Norris W. "Baba's World". In: Sathya Sai Baba founded a large number of schools and colleges, hospitals, and other charitable institutions in India and abroad, the net financial capital of which is usually estimated at 400 billion (US$9 billion). However, estimates as high as 1.4 trillion (about US$31.5bn) have also been made. After his death, questions about the manner in which the finances of the organisation were going to be managed led to speculations of impropriety, with some reports suggesting that suitcases containing cash and/or gold had been removed from his personal lodgings. On 17 June 2011, officials from the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust opened his private residence in the presence of government, bank and tax department officials. In the private residence, which had been sealed since his death, they inventoried 98 kg of gold ornaments, approximate value Rs 21 crores (US$4.7m), 307 kg of silver ornaments, approximate value Rs 16 million (US$0.36m), and Rs 116 million (US$2.6m) in cash. The cash was deposited into the Sai Trust's account at the State Bank of India with payment of government taxes (thus transferring them from religious gifts to Trust assets.) The gold and other items were inventoried, assessed, and placed in secure storage. In July, district authorities inventoried an additional Rs 7.7 million (US$0.17m) in valuables in another 4 rooms. The total value of these items is believed to exceed 7.8 million US dollars. Also inventoried at Yajurmandir were thousands of pure silk sarees, dhotis, shirts, 500 pairs of shoes, dozens of bottles of perfume and hairspray, watches, a large number of silver and gold "mangala sutrams", and precious stones such as diamonds. There were also 750 saffron and white robes of the type Sai Baba wore. an
this graphic
/ref> In July 2011, a similar opening of his Bangalore-area ashram tallied 6 kg of gold coins and jewellery, 245 kg of silver articles and Rs 8 million in cash. These items and goods are believed to have been donated over the years by Sai Baba's devotees from all over the world as religious gifts.

Recognition

Sri Sathya Sai Project 1999 stamp of India

On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts,

Government of India The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...

, released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses. Another commemorative stamp was released on the occasion of what would have been his 88th birthday during November 2013. In January 2007, an event was held in Chennai Nehru Stadium organised by the Chennai Citizens' Conclave to thank Sai Baba for the 2 billion water project which brought water from the River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai city. Four chief ministers attended the function.

Ashrams and mandirs

Prasanthi Nilayam

Chaitanya Jyothi Museum, Prashanthi Nilayam, India

Puttaparthi, where Sai Baba was born and lived, was originally a small, remote South Indian village in Andhra Pradesh. Now there is an extensive university complex, a speciality hospital, and two museums: the ''Sanathana Samskruti'' or Eternal Heritage Museum, sometimes called the Museum of All Religions, and the ''Chaitanya Jyoti'', devoted exclusively to the life and teachings of Sai Baba; the latter has won several international awards for its architectural design. There is also a planetarium, a railway station, a hill-view stadium, an administrative building, an airport, an indoor sports stadium and more. High-ranking Indian politicians such as the former president

A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam (; 15 October 193127 July 2015) was an Indian aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. He was born and raised in Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu and studied phy ...

, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Andhra Pradesh former chief minister

Konijeti Rosaiah Konijeti Rosaiah (4 July 1933 – 4 December 2021) was an Indian politician who served as the 15th chief minister of United Andhra Pradesh from 2009 to 2010. He also served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu from 2011 to 2016 and the Governor of K ...

and

chief minister

B. S. Yediyurappa Bookanakere Siddalingappa Yediyurappa (born 27 February 1943), often referred to by his initials BSY, is an Indian politician currently serving as the member of the Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary board committee since 17 August 2022, t ...

have been official guests at the ashram in Puttaparthi. It was reported that well over a million people attended Sai Baba's 80th birthday celebration, including 13,000 delegates from India and 180 other countries. Hill in Prashanthi Nilayam with statues of Hanuman, Krishna, Shirdi Sai Baba, Shiva, Buddha, Christ, Zarathustra

Hill in Prashanthi Nilayam with statues of Hanuman, Krishna, Shirdi Sai Baba, Shiva, Buddha, Christ, Zarathustra

Sai Baba resided much of the time in his main

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (<

Whitefield, a town on the outskirts of

. Occasionally he visited his Sai Sruthi ashram in

Kodaikanal Kodaikanal () is a hill station which is located in Dindigul district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. Its name in the Tamil language means "The Gift of the Forest". Kodaikanal is referred to as the "Princess of Hill stations" and has a long ...

Characteristics, beliefs and practices of devotees

Reliable sources often describe Sai Baba's following as a "movement". A report from the

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA) in 1998 found that " worldwide mass religious movement is growing around the Indian holy man and alleged miracle worker, Sathya Sai Baba, whose devotees regard him as the full incarnation of God", later noting that "India has a small industry of fake holy men who perform magic tricks for a living". Scholars often refer to it as either a "

New Religious Movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in ...

