Premanand and Gerald Moreno - anonymous letter issue

REFUTATION OF UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS AGAINST AN ANONYMOUS LETTER - part two
by Basava Premanand

Reply to Mr. Gerald Moreno's claims in his article published on his website
http://www.saisathyasai.com/baba/Ex-Baba.com/under

The article - under the pages called 'B. Premanand Deception' is titled: The Basava Premanand Anonymous Letter : vested Interests and Striking Similarities.
July 2001 :Anonymous Letter: Basava Premanand's Questionable Involvment Updated : May 5th, 2005

Gerald Moreno's comments appear in bold black face and mine in regular case navy blue type.

(.... continued from Gerald Moreno's wild speculations on the authenticity of an anonymous letter sent to B. Premanand)

GM : Others who have given their own interpretation, on how Sathya Sai Baba materializes vibuthi, call the "balls" either "pellets" or "tablets". Strangely enough, the anonymous writer used the exact phrases that Basava Premanand uses, i.e., "vibuthi ball", "small ball" and "ball of vibuthi"! These indisputable similarities fully make my case that Premanand appears to have faked this letter.

Good gracious, Gerald Moreno is only assuming when he states "appears" to have faked this letter.
I thought that he would compare every word of mine with that in the article "Betrayal" and prove fully that I had faked that letter. He got only one word "ball" to say that. But what other word is more appropriate? Pellet? Tablet?

The dictionary meaning of pellet is
1. A small, solid or densely packed ball or mass, as of bread, wax or medicine.
2. A bullet or piece of small shot.
3. A stone ball used as a catepult missile or as a primitive cannonball.
4. A hard mass of undigestable food that is regurgitated by certain birds, especially birds of prey

The meaning of tablet is
1. A small, flat pellet or compressed powdered medication to be taken orally.
2. A slab or plaque, as of stone or ivory, with a surface intended for or bearing an inscription
3. A thin sheet or leaf, as of clay or ivory used as a writing surface.
4. A set of such leaves fastened together, as in a book
5. A pad of writing paper secured along one edge
6. a small, flat cake of a prepared substance, such as soap.

If the vibhuti ball is hard it cannot be powdered with fingers so the question of using the word pellets or tablets would not be strictly correct The most appropriate word is "ball", and this word is not a property of any one and is in common use.

GM : At http://www.bcskeptics.info/resources/skeptopaedia/s/saibaba/5mater.html, Premanand again refers to the "vibuthi ball". At home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/santaclaus.html, Premanand refers to a "ball of vibuthi". Coincidences?

I am giving fully what is mentioned in the first website :
B.Premanand, lecture sponsored by Science World,Vancovver BC, Canada Dec. 15 1988: Videotape record with Science World: "He stopped doing that and now what he does is he keeps the ball (or holy ash or vibhuti, ed.,) between the thumb and the pointing finger. The additional vibhuti reference is by the editor of the BC Skeptics. For GM's information I was invited to inaugurate the planetarium.

In the 2nd mentioned web site there is no mention of vibhuti or vibhuti ball in the article the Sai Mafia : which I published in Indian Skeptic Vol 1 No.4 August 1993 along with the article by Prof: Piet Vroon titled "Santa Claus in India" and " ball of Vibhuti" is mentioned in this article authored by Prof.Vroon. Would GM explain why he is assuming that Prof:Piet Vroon's article as mine? Is it to fool his readers with false information and vilify me?

GM : Basava Premanand and the anonymous writer spell "practicing" as "practising". Coincidence (2)?

According to the dictionary "practise" in the US is spelled and pronounced as "practice".
Usage : Both the noun and the verb are usually spelt with a "c" in American English. In British English, only the noun has a "c" the verb has an "s". GM ought to realise that there is also English and international usage, not only American! This is surely known to all properly educated people?

GM : At http://www.themronline.com/200505m2.html, Basava Premanand said, "In the guise of spiritualism and divine powers, the saffron clad frauds are prone to become moral wrecks." On the anonymous letter, it says, "boys who have become moral and physical (and physiological) wrecks, leave the institutions". Coincidence (3)?

The web site belongs to Dravida Kazhagam and they publish a monthly journal titled "Modern Rationalist" in English and the editor in Shri. K.Veeramani. The article which GM mentions is the gist of the Judgement against Swami Premananda of Trichy whom GM reveres so much (a convicted rapist and murderer) and the comments are by Shri.K.Veeramani. Here also what is stated is "Beware of the saffron clad so-called sanyasins-frauds" and not what GM quoted as mine.
Will GM assume that K.Veeramani's comments are faked by the author of "Betrayal" or Vice-versa? I wonder!

GM : At home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/whomurdered.html, Basava Premand refers to rupee amounts as "Rs. 5/-", "Rs. 10/-", etc. The anonymous writer makes mention of "Rs. 500/-", written in the exact way that Basava Premanand writes it. Coincidence (4)?

