Article on Sai Baba from the Modern Rationalist
Meenaradchagan Vishnu
The following an article from the Modern Rationalist found at www.periyar.org
RETELLING
THE SATYA SAI BABA STORY
HUMAN Journal
The Sai Avatar
When a luminescent ball of light entered Easwaramma while she was bathing,
little did she, or Pedda Venkappa Raju, her illiterate husband, realize that
the Lord had chosen her surrogate womb for His next parthenocarpic
incarnation. Official literature enlightens us that the Lord's coming was
anticipated long ago by Jesus and Mohammed. For those who can not find the
relevant passages in their version of the Bible or Koran, a more
contemporary declaration was made by the Lord Himself. In 1918during His
earlier incarnation as the Sai Baba of Shirdi, He had revealed that 8 years
after leaving the Shirdi body, He would be reborn in Puttaparthi village of
Andhra Pradesh as Satya Sai Baba. So in fulfillment of these predictions,
the Lord grew in the womb of Easwaramma, "as the moon grows in the sky",and
a male child was born on 23 November, 1926. To mark the momentous
significance of the event, musical instruments in the house played by
themselves at the time of the birth: the thambura twanged melodiously, the
maddela accompanied it with a soft bet, a divine fragrance pervaded the air,
and a cobra, lord of reptiles, waited in attendance to protect the Lord.It
is fair to assume that just as with the birth of the Buddha, elephants
trumpeted in joy, peacocks danced and the gods rejoiced.Despite His
omniscience, Satyanarayana Raju (his given name) went to school where the
playful display of his miraculous power was soon recognized by all. Friends
came to love him for his magically created gifts, and teachers feared his
chair, unless he begged for forgiveness and expressed remorse at ill
treating the children! In 1940, after tortuous treatment by doctors for
suspected mental illness, at the age of 15, Satyanarayana Raju revealed His
Avatar hood to the world and identified Himself as Satya Sai Baba. As He was
to reveal later to his disciples, "I, the Lord, incarnated at Puttaparthi,
Buddha,Christ,Mohammed and others were not Avatars. They had some divine
power... My power is infinite; My truth is inexplicable,even unfathomable.
My task is the regeneration of humanity by Truth and Love. "we are reassured
that when the present incarnation would be over at age 96 in the year
2022,He would be reborned as Prema Sai in Mandya district of Karnataka.
Man of Miracles
Satya Sai Baba would often say "miracles are my visiting cards", a phrase
which is also the title of a largely hearsay, cock-and-bull account of Satya
Sai Baba's paranormal powers, by Icelandic para-psychologist Errlelndur
Haraldsson. Despite His insistence that His religious message was more
important that the "tinsel" miracles He performed, the stupendous "powers"
of Satya Sai Baba soon come to be know all over the world.
Based on the "most reliable information", but mistaking God for guru, the
Reader's Digest book entitled "Strange Stories, Amazing Facts II" gives us
this incredulous account:
"Sai Baba is an Indian guru blessed with extraordinary powers. He can
produce gold rings and coins out of thin air, change rock into candy and
flowers into jewels. He heals the sick with the aid of Vibhuti(sacred wood
ash), which seems to appear from nowhere as he waves his hand. Perhaps the
most astonishing display of Sai Baba's powers took place in 1953, when the
blue and stiff body of Radhakrishna which was cold,shrunken and starting to
be decompose, was brought back to life by Baba. In the 50 years that Sai
Baba has been demonstrating his apparently miraculous powers, no one has
found any evidence of trickery".
In addition of these reports, Dr. John Hislop, "American industrialist and
management consultant" , and also Chairman of the Central Committee of
American Sai tells us earnestly how in 1971 Satya Sai Baba resurrected
Walter Cowan, declared dead due to cardiac failure. The late Dr.Suri
Bhagavantam, director of the prestigious Indian Institute of Science,
Bangalore, Scientific advisor to the Government of India, and also Baba's
interpreter narrated how once Satya Sai Baba created out of nowhere a copy
of the Bhagavadgita (alas even the Lord is not immune to orthographic error,
as a skeptic pointed out!). In a contemporary enactment of New Testament
miracles, He once converted water into petrol by dipping His finger into the
water. HE relieves devotees' ailments by taking them onto Himself, conducts
surgeries with psychic powers and plucks out-of-season mango fruit from
tamarind trees. It is believed that Baba was responsible for repelling the
Chinese army "invading India like locusts". Reports abound of His
bi-location (having appeared in two places at the same time) appearance; He
Himself claimed that He never sleeps.
In what can only be described as divine disapproval of capitalist claims on
intellectual property rights, by the mere stayed to pray. "Noted" American
psychologist Dr. Samuel Sandweiss was convinced when he was told "I am
everything, everywhere, omniscient, omnipotent and so whatever I will,
instantly happens". Dr.Hislop asks in tragically foolish wonder, "Baba has
the inconceivably immense task of the Universe. How can He afford to spend
time talking to people like us?" Baba reassures him: "Baba with his
limitless bodies, is everywhere doing the tasks... that is Baba's
omnipresence. God is not subject to any limitation". Dr.Hislop is delighted
at this explanation.
