Sai Baba EXPOSED!

31 December 2005

Sai Baba and his "free" education

When speaking of Sathya Sai's philanthropic works, a staple subject of conversation relates to the various educational establishments that he has built along with the claim that the students of said establishments receive totally free education.

As a genial old devotee told me on my last trip to Puttaparthi, when an education conference of sorts was being held, "Swami gives free education from KG to PG". From kindergarten to post-graduate. I didn't have the heart to ask what he thought of my own experience in this regard. Whenever I have discussed this with ashram officials and parents of various students, the message I always got was that the education was completely free; no charge for textbooks and other materials, running administrative costs, and so on.

In January 1993 I went with my mother to see the Principal of the Easwaramma High School in Puttaparthi. The story of my involvement with this establishment is a whole other box of tricks that I may tell at a later date, but suffice to say we picked up an application form on Sai Baba's insistence as well as a prospectus.

The odd thing I noticed when flicking through said prospectus was the fact that they were asking Rs. 30,000 per annum. There didn't seem to be any explanation for this charge, but was just presented as a demand. Whatever this fee was for, why not be honest about it and admit that Sai Baba's educational establishments do take money, instead of propagating the idea that they don't? This is carried out even by parents of Sai students. And for all the stories of dirt-poor Indian families with their children at Sai Baba's schools, how could they afford such a high fee every year? The whole thing seemed dishonest to me, just as it does even today when I hear so much about Sai Baba and his good works.

Oh, and by the way, the Principal charged us Rs. 30 for the prospectus too.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

29 December 2005

Sai Baba in the Upanishads?

A colleague recently emailed me about the following passage, as spoken by Sai Baba in the 'Conversations' book by Dr. John S. Hislop:

"According to the astrology of ancient times, the change in world conditions to be brought by Swami's influence will come in about 15 years [this conversation was in December 1968]. This was predicted 5600 years ago in the Upanishads. The coming of Baba, the Sai Avatar, which includes the three incarnations, is all forecast quite clearly."

My colleague observed that it is now 37 years since Sai Baba said this to Hislop, and that no noticeable change has occurred in world conditions. He also wanted to know what I thought about the reference to Sai Baba in the Upanishads, noting that no devotee has presented any Upanishadic reference in all these years to support this claim.

Here is an extract from my reply:

"I actually have a compilation of the major Upanishads in one volume, that was translated by Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan who was a former President of India. Although I haven't read it entirely, I have looked at most sections of it in my studies of other subjects and I can say that I have never come across a reference to either SB or his triple incarnation.

"Given that this compilation (which I incidentally bought from Sai Towers in Puttaparthi!) contains translations of all the major Upanishads as well as a few minor ones, I think that the only refuge for SB devotees would be to declare that the Upanishad which supposedly predicts the triple-Sai avatar is no longer extant due to the vagaries of time. For obvious reasons, this claim would be invalid since they'd have no proof that a 'lost' Upanishad with no title or author ever predicted the SB-avatar!"

As an afterthought, it occurred to me that is is quite possible for Sai Baba's devotees to engage in deception. Careful observers will notice the cat-calls against a questionable 'Allah Upanishad', which was arguably invented by Mughal scholars in a bid to convert "those dumb Indians" at the time of Mughal rule in India. It is quite possible for Sai devotees to engage in a similar deception, suddenly discovering the "lost" Sai Upanishad which bespeaks of the the glory of Sai.

Some individuals have tried to create their own 'Upanishad'. There is the well-known 'Sathyopanishad' that is available in print from the ashram bookshop, and I understand it has been serialised on some devotional mailing lists. As far as I know, this text contains conversations between Sai Baba and his discourse translator Prof. Anil Kumar.

All in all, and in the absence of any evidence, this little comment from Sai Baba can serve as an example of either another false prediction or a typically baseless self-glorification.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

27 December 2005

CNN Special: Stories Surface of Hare Krishna Abuse

I received a CNN interview transcript by email today. I managed to find a copy of it on the CNN Transcripts page. Interesting reading, especially the highlighted (by myself) sections. If only the Sai organisation had more openness, what to speak of setting up a consultative office of sorts:

Stories Surface of Hare Krishna Abuse;

Aired August 19, 2005 - 14:29 ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


KYRA PHILLIPS: Hare Krishna. It's a name that evokes that images of hippie-like devotees who sold books at airports years ago, chanted mantras, and danced in the streets. But there was a much different side to the Krishnas at that time, a side that was kept out of the public eye. It was a world of brutal psychological and physical abuse that targeted the most helpless members of that organization. Here's CNN investigative reporter Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anya Pourchot says she escaped the Hare Krishnas at 17. It's been 20 years, but she says she still gets physically sick the moment she hears the chanting.

ANYA POURCHOT, VICTIM: I usually have to just run so that I can keep myself together.

GRIFFIN: Joe Fournier, who was brought into the Krishnas at the age of 7, says it's taken years for him to be able to talk about what happened.

JOE FOURNIER, VICTIM: Very painful. Yeah. Gone through years of therapy to come out of it, yeah, to survive.

GRIFFIN: What they and hundreds of other survived were childhoods inside a movement that in the 1960 and '70s attracted thousands of youthful seekers. Followers were expected to devote their lives to pure living, pleasing God and chanting praise. But behind the saffron robes, shaved heads and happy songs, many hare Krishnas were hiding a dark secret -- a secret kept inside the Krishna boarding schools, where the children of devotees were sent for training.

This lawsuit, filed in Texas in 2001, pulled back the veil from Krishna society, and according to the attorney who filed it, exposed a movement plagued by violence, abuse and sexual exploitation of children.

WINDLE TURLEY, ATTORNEY: This is the worst case of abuse of children I have ever seen.

GRIFFIN: Dallas attorney Windle Turley sued the International Society of Krishnas on behalf of 92 people, who complained of years of emotional and physical abuse.

TURLEY: When you took a little 6-year-old girl who has not behaved, and for her punishment she is locked in a dark closet, told that it's filled with rats, and that the rats will eat her if she whimpers. And she's told to stand on this wooden crate and not cry, and stay there for hours, that kind of terrorizing as a way of enforcing discipline is just beyond the thought of anything civil.

POURCHOT: I just remember walking down a hallway, and having this horrible experience of hearing the blood-curling scream of a child. And all the other children shuffling around like it was just -- you know, something that happened every day.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Did it happen every day?

POURCHOT: Oh, yeah.

GRIFFIN: And it happened to you?

POURCHOT: Oh, yeah.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): Anya Pourchot was 4 when her parents joined the movement, whose teachings discouraged family life and parental affection. Anya was sent to a Krishna boarding school. By 16, she found herself promised to a 32-year-old man she didn't know.

(on camera): He raped you?

POURCHOT: Yeah. He convinced -- well, he convinced me to masturbate him. And it was not a very nice experience.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The lawsuit details the claims made by the Krishna children. Beatings, children forced to live and sleep in filth, to eat garbage. Children denied medical care, and some tied up and placed in trash barrels. And according to Fournier, constant sexual abuse.

FOURNIER: Fondled, raped, you know, stuff like that, yeah. Pretty bad.

GRIFFIN: Fournier was just 9 years old when he was sent to a Krishna boarding school in Dallas. Within a month of his arrival, he says, the nightly visits began.

FOURNIER: You had to pretend you weren't awake or conscious or something, to survive it, you know.

