Satya Sai Baba passes away, millions mourn
C. R. GOWRI SHANKER
Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh
- The Asian Age
April 24: The many days of uncertainty came to an end on Sunday morning when Satya Sai Baba, who has been battling for his life in a hospital here since March 28, passed away at 7.40 am. He was 84.
His death was confirmed in a bulletin issued by Dr A. N. Safaya, director of the Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher
Medical Sciences, at around 10 am. “ Bhagwan Sri Satya Sai Baba is no more with us physically. He left his earthly body on 24th April 2011 at 7.40 am due to cardio-respiratory failure,” the bulletin said.
Draped in the trademark ochre-coloured long gown, the body has been kept in an airconditioned glass casket with a gold-plated rim at the Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanti Nilayam, his home for six decades, for people to pay their respects. The burial is scheduled for Wednesday.
Even though his health was known to be critical, his many devotees could not believe that the Baba has passed on. Chants of “ Sai Ram!” rent the air as thousands thronged Prashanti Nilayam to confirm the sad news. By the evening the numbers had swelled considerably as devotees from across the country and from overseas began to arrive.
The police had to resort to a mild lathicharge to contain the grieving crowds that tried to barge into the Prashanti Nilayam. Devotees from the United States, Brazil, France, Japan, Russia and other nations were huddled in corners with tears in their eyes.
He was loved for his spiritual teachings as well as his many philanthropic activities administered by a trust that is worth at least Rs 40,000 crores, the largest service trust ever set up by an individual.
Andhra Pradesh governor E. S. L. Narasimhan, chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Karnataka chief minister B. S. Yeddyurappa, BJP president Nitin Gadkari, Praja Rajyam chief K. Chiranjeevi, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, Andhra revenue minister N. Raghuveera Reddy, as well as other ministers, MPs, MLAs and MLCs paid tributes to the Baba.
Born Satyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926, in the village of Puttaparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh to Eswaramma and Peddavenkanma Raju Ratnakaram, the young boy showed early signs of intelligence and spiritual learning.
The Baba was suffering from heart and lung ailments, had been hospitalised for almost a month, and the end came at 7.40 am on Sunday after all efforts by a team of medical experts failed to revive the organ system failure.
A great spiritual leader and healer, educationist par excellence and messiah for the poor, no spiritual guru in the country had the charm and attraction the Baba had over his devotees. His ardent followers comprise a who’s who from the worlds of politics, sports, films and entertainment and science.
But all this relegated to the background once he focused on social service and took up several drinking water projects in the parched areas of Anantapur, Medak, East and West Godavari, and constructed hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bengaluru providing free treatment.
As the Baba’s mortal remains were brought from the hospital to Prashanti Nilayam, a distance of 5 km, in a motorcade, devotees lined up the road were seen crying uncontrollably.
The Baba made his last public appearance on March 25 and subsequently fell ill, never to recover. Ironically, the Baba breathed his last in the prestigious hospital — Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences — which he had constructed and nurtured over the years to provide life-saving treatment free of cost to the poor.
The town’s already-tight security was further intensified on Sunday in anticipation of the arrival of devotees and VIPs from all over the world.
There were police checkposts all over Puttaparthi and entry to Prashanti Nilayam was restricted.
The indication that Baba was no more came when the hospital authorities failed to release the regular morning bulletin at 8 am. Close relatives of the Baba, members of his trust, state major industries minister J. Geeta Reddy and other senior officials rushed to the hospital after the news broke.
Devotees recalled the golden words of the Baba’s “ Bangaru Bagunnava” when they interact with him. “ We will miss the golden words,” a devotee said with emotion.
President Pranab Mukherjee with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kirankumar Reddy offering prayers at the Mahasamadhi of Sri Satya Sai Baba at Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi
Baba laid to rest, statue to come up soon
April 28, 2011
The mortal remains of iconic spiritual guru Sri Satya Sai Baba, who drew millions of devotees from across the world with his magnetic aura and will be remembered for his service to mankind, was laid to rest with full state honours on Wednesday in Prashanti Nilayam.
The moving ceremony took place in Sai Kulavant Hall, amidst the chanting of Vedic hymns by priests, bringing the curtain down on a divine era. Millions across the globe and thousands of people in the pilgrim town bid a tearful adieu.
In his trademark ochre gown, throughout his life Baba provided solace to millions with his 5-point formula for humanity: satya (truth) dharma (righteousness), shanti (peace) prem (love) and ahimsa (non-violence).
A larger-than-life gold/marble statue will be installed soon, along the lines of Shirdi Sai Baba, near the maha samadhi or grave. As is the practice with most great saints, Baba’s body was placed with his head to the south. He was interred at the same place where he would deliver spiritual lectures and give daily darshan to his devotees at 10.15 am. Shouts of “Jai Bhagavan Satya Sai ki jai” filled the air.
Mr R.J. Rathnakar, Baba’s nephew and the son of Baba’s brother Janakiramiah, performed the last rites on behalf of the family. He broke down several times during the rituals.
The hall was packed with relatives, Sri Satya Sai trust members, VVIPS, Sai volunteers, and media from across the world.
In keeping with tradition, devotees, women in particular, were not allowed to witness the final ritual of placing the body in the grave. The exceptions were nephew Mr Rathnakar, family members, priests, close friends and a few seva dal volunteers.