The credit for polishing Baba's halting English and capturing his evident
lyrical derangement goes to official biographer, the erudite Kasturi: "I am
all that is , all that can be known, all that seeks fulfillment. Sunrise and
Sunset keep repeating, for I have willed [them] to; the stars that lend
sublime charm to the nocturnal sky hide their faces from human eyes during
the day, in obedience to my desire; the wind blows with no respite in order
to keep animate beings alive, since that is My wish; streams and rivulets
giggle, laugh or roar along beds during their pilgrimages to the sea, for it
pleases Me; mankind itself is molded into a million faces to present the
variety I relish".
This has obviously enlightened the person from whom I borrowed some Satya
Sai Baba literature: he had written down in pencil, in fervent devotion: "I,
befitting and fortunate slave, carry out every Command of the master without
any question of why and what... I am slave of the master who has released me
from my ignorance, whatever my master does is of the greatest benefit to all
concerned".
The confederacy of irrationality, gullibility and superstition establishes a
kinship which transcends cultural and national barriers. Among the
miracle-mongering Satya Sai followers are top Indian political leaders and
Judges, Presidents and Prime Ministers of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Maldives,
Mauritius, several former Greek Prime Ministers, the Spanish Royal family,
members of the International diplomatic corps, advocates, engineers, doctors
and common folk. Perhaps because it is they who need the most spiritual
advice, it is very common to see the pacific and teetotaler Satya Sai Baba
in the company of power brokers, associates of international arms traders an
liquor barons. Notable among Baba's international inner circle are Guilio
Andreotti, former Prime Minister of Italy, currently on trial for murder of
a journalist, former Italian Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, sentenced to 5
1/2 years of imprisonment for corruption and Princess Poihlavi, sister of
the former Shah of Iran, caught in Switzerland in 1962 for carrying heroin
illegally.
Begone Satya Sai!
Into such a community of God-fearing people came the late Srilankan
Dr.Abraham T.Kovoor, Asian President of the World Union of Freethinkers and
Dr.H.Narasimhaiah, India's best known rationalist and former vice chancellor
of the Bangalore University, who together led the most animated attack on
Satya Sai Baba and his world view.
Dr.Kovoor narrates in his book Begone Godmen! that in 1973,during a
newspaper debate on Satya Sai Baba, Dr.Bhagavantam (Baba's interpreter from
Telugu to English) wrote of the "awe-inspiring, wonderful experience of the
Seiko watch manufacturer", who, when on a visit to Puttaparthi was presented
by Sai Baba with the very watch prototype that the manufacturer had kept in
a safe in Japan. With this materialization, all his doubts about the divine
powers of Satya Sai Baba melted away. "He fell prostrate at Sai Baba's feet
and worshiped him. Since then he is an ardent devotee of the Bhagavan".
Since Dr.Bhagavantam was not forth coming with details, Dr.Kovoor, being
suspicious, made inquiries with Shoji Hattori, President of Seiko Watch
Company in Tokyo to Verify the facts. Mr.Hattori wrote back "....I am in no
way able to further your knowledge as regards the man mentioned in your
letter, Mr.Sai Baba. Neither I, nor any members of my staff have ever made
the acquaintance of this individual. I am sure that these reports are
completely unfounded". Bhagavantam remained silent when confronted with the
response.
The national scandal that broke out when Dr.Kovoor released his
correspondence to the press, describing Satya Sai Baba as a
"sleight-of-hand" trickster and exposed one of India's brilliant scientists
as a Satya Sai Agent. It was only surpassed by unclear scientist
Dr.H.Narasimhaiah's crusade as Vice-Chancellor of Bangalore University, when
in 1976 he appointed a 12 member official committee "to investigate
rationally and scientifically miracles and any other verifiable
superstitions". Dr.Narasimhaiah's committee exposed Sai Krishna, a 7 year
old child-protege of Satya Sai Baba, by pulling out the packet of Vibhuti
hidden in Sai Krishna's underclothes. As a result of this exposure, and
fearing investigation, several sun dry Godmen immediately confessed that
they did not have any miraculous powers, including the now famous Ganapathi
Satchidananda Swamy,(who has now picked up courage to practice his old-trade
of spurious miracles). It was Satya Sai Baba's turn now and the committee
requested Him to allow them an investigation. When they visited Him, a
terrified Satya Sai Baba locked Himself up in His Whitefield residence,
close to Bangalore. All He could do was spew helpless vitriol at the
Narasimhaiah committee.
Avatar of the Night
As if these resounding rationalist responses and public humiliations were
not enough, in 1976, another bomb shell was thrown at Him. Tal Brooke,
born-again-Christian who spent 14 months with Satya Sai Baba, wrote the book
avatar of the night (all three thousand copies of the book released in India
were purchased and destroyed !) describing Satya Sai Baba"s homosexual lust
(how can a good Christian accept that? and assaults on young boys. It is
quite revealing of the submission and intelligence level of the Sai devotee
that despite Sai Baba's enticement. "what is mine is yours, money, food,
anything. Just ask!'',Tal Brooke said to himself "Lust contradicts Baba's
nature;therefore it doesn't exist in him. Blind faith... Baba is innocent:.
It took Tal Brooke three such consummate encounters and numerous similar
accounts of pedophilia from friends to realize that Satya Sai Baba's nudging
pelvis, pawing hands and intimate behaviour were not part of any
soul-cleansing encounter,
With news of these events and later incidents, the seeds of doubts were sown
in many minds. How is it that Sai Baba's own brother-in-law died of rabies?