GRIFFIN: The International Society of Krishna Consciousness admits no one was looking out for the children. During the 1970s and '80s, when most of the abuse is alleged, children were sent away to boarding schools so parents could focus on begging and recruiting other converts.

TURLEY: And they were literally asked to give up all parental control over their children. And that -- great efforts were made to sever the parental relationship. GRIFFIN (on camera): With their parents out of the way or off raising money, the children were sent to boarding schools, like the one run here in Dallas. The victims say this is where some of the worst abuse took place.

(voice-over): In what the organization now admits was a horrible lapse in judgment, the Krishna converts unfit for other duty were the ones assigned to watch the children.

ANUTTAMA DASA, INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR KRISHNA CONSCIOUSNESS: Too many of them were former hippies and people that were trying to get away from social restraints, and things like that. And were looking for an opportunity to kind of find maybe some easy solutions to some of the problems that they faced.

GRIFFIN: What sets this story apart from so many other lawsuits involving religious organizations and abuse is what the Krishnas decided to do this past spring.

Krishna communications director Anuttama Dasa says the society admits it was wrong, admits the abuse took place in many of its school, and has agreed to pay compensation for the horrible abuse. The society is also begging for forgiveness.

DASA: This is really part of an ongoing healing process. We're organizing meetings around the country, and later in Europe and probably in India, with people in leadership positions within the organization, to meet with the young people, to hear more about what else we need to do to try to help them, to offer our own personal, genuine apologies to them for the suffering that they'd undergone.

GRIFFIN: Fearing the impact of a multi-million-dollar lawsuit, six temples of the Krishnas declared bankruptcy. In the reorganization, nearly $10 million will be set aside for victims. More is being sought from insurance companies, and across the globe, Krishna temples are collecting even more money.

The Krishnas have opened the door to anyone with claims of abuse. Since the original lawsuit, more than 500 former Krishna children have come forward, and, says Windle Turley, the Krishnas have done what no other religious organization charged with sexual abuse has done, at least not to this extent: The Krishnas, he says, have truly apologized.

TURLEY: We were wrong. You were entrusted to our care. We didn't take care of you. We are to blame and we're profoundly sorry. That was a real apology. And to many of these children, that was just as important as the amount of money they're going to recover in this settlement.

GRIFFIN: Joe Fournier says the apology has helped, but insists the true abusers and predators of his childhood have gotten away. Anya Pourchot says no apology will ever be enough. Her childhood is lost forever. She struggles to retrieve what she can for a book she is writing. It's titled, "Traded for Cattle." It's a reference to how the Krishnas handed her into an abuser's arms, for the promise of a cow.

POURCHOT: I hope that this never happens to anyone else again.

GRIFFIN: The Hare Krishnas say they have that same hope, and a new vow to make sure it doesn't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: The Krishnas plan to be paying out damages from their own pockets for years to come, not just to compensate the victims for their pain, but also, they say, so current members of society will feel some pain, too, as a way of preventing abuse in the future.

PHILLIPS: Now this is such a closed society, as we know. How do we know that the abuse is not going on right now?

GRIFFIN: They have set up -- the Krishna society has set up an office, much like the Catholic Church has, reporting any troubles, any inconsistencies. Also teaching their own members about abuse, what it is, how to look out for it and then urging parents to pay particular attention to their children when their children are saying something. And also they've closed all the boarding schools in the United States.

PHILLIPS: They're all closed.

GRIFFIN: All of them.

PHILLIPS: So I'm still curious, Anya, does she still talk with her parents? Are her parents still in the....

GRIFFIN: Interesting enough, her mother and a sister, an adult sister, are still members of the Hare Krishna Society. Limited contact there. Anya has nothing to do with the Krishnas. She says she really gets physically sick any time she sees or hears them, but she does intermittently talk with her relatives.

PHILLIPS: Wow. I don't blame her, after she says what she went through. Drew Griffin, thank you so much. We're going to take a quick break. More LIVE FROM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

25 December 2005

Sai Baba's contradictions on Jesus Christ

To mark the occasion of Christmas Day 2005, I will post here a list of Sai Baba's contradictions on the subject of Jesus Christ. Admittedly I am recycling information from an article on ExBaba.Com, which I believe deserves due consideration on this day. Thanks to Serguei Badaev for his efforts and contributions for the original article, and happy holidays! :-)

Birth-date of Jesus:

"The 25th is not the birth. It was on the 24th, near midnight." - J.Hislop. Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. ch. XXIX

"There are various theories about the birth date of Jesus based on the ‘bright star that appeared at his birth.’ It is visible once in 800 years, it is said. Some say he was born on the fifteenth day of September. But, he was born at 3-15 a.m. (early morning) on December 28, 1980 years ago. It was Sunday." - 25.12.1979. Sathya Sai Speaks v. XXIV, p. 288

"On December 25th, when Jesus was born, three kings came to his birth-place." - 25.12.1992. Sathya Sai Speaks v. XXV, p. 397.

"Truly speaking, Christmas falls in the month of March, not in December. Since it is very cold in December and people are confined to their homes, they utilise this time to celebrate Christmas. Actually, Jesus was born in the month of March. With the passage of time, this fact has been distorted and misrepresented in the Bible." - 25.12.1998. Sanathana Sarathi v. 42, January 1999, p. 6


Jesus speaks about himself:

"There were controversies regarding Jesus. These differences were the cause of the ordeals he had to go through. But Jesus was prepared to face any trouble or any penalty. He considered Compassion as the supreme quality. At first, he declared he was a 'Messenger of God'. Then, he announced: 'I am the Son of God'. Ultimately he declared: 'I and my Father are one'." - 25.12.1997, Sanathana Sarathi v. 41, January 1998, p. 9

"Jesus never laid any claim to His association with God either as a Messenger or a Son. It is only in order that men may realise their own relation with God that such interpretation is made." - 24.11.1998, Unpublished discourse. (Note: This discourse was sold in a form of booklets in several days after the talk in Prashanthi Nilayam but has not been published in Sanathana Sarathi.)


Sufferings of Jesus:

"At the time of crucifixion, Jesus prayed: "O Father! What sin have I committed? Why am I put to suffering thus?" - 24.11.1998, Unpublished discourse.

"When Jesus reached this stage ['I and my Father are one'], He had no suffering at all; He was always blissful and was prepared for anything. Even at the time of crucifixion, he was smiling, because he realised that He was not the body." - 25.12.1998, Sanathana Sarathi v. 42, January 1999, p. 5

Early years of Jesus:

"Jesus realised that he was Christ in his 25th year. For 8 years following his 16th birthday he travelled in India, Tibet, Iran, and Russia. He was variously regarded as a beggar or as a sannyasi. Jesus had no money. His parents were very poor and practically abandoned him at an early age." - J.Hislop. Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. ch. XXX, p. 97

"Jesus announced himself as a Messenger of God. He spent many years in austerities so that he could shower compassion and love on all humanity. Later, he asked himself, 'Am I just a messenger, or am I more closely related to God, a part of God with the Divine as my essence?' Jesus spent twelve long years, wandering alone in deserts engaged in this inquiry. At the end of this period, he returned to the society of men and announced 'I am the Son of God'." - 25.12.1979, Sathya Sai Speaks v. XIV, p. 286

"Jesus grew up at Nazareth till he reached thirty. After Joseph’s passing, Jesus sought his mother’s permission to embark on his Divine mission. He got baptised by John, the Baptist and spent forty days in penance in a forest." - 25.12.1988, Sathya Sai Speaks v. XXI, p. 272


Three Wise Men:

"And, the story says, there was a Star in the sky, which fell with a New Light, and this led a few Tibetans and others to the place where the Saviour was born." - 24.12.1972. Sathya Sai Speaks v. XI, p. 343

"When Jesus was born, three wise men followed a star to reach his place of birth." - 25.12.1984. Sathya Sai Speaks, XVII, 30:190)

"On December 25th, when Jesus was born, three kings came to his birth-place." - 25.12.1992. Sathya Sai Speaks XXV, p. 397.

"It is said that when Jesus was born in a manger, three kings were led by a star to Jesus’s place of birth. In fact, they were not kings but three shepherds." - 25.12.1994. Sathya Sai Speaks XXVII, p. 296

"When Jesus was born, three Arabian kings came to see Him." - 25.12.1998. Sanathana Sarathi, v. 42, January 1999, p. 1

Status of Jesus:

[Speaking about Jesus:] "Appearances of splendour and other signs to herald the era that has dawned are natural when incarnations happen on earth." - 24.12.1972. Sathya Sai Speaks, XI, p. 344

"The Star that appeared that day appears only once in 800 years. It's appearance had nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. There is no rule that, when Divine Energy or Divine Incarnation descends on Earth, a star has to appear." - 25.12.1979. Sathya Sai Speaks v. XIV, p. 288

"Buddha, Christ, Mohammed and others were not Avathars. They had some divine power. Only in India are Avathars born, because only in India are the Sastras understood." - J.Hislop. Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. ch. XL, p. 133

For more, please see Brian Steel's observations about Sathya Sai Baba's relations to Christianity.




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24 December 2005

Parthi Baba's boo-boo on Shirdi Baba

Sai Baba, who claims to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, has contradicted himself on several occasions when describing the life and times of his supposed former incarnation. The most pertinent point that amuses me is Sai Baba's discrepancy in regards to Shirdi Sai's date of birth:

"In answer to their prayers, a son was born on September 28, 1835. Today is the anniversary of that day. That child was Sai Baba." - 28.09.1990. Sathya Sai Speaks v. XXIII, p. 230

"This day [first day of Navarathri] has another special significance. Shirdi Sai Baba was born on September 27, 1838." - 27.09.1992. Sathya Sai Speaks v. XXV, p. 326

If it is possible to attribute the date error as a slip of the finger in regards to typographical mistakes, this is discounted by Sai Baba's own revelation about the year of birth.

For more information, please see Brian Steel's articles on the subject:

Sathya Sai Baba's Claim to be the Reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sathya Sai Baba as Storyteller (scroll down to 'Shirdi Sai Story Under The Spotlight').




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

21 December 2005

"He is OK"?

I'd like to take some time to describe a situation that I have to live with. Despite being born normal and perfect, I suddenly suffered a hearing loss around the age of five. No serious scientific or medical explanation has been offered to explain this sudden loss; some have speculated that it could have been a form of delayed shock in reaction to the news of my aunt's death, who I was very close to and had passed away when I was aged three.

In any case, I am grateful that I was allowed some time to hear and understand language to an extent that my hearing loss didn't significantly alter my progress at learning. My studies of psychology have taught me that childrens' language development actually begins from a very young age, and that if any serious obstacle occurs during an optimal period of time it is likely that the child's ability to learn will suffer. I have, of course, associated with people who have been deaf from birth and have no other way to communicate except by sign language. In this connection, the official status of my hearing loss is categorised as my being 'profoundly deaf' although I am 'minimally deaf' due to my use of two digital hearing aids.

If anything, I am grateful that I had a chance to hear and speak enough of language so that neither my speech or learning skills were affected by this traumatic experience. Being profoundly deaf certainly has it's advantages and disadvantages. If I ever decided to seriously take up the spiritual practice of meditation, I would be afforded instant silence simply by switching off my hearing aids! The disadvantages are obvious; it is hard to take part in group conversations (or even individual conversations) if there is too much background noise or if the speaker isn't speaking clearly enough while facing me. I also have problems talking on the telephone, and I am unable to hear the lyrics to songs unless I read and follow them first, etcetera.

[DIGRESSION]As a matter of curiosity, I have observed my hearing become slightly better over the years. Whereas I was incapable (without my hearing aids) of hearing a pneumatic drill when I was younger, I can at least hear such things now as well as 'smaller' things now. While having a shower in the dormitory showers in Whitefield, I heard my soapdish fall on the stone floor![/DIGRESSION]

Whereas I come from a traditional Hindu family, it was often suggested that I should visit several gurus in order to be 'healed' of my affliction. This is a common feature of Hindu life amongst many 'afflicted' families and considering that I wasn't born with this problem, no problems in relation to karma could be foreseen. Even though we didn't believe in Sai Baba at the time, his name was sometimes suggested as a possible avenue to check out due to his reputaton as a healer and miracle-worker. Interestingly, no one ever spoke about his claims of 'divinity'. He was simply known as a miracle-worker, healer and a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba.

[DIGRESSION]I deeply admired Shirdi Sai Baba after watching the Bollywood movie 'Shirdi Ke Sai Baba'. While visiting Shirdi and having heard that Sathya Sai Baba was supposedly his reincarnation, I was shocked to find that he was not at Shirdi but resided near Bangalore![/DIGRESSION]

So whenever the occasion arose, it was common fare to cart me off to whichever guru was in town in the hope of attaining their blessings for my problem and a possible cure. I had a lot of interesting experiences along this way and saw a lot of curious things. For example, I saw a certain 'Jahmu Maharaj' magic a handful of cashews, almonds and raisins from the air by simply extending his palms and 'catching' the goodies. He did this after asking us (I and my parents) to close our eyes and pray to God. Being the curious child that I was, I pretended to pray by keeping my palms close together but had my eyes open, and so I saw what he did. I felt at the time that he must have had some mystic power in order to do that feat, but evidently he was not powerful enough to cure my hearing loss.

And so I visited many temples, many gurus, had many poojas (formal worship) done in my name, feeding the poor, wearing different talismans or amulets; in short, whatever was considered necessary within the traditional Hindu community. Obviously nothing happened.

And then I met Sai Baba after about two years of accepting him as divine and all the rest of it. We received a group interview on our (my) first trip to see him, which was granted the very next day after we arrived. To cut a long story short, my mother asked him about my hearing problem, to which Sai Baba replied half-encouragingly and half-dismissively along the lines of, "Nothing is wrong, everything is fine. He is OK."

Pardon?

And then he repeated the same, more or less, in a second interview we had later that month. I do not remember the exact words he used but he was clearly stating that "nothing was wrong" and that I was actually "alright".

Huh?

The funny thing is that my mother had had several dreams of Sai Baba curing me. As we all know, devotees consider his appearance in their dreams as real appearances and not merely dream-fantasies, which Sai Baba is responsible for. It is often the case that such dreams lead to the expectation that Sai Baba will do something when you go to visit him, and such stories are frequently reported in amongst the Sai-literature. I cannot speak for my mother, but I certainly had no expectations of him ever curing me. I was completely shocked that we had been "fortunate" enough to be granted two interviews on our first trip; I clearly remember that I visited Sai Baba with no expectations whatsoever and I was blissfully happy just to be in his presence, and it was the ultimate shock that we were blessed with an interview. I couldn't conceive of asking Sai Baba for anything as "material" as a mere cure.

