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| The ] ] ''']''' is the subject of many '''allegations''' and intense controversy. | |||
| ==False claims of miracles== | |||
| One of Sathya Sai Baba's most long-standing critics is the Indian ] and ] ], who has published several critical books about him with telling titles such as ''Lure of miracles'' and ''Divine Octopus''.{{fn|1}} To date, Premanand has been unable to succeed legally and claims that he was even arrested by the police in ] for a demonstration in the village. | |||
| In ] Dr. ], who was a member of a private ''miracle committee'' set to debunk all superstitious ] belief, publicly challenged Sathya Sai Baba to perform his miracles under controlled circumstances, a challenge which Sathya Sai Baba ignored.{{fn|3}} The controversy that was the consequence of this incident helped make Sathya Sai Baba even more well known in India.{{fn|4}} Sathya Sai Baba said in one of his rare interviews that he found the attitude of the committee improper.{{fn|5}} In ] another skeptic, Dr. Dale Beyerstein from ], published an extensive literature study of Baba's claims, miracles, and clairvoyance in which he wrote as his conclusion that Baba's extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence that Baba did not supply. {{fn|6}} | |||
| ==Unresolved murders in Baba's private quarters== | |||
| While the popularity of Baba grew despite such distant critics as Beyerstein, infamy close at hand also grew. On 6 June, ], six members of the main ] ] were killed in Sathya Sai Baba's house. Four of them, visiting assailants armed with knives, first killed two house residents and themselves were then shot dead by the police. Initial reports by the police and media provide conflicting views. Some newspapers said that this was a failed attempt on the life of Sathya Sai Baba. Others claimed that it was a terrorist plot. Two members of the plot escaped and were later arrested and freed after testifying where they had planted bombs and poisons in the ashram. Later sources claim that the murders were attributed to internal squabbles in Prashanthi Nilayam. Basava Premanand then went to court accusing the police and the government of destroying evidence. The appeal was dismissed as lacking in evidence -- a result, it may be noted, which follows every Premanand attempt to put Sai Baba in court. | |||
| ==Sexual abuse== | |||
| Perhaps the most scandalous accusation by Western ex-members, first voiced in print by ] in 1976, is that Sai Baba is a ] and that he ] male followers during private interviews.{{fn|8}} Critics say that, though most of the victims of Baba's sexual abuse are over eighteen, the alleged sex is not between consenting adults because many of these victims feel that they have to fulfill Baba's wishes. These victims believe, at least initially, that Baba's acts have a spiritual meaning, for example to raise the ] or to help with sexual problems, or they cannot escape the sexual abuse because of social reasons, for example when all their friends and family are followers.{{fn|9}} | |||
| A few of these first-hand ] are maintained on the Internet.{{fn|10}} {{fn|10b}} However, some of these testimonies have been written down under a fake name or partial surname so as to "protect the privacy" of the young men involved. While in some cases these young men are willing to talk to serious enquirers, to date none have even attempted to move their complaints to a court of law. | |||
| While such critics as the ]-American Said Khorramshahgal and others have put their signed first-hand complaints in the public purview online, there are far more second and third hand testimonies which lack full names{{fn|11}}, the testimonies of whom have been compiled by a critical group headed by David Bailey. | |||
| Alexandra Nagel, a ] scholar and ex-follower of Sai Baba, wrote an article about the bizarre experiences of several young men who claimed that Sathya Sai Baba could change himself suddenly into a woman, or more accurately that his male sexual organ suddenly seemed to disappear. | |||
| In and after the year ] the allegations against the guru became more strident, mainly because a ] musician, David Bailey, and his wife, Faye Bailey, became ex-followers and then published their experiences and opinions as well as those second- and third-hand tales of other ex-followers in a document called '']''. This document was soon published on the Internet and an Expose Committee was formed in secret. | |||
| ==Not an ] of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba== | |||
| Researchers on Sri Shirdi Sai Baba's life history such as claimed in their magazine ''SaiBaba'' that Sathya Sai Baba is not an avatar of Sri Shirdi Sai Baba. | |||
| == Myth making == | |||
| Other critics say that one of the many examples of Baba's lies and propaganda is his claim that he was born on 23 November, ], for the most part to identify himself as the divine as asserted by the Indian guru Sri ], who said on 24 November, 1926 that the Divine had descended on earth. Kasturi says that Sathya Sai Baba said that that statement referred to the Baba. Later, school records revealed two different birthdates for the boy. | |||