Why did Baba, Himself a psychic surgeon, have to be hospitalized for
ruptured appendicitis and broken leg? And preaching simplicity, why does He
travel in Mercedes cars and require heavy protection? Why did Sai Baba have
to wave his hand in circles, before producing anything? Was it because of
prestidigitation, as emphatically asserted by the renowned Indian stage
magician P.C.Sorcar Jr. and skeptic E.Premanand? does His occasional
transvestism and derision for women really illustrate the Male-female
principle of the universe? why is it that some doctors have gone on record
stating that post mortems of bodies of several women coming from Puttaparthi
showed signs of torture? Is it true that some of the foreign nationals
visiting Puttaparthi were disappearing after entire properties were
bequeathed to Satya Sai Organistion? Is it true that Prashanti Nilayam
(Satya Sai Baba's " abode of peace" at puttaparthi) was the campus of
criminals? Is it not surprising that the police, in a routine security
combing of Prashanti Nilayam before the visit of the Home Minister of I
India, discover , apart form cyanide and land mines, the deadly
plastic-explosive RDX used by Hindu-Muslim terrorists in Bombay? And why did
Satya Sai Baba, whose religion officially also embraces the values of
Islam,welcome the antiMuslim Hindu fundamentalist Vishwa Hindu Parishad's
virulent campaign in favour of mosque demolition in Ayodhya?
Let There be a Necklace
But the most spectacular food for doubt for the believer was the unique
birthday gift given to Satya Sai Baba by the Deccan Chronicle of 23
November,1992. This largely circulated,Hyderabad-based English daily
published what the rationalist could only dream of! Splashed on the front
page were pictures from a video recording of Satya Sai Baba's "creation" of
a gold necklace, in the presence of the Prime Minister of India, Mr.P.V.
Narasimha Rao. the video tape shows unambiguously Satya Sai Baba being
passed clandestinely a necklace by his personal assistant Radhakrishna
Menon, which later Satya Sai Baba "materializes" after a wave of his hand in
the air. Filmed by a state television crew covering the Prime Minister, the
cassette was suppressed. However, a copy was leaked and several copies of
the cassette were distributed in India and abroad. A big meeting was
organized by the rationalists, to felicitate the courageous journalist Venu
Kodimela (who was told that his mother's cancer was due to his act), and
playing this video tape became a necessary ritual of all our public meetings
for a long time. Some were shown on local and district cable television too
at a great bodily risk as some rationalists came to know. However, the
publicity remarkably affected the number of devotees visiting Puttaparthi
though some still insist that "miracles" are performed to attract people to
the good work being done by Baba and that Baba never claimed any special
powers!
Crime and karma: Murders in the Bedroom
Much worse was in store when on 6 June, 1993, six inmates of Prashanti
Nilayam were murdered in Satya Sai Baba's bedroom. It is alleged that two
were killed by the assailants and the police claimed to have shot dead in
self defence four of the assailants, who were armed only with knives.
Realizing the danger to his person, Baba Himself ran for His life, jumped
out of an open window and started off a secret alarm whose existence even
the inner core did not know of. Interestingly, all the people killed were
part of the inner circle of Sai Baba, among whom Radha Krishna Menon,the
personal assistant who was caught on video passing the necklace
clandestinely to Baba.Baba Himself spoke of the murders in His Gurupoornima
lecture and dealt with the question of whether the deaths of his near and
dear were unavoidable: "Birth and death go together, One should realize that
death is a natural phenomenon and avoid worrying about it... You must note
that Swami's life is in His own hands and not in those of anyone else. If I
will it,I can live as long as I please. Because He is the almighty, God
cannot behave in any arbitrary manner. Not realizing this truth, men who are
involved in worldly ways ask questions as to why in certain situations, God
did not use his limitless powers to avert certain unwanted events..."
The police report was twice changed, from attempt to murder Baba, to
internal squabbles in Prashanti Nilayam. Mysteriously, Shankar Dayal Sharma,
the president of the Indian Republic deviated from protocol and propricty
and said that the murders were "all about a girl". When asked why Satya Sai
Baba, the head of the Institution in whose bedroom the murders took
place,was not interrogated, Home Minister Chavan who visited Sai Baba twice
immediately after the incident insisted that Sai Baba was not present at the
time of murder, further compromising the investigation. Surprisingly,
Prashanti Nilayam authorities themselves filed no police complaint.
B.Premanand, magician, former devotee of Baba and today the most important
Indian Skeptic and Sai Baba-baiter alive, however, refused to accept the
interference into the investigation and hauled the government to court,
accusing the police of having willfully destroyed evidence. Amusingly, in
the past, premanand and K.N Balagopal, rationalist advocate in the Supreme
Court of India,had dragged Satya Sai Baba to court for violation of the Gold
Control Act which imposed restrictions on the"manufacture, possession, sale
and transfer of gold" since Satya Sai Baba "materialized gold ornaments to
be given to devotees. While rejecting the petition, the High Court Judge
Justice Y.V. Anjaneyulu, a member of the Satya Sai innercircle, allowed the
argument that an article materialized by spiritual powers cannot be said to
have been manufactured, prepared or processed. Perhaps for the first time in
jurisprudence, spiritual powers were recognized as valid defense in law!
