Sri Sathya Sai Baba
(born as Sathyanarayana
Raju; 23 November 1926 – 24 April 2011) was an Indian guru. He claimed to
be the incarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi, who was also considered by
his followers to be an avatar, spiritual saint and miracle worker,
and who died in 1918.
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| Sai Baba of Shirdi |
Sai Baba of Shirdi (unknown – 15 October 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian guru, yogi, and fakir who is regarded by his devotees as a saint. He was revered by both his Muslim and Hindu devotees, and during, as well as after, his life on earth it remained uncertain if he was a Muslim or Hindu himself. This however was of no consequence to Sai Baba himself. Sai Baba stressed the importance of surrender to the guidance of the true Sadguru or Murshad, who, having gone the path to divine consciousness himself, will lead the disciple through the jungle of spiritual training.Sai Baba's millions of disciples and devotees believe that he performed many miracles such as bilocation, levitation, mindreading, materialisation, exorcisms, making the river Yamuna, entering a state of Samādhi at will, lighting lamps with water, removing his limbs or intestines and sticking them back to his body (khandana yoga), curing the incurably sick, appearing beaten when another was beaten, after death rising on third day, preventing a mosque from falling down on people, and helping his devotees in a miraculous way. He also gave Darshan (vision) to people in the form of Rama, Krishna, Vithoba and many other gods depending on the faith of devotees.
According to his followers he appeared to them in dreams even after he left his body and gave them advice. His devotees have documented many stories.
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| Holy Ash formed on a picture of Sathya Sai |
The reputed materialisations of vibhuti (holy
ash) and other small objects such as rings, necklaces, and watches by Sathya
Sai Baba along with reports of miraculous healings, resurrections, clairvoyance, bilocation,
and alleged omnipotence and omniscience were
a source of both fame and controversy; devotees considered them signs of
divinity, while sceptics viewed them as simple conjuring tricks.
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| Natural Holy Ash formation |
The Sathya Sai Organisation, founded by Sathya
Sai Baba "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means
to spiritual advancement" has over 1,200 Sathya Sai Centers
(branches) in 126 countries.Through
this organisation, Sathya Sai Baba established a network of free hospitals,
clinics, drinking water projects and schools.
Almost everything known about Sathya Sai
Baba's early life stems from the hagiography that grew around him, the
presentation of narratives that hold special meaning to his devotees and are
considered by them evidence of his divine nature. According to these
sources, Sathyanarayana Raju was born to Meesaraganda Easwaramma and
Peddavenkama Raju Ratnakaram in the village of Puttaparthi, in what was the Madras Presidency of British India. His birth, which his
mother Eswaramma asserted was by miraculous conception, was also said to be
heralded by miracles.
His siblings included elder brother
Ratnam Sesham Raju (1921–1984), sisters Venkamma (1923–1993) and Parvathamma
(1928–1998), and younger brother Janakiramiah (1930–2003).
As a child, he was described as
"unusually intelligent" and charitable, though not necessarily
academically inclined, as his interests were more of a spiritual nature. He
was uncommonly talented in devotional music, dance and drama. He was said
to be capable of materialising objects such as food and sweets out of thin air.
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| Manmohan singh, PM of India and Sathya Sai |
On 8 March 1940, while living with his
elder brother Sesham Raju in Uravakonda, a small town near Puttaparthi,
Sathya was apparently stung by a scorpion. He lost consciousness for several
hours and[26] in the next few days there was
a noticeable change in Sathya's behaviour.There were "symptoms of laughing
and weeping, eloquence and silence. "He began to sing Sanskrit verses, a language of which he
had no prior knowledge." Doctors believed his behaviour to be hysteria. His parents brought Sathya back
home to Puttaparthi. Concerned, they took him to many priests,
"doctors" and exorcists. One of the exorcists at Kadiri went to the extent of torturing him to cure
him. However Sathya kept calm throughout, which further worried his parents.
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| Sachin Tendulkar(Cricket player, often referred to as GOD OF CRICKET) and Baba |
On 23 May 1940, Sathya called household
members and reportedly materialised prasad and flowers for his family members. His
father became furious at seeing this, thinking his son was bewitched. He took a stick and threatened to
beat him if Sathya did not reveal who he really was. To this Sathya announced
calmly and firmly "I am Sai Baba" on 20 October 1940, a reference to
Sai Baba of Shirdi. He proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of Sai Baba of
Shirdi—a saint who became famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Maharashtra and had died eight years
before Sathya was born.
