Sāī Bābā of Shirdi (d. 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian guru, yogi and fakir who i
s regarded by his Hindu and Muslim followers as a saint.
The name ‘Sai Baba’ is a combination of Persian and Indian origin; Sāī (Sa’ih) is the Persian term for “holy one” or “saint”, usually attributed to Islamic ascetics, whereas Bābā is a word meaning “father” used in Indian languages. The appellative thus refers to Sai Baba as being a “holy father” or “saintly father”. One of his well known epigrams says of God: “Allah Malik” (”God is Master”).
In 1858 Sai Baba returned to Shirdi with Chand Patil’s wedding procession. After alighting near the Khandoba temple he was greeted with the words “Ya Sai” (welcome saint) by the temple priest Mhalsapati. The name Sai stuck to him and some time later he started being known as Sai Baba.[12] It was around this time that Baba adopted his famous style of dress, consisting of a knee-length one-piece robe (kafni) and a cloth cap.
For four to five years Baba lived under a neem tree, and often wandered for long periods in the jungle in and around Shirdi. His manner was said to be withdrawn and uncommunicative as he undertook long periods of meditation.[16] He was eventually persuaded to take up residence in an old and dilapidated masjid and lived a solitary life there, surviving by begging for alms and receiving itinerant Hindu or Muslim visitors.
At first he performed the function of a local hakim and treated the sick by application of Udhi. Baba also delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors, recommending the reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Qur’an, especially insisting on the indispensability of the unbroken remembrance of God’s name (dhikr, japa).
He participated in religious festivals and was also in the habit of preparing food for his visitors, which he distributed to them as prasad. Sai Baba’s entertainment was dancing and singing religious songs (he enjoyed the songs of Kabir most).
Sai Baba took Mahasamadhi on October 15, 1918 at 2.30pm. He died on the lap of one of his devotees with hardly any belongings, and was buried in the “Buty Wada” according to his wish. Later a mandir was built there known as the “Samadhi Mandir”.[21]
Sai Baba encouraged his devotees to pray, chant God’s name and read holy scriptures - he told Muslims to study the Qur’an and Hindus texts like the Ramayana, Vishnu Sahasranam, Bhagavad Gita (and commentaries to it), Yoga Vasistha.[25] He advised his devotees and followers to lead a moral life, help others, treat them with love and develop two important features of character: faith (Shraddha) and patience (Saburi). He also criticized atheism.[26] In his teachings Sai Baba emphasised the importance of performing one’s duties without attachment to earthly matters and being ever content regardless of the situation.
Hinduism
During Sai Baba’s life the Hindu saint Anandanath of Yewala declared Sai Baba a “[spiritual] diamond”.[35] Another saint, Gangagir, called him a “[spiritual] jewel”.[35] Sri Beedkar Maharaj greatly revered Sai Baba, and in 1873, when he met him he bestowed the title Jagatguru upon him.[36][37] Sai Baba was also greatly respected by Vasudevananda Saraswati (known as Tembye Swami).[38] Sai of Shirdi was also revered by a group of Shaivic yogis, to which he belonged, known as the Nath-Panchayat.[39] Swami Kaleshwar publicly worships Sai Baba, and treats him as a great saint and his own guru.[40]
Other religions
In Islamic culture the person of Sai Baba appears mainly in Sufism. Meher Baba declared Baba to be a Qutub-e-Irshad - the highest of the five Qutubs.[42] Baba is also worshipped by prominent Zoroastrians such as Nanabhoy Palkhivala and Homi Bhabha, and has been cited as the most popular non-Zoroastrian religious figure attracting the attention of Zoroastrians.[43]
Sathya Sai Baba was born Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926[1][2] — or later than 1927[3] — with the family name of “Ratnakaram”,[4] and is a South Indian guru, religious leader.
Sathyanarayana Raju was born to Peddavenkappa and Easwaramma Raju in a poor agrarian family in the remote village of Puttaparthi, located in Anantapur district, Andhra Pradesh.