In the present murder case, however, Premanand petitioned to the High court
in a public interest petition that the case be transferred to an impartial
investigative agency that justice might be done. In the High Court, while
dismissing the plea, Premanand was admonished by Chief Justice Mishra, who
even threatened to punish him the next time he "misused" the Court with such
complaints, with the intention of defaming Satya Sai Baba. In January,the
Supreme Court of India expunged all the remarks made by the High Court
judge, boosting rationalists morale. Also, chastened by the Supreme Court of
India, in the first week of May,the High Court of Andhra Pradesh State,
admitted contempt of Court petition by Premanand against the government and
the police. Premanand and Satya Sai Baba have been brought to the front
pages of news papers again. The judicial mood in India was remarkably
different since the past few months. what with the Indian Supreme Court
taking up an "operation clean hands",arresting several corrupt politicians
and also forcing the Indian Prime Minister Narasimha Rao to arrest his
favorite Godman and arms dealer-power broker, Chandraswami in the first week
of May. Rationalists keep their fingers crossed.
The Case of the Missing Kidney
In the Marathi language weekly, Lok Prabha, of 19 January,1996, was
published a most shocking account concerning the Satya Sai Institute of
Higher Medical Sciences, set up at an expense of 2000 million Indian rupees,
and where all medical treatment is done free. Triambak Karvande a peasant
from Latur district of Maharastra, was to have received his son Balaji's
kidney in a transplant operation. A week after the operation, a dying
Triambak was informed that the transplant was failure and father and son
were sent back home. Back in their town, two CT scans and a sonography done
by Dr.Kastur of the Maharastra Institute of Medical Sciences and Research
Center revealed that Triambak was never operated for a kidney transplant;
the scans also confirmed that Balaji's kidney was indeed , taken out of his
body! So where did Balaji's kidney go? Is the hospital with a hitherto very
good reputation, in fact a part of the international organ theft business?
Initial complaints made by the victim went unheeded, but the Maharastra
Superstition Eradication Committee, after its own independent investigation,
is working on helping the Karvande family get legal aid. The Truth might be
out soon.
Sai Empire and Philanthropy
B.Premanand, also advisor on miracle exposure to the Rationalist Association
of India, member of the Indian Radical Humanist Association and editor of
Indian Skeptic, estimates the Sai Empire to be worth 60,000 million
rupees(1714 million USD). Puttaparthi now has an airport and 3000 small
apartments are available for rentals to accommodate the cash-rich Americans,
Scandinavians, Belgians, Germans, Dutch, Malaysians and Japanese. Prashanti
Nilayam itself has adequate infrastructure to feed 10,000 people at one
time. To have an idea of the scale of operations, consider the fact that in
1982, the target of the Satya Sai Organisation was adoption of 6000
villages, to "fulfill all the physical and spiritual needs of the
community". There are 3000 Satya Sai centres in India and 400 centres abroad
in 85 countries and they publicize and market the fact that more than
100,000 children are taught free in centres run by Sri Satya Sai Bal Vikas
Trust and do propaganda about their social service activities. Union Bank of
India, owned by the state, does not charge any fee for money transfer to
Satya Sai Baba and the money keeps flowing.
When Satya Sai Baba celebrated his 70th birthday in November, 1995, the
President and the Prime Minister of India were in attendance and applauded
the Satya Sai Water Scheme meant to provide drinking water to every village
of the dry district of Ananthapur. It is a matter of great concern that five
months after the inauguration, water is yet to flow from village taps, as
tanks have crashed and pipes burst because of inferior construction material
used due to corruption. Importantly, this is an instance of how and when
governments default in their duties, religious organizations occupy that
space. On this single birthday, a little known foundation from America and
another from Japan donated 1600 million Indian rupees(45 million US Dollars)
for the Satya Sai charity work. Premanand is investigating whether this is
in fact a money laundering operation.
A look into the world view of high-school dropout Satya Sai Baba should help
clarify why His style of philanthropy and education must be combated: "At
the centre (of the world), everything is liquid. Everything is melted. No
temperature. Everything is liquid, like water. Gold, iron, silver all are
liquid. Next there is solid. Then trees. Then human beings and animals. At
the very centre is the divine. It is the support of everything. First is
liquid chemistry. Then solid Physics. Then the trees, botany. Then man, the
pinnacle of life. But at the centre, supporting all, is the divine. Without
the divine, where is chemistry, physics and botany? Like this will be the
teaching of all courses at the university". A few years ago, the Satya Sai
Institute of Higher Learning has been declared a deemed University by
Madhuri Shah, devotee and Chairperson of the University Grants Commission,
on par with the rest of India's Centres of Higher Learning! Alas, news of
philanthropy in poor countries drowns out rational discourse. Sadly, Indians
are still racists and when pale-face comes and approves, there is little
else to doubt. State Radio and Television carry out the propaganda for him.
Journalists are either gullible or are on payroll. Judges are at times prone
to decide based on personal beliefs: the situation is worsened by the
political patronage received(Sai Baba's influence increased manifold ever
since superstitious Narasimha Rao and his cabinet retire and President
Sankar Dayal Sharma started visiting Him even in their official capacity).
