PART SIX OF SERIES - SATHYA SAI BABA PROMOTES AND THRIVES ON RUMOURS
Many followers know that Sathya Sai Baba makes predictions in private interview situations, knowing that they will spread like wildfire as uncontrollable rumours. Then, when the predictions fail, which they invariably do, there is no documentary proof that he made them, and devotees dare not confront him or what he says in any way. The same with many of the leelas and miracles, they are very important to the Sai Baba legend and are mixed up with disinformation, a clever technique at which Sathya Sai Baba is adept and he uses his unwitting collaborators
At http://www.saibaba.ws/reports/connieshaw.htm one can read an account of Connie Shaw's 31'st visit to Sathya Sai Baba and an interview in January 2002. She starts by saying...
"There were several unique features to our most recent trip to Sai Baba's Puttaparthi, India ashram (number 31, but who's counting?)"
Comment: re 'Who's counting?'; Thirty one wasteful holiday flights from and back to the USA is one thing, but it confirms that Connie
Shaw is a total true blind believer, as the entire account also shows. However, what is most interesting is Sai Baba's failed prediction of global peace and the Golden Age from 2007: Referring to herself in the third person, Connie Shaw wrote:-
"Connie asked Baba in the rear room, "Swami, NO JOKING NOW...
how much longer will the war last? Really, NO JOKING!"
Baba: Really, no joking (He made some invisible writing in the air) ...
five years more. In 2007 there will be no more war. Peace on earth."
Connie: Five more years?! Then really, truly the war will be over?"
Baba: Yes, you will see.
Connie: Then what about the Golden Age (of Peace and Plenty which
will last for a thousand years) - when will that actually be here?
Baba (Predictably, heh-heh): The Golden Age must begin in each
person's heart. Then only can we have peace on earth. Each must
start now to make the Golden Age in his heart. Connie: But Swami, we're all doing the best we can in that
(department) now. I mean when will (all of) humanity agree "This is
the Golden Age - here, now...? Baba: In five years. 2007. By then. All must do (their part)."
Sathya Sai Baba - having stated often that he is an omniscient Godhead who knows every detail of past, present and future creates some small problem here! Now that 2008 has long passed by and international war continues in Afghanistan. Outright war also occurred in Russia's horrific invasion of Georgia in response to it's attack on separatists in part of its sovereign territory, namely South Ossetia. Further, an air war between NATO and Libya continued in 2011, and one may also point to several major civil wars, such as in Dafur, Indonesia and diverse smaller warring conflicts in African states.
As to the Golden Age and transformation of human consciousness etc. it has been heralded for decades by Sathya Sai Baba but, when failing to occur, has repeatedly been promised for a new and later date. Rita and Robert Bruce were told by him about practically instant transformation of people's consciousness after his 80th anniversary But that anniversary was celebrated in 2006! Now we have outright war between nations and still major conflicts displacing millions within nations. What kind of transformation is that?
The following is one example of how Sathya Sai Baba sets
the rumour mill grinding without having to stand forth openly himself:-
"Wilma Bronkey was the featured presenter at the South Central
Regional Conference held in Texas, 1999. One of her talks centered
on the fact that Sathya Sai Baba had told a group of them in an interview the
following basic story: The WHOLE world would be at peace within
two years--a definite noticeable condition on the planet! I personally
heard this talk and saw James Redmond tape her talk. It lasted over
half an hour in length. This talk was heard by many hundreds of
devotees. What a legacy of broken promises!"
Dennis J. Hanisch
(this was his message 31953 on http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sathyasaibaba2 - removed along with thousands of early postings by Yahoo apparently for reasons of webspace).
There are any number of prophecies by Sathya Sai Baba which signally failed to come about - a list of links for those not acquainted with these gives the documentation and proofs in each case:- Sathya Sai Baba failed prophesy as the ‘great saviour of mankind’ - eg. Sai Baba being 'king of the whole world' from AD 2000, Muslims recognizing him 9 years before his passing, and the whole world visiting Prashanthi Nilayam. Sathya Sai Baba prophecies on his own death date - wrongly
Sathya Sai Baba as world saviour Well-known proclamations by Sathya Sai Baba are quoted on how he intends to save the planet and humanity... as well as some of his more incredible prophecies which have so far not come to pass. Prophecies about Sathya Sai Baba in the Suka Nadi etc. Each prophecy is considered for its likelihood of having been made and its validity Bogus Prophecies about Sathya Sai Baba Sai Baba soon to fly unaided in the sky?
Sathya Sai prophesied as 'king of the world' from 2000
Sai Baba prophesies he will lift "a whole range of mountains"!
Sai Baba prophesies - Edgar Cayce and Nostradamus Prophesies about Sai-Avatar Bogus Persian prophetic texts, and Nostradamus' prophecies The Pope to preach Sai Baba's message?
A former friