SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

All action results from thought, so it is thoughts that matter.

Sathya Sai Baba (born circa 1926-1929 under the name Sathya Narayana Raju) is a popular but controversial Indian guru who has followers and Sathya Sai Baba groups in many countries. When he was in his teens he claimed to be the reincarnation of the fakir Shirdi Sai Baba and subsequently took the fakir's name. He says that he is an avatar (incarnation) of Shiva and Shakti and an embodiment of love with divine powers such as omniscience and omnipotence.

In his ashram he is said to manifest vibuthi (holy ash) and small objects like rings and watches daily. He claims to materialize these objects out of nothing. These claims are believed testified to by his followers. In addition, the followers, and even a few non-followers, have testified about many other miracles performed by him. He preaches a rather traditional, yet syncretic, form of Hinduism that has a strict morality. He teaches the unity of all major world religions and says that they all lead to God, which is in concordance with Vedic principles of the validity of multiple paths. His followers and the organizations that he has founded are involved in many charity projects and in collecting funds for various costly projects glorifying Sai Baba, including museums in his honour.

Sai Baba is claimed to have been born in 1926 as Sathyanarayana Raju, in or across the river from the village Puttaparthi in the state Andhra Pradesh of India. Devotees honor his birth day as 23 November 1926. His birthdate, which is astrologically excellent, is however contested by the official birth register as having taken place three years previously. His mission started in the early 1940s. He publicly stated the date as October 20th 1940 and that it was a Monday when he threw away his schoolbooks on the way to school. However, that date was actually a Sunday.

Many visitors to Puttaparthi were stimulated by stories of miracles allegedly performed by Baba. He then became even more popular due to the character and integrity of those who told their own tales in print on their return to their native place. Many visitors also report Baba came to them in a dream before they even knew who he was. It was only later through a series of events they learned who he was. Stories like this attracted early spiritual seekers from the West, such as Americans, Dr. John Hislop, famous Hollywood screenwriter Arnold Schulman, psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Sandweiss, as well as the Australian Howard Murphet, all of whom visited the guru, examined him and his teachings and activities, and then wrote books about their experiences. In turn, these books inspired other spiritual seekers to visit and examine Sathya Sai Baba in person. As a result, many foreign dignitaries and even famous people began to visit Sai Baba, and still do to this day.

The guru became increasingly popular and by the late 1960s westerners started to visit him. As of 2004 there are estimated to be well over 1 million devotees, predominantly among Indians and people of Indian ethnic origin. In Nordic countries and the Netherlands, numbers fell after 2000 due to negative publicity about Baba, and subsequently also in Australia after the showing there by SBS of the Danish film "Seduced by Sai Baba."

At present several hundred positive books have been published about Sathya Sai Baba. Some quarters of the Indian government consider Sai Baba to be a 'national treasure'.

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