And in India, criminal and political identities overlap. Scientists,
advocates and intellectuals mislead the others and set examples by their own
mistaken devotion for this modern Tartuffe. Many well meaning people and
there are many such among the Satya Sai Baba followers and admirers fail to
realize that philanthropy is merely an investment in the Satya Sai Baba cult
and empire and a way of evading tax. It is a great irony that the
intellectuals and the common man's wilful suspension of disbelief and
critical faculties, the Satya Sai octopus has been able to spread its
tentacles far and wide with the lure of miracles.
Bala Sai Baba and the Real Avatar!
Disillusioned by the bedroom murders, exposes in newspapers, news of
Premanand's court battles, power struggles in the Sai empire and reports
like that of the disappearing kidney and the failed water project, and
disappointed by birth day extravaganzas, many disciples are turning away
from Satya Sai Baba. Their destination now is the Palghat(Kerala) born BALA
SAI BABA(the child Sai Baba), who at 35 years of age is a bit overgrown for
his name. He claims to be the real Sai Avatar, set up an ashram in Kurnool
district of Andra Pradesh ( a State that breeds god-men!) and resembles
Satya Sai Baba trait for trait. This till recently-unemployed youth also
hints that Satya Sai Baba is an impostor! He dresses like Satya Sai Baba,
performs the same tricks as Satya Sai Baba does and has been very successful
in attracting as large number ofdevotees. He also recruits devotees from
Europe and else where and seems to have hit at the right marketing mix.
Dr.Narasimhaiah said to me in Bangalore once that our work is like that of
Sisyphus . It does not matter even if the Supreme Court of India puts Satya
Sai Baba on trial. Our work has to continue: after working to expose Bala
Sai Baba in the year 2022, we might still be busy with Prema Sai...
Lesson from Erlendur Haraldsson
Associate Professor of Psychology at University of Iceland, para
psychologist Dr.Erlendur Haraldsson came to India several times (twice along
with Karlish Osis,co-author of their book on near-death experiences:At the
Hour of Death ) to investigate Satya Sai Baba's paranormal powers.The result
of his efforts over ten years is the book "Miracles are My Visiting Cards;
An Investigative Report on the Psychic Phenomena"associated with Satya Sai
Baba,published in 1987.
Dr. Haraldsson's repeated requests for controlled experiments were firmly
rejected by Satya Sai Baba and his team was asked "not to pester" Baba with
more requests. Charmed by the charmed by the charisma of Baba and more
predisposed to believe than to investigate, Dr. Haraldsson settles for his
own inefficient and subjective personal - informal observation as well as
hearsay accounts from devotees. Yet, in their article entitled as The
Appearance and Disappearance of Objects in the Presence of Sri Satya Sai
Baba in the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Vol. 71,
January, 1977, Haraldsson and Karlis Osis express their gratitude to Sri
satya Sai Baba "for his kind cooperation in their investigation"!
Dr. Haraldsson's book does not indicate that he is aware of Satya Sai Baba's
father's brother being a tantrik-conjuror. He could perhaps have been Satya
Sai,s teacher.Despite assuring us that he "tried his very best" to trace all
"Critics" only Dr.H.Narasimhaiah is mentioned. No mention of Dr.Kovoor's
whirlwind tours of Andhra,his challenges to Satya Sai Baba, his largely
attended public meeting (30,000 people for instance) to the accompaniment of
stupendous publicity! Contributors to the national debates in the then
prestigious Illustrated Weekly of India, and the tabloids Blitz and Current
Weekly are ignored. Interestingly, Dr.Haraldesson is unaware even of the
Seiko watch controversy. Later, unconvincingly, he said that he was
unwilling to take it up because of the various varsions of it! One has not
heard of an "investigative" researcher shy away on such dubious grounds.
Nor does Haraldsson mention Satya Sai Baba specialist B.Premanand,whose
first book in English on Baba,Lure of Miracles, was published in 1976.
Dr.Haraldsson's excuse on 6 April, 1988 to Dale Bayerstein, editor of the
excellent 1994 book, Sai Baba's Miracles: An Overview is that no one in
India mentioned Premanand to him. Then again, Dr. Haraldsson writes in his
letter of 21 October, 1988 to Dale Bayerstein that Dr.H.Narasimhaiah did not
think it worthwhile for him to visit Premanand. When informed of this
Dr.Narasimhaiah issued a issued a written clarification that he respected
Premanand's work and could never have said what Haraldsson reported. This is
not the only complaint of misquoting about Haraldsson.Two chapters of the
book Miracles are My Visiting Cards are devoted to M.Krishna and Varadu (in
no way critics,looking at the contents of the book), former personal
assistants to Satya Sai Baba in the earlier days; Krishna converted to
Cristianity later. Now,Krishna's son, a good friend of mine, insists that I
report this, and in the manner in which some statements were transformed to
suit Dr.Haraldsson purposes.In an interview with me and Premanand,
P.V.N.Nair, editor of Deccan chronicle, whom Haraldsson accused of
misquoting him as saying that he was "disappointed with Satya Sai Baba",
regretted that out of good faith he had not tape recorded the interview.
Premanand has shown how different version and sequences of the same event
(production of ring for Karlis Osis) have been written by Haraldsson.When
Premanand asked for clarification and explanation in an undoubtedly long
questionnaire,the very prolific Dr.Haraldsson suddenly has no time to write!