Baba attended the Higher Elementary School in nearby Bukkapatnam during his 8th year.[16]. After that Sai Baba joined the high school at Uravakonda, where on March 8, 1940 he started behaving as if a scorpion had stung his foot. Baba exhibited strange behaviour after this event, entering a state similar to a coma. After some time he started behaving in a way that worried his parents - he didn’t want to eat, he would often keep silent for a long time, recited ancient shlokas or elaborated on holy Hindu scriptures. Due to his family’s pressure Sai Baba went back to Uravakonda High school in June. In May 1940 he proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of the fakir and saint Sai Baba of Shirdi (d. 1918) and subsequently took the fakir’s name.[17]
In a discourse in 1963 he controversially claimed to be a reincarnation of Shiva and Shakti.[20] He also claimed that Sai Baba of Shirdi was an incarnation of Shiva and that his future reincarnation, Prema Sai Baba, would be a reincarnation of Shakti. He publicly repeated this claim in 1976.[21] Baba’s biography states that Prema Sai Baba will be born in Mysore state[22]
In 1960 Sathya Sai Baba said that he would be in this mortal human form for 59 years more.[26] According to a 1984 book, Sathya Sai Baba said that “In this body I will not become old or infirm as in my old body.”[27] In 2003 Michael Goldstein, an official of the Sathya Sai Organisation, reported that Baba had an accident that injured his hip. As of 2005, Sathya Sai Baba sometimes uses a wheelchair.[28]
Sathya Sai Baba has explained the phenomenon of manifestation as being an act of divine creation, but refused to have his materializations investigated under experimental conditions. Critics claim that these materializations are done by sleight of hand and question his claims to perform miracles and other paranormal feats. In April 1976, Dr. H. Narasimhaiah, a physicist, rationalist and then vice chancellor of Bangalore University, founded and chaired a committee “to rationally and scientifically investigate miracles and other verifiable superstitions”. Haraldsson stated that Narasimhaiah wrote Sathya Sai Baba a polite letter and two subsequent letters that were widely publicized in which he publicly challenged Baba to perform his miracles under controlled conditions.[52] Sathya Sai Baba said that he ignored Narasimhaiah’s challenge.
The magazine India Today published in December 2000 a cover story about the Baba and the allegations of fake miracles quoting the magician P. C. Sorcar, Jr. who considered the Baba a fraud.[58] Basava Premanand, a skeptic and amateur magician, asserted that he has been investigating Sathya Sai Baba since 1968 and believes the guru to be a cheater and charlatan.
Premanand also displayed, in the 2004 BBC documentary Secret Swami, that he could duplicate some of the same acts that Sathya Sai Baba presents as miracles; such as materializations by sleight of hand and the production of a lingam from his mouth. The BBC documentary reported that even some of Sathya Sai Baba’s critics believe that he has genuine paranormal powers.[60]
Sathya Sai Baba is a prolific orator about religious topics in his native language Telugu, and he is regarded by some as an excellent speaker.[68] He asserted that he is an avatar of God in whom all names and forms ascribed by man to God are manifest.[69] He also says that everybody else is God and that the difference is that he is aware of this and others have yet to realize it.
James Randi states that “Sai Baba has never submitted to an examination of his abilities under controls, so his claims are totally unproven.”[100]
The debates about Sathya Sai Baba were fueled by a document published in 2000 called “The Findings”,[102] written by David and Faye Bailey (former followers who together wrote three books on Sathya Sai Baba [103]), in which they described their disillusionment with the guru.[104] According to an article in Salon.com in the year 2001, a great part of the Findings contains testimonies of sexual harassment and sexual abuse.[102] The Findings contain allegations of fakery, claims that Sai Baba does not heal sick people and allegations of financial irregularities with charity projects, such as the Super Specialty Hospital and water project.[104] The Daily Telegraph stated that Sathya Sai Baba rubbed oil on the genitals of a young male devotee.[104] The testimonies of sexual abuse of young men were shown in TV documentaries, including “Seduced by Sai Baba” by Denmark’s national television, and documentary film “Secret Swami” by BBC. The TV documentary “Seduced By Sai Baba“, produced by Denmark’s national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway.
According to the journalist Michelle Goldberg of Salon.com the fact that the Baba has high ranking Indian politicians as his supporters and the charity works done by the various organizations associated with the Baba help to explain why he has not been brought into a court of law in India.
The Times further reported in August 2001 that three men had died after placing hope in Sathya Sai Baba.[107]
Sai Baba has been referred to as a cult figure in various media reports.[117] Reports of various cult watch groups also allege that Sai Baba and the organization indulges in tight mind control of its followers.[118]
