by Naresh Sharma on Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 11:32pm
In the days gone by, in so many of the Lord’s discourses, I heard Him speak of the coming Golden Age, an Age when man will cease being an animal and be a Man that God intended him to be. A time when man’s thoughts, words and deeds will be in divine harmony. When I and ME will change to US and WE.
Each day I looked at the sunrise wondering if the golden rays were bringing in the promised Golden Age. But things seemed to remain the same. We still lived with pain and suffering, falsehood and distrust.
One day I delved within in contemplation, and asked Him “Lord, You promised us that the Golden Age is at hand, when Your love and wisdom will guide all lives. When will You bring that blessed day O Lord! We are eagerly awaiting.”
The Lord sweetly replied “So am I. I too am awaiting that day when the labour of My Love will bear fruits. Tell me My child! When will You bring in the Golden age?”
Me?..
Bring the Golden age?..
Suddenly... it made sense!
My mind raced back to that day of the Youth conference at Prashanti, where Swami had bestowed on His Youth, His devotees, the greatest privilege when He declared that “Your life will be My message.”
The seeds of Golden Age have not been planted by Sai in some secretive distance, but within our hearts. For years He has been nourishing that seed with His Love and affection. It is time that we did our parts and tended that plant with the waters of discipline, service, sacrifice and obedience. Soon the plant will turn into a lush tree, bearing fragrant flowers and sweet fruits of Love and peace, joy and bliss. Each of our lives will turn verily into a portable garden through which Sai will bring relief to His world weary children. I remember His words where He said “I will not walk in front, lest I leave you behind. I will not walk behind, lest you go your own way. We shall walk together, hand in hand marching towards our goal.”
What privilege! What opportunity!
As Rama, Sai had called upon the Vanaras to help Him in His mission. They did not let Him down. As Krishna, He used the Pandava army in order to restore Dharma. The Pandavs too played their part gloriously at the cost of blood and sacrifice. In this age, Sai has called upon us, His youth, His students, His properties, to join Him in this sacred mission. Shall we not rise to the occasion? Shall we let down Him, who has ever raised us to heavenly heights? This Sai, The Lord of the Universe, The Eternal Absolute, who by His mere will can accomplish any task, is bestowing upon us with the opportunity of a lifetime, nay, The opportunity of incarnations, by using us as His instruments.
Arise, Awake.. Brothers and Sisters, for the hour has come. The sun has dawned. Our Swami awaits us. Uproot from within, every trace of ego, anger, jealousy, pride that threaten to keep us away from this sacred task. Covered in the whites of purity and Love, Let us put our hands in Sai’s and march forward with Him.
Shri Isaac Tigrett, had graciously consented to deliver the keynote address on “Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba – Avataar of the age”. Shri Isaac is the world famous founder of Hard Rock Café, a philanthropist and most importantly the blessed one with the unique good fortune to have been Bhagawan’s instrument in building the Super Speciality Hospital at Puttaparthi. He overwhelmed all with a dynamic presentation suffused with photographs and music of his experiences and insights during decades of association with the Lord.
Speaking about Bhagawan’s Maha Samadhi Shri Isaac Tigrett vehemently declared that by leaving His mortal coil Swami has indeed blessed us all with a great boon as He has now freed us from the restrictive identification of His ‘Maya’ in the form of a physical frame. By taking Maha Samadhi Baba has left us no choice but to now seek Him in the only place God must be sought – within our own selves and within all of creation. Shri Tigrett revealed that Swami had prepared him for this by forbidding him to look at Him during Darshan for four long years! This was a lesson which was necessary for his spiritual journey had to be undertaken at this time in the evolution of the Universe. Speaking about the Organisation and it's activities Shri Tiggrett declared that now that Bhagawan had freed us from the 'Maya' of a limiting form, the organisation would not only function with the same values and enthusiasm, it would in fact become better in its operations since every individual will now act in accordance with the directions of the Sai within each of us. He strongly emphasized on the fact that everyone (specially people from Sai community) must have faith that Bhagawan has Himself chosen each and every office bearer, be it in Puttaparthi or anywhere else in the world and we must stop believing in the many news reports and rumours.
He recounted that Bhagawan had once taken Him into the ‘future’ for a glimpse of the Golden Age. Shri Isaac experienced that the Golden Age represented a tremendous shift in man’s consciousness shattering the limiting frames of ‘I’ and ‘Mine’ and of transcending and becoming one with the Universe, by actually feeling the cosmic connectivity with all. To be ushered in by Prema Sai it would be the era of the energy of Love and Peace. He said, that we were indeed fortunate to be alive at a time when this most beautiful event in the history of humankind was unfolding and that this is the time to connect with Bhagawan and His love.
He repeatedly highlighted that there is none who is ‘closer’ to Baba as Baba loves all equally and that His love, protection and guidance is available to all. But we MUST ask Him for it as God will never interfere with man’s free will. It is for this reason that Baba would say, “If you take one step towards me, I shall take a hundred towards you.”
Shri Tigrett further expounded that God has never incarnated to gather devotees or to set up institutions. God incarnates with the sole purpose of generating positive vibrations to cleanse the negativity in the world – and the present time, just before the Golden Age which according to Swami would arrive in 26 years; is indeed the darkest time in human history. As Sai devotees it is our duty to constantly send love to everyone including those we do not like. He recalled what Swami had told him on one occasion. Swami had said, “If you cannot send them your love, send them my love. Picture Me in front of you and send love to all.”
He elaborated that the human mind is indeed powerful as all its thoughts and feelings are a manifestation of ‘Prana Energy’ which radiates throughout the cosmos and can influence anyone or anything not only in any part of the world, but also all over the cosmos across the three dimensions of light, geometry and sound. All the organisational activities of Bhajans and Seva are meant only to create positive feelings and vibrations in the Universe. He exhorted all to love and seek Swami within and realize that Bhagawan IS and not WAS.