I do have to wonder, though, the implications of his "verdict". If I am "ok", then why the need for these difficulties? If "nothing is wrong", then why the need for hearing aids? If "I am alright", then why the problems with using telephones, and so on? It seems clear to me that Sai Baba was avoiding it, despite his usual guff about suffering problems due to karma, etc.

At this stage in my life, even though I have never expected to be cured, I personally do not care about my hearing problems. I am not even aware of it until I see a small child staring at the "things" in my ears as they always have done. Aside from the problems relating to direct conversations on the telephone and personal interactions, it simply is not an issue for me and is not a part of my self-image. I have a great love for music and I am fine with song lyrics just so long as I read and follow them first. Modern technology allows me to watch television programmes with subtitles. I can send/receive SMS text messages on my cellphone.

My doctor has suggested that as it may have been possible that this happened to me by way of a traumatic shock (the passing of my beloved aunt), it may take a similar traumatic shock to jolt me out of this condition and return my hearing abilities to the state of normalcy that I was born with. Oh well, whatever. The fact of the matter remains that I have to deal with this problem in the here and now, and Sai Baba was unable to do anything about it and simply made wild claims about it that contradicted my own experience, which is still true now as it was then.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

Leapings of the "Monkey Mind"!

Having reflected on recent blogs that deal with the subject of Sai Baba's teachings, picture scandals, meat-eating, and so on, it struck me how creative devotees are in their attempts to explain away and justify their beliefs in such a figure.

To say that it is speculative is being polite; following on from comments made in a previous blog I'd have to say that mental masturbation is much more appropriate term to describe such wranglings.

Whoever knew that Sai Baba's infamous term "monkey mind" could be spun in such a way!

Update 27/12/05: It appears that serious issues with and against Sai Baba are not the only things that invite the mental masturbation of his admirers. Petty and personal vendettas with critics also constitute a large majority of such engagement. Perhaps I may discuss some of them in due course just for the purpose of light amusement, which shouldn't distract this blog from it's stated purpose at all.




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20 December 2005

Make Your Own Firesword: lolz n00b

Each and every day I come across examples that show how the word about Sai Baba's discrepancies in regards to his sexual proclivities is being spread far and wide.

The URL provided here is hard to comprehend but obviously appears to be ridiculing Sai Baba. Note the comment further down about how he supposedly looks like a ladies man, where someone replies, "word has it that he's kind of a lil boys man."

Rxn.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

Predetermined Change of Plans?

In a milestone speech that was given on his 43rd birthday (1968), Sai Baba made the following statements:

"Every step in the career of the Avathar is predetermined."

"Let me assure you that this divine body, this dharmaswarupa, has not come in vain. It will succeed in averting the crisis that has come upon humanity."

In another famous discourse entitled 'Who Is Sai?' that was given on the 9th June, 1974, Sai Baba declared thus :

"Now, I must tell you that, during this Sai Avathar, there is no place for even such 'drama' with scenes of failures and defeats! What I will, must take place; what I plan must succeed. I am Truth; and Truth has no need to hesitate, or fear, or bend."

Aside the usual and often-unfounded arguments for mistranslation, it is unarguable that these two discourses are widely circulated within the Sai Organisation and printed on information pamphlets for new visitors, etc. If there was any issue with translation, they could and should have been brought up long ago.

That said, it had always bugged me why Sai Baba would choose to use the word 'must'. It seemed incomprehensible to me that the Avatar, whose will is supposedly unshakeable, would use language that reflects the tiniest hint of doubt. Rather than whatever he wills to take place will take place, the fact that it must take place implies that something may go wrong and that the grand avataric mission might be something of a spectacular failure. Wouldn't it be so much better to use words that impress the reader with a grand declaration of the infallible and supreme unbending will of the Avatar?

On 13th July 1984, Sai Baba made the following statements:

"When I have given a word to anyone, even if they turn against me I will not bear any ill-will towards them. Even if they revile me, I shall continue to love them. I will stand up to my pledge fight up to the end. Some day they will return to the right path.

"Owing to the compulsion of circumstances some changes may take place. They are not permanent. I will not change my course because of such happenings. This is my second resolve.

"This is my third resolve: When I undertake anything because I feel it is for the welfare of all and that it is good for society as a whole, I will not give it up, come what may. Even if the whole world is against me, I will not turn back, I will only go forward.

"These are my three resolves: The foot that is put forward will not retreat. I will not go back on the word I have given. I only give and do not receive. These are my three resolves and I am determined to fulfil them and to set an example."

So some changes "might" take place because of "circumstances". Hmmmm, I do wonder what he could be referring to...




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

Kundalini? Eh?

In a recent blog about Kundalini, I neglected to mention an important point.

When Tal Brooke was writing of how Sai Baba unzipped his trousers and proceeded to fondle his penis and testicles, being told that a 'healing' was occurring, he also related how he wondered why it wasn't possible for Sai Baba to radiate the healing energies from outside.

I feel that this is a bona-fide line of reasoning to pursue. In the vast gamut of incredible Sai miracle stories, there have been pages upon pages devoteed to how Sai Baba has apparently healed his devotees from afar just by excercising his will. He has been especially notable for remarking "cancer cancelled" to cancer patients, who apparently found out later that their cancer had gone into remission. When such stories and more are reported, one has to wonder why Sai Baba sometimes needs to be "hands-on" with some devotees. Granted, the possibility must be there, especially regarding stories of the earlier days when he personally performed operations on devotee-patients while having no surgical qualifications.

Some devotees have attempted to justify Sai Baba's genital fondling with fallacious reasoning; they say that just as it is perfectly acceptable for a doctor to personally check the genitals while investigating for hernias and other genito-urinary problems, the same will apply to Sai Baba. Aside from the fact that Sai Baba has no medical qualifications and is thus incapable of making informed diagnoses of any medical problems, isn't it convenient that this particular problem (to do with spiritual cleansing of all things!) requires hands-on treatment? One would think that, aside from his love for his devotees, as a spiritual leader Sai Baba should be aware that his fondling actions violate a certain boundary as well as a level of sensitivity on both his and the victim's part. Being aware that such actions may be misunderstood by the general public, possibly because of their vast ignorance of 'medico-spirituality', Sai Baba lays himself open to allegations and suspicions and is therefore responsible for de-facto generation of the same.

Brooke's questioning of Sai Baba's 'healing' methods is a bona-fide line of enquiry.

While we're on the subject of Kundalini, I am reminded of older discussions that took place when I was still a devotee. The scene is set around January 1999 when Sai Baba suffered serious injuries due to a driving accident and spoke about it in a discourse. As I happened to be discussing how Sai Baba's discourses were terribly edited and published in the Sanathana Sarathi (official Sai magazine), a fellow devotee wrote to me of how he was personally present to hear that January discourse of Sai Baba where he had spoken in depth about his accident.

What this fellow had to say was interesting; Sai Baba had revealed that the accident had happened because he was taking on the pain of a dedicated devotee. He had further said that this was possible because the chakras of the Avatar are more developed than those of an ordinary man, and even went so far as to describe which chakra made it possible for him to suffer that pain. When this devotee returned to his home country to happily read the discourse as published, he was shocked and dismayed to find that this 'official' version contained none of the salient facts about Sai's chakras! The poor guy told me that he thought he had been hearing things, considering his personal attendance at that discourse. Rather surprising to find the official organ of the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation refraining from publishing Sai Baba's public admissions of a raised and active Kundalini force, eh?