| Kasturi states that the boy was a relatively normal child until he was stung by a scorpion in ], after which he declared that he was a reincarnation of ] of Shirdi. According to Kasturi, he started his mission on 20 October, 1940. The book contains many miracle stories about the Guru. Research by the ] critic ] has concluded that the mission did not start on 20 October 1940 but rather began in ].{{fn|5}} | |||
| In ] the American playwright ] visited the Baba and tried to verify the stories about the guru's youth but heard contradicting stories from the older villagers, as published in his book called ''Baba''. A possible reason for the contradictory stories was probably due to Schulman's account that he needed interpreters to interperet other interpreters, as in the case of his interview with Baba's sister. Schulman concluded that what the translators claimed Baba's sister said may well have been quite different from what she actually said {{ref|schulman_baba}}. | |||
| ==Political, governmental and parliamentary responses== | |||
| The Indian President ] and the former Indian Prime Minister ] visit the ashram and pay respect to Baba. Vajpayee wrote a letter when he was still the PM that is published on the internet, also signed by two former Supreme Court Justices, saying that Sathya Sai Baba is innocent of sexual molestations and that the accusations are concocted and malicious. Sceptics are confused as to whether Vajpayee's signed statement is based on government information not made available to the public. But it was made clear during the 2004 ] documentary, "Secret Swami," that the Indian government has taken the position that the allegations against Sai Baba are false. | |||
| In the year 2000 ] withdrew its co-sponsorship of an educational conference at ] and stated the reasons, in a press release issued on 15 September, as "''Certain decisions were taken by the ISSE without consultation, such as plans to hold some of the sessions at the Ashram of the Sathya Sai movement in Puttaparthi, and the inclusion of some speakers in the conference programme without their previous consent. Furthermore, the Organization is deeply concerned about widely-reported allegations of sexual abuse involving youths and children that have been levelled at the leader of the movement in question, Sathya Sai Baba.''" In the year 2005, Barry Pittard, an anti-SSB activist, criticized the UNESCO for removing the press release from their site . | |||
| MP Tony Colman of the ] asked in 2002 whether a travel warning was appropriate due to the reports of sexual abuse. Since 2002, neither ] nor the Parliament ever issued a travel warning against Sathya Sai Baba, nor has the British Government released any official statement regarding this matter. | |||
| Tom Sackville, a former Home Office Under-Secretary of State and current chairman of the anti-cult organisation Family Action Information and Resource (FAIR), has expressed concern about the alleged ] of children by devotees who volunteer at public schools and propagate the ''Educare''/''Education in Human Values'' teachings and asserted that this should be forbidden by law. | |||
| The ] answered a question from a ] about no EU funding going to organizations associated with Sathya Sai Baba, due to allegations of sexual abuse. ], ]. The Commission answered that the Sathya Sai Trust never received, and was not receiving, any funding from the European Commission. | |||
| The ] has issued a travel warning that states: "''U.S. citizens should be aware that there have been unconfirmed reports of inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader at an ashram or religious retreat located in Andhra Pradesh. Most of the reports indicate that the subjects of these approaches have been young male devotees, including a number of U.S. citizens.''". This travel warning does not mention Sathya Sai Baba's name or the names to any alleged victim) | |||
| ==Debating the allegations== | |||
| The few followers who debate this matter online have pointed to the small number of firsthand non-anonymous testimonies of sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba. Consequently, they say, the allegations are not proven and Sathya Sai Baba is, like everybody else, ]. Sathya Sai Baba himself has been maligned with such claims for over fifty years, yet to date he has not given any detailed rebuttal of the allegations. He has said in the Christmas discourse of the year 2000 that people who tell negative stories about him have been bribed or do this out of jealousy because of his fame. Besides, he says that it always been the fate of saints and avatars to be exposed to ].{{fn|19}}<sup>,</sup>{{fn|23}} | |||
| Critics accuse the guru of keeping his followers ignorant about the allegations. Followers in reply then accuse critics of being duplicitous and mean-spirited. Sathya Sai Baba says that his followers should not rely on hearsay found on the Internet but focus instead on the ''innernet'', by which he perhaps means that they should follow their own spiritual practices and leave gossip to gossipers. | |||
