IN THE SHADOW OF SATHYA SAI BABA

Overview of critical materials (partially updated 2005)

This information has been compiled by members of the Just Seekers of Truth (JuST) group. It is not a complete overview of exposé materials. Rather it presents a scope and diversity of information and can be used to help one navigate through the very extensive available exposé materials.

NB! BBC World TV Documentary of 2003 (1 hour) "The Secret Swami"
http://www.exbaba.com/comments_on/_the_secret_swami/_sai_baba.htm

(1) The most important exposé web sites with critical materials (regularly updated):

http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/(English)

http://www.exbaba.com/  (English, Dutch, German exbaba-de & Italian www.exbaba.it)

Researches into Sathya Sai Baba claims and teachings
"The Guru from Puttaparthi. An Alternative View of Sathya Sai Baba."   (Brian Steel)

http://www.saibabaexpose.com/ (Swedish, Danish, English)

http://www.saiguru.net/ (English, Spanish, Russian)

  http://robertpriddy.com/norsk/ (Norwegian)

Sathya Sai Baba stories, myths and deceits (English)

  and the web sites:
www.snowcrest.net/sunrise/links.htm (English)


NB! BBC World TV Documentary of 2003 (1 hour) "The Secret Swami"
http://exbaba.com/comments_on/_the_secret_swami/_sai_baba.htm

Blogs concerning Sathya Sai Baba are found at:-

http://barrypittard.wordpress.com/
http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com/
http://saibabaexposed.blogspot.com/
http://haraldssononmiraclesvisitingcards.blogspot.no

(2) Pioneering Critical Work on the Internet
 1) Previous to 2000

a) Basava Premanand
and at  http://www.indian-skeptic.org/ 

b) Dale Beyerstein 1992

c) Paul Holbach http://www.exbaba.com/articles/p_holbach/eng/main_e.htm

2) Recent: "The Findings"
"The Findings" was a major series of serious allegations against SSB (mainly in connection with sexual abuse and fake miracles) posted on the Internet in May 2000. Compiled by David and Faye Bailey, prominent followers of SSB for many years, “The Findings” were the first collection of allegations against SSB posted on the Internet in May 2000. Although many consider these materials

insubstantially documented, and somewhat inaccurate, they they made a major impact on many devotees and gave fresh impetus to research about SSB and increasing public awareness of the negative sides of SSB and his organisation.
www.saiguru.net/english/personal_exp/01findings.htm
Barry Pittard - Sathya Sai Exposé - an update (2003) - Main overview of the declarations, media articles and other steps that have been taken to expose Sathya Sai Baba.
www.saiguru.net/english/news/030925index.htm


(3) Omniscience and Omnipotence (resp. all-knowingness and all-powerfulness)
Officially published texts of SSB 's discourses contain a lot of discrepancies, conflicting statements and contradictions. They seriously discredit SSB 's claim of being all-knowing or all-powerful.

B. Steel. Omniscience and Truth http://www.exbaba.com/articles/p_holbach/eng/main_e.htm
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/Omnitruth.htm

B. Steel. SSB and Christianity. Some Observations.
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/Jesus1.htm

B. Steel. Sathya Sai Baba. Man of Many Stories.
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/storyman.htm

 

S. Badaev. An Enlarged List of Discrepancies in Sai Baba’s Words.
www.saiguru.net/english/articles/35discrepancies.htm

R. Priddy. V.K. Narasimhan - a legacy.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/16/index.html#vkn

 
(4) The Myths:

a) Claims of Divinity (of being the Purna Avatar) are not supported by the emerging evidence.
See especially Section 3 above, and:

 

B. Steel. Sai Baba's Claims of Divinity. Avatar and Triple Avatar
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/Claimsnew.htm

B. Steel. SSB 's Claims to be the Reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba.
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/Shirdiessay.htm

