Refuting Deceptive 'News' About Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Released On Anti-Sai Websites
DECEMBER 2002
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):
18 Basic Myths about the Guru Sathya Sai Baba (and Much More)
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/18myths.html
Comment: Brian Steel said that there are "The 18 Basic Myths about the guru Sathya Sai Baba". These allegedly are:
- That he is the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba.
- That he is a Purna Avatar.
- That he is Omnipotent.
- That he is Omniscient.
- That he is Omnipresent.
- That his birth followed an Immaculate Conception.
- That the birth of the claimed trio of Sai Avatars into the family of his ancestors was a boon granted by Siva and Shakti.
- That his advent was prophesied by Jesus Christ, Muhammad, the Book of Revelations, Nostradamus, inter alia, and announced on 24 November 1926 by Sri Aurobindo.
- That he will reincarnate again after 2022 as Prema Sai.
- That he made his two Declarations and began his official Mission in 1940. (IF he made the Declarations, as is possible, there is documentary evidence to show that it would have been in 1943.)
- That he was engaged full time on his Mission in the years 1941, 1942 and 1943 (rather than still at school for most of that period).
- That he resurrected the dead bodies of Radha Krishna and Walter Cowan. (He may have had a healing influence in a near-death experience by these two men).
- That he is able to speak all languages fluently.
- That the printed version of his Discourses (which is his principal form of communication with devotees in many languages) is a faithful and close translation of what he actually says in Telugu. (I remind readers that public access to LITERAL translations of his Telugu Discourses has been curtailed since July 2002.)
- That he always tells the truth.
- That he never sleeps.
- That he does not feel or show anger or strong emotion.
- That he is fully cognizant of the activities and functioning of the Sathya Sai Organisation.
Many people have had experiences of Sathya Sai Baba being Shirdi Sai Baba. Including myself. Consequently, people are entitled to accept this in accordance with his/her own spiritual experiences. Far be for Brian Steel to invalidate the experiences of others.
Because of the numerous international miracles and manifestations attributed to Sathya Sai Baba (which are unprecedented in human history, if true), people are entitled to believe that Sathya Sai Baba is a Purna Avatar who possesses the power of omniscience and omnipresence. Many people have claimed they had genuine, first-hand experiences of Sathya Sai Baba's omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence.
Since it is impossible to validate whether Sathya Sai Baba was an immaculate conception (except for the testimony given by his mother in which she claimed a large ball of blue light entered her womb), any doubts about this claim are valid.
Doubts about Sathya Sai Baba's birth being due to a boon of Siva and Shakti and his advent being prophesized by Jesus, Muhammad, Book of Revelations and Nostradamus, are entirely valid.
Regarding whether or not Sathya Sai Baba will reincarnate in 2022 as Prema Sai Baba cannot be stated as inaccurate prior to that date. Time will tell if this prediction is true or not.
Since early devotees were not intent on keeping a historical record of events regarding Sathya Sai Baba early years, the contradictory dates do not rule out Sathya Sai Baba's declaration of his mission beginning in 1940. Brian Steel attributed this to Baba's Bukkapatnam school records. Click Here to view my article about these records and how they are inaccurate.
Those closest to Walter Cowan and Radha Krishna said that Sathya Sai Baba resurrected them. Although there are contradictory testimonies about the alleged resurrections, one cannot overlook the fact that these incidents were miraculous cures, nonetheless.
The doubt that Sathya Sai Baba can speak all languages fluently (although some have claimed that Baba has spoken to them fluently in their native tongue), is valid.
Brian Steel argued that Sathya Sai Baba's discourses are not "faithful or close translations" to what he said in Telugu and made reference to "LITERAL translations" being curtailed since 2002. Click Here to view my in depth response to these claims.
1940? Or 1943? Recent Evidence from SB
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/1940.html
Comment: Click Here to view my article about the Bukkapatnam school records.
Concerning my recent posting on 'The SSO 'Self-publicity and Advertising'
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/addendum.html
Comment: An addendum to one of Robert Priddy's previous articles. Despite the Sathya Sai Org helping people in Croatia, Priddy tried his best to soil and distort the story so that nothing good will be seen as having come from it.
