Refuting Deceptive 'News' About Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Released On Anti-Sai Websites
APRIL 2004
A Visual Guide:
- The Article Is True Or Mostly True And Seems Sincere.
- The Article Has Truths And Untruths And Seems Insincere.
- The Article Is False And Has No Proof To Support It.
- The Article Is Fluff, Filler Stuff, Not Relevant.
SATHYA SAI BABA NEWS (With Updates And Comments):
Sai Baba's U-Turn on Padanamaskar
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/padanamaskar.html
Comment: This is an over-critical article written by Sanjay Dadlani. Sanjay criticized two quotes from Sathya Sai Baba, which talked about the idea behind padnamaskar.
Sai Baba did not specifically refer to himself but to "Bhagavan", which can refer to either himself (Sathya Sai Baba) or God-Idols in temples or houses. Sathya Sai Baba clearly said that the idea behind padnamaskar is that we should keep contact with pure objects and abstain from impure objects.
Also, padnamaskar does not require for one to touch the feet of the Guru or God-Idol. Padnamaskar is bowing to the feet of a Guru or God Idol. In Sanskrit "namas" means, "bow, obeisance or a reverent salutation." and "pad" means "foot". Padnamaskar means bowing to or offering an obeisance to the feet of a Guru or God Idol. This can include touching the feet of a Guru or God Idol, but is not necessary. When touch is involved, it is specifically called "sparshan". Touch can be a part, but is by no means necessary, to padnamaskar. This makes sense because Sathya Sai Baba's physical form has no way of granting physical padnamaskar to everyone.
Sathya Sai Baba specifically instructed his devotees (as a Guru) that they should not touch his feet anymore. Sathya Sai Baba said that people should make mental padnamaskar. Actually, this is the true definition of padnamaskar. Sanjay asked "what then is his role as guru or god?" The answer is quite simple. Sathya Sai Baba's role would be to guide his devotees to develop internal devotion instead of outward devotion. That would seem like a very valid teaching and role as a "guru or god".
Sathya Sai Baba gave very valid reasons why he stopped giving sparshan-padnamaskar. Sathya Sai Baba said that people were feeling jealous and getting disturbed seeing people fall at his feet. As a foreigner, I must say that seeing people fall at Sathya Sai Baba's feet similarly disturbed me. Also, anyone who has ever been to Darshan and happened to sit in the front row knows the trampling one gets from people rushing forward to touch Baba's feet. It can be very disturbing. Also, sparshan-padnamaskar is not the only way to receive the guru's potency. It is said that darshan (sight) and sambhashan (conversation/speech) also can convey the guru's shakti (energy), instill sacred thoughts and destroy karmic bonds. Click Here to view very disturbing facts about Sanjay Kishore Dadlani.
Sai Towers' Booksale and Diversification - a Metaphor?
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/shortnews/saitowers.html
Comment: This article is irrelevant. It discusses Sai Towers (a well-known hotel in Puttaparthi), which is in no way affiliated with the official Sathya Sai Org or the Ashram.
The Packaging of Sathya Sai Baba's Telugu Discourses. A Stronger Case
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/shortnews/packaging.html
Comment: Click Here to view my full response to this article.
Did Sai Baba save a passenger jet from ditching in the ocean?
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/shortnews/passenger.html
Comment: I agree, for once, with Robert Priddy.
- View My Page About "Sai in the Sky"
Sai the Liar told public of global catastrophe to occur in December, 1998.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/poleshift.html
Comment: I am very familiar with the controversy surrounding the alleged 27/38 predictions that were said to have been made by Sathya Sai Baba. These predictions do not have any merit to them and Sathya Sai Baba himself denied he made them. Period. Even though Robert Priddy acknowledged that Baba denied making the predictions, he takes issue with how long it took before Baba made a public denial.
There are many people who try to make money by claiming Sathya Sai Baba said something "through" them or that they were told something of global importance. Many people immediately noticed the fraudulence in the 27/38 predictions. The fact that there were around 27 to begin with and it grew into 38 is suspicious in itself. It is a well-known fact that people attribute words and predictions to Sathya Sai Baba (allegedly said in interviews) to people who do not have names! I have lost count to how times I have heard people say, "I heard Sathya Sai Baba said to someone in an interview that…". Notice how Robert Priddy again references an unnamed "ashram source"?
The claims that Sathya Sai Baba made (in Sathya Sai Speaks) are true. Baba did say that he would lift a mountain range and would have to give darshan through the air. However, he did not give a time-frame.
Interview with Stijn van der Meer (Dutch) again on this site
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/shortnews/matthijs.html
Comment: Links to a media file in Dutch.