My name is not Premand but Premanand.
The general practice (or practise) in India that most of the people write as Rs.5/- Rs.10/- etc. Will GM allege if others write as Rs.5/- Rs.10/- etc those are also faked by me? I do not know the practice in other countries.
If there are smaller coins it will be written as 10.75 or 10.50 or 10.25. Just go through any news papers in India - this is the usual way of mentioning currency in figures. Why doesn't GM assume that all the newspapers in India are faked by me? Why does GM come to such false assumptions without proper study other than to vilify me?

GM : Basava Premanand tends to site example after example and ends these examples with "etc.". Premanand's "etc." fetish is a trademark characteristic to his writings. In the anonymous letter, there are no less than 21 "etc.'s"! Couple this with the similar usage of parenthesis and things begin to appear very suspicious. Coincidence (5)?

As it is impossible to mention all the alleged miracles believed to be performed by Sathya Sai Baba and names of the persons referred to in each sentence it is natural that etc., is added. One has to find whether the word etc., is appropriate in the sentence without coming to any conclusions.
I have no Trade Mark or Patent Right registered for the word "etc.!, nor I have used it in inappropriate places.
This word "Fetish" has several meanings in the dictionary:
1. A material object believed among primitive cultures to have magical power
2. An object, principle, activity, or the like that receives unreasonably excessive attention or reverence
3. An abnormal sexual attraction to some object or part of the body not normally considered erogenous.
Would GM dare to analyse his articles in his Deception series using the method of science and tell me who is really fetishist? It would do him good if he could consult a good psychologist who will be able to help him with his fetishes and obsessions.

GM : Basava Premanand is also well known to capitalize certain words and phrases in articles he writes, just like the anonymous letter does. Intriguing enough, the anonymous letter ends with the comment, "THINK and OBSERVE". Basava Premanand has reiterated this very same idea when he said, "The way in which I expose miracles, is by collecting as much as information on the miracle, then observe the miracle once, twice or many times and find out the trick behind it. The thing is to watch and reason out why they do each thing each move, and you get the answer. I am also happy that my visiting West Bengal has helped hundreds of youths to start thinking." Coincidence (6)?

"Think and observe" is the method used in science to find answers. Though it is the very same idea expressed by both, the question is whether I or the author of Betrayal have copied the same writing style.

GM : At http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/is_v03/3-10-8.htm, Basava Premanand's Indian Skeptic site, there is mention to, "agile hands deft at conjuring tricks". On the anonymous letter, it makes mention to, "Babaji's deft hands" , "he deftly shifts one ball to the right hand" and "Babaji's deft toes are busy". Coincidence (7)?

GM has misquoted again. What he mentions as mine is taken from the article by Prof.Piet Vroon from his article "Santa Claus in India" I am wondering why GM so systematically misleads his readers with false information.

GM : At http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/svm_cont.htm, Basava Premanand's site, there is mention to, "Producing lockets, talismans, medals, rings etc." On the anonymous letter, there is mention to, "chains, rings, lockets, talismans, even sweets". Coincidence (8)?

This is not a co-incidence; these words have to be used if the list is not complete and very long. Is GM pointing out that these tinsels alleged to have been created by Sathya Sai Baba and recorded in hundreds of books are false?

GM : At http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/is_v01/1-12-5.htm, Basava Premanand talks about Christianity. The Christian undertone, towards the end of the letter is clearly disingenuous and could have very easily been added to cover the writer's true, personal beliefs. Consequently, it most certainly appears that this anonymous letter was written by Basava Premanand. Although this cannot be said with 100% certainty, until Basava Premanand divulges the name of the person who wrote this anonymous letter, he will be suspected as having written it. Basava Premanand should know better than dispersing an anonymous letter anyway. According to Dr. Kovoor, Basava Premanand is purposely "withholding information", being "insincere and dishonest", "conspiring", "propagandizing" and having some sort of "vested interest" in distributing this anonymous letter.
Furthermore, all of the names to the alleged sexually-abusive instructors and sexually-abused students, were taken from a list provided on ExBaba.com, at home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/list.html, that was taken from an anonymous, online message board at quicktopic.com. This list was removed from quicktopic after many students complained about their names being on it. Those students who complained, stated that they were never sexually abused and someone with ulterior motives submitted their names without their consent! Despite this fact, Exbaba.com continues to provide this list on their site. If this list is genuine, why hasn't anyone helped these boys file even one court case against Sathya Sai Baba? No one has even tried to file a court case! This proves that this anonymous letter has no factual basis and was written using internet resources, rather than legitimate and genuine resources. Despite these facts, Basava Premanand continues to solicit this anonymous hate letter on his site, as well as on ExBaba.com!

