Another saint has passed. Spiritual leader and Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba died on April 24, 2011. Was he more saint or more sinner, who can ultimately say? He was, above all, a human being, just like every other significant spiritual teacher on the planet.
Although I never met Sathya Sai Baba, when I learn of his death, my heart saddens. For the hundreds of thousands of people who considered him to be their guru, the countless lives benefitted from his service, the glory and suffering of this man's life, as well as the grace and challenges that faced all who surrounded him.
I remember learning about Sathya Sai Baba as a 25-year-old woman living in India. I had traveled there on a one-way ticket and was finding my way around, not even willing to use a guidebook less the "Inner Voice" I was seeking to follow be thwarted by the influence of those who had traveled before me.
The first wanna-be guru I spent several weeks with there considered himself to be a guru in the direct lineage of Sathya Sai Baba, though they had never met in person. Sathya Sai Baba was known for his miracles, and those devoted to him often found a sacred ash called vibhuti on their altars. So when a gray ash appeared on my bed in my tiny room alongside the Ganges River, I reported this to my new teacher. It was quickly assumed that I had been the recipient of this miraculous ash and word quickly spread that I was to be an important disciple of my new guru.
Something felt ... well, wrong about this. After a few days in my newfound local fame, I returned to my little room, borrowed a broom, moved my bed to the middle of the room and promptly stood up on it and vigorously swept the ceiling. Lo and behold, cheap gray Indian paint rained upon me.
I was relieved somehow -- I didn't need to be the recipient of miraculously manifested sacred ash. I was just looking to find happiness, love, and whatever this longed-for enlightenment might be, but not ash. My popularity diminished almost instantly.
Most believe that Sathya Sai Baba did indeed possess the magical power, or siddhi, to manifest fancy objects and jewels for his followers. Others suggest this was entirely fraudulent. But let us assume it might have been true -- this would not mean anything about his enlightenment or lack of enlightenment, but rather that he possessed a great power. If this power was somehow fraudulent, but faith was healed among disbelievers and people found themselves closer to love of the Divine, could it be said to be altogether bad? The benefit is that this power awakened tens or hundreds of thousands of people from the disbelief in the divine. It healed their cynicism and opened their hearts. Praise to any gift that can open hearts, let us just not mistake this for enlightenment.
Many years ago I felt the need for a great book to be written about what happens to spiritual communities when a teacher dies. I asked a writer friend if he could do it as I could not find the time. Sadly there are few resources written for support on this trans-cultural challenge that is timeless in its nature, and contains cultural and historical variables given the complexity of the times we are living in, the immensity of projections onto the guru, and the distinctions regarding the Eastern and Western psyche. It is such an important transition for each student or disciple, so many predictable challenges regarding power, leadership, loss, reorganization of the community. I wish his families and followers ease in their grieving, all of us spaciousness and forgiveness around any of Sathya Sai Baba's weaknesses, and most of all, integrity to those who are charged with the responsibility of spiritual leadership.
I have tried to write about these issues extensively in my forthcoming book The Guru Question: The Perils and Rewards of Choosing a Spiritual Teacher. However, the fact remains: discernment is a lifelong process, and there are more questions than answers. Each life, each relationship is distinct. We can simply cultivate greater discernment as we journey through a labyrinth of increasing subtlety.
Another historical figure, renowned guru, and servitor of our time has passed. Praise to his goodness and may his great influence continue touch lives and promote healing on the planet.
Mariana Caplan, Ph.D.: The Muddy Road to Enlightenment
Vamsee Juluri: Sathya Sai Baba: A Love this World Can Hardly Reciprocate
Introduction to Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Funeral of Sathya Sai Baba - in pictures | World news | guardian.co.uk
LoL. Seriously?
Your blog is an objective one if one has not necessarily had a direct experience with Sathya Sai Baba.
I am sure you will find this blog very interesting - "The Question of Godmen"
http://thequestionofgodmen.blogspot.com/2006/03/sai-baba-vishwananda-etc-question-of.html
I also draw your attention to my personal blog where I write on Sai Baba and discuss the role of 'guru' versus Sai Baba's role as Avatar - I write as well on spirituality, yoga etc
http://sai-baba-as-guru.blogspot.com/
Sai Baba is not a good guy or a good GOD. He is not bad either.