" (NRM) or as a

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Thi ...

, reflecting what Robbins and Zablocki, two social science researchers, call "the divisive polarization, which, at least until recently, has plagued the academic study of religious movements." between two camps within academia, each preferring one term over the other (i.e. NRM or cult) for such groups. It has been noted by Eugene Gallagher, a noted professor of religious studies, that in more modern times "'New Religious Movement', is the classification preferred by most academics, who see 'cult' as a pejorative term. Sai Baba's following is regarded by most scholars to be of Hindu persuasion. Sai Baba claimed to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, and his followers considered him to be the

Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appear ...

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...

. Sai Baba of Shirdi was known to combine Islamic and Hindu teachings; still Charles S. J. White, of

The American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

at Washington D.C., noted of Sathya Sai Baba in 1972, that "there is no discernible Muslim influence." Stephanie Tallings, in The Harvard international Review, noted Sai Baba's following is drawn from people of all religions, ethnicities, and social classes. Lawrence A. Babb, of the Amherst College in Massachusetts, labelled Sai Baba movement as a cult in the 1980s, calling it "deeply and authentically Hindu..." and noted, "The most striking feature of this cult, however, is the extremely strong emphasis given to the miraculous." However, a scholarly review claims Babb misapplies the word “cult”, responding, "the so-called 'cult' of Satya Sai Baba seems to possess all such characteristics which are, according to the author, central to a religious movement." Deborah A. Swallow, of the University of Cambridge, referred to it as a cult and said that the "ritual and theology, then, unlike Sai Baba f Shirdis, is distinctly Hindu in form and content." But John D. Kelly, a professor of anthropology at the University of Chicago, wrote about Hindu missions in Fiji that the Sathya Sai Organization (which is part of the movement) rejected the label Hindu. According to Kelly, they see their founder as the "living synthesis of the world's religious traditions" and prefer to be classified as an interfaith movement. But he observed that Sai Baba mission is a Hindu mission as active as Christian or Muslim missions. In a 2001 scholarly book, Tulasi Srinivas notes, "The Sathya Sai global civil religious movement incorporates Hindu and Muslim practices, Buddhist, Christian, and Zoroastrian influences, and "New Age"-style rituals and beliefs.’ And in the appendix of the book (p. 349) lists 10 scholarly authors/researchers in both Europe and America who all refer to it as a New Religious Movement (NRM). Sai Baba was known for his quote "Love All, Serve All. Help Ever, Hurt Never." Internationally, his devotees gather daily, or weekly on Sundays or Thursdays or both, for devotional songs, prayer,Guidelines for American Sathya ZSai Baba Centers
The Sathya Sai Baba Central Council of the United States of America (2006) spiritual meditation, service to the community (Seva), and to participate in "Education in Human Values" (SSEHV) known as "''Bal Vikas''" (Blossoming of the Child). Followers believed in seeking the spiritual benefit of Sai Baba's '' darshan'', scheduled for morning and afternoon each day. Sai Baba would interact with people, accept letters or call groups or individuals for interviews. Devotees considered it a great privilege to have an interview and sometimes a single person, group or family was invited for a private interview for answers to spiritual questions and general guidance. The ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'' in 2001 reported that Sai Baba told his adherents not to browse the internet.

Criticism

Accusations

Accusations against Sathya Sai Baba by his critics over the years have included

sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...

, sexual abuse,

money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdicti ...

fraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compen ...

in the performance of service projects, and

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

. In 1972

Abraham Kovoor Abraham Thomas Kovoor (10 April 1898 – 18 September 1978) was an Indian professor and rationalist who gained prominence after retirement for his campaign to expose as frauds various Indian and Sri Lankan "god-men" and so-called paranormal ...

made the first public criticism of Sathya Sai BabaRuhela S.P., ''Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the Press'', pp. 1–5, 1997 when he looked into a claim publicly narrated by one devotee that Sai Baba had created a new model of a Seiko watch, and found the claim to be untrue.Ruhela S.P., ''How to Receive Sri Sathya Sai Baba's Grace'', pp. 277, 2006 In April 1976, Hossur Narasimhaiah, a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, rationalist and then

vice-chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

Bangalore University Bangalore University (BU) is a public state university located in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. The university is a part of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and affiliated by Univer ...