The beautiful evening ended with the rendition of Aarati, while the flames of devotion, and the new found purpose of seeking Him within, lit every heart with hope, love and faith.
It has been a little over a month since swami left his mortal coil and during this period I actually witness some funny & amazing things said by non-sai devotees.The so called "Expert Opinions" i.e I know sai baba better then you.The more they say the more I know how little this clueless people actually know about Swami and what he has done.
When this "Experts" talk..All I can do is just smile and nod my head..in agreement!!!Hehehehe.
In my mind I can't understand , why these people never take the trouble to find out more about Swami except for watching youtube(the negative parts) and documentry such as the Secret Swami by BBC( http://prem-ananth.blogspot.com/2011/05/secret-behind-bbcs-secret-swami.html) etc..and accepting that as the truth instead of some research on Swami's Achivements and Teachings.If Millions of People from ALL OVER THE WORLD follow him..then there might be something more to him that a Sleight of hand (Magic tricks)?Right?
"My Life is My Message" proclaims Swami..and I tell these people, it's all out there.Study his life and you will know the truth about who or what he is.Then you form your opinion either way..you would have earned that.
Let me help you detail some of his Divine Projects...Only Some as below;
1.Super Speciality Hospital Puttaparthi
A 1000 year project of service, love and compassion to aid and help suffering humanity.
Sri Sathya Sai Medical Trust provides free medical care to the sick and ailing with the dedication, commitment, love and the best of skills, so that they will be cured in body, mind and spirit. Our Mission is to provide high quality medical care free of charge to all irrespective of caste, creed, religion, and financial status in an atmosphere of love and care."
The super speciality hospitals (run by the Trust) follow the guiding principles laid down by Sathya Sai Baba.
Universal Healthcare: Healthcare should be available to all, irrespective of caste, religion, nationality, or financial status.
Decommercialized Healthcare: Healthcare should be delivered free of charge.
Human Values in Healthcare: Healthcare should be administered with Love.
Spiritualisation of Healthcare: The aim should be to heal the patient in body, mind and spirit, not merely to cure disease.
Sathya Sai Baba said in a discourse on November 23, 1991, "Many persons appealed to me to set up the hospital in an urban centre. There are many medical institutions run as a business in several cities. When any educational or medical institution is established, the sole aim is to make a business of it. There are few who are ready to set up such institutions to provide free facilities for the poor. Therefore, from the start we decided to set up a hundred-crore hospital near Prashaanthi Nilayam itself. Even as higher education is free here, "Higher medicine" also will be free. People spend some lakhs to get heart surgery done in the U.S. What is the plight of the poor? Who looks after them? Recognising this fact, we have launched this big hospital project. Whether it is heart bypass operation, or a kidney transplant, or a lung operation or brain surgery, everything will be done free."
2.Super Speciality Hospital Bangalore
Another “Temple of Healing” totally free of cost. I spent 10 days in this hospital and experienced it from the inside.Imagine, the doctors thank YOU so that they can earn their living and make God happy with their work.In this hospital I witnessed 3 trends in the patient profiles, a) the poorest of the poor receiving the best medical care in the world totally free of cost, b) the impossible cases that all others hospitals had rejected, and c), all the totally botched cases, the cases beyond repair being repaired spectacularly by doctors chanting God’s name..
A steady stream of patients reaches the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences’ super-speciality hospital in Whitefield, and has now touched a landmark of 2.5 lakh.
Most of them belong to the lower income group, and many come in from Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa and even some European countries. "The cases we have treated are from the economically weaker sections. Free healthcare and life-saving procedures have wider ramifications. It saves entire families from destitution," says Dr A.N. Safaya, director of the hospital, a unit of Sri Sathya Sai Medical Trust.
Since inception in January 2001, doctors here have performed complicated procedures in cardiac and neuro branches, with state-of-the-art technology. In commercial terms, the cost of treatment meted out free is around Rs 150 crore. Lakhs of patients depend entirely on the hospital.
"This hospital serves as a model. Many said it was not possible to offer this level of care free of cost, but we have done it," says Dr Safaya.
Here, holistic healthcare is the mantra. Procedures apart, thousands use the free cardiac out-patient care that is well beyond their means. Counselling is also part of treatment.
"Philanthropic bodies and lateral medical agencies should replicate this model," says Dr P.K. Dash, chief of cardiology. According to him, at least another 900 beds of tertiary care facility are needed immediately in Bangalore. "Cardiac treatment is beyond the reach of many and we have to bring it to them. It seems daunting, but it isn’t impossible."'
3.Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Supply Project, Anantapur DistrictWater provided free of cost to some 700 villages. Sai removing water born disease, drought and disaster.
It is in this context that Bhagavan Baba initiated a massive drinking water supply project in Anantapur district in 1995. This is now known as Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Supply Project.
It was Bhagavan's direction that schemes with reliable sources of water should be taken up even if the cost is substantial. It was a challenging task to provide drinking water to about 730 villages suffering from scarcity and excess fluoride. Pipelines were laid to a length of about 2500 km within a span of about one year.
The project was taken up in right earnest. Bhagavan created a special team for its efficient and quick execution. The work was entrusted to Larsen & Toubro Limited, a company which had the expertise in construction and project management and most importantly, devotion to Bhagavan.
It is the good fortune of the people of Anantapur district that Bhagavan Baba provided sufficient funds for the execution of such a massive drinking water project which was completed in record time by His grace.
Bhagavan was keen that the quality of work should be of a high order and that details like sand bedding under the pipes should be taken care of. Bhagavan's generosity knows no bounds and His love is as vast as His creation. Bhagavan makes no distinction between rich and poor, urban and rural. During the execution of the schemes, many representations were made to Swami for providing drinking water to additional towns and villages. In response to such representations, Swami directed that towns like Anantapur, Dharmavaram should be included. The scope of Bhagavan's project got extended and the cost of the project was about 300 crore rupees.
Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Supply Project started in March 1995 on war footing and became a reality when Bhagavan inaugurated the first phase of the project covering about 150 villages. The drinking water scheme to Anantapur town was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister on 18th November 1995 and pumping main to the Peddakotia - Puttaparthi line by the then President of India on 23rd November 1995 (70th Birthday of Bhagavan). The entire scheme was commissioned after stabilisation period and pure drinking water was supplied to about 730 villages from November 1996. By Bhagavan's grace, drinking water is now being supplied to all these places without any dislocation. The magnitude of the project can be gauged from the following figures: No. of villages covered 731, population benefited 9 lakh (ultimate design 12 lakh), project cost about 300 crore rupees, length of pipes 2500 km, overhead reservoirs 268, ground-level reservoirs 149, summer storage tanks 8, infiltration wells 20, booster stations 56, borewells 280.
Out of the 731 villages, 451 are covered by comprehensive schemes and the balance 280 villages by individual borewells as sources. Water is taken from assured sources like Tungabhadra canals, Penna Ahobilam balancing reservoir, Chitravathi river and infiltration wells in Penna and Hagari rivers.
To ensure proper maintenance of the completed schemes, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has formed an autonomous board, namely, Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Supply Board. Bhagavan's grace continued even during the maintenance phase of the project. Bhagavan allowed the use of materials from the Central Trust for maintenance, which helped in the supply of drinking water to all the villages.
4.Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project for Mahaboobnagar and Medak Districts
After completion of the project taken up in Anantapur district, Bhagavan desired to provide drinking water to the people of two drought-stricken districts in Telangana region. The result is the implementation of drinking water projects in Mahaboobnagar and Medak districts at a total cost of about 60 crore rupees covering nearly 150 villages in Mahaboobnagar district and 179 villages in Medak district. 5.Chennai Water Project
The British failed, the Indian Government failed, but Sai succeeded in give 9 million people safe drink water will removing the devastating cycle of drought
During the year 2002, Bhagavan announced that He would provide drinking water to Chennai, which had been suffering from acute shortage of drinking water with continuous droughts. The city's population is about 5 million now and the projected population for the year 2021 is 6.75 million. The water supply is presently maintained at about 250 mid (million litres per day) for the city. Various alternatives to provide drinking water to Chennai were examined and it was finally decided to facilitate provision of drinking water from Krishna river at a cost of about 200 crore rupees by improving Telugu Ganga Canal.
Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, under the benign guidance of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. took up the scheme of improving the existing infrastructure of Kandaleru Poondi canal system through which the agreed quantum of 12 tmc of water at Tamil Nadu border could be conveyed. This scheme was not only to ensure full quantum of water being conveyed to Chennai city but also help irrigation of 3 lakh acres of land in Nellore and Chittoor districts of Andhra Pradesh. This was one of the most important schemes taken up on humanitarian grounds, which enabled supply of adequate drinking water to Chennai city, significant sections of its population being under the category of urban poor. The entire scheme was taken up at the request of Government of Andhra Pradesh to improve Kandaleru Poondi canal, which is now renamed as 'Sri Sathya Sai Ganga Canal by the Government of Andhra Pradesh as a mark of respect to Bhagavan.
5.Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Supply Project for East and West Godavari Districts
Bhagavan's mission to provide water to the poor continues and as a result, a major project covering about 500 habitations in tribal areas and uplands of East Godavari and West Godavari districts has been taken up at a cost of nearly 100 crore rupees.
The upland and backward areas of East Godavari, which are mainly inhabited by tribals and poor people, depend mostly on borewells and streams for their drinking water needs. The borewells are getting dry and water levels are going down year after year due to excessive usage of ground water. Further, the natural stream waters are bacterialogically unsafe and require treatment. Further, borewell water contains excess iron in some pockets.
It is proposed to provide drinking water to about 220 habitations covering a population of about 2.30 lakh, with provision for expansion for another 1 lakh population in East Godavari district. In West Godavari district, it is proposed to provide drinking water to its 220 habitations covering a population of 4.70 lakh. The surface water will be filtered through treatment plants and supplied to various habitations through pipelines. Two sources have been selected for drinking water. One is the Godavari river and the second Pamuleru, which is a tributary of Godavari and flows throughout the year.
The details given above concerning different projects convey the range and scope of work relating to drinking water supply by Bhagavan. There has been no parallel effort of this nature by any other charitable organisation. Bhagavan's is indeed a unique effort.
6.Orissa Housing Project
When too much water threatened peoples lives and washed away their homes – Sai responded.
A team under Bro Srinivas Snr. rushed to the flood plains of Orissa to co-ordinate and proved emergency supplies and start building 1000 new homes for the poorest of the poor.Swami took great pains to make sure that the floor height was between 3 and 5 foot above the ground and that the front doors pointed away form the path of any future flood waters. (On the 2nd of April 2009 hundreds of poor villagers flocked to Puttaparthi to thank Swami for His Flood Rehabilitation Housing Project)
7.Muddana Halli University Campus
In the year 2009 Swami had embarked on a new project of love and compassion for those in distress.
A new university campus that will enrol and start teaching its first intake in less than 5 months. FIVE MONTHS!While the chairman of GE India was building his company’s new complex in EPIP, Whitefield, he watched the Bangalore Super Speciality Hospital go from an open plot to a fully functioning hospital in no time at all. He could not believe that he, with the money, resources and know-how of one of the world’s giant companies had their own building project move at a fraction of the speed.
Again Divine Love and Compassion in action.
