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Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba
(23 November 1926 – 24 April 2011)
Sathya Sai Baba a popular spiritual guru and educator of India who
attracted millions of followers including the influential across the
globe, died today , the 24th April 2011 at 7:40 AM following a multi-organ failure after battling serious
illness for nearly a month. Sai Baba's body will lie in state at Sai Kulwant Hall for two
days -- Monday and Tuesday. Arrangements will be made for darshan after 6:00 pm today at the Hall.
A sea of humanity--from commoners to political leaders, cricket legends
Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar and film personalities--today (25th April, 2011)
descended on this little town in Andhra Pradesh to pay homage to spiritual Guru Satya Sai Baba, who died here yesterday (24th April 2011).
Tearful farewell to the ascetic
Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba was laid to rest Wednesday
(April 27, 2011) as hundreds of thousands of followers bid a tearful farewell to the ascetic they revered as a living god.
Hymns rang through his ashram at his hometown of Puttaparthi in southern
India as his body was sprinkled with petals and holy water before a private burial behind a maroon curtain.
Hindu funerals generally involve cremation, but infants and saintly figures are buried.
A number of luminaries attended the funeral conducted with full state
honors. On Tuesday, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, paid their tribute as they
filed past the guru's saffron-robed body placed in a glass casket and sat beside it as a mark of respect.
A tearful farewell Video
An array of personalities, including Vice President M Hamid
Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BJP
leaders L K Advani and Nitin Gadkari, condoled the Baba's death, saying
he was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Governor E S L
Narasimhan rushed here from Hyderabad on learning the news of the death
of the Baba. Union Ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and Praful Patel, yoga guru Baba
Ramdev, veteran South Indian playback singer P Suseela and actress Anjali Devi were among the prominent persons who paid homage to the
Baba's body that was lying in state in the Sai Kulwanth Hall at Prasanthi Nilayam here since last evening.
Sachin Tendulkar who reached Puttaparthi from Hyderabad this morning, broke down
on seeing the Baba's body. He spent more than 45 minutes at the venue praying at his spiritual guru's body.
Born as Sathyanarayana Raju in a humble backward caste family in 1926,
Baba emerged as one of the most popular godmen in India in modern times
initially through acts like producing articles like sacred ash and ''lingam'' through sleight of hand and also founding institutions of
learning and philanthropy.
Biography
Sathya Sai Baba was born to Eswaramma and Peddavenkama Raju
Ratnakaram in the village of Puttaparthi,Andhra Pradesh , India in
November 23, 1926.. His childhood name was Sathyanarayana Raju.
As a child, he was described as "unusually intelligent" and charitable. He was
exceptionally talented in drama, music, dance and writing, and was an
avid composer of poems and plays. He was said to be capable of materialising objects such as food and sweets out of
thin air. As a child, he was described as "unusually intelligent" and charitable. He was
exceptionally talented in drama, music, dance and writing, and was an
avid composer of poems and plays. He was said to be capable of materialising objects such as food and sweets out of thin air.
On 8 March 1940, Sathya Sai Baba was apparently stung by a scorpion. He lost
consciousness for several hours. Within the next few days there was a noticeable change in Sathya's behavior.
"He began to sing Sanskrit verses, a language of which he had no prior knowledge." Doctors believed his behavior to be hysteria. On 23 May 1940, Sathya called household members and materialized sugar
candy and other items. His father became furious upon seeing this,
thinking his son was bewitched . He took a stick and asked him who he was. To this Sathya announced calmly and
firmly "I am Sai Baba," 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 nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in
Maharashtra, and who had died eight years before Sathya was born.
Later that year, Sathya Sai Baba declared that he had no worldly relationship with anyone. In 1940, Sathya Sai Baba began to travel to
Madras and elsewhere in South India and soon had a large regional following.
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The construction of Prashanthi Nilayam, the
current ashram, began in 1948 and was completed in 1950. In 1954, Sathya Sai Baba established a small free
General Hospital in the village of Puttaparthi. In 1963, Sathya Sai Baba suffered a stroke and four severe heart
attacks. On recovering he stated, "I am Siva-Sakthi, born in the gothra (lineage) of
Bharadwaja. On 29 June 1968, Sathya Sai Baba made his first and only trip overseas,
to Uganda. During a discourse in Nairobi , Sathya Sai Baba stated, "I have come to light the lamp of Love
in your hearts, to see that it shines day by day with added luster. I have not come on behalf of any exclusive religion.
I have come to tell you of this unitary faith, this spiritual principle, this path of Love , this duty of Love.
Contribution
of Sathya Sai Baba
In 1968, he established Dharmakshetra or Sathyam
Mandir in Mumbai. In 1973, he established Shivam Mandir in Hyderabad.
On 19 January 1981, in Chennai he inaugurated the Sundaram Mandir. In March 1995 he
started the water project to provide drinking water to 1.2 million people in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region in
Anantapur. In 2001 Sathya Sai Baba established another free Super Speciality hospital in Bangalore to benefit the poor.