Given that Sai Baba appears to have declared in public that he owns a fully-raised Kundalini, it is worthwhile to see what he says about it. References to Kundalini are littered here and there amongst his profuse discourse record, as well as statements from the literature of senior devotees. To get a taste of how Sai Baba tries to weave the Kundalini mythos into Puranic legends, please see my discussion of the '16,000 wives' issue.

Whereas we have established that Sai Baba speaks of Kundalini in his discourses, claims to own a fully-raised one and is also claimed to 'heal' young males in order to facilitate the rising of their own Kundalinis, wouldn't it be surprising to discover that Sai Baba secretly believes that the whole Kundalini business is a load of garbage? Apparently this is his own take on the affair:

Sai: Kundalini shakthi is balance in mind and action.

Hislop: But Swami, kundalini yoga is supposed to mean the kundalini power rising up the spine.

Sai: That is not real. It is just speeches. People claim this happening and boast about it. It is big ego.

Hislop: Does Swami mean that there is no kundalini power or energy that starts at the base of the spine and rises up the spine ?

Sai: There is no such thing. That is just big talk and big ego. [p.134]

Hislop: But Swami, how about the idea that the snake of kundalini awakens at the base of the spine and awakens each chakra as it rises up ?

Sai: That energy is prana. It is imagined as rising up the spine by the practice of pranayama. The practice of pranayama is dangerous unless all circumstances are exactly correct. It is not necessary and Swami advises against it. [p.139]

- From 'Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba' by John Hislop.

Hari Sampath observed: "It appears that even Sai Baba doesn't really contribute to the concept of kundalini, and in fact seems to completely disagree that the kundalini power rises up the spine etc... he even says he doesn't advise pranayama for awakening kundalini. When this is the case, how can Sai Baba devotees claim that Sai Baba is raising 'kundalini' of the young men he has sex with ?? These statements of Sai Baba himself rule out this explanation from the SB devotees!!"

Sampath then proceeded to make further observations that logically showed how the paltry explanation of 'healing Kundalinis' is used to justify his behaviour of fondling the genitals of young men and boys, and finally concluded that Sai Baba's behaviour amounts to nothing more that "ordinary sexual encounters".

Frankly, I couldn't agree more.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

17 December 2005

NESBE

Very people know or have appreciated the impact of humour in the Expose of Sathya Sai Baba. Since the revelations of sexual abuse and other scandals broke around 1999, several individuals along the line have contributed their unique brand of humour to satirise the situation with Sai Baba. Some of these postings still exist on the Internet but, sadly, the majority have been lost forever. It is a cause for regret that I never saved such gems of comic hilarity to be rightly preserved.

Among these satirists was one unique individual who went by the name of 'National Enquirer Sai Baba Edition', or 'NESBE' for short. His posts followed the structure of the typical news item, obviously adapted for relevance to Sai Baba and the machinations of the Puttaparthi organisation. He posted for a short while and then disappeared, apparently because some people took his reports very seriously and embarked on "is it true?" missions. If you read some of his stuff, you'll see why!

I'm glad to see that the funniest stuff I've ever read about Sai Baba has now made a comeback. Enjoy and die laughing. :-)




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

Addendum to 'The Meat Problem'

An important addendum to a previous blog, 'The Meat Problem for Sai Baba's devotees' is necessary.

It has come to my attention that meat is a category of food that is considered to be 'tamasic'. In traditional Hindu exegesis, everything is grouped into three broad categories; sattva (purity, goodness), rajas (passion, excitement) and tamas (dullness, darkness). These three categories are judiciously employed to determine the inherent characteristics of various things such as character, birth, actions, personality, and even food.

It may seem strangely limiting for outside events and figures to decide what is appropriate to eat, but actually it is made clear that the final decision lies with the individual. It is advised for spiritual seekers not to consume meat (tamasic food) as it is in stark contrast with their spiritual (sattvic) goals. The reason being is that it is believed that the consumption of meat reinforces the individual's identity with the physical body as well as base attachments to certain sensual pleasures. Since journeys along the spiritual path usually begin from the point of realising that the individual is an entity that is separate from the body, what to speak of desiring release from it as well as all other attachments, it makes perfect sense that meat is an inappropriate food for spiritual seekers to consume.

This is perhaps one reason why Sai Baba requests his followers not to eat meat. He even goes so far as to suggest that people should give up meat-eating regardless of whether they are his devotees, as well as questioning the status of those who eat meat and consider themselves his devotees.

"Calling themselves Sai devotees or devotees of Rama and Krishna, they fatten on chicken. How can they be deemed Sai devotees? How can God accept such a person as a devotee?"


It is interesting how, at the end of that 69th Birthday discourse, Sai Baba optimistically blesses all of his devotees, assuming that they will take heed of his emotional appeal to give up meat-eating and be urged to give it up instantly. Considering that earlier in the discourse Sai Baba was vehement about the evils of these three activities and suggested that those who indulge in the same cannot be considered true devotees of God, it would be reasonable to assume that devotees who continue to eat meat - what to speak of drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes - will remain exempt from receipt of such broad blessings.

Or so you'd think.

In this regard it'll be appropriate to note how the late Dr. John S. Hislop - a very well-known devotee of Sai Baba, a prolific speaker and author of at least three Sai-related publications, served as a national and international chairman for the Sri Sathya Sai Organisation in the West, and recently praised in Radio Sai online magazine (endorsed by Sai Baba) as a 'perfect disciple' - ate meat!

I am fully aware how Hislop is loved and highly regarded amongst devotees then and as now, but the fact remains that he consumed meat even unto the very end of his life. Not just any meat, mind you, as another senior devotee - Dr. Dennis Gersten testified in a (now offline) Sai discussion group that while personally taking care of Hislop in his last days, the latter desired to eat a steak which Gersten promptly cooked and served to him. It is a well-known fact that beef-eating is very much a strong taboo in India, and for someone to consume beef and expect to get somewhere on the proverbial spiritual ladder is an irrational proposal. This, too, despite being directly and personally told by Sai Baba that meat was not an appropriate food for spiritual seekers:

"Meat gives the blood its effect, like passion and similar qualities. Dirty thoughts come with fish. Although fish is always in water, it has a bad smell.

"If you are keen on spiritual life, eating meat is not worth while; but if you are keen on worldly life, it is all right. There is another spiritual reason. When you kill an animal you give it suffering, pain, harm. God is in every creature, so how can you give such pain? Sometimes when someone beats a dog he cries, he feels so much pain. How much more pain then in killing? Animals did not come tor the purpose of supplying food to human beings. They came to work out their own life in the world. When a human being is dead, the foxes and other animals may eat, but we have not come to provide food for those that eat the human body; we have not come for that purpose. Similarly, man eats the animal, but the animal has not come to provide man with food. But, we have taken to eating meat as a habit." - Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, pages 145-156, 22. (Conversation recorded in 1968)


Sai devotees tend to frown and scowl when all of these facts are put forward for their attention. Some of them choose to ignore such things and point to the fact that Sai Baba's love is paramount and that he loves his devotees, no matter what their faults. In other words, they respond: "Just see Swami's love for Hislop! The loving mercy and forgiveness of the Avatar!" What a convenient ploy and attempt at obfuscation to get around Swami's strict rules! Sai Baba does not seem to share such a view as he is notable for his repeated urgings to his devotees to put his teachings into practice. For such people, he says:


"If you are true devotees, examine for yourselves how long you have been listening to Swami's discourses? Years have gone by. To what extent have you gone spiritually? How far have you put into practice Swami's teachings? What is the use of merely listening? Is it not all a waste? You are listening, but not putting the teachings into practice. Hunger can be appeased only when the cooked food is eaten. Only the devotee who practises what he has learnt is a true devotee. Your practices are different from precepts. You are leading selfish and self-centred lives. Such a life is led by birds and beasts." - January 1st, 1993.