| Followers also argue that a person who has the ability to perform miracles can never be a sinner because from the traditional ] literature it is a well known fact that the ability to perform miracles diminishes if a person sins. And after all, even some ex-followers do believe him to perform miracles. It may be true that some materializations are what critics would consider fake, but followers say that this is Sathya Sai Baba's '']'' (divine play) -- a test of faith, or a teaching method. Besides, thousands of uninvestigated miracles could remain as true as always. In turn, critics say that even one fake miracle proves that the guru is a fraud. | |||
| Believers say that one should judge a prophet by his fruits, as ] said according to the ].{{fn|20}} The fruits in terms of charity are a fact and the fruits of personal transformations are their personal experiences. These fruits are good and are certain for the followers. The allegations would be serious, if true, but are not proven according to them. Critics say that one should include the unpleasant experiences of the young who allegedly have been sexually abused and the disillusionment of ex-followers, though these are difficult to prove. Besides, critics say that the allegations are so serious that they should at least be investigated by the police or impartial experts. | |||
| Skeptics argue that the ] for his miracles and his many extraordinary claims are on him. They consider his refusal to show his miracles in controlled circumstances as ample evidence that he is a fraud, because any ] can perform similar "materializations" as the guru. | |||
| With regards to the ]'s assertions that differ from science, followers suggest that it may be science, not Sai Baba, that is ignorant, while noting that some ] teachers indicate that magnetism will only be widely fully understood during the Treta and Sathya ] ages and not in the immediate future. | |||
| Followers purport that Sathya Sai Baba's group is not a ] because it displays many characteristics that are atypical of cults. These characteristics include charity and ] towards other faiths. Also, it does not claim to be the only way to God and truth, and does not advocate proselytizing. They point out that cults will often expect their adherents to abandon worldly duties and to sever ties with their families, which is something that Sathya Sai Baba has explicitly said not to do. Nor does Sathya Sai Baba portray the world and life outside his organisation as evil. Besides, his followers say that faith in Sathya Sai Baba should not be blind. Sathya Sai Baba explicity invites people to investigate his authenticity.{{fn|22}} Ex-follower Paul Holbach thinks that this invitation for investigation of his authenticity is hypocritical because, he says, the setting in the ashram is such that investigation is not really possible. Partial faith in and identification with Sathya Sai Baba is tolerated. | |||
| Followers find it implausible that the allegations would be justified because Sathya Sai Baba has never been successfully ]. They assert that if this is due to a conspiracy or corruption or influence by Sathya Sai Baba on politicians, as critics believe, then the burden of proof of this assertion is on those critics. | |||
| Some followers ultimately felt that they had to leave because they found the answers that they got from Baba to be unsatisfactory or unconvincing. These ex-followers include Ella Evers{{fn|14}}, Matthijs van der Meer{{fn|15}}, David Bailey, and Robert Priddy. A ] follower, Serguei Badaev, was expelled from the organisation for asking pertinent questions about the allegations.{{fn|16}} There is also one testimony by Terry Gallagher in which he says that he personally asked Sathya Sai Baba about the truth of the allegations but he got no answer from him.{{fn|17}}. As noted by Priddy in his webpages, thirty-three ex-followers have requested their local Sai organization to make a public investigation of the allegations. | |||
| ] (a Sai Devotee, expert in comparative religion and author of the book ''"Sathya Sai Baba: A life"'') stated that Sathya Sai Baba's reputation has only increased despite negative stories being published against the Guru, by rationalists, critics and skeptics, for at least a generation. Aitken contended that critics are so distemperate in their dislike that their vituperation comes across as near comical. Aitken also argued that the BBC's programme, Secret Swami, had an advantage for discrediting Sathya Sai Baba because the Anglican Church would not object to programmes that weaken perceived threats, such as Sai Movement. | |||
| See also ] (major article) | |||
| ==References== | |||
| *{{fnb|1}} Indian Skeptic http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/is_books.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|2}} Indian Skeptic http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/saigold.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|3}} Narayana, A in the Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2002/04/04/stories/2002040400540200.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|4}} Haraldsson pages 205-211 | |||
| *{{fnb|5}} Karanjia, R. K. in Blitz magazine (1976) http://home20.inet.tele.dk/saibabaofindia/blitz4.html | |||
