Sai Baba Passes on

Apr 25, 2011 Editorial

An incarnation of the Divine to a wide swath of the millions across the globe that revered him as their spiritual guru, Sathya Sai Baba gave up his human body yesterday, Easter Sunday.
It was a rather serendipitous end for the pious religious leader who insisted that his followers did not have to abandon their religions, since all sincere worship of the Divine was just as efficacious. As the Indian PM said, “He was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice.”
According to details (furnished mainly from Wikipedia), Sathya Sai Baba was born Sathyanarayana Raju on 23 November 1926 in the remote village of Puttaparthi in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
When he was 13-years-old, coming out of a state of unconsciousness precipitated by the sting of a scorpion, the young boy began speaking in Sanskrit, a language in which he had absolutely no training. He announced to his family that he was the incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba of Shirdi, a 19th century Indian holyman who had been equally venerated by Hindus and Muslims alike.
In the Hindu tradition of sanyasin (monkhood), Sathya Sai renounced his family ties and became an itinerant preacher gathering a significant following.
A mandir was built near his village Puttaparti and eventually became the nucleus of the sprawling complex that today contains an extensive university complex, a specialty hospital, Chaitanya Jyoti (a world-religions museum that has won several international awards for design, a Planetarium, a railway station, a hill-view stadium, an administrative building, an airport, an indoor sports stadium and more.
Sathya Sai Baba made only a single trip out of India – to East Africa. There he declared, “I have come to light the lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion.
I have not come on a mission of publicity for a sect or creed or cause, nor have I come to collect followers for a doctrine. I have no plan to attract disciples or devotees into my fold or any fold. I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love, this virtue of Love, this duty of Love, this obligation of Love.”
But news of his spiritual prowess spread like wildfire across the world and devotees flocked to his ashram from numerous foreign countries. The number of active adherents was estimated in 1999 to be around 6 million, although followers’ estimations are far higher.
Since there are no formal ties of membership, the actual figure may never be known. The Sathya Sai Organisation reports that there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114 countries (including Guyana) worldwide.
Internationally, Sathya Sai Baba devotees gather daily or weekly on Sundays and/or Thursdays to sing group devotional songs, prayer, spiritual meditation, service to the community (Seva), and to participate in “Education in Human Values” known as “Bal Vikas” (Blossoming of the Child), that can also be described as Sai Sunday School.
Many devotees considered him a living god, and credited him with mystical powers including the ability to conjure objects out of the air. His motto was, Love All, Serve All; Help Ever, Hurt Never.
While there may have been some sceptics about his alleged “miracles”, there can be none about the impact of his charitable activities.
In addition to his free medical care – several general hospitals, two specialty hospitals, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India – the focus has been on supplying water to the poor.
One project completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway named “Sathya Sai Ganga Canal”.
We are certain his spiritual and charitable ethos will continue through his followers.

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Sai Baba Passes on

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