, founded and chaired a committee "to rationally and scientifically investigate miracles and other verifiable superstitions". Narasimhaiah wrote Sai Baba three widely publicised letters challenging him to perform his miracles under controlled conditions. The letters were ignored.Haraldson, ''op. cit'', pp 204–205 Sathya Sai Baba said that he ignored Narasimhaiah's challenge because he felt that a scientific approach to spiritual issues was improper, adding that "Science must confine its inquiry only to things belonging to the human senses, while

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...

transcends the senses. If you want to understand the nature of spiritual power you can do so only through the path of spirituality and not science. What science has been able to unravel is merely a fraction of the cosmic phenomena..."Interview given by Sai Baba to R. K. Karanjia of ''Blitz'' news magazine in September 197
Available online
/ref> Narasimhaiah's committee was dissolved in August 1977. Narasimhaiah held the fact that Sai Baba ignored his letters to be an indication that his miracles were fraudulent. As a result of this episode, a public debate raged for several months in Indian newspapers. Indian rationalist Basava Premanand, who began campaigning against Sathya Sai Baba in 1976, unsuccessfully attempted to sue him in 1986 for violations of the

Gold Control Act The Gold (Control) Act, 1968 is a repealed Act of the Parliament of India which was enacted to control sale and holding of gold in personal possession. High demand for gold in India with negligible indigenous production results in gold import ...

, citing Sai Baba's purported materialisations of gold objects. When the case was dismissed, Premanand unsuccessfully appealed on the grounds that claimed spiritual power is not a defence recognised in law. A 1995 TV documentary ''Guru Busters'', produced by filmmaker Robert Eagle for the UK's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...

, accused Sai Baba of faking his materialisations. The clip from the film was mentioned in the ''

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...

'', on 23 November 1992, in a front-page headline "DD Tape Unveils Baba Magic". Claims of Sai Baba resurrecting American devotee Walter Cowan in 1971 have been discussed by British journalist Mick Brown in his book ''The Spiritual Tourist'' from 1998,Mick Brown, ''The Spiritual Tourist'', 1998, Bloomsbury Publishing, "In the House of God", pp. 73–74 and subsequently by

Erlendur Haraldsson Erlendur Haraldsson (November 3, 1931 – November 22, 2020) was a professor emeritus of psychology on the faculty of social science at the University of Iceland. He published in various psychology and psychiatry journals. In addition, he publis ...

, who interviewed doctors attending Cowan at the hospital; these physicians reported that Cowan had been dangerously ill but had not died. Brown also related his experiences with the alleged manifestations of

from Sai Baba's pictures in houses in London, which he felt were not fraudulent or the result of trickery.Brown Mick, ''The Spiritual Tourist'', "The Miracle in North London", pp. 29–30, 1998 Brown wrote with regards to Sai Baba's claims of omniscience, that "sceptics have produced documentation clearly showing discrepancies between Baba's reading of historical events and biblical prophecies, and the established accounts."

Allegations of abuse

In January 2002, a documentary produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcast company, Danmarks Radio (DR), called ''Seduced By Sai Baba'', analysed videos of public manifestations of Sai Baba and suggested that they could be explained as

. The documentary also presented interviews with Alaya Rahm, former devotee of Sathya Sai Baba, where he alleged abuse by Sathya Sai Baba. As a result, in 2002 the parliament of the United Kingdom discussed the danger to male children of British families intending to visit the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba in case of individual audiences with the guru. In 2004, the BBC produced a documentary titled ''The Secret Swami'' as part of its series "The World Uncovered". One central theme of the BBC documentary was again Alaya Rahm's sexual abuse allegations against Sathya Sai Baba. This documentary interviewed him together with Mark Roche, who had spent 25 years of his life since 1969 in the movement and alleged abuse by Sai Baba. The show also featured allegations from Sai Baba critic Basava Premanand. Premanand stated in the documentary that, in his opinion, Sai Baba faked his materialisations.

Responses

Sathya Sai Baba rejected any allegations of misconduct. In a speech he held in December 2000, he compared himself to

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

and his detractors to

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas bet ...

, claiming that they were motivated by jealousy. His followers have also defended him publicly. These include Bill Aitken, and Anil Kumar, former principal of the Sathya Sai Educational Institute.Brown, Mick (28 October 2000). "Divine Downfall". ''Daily Telegraph''. In an open letter in December 2001, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chief Justices P. N. Bhagwati and

Ranganath Misra Ranganath Mishra (25 November 1926 – 13 September 2012) was the 21st Chief Justice of India, serving from 25 September 1990 to 24 November 1991. He was also the first chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He also served as ...

, and Members of Parliament and

Najma Heptulla Najma Akbar Ali Heptulla (born 13 April 1940) is an Indian politician. She is the Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia since 2017. She was a six time member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, between 1980 and 2016, and ...

said that they were "deeply pained and anguished by the wild, reckless and concocted allegations" against Sathya Sai Baba, and called him "an embodiment of love and selfless service to humanity".Letter from A.B. Vajpayee (the then Prime Minister of India)
/ref>

References

External links

International Sai Organization
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baba, Sathya Sai 1926 births 2011 deaths Founders of new religious movements Indian Hindu spiritual teachers People from Anantapur district People from Rayalaseema People considered avatars by their followers Puttaparthi Psychokineticists Religious pluralism Self-declared messiahs Tantra Indian philanthropists Tantric practices Telugu people Burials in India Modern yoga gurus