Avatar with a Taint

The legacy of Sathya Sai Baba

When God, sitting with his ledger in that counter which has two neon signs above it—for heaven take right; for hell take left—looks at the newly-arrived Sathya Sai Baba, the first question would be: “If you are me, what are you doing here?”

In the ledger would be the final settlement. Going in favour of the godman would be providing spiritual succour to tens of millions (30 million followers by one estimate) and using their money to provide material help to the needy, which includes running water to large swathes of rural Andhra Pradesh, a multi-specialty hospital where treatment is free, schools, food to the hungry, and so on.

On the other half of the ledger, underlined in red, would be the possibility he was an astute trickster. Rationalists, who have been exposing him for decades without any dent to his aura, have become as good as him at producing ash, cheap trinkets and watches out of nowhere.

There are also more serious charges. Two documentaries, one made in Denmark and the other by BBC, have victims describing graphically being sexually abused by him as children. (Both can be seen in their startling entirety on YouTube). In the BBC documentary Secret Swami, the reporter speaks to Murli Manohar Joshi of the BJP. This is soon after his party lost power at the Centre. As Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee had given a clean chit to Sathya Sai Baba. The reporter wants to know why. Joshi says he knows Sai Baba; that Vajpayee was correct; and finally, like a Delhi teenager caught by a traffic cop, threatens: “Do you know who I am?”

The faith of Sai Baba’s followers is unbending. Philip M Prasad, a Naxalite from 1960s Kerala turned from Mao to Sathya Sai Baba after serving a jail term for killing two policemen. Asked about this reversal, he pointed to Sathya Sai Baba’s hands. “They are so soft, like a baby’s.” Isaac Tigrett, the founder of Hard Rock Café and a devotee, says in Secret Swami that he believes there could be substance to the child abuse rumours but it makes no difference to his faith.

Popular gurus have their USPs. Baba Ramdev uses yoga, SN Goenka Buddhist meditation, the late Chinmayananda used lectures interpreting The Gita. Sathya Sai Baba piggybacked on another guru in living memory—the real Sai Baba.

The avatar is now on life support. He is lucky heaven and hell don’t exist, because, soft hands notwithstanding, it is certain the direction to which he would be pointed.

About The Author

Madhavankutty Pillai

Madhavankutty Pillai has no specialisations whatsoever. He is among the last of the generalists. And also Open chief of bureau, Mumbai  

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