Unlike us that predict and talk about problems, Sai solves and dissolves impossible problems
In 2004 Hindu Human Rights Group contacted the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation )over its tabloid programme Secret Swami which portrayed India’s venerated Guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba in an ill founded, malicious light. However this elicited no response from BBC and it is interesting to note that the aforementioned documentary by journalist Tanya Datta is still continuing to be used as the basis for allegations regarding inappropriate behaviour by Sathya Sai Baba. These allegations mainly centre around sex abuse. Yet as is usual with such exposés what the BBC included in its documentary is as important and relevant as what was conveniently ignored. Since Sathya Sai Baba’s death and after the emergence of counter evidence in the last seven years that absolve him of any such allegations, this entirely negative and therefore non-objective portrayal has, instead of being discontinued, only been enhanced by the litany of obituaries which almost in unison denounce India ’s most revered guru and humanitarian as a sinister con-man. The BBC by making and promoting such a documentary has thus displayed lack of professionalism and balanced perspective taking that would fairly examine all sides of a debate, as any other objective investigative journalism would provide. Instead we have a rather odd collection of neo-intellectuals who seem to lack even balance in the mental sphere as they seem unable to distinguish between opinion and fact, between rational documentary making and sensational cinema creation.
This Secret Swami documentary was aired by BBC2 on 18 June 2004. The programme, compered and led by reporter Tanya Datta, was not just blatantly superficial but sensationally demeaning in its content. Ms Datta breached all standards of objective journalism by displaying her bias at selecting only those subjective testimonies and presenting only that information which would support and drive home her viewpoint of portraying Sathya Sai Baba as a sex-offender. One would logically question whether Ms Datta was trying to ‘make’ news or report it? She frequently made references to Satya Sai Baba as being deemed to be “God” by gullible Hindus (millions of them) without explaining what is meant by the term “God” in Hinduism or even what a basic word such as “Swami” represents in the Hindu lexicon. In fact by using the word “Swami” in its title the BBC ensured that the ordinary British viewer links the expression to Hinduism thus making explicit a connection between “Swami”, “Hinduism” and sexual misdemeanours, fraud and even murder.
Furthermore the self-proclaimed experts that were employed to substantiate the stand taken by this documentary would be dismissed by any rational jury as lacking any sense of authority, integrity or credibility for the case to be argued. The first to be presented was Mr Khushwant Singh (journalist and author) who was asked about his expert opinion on Sathya Sai Baba’s alleged sexual behaviour. What we were not told however was that Mr Singh, acknowledged in India for the often implicit sexual innuendoes in his writings has been known for basing all his so-called expert reviews of Sathya Sai Baba on his American friend Tal Brooke who is further well-known as a Christian fundamentalist and fanatic author, who believes that ‘enlightenment is an evil path to Satan and that God-Men and Gurus are in a state of perfect demonic possession’. Moreover, Tal Brooke has also been known to claim “out of body experiences”, hearing the voices of “spirit guides”, seeing spiritual entities and having “demonic encounters” on the astral realm and has also personally admitted to experimenting with LSD and being involved with a pro-LSD organization (i.e., Neo-American Church).
The other “expert” presented was the amateur magician and conspiracy theorist Basava Premanand, parading under the title of “rationalist”. Interestingly, Premanand, who was called India’s leading Guru buster, and who had placed himself on the high pedestal of rationalism went on to endorse, promote and publish a book by a well-known charlatan, ‘psychic trance medium’ and ‘psychic pet healer’ Conny Larsson, who in turn had openly claimed that he contacted the spirits of the deceased and even channelled the spirit of Vedic sage Veda Vyasa.
What was then glaringly missing from this assembled cast of highly questionable characters was any practicing and respected Hindu scholar (which Khushwant Singh and Premananda were clearly not) who might have been able to give an informed opinion on the matter. Instead Ms Datta chose to portray this as a government conspiracy in a country of a billion-strong democracy. One would wonder why the BBC felt itself well endorsed to make so-called serious programmes which revolve around the Hindu world and its adherents without a single inside view.
Moreover it is indeed alarming that the BBC would show such a programme based on allegations alone. One would not expect that charges which are so highly serious and disturbing as the ones made would be based on allegations alone and on flawed sources of information, without substantiated evidence or the testimony of the accused. The BBC has had ample experience of going undercover to gain hard corroboration to highlight all kinds of abuse and fraud and yet it had not done so in this instance. Satya Sai Baba had been tried and found guilty on the basis of allegations alone and on the basis of trial by camera. (One would wonder if the BBC would also have gone so far as to apply for a government charter to sentence this man?) More importantly, India with its own vast internal security, intelligence agencies and its judicial system would have enforced its own laws (in the last seventy years when Baba started his social work) of investigating and even convicting Sathya Sai Baba had they found any shred of evidence that implicated him for such alleged crimes. Instead, the then Prime Minister of India released a letter that officially reinstated the innocence and honour of Sathya Sai Baba:
“We are deeply pained and anguished by the wild, reckless and concocted allegations made by certain vested interests and people against Sri Sathya Sai Baba. We would normally expect that responsible media would ascertain the true facts before printing such calumny – especially when the person is revered globally as an embodiment of love and selfless service to humanity. Since this professional ethic has not been observed by a section of the media, we have elected to go public with this signed statement.”
(Excerpt from the letter released by A.B Vajpayee, former Prime Minister of India, 1st December, 2001, signed by former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India and the National Human Rights Commissioner)
Even today the same level of respect and honour is still meted out to Sathya Sai Baba by other eminent political figures of India. Former President of India, A.P.J Abdul Kalam wrote a tribute to Sathya Sai Baba in the Hindustan Times on April 22nd, called ‘Sathya Sai Baba: The Divine Legend’, honouring Baba for all the philanthropic work he has done. Current Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, also said during the funeral ceremony of Sai Baba that “Sri Sathya Sai Baba as a preacher of the highest human values was an iconic figure for over five decades”.