Considering how the devotees' paltry justifications for their indulgence in eating meat and other things constitute a clear case of intellectual dishonesty, Sai Baba has this strong rebuke for them:

"Almost 90 percent of the so-called devotees are, in fact, deceitful ... Even the stray dogs scrounging around for something to eat are better than such fake devotees!" - 22nd July, 2002.

The conclusion is clear.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

14 December 2005

Kundalini what?

Recently mentioning Tal Brooke drew another of his anecdotes to mind. As I do not possess a copy of his book, I'm afraid that I'll have to quote from memory.

As far as I recall, the scene is set at the time when Sai Baba firsts molests Brooke by unzipping his flies and fondling his penis and testicles after a long, warm and uncomfortable (on Brooke's part) embrace. When Brooke asked Baba what he was doing, the latter responded something about healing.

How interesting, then, then this claim of 'healing' or 'purification' (of the mythical Kundalini energy in the body, no doubt) is one that has been parrotted by Sai Baba's devotees as a justification for Sai Baba's wholesale molestation of younger males and boys!

Within the schema of Kundalini mysticism the energy is said to be lain dormant at the base of the spine which corresponds to the coccygeal plexus, anus area. Even though the genital area is believed to be an energy center (or 'chakra') where the Kundalini will pass along after being awakened, what good is gained by "healing" or "purifying" the genital area before said awakening? Wouldn't it be better to treat the anal area instead?

Some have indeed speculated that Sai Baba's homosexual activities (including full anal penetration with penis) are a way of affording healing and purifying treatment for the beneficiary's dormant Kundalini energy. Even if you somehow found a way to rationalise all of this in your mind, you can still get the impression that Sai Baba is in the dominant position by way of his status as the 'healer'. However, one victim of his Kundalini treatments claims that he was asked to treat Sai Baba's own Kundalini in the same penetrative way.

This then brings up the all-important question: Who's healing who's Kundalini?

Part Two.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

13 December 2005

Howard Murphet exaggeration

For all the discussion taking place about Howard Murphet lately, I wouldn't exactly cite him as a credible source. I just happen to be looking through one of his books right now, entitled 'Sai Inner Views and Insights', which I believe was his last publication before his passing away.

It is not my wont to speak ill of the dead but I see no harm in noting reasonable explanations for events that he describes in his book(s). For example, in this very book he describes a momentous happening while describing his relation with Prithvi, the step-daughter of the Maharani of Jind:

We had met her the year before at the first Sai Baba World Conference in 1968 at Bombay -- where, to the many thousands present, Sai Baba announced his identity as an Avatar of the divine. As he made the announcement, the lights went off dramatically and came on by themselves a few minutes later. This signal of the lights, untouched by man, seemed to give a powerful significance to the announcement."
- Howard Murphet, Sai Inner Views and Insights, p. 31.

It just so happens to be a well-known fact that India is a country that suffers from power cuts and outages. If a power cut happened just when Sai Baba made his "big announcement", it could just be a sheer coincidence than a dramatic portent.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

The "Sai Krishna" Picture Imbroglio PART THREE

Even if it is so that the two pictures need to be seen for themselves, side-by-side, here they are. See the difference!













In another post I provided a commentary on both the photos. Regarding the "Sai Krishna" version, I noted how convenient it was for the edges of the photo to be blacked out. I speculated that this could be because the producer of this photo wanted to erase as much of the original picture as possible just in case anybody recognised it as an ISKCON picture. Even with the considerable blackout, a gopi can be seen clearly. Also, the colour of the face is different from that of the arms. In the ISKCON edition, the full picture can be seen (wonder of wonders!), the colour of Krishna's face and arms is consistent and the gopi can be fully seen. If that isn't obvious enough, I don't know what is.

To erase all doubt, I posted both the pictures in the 'Photos' section of the club just in case anyone else - in the future - would ridiculously attempt to argue that both the pictures should be seen side-by-side. I then penned a post concluding that, considering all of the available evidence that was plain for all to see, it is obvious that the "Sai Krishna miracle photo" is a proven fraud and should be treated as such. Of course I also noted how LDW seemed to have no comment on the matter, which was hardly surprising.

-|-|-|)(|-|-|-

Speaking of surprise, one has to wonder what Sai Baba himself thinks of all these shenanigans. A devotee incidentally posted a link in the Yahoo Groups that detailed an interview transcript by Connie Shaw which apparently occurred in January 1992. Veterans will remember that Connie Shaw is the devotee who is famous for documenting and speaking on the healings that have occurred via the infamous 'Golden Lingam' photo. I believe that she has written a book of her experiences, as well as maintaining a devotional website. By all accounts, I think her words would be reliable. Interestingly, Shaw appears to have spoken to Sai Baba about this very photo. It's worth reading just to see what Sai Baba says:

Connie showed Baba the recent photo making the rounds and asked if the so-called Krishna photo with Baba's face on it were legitimate, as it looked very suspicious to her and she suspected it was a computer rendering with a fraudulent story attached to the photo re its origen[sic]. Baba said, "This is artificial. It is (like a) painting." Connie asked, "You mean, as on the computer, Swami?" Baba replied, "Yes, I don't like artificial (things). He tossed it down. Connie thanked Him for confirming it.

And here is a screenshot of the exchange that, at the time of writing, is still online on Shaw's webspace:


After noting how I should explain to Shaw that, rather than believe Sai Baba's explanation, she should be apprised of the facts regarding this picture; how it is really an ISKCON picture with Krishna's face cut out and replaced with Sai Baba's sneery mug. Lisa then burst forth with:

The truth is that probably someone like you from ISKCON created the fake in an attempt to discredit Sai Baba. Just think, he knows who it is.

*sigh*

Conveniently forgetting that I was a Sai devotee at the time this all took place on the Sai Unity group, the entire incident shows that I had nothing to lose (or gain) by testifying that this picture was a fraud. In fact, I could have kept quiet and allowed my fellow devotees to delude themselves that this was a miracle picture. "Wow! Sai Baba shows himself as Krishna! Wow wow!" It only showed that I have a great love for the truth and I cannot stand to see untruth reign, even if it meant sacrificing the credibility of my then guru. And truth will always reveal itself.

This is also an appropriate place to speak a little about denial. In regards to this issue, it had been claimed that:

- This issue had been discussed and resolved on the Sai Unity group.

- I provided direct links to the posts (and attachments) at hand.

- I uploaded them to the 'Photos' section for all to see for themselves.

- I commented on the inconsistencies of the photos.

- Sai Baba himself apparently confirmed that this photo was a fake.

We can easily see that LDW was all along operating on the understanding that the "Sai Krishna" photo was a real miracle photo, and that it was upto me to prove it's fradulence. Having proved it, to be accused of being an ISKCON agent and creating a photo to discredit Sai Baba is truly a subject where the denial of the devotees becomes apparent. Denial? What about brainwashing? In response to that, Lisa screamed:

You're the one who's brainwashed. You can ONLY view things from ONE perspective because you are so brainwashed by your OWN stupidity. Facts don't matter to you because you love your lies. You're so perverted you think it's funny people might die as long as it's for a good cause you slimey [sic] piece of mud.