Haraldsson is aware that propaganda of the claimed resurrection from death
of Walter Cowan and Radhakrishna had the support of Satya Sai Baba. He is
also aware that Dr.Fanibunda, himself a medical doctor, testified to the
resurrection of Cowan. Haraldsson's own conclusion is that the stories of
resurrections are false. Yet, to our scientist-investigator the role of
Satya Sai Baba is not suspect. Nor that of Dr.Fanibunda, whose testimony he
approvingly uses in another case. It also does not occur to this impartial
investigator, forever solicitous of being scientific and objective that
since he himself has found some stories to be false, he has necessarily to
work under controlled conditions. This is how professional credentials
become suspect. Some of the stories Haraldsson reports are not even amenable
to verification by us. For example, he mentions how a burglar prowling in
the house of a Satya Sai Baba devotee was scared away by Satya Sai's
bilocation. He does not mention the name of the Devotee, nor the name of the
police station which later caught the burglar.
In the April 1995 issue of the Journal of the Society for Psychical
Research, Haraldsson and Richard Wiseman write an article Reactions To and
An Assessment of a Videotape on Satya Sai Baba, where they make pathetic
attempts to show that from the Deccan Chronicle Doordarshan tape, no
evidence of fraud by Satya Sai Baba can be deduced. Haraldsson and co-author
are invited to watch our copy of the tape, or watch one of the episodes of
the British program, The Guru Busters, a television program on Rationalist
work in India, which has quite clear visuals. They should also read the
analysis of a Satya Sai Baba video tape by Dale Bayerstein, Leon Mandrake et
al (ateam of professional magicians) where among others, they detect Satya
Sai Baba "thumb palming" a necklace, before "materialisation" published in
Bayerstein's book. Perhaps, Haraldsson is also unaware of Premanand's video
cassette of Satya Sai Baba producing a gold necklace at a wedding in
Balakrishna Eradi's family (a former judge from Kerala).
While waiting to watch this, the authors should find time to read the
account of the Dutch author Piet Vroon who wrote an expanded version of his
article Sinterklass in India (Santa Claus in India), published in De
Volkskrant of 5 December, 1992. Piet Vroon was at Puttaparthi to film Baba
at "work", and he and his partner detected Baba remove rings, necklaces and
watches from behind flower vases and from pillows of his chair. They also
detected Sai Baba holding Vibhuti balls in one hand, transferring them to
the other hand, pulverising them and distributing them. Vibhuti is also
hidden in the mouth and removed while wiping the face, which Baba does very
often. Piet Vroon's conclusion is unambiguous: "we just think that he is a
trickster and a cheat".
It is easy to see these things, especially when one's work, and perhaps
livelihood, does not depend on funding from parapsychology foundations! The
only lesson one can learn from ERLENDUR HARALDSSON is how not to study the
paranormal events.
Back to Modern Rationalist
vijey...@my-deja.com
Hindu riligion. Whatever Sri Sai Baba does, whether it is true or not he
represnt Hindu principles in India. When he is ridiculed like that by
an another Indian with a very Hindu name(I doubt this ba..td's name
because usually LTTE has name like Anton Balasingham and Lawrence
Thilakar) foreigners take note. These same people tarnished the Mahathma
Ghandhi name by directing child molesting charges at him. I can't
understand what is this modus operndi of LTTE.
I DELETED MOST OF THE HATEFUL THINGS
In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) wrote:
>
> The following an article from the Modern Rationalist found at
www.periyar.org
>
> RETELLING
> THE SATYA SAI BABA STORY
>
> HUMAN Journal
>
> The Sai Avatar
>
> When a luminescent ball of light entered Easwaramma while she was
bathing,
> little did she, or Pedda Venkappa Raju, her illiterate husband,
realize that
> the Lord had chosen her surrogate womb for His next
parthenocarpic
> incarnation. Official literature enlightens us that the Lord's
coming was
> anticipated long ago by Jesus and Mohammed. For those who can not
find the
> relevant passages in their version of the Bible or Koran, a
more
>
>
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
NEWS.BC1.COM
who happens to be a drag-addict womaniser.
i think this false sadhus(pigs) in india is fanning false hindu fanatism
which is untolerable by us(christian & muslims). arun
Meenaradchagan Vishnu <mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca> wrote in message
news:7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca...
Suesa12
>which is untolerable by us(christian & muslims).
You are the one who sent me personal hate mail under different names. If Indian
Sadhus are false what makes you think Jesus Christ and Prophet Mohamed are true
?
Said
Arun Ghosh <AGH...@BC1.COM> teased ALL SAME NONESENSE!!!
> it is better to read PLATBOY (porno) magazines than to read about
SAHI_BABA
> who happens to be a drag-addict womaniser.
HEY ARUNBHAI- ARE YOU JEALOUS OR LIAR OR ALL???
Author: ARUN GHOSH <agh...@bc1.com>
Date: 1997/12/23
Forum: alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.groupsex
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------
what is wrong????????? why i can't get access??????????
-- ARUN GHOSH 250-592-0316
Said
mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
> The following an article from the Modern Rationalist
NO BRAINS YOU??? PROVEN NONESENSE ALL THAT!!! YOU THINKING ALL VOMITED
AND EATEN AND VOMITED AND EATEN BY YOU OVER OVER MAKES SO???
NONESENSE!!! THINK!!!