The flowing red curtains around the grave were closed for the ceremonies around 9.40 am and opened only at 10.24 am.
On 24 April at 7:40AM, Swami left His physical body. His body was brought to Sai Kulwant Hall, and He "lay in State" for three days.
Last rites were made on the morning of 27 April, and Bhagawan's body was laid to rest in Sai Kulwant Hall in the presence of a huge assemblage of devotees, also attended by a host of political luminaries.
The image to the left above shows Swami's temporary Mahasamadhi on the verandah of the mandir in Sai Kulwant Hall. The image to the right above shows the permanent Mahasamadhi, which was unveiled on Guru Purnima, 15 July 2011.
The word Mahasamadhi means not only the conscious departure from the physical body of a realized soul but also the shrine where the physical body is buried.
Sai’s burial with full state honours today
April 27, 2011 - C.R. Gowri Shanker
Age Correspondent
PUTTAPARTHI
The mortal remains of Sri Satya Sai Baba will be laid to rest with full state honours at Sai Kulvant Hall in Prasanti Nilayam on Wednesday.
Baba’s last rites will performed between 9 am and 9.30 am as per Hindu rites and caste rituals. He will be buried in the same place where he used to address his devotees and give darshan for so many years. After the burial, a samadhi will be constructed for devotees to pay obeisance.
The location of the samadhi has been finalised by family members in consultation with Vedic pundits and Vaastu experts, it is learnt.
Mr R.J. Ratnakar; the Baba’s nephew and a trustee of the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust, said that the darshan will resume after 12 noon on Wednesday and go on till April 29.
Viewing of the last rites will be restricted to the 1,500-odd special invitees led by the governor, Mr E.S.L. Narasimhan, the chief minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Baba’s close relatives, Satya Sai trustees and those connected with the Sai organisations.
“Baba’s family members, about 100 government representatives and 1,500-odd Sai trust and organisation members have been permitted to attend the last rites,” Mr Palle Raghunath Reddy, local MLA disclosed. It is learnt the marking of the burial place was done in the early hours of Tuesday at around 3.35 am. Holy water and soil from rivers across the country have been brought down to Puttaparthi.
Meanwhile, Swami Nityananda, the notorious spiritual guru who was caught in a sex scandal in Bengaluru, created a flutter in Prashanti Nilayam on Tuesday when he arrived to pay his respects to the mortal remains of Baba.
Lanky Nityananda made a dramatic appearance at the VVIP entrance of the Sai Kulavant hall, semi-clad in ochre robes, escorted by two attendants.
The Swami’s escorts pleaded with volunteers, but they were adamant.
After much cajoling, the Sai Seva dal allowed Nityananda to have a quick darshan. After the darshan, Nityananda lingered in the area for 10 minutes before he left.
Nityanand Dhanyapeetam, headed by the swami, recalled the exceptional spiritual and humanitarian service rendered by Baba to the world.
“Although he is no longer in the body, Baba’s grace and blessings will continue to shower on all devotees always,” he said. High and mighty line up
Apr 25, 2011 - C.R. Gowri Shanker |
Age Correspondent
PUTTAPARTHI
Sri Satya Sai Baba had a distinguished collection of devotees. Powerful heads of state, prime ministers, ministers and politicians of all hues, industrialists, bureaucrats, actors, sportsmen and of course hordes of ordinary people have all prostrated before the sage of Puttaparthi.
Rationalists constantly debunked his ‘miracles’ — bringing out Shiva Lingam from the stomach on Shivrathri, producing gold chains, watches and other gifts to give to devotees —but this did not diminish his following.
Among his charitable works was bringing the much-needed drinking water to parched Anantapur district in Rayalaseema and building many good educational, medical, and other institutions.
The devotion lavished on him by his followers had often prompted the question: is he God? And he answered it thus: “Is Sai Baba God? I am God. And you too are God. The only difference between you and me is that while I am aware of it, you are completely unaware.”
Sri Satya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926, in the obscure village of Puttaparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. His father, Pedda Venkama Raju, and mother, Easwaramma, already had one son and two daughters — Seshama Raju, Venkamma, and Parvathamma.
It is said that Easwaramma had been warned that she was bearing an unusual child. Lord Satyanarayana is supposed to have appeared in a dream to her mother-in-law and indicated that he would be born into the family.
As a child, Satya was said to be spiritually inclined and contemplative and this set him apart from his companions. He was known as ‘Guru’ and ‘Brahmajnani’ (knower of Brahman or the Godhead) among his peers and others in the village.
In primary school, he helped his classmates in diverse ways. Though from a poor family, he did not hesitate to give away his clothes to needy classmates. He never lost an opportunity to turn the minds of his friends towards God. Among other things, he formed a bhajan group for this purpose, which later became very popular.
The nearest higher secondary school was in Bukkapatnam, several kilometres to the north of Puttaparthi, and the young Satya had to trudge back and forth every day, no matter what the weather.
Here too he was a model student and making students God-conscious was his prime occupation.
Many stories are narrated about his school life. How when asked to discipline the other students as class monitor, he merely patted them lightly, which earned him the wrath of the teacher so that he and not the students got punished.
When Satya’s older brother Seshama Raju, went to Kamalapuram to stay with his in-laws and do his teacher's training, it was decided that Satya go with him as Kamalapuram had a very good school. The family had pinned their hopes on the bright Satya going to college and becoming a big officer in the Government.