B. Steel. 18 Basic Myths about Sathya Sai Baba.
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/18myths.htm

R. Priddy. Sathya Sai Baba promotes Hindu myths, also about himself
http://www.gethome.no/SaiMyths.htm

R. Priddy. Sathya Sai Baba thrives on and promotes rumours
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/7/Sai_Baba_Promotes,_Thrives_on_Rumours.htm

 b) The Packaging and Promotion of SB

B. Steel. The Packaging of Sathya Sai Baba's Discourses (and related issues)
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/

(5) False materialisations and fake precious stones
Many witnesses attest that, whatever may be said of his ability to materialise objects, he often uses sleight of hand, faking materialisations. Many video materials confirm this, including footage intended to depict Sai Baba in a favorable light. Increasingly, professionally assayed materials, which Sai Baba has pretended to materialise as precious stones (diamonds, emeralds, etc.), reveal the objects to be fake.

D. Bailey. The Findings www.saiguru.net/english/personal_exp/01findings.htm


R. Priddy. "Green Diamond Ring" from Sai Baba analysed by royal jeweller, with photos.  
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/7/Sathya_Sai_Baba_green_diamond_proven_a_fake.htm


(6)  Biographical data
Many details of childhood and early period of SSB 's activity cannot be independently confirmed. However there is evidence
(mostly new) which questions a lot of officially accepted data concerning SSB 's biography (e.g. date of declaration of his mission, date of birth, etc. and conflicting accounts of other 'miraculous' and other events in his early years).

 B. Steel. Early Stories about SSB . Variations on Themes.
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/stories1.htm

 B. Steel. The University Chancellor and His Schoolboy Stories.
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/storieschancellor.htm

S. K. Dadlani. Sai Baba: Shiva or Sadhaka?
www.saiguru.net/english/articles/48sbshivsadh.htm
 

(7) The sexual molestation/abuse of young men and minors
Such allegations are hard to prove due to their privacy. Some specialists on sexual abuse of the young believe that the quality and quantity of direct complaints from victims and other indirect evidence more than warrant the most serious attention and investigation.

 Tal Brooke. (Book) "The Avatar of Night" Millennial Edition -

End Run Publishing 1442A Walnut St. No. 387 Berkeley, CA. 94709

ISBN:1-930045-00-X - Copyright 1990 & 1999 by Tal Brooke.


Robert Priddy World-wide exposure of SB's sexual abuses - overview
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/6/saisex1.htm  


A.   Nagel. Guru Accused.
www.saiguru.net/english/articles/02guruaccused.htm
and http://www.exbaba.com/articles/Paper%20'A%20Guru%20accused'.html


  A.   Nagel. Sai Baba as Shiva Shakti

www.saiguru.net/english/articles/02shivashakti.htm
and http://www.exbaba.com/articles/Paper%20'Shiva-Shakti'.html

 

"Seduced" (Transcript of Danish TV Documentary on Sai Baba, sent 30 Jan 2002)
www.saiguru.net/english/media/013002seduced.htm
 

R. Priddy. Concerning fully confirmed 'oiling' of male genitals by Sai Baba. 
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/6/Oiling_of_genitalia_plus_by_Sai_Baba.htm

R. Priddy. Unnatural Events in his bedroom - by Sai Baba.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/6/boys_in_SB%27s_bedroom.htm


(8) Murders in June 1993

Uninvestigated murders in 1993 in Prashanthi Nilayam are a crying injustice, a violation of laws and basic human rights by SSB and his organisation.

 

R. Priddy. The Murders in Sai Baba’s Private Quarters
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/8/Sathya_Sai_Baba_bedroom_murders.htm 

Transcripts of Indian newspaper & legal reports
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/8/Murders_at_Sai_Baba's_Ashram_News_Reports.htm

R. Priddy. More on the 1993 murders cover up.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/8/MurderReview.htm
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/8/extramurders.htm

 R. Priddy. Shocking revelations from V.K. Narasimhan.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/16/VKN_faith_shaking_events.html

B. Premanand. Book - "Murders in Sai Baba's Bedroom" (Sub-title: 'Who murdered the six?
A critical analsysis of the records') 843 pages. Published by B. Premanand
11/17 Chettipalayam Rd., Podanur - 641 023 (Tamilnadu) India, 2001.