Sai Baba and Aids
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/aids.html
Comment: Robert Priddy attributing the AIDS epidemic (in India), in part, directly to Sathya Sai Baba. Gee, I wonder who is responsible for the AIDS epidemic in Africa, Australia, USA, and many other countries? Sathya Sai Baba advises spiritual adherents to follow celibacy, abstinence or married life with one partner.
Comment from Elena. A. Hartering on Keith Bradsher's article on SSB
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/elenakeith.html
Comment: Elena Hartgering took issue with Keith Bradsher's Pro-Sai article that was written in the New York Times. She talked (prattled) a lot about the Unesco Withdrawal, apparently unaware of the real reason why UNESCO withdrew.
Did Sathya Sai Baba suffer from epilepsy in his youth?
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/epilepsy.html
Comment: Åsa Samsioe attributes epilepsy to the "trances" that Sathya Sai Baba allegedly had from his youth to mid 50's. Despite Åsa Samsioe never having seen any of the physical presentation of symptoms, she tried to make a diagnosis based on accounts she read in books. She conveniently ignored miraculous manifestations that allegedly occurred during these "trances" and focused only on those things that supported her flights of imagination.
Brief Observations on President Kalam's Convocation Day Speech
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/kalamconvocation.html
Comment: Brian Steel nitpicked away at a speech given by President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. Despite Kalam's references to Sathya Sai Baba "divinity", Brian Steel pulled out a dictionary and tried to argue against the intended use of that word by Kalam! Desperate and fanatic nitpicking, clear and simple. Since Kalam is a Muslim, of course he is not going to be calling Sathya Sai Baba "God". Clearly, Kalam believes that Sathya Sai Baba is a unique spiritual personality who embodies "divinity". Apparently, no one can say anything good about Sathya Sai Baba or Brian Steel throws on of his typical and immature hissy-fits.
I spoke in their language
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/language.html
Comment: Who knows what point Brian Steel was trying to make in this very brief and poorly worded article. If Sathya Sai Baba's words were edited (as Brian Steel claimed), then whatever reply he attributed to Sathya Sai Baba is not the right one.
The name, the fame, the shame
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/name.html
Comment: Click Here to view my articles about Robert Priddy and his "name, fame and shame".
James Randi on Sai Baba
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/randionsb.html
Comment: Brian Steel citing an article from James Randi.
Missing second (most important) part of 'James Randi on Sai Baba'
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/randionsb.html#EXCERPT
Comment: This is a second link provided to the first page about James Randi.
NY Times lauds "cult" leader and accused pedophile
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/rickross.html
Comment: This article deals with the deaths of three "British Devotees" who committed suicide. Andrew Richardson was not a devotee. He was a seriously disturbed individual who lept to his death in Bangalore, from the eighth floor of the State Bank of Mysore building, on K.G. Road. The Times of India, 20-9-1996, stated:
"The foreigner left a note in which he described, though incoherently, about his misery that drove him to suicide. 'I was confused, I came to India in search of peace , but could not find it', he has said. He apparently visited the Sai Ashram earlier and had seen Sai Baba, as it was mentioned in his suicide note. But the police have not confirmed whether it refers to the one in Whitefield here in Bangalore or the one in Puttaparthi. Mr. Sood said the letter was barely legible, but stated that he was in deep depression. The police have contacted the British High Commission to trace Richardson's kin and send the body back to England".
The second British person who killed himself was Michael Pender, a 23 year old student, who was HIV infected. He was known to be chronically depressed and claimed he was sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba. This would allegedly mean, of course, that Sathya Sai Baba was knowingly engaging in sexual acts with a person known to be HIV positive. This simply does not seem plausible. He was found dead in a hostel for the homeless in Highbury, London.
Aran Edwards, aged 37, was the third British person who committed suicide by hanging himself from the staircase in his home. Aran Edwards had never been to see Sathya Sai Baba. David Bailey said of Aran:
"He was sort of persuaded that Sai Baba looked after him, did everything for him and that he should write to Sai Baba with his problems". David Bailey described Aran Edwards as follows,"He was quite an ill person, mentally unstable and needed orthodox help. In the end, he wrote a couple of dozen or more letters to Sai Baba. The group had told him this was what to do". And as if this wasn't enough, David Bailey further states, "He used to ring me from phone boxes pleading with me. There were 35 phone calls, I suppose . . . he was absolutely desperate that I should talk to Sai Baba for him because he was in such a state and had written all these letters which he had sent out and hadn't had a reply. Could I please help because I was Sai Baba's right-hand man? At the end I said, 'Wake up. He doesn't even read these letters'. He was so distraught about the situation, he decided to commit suicide."