Satya’s stay at Kamalapuram, though, was an unhappy one. He was made to do household chores by his brother’s comparatively wealthy in-laws and fetch water from the well every day. One day he missed out on this chore because he had to perform his duties as a boy scout at a fair in the neighbouring village. He had walked the long distance to the village and back because he could not afford the bus fare and had even bought little gifts for the folks at home. But he got a severe punishment all the same for neglecting his work
Much later, Swami revealed that he deliberately created such painful situations for himself in order to teach the lesson of forbearance and equanimity.
Today, millions of people from all over the world are his devotees and see him as an incarnation of the Sai Baba of Shirdi.
Sai Baba said that he came into this world to re-establish the rhythm of righteousness in the world and repair the ancient highway to God, which over the years has deteriorated.
In his own words, “This Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family through the bond of brotherhood.”
Sai Baba condition worsens
Sri Satya Sai Baba’s condition worsened on Thursday as his vital organs showed signs of failing for the first time since the 86-year old Baba was admitted to the Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences on March 28.
Doctors said that Baba’s overall health condition was very poor and according to sources, the next 24 hours would be very critical for Baba.
As Sai Baba health deteriorated, the government went into a flurry in Hyderabad, Anantapur and Puttaparthi.
The major industries minister, Dr J. Geeta Reddy, who has been here since the Baba was admitted to hospital as the government’s representative, told this correspondent that the doctors were continuing their efforts to revive the Baba’s vital organs.
As news of Baba’s condition spread, devotees offered prayers all over town and at Prashanthi Nilayam for his recovery.
Members of the Sri Satya Sai Central Trust convened an emergency meeting to take stock of the Baba’s health and the steps needed to be taken in case of an emergency.
The former Chief Justice of India, Justice P.N. Bhagwathi, chartered accountant, Mr Indulal Shah, Mr S.V. Giri, Mr V. Srinivasan and Mr R.J. Ratnakar attended the meeting.
The Chief Minister, Mr N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, was in constant touch with the trust members, the District Collector, Mr Janardhan Reddy, and other senior civil and police officials, said sources.
The director of the hospital, Dr A.N. Safaya, said that the Baba continued to be in a very critical state and there was very poor response from his vital organs. “The intermittent episodes of low blood pressure are persisting indicating that the heart is quite weak.
The parameters of the functioning of the various organs of the body are also erratic,” Dr Safaya said.
Age Correspondent
April 06, 2011
|After a tense couple of days, Sri Satya Sai Baba showed signs of improvement but continued to be on life support systems. “Baba is responding to queries. But due to the ventilator, he could not speak,” said Dr A.N. Safaya, director of Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in a video bulletin released to the media on Tuesday evening.
Commercial establishments remained closed for the second day running as a mark of respect for the ailing Baba and the town wore a deserted look with the police blocking all roads leading to the hospital and Prashanti Nilayam, the Baba residence.
Many consider it a fashion to scoff at miracles – the rationalists with the idea that they are made up stories and the believers with their dogmatic arguments. Whenever the rationalists and scientists discover that the miracles are facts, we see them becoming staunch devotees right from that moment. We have been witnessing a large faction of people getting cultured through miracles. This culture leads them to a change meant for helping others. This transformation, in turn, leads them to the realization of truth.
The situation was the same in the past, as it is of now. People believed in Jesus, because they had witnessed signs and wonders. Same was the case of the prophets. Is it not beyond scientific analysis, if such a phenomenon, by which all the water in the casks turns to wine in a house of wedding, occurs without the help of the tools and tackles of a magician?
The miracles by Jesus retold in the Bible are famous. The marvels of Sri Krishna are also well known to the common man. Majority of the Muslims believe in the miracles by the Prophet. All the authoritative scriptures contain the miracle, in which a pillar made of date palm, on which the Prophet rested his back, had shed tears, when he had left it. Imam Shafi maintained that the crying of the date palm pillar was a bigger marvel than restoring life to the dead. Similarly, the incident of water bursting forth from between the Prophet's fingers is also chronicled. Even after many had quenched their thirst, even after all the animals had drunk, the water continued to flow.
Another miracle was the fall of rain, when the Prophet prayed. The marvel of preparing food for over a thousand persons with only one 'Sau' [2.5 Kg] of grains is also found in the authoritative scriptures of Hadith. It was said that the Prophet had distributed fruit for everyone in the battlefield. And what more! The Muslim chronologists had even recorded that he was capable of splitting the moon in two.
It is easy to discard these stories, treating them as mere legends. Could it not be-that Jesus, Krishna and the Prophet were magicians or hypnotists? Was there a group of scientific researchers investigating them, while they were performing the miracles? What reply can be given, when a rationalist asks, whether their miracles cannot be equated with those performed by a dexterous magician?
But, the answer that the believers can now provide is Sathya Sai Baba. This twentieth century divinity, who pervades Prashanthi Nilayam and who can conveniently be subjected to observations and inspections, has, before the world, been leading a miraculous life, which exists only on the plane of wishful thinking of believers. That is the plane truth.
Sai Baba's creations out of nothing have been the most reputable and debatable. When not only modern science, but also the ancient Indian philosophy maintain that nothing can be created out of nothing, is not some discrepancy evident here? Sathya Sai explains like this, "I will and it happens.