| *{{fnb|6}} Beyerstein, Dale ''Sai Baba's miracles: an overview'' (1994) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/p_holbach/dbbooke/cont.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|8}} Brooke, Tal ''Avatar of the Night'' | |||
| *{{fnb|9}} Nagel, A ''A guru Accused - Sai Baba, from Avatar to Homo-paedophile '' (August 2001) http://home.hetnet.nl/%7Eex-baba/engels/articles/Paper%20%27A%20Guru%20Accused%27.html | |||
| *{{fnb|10}} http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses.html#abused | |||
| *{{fnb|10b}} http://www.saisathyasai.com/baba/Ex-Baba.com/Witnesses/exbaba-witnesses.html | |||
| *{{fnb|11}} http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses.html#not%20abused | |||
| *{{fnb|12}} Bailey, Faye and David et al ''The Findings'' http://home.hetnet.nl/mr_2/121/ex-baba/engels/findings.html | |||
| *{{fnb|13}} http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/movies.html | |||
| *{{fnb|14}} Evers, Ella (2000) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/evers.html | |||
| *{{fnb|15}} Meer, Matthijs ''The truth will prevail...a Sai-devotee’s struggle for disenchantment'', Published in Dutch magazine Spiegelbeeld (October 2000) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses/matthijs.html | |||
| *{{fnb|16}} Badaev, Serguei ''The Story of my disqualification'' (March 2001) http://www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/10disqualification.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|17}} Gallagher, Terry ''Disillusionment - a letter to the Bailey's '' http://www.saiguru.net/english/personal_exp/01gallagher.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|18}} Balaraman, Suresh and Sampath, Haresh ''Lies proved by Sathya Sai Baba's School Record'' (2002) http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/schoolrecord.html | |||
| *{{fnb|19}} Sathya Sai Baba http://www.geocities.com/the_sai_critic/respond.html (25 December 2000) | |||
| *{{fnb|20}} ] Matthew 7:16. | |||
| *{{fnb|21}} Sathya Sai Baba (23-11-1968) http://www.sathyasai.org/discour/1968/d681123.htm | |||
| *{{fnb|22}} Sathya Sai Baba ''Sandeha Nivarini'' http://beaskund.helloyou.ws/askbaba/sandehanivarini/sandeha01.html | |||
| *{{fnb|23}} Sathya Sai Baba ''Jealousy root cause of evil'' (3 July 1993) http://www.sathyasai.org/search/volume26/sss26-25.pdf (PDF file). | |||
| #{{note|schulman_baba}} Arnold Schulman, "Baba", page 124 ISBN 670-14343-x | |||
| ==Bibliography== | |||
| *Beyerstein, Dale Dr. (1994) ''Sai Baba's miracles: an overview'' | |||
| *Brooke, Tal ''Avatar of the Night'' | |||
| *Brown, Mick ''The Spiritual Tourist'' (1998) ISBN 1-58234-034-X Bloomsbury Publising | |||
| *Haraldsson, Erlendur PhD ''Miracles are my visiting cards - An investigative inquiry on Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian mystic with the gift of foresight believed to perform modern miracles'' (1997 revised and updated edition) ISBN 81-86822-32-1 | |||
| *Hislop, John ''My Baba and I'' | |||
| *Kasturi, Narayana ''Sathyam Sivam Sundaran Part I, II, III & IV'' | |||
| *Murphet, Howard ''Man of Miracles'' (1971) | |||
| *Padmanaban, R. ''Love is My Form'' Sai Towers (October 2000) | |||
| *Premanand, Basava ''The Murders in Sai Baba's bedroom'' | |||
| *Sandweiss, Samuel H. ''The holy man ..... and the psychiatrist'' (1975) | |||
| *Sathya Sai Baba | |||
| *Sathya Sai Baba ''Gita vahini'', | |||
| *Sathya Sai Baba ''Rama Katha Rasavahini'', translated into English by Narayana Kasturi | |||
| *Sathya Sai Baba ''Sathya Sai Speaks'', Volumes I-. Many of these public discourses have been published on the internet | |||
| *Schulman, Arnold ''Baba'' (1971) Out of print but available in some public libraries | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| ===Official Sathya Sai Websites=== | |||
| * | |||
| * (has Baba's discourses, Baba's voice singing Gayatri and bhajans) | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ===Websites of critical former followers, skeptics and other critics=== | |||
| * Extensive website that contains scholarly studies and videos of alleged materializations, webmaster Reinier van der Sandt. | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| * Multi-lingual, critical website of ex-followers, webmaster Lionel Fernandez. | |||
| * Conny Larsson's English section on the Scandinavian website of critical former followers. Contains writings by ] | |||
| ===Websites to Devotees and Proponents=== | |||
| * by Gerald Joe Moreno - A Pro-Sai Site with a very detailed response to Sai Baba critics, with extensive link references. | |||
| * A Pro-Sai website by Ram Das Awle that attempts to explain the sexual abuse allegations against Sathya Sai Baba. | |||
| * A Pro-Sai website that discusses the controversy surrounding Sathya Sai Baba. | |||
| ===Other websites=== | |||
| * long article by ] on the website of the ] (1984) | |||
| * article on the disagreement and antagonism between apologists and critics on the website of M. Alan Kazlev. | |||
| * biographical overview of the early years from the book ''Love is my Form'' | |||
| * | |||
| {{Hinduism}} | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
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