Now we find that much of the information provided in the documentary would be considered inadmissible in any court of law for lack of corroborating evidence. The US Department of State- Bureau of Consular Affairs (which was mentioned in the documentary for having taken a concerned stand against Sathya Sai Baba) withdrew its indirect and erroneous reference to Sathya Sai Baba from their official website on July 17th, 2007. UNESCO which withdrew from a conference that it was due to co-organize with the Institute of Sathya Sai Education in 2000 by releasing an official statement (due to being e-bombed and victimized by the same anti-Sai propaganda and misinformation campaigns) later withdrew their statement while expressing regret over their blunder. Even the British Consular (that was approached by anti-Sai activists) refused to issue a travel warning (against Sathya Sai Baba) as there was never any police investigation underway and as they never received any complaint against Sathya Sai Baba or the Sai organization.
Yet today, even after all suspected claims and accusatory information in the documentary has been falsified, even after the main victim Alaya Rahm (presented in documentary) a self-confessed alcoholic and drug abuser, has withdrawn his own allegations, even after no charge or implication for sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba has been made in any court of law or the Indian embassy, even after no single case of abuse has been confirmed or proved anywhere, the documentary continues to remain in circulation and the BBC turns a convenient blind eye to the facts and counter-information that now destroys the case and subjective findings of its documentary. By not legally withdrawing their documentary or apologizing for the obvious errors made, the BBC’s rigid stand and intentions could easily be questioned on grounds of harbouring a non-secular and venomous anti-hindu bias which aids the endemic prejudice and propaganda directed towards marring the image of Hinduism’s gurus and traditions.
We also find that by ignoring the refutation of their reported allegations against Sathya Sai Baba and by further adding insult to injury the BBC continues their smear campaign by still weaving the same web of lies and slander with Ms Datta’s recent obituary on Sai Baba that presents Alaya Rahm’s testimony even after he has withdrawn his case (Case No. 05cc01931). Ms Datta even goes as far as to question the integrity of India by accusing the Indian government of being involved in some malicious conspiracy that provides a cover-up for Sathya Sai Baba. “He was a fraudster,” she writes in her obituary, “dogged for years by controversial allegations of sexual abuse yet protected from prosecution by virtue of his powerful political sway… The lack of any legal proceedings against the guru was perhaps not surprising in light of the level of influence that he commanded”. So from all parts of the political spectrum, the Indian politicians according to Ms Datta’s reasoning are tied up together and lack better judgment or worse yet they defend Sathya Sai Baba because they have some deep, dark and sinister secrets to hide. What credibility can one attribute to a journalist and a news network that subliminally disseminates conjured theories and misinformation not very different from the ones spun by the psychologically impaired about the world being taken over by aliens?
Moreover, recently in 2007 the same Alaya Rahm was trying to provide an alibi for a crack cocaine drug dealer friend, however despite his alibi his friend got convicted for thirty years, in return throwing light on Alaya Rahm’s dubious and questionable character which Ms Dutta had conveniently ignored.
One would basically have expected the international media to have much higher standards of objectivity, sophistication and investigation in such sensitive matters but it stands to reason that such irresponsible and partial reporting exposes not only BBC’s keen flair for the dramatic but also its concealed potential for deception. Such irresponsibility and conscious misleading has the power to cause trauma to devotees all over the world as this documentary is still being used and promoted as leverage and ammunition to target devotees and attack them on their religious beliefs rendering them as objects of ridicule. Moreover, not only has this unintelligent initiative by the BBC raked up unfounded controversies and indirectly insulted the Indian Government and millions of people from all walks of life who paid respect to Sathya Sai Baba but it has also indirectly and as a chain result brought under attack a wider institution of humanitarian work established by Sathya Sai Baba that has been over many years aiding and uplifting millions of poor in India. Baba’s devotees all around the world have over the years been known for their zealous dedication to voluntary service towards uplifting humanity. Furthermore, Baba’s charitable organizations and networks have taken up some of the biggest projects in India that have established super-specialty hospitals with state-of-the-art technology providing all services, including open-heart surgeries for free. These hospitals have been a boon and refuge to millions of people from thousands of villages and poverty stricken areas in India and beyond. Baba’s social welfare programmes have also constantly worked at providing free quality medical care to all. Not only hospitals but Baba’s work extended to the education sector where he established schools providing comprehensive education from kindergarten to post-graduate level, with all tuition made available for free. Every year these schools have known to yield the finest graduates of India excelling not only in superior academic intelligence but in strong values of self-discipline, integrity and spiritual wisdom. There are also many Sathya Sai Baba schools operating in other countries and over five hundred schools in the world utilizing Baba’s ‘Education in Human Values’ curriculum. In addition to this Sathya Sai Baba created vast water supply systems and canals for draught-stricken areas in South India that has been providing water to millions of people.
By haughtily attacking Sathya Sai Baba and demeaning him not on rational grounds but on baseless arguments and false allegations of the kind that one could expect of insensitive sociopaths and cowardly critics who excel at sitting on the fence, the BBC has in similar resultant effect debased Baba’s work, his philanthropic organizations and disgraced and demoralized thousands of individuals who inspired by Baba still selflessly carry on his charitable work.
In the final analysis, it is extremely shocking to see that a well-known and well-established international corporation such as the BBC renders its viewers and the British television license payers the dishonour of financing a broadcasting organisation which along with the bulk of the western media uses so-called evidence from disgruntled ex devotees, mentally unstable drug addicts, UFO watchers,conspiracy theorists, shape-shifting believers , New Age pseudo spiritualists, Christian fundamentalists and even white supremacists. As is usual the Hindu element is omitted just as it was with the original documentary when the BBC did not even have the decency to reply to HHR’s concerns and enquiries on the matter. This has inadvertently lead us to believe that the BBC has had no respect for India’s culture and traditions and as usual has used the Hindu community as a soft target which it has felt does not merit respect and so has not applied the same rigorous standards of journalism and broadcasting to issues pertaining to Hinduism and Hindu society.