" People view this in different perspectives. When we say nothingness, it does not mean absolute vacuum; there has to be some matter or energy minutely present. Therefore, Sai-devoted scientists clarify that one matter may be transformed to another. Their philosophical explanation may be that God is all-pervading and hence the same divine power performs the creation. There are countless evidences to prove that Sathya Sai creates, what he wants. Even scientific research has made its entry on the scene.
The Summer Course of 1973 was in progress at Whitefield, Bangalore. One student, a habitual smoker, had promised Swami that he would not smoke again. Once when Swami asked him, he vehemently denied that he had smoked. In front of those present, Swami materialized a photograph, showing even the background of the place, where the boy was sitting and smoking.
Here comes another more miraculous creation than the inexplicable one cited above.
Since the declaration that he was an incarnation, only a few people came to Puttaparthi in the initial days. I am now relating an incident related by Leelamma of Tamilnadu, who used to inhabit Puttaparthi in those days.
Swami used to materialize for devotees, idols and pictures of their favourite deities. One day, when Swami spotted an old woman, who demanded nothing, he asked her, who her favourite God was. She replied that her husband was her favourite God. When she asked for a photo of her husband, who expired two years before Swami's birth and who had never been photographed, Swami at once materialized it. The old woman, overcome with emotion, bowed at the feet of Swami.
In 1924, there were no studios in Puttaparthi or its surroundings. The man's face had never been captured by a camera. What is the secret behind the trick, by which Swami produced the photograph of a man, whom He had never set His eyes upon?
Sri. Gokak had described about Swami creating a small copy of the picture that was hung on his wall, of a guru, who lived two generations ago. Once Swami materialized a gold medal for Vidwan Sri. T. Chaudayya, who rendered a fiddle recital during the Navaratri celebrations. Later, telling that the name should be seen on it. He pressed the medal in His palm. The inscription, 'Presented by Sri. Sathya Sai Baba to Vidwan Sri. T. Chaudayya' immediately appeared on the medal. The day of the week and the date were also mentioned. [Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Vol. I. P 175-176]
ln1951, with a touch of His hand, Swami transformed the stamps bearing the head impression of the Raja of Venkatagiri to stamps bearing His own head impression. American researcher Haraldsson had received one of those stamps from the Raja's son during an investigation trip. Anyone, who probes into Sai miracles, can find thousands of such instances.
American scientists Karlis Osis and Haraldsson, who came to investigate about the Sathya Sai phenomenon, focussed their research on this aspect. After conducting research for more than ten years, Haraldsson clearly admitted in his thesis that he could not give a scientific explanation to it. In his work, he had often recorded that a number of Sai devotees, who lived with Swami during His childhood and adolescence, [Some of them are not devotees anymore due to various reasons.] when were questioned one by one, talked a lot about such miracles of Swami's creating what they wanted. In Sathya Sai's life there are many miracles equivalent to that of the water pouring forth from between the Prophet's fingers.
In the houses of Sai devotees in different parts of the world, Amrutha, Vibhuti and Tirtha [holy water] have been showering from the pictures of Sathya Sai and other Gods. If somebody does it to achieve fame, it can easily be detected.
Magicians display the trick of creating objects out of nothing. Anyone skilled at the sleight-of-hand can do it. But none of them can perform as stated above. They never used to create photos or things, which you demanded. Even if they could create gold chains and currency notes by their sleight-of-hand, they never used to distribute them among the viewers. Sathya Sai's creations like diamonds and chains worth millions are distributed among the devotees. The golden idols materialized by Him are being worshipped in many places even today.
When the materialization of a gold chain for a construction expert, recorded by a movie camera was viewed in slow motion a news item appeared in some paper – 'He takes the gold chain from his assistant.' (The Deccan Chronicle 23-11-92) If it were true, then it was a golden opportunity for the seekers of truth. Anyone can shoot pictures of his marvels and publish them in detail to expose the myths.
But what is the truth? Right from the time the movie camera was invented, such miracles have been recorded and even today are being recorded and inspected in slow motion. But no one could find any incongruity till date. No authoritative speaker had uttered anything, which the news item had quoted him as saying. Anyone interested in knowing the truth can go to the TV centre and find out. Dr. Haraldsson and Dr. Wiseman conducted an investigation on the news item and published an article. Dr. Haraldsson writes:-
"A visit to India in July 1993 gave the author and Dr. Wiseman an opportunity to investigate this claim of fraudulent exposure. In Hyderabad we met the executive editor of the Deccan Chronicle, Mr. P. N. V. Nair, who supplied us with more information about the incident and helped us obtain a copy of the well-guarded tape. This was achieved, in part, by the author agreeing to be interviewed by the Deccan Chronicle. The resulting article did not correctly reflect my views and distorted some of my statements.
According to Mr. Nair, the Deccan Chronicle received some 200 readers' letters regarding their story. It published 28 letters, 18 were complimentary about the article, 10 were not.
The complimentary articles fell into the following categories. First, some were congratulating the Deccan Chronicle on possessing the strength of will to publish the information – the same letters often condemned the DD for not broadcasting the footage in question. For example, on 25 November, Mr. S. Sarjeevi wrote:
"Hats off to your bold expose. Once again the Deccan Chronicle has proved itself to be a straightforward newspaper. You have succeeded where the DD has failed morally."