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
> mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
>
>
> AND EATEN AND VOMITED AND EATEN BY YOU OVER OVER MAKES SO???
> NONESENSE!!! THINK!!!
I wonder why our famous Bon Govani has assumed the name Said
(khorram...@my-deja.com) to post to different newsgroups? What did
people do to him to make him become such a pervert to want to use my
name -- Said Khorramshahgol -- and hide his real identity and hide the
fact that he is perfectly capable of writing english. Hey Bon, dare me
to prove that khorram...@my-deja.com is you.
--
Please visit the following site to get to know the real Sathya Sai Baba:
http://www.myfreeoffice.com/saibabaexposed/index.html
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
> mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
>
>
> AND EATEN AND VOMITED AND EATEN BY YOU OVER OVER MAKES SO???
> NONESENSE!!! THINK!!!
I wonder why our famous Bon Govani has assumed the name Said
(khorram...@my-deja.com) to post to different newsgroups? What did
people do to him to make him become such a pervert to want to use my
name -- Said Khorramshahgol -- and hide his real identity and hide the
fact that he is perfectly capable of writing english. Hey Bon, dare me
to prove that khorram...@my-deja.com is you.
Any by the way, he used to have other fake online names also, among
them he was prema1 and byghosh. Isn't he the most honest Sai Baba
devotee?
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
> mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
>
>
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
> mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
>
>
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
> mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
>
>
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7sqhjc$dpc$1...@watserv3.uwaterloo.ca>,
> mvi...@bbcr.uwaterloo.ca (Meenaradchagan Vishnu) teased:
>
>
mal...@my-deja.com
Hey Bon, dare
me
> to prove that khorram...@my-deja.com is you.
>> Any by the way, he used to have other fake online names also, among
> them he was prema1 and byghosh.
Sorry fellow, I know all these people personally. Ghosh and Prema work
for IBM Europe (in different countries)so do I.
Bon Giovanni lives in LA and is in the telephone book. I don't know if
he is khorramshahgo but for sure he isn't byghosh and prema1
Said
la_q...@my-deja.com teased:
> I wonder why our famous Bon Govani has assumed the name Said
> (khorram...@my-deja.com) to post to different newsgroups?
YOU NOT FOOLING ANY!!! FIVE TIMES HERE LAQUAKE POSTING THIS SPAM SPAM!!!
In article <7nvbgk$fau$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
la_q...@my-deja.com teased SAME SPAM HUNDREDS NEWS
GROUP 3000 TIME!!!
>
> And oh, do you think that because I have spammed
before makes Sai Baba
> holy? You are so sloooowwww! Hehehehehe
IF ONLY ONE READER YOURS NOW WRITING AB...@DEJA.COM
AB...@US.ORACLE.COM the spam of la_q...@my-deja.com
same parrot
stopping ALL THIS!!! NO ONE CARES THE SAI BABA!!! YOU
SPAM STOPPING!!
> Yes, I spammed, and will continue to do so. Copy
this message and
post
> it in all of your messages, OK? NO one will care
IF ONLY ONE READER YOURS NOW WRITING AB...@DEJA.COM
AB...@US.ORACLE.COM the spam of la_q...@my-deja.com
same parrot
stopping ALL THIS!!!
> > la_q...@my-deja.com,
>> d_q...@my-deja.com
> > sai_de...@my-deja.com,
> > mr_mamal...@my-deja.com,
> > sha...@itdc.koreanair.com
> > sha...@yahoo.com,
> > maf...@sprintmail.com,
> > DEEPS...@msn.co
3000 items in over one hundred news groups!
In article <7nvaua$eve$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
la_q...@my-deja.com teased:
YEARS AGO YOU SPAM SAME QUESTION!!!
> As if anyone cares that I spam. Hehehehe. You are
so
> sllllooooooowwwww!
Are you la_q...@my-deja.com? d_q...@my-deja.com?
sai-detective@my-
deja.com? ma...@my-deja.com? ALL ONE PARROT SO MANY
SPAMMING!!!
It is clear that all spamm is one from you. You are
brain washed, so I
don't expect much more from you. I don't expect much
more than you are
doing right now from you. I want to tell others
about this spamming
charlatan before they fall into his trap and suffer.
Happy now? Hehehehe.
Anyone care the 3000 spam DEJA NEWS??? ANY SENDING
SPAM NOTICE DEJA NEWS???
In article <7nvbgk$fau$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
la_q...@my-deja.com teased SAME SPAM HUNDREDS NEWS
GROUP 3000 TIME!!!
>
> And oh, do you think that because I have spammed
before makes Sai Baba
> holy? You are so sloooowwww! Hehehehehe
NO ONE CARES THE SAI BABA!!! YOU SPAM STOPPING!!
> Yes, I spammed, and will continue to do so. Copy
this message and
post
> it in all of your messages, OK? NO one will care
ONE READER WRITING DEJA.COM the spam of
la_q...@my-deja.com same
parrot all these one stopping:
> > la_q...@my-deja.com,
>> d_q...@my-deja.com
> > sai_de...@my-deja.com,
> > mr_mamal...@my-deja.com,
> > sha...@itdc.koreanair.com
> > sha...@yahoo.com,
> > maf...@sprintmail.com,
> > DEEPS...@msn.co
> > 3000 items in over one hundred news groups!