In April 1999 he inaugurated the Ananda Nilayam Mandir in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Puttaparthi Nilayam (AP), where Sathya Sai Baba was born and
still lives is an extensive university complex, a specialty hospital, Chaitanya
Jyoti (a world-religions museum that has won several international awards for design ), a
Planetarium , a railway station, a hill-view stadium, an administrative building, an airport, an indoor sports stadium and
more. High ranking Indian politicians, like the former President Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam ,
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee , Andhra Pradesh former Chief Minister Konijeti Rosaiah and Karnataka Chief Minister B. S.
Yeddyurappa have been official guests at the ashram in Puttaparthi. On Sathya Sai
Baba's 80th birthday celebration, it was reported that well over a million people attended, including 13,000 delegates from India and 180
other countries.
Institutions, organizations and projects
Sathya Sai Baba supports a variety of free educational institutions,
hospitals, and other charitable works in over 166 countries. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher
Learning (now Sri Sathya Sai University) in Prashanthi Nilayam is the only college in
India to have received an "A++" rating by the National Assessment and
Accreditation Council. Sri Sathya Sai University has three campuses, one at Puttaparthi for men, one at Whitefield ,
Bangalore for men and one at Anantapur for women. His charity supports an institute for Indian Classical
Music called the Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri
College of Music. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences
in Puttaparthi is a 220 bed facility that provides free surgical and medical care.
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore
is a 333 bed hospital meant to benefit the poor.
The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, two
specialty hospitals , eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in
rural and slum areas in India. The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects. One project
completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district
The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway
named "Sathya Sai Ganga Canal". Other completed water projects include the Medak District Project
benefiting 450,000 people in 179 villages and the Mahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350,000 people in 141 villages.
Sathya Sai Baba's "Educare" program seeks to found schools throughout
the world with the goal of educating children in the five human values.
According to the Sai Educare site, schools have been founded in 33 countries, including Australia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and
Peru. The Times of Zambia states, "The positive influence of Sathya Sai is unprecedented in the
annals of education in Zambia . Sai Baba's education ideals as embodied in his human
values-based approach in education are an eye opener to educationists in Zambia
Teaching
Sathya Sai Baba has said that his followers do not need to give up their original religion, saying "My objective is
the establishment of sanatana dharma, which believes in one God as propitiated by the founders of all religions. So none has to give up his
religion or deity.
Internationally, Sathya Sai Baba devotees gather daily or weekly on
Sundays (and/or Thursdays) for group devotional singing (bhajans), prayer,spiritual meditation, service to the community
(Seva), and to participate in "Education in Human Values" (SSEHV) known as "Bal Vikas" (meaning
Blossoming of the Child), that can also be described as Sai Sunday School.
A primary aspect of Sathya Sai Baba's teachings is the spiritual benefit
of "darshan" for his students.
At that time, Sai Baba may interact with people, accept letters, materialize and distribute vibhuti
(sacred ash) or call groups or individuals for interviews. Devotees consider it a great privilege to have an interview
and sometimes a single person, group or family will be invited for a private interview.
. Awards
On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts, Government of India,
released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Sathya Sai Baba in addressing the problem of
providing safe drinking water to the rural masses. In January 2007, an event was held in Chennai Nehru stadium organised by
the Chennai Citizens Conclave to thank Sathya Sai Baba for the 200 crore
water project which brought water from the River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh to
Chennai . Four chief ministers attended the function. |
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Symbol
of Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram
Sri Satya Sai Baba stood as the symbol of truth (Satyam), goodness
(Shivam) and beauty (Sundaram). The Baba selected Mumbai to spread the message of “Satyam”, Hyderabad for “Shivam”, and Chennai for
“Sundaram”. The three grand temples which the Baba established in these
cities were named after the three major qualities of divinity. They
stand testimony to the Baba's quest of spreading the divine message:
Satyam, Shivam, Sundaram, God is the Truth, the Good and the Beautiful.
Sri Satya Sai Baba built the edifice of his Prashanti Nilayam (abode of
peace) on the pillars of love, service, goodness, right conduct, peace,
non-violence, dedication, simplicity and truth. Since these quintessential qualities of divinity are free from the material concept
of religion, the Baba preached equality of all religions and unity of
humankind. He declared himself as the avatar of Shirdi Sai Baba on May 23, 1940.
Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust
Sathya Sai Baba had no property in his name and had neither named a successor nor left any will, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust
said Thursday, the 28th April 2011.The trust, which manages the affairs of the huge spiritual empire left
behind by Sathya Sai Baba, will choose its chairman soon. Baba, who was the trust's chairman since its inception, had no property,
bank account, flat or land in his name. "He had repeatedly said his property are his devotees. All the
property is in the name of the trust and every rupee is accounted for," the trust's lawyer, S.S.
Naganand, told reporters. The trust issued a detailed statement, giving details of the property at
various places. It vowed to continue its activities.
Though there are reports that the trust property are estimated at Rs.40,000 crore to Rs.60,000 crore, Naganand, an eminent lawyer from
Bangalore, said it had never been evaluated for cost.
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