Can you imagine crushing the hopes of someone so desperate by telling them something so cruel? David Bailey knew Aran was an ill person who was mentally unstable, yet David Bailey crushed Aran's hopes by first persuading him to write letters to Sathya Sai Baba, then after persuading him to do this, he told Aran that Sathya Sai Baba did not read letters, including his! This is, in and of itself, disgusting and reprehensible! And in that distraught state, Aran killed himself. Yet no one faults David Bailey and the pathetic way he dealt with poor Aran! In all three cases, all suffered from severe depression and mental issues. It certainly appears they all would have killed themselves even if Sathya Sai Baba was not in the picture. So this is not as clear cut as Jose Santiago would have us believe. Also, there are some Christians who commit suicide. Do we blame Jesus?
This article also talked about the Unesco Withdrawal.
Tharoor's article: So very clean and scrubbed
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/taroorsarticle.html
Comment: Barry Pittard took issue with an article written by Shashi Tharoor about a trip he made to Sathya Sai Baba with his mother. Barry Pittard made his typical negative comments along with numerous unsubstantiated claims.
Why has dharma and virtue decreased during SSB's reign??
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/Yahoo!%20Groups%20%20sathyasaibaba2%20Messages%20%20Message%2026761%20of%2026761.htm
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Letter from Barry Pittard to the President of the UN Association of Australia
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/Yahoo!%20Groups%20%20sathyasaibabaexposeforum%20Messages%20%20Message%20832%20of%20832.htm
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
A Friend in India to All the World
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/afriend.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Letter from Andries Krugers Dagneaux to Staff NYT & Keith Bradsher
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/andriesnyt.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
From Åsa Samsioe to saionline.org
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/asasamsioe.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Babu Gogineni's Letter
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/babugogineni.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Email from Barry Pittard to Keith Bradsher
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/barrykeith.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Religious sects in Italy: a serious damage for individual people and society.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/damage.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Letter from Dennis Hanisch about "A Friend In India To All The World"
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/dennisbradshaw.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Email exchange with Mr. Thorbjørn Meyer
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/emailexchange.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Sathya Sai Baba is NOT a friend to the world.
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/notafriend.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Letter from Barry Pittard to nytimes.com
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/nytimes.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Barry Pittard's Second Letter to the New York Times
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/nytimes2.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
To Sri Pranananda and senior followers
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/prananda.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Letter of Regret to the New York Times
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/regret.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Shashi Tharoor
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/shashi.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Email from Tal Brooke to Barry Pittard
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/talbrooke.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
To 'support group' and whom it may concern
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/tosupportgroup.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Letters Section.
Man held for carrying explosives in Prasanthi Nilayam
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/shortnews/Manheldforexplosives.htm
Comment: A cut and paste from The Hindu. The title to this article is not only inaccurate, it is sensationalistic. The man was carrying detonators, not explosives. The Hindu said:
"The man, identified as Rajappa (48), was yesterday found carrying two detonators and a fuse wire, Puttaparthi DSP Venkat Reddy, told reporters here today"
I guess the media doesn't know the difference between explosives and detonators. Very accurate those Indian Newspapers.
Crackdown for 'preying' cults
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/shortnews/Sunday%20Mirror.htm
Comment: A cut and paste from the Sunday Mirror.
Baba and my recovery that never occurred
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses/norberto.html
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Witnesses Section.
Email from Said (Afshin) Khorramshahgol to Professor Lane (1997)
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/witnesses/said.html#Email from Said (Afshin) Khorramshahgol to Professor Lane
Comment: This link is duplicated from the Witnesses Section.
Puttaparthi.com The Heaven on Earth ?
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/puttaparthi_bestanden/index.htm
Comment: A link to a pro-site about Sathya Sai Baba.