Second, many of the letters were supportive of the expose but maintained that individuals should still have respect for the spiritual advice given by Sai Baba. For example on 25 November, B.V.Rao notes:
"No doubt the Baba is a great philosopher and philanthropist doing yeoman service, but he need not perform fake miracles to attract people. Such actions will only make him unpopular."
Finally many of the letters stressed that it was unfortunate that so many government officials were in attendance at the event in question. For example, on 25 November, S.K.Kumar wrote:
"The accolades and patronage that he receives from the President of India, the Prime Minister and scores of top politicians speaks volumes of the superstitions that VIPs practise. This is a lesson that they should learn and stop fooling around with public funds, wasting it on visiting Godmen."
The letters attacking the article fell into the following categories: First, some accepted the accusation of cheating, but felt that Sai Baba should not have been exposed because of the good work that he carries out for the community. For example, on 25 November, B.V.R.K.Theerthulu wrote:
"A great man must be excused small mistakes. If the Baba pronounced that he would create a gold chain out of the thin air, then one would look for the hows and whys. If the Baba had not specifically said that he would be doing so, then the rest is handiwork of the press to malign the Baba."
Some individuals noted that the article had failed to expose Sai Baba because it did not account for the many other miracles, which he is alleged to have produced. For example, on 26 November Capt. L. Ramanath notes:
"I feel it is needless to recount here the scores of benevolent miracles, graced by Baba on many of us, in the war zone and in the peace areas, within and without India, far away from Baba's physical presence."
One letter not published by the newspaper was written by D.S.Rao of Secunderabad on 24 November. It brought a counter-allegation of fraud. He suggested that the suspicious handling of the memento between Sai Baba and his assistant was merely due to excessive weight of the memento.
Furthermore he stated that the film did not show even an IOTA of what is claimed, namely that Sai Baba is taking the necklace from his personal assistant. Secondly D.S.Rao speculates that the tape is blurred and suggests that the photographs used by the newspapers may have been deliberately blurred to allow false accusation to be sustained, and the film may be the result of careful mixing and editing.
This letter was not published by the Deccan Chronicle (the author and Dr. Wiseman found it in the file shown to them by the editor), and as a result D.S.Rao wrote to the Indian Press Council (letter dated 05 December 1992) complaining of unfair coverage and defaming Sai Baba. The Deccan Chronicle was acquitted of unfair reporting, as it was found by the Indian Press Council to have published views from both sides. Hence Rao's letter was not published and his complaint not upheld.
The Investigation
We carried out a careful analysis of the tape supplied by Mr. Nair. Sai Baba is seen standing on the podium of the hall. Several people are seated at the back of the podium, facing the audience. A large and apparently heavy memento (probably 18 inches by 18 inches at its base) is brought in by an assistant, Mr. Radhakrishna Menon (RM). The memento held with four hands by Sai Baba and RM, is handed over to the architect who designed the building Mr. R.Chakrapani.
Immediately after he receives it, Sai Baba makes a circular sweeping movement with his right hand, in which appears a gold-coloured ornament or necklace, which he places around the neck of Mr. Chakrapani. This whole sequence of events takes about 17 seconds.
To assess the possibility of sleight-of-hand it is important to study two crucial moments on the videotape. The first is when Sai Baba puts his hands under the memento apparently to support its weight. There is a moment of hesitation as the weight is shifted, during which Sai Baba's left hand and RM's right hand touch, or nearly touch. At this moment the necklace could have changed hands from RM to Sai Baba.
The other crucial moment is when Sai Baba lets go of the memento, places his right hand under the memento, and possibly touches his left hand. At this moment Sai Baba could have shifted the necklace from his left to right hand.
In the Deccan Chronicle it is stated that Sai Baba 'takes the gold chain from his assistant. 'However, this definitely cannot be seen on tape. The chain is not seen until it appears at the end of the swirling circular movement of Sai Baba's right hand.
The meeting and touching of Sai Baba's and the assistant's hands would have given the assistant an opportunity to pass an object to Sai Baba's hand. The question is, however, did such a transfer take place? The tape does not contain enough information to assess this question with any certainty. If such transfer did not occur there needs to be another explanation for why Sai Baba moved his hand over to his assistant's hand. Was it to help him support the heavy memento until it was safely in the hands of the architect, or, was there some other reason? We can only guess.
The Deccan Chronicle did not report anyone present on the August 29 function observing fraud. In a brief conversation with the authors the architect, Mr. Chakrapani, rejected any discussion of the incident.
The Quality of the Videotape
The quality and resolution of the tape leaves much to be desired and limits the inferences that can be drawn from it. Dr. Wiseman took the videotape to a company, which specialises in investigating corporate fraud. This company possesses some of the world's best equipment designed to enhance poor quality of the videotape.
The technician kindly offered to enhance the videotape in question. The videotape was run through a real time Snell & Wilcox Kudos Noise Reducer. The machine carries out three operations. First, it removes via recursive filters the random noise on the tape caused by repeated copying. Second, it improves the graininess of the video by median filters and finally enhances any edges on the video through edge enhancement filters. After all this the video is certainly easy to watch, and did not contain much of the random noise present on the copy provided by the Deccan Chronicle. However the resulting tape still did not reveal further information about the incident. In short, the reason for Sai Baba's hand movement still appears unclear and is open for various interpretations, but the tape contained no firm evidence of fraud.