 
(9) Mission of restoring and uplifting India

In spite of numerous Sathya Sai Baba's promises to restore moral and spiritual authority of India,
the country is still suffering from many terrible social and political problems.

S. Badaev. Sai Baba’s Mission: Words and Facts.
www.saiguru.net/english/conclusions/commentaries-Serguei.htm

S. Badaev. Sathya Sai Baba and development of India
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/SergIndia.htm

S. Badaev. To See With Open Eyes.
http://saiguru.net/english/articles/61tosee.htm

 S. Badaev The Child's Dignity and Indian Education http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/Ba.htm


(10) Sathya Sai Organisation

The SSO claims to be a model and an example of a spiritual organisation aimed at selfless service. In fact it is a huge bureaucratic machine with tight censorship, and authoritarian management. Unaccountability, undemocratic management, secrecy and injustice result in critical attitudes towards it from many SSB followers.

 S. Badaev. Sathya Sai Organisation (One organisation with two charters).
www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/08SSorgcharters.htm

S. Badaev. Ten Questions About Sai Organisation.
www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/09questions.htm

 S. Badaev. Sathya Sai Organisation. Divine Tool or Side Effect?
www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/divinetool.htm

R. Priddy. The Sathya Sai Organisation analysed http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/index.html
The Sathya Sai Organisation's claims, deception and subterfuge

R. Priddy. The secretive and authoritarian Sathya Sai Organisation
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/SSOrgsummary.htm

B. Steel. Chapter 7 of  SSB: God or Guru?  
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/stories1.htm

11) Charity projects
It is extremely difficult to estimate the effectiveness of charity projects run by SSB as no data are published about them. However, with the actual agenda of encouraging donations, SSB and the SSO intensively advertise such projects as the super-speciality hospitals and water supply scheme.

  S. Badaev. SSB 's Super Speciality Hospitals as Two-faced Projects.
http://saiguru.net/english/articles/60hospitals.htm

R. Priddy. On the International Sathya Sai Organisation.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/index.html

 

 (12) Donations, financial accountability, embezzlements, misuse of funds.
fraud, and related irregularities in the Sathya Sai Central Trust and ashrams

R. Priddy. The Multi-billion dollar question.http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/59mbdquestion.htm

R. Priddy. Wasteful buildings and other projects.

S. Badaev. Can We Trust the Central Trust?
www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/centraltrust.htm

 R. Priddy. Surveillance, Security, Secrecy
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/13/Sai_Baba_ashrams_security-surveillance.htm


(13) Educational programme
Despite the fact that an educational programme (so called "Education in Human Values" and the newly formed ‘Educare Foundation’ programme) is considered by the SSO as a very important activity, its professional level remains rather low. Though it has been conducted in many countries by the SSO since 1965, it has not yet gained any international recognition.

 S. Badaev. UNESCO conference without UNESCO.
http://saiguru.net/english/sai_org/11unescoconf.htm

 R. Priddy. Sai Educare as an educational institution under the shadow of pederasty.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/4/Sathya_Sai_Educare.htm

 R. Priddy. Sai Educare and fundamentalistic, doctrinaire teachings.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/4/Sathya_Sai_Educare_fundamentalist_doctrine.htm



 (14) Positive misinformation, excessive claims, false promises,
wrong predictions and plagiarism by SSB and/or his Organisation

 R. Priddy. The most excessive claims ever made?
Sathya_Sai_Baba_Pronouncements_on_Himself_His_Mission.htm

 R.Priddy. Sathya Sai Baba
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/2/hip.htm