The Sathya Sai Organisation
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| Atal Bihari Vajpayee( 10th PM) and Baba |
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization
was founded in the 1960s by Sathya Sai Baba. The first Sai Centers were
started in India under the name of "Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi".The
Sathya Sai Organisation originated "to enable its members to undertake
service activities as a means to spiritual advancement."
Sathya Sai Baba stated that the main
objective of the Sathya Sai Organization, "is to help man recognize the
divinity that is inherent in him. So, your duty is to emphasize the One, to
experience the One in all you do or speak. Do not give any importance to
differences of religion or sect or status or color. Have the feeling of
one-ness permeate every act of yours. Only those who do so have a place in this
Organization; the rest can withdraw."
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| A.P.J Abdul Kalam (president) and Baba |
The Sathya Sai Organisation reports
that there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centres in 114 countries. However,
the number of active Sathya Sai Baba followers is hard to determine. Estimates
vary from 6 million up to nearly 100 million. In India itself, Sai
Baba drew followers predominantly from the upper-middle-class, the urban sections of
society who have the "most wealth, education and exposure to Western
ideas." In 2002, he claimed to have followers in 178 countries.
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| Christmas Celebration |
Sathya Sai Baba founded a large number
of schools and colleges, hospitals, and other charitable institutions in India
and abroad, the total cost of which is usually estimated at Rs.
400 billion (US$9 billion). However, estimates as high as 1.4
trillion rupees (about US$31.5bn) have also been made. After his death,
questions about the manner in which the finances of the organisation were going
to be managed led to speculations of impropriety, with some reports suggesting
that suitcases containing cash and/or gold had been removed from his personal
lodgings.
DEATH
The Deva in human form
left his mortal body
On 28 March 2011, Sai Baba was admitted
to the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality
Hospital at Prashantigram at Puttaparthi, following
respiration-related problems. After nearly a month of hospitalisation,
during which his condition progressively deteriorated, Sai Baba died on Sunday,
24 April at 7:40 IST, aged 84 as predicted by baba. Sai Baba announced that he would be reborn as Prema Sai Baba
in the neighbouring state of Karnataka.
His body lay in state for two days and
was buried with
full state honours on 27 April 2011. An estimated 500,000 people attended
the burial, among them the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi,
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers S. M. Krishna and Ambika Soni,
as well as other political leaders and prominent figures.
Sathya Sai Baba's death triggered an
outpouring of grief from followers who included Indian politicians, movie stars, athletes and industrialists. Most
remembered him as a pious, selfless person who worked to help others with the
billions of dollars donated to his charitable trust.
Political leaders who offered their
condolences included the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Sri
Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Dalai Lama.
Famous cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, whose birthday was that day,
cancelled his birthday celebrations.
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The Hindu newspaper
reported that "Sri Sathya Sai Baba's propagation of spiritualism and
preaching of Hindu philosophy never came in the way of his commitment to
secular beliefs."
The Government of Karnataka declared
25 and 26 April as days of mourning and Andhra Pradesh
declared 25, 26 and 27 April as days of mourning.
Sathya Sai Baba: Meaning Of The Lingam:
On May 5, 1991, Sathya Sai Baba materialized a golden egg that has several names and is rich with symbolism. Baba said that the Hiranyagarbha Lingam (Golden Heart Lingam) “contains the entire universe in microscopic form. It is a manifestation of the Trinity - Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva (God as the Creator, Sustainer and Destroyer). It is also the Atmic consciousness (Holy Spirit) - like a thread running through a pearl necklace. It is at the Spiritual Heart.” In the Spiritual Heritage Museum in Puttaparthi there is a quote by Baba referring to the lingam (lingams in general) as the “Cosmic Seed of Creation.”
“Just as OM is the 'sound symbol' of God, the Linga is 'form symbol' or visible symbol of God - the most meaningful, the simplest and the least endowed with appendages of attributes. The Linga means, that in which this Jagat (world of change) attains Laya or mergence or dissolution (Leeyate). All forms merge in the Formless at last. Shiva is the Principle of Destruction of all names and forms, of all entities and individuals. So, the Linga is the simplest sign of emergence and mergence.”
Swami Nalanda: " To me he is a master, friend and guide. Whenever i feel helpless looking into thy eyes makes me feel am safe...he is no ordinary man, he is beyond. He is God in human form. Even if one cannot accept it...you can respect him as he was "BABA" for both rich and poor alike. He loved everyone equally and treated everyone with great care...he lends a helping hand for the poor. There is no discrimination based on color, sex, religion or race in BABA's place, its peace and love that flows like holy waters of Ganga...Om Namah Shivaya."
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| "The symbol " |
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