The company also analysed several still frames taken from the video. These were scanned into a computer and run through an Improve image processing system (developed by Home Office in Britain). Again the images were enhanced via median filters and certain areas of the frames were enlarged. The resulting photographs show the crucial moment as Sai Baba's hands touch under the memento, but do not reveal any further information.
Conclusion
The analysis of the Sai Baba film/tape has illustrated the difficulties encountered by researchers wishing to assess psychic claimants on the basis of filmed or taped evidence.
First, such material is often recorded under less than ideal conditions. This is often due to the individuals involved in filming having completely different agenda to researchers. The Doordarshan film crew was sent to cover an event, not to assess Sai Baba's alleged materialisations.
Second, the film crews (especially those involved in covering news items) have to edit their footage over a short period and often quickly dispose of the original unedited footage. Such editing can severely limit the inference that can be drawn from the resulting footage. Footage of Sai Baba (and perhaps his personal assistant) before and after the above episode could have provided valuable information. It may, e.g., have the assistant secretly taking the chain from his pocket, and carefully positioning it under the memento. Alternatively, it may have shown Sai Baba having problems holding the weight of the mementoes previous to the incident discussed above. The former scenario would have provided further evidence of the fraud hypothesis, and the latter for the non-fraud hypothesis.
Third, and perhaps most important of all, the quality of the film footage is rarely good enough to unequivocally state that a certain event is, or is not, due to trickery. This can be the case for many reasons. The information needed to accurately assess a fraud hypothesis is often occluded on the film and / or occurs off camera. In the present example the viewer ideally needed to see exactly what happens under the memento as it is handed to Sai Baba.
The angle at which the event was filmed means that the happenings under the memento are occluded. This problem can be particularly difficult to overcome, especially if a skilled trickster is able to see the position of the camera and execute his/her sleight-of-hand in such a way as to prevent accurate recording of the trickery. Information on the tape may also be blurred. Such blurring might be due to the attempted filming of rapid events, or multiple copying of tape leading to poor picture-quality. The latter problem certainly occurred in the present example and may have been exaggerated by the technicians constantly replaying (and therefore helping to degenerate) the part of the tape containing the incident in question.
The brief video recording contains a hand movement of Sai Baba which is open to different interpretations and hence looks suspect to some (to a greater or lesser degree) and not to others. This would have given Sai Baba an opportunity to receive an object from the hand of his assistant, especially if the latter had some skill in handing over an object of this kind or size. Whether he did or not cannot be seen on tape. The statement made by the Deccan Chronicle that Sai Baba takes the gold chain from his assistants not corroborated by the tape nor the picture they print.
The Deccan Chronicle article echoed through much of the Indian press, apparently without any additional journalist viewing the videotape. This is the example of how a videotape containing a scene where sleight-of-hand might (or might not) have occurred can become an allegation that trickery has in fact taken place (besides getting other facts wrong). This is then interpreted as an exposure and is unverified echoed by the media." (Miracles are my visiting Cards – An investigative inquiry on Sathya Sai Baba P. 296-301)
Another identical investigation was conducted by Haraldsson earlier also. A misleading description was published in 1982 in 'Miracles: A Para scientific into Wondrous Phenomena' by researcher Rogo. D.S. He writes: There is... some indication that Sai Baba often deliberately fakes his purported miracles (when films taken of some of his exhibitions are slowed down, it is clear that he is quite an expert at sleight-of-hand) (P.90). Haraldsson writes:
"In a letter to Rogo, I asked for further details, particularly which films he was referring to. He answered in a letter that he had had several conversations in 1975 with Dr. Edwin. C.May, a physicist at the prestigious S.R.I.Institute near San Francisco, and that Dr. May had told him that he had filmed Sai Baba producing objects. According to Rogo, Dr. May had told him that when the films were slowed down and examined frame-by-frame, sleight of hand was evident. Rogo himself, however, had never seen Dr. May's films but had taken his word for this. He suggested that I write to Dr.May.....
I wrote to Dr. May, who rang me up a few days later and told me that he had never met Said Baba; hence he had never taken films of him and had never even seen any film of Baba. He had filmed a woman in Bombay, alleged by a small flock of followers to produce Kokum paranormally, and he had found her clearly engaged in fraud." (Miracles Are My Visiting Cards Heralds P.218)
Such incidents show that truth comes out, when the investigation becomes scientific.
For those, who plan to study Sathya Sai Baba minutely. His 'rescue phenomena' often come to aid. The miracle of appearing in more places than one can also be included in this category, since it occurs together with the rescue phenomena or without. The general characteristics of the phenomenon are the following:
The devotee calls Swami at some scene of danger. Swami comes and saves him. Swami would tell those sitting nearby that He had been to a particular place. It would be found true, when those, who had undergone the experience, retold or wrote about it. Some people, who listen to Baba's description, write letters or send telegrams to learn the truth.
I feel that this phenomenon is one of the most significant in Sathya Sai's divine life. The detailed study of a small portion of His life throws more light in the sphere of our intellect.