R. Priddy. False promises of health and protection.
www.saiguru.net/english/articles/53falsepromises.htm

R. Priddy. SSB s exaggerations: ‘The Numbers Game’.
www.saiguru.net/english/sai_org/exaggerations.htm

 R. Priddy. Inflated statistics.
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/10/AY.htm#stst

D. Hanisch and E. Hartgering. Sai Baba's Borrowed Wisdom
www.saiguru.net/english/articles/16plagiarism.htm 

B. Steel (diverse instances in his web pages)
http://bdsteel.tripod.com/index.html


(15) Worldwide reaction

Because of compromising information about SSB and his organisation the State Department of the U.S.A. issued an official warning for American tourists visiting Andhra Pradesh in South India.

http://travel.state.gov/india.html

 

UNESCO (Paris) along with the University of Flinders, Australia, withdrew from participation in an international educational conference held in September 2000 in Prashanthi Nilayam.

unesco.org/education/media_advisory.htm


"Does UNESCO really protect the young?" Exposure by Barry Pittard and the BBC of underhand methods by Indian officialdom to neutralise the original UNESCO standpoint.
http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/new.htm

The British Parliament discussed possible risk for British young people visiting SSB 's ashrams in India.(Letter re. Sai Baba from British PM Tony Blair to M.P. Tony Colman)

www.saiguru.net/english/news/ukwarns.htm

"The University of Adelaide's Professor McWha, Vice-Chancellor, cancelled a contract to host tne Australian Sathya Sai Organisation for an annual Conference with prominent national invitees in April 2003. A victim of sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba had made himself available for interview by their representative. The Vice-Chancellor's specially appointed investigator found the allegations against Sai Baba too weighty to ignore.

See http://www.exbaba.com/letters/topic.html 

under "University of Adelaide, South Australia, Cancels Sai National Conference 2003."

Barry Pittard's open letter in reply to the ex-Prime Minister of India, Vajpayee
http://saiguru.net/english/news/020927oppenletter.htm

 

(16) Public petition
A group of former followers of SSB - the JuST (Just Seekers of Truth) group - initiated an international public petition against SSB and the SSO appealing to the fair investigation of numerous allegations. So far ca. 1080 people from all over the world have signed the JuST Petition. Many of them were long-term followers of SSB and held important positions in the SSO.

 http://www.saipetition.net/
(Information and feedback regarding the petition and the JuST group: http://www.saiguru.net/ )

 

(17) Main publications in mass media

 Newspapers:
 December 22, 2002. "Crackdown on 'Preying' Cults", Sunday Mirror, UK.
www.saiguru.net/english/news/022812sundmirror.htm

  February 2002 "Divine Sin" by Alejandro Agostinelli

Gatopardo Magazine – Colombia
www.saiguru.net/english/media/020201divine_sin.htm

    August 27, 2001. 3 Articles in the London Times
"Suicide, sex and the guru" by Dominic Kennedy
http://www.saiguru.net/english/media/010827sexguru.htm

"I sought peace and couldn't find it" by Michael Dynes in Durban and Dominic Kennedy
www.saiguru.net/english/media/010827soughtpeace.htm

"Three die after putting faith in guru" by Dominic Kennedy
www.saiguru.net/english/media/010827threedie.htm

   February 27, 2001. "Holy Man? Sex Abuser? Both?" Vancouver Sun, Canada
www.saiguru.net/english/media/010227vancouver.htm

December 19, 2000. "The Man Believers Think Is God", Ottawa Citizen, Canada
http://www.saiguru.net/english/media/011219ottawa.htm

   December 4, 2000. "Faith and Controversy", India Today, India
www.saiguru.net/english/media/001204india.htm

   October 28,  2000. "Divine Downfall", Daily Telegraph, UK 
http://www.saiguru.net/english/media/001028divine.htm

 

  TV programmes:


BBC World TV Documentary of 2003 (1 hour) "The Secret Swami"
http://www.exbaba.com/comments_on/_the_secret_swami/_sai_baba.htm

 “Forført” (’Seduced’) Shown 30-1-2002 on  National TV & Radio broadcaster DR (Dansk Radio).
www.saiguru.net/english/media/013002seduced.htm

Zona de Investigación, TV Azul, Argentina "The Sinful God" Aug 5 and 12, 2001
http://www.saiguru.net/english/news/010819azultv.htm