Eileen Weed (known as 'Divya') together with Venkamma, Sathya Sai Baba's elder sister, in whose home she lived for long periods until Venkamma's death.
Eileen also knew Parvatamma very well, also a sister of Sai Baba
Eileen Weed (known as 'Divya') together with Venkamma, Sathya Sai Baba's elder sister, in whose home she lived for long periods until Venkamma's death.
Eileen also knew Parvatamma very well, also a sister of Sai Baba
Eileen Weed, known to Sai devotees as Divya lived at Sai Baba ashrams from the age of 18 (from 1984 to 1993 and again – even though her parents were then fully disaffected, from 2001-2005). Before long she could converse in Telugu and eventually married a Telugu-speaker from South India. She continued to be a devotee until 2005, when she left India for the U.S.A. In 2012, Divya posted her diary-type letters from that period as a record of her experiences recorded then, apparently without altering anything (though she became disaffected around 2005). These letters are a valuable testimony on how very devoted believers thought and behaved in accepting the extremity of the Sai Baba doctrines, since she did not gloss over difficulties and problems, though she saw the whole as divinely glossed nonetheless. She is the daughter of William and Teresa Weed of Walnut Creek (San Francisco area). Her parents made an early Sai Baba exposé site revealing Sai baba's sexual abuses and much more in 2000 at snowcrest.net, still on-line (www.snowcrest.net/sunrise/links.htm).
Eileen lived in the Sathya Sai Baba ashrams and was very close to Sai Baba’s sister Venkamma and other of his female relatives for many years during the period of her most unquestioning devotion between 1984 and 1989. Her letters provide most telling documentation of a devotee’s indoctrinated mind set and of events observed at the ashrams (mostly suppressed rigorously by Sai Baba's staff or 'authorities'), as will be obvious to all who have liberated themselves from the belief system and cult.
Divya has written: "I started to learn Telugu and waited in places where the sisters would walk by, then bow at their feet and say a word or two in Telugu. They were naturally interested and impressed and started to say a few words to me. Then I noticed Venkamma making flower garlands in her room at night (door open, lights on). On my own, I started to buy loose flowers and bring them to her for the garlands. Then I started to pick flowers from ashram trees (competing with ladies who got the flowers for Mandir garlands). Gradually, I invited myself into her room at night to practice Telugu and hand her the flowers and eventually, learned to make the garlands. Over the course of months, I noticed things that needed to be done and started doing them (wash dishes, help her helpers by sweeping the room, etc). There were usually one or two elderly Telugu ladies also there, also selfless service-minded slaves like me.
One night she was ill and the other two elderly ladies who slept there at night as 'guards,' (Meenamma and Allemma) asked me to stay also and help out (I was a nursing assistant in America). My duties increased and I became one of the 'maids' of the household (free service, no salary or any other perk besides the honor of serving the avatar's sister; except of course some free food).
All this was from 1987 to 1989 or so. Instead of following sb when he went to Bangalore or traveling, I started to stay in the ashram to continue my seva to Venkamma. Since the ashram threw out everyone, she offered to house me in her room when sb was away. That's how it started me being 24 hours a day in the house, from about 1991 to her death in 1993.
In 1990 and 1991 I often stayed registered in the shed or a room, even though I was mostly only living in Venkamma's room. "Eventually, I don't remember how it happened but I gave up even the pretense and just stopped going to the office and moved my luggage to Venkamma's verandah."
Her Telugu became so good that she could read and speke Telugu fluently. She began to translate Baba's discourses accurately without changes or cosmetic repair, getting all double-checked by a native Telugu speaker. This inspired a group of devotees who translated her English texts to their various languages, whch were posted online for 2 years plus a few days from 2001 to 2003. (http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/PREMSAI/index.html)
See also Venkamma, Sai Baba’s elder sister in focus and Venkamma had little faith in her brother Sai, if any...
See some excerpts about Venkamma scanned here from Eileen's letters about Venkamma and her behaviour.
Venkamma much in
common with SB
Venkamma demanded silence of Divya
Venkamma a demanding tyrant
Venkamma a meat eater
Having read Eileen Weed's accounts of life with Parvatamma, Venkamma and the female side of Sai Baba's family on her Wattpad letters, one must conclude that life with them was far from being one of light, love and 'supreme peace' (Prashanthi), as one would have been led to expect by all the hype in the biographies and accounts put out under Sai Baba's supervision. That Divya was able to countenance this after having been brought up to believe in the highest ideals of Indian spirituality without losing faith in this family and its ruler (SB) is remarkable . To stay and contend with the many most unpleasant challenges and frequent very hard words that were thrown at her by Venkamma, to persist in serving her selflessly and putting up with diverse accusations by this demanding woman, can only be understood on the basis of the indoctrination that all SB followers have to adopt and extend to themselves if they wish to remain aspirants for salvation from all the ills of the world. It says a lot about the tolerant attitude of Eileen Weed, her determination to do good, strength of purpose and truthfulness. These qualities have no doubt been important in her being able to overcome the entire spiritual fraud involved and 'bounce back' without falling into depression or another guru's clutches.