Seeing SPAM BY ONE PARROT:
la_q...@my-deja.com,
d_q...@my-deja.com,
sai_de...@my-deja.com,
mr_mamal...@my-deja.com,
sha...@itdc.koreanair.com
sha...@yahoo.com,
maf...@sprintmail.com,
DEEPS...@msn.com,
etc.?
There are 198 spam messages by la_q...@my-deja.com:
Subject:Re: Can Sai Baba Perform
Healings and
Rescues?
Date:1996/07/28
Author:Bon_Gi...@EarthSpirit.org
<bongi...@delphi.com>
Posting History
Said Khorramshahgol
<DEEPS...@msn.com>
writes:
>To establish any credible claim of an
ability
to perform paranormal
>cures, supporting documentation of
doctors'
reports coupled with some
>measure of controlled investigations of
the
circumstance of cure by
>Sai Baba has to be provided. The reader
who has
followed the analysis
That claim is one heard often among
those who
have nothing but papers and vicarious
authority
to replace the void of experience. It is
frankly, an absurd claim to address to
Sri
Sathya Sai Baba, since he has ever been
availble
to those who are interested in real
evidence:
experiential, direct, firsthand.
Those who think there is any other way
to
evidence his abilities, are but deluded.
It is
like trying to prove the existence of
light to a
man who insists others can describe it,
and he
need not ever see it himself.
The proof is in the putting forward of
oneself.
I posted my views of one of those
chapters (the
one about
materializations) in the thread itself.
Any who
wish to
entertain my views on the balance of
Beyerstein's acrobatics,
might note I have discussed such matters
for
several years in
another thread in one newsgroup, and so
may
attend there or
not as they wish. I am ever open to
discussion
about Sai or
his teaching, at soc.culture.indian, in
the
thread entitled
SANDEHA NIVARINI Sathya Sai
Baba
Dissolving Doubts
Any who wish conversation on this
topic, may
address the
issue there.
By the way, the topic is not new; those
who have accessed either of my home
pages,
http://bbs.gaianet.net/bongiova/index.htm or
http://people.delphi.com/bongiovanni/index.htm
have found a link to Dale Beyerstein's
book.
All best wishes
*+*
http://people.delphi.com/bongiovanni/index.htm
http://www.atmapress.com
<http://x29.deja.com/=dnc/[ST_rn=ap]/dnquery.xp?search=word&defaultOp=an
d&query=%7ea%20(la_q...@my-deja.com%20or%20la_...@my-dejanews.com)%
20%26%20%7eg%20(alt.healing.reiki)
&svcclass=dnserver&ST=PS&CONTEXT=933548003.377094169>
21
alt.religion.christian-teen
<http://x29.deja.com/=dnc/[ST_rn=ap]/dnquery.xp?search=word&defaultOp=an
d&query=%7ea%20(la_q...@my-deja.com%20or%20la_...@my-dejanews.com)%
20%26%20%7eg%20(alt.religion.christian-teen)
&svcclass=dnserver&ST=PS&CONTEXT=933548003.377094169>
16 alt.smokers
<http://x29.deja.com/=dnc/[ST_rn=ap]/dnquery.xp?search=word&defaultOp=an
d&query=%7ea%20(la_q...@my-deja.com%20or%20la_...@my-dejanews.com)%
20%26%20%7eg%20(alt.smokers)
&svcclass=dnserver&ST=PS&CONTEXT=933548003.377094169>
15
alt.paranormal.reincarnation
<http://x29.deja.com/=dnc/[ST_rn=ap]/dnquery.xp?search=word&defaultOp=an
d&query=%7ea%20(la_q...@my-deja.com%20or%20la_...@my-dejanews.com)%
20%26%20%7eg%20(alt.paranormal.reincarnation)
&svcclass=dnserver&ST=PS&CONTEXT=933548003.377094169>
15 soc.culture.indian
<http://x29.deja.com/=dnc/[ST_rn=ap]/dnquery.xp?search=word&defaultOp=an
d&query=%7ea%20(la_q...@my-deja.com%20or%20la_...@my-dejanews.com)%
20%26%20%7eg%20(soc.culture.indian)
&svcclass=dnserver&ST=PS&CONTEXT=933548003.377094169>
14
alt.support.ex-cult.siddha-yoga
la_q...@my-deja.com
Said <khorram...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <7t2ijb$1ld$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
> la_q...@my-deja.com teased:
>
> > I wonder why our famous Bon Govani has assumed the name Said
> > (khorram...@my-deja.com) to post to different newsgroups?
>
> YOU NOT FOOLING ANY!!! FIVE TIMES HERE LAQUAKE POSTING THIS SPAM
SPAM!!!
>
Look who is talking about spamming. The same bastard Bon Govani who
used to make threads like God makes rain. And now, he posts the same 4-
5 pages of crap about me every chance he gets. Its a shame I don't
have the time to go and search the archives and do some other stuff to
show everyone that you are Bon Pervert Govani, but as soon as I am
free, you will be the first one on my list.
--
Please visit the following site to get to know the real Sathya Sai Baba:
http://www.myfreeoffice.com/saibabaexposed/index.html
Christine
-------------------
Meets every thursday at 7:15pm.
Please call (01904) 608174 for more information, or e-mail
chri...@northerner.co.uk