Sai Baba aka Sathyanarayana Raju is really an intriguing figure; he was someone whom millions of people considered their living “god”, while many claimed that he was a cheat and conman. I believe there are very strong reasons for Sathya Sai Baba’s popularity among a lot of people. Here was a man who claimed he was “God”, a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi and claimed to spread spirituality rather than any particular religion. For many of us who are taught about god(s) who we cannot see, smell, hear or touch, he was right there in front of everybody and speaking a language everybody could grasp. Just look at his teachings, very simple and straightforward, “Love all, Serve all”, “Help Ever, Hurt Never” and that “Service is the highest spiritual discipline”, He also talked about the unity of all religions,; “oh baba, dear baba, you make so much sense” the mind would cry. Can’t you see a fatherly figure in his whole persona? His broad hair giving him a unique, larger than life touch, his self assured confident manner, his orange flowing robes, and mostly seated on a high pedestal. Do you still doubt his godhood? Wait till you hear about the good he’s done, his charity is immaculate, bringing water to a million people, a world class hospital which does treatment for free and wonderful education institutes. “oh baba, in this selfish and unkind world you are such a saviour dear baba” the mind would cry. Still not convinced Sai Baba is God? wait till you hear about the popularity of baba, he has millions of followers and people who revere him in more than 32 different countries, including big Indian celebrities like Sachin tendulkar, Abdul Kalam, Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, etc etc the list is indeed very huge. Just believe in baba and in return you can have a life filled with so much more meaning and with an alive and talking God to turn to in all your insecurities and fear. He will even enchant you with immaculate magic tricks producing Lingas, rings, chains, watches and what not. To a person who has not seen David Copperfield, some of his tricks may appear quite impossible to be simple magic tricks. Obviously he has to have some power to be able to materialize a ring in bare palm, with his palm inches from your face. I am not making this ring trick up, this was the very trick which allured my Iranian friend’s uncle, who then went on to buy a house in Puttaparthi!
All of the jokes aside, I really believe that Sai Baba with all his magic tricks and trickery is an insult and a crime on the intellect of the people, especially on the intellect of the Indian people who form the vast majority of his followers. How can chains, lingas or rings made of some inorganic material and which usually require manual labour come out of carbon based biological tissue? This kind of blind belief is sure to have a negative effect on the scientific and technological progress of our country. Sai Baba’s larger than life image is the reason why some really credible child molestation cases and money laundering cases were never pursued. Why did a god die such a death before the age at which the god said he would pass away? Why did god choose India to be born in, following Shirdi Sai Baba to the same land? Don’t you think the simple teaching of Sai Baba can be taught by anybody, why does he have to be a God? People like Newton and Einstein came up with more ingenious “truths” which shook the whole world, what has Sai Baba the god achieved in contrast to these mere mortal human beings? These are the questions all Sai Baba Devotees should ask themselves. All of the jokes aside, I really believe that Sai Baba with all his magic tricks and trickery is an insult and a crime on the intellect of the people, especially on the intellect of the Indian people who form the vast majority of his followers. How can chains, lingas or rings made of some inorganic material and which usually require manual labour come out of carbon based biological tissue? This kind of blind belief is sure to have a negative effect on the scientific and technological progress of our country. Sai Baba’s larger than life image is the reason why the child molestation cases and money laundering cases were never pursued. Why did a god die such a death before the age at which the god said he would pass away? Why did god choose India to be born in, following Shirdi Sai Baba to the same land? Don’t you think the simple teaching of Sai Baba can be taught by anybody, why does he have to be a God? There are greater people like Newton and Einstein who came up with more ingenious “truths” which shook the whole world, what has Sai Baba the god achieved in contrast to these mortal human beings? These are the questions all Sai Baba Devotees should ask themselves.
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