'Nuff said.

UPDATE April 4 2006 - This picture has surfaced again, this time attached with a different story. It is a source of constant bewilderment to me how Sai devotees thoughtlessly and recklessly indulge in mischievous propaganda in order to uplift the flagging profile of their ailing guru.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

The "Sai Krishna" Picture Imbroglio PART TWO

The next part of this story occurred when I had left the organisation of Sai Baba and also given up my adoration and worship of him. Funny how the tables turn when you are on the other side; there seems to be an immediate air of distrust, suspiciousness, and plain ol' hostility. This type of treatment may be par for the course in material organisations, but to receive it from people who are supposedly of a spiritual bent of mind is a shock to the system. Even with all their wacky beliefs you'd think that Sai devotees would show some concern/compassion/sympathy for former members of the "Sai Family" who have fallen away by the wayside, but no, you are guilty of the biggest sin on earth.

Alas, I digress and so on we go. When I brought up this issue of the 'Sai Krishna' photos in the Yahoo forums as an example of how the Puttaparthi photo labs are in the business of creating faked pictures now and again, I was rudely asked to provide proof by a certain adherent named Lisa De Witt (hereafter referred to as 'LDW'):

Where's the proof? You guys always talk a lot of crap but you NEVER have any actual evidence to back it up. It's ALL talk.

Fair enough, so I simply recounted my story about the discussion that had transpired on the Sai Unity group and how I had proven this so-called miracle to be nothing but a cheap fraud. I also recounted the accompanying story of "Luther Christ" from Australia, informing LDW that she could see all of these evidences in the archives of Sai Unity. Surprisingly, she retorted:

Still talk and NO proof.

Erm, I had just informed LDW that the "proof" was to be found in the archives of Sai Unity. Moreover, since I happened to know that LDW was actually a lazy individual who needed all information on a plate, I took the responsibility of looking up the exact posts on the Sai Unity group and posting them all so that everyone could see the relevant exchanges. In retrospect, I wish that I had downloaded those particular postings instead of just posting links to them, considering that Sai Unity is now offline and none of the Internet Archive engines seem to have kept cached copies of the necessary postings. In any case, however, at the time it was real and true that the messages at hand could be seen by all and sundry.

Even more surprisingly, LDW retorted:

Unless you can put the photos side by side so people can see for themselves it is NOT proof.

Duhhhh. At the time of writing, Yahoo discussion groups do not allow messages to have their attachments saved. This means that if somebody in a discussion group wishes to post a picture to the group members, only the members at the time of posting will receive the picture; the picture is not available for download at a later date.
However, at the time this discussion was taking place, Yahoo Groups did allow attachments to be saved and thus we can see how absurd LDW's contention is, considering that I had already provided direct links to the postings at hand which contained the necessary pictures to download. All LDW had to do was see the postings, download the attached pictures and then view them side-by-side for herself to see the obvious fraud. Oddly, this simple process proved to be too difficult for her to carry out.

An apparent reason for LDW's distrust was apparently because of a similar "photo fraud" reported by Hari Sampath regarding a photo claiming to have captured Sai Baba amongst clouds (which may require a dedicated blog to discuss!) was doubtful, according to her:

I don't belive [sic] anythig [sic] unless I see evidence. And esecially [sic] here since I've seen such manipulation on your side myself.

Let's keep in mind that I had just (twice!) mentioned that the material was available as well as providing the direct links to the posts at hand, which had the photos attached for anyone to download and see for themselves. Even if there was a reason to be suspicious based on similar issues with photographic fakes, this was completely unwarranted here considering that the pictures in question were freely available. Not just in postings, but on the Web too!

In any case I figured that I had better respond to LDW's claim of manipulation, and I simply related that these exchanges had taken place while I was still a Sai devotee discussing the issue with fellow devotees. As a devotee, I had nothing to lose by pointing out this photographic fraud. To have the fraud confirmed by a fellow devotee after I sent him a copy of the original ISKCON photo proved that other people had recognised it, even if some of them tried to justify it with a "Swami wills everything" explanation. I also pointed out that since fellow Sai devotees had seen both the pictures and admitted that the "Sai Krishna" picture was a fake after considering the evidence, this put LDW's own claim into doubt since she claimed not to believe anything without evidence.

One has to wonder why she failed to see what her fellow devotees could see in the plain and clear light of day.

Part Three.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

The "Sai Krishna" Picture Imbroglio PART ONE

While we're all in the Krishna mood, this might be the perfect time to relate an account of an instance of deception that I discovered while still a devotee. Even now that I am no longer a devotee, this still serves to show the vociferous reactions of Sai Baba followers to this affair.

Sometime around the year 2000, I read a post on the (now offline) Sai Unity yahoogroup about a certain Australian devotee, 'Luther Christ', who had visited Puttaparthi sometime in the 1980s, and who took photos of Sai Baba during darshan times. Upon returning to Australia and subsequently developing the photos, he was surprised to find that one of them was a miraculous picture of "Sai Krishna", a photo of Sai Baba as Krishna! This photo was attached with the post for all to see. As usual, several devotees on that forum thanked the poster for allowing them to partake of such grace as well as be in possession of this photo.

The only problem with this story was that I immediately recognised that this photo was a complete fake. It was not just the fact that it was an incredibly poor effort but that the background was similar to a painting of Krishna done by ISKCON artists. Since I have a long background with ISKCON I was able to recognise it immediately. In the "Sai Krishna" version, the blue of Sai Baba's face is markedly different to the blue of the arms and the edges of the photo are rather conveniently blacked out. However, a gopi in the corner can be seen clearly. To double-check, I visited the galleries of various ISKCON-oriented websites as well as look in my old picture collection only to find that my guess was correct: the picture was indeed from ISKCON.

When I was thus armed with indisputable evidence of fraud and voiced these objections on the forum, there appeared to be no real reply except for one particularly long-winded rationalisation as to why we should accept the "Sai Krishna" photo as a genuine miracle. The explanation went something like this: "It is probably Swami's will that those who need to see him this way will see him in that way. We do not need to concern ourselves whether this photo is fake or not." With this type of logic, one can get away with anything under the sun. The devotees did not really seem to care that a fraud had been perpetrated and that they were guilty of blindly swallowing yet another inscrutable leela of Swami's. Perhaps they were too embarrassed to admit it?

Since I had only made claims, I was asked by a more honest devotee in private to prove such claims by supplying him with the original ISKCON picture. This I did, and he promptly declared on the (also now offline) Unity In Diversity yahoogroup that he was in possession of the original picture and that I was able to support my claims of fraud. Even then, there was no real retraction of the picture or the accompanying story from the forum archives by any member or moderator.

Part Two.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

11 December 2005

Blog Modifications

History has shown that whenever a place has been created on the Net to discuss the facts and allegations surrounding Sai Baba, pro-Sai people have ALWAYS gathered and mucked up the place with their ridiculous diatribes and equally ridiculous behaviour, sometimes tantamount to vandalism. The old QuickTopic board that was run by Anthony Thomas is a good example of this.