Over ten years of its experience in this field HHR has found that there still lingers this disrespectful outlook and selective bias of a persisting colonial mentality that seems to shape the perceptions and general attitude of the western media and academia as a whole which unreasonably judges and intellectually tramples upon the faith and cultural ethos of those unlike itself. Instead of understanding the diversity of traditions and transcending socio-cultural barriers to bring people together the media rather uses discriminatory standards of reporting that divides people on the basis of their faith, ethnic background and culture.
Such overt bias cannot but deepen the prejudice with which Hindus are perceived in the west, in manner not meted out to any other community, religion, culture and civilisation where the media is always very careful not to cause any controversy which may be deemed offensive, even if it means compromising objective analysis. On the other hand where Hindus are concerned almost any Hindu perspective even if it is brought in, has always been deemed as insignificant. Terms such as extremist, right-wing and fascist are still the favourite swear words used to deny Hindus even legitimacy in issues which concerns them.
Given the years of injustice and slander seeded by the documentary and in light of the damage caused by BBC’s incorrect portrayal of Sathya Sai Baba, it would only be befitting and fair of the BBC to now issue an official public apology and legally withdraw the program from being broadcasted on various public channels such as YouTube, etc. apart from also withdrawing all direct and indirect references (of the false allegations) made on their official websites. Instead, and as an act of professional compensation for the damage and defamation engendered the BBC should direct its future efforts at making more honest and educative programs that provide accurate information on Sathya Sai Baba, his work and organizations and on Hinduism as a whole to educate the ignorant masses about the authentic Hindu culture and its ethos, thus setting an honest precedent for future standards of international journalism.
( Note : Hindu Human Rights is not directly or indirectly associated with any Sathya Sai Baba organisations)
This is a story of Prophet Mohammed – peace be upon him – and one of his followers.
One day a man asked Mohammed, “Is gossiping a sin? Is it a bad thing?”. In his mind he did not see the need to stop this habit of speaking about others. Mohammed in his wisdom decided to show him the hidden power behind gossiping and talking ill of others.
He asked the man to go and fetch a sack of feathers. The man soon returned with a sack full of feathers. Mohammed asked him to go and place a hand full of feathers at the front door of each house in the small town. When he had finished doing this task he come back to Mohamed. The Prophet asked him to return the same time the following day.
As arranged he met Mohammed the next day. Mohammed said to him, “Go and collect all the feathers and put them back in the sack”. The man thought Mohammed had gone crazy. In frustration the man said, It is totally impossible to collect the feathers”. “Why?” asked Mohammed.
The man said, “All the feathers have blown away. They are scattered far and wide across the countryside by the winds of yesterday and today. It will only be possible to find maybe a handful of feathers only.”
Mohammed revealed that in the same fashion when you speak ill of others or falsely spread rumours or bad stories it is likewise impossible to undo the damage caused.
Like this – once spoken your words are scattered like the winds blowing in all directions nothing that you can say or do afterwards can undo the damage caused. It is not for nothing that Swami teaches us to speak softly and sweetly, and also, only when necessary.
Forget The Harm One Has Done To You And
Forget The Good You Have Done To Others
At first sight, this injunction appears to be in direct contradiction to everything we observe in operation around us. Usually, when someone attack us, the very first impulse is to retaliate by hitting back. At the same time, whenever we have helped someone, we tend to feel smug and superior. Now, we are being told that neither of these reactions is morally correct and must be reversed if we expect to reach our final goal of enlightenment, or union with our Real-self.
The teachings of Jesus contain a similar injunction, "Turn the other cheek", which many people find extremely difficult to accept. But Baba tells us that we are all one, all God, and so everything we do to someone else, we are actually doing to ourselves. This statement follows the law of karma, by which everything we do to others, eventually returns to us to teach us to treat everyone as a reflection of ourselves and refrain from accumulating any further karma to work out in the future.
We need to forgive everyone who has ever, in our own limited opinion, harmed us in any way. This will free us to direct love to them instead of blame, and we may eventually thank them for teaching us lessons we needed to learn, even if they taught us how not to act or speak!
There has been much confusion in the last few weeks regarding the age of Sathya Sai Baba and the timeline of his presence in physical form, for Baba it is said, had declared that he would leave his physical form when he reached 96 years of age.
This confusion in truth pertains to the modes of computation for most people still adhere to the Roman/Gregorian calendar whereas Sathya Sai Baba always referred to the Hindu Nakshatra Kala Ganana (timescales based on stars) in his own discourses.
Accordingly, the Sidereal Lunar year as per old “Vedic” cycles is not 365 days but 324 days or 27 X 12 (12 sidereal months) because a lunar (sidereal) month extends from Aswathi to Revathi stars — that is 27 days. Hence it is important to note that we are not referring to the solar year 365 days or tropical lunar year from full moon to full moon which is 12 X 29 1/2 days or 354 days. We are speaking of the sidereal lunar year with one month consisting of 27 day moon transit of the zodiac and the 27 nakshatras. Therefore the lunar year in this case would have 324 days and not 365 days as in the Gregorian calendar.
Roughly speaking then, if we consider the prediction of death at 96 years of age then 96 lunar years at 324 = 31104 days, divided by 365 solar years= 85.2 solar years. Hence Sathya Sai Baba is no doubt around 85 ‘solar’ years according to the Roman/Gregorian calendar but he is ’96′ lunar years according to the old Vedic Hindu calculation (of the sidereal months). Moreover this information has been confirmed by many Vedic scholars and astrologists, including the eminent Pandit Vamadeva Shastri (David Frawley)
It is also interesting to note an incident which took place on the 85th birthday celebration of Sathya Sai Baba. Usually, during any festival celebration, especially Baba’s birthday, the entire Prashanti Nilayam would be temporarily decorated with objects made of materials such as cardboards, etc. which could be easily dismantled and dismembered after the celebration ended since the new celebration would require the new birth date, etc. to be hoarded on the banner. However, during this 85th birthday celebration Sathya Sai Baba told his students “Make all the decorations of “PERMANENT” material”. Accordingly a board had been put up at the Ganesh Dwar which read “85 years of Love” and after celebrations the board has remained and not come down, just as Baba wanted and instructed. Moreover this time around instead of temporary gates, permanent gates were made and they are still there. When the students asked Swami whether they could remove and clear the decorations Swami responded by telling them not to remove the banner or decorations and to let it be there, implying that he knew this would be the last celebration.