Sexual Misconduct Allegations are probably true and those victimized got served by Karma.
Because
Sai Baba is Truth of God , universal Truth that has no temporal spatial boundaries of cause and effect, which is also called Karmic Law of Hinduism
To please common people who everday eat, shit, drink, lust, glutton and gossip and sleep and repeat the process again the next day ?
To please those who do not have any idea of the victim's past lives but they consider themselves worthy of passing the right judgement on his present problem ?
There is no bad name good name, there is just Truth and i cannot corrupt truth to please you, ordinary mortal.
There you go you found the wrong person and already judged all of the gurus in the same bag. You were an insincere spiritual seeker Mariana Caplan, Ph.D... PhDs are useless it only empowers your ego unless its used as an example to show others humility and knowledge seeking ability of a young child.
Sai Baba is resurrecting soon
One of my guesses is May 15, 3 weeks after his death on easter sunday april 24 2011.
Check out youtube.com/gozeep for my tribute, compelling talks of devotees and documentaries in Sathya Sai Baba, GOD of the universe.
To have to stimulate faith through fraud already speaks of the hollowness of such faith. 'Love of the Divine' is an entirely subjective emotional belief in matters which cannot be proven . These age-old delusions encourage people to project their own autonomy onto ideas and imaginings external to themselves and the known universe . the crutch of false hopes.
There is no serious evidence that prayers ever work - and nearly all children even soon discover that - as do those who go to Lourdes etc. for healing of incurable illnesses (intensive research has shown this cannot be proven in a single case). Massive religious industries work to maintain and reinforce the delusion.
To endorse Sathya Sai Baba is contrary not only to rationalism, but also to those who do not ignore or deride the victims of his very widely alleged sexual abuses, murder cover-up and obtaining massive donations under false pretences (of giving away real diamonds etc.)
See http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/7/Sathya_Sai_Baba_green_diamond_proven_a_fake.htm
Add to that the massively-documented deceptions, impossibly fantastic claims and outright frauds that Sathya Sai Baba carried out - not forgetting the opportunistic, simplistic hodgepodge of often self-contradictory teachings, and scores of false statements of fact, and the 'perils of choosing a spiritual teacher' become far more important than and subjective 'rewards' of false spiritual security. See http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/
Either way--no site and nobody till date has been able to prove how sacred ash has appeared in my own home in front of my own eyes, when "no one else" was there.
I'll say one thing Swami's death is not: It's not a good topic for a blog post by someone selling books. It's actually quite offensive even to someone like myself who is so convinced of Swami's divinity as to make His physical death kind of a joke in terms of what I know to be His(My) reality. If anything, I'm relieved because I love Him and don't want the physical body to suffer so much.
Look, I'm sure you've got a lot of good points in your book but you should leave Sathya Sai Baba out of it and stop capitalizing on His "death", especially while many people are grieving and coming to terms. Next time, write about what you have direct experience with. Meanwhile, I encourage you to put down the photo of the sea, come on down, get your feet wet and even jump in.
Sathya Sai Baba was not even able to give the illusion of entering 'samadhi' from the lotus position, as Yogananda and other 'yogis' supposedly did... he died in intensive care without consciousness, that is, contrary to the requirement for 'holiness' even of all Indian tradition.
I am also appreciate you for one more thing - Your deep love for Swami - You think and write about him every day - like Kamsa thinking about Krishna all the time! :) I am glad your spending your last few years of your life thinking about the Divine (even in a bad context) - but you are still thinking about Him - so thats pretty good!
To let you know something - you would have no answers on how sathya sai baba appeared in front of our family many many years ago and how he saved my father from his death in London. Your silly views on ash and gold watches will never answer the umptitude of miracles that have happened to me without his "physical" presence that shows he was truly Divine!
I am also keen to know what have you done to the society? When you die - who is going to cry for you apart from your relatives? Thats what you have achieved mate ;)
You can shout over the roof- comment whereever you want - you are not going to change an iota in a pure devotees heart! So my