The story of a freedom fighter, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, is retold by an American engineer by the name of Al Drucker in his article. [Golden Age – 1980 P. 140] While driving through a narrow road and letting another vehicle pass, the car turned turtle. His wife screamed, 'Ram, Ram.' The couple fell approximately 100 ft. down the side of the road; but escaped from injuries. The car was smashed to smithereens. They regarded this escape as miraculous. Later, while he was sitting in the front row for Darsan, Swami asked as soon as He spotted him, "So, you have come, haven't you? Good. You must be grateful to your wife for your life. Unless she had called me you would have been dead. I was the one, who pulled you out of the car and took you safely to the ground below. And you had not remembered me even once! I had often saved your life without your knowledge. Do you remember the Air Raid Warden?"
Reminiscence of an incident long forgotten was back in his mind. During the Second World War, he had been a student in London. When the sirens blared as a warning to the impending bombardment by the Germans, everyone used to find refuge in underground shelters. Once when the siren blared, this student of ours covered his head with a sheet and went to sleep. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door shouting at the top of his voice, "Open up. Someone is there. This is the law." When the door was opened, a red faced Englishman focused a beam of flashlight on his face. "Didn't you hear the siren? Go downstairs. Come with me." They descended the long stairs. The Englishman paced slightly behind the student. No sooner had the student reached the shelter, than the sound of an explosion was heard right from the place, where he was sleeping. Though it was sad that the warden was trapped in the incident, he was glad that he escaped.
Swami revealed, "I was that warden. That day I appeared to rescue you from the bomb. I have often saved you like that. Now you can be with Me." Pay special attention to the fact that Swami was quite young when this happened in London.
The experience of the king of Venkatagiri, who visited London, was related by his son to Heralds. Baba was staying at the Osborne House in Madras. One day. He was talking to the sons of the king. "Your father's passport is lost. Now he is praying for my help. They are turning everything topsy-turvy and searching." Swami added, "They cannot find the passport."
Next day, Swami told them that He would keep the passport in the royal baggage. When the king returned, he explained everything in detail. [Modern Miracles – Eriendus Haraldsson P. 78.]
Sri Raja Reddy had lived with Swami for quite some time. One of his varied experiences is narrated below.
"My mother was on her way to Kasi. Others were also with her. At that time we were with Swami at Kodaikanal. Swami told me, "Now your mother is on the train traveling in this route. [He gave the location.] She has got fever. As she entered the lavatory, she was about to fall. I rescued her. Now she is fine." When the mother returned, she described all this. [P. 189.]
One of the many experiences of Dr. Gadia, who runs the 'Om Sathya Sai Dispensary' in Arusha in Africa, goes like this:
In 1962, one day at 2:30 p.m., Sai Baba asked Gadia to take down this note, "At present, your mother is being subjected to an operation in Kampala. Doctors are of the opinion that she cannot be saved. But I will give her a new life, I will make her well."
Dr. Gadia immediately wrote to Kampala and from his brother's reply found that whatever Baba had told was true. The letter's content was that his mother, suffering from an intestinal ailment, was taken to the hospital, that the doctors conducted a surgery as the last resort and that the doctors had no hope of the success of the operation. It was also mentioned in the letter that his brother had applied Sai Vibhuti at the last moment, praying for the blessings of Swami.
Another day, at Brindavan Swami informed Dr. Gadia, "I had been to Kampala yesterday to rescue your parents from a car accident." The doctor learned about the actual incident later. Though the car was smashed, both his parents had a miraculous escape. [Living Divinity – Shakunthala Balu P. 225.]
If such experiences, only the recorded ones, were added to this book, this would turn out to be a very large volume. When you talk to devotees, the tales of marvel that unfold are innumerable. Is it to be inferred from these that Baba, the man, rushes to devotees anywhere in the world at their call? Baba Himself often says that He does not reach anywhere, but has been present there all the time. That means that He claims to be omnipresent. It is quite clear that this is not to be considered in the physical sense.
Devotees arriving at Prashanti Nilayam from various parts of the world often say that such miracles are still being observed at many places. This aspect deserves utmost importance in the studies of Sai Baba, because it seems to me that this is the practical version of the concepts of philosophers about the relation between the individual mind and the cosmic mind.
The difference between the individual life and God may be the same as between personal awareness and collective consciousness. Is it not that person, who has risen from personal awareness to collective consciousness, the one, who has truly attained spiritual realisation? Those, who remain permanently in the cosmic consciousness, will have contact with any person's life – such a perception is not irrational. Are not the rescue operations observed in the Sai phenomenon the marvelous aids available from the power of collective consciousness to one, who considering oneself as a part of the collective, raises oneself to the state of collective consciousness, purifying one's own mind? Here, the believers regard such a person as a devotee.
It is not pertinent whether each personal essence experiences the divine essence as Jesus, Krishna or Sai. If we are capable to comprehend that formless essence behind the forms of Sai, Krishna and Jesus, we can also guess the reason why these marvels manifest in different names and forms.
One of the most significant aspects of Sathya Sai Baba's personality, probably another factor not apprehended by non-devotees, is the phenomenon of 'taking over the disease.' Swami confirms, "Disease never affects this body. If at any time illness affects, understand that it is someone else's and not mine." [Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Part III P. 239.] Expert physicians have recorded the diagnoses of the diseases, which affected Him off and on. But to their surprise serious and fatal ailments had suddenly vanished.
Getting afflicted by serious diseases, bearing the severe pain inflicted on the Self without accepting treatment prescribed by the experts, sudden disappearance of the disease, declaring that no evil can affect the Self and that the Self is the power that conquers all, getting involved smartly in incessant activities, forecasting frequently that the Self will live up to the age of ninety-six, moving among tens of thousands of people asserting that no one can harm the Self, consuming only a morsel of food for namesake – is such a phenomenon found anywhere in the annals of history?
On 7th December 1970, Swami was at the residence of Sri. Nakul Sen, the Governor of Goa. That day, He was feeling so severe a pain that it was impossible even to lie down. Nakul Sen and others learned about it only the next day. To the Governor, who suggested that the house was ill fated, Swami said, "No, it is not like that. I had brought the disease to Kabo to get rid of it here itself."
Expert physicians from the Goa Medical College and the city were summoned to the Governor's residence. The pain had concentrated on the navel; there was fever too. The experts offered different views on diagnosis. The whole day Swami was struggling in pain. Kasturi had to announce all this to twenty thousand devotees waiting outside to have a glimpse of Sathya Sai Baba. He also informed them that Baba had taken over the disease of a devotee.
At 8 p. m. the doctors released another bulletin: "Fever 100° F, Pulse 100 M, Breath 16 M, Blood count 22,000, Neutrophilis 85 pc – Para colic appendicitis – Does not consent for operation."
Press reporters released the news to the outside world. Some suggested Swami to abide by the instructions of the doctors. Swami asked, "What do the doctors know? What can they instruct? Your love alone is enough for me."
On 9th and 10th, the doctors insisted that operation was necessary as the condition was very callous; the appendicitis had burst and the blood was full of puss, Swami's whole body had darkened. Doctors even declared that Swami would be dead in ten minutes. The Radio Broadcast was that Swami was on deathbed. When doctors insisted on taking Swami to the hospital, Smt. Nakul Sen blocked the passage and challenged, "You will be able to take Him only over my dead body."
The chief physician gave in at last. "We are arguing unnecessarily. Sathya Sai is divine."
Swami materialized rings for the twenty-five doctors present there.
But, when Swami announced that He would give a discourse in the evening, the doctors were puzzled. When they examined Him at 5 O'clock, they were dumbfounded. The portion affected by appendicitis was soft; there was no lump or anything there.
At 6 O'clock, Swami walked to the Bhajan Hall. He talked for forty minutes.
He said, "There are many, that doubt the existence of God, those who deny it and those who discard the idea of God itself as superstitious. As if to help them to get rid of this ego, the might of God with its inherent compassion exhibits its superhuman attitude. The doubters receive answers without questioning; the doors are opened without knocking, because those, who deny, never knock. Through discernible experiences and facts established beyond arguments, blind faith is enhanced to the divine state and becomes bright. The human body gets prone to illness due to wrong food, indulgent habits, foolish hurried haste and mad emotions. But the disease, which you had seen during the last two days, was absolutely different from this. That was the disease, which I had taken over myself to save someone afflicted by it. Continued healthy life of this man was essential for the clear jobs I had in mind. It is one of the duties of the incarnation to shower compassion and bliss on the devotee. The appendicitis had ripened. It swelled. The doctors would have been able to remove it by operation only. I knew that the devotee was not capable of surviving it. I have incarnated in this body to rescue other bodies from pain. This body is free from pain; disease never affects it." [Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram Part III P. 228, m244.]
Only to check Swami's statement that nothing will affect Him, some people have even tried to feed Him poison. During His childhood, Swami had regurgitated a vada, a little later after consuming it to show that it contained poison. The woman, who had fed the vada, became a devotee at once. But in 1974, the venom administered by an unidentified man was extremely ferocious. Just before Swami was leaving Puttaparthi, one man offered Him food. Swami knew it contained poison. "If Sai Baba is God, let Him survive the fatal effects of this poison. Otherwise, let Him die or live the rest of his life with weak and lame legs." Swami later revealed that this was the thought in the man's mind. Swami had accepted the food, thinking, "If he needs this to confirm his belief, I shall help him."
The incident occurred in the middle of March. At first, the devotees felt that Swami had difficulty in walking. Swami complained about pain also. It went on increasing. Afterwards, Swami became completely weak in the knees. He was not able to stand up and walk. Keeping His hands on the floor and dragging up His legs. He had to crawl to the bathroom.
At that time, a devotee. Dr. Sundar Rao, was with Him. He requested Swami's consent to summon a famous neurosurgeon from Bangalore. Swami denied it, saying that doctors would not be able to do anything. He promised those with Him that He would cure it at the appropriate time. But, the days crawled by and the ailment persisted. For the consolation of the devotees waiting outside for Darsan, Swami granted it through the door kept slightly ajar; men unseen by the devotees outside supported him on both sides. Some devotees might have felt it a little odd.
However, after some days, Swami suddenly came out of this state, dipping His fingers in water and sprinkling it on His legs, as He had shown once before.
As I said earlier, when such miracles occur even today, we are compelled to learn the spiritual truth that Sathya Sai represents. To some extent, we can grasp these truths from His discourses published in numerous volumes and from the books that emerged from His pen. But it will be more comprehensible from the interviews with Him. Tomorrow's world will evaluate even dialogues with non-devotees as Sathya Sai Gita.
'THE SATHYA SAI MIRACLES', Chapter 5 of the book "Islam. The Sai perspective": http://sss.vn.ua/islam_sp.htm