Furthermore during his 80th birthday celebration, in the discourse that Sathya Sai Baba gave he declared that “Today is MY 90th Birthday”… and the entire crowd started laughing thinking that Swami had made a mistake…no one took it seriously and the publisher of Sathya Sai Baba in that subsequent volume went on to publish it as 80 years. Yet all of the devotees present that day undoubtedly heard Swami say that he was 90 years of age.
It stands to reason however that even if devotees knew that Sathya Sai Baba was indeed 96 years old, it would not make the situation any better but only worse since most devotees were already heartbroken and suffering even when they were convinced that Baba would not leave his body yet. Hence if devotees knew for sure that Baba would be leaving then Prashanti Nilyam would be subject to complete chaos and most devotees who have been so strongly attached to Baba would certainly succumb to emotional breakdowns, especially in the final years of Baba’s life. Instead, Baba, out of care for his devotees, made all circumstances transpire so fast, and out of the range of our conscious awareness of the actual reality of things, so that most of us would not really experience the real magnitude or impact of the situation making it less emotionally painful, which is why till today most people still feel as if it was all a dream.
More importantly, the way that avatars work ultimately always remains a mystery, so it never does matter whether in the end things add up mathematically or not as Baba’s age would still be irrelevant in the grand scheme of life. What will always continue to remain more important is our experience with him, his life, his message and his work, which is what devotees must continue to set their hearts and minds on
The human mind has two distinct capabilities. They are (1) the capacity to acquire worldly skills, and (2) the capacity for Spiritual Discrimination. These two faculties are called Medha Shakti and Buddhi respectively. People do not have a clear idea of the difference between (worldly) cleverness and (spiritual) Wisdom, and often mistake Buddhi to mean cleverness. This is not correct.
Being exclusively related to the phenomenal world, Medha Shakti would help a person to be shrewd in worldly matters and achieve success in Society. However, this is no blessing. A clever man is restless, does not enjoy peace, and often goes through mental conflicts. He is a slave to his ego, which casts a veil over the Self and renders Buddhi ineffective. Cleverness is not an attribute of the Wise but unfortunately in this Kali age a clever person alone is regarded as great and accorded much respect.
Modern education lays great stress on the sharpening of the brain and can certainly help people to become clever. But it has no positive effect on Buddhi or the spiritual intellect. Our ancients, on the other hand, were unanimously of the view that Buddhi is superior to Medha Shakti, and is any day to be preferred.
Buddhi is essentially the combination of Shradda (earnestness), Sathyam (Truth), Yoga (power of control), and Mahat Shakti (Divine Power). Shradda is the product of yearning and steadfastness. The Sathyam aspect implies a proper judgement and perspective, with Truth as the central focus. The third aspect Yoga connotes a mastery over the senses. One cannot speak of a person being with blessed with Buddhi, if he lacks sense and mind control. Shradda, Sathyam and Yoga together manifest as Mahat Shakti, the power of the Divine. In short, all the aspects of Buddhi are verily Divine.
Students should understand clearly the difference between Medha Shakti and Buddhi. Cleverness would help one in securing good grades in examinations, and in scoring victory in debates. It is associated exclusively with worldly skills. Buddhi, on the other hand, is spiritual in nature and close to the Atma. Thus, one must never confuse a Wise person (Buddhiman) with a clever person.
The hierarchical relationship of the various entities related to Medha Shakti and Buddhi is as follows: At the bottom of the totem pole is the physical plane. Above it are the senses; then comes the mind or Manas. Buddhi comes above the mind and last of all is the Atma or the Self. Buddhi is thus just a "stone's throw" away from the Atma and is verily a reflection of the latter. It is thus the height of ignorance to equate Wisdom (Buddhi) with cleverness (Medha Shakti). The latter is associated to the senses and is thus intimately related to the phenomenal world. It promotes ego, and as long as ego dominates you cannot understand anything about the Self. A clever person would never be able to achieve Self-realisation; only a Wise person can
Excerpts from a Divine Discourse of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Once Seva workers of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization reached the outskirts of a remote battered village with packets of food, medicine, clothes and blankets. When they arrived at the village, it was past noon and the entire area was submerged. It was still drizzling. The volunteers stood at the gate hoping someone would come forward to show them where the survivors were most in need of their services and goods.
Finally, some villagers saw them and came running. The volunteers thought that help had come and they would be directed to where they could be of the most use, but the villagers began snatching and grabbing the rescue items. The volunteers stood there dumbstruck not knowing whom to pacify and whom to control. They were themselves drenched and exhausted.
Then a Girl appeared and pacified the villagers. She told sweetly the necessity of being patient and disciplined and to allow the helping team to carry out their mission. She enabled the volunteers to reach those with the most urgent needs first, such as first aid, medicine and food, and helped organize the entire rescue mission. When the villagers became impatient, she spoke a few kind words and also lent a helping hand in the distribution of food packets and medicine. Throughout the day, she led the team through the muddy and flooded roads to every nook and corner where people were who required help. She never looked tired and her face was always radiating with gratitude and loving-kindness.
The Seva Dal team finished their work and sat down for some rest. Suddenly one of the Seva Dal team members recollected that while the girl had taken them to all the needy people and helped them distribute food and medicine she had not taken any food for herself.