Surprisingly GM has not even touched the subject matter of the article "Betrayal" so far but speculated on inconsistencies of the usage of words etc. I wonder why he did not touch the main subject of the article "Sexual abuse of students" by Sathya Sai Baba? Is it because they are true and unquestionable and indisputable?
Not a single coincidence was GM able to prove.

Now he is speculating on my article published on 15.4.1989 in Indian Skeptic titled "Christ is tempted says St. Matthew in the New Testament chapter 4". This is purely an Anti-Christian article. GM's assumption is that the Christian undertone towards the end of the letter is clearly disingenuous and could have very easily been added to cover the writers true, personal beliefs. Consequently it most certainly appears that this anonymous letter was written by Basava Premanand.

After stating the self-defeating "most certainly appears", GM somersaults again and states," Although this cannot be said with 100% certainty". He is an acrobat expert with words stating "until Basava Premanand divulges the name of the person who wrote this anonymous letter!" and calls me "being, insincere and dishonest", "conspiring", "propagandizing" and having some sort of "vested interest" in distributing this anonymous letter. There is no truth but GM's own speculation which even he himself is questioning.
And who said that I won't divulge the name of the person who authored "Betrayal"? Not I. But certainly I would not tell it to Gerald Moreno, who does not even reveal his identity. But to the Apex Court - if they order to divulge the name of the author of "Betrayal". But on one condition: if the Supreme Court first takes legal action against the people mentioned in the CB-CID report which has been confirmed by Hon.Supreme Court in their orders, but closed by the state government of Andhra Pradesh on a confidential G.O based on the report of a mandal magistrate thus going against the Apex Court directions. A further condition is, the Supreme Court must take full responsibility to protect the author's life and his son and if they are murdered or disappear, trace the culprits and punish them. Not otherwise.
Then GM speculates and claims that all the names of the alleged sexually-abusive instructors and sexually-abused students, were taken from a list provided on Ex-baba.com and that was taken from an anonymous, online message board at quicktopic.com. If this allegation was true the author of 'Betrayal' would have used all the names in his article and it comes to about 155. Though the names mentioned in 'Betrayal' might be in the list mentioned by GM, the names mentioned there cannot be different from such names mentioned in the list, as they are real names. What more proof do you want that the names mentioned in "Betrayal" were not copied from the list?

Out of 13 students names mentioned in 'Betrayal', 6 are not in the list published on Ex-baba.com. This itself would confirm that these names in Betrayal are not from the list. Moreover out of 3 students two were studying in IX standard and the third in Xth standard. The Sathya Sai Baba authorities could have easily found out which year they were studying and traced them. Whether they traced them also can be known from the registers if these boys left the school or were dismissed from the school.

GM states that this list was removed from quick topic after many students complained about their names being on it. Who are these 'many' students who supposedly complained, stating that they were never sexually abused and someone with ulterior motives submitted their names without their consent? One mail was posted anonymously complaining about a few students he knew, claiming they could not have been abused. Not one of them came forward to support him. This list of sexually abused students is continued on Ex-baba.com and no one has seriously complained.

Since GM is so sure of the complaints he should have the details of the students who had complained. If he had mentioned them it would have helped him to prove his statement. Then he laments, "if this list is genuine, why hasn't any one helped these boys file even one court case against Sathya Sai Baba?" When even the directives given by the Hon.High Court and confirmed by the Supreme Court in the Murder case has not been adhered by the State Government as to expect that - if students file a case in Court - they would get justice?

My question to GM is, why did not one student he himself mentioned file a case in court and prove that he was never sexually abused? There could have even been a mass petition of all those students to reduce the expenses in the court who had complained about their names being on the list and that they were never sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba. This would have cleared Sathya Sai Baba's name from the allegations of sexual abuse! Why did Sathya Sai Baba or his organisation not help them go to court when students were ready to affirm that they were not abused by Sathya Sai Baba? I never knew that some of the students mentioned in the list had complained! If Sathya Sai Baba and Gerald Moreno had done this, I would have expressed that he followed the method of Prof.Kovoor.

Web sites GM referenced are all but one at the Indian Sceptic website:
http://www.themronline.com/200505m2.html B. Premanand's writing sample 1.
http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/ [B. Premanand's writing samples]

The web sites quoted by Gerald Moreno
http://www.bcskeptics.info/resources/skeptopaedia/s/saibaba/5mater.html
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles/frameset.html?page=whomurdered
http://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/is.v03-10-8.htmhttp://www.indian-skeptic.org/html/svm_cont.htm
http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/articles.html#Basava Premanand

I am sending to the Law enforcement department, The District Collector and the Hon.Governor of AP a copy of this article for further action according to law.

(I want to thank my skeptic colleagues for relieving work pressures on me by key board work and editing of my answers)