As a result, I have decided to disable the 'Anonymous' specification of the Comments feature. Now, because of the disruptive and damaging behaviour by pro-Sai people, who have been misusing the Comments feature as a way of attacking me, only Registered Users of Blogger will be given the opportunity to comment on blog postings. This is also subject to change, as I have the facility to let anyone post their comments if they ask to be Registered Members of the blog. Once again as history has now shown, everyone has to suffer because of the misguided and vandalising behaviour of those who claim to speak for Sai Baba.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

10 December 2005

Critical acclaim for Sai Baba Exposed!

As an indication of how devotees and proponents are increasingly incensed with this blog and it's popularity, the following comment is offered for your amusement:

YOU are a Sathya Sai Baba stalker. You stalk his every move. Stalk his every word. Stalk him like a blood-thirsty mosquito...waiting to suck whatever blood you can from SSB's discourses and spread your malaria on your blog."

- Gerald Moreno, Nov. 30th, 2005.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

08 December 2005

Sai Baba: A Present-day Paundraka

There is a very interesting but little-known story of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, which relates the tale of Krishna's dealings with an imitator of himself. I thought it is worth relating here since there is a rather close parallel with the Sai Baba situation. Briefly:

"King Paundraka sent a message to Krishna stating concisely, 'I am Krishna'. As the messenger arrived in Dvaraka, Krishna's dominion, he related the message to Krishna as thus follows: 'I am the only Krishna, incarnated on earth out of compassion for all living beings - there is no other. Give up your false title! Give up the insignia of discus, conch, lotus flower and club that you proudly wear out of foolishness and surrender unto me! If you don't, then give me battle!'

"Hearing the dull-witted Paundraka bragging thus, Krishna and the other kings in the assembly laughed loudly. After some laughter and talk, Krishna responded via the messenger: 'I will hurl those insignia at you which you thus boast about, you fool!'

"After the messenger relayed the response to King Paundraka, Krishna then mounted His chariot and headed in the direction of Paundraka's kingdom. After being informed of this, Paundraka too ventured forth with fully-equipped battalions for the purpose of making war. He was conspicuous with the emblems of Krishna - conch, discus, sword, club, bow, [false] mark of Srivatsa, and so forth. He wore the [false] Kausthuba jewel and was adorned with a lotus garland. He had Garuda on his banner, was wearing two yellow silk garments, a priceless helmet and glittering crocodile earrings. Seeing him standing in that dress copied from His own, like an actor whose place is on a stage, Krishna laughed heartily."

The rest of the narrative follows the general layout of many other Krishnaite legends; they made war and the villain lost his life at the hands of Krishna. I couldn't help wondering that since Sai Baba publicly and proudly boasts that he is not just the selfsame Krishna - but a combined incarnation of every form of divinity that exists - does this story serve to predict a fateful end for him? Who can say what may happen in the future? It has been noted on many occasions by various writers that Sai Baba will have to reap the results of the seeds that he sows, a sentiment that was apparently shared by Sai Baba's older brother, Seshama Raju.

However, the Bhagavata does make a very interesting observation that fits Sai Baba to a tee:

yathA bAlo nRpo bAla-kRto 'budhaH

"The fool [Paundraka] was acting like a
child who had been elected king by children."
(Bhagavata 10.66.3)

How ironic, therefore, that Sai Baba - a present-day Paundraka - complains of the various mini-Mes he has spawned:

"In the Bhaagavatham, there is mention of a certain Poundraka, who sought to become a passable 'imitation', of Krishna. He added unto his name the name of Krishna, viz., Vaasudheva. He announced himself as Poundraka Vaasudheva. He got made an imitation Conch and an imitation Wheel (out of wood) and carried them about, in his two artificial extra hands. He discovered the style which Krishna adopted while wearing his yellow silken robe and he scrupulously followed the same. He skilfully imitated the gait and gestures of Krishna. Some fools gathered round him, mistaking him to be the Lord they were seeking. His insanity finally brought about his downfall and humiliation.

"In this Kali Yuga also such imitations are cropping up just as Poundraka shaped himself into a Vaasudheva. We have today even Sathya Sai Babas. They get the same type of robe stitched, they strain themselves to cultivate the crown of hair, they study photographs and hold their hands up very nearly like I do and make themselves ridiculous by frantic attempts to imitate Me. They forget that 'imitation is only human; but, Creation is Divine.' Those who attempt to become Sathya Sai Babas by this ludicrous process of imitation only destroy whatever faith some people have placed in the Divine. They are poisonous pests which injure the peace and harmony of society. They collect around themselves insects of like nature. For only birds of the same feather can flock together. These 'pretenders' fall into ruin themselves and bring ruin on the society where they operate, as the proverbial horde of monkeys that ruin themselves and bring ruin on the forest which they inhabit."

The picture displayed above is believed to be a materialisation by Sai Baba.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

04 December 2005

Taking It With A Smile

Since we're all in the mood for light-heartedness, a respondent has sent me more pictures, Enjoy.





















Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

02 December 2005

Glutton Baba

See this article in Russian.

"There is an axiom believed in by men of old, which says: 'One meal a day makes a Yogi, two meals a day make a Bhogi and three meals a day make a Rogi. Yogi is the contented God-centred man. Bhogi is the man revelling in sensual pleasure. Rogi is the man ridden by illness. Yes. The quantity of food intake by the well-to-do is now much beyond essential requirements. Over-eating has become a fashion."
- Sai Baba, 12/10/69

No wonder Sai Baba's gaze is full of trepidation in the picture above. It's almost as if he knows what's coming. Or, on the other hand, he could just be eyeing up those delicious poppodums in the corner. They do look delicious, don't they?

A recent covery story by The Week
has thrown up some interesting anecdotes about Sai Baba. Commentary on it may be forthcoming here in the near future, but a colleague has recently pointed out how a statement in this article reveals an aspect of Sai Baba's behaviour - his dining habits - and how it is out of line with his public position as evidenced in the above quote.
Here are the relevant sections from the article that recount a typical day in the life of Sai Baba, with slight edits:

Some say Baba never sleeps, or only for short periods. He has 'raagi kanji' (porridge) and gets ready for the 7 a.m. darshan. This is when he picks the people for a personal darshan.

Lunch is between 10 and 10.30 a.m. The meal is prepared by the wife of the late Janakiramaiah, Baba’s youngest brother. "When food arrives, it is handed over to the attendants and they serve it to Baba," says Ratnakar, Janakiramaiah’s son, who has the privilege of being the closest nephew of Baba.

At 1 p.m. he has fruit and confers with a different set of functionaries. Before long, it is time for his 3.30 p.m. darshan. Even as the car drives down the ramps, Baba listens to the chants of the Vedas.

Baba gives personal interviews during the evening session too and then stays back for the bhajans at 5.30 p.m. An hour later he has a light dinner of one puri or some rice and curry, and fruit.

At 7 p.m. he retires to his room to read letters.

This clearly constitutes four meals, which makes Sai Baba worse than a rogi. Interestingly enough, on some Sai Baba-related websites the saying is included to state: "One who eats four complete meals a day is DROHI (a greedy person)".

Does Sai Baba seem to care? Obviously not, as you can see:




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!

01 December 2005

Comic Humour

Even in the midst of seriousness, there is always a place for a time-out to take a breather and have a snack. In this vein, a fellow blogger has informed me of his own blog where he has lampooned Sai Baba with glee with the aid of comical images. Hope these give you a good belly laugh as they did me!



See IndiaCorporateWatch for more. Images used with permission.




Copyright © Sai Baba EXPOSED! 2005-2007. Discuss this post!