They asked her why she had not taken any food packet. Hesitatingly, the girl said that her GURU had told her that duty towards others should be the prime concern and when that duty is fulfilled He himself will take care of their needs. Such a small girl, staying in a poor condition and imparting the knowledge of the highest teachings reflecting implicit faith in her Guru held the team in awe and admiration. They inquired about the Guru and also wanted to know how she had met her guru.
The girl said, "I have not met or even seen my guru personally but I have his photo given to me by my teacher who stays in the nearby town."
The team members got more curious and asked her the name of her guru. "Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba," came the prompt reply. "I am a Bal Vikas student," she said further with a voice soaked in reverence and pride.
Everyone of the Seva Dal members were in Tears.
Swami always and every time reminds all of us, "There is no other quality nobler than Love in this world. The highest spiritual practice is to transform this love into service, Serve and help the Needy, Swami will be closest to you when you do Service and help the Needy".
by Aravind Balasubramanya on Tuesday, May 3, 2011 at 1:37am
It was going to be another of those special evenings - an evening when Swami would delight everyone present in a way none of them had imagined. It all started like any other day. Swami arrived for darshan at 5:15pm as the bhajans were on. He moved through the ladies' side and then the gents' side. Blessing some of the alumni, He moved towards the stage. Along the way, He blessed many of the research scholars who wanted to go home for a short vacation. The birthday boys too were blessed before Swami ascended the stage and sat for the bhajans. The bhajans were on and Swami read a few letters of His never ending mail. As a bhajan was concluding, He looked up and sat as if waiting for some precise moment.
And then, He asked for the bhajans to be stopped. Looking to His right, He whispered, "Mikes". Everyone assumed that there was going to be a talk when one of the student's by His side got up to confirm. "Swami should we get your mikes?" Swami nodded a yes and then everyone realized with a thrill that Swami had decided to speak! And now, it seemed to be a strange predicament. The person who normally translates, Prof.Anil Kumar was not in station. The warden of the Brindavan campus, Sri.B.N.Narasimhamoorthy too had left just two days ago. Swami was told, "Swami there is no translator." Pat came the reply, "What can I do? I will speak!" The student next to Swami had an idea to call Prof.Nanjundiah, the former Controller of examinations and more importantly, the former translator for Bhagawan.
Swami began His discourse in a very soft tone and said, "Everyone today seem fearful for no reason at all!" Age and the physical distance from Swami ensured that the translator heard nothing and the translation went off mark as he said, "God is the embodiment of bliss." Swami looked at him and said that was not what He said! He repeated once or twice and then looking at everyone, Swami smiled as if to say, "This is not going to work this way." A couple of enterprising students who knew Telugu moved forward towards Swami and since they could hear Him better, began a sort of a different translation process. Borrowing from the genetic mechanism in the cells, shall we say that there was a transcription and translation activity that was on?
What we mean is that, as Swami spoke, the boys in the front grasped the import and either repeated Swami's words or the import to the revered translator who then framed it into a sentence and spoke it over the PA system. It was a unique experience for everyone involved and Swami seemed to be enjoying this Divine play! When transcription and translation occur, can mutations be far by? Indeed there were mutations but the Lord was very kind and loving. Whenever there were errors, He repeated Himself to make things clear. He smiled many times and said, "Paapam! He cannot hear!" The discourse has been summarised below
The land of Bharat has produced great chaste women. Consider the case of Savitri. She saw her husband lying dead in front of her and Yama had arrived to take him away. With the sheer power of her chastity, she could chastise even death and bring back to life her dead husband. Draupadi was another great woman who treated all her five husbands alike. The story of Harishchandra shows the power of Truth. He was an emperor but when he moved out, he did not have a naya paisa with him. his son had to drink water from the God-given hands as they did not even have a cup. When he put his wife, son and himself for an auction to pay off his debt, nobody came forward to buy for who would dare buy the emperor and the empress? After a while the wife and child are sold. Finally an undertaker buys him off too and the king keeps his word. His own son is bitten by a snake and when his wife comes to the crematorium, Harishchandra refuses to allow the pyre without her paying the tax. He asks for her mangalsutra to pay for it. It is in this state that the Lord manifests and returns Harishchandra and his family to their erstwhile grandeur. One should be selfless but everything that one earns, he must keep one fourths of it for himself. The rest he can give away.
Chandramati is another great woman. With her chastity, she could put out a forest fire. That is the power of chastity. It is equal to the power of penance. Sita too underwent to Agnipariksha - the trial by fire and came out unscathed. Such are the great women of Bharat. Will you ever find such stories and deeds in any otehr country? Just like a Pativrata lives for her husband, there is also the concept of Sativrata where the husband lives for the wife. The former is on the rise today but sadly, the latter is declining. Everyone must develop into ideal Pativratas and Sativratas.
When I say my kerchief, my chair, my boys, who is the 'my' refering to? Enquire into that. Kill the small 'i' of your ego and identify with the capital 'I' that is your self. I and you are one. there is no difference. I shall speak more tomorrow for it is already late now.
It was indeed a great opportunity and privilege for the veteran translator and the boys. It also showed that Swami's work always goes on - perfectly. Nobody is indispensable and many times, His mission goes on inspite of us! Swami said that the translator had also been strained. In response to that, the translator humbly submitted, "Swami, I have troubled you a lot. Please forgive my inadequacies. The Discourse has proceeded in spite of me." Swami blessed him and told the boys to begin bhajans. Bhajans began and the mikes were removed. Swami was smiling at the boys in the front and the translator moved to Swami to seek pardon it looked like. Swami seemed to just brush him away as if it was all a part of His play - and it indeed was! Swami then asked for Aarthi and after that was done, Swami blessed everyone and then moved towards the Residence. The time was 7:20pm.
The mind of the human is as.. a blank sheet of white paper when he is born. As soon as thinking, feeling and acting starts, then the process of tarnishing the mind also starts...this blog is all about my tarnished sheets..coming to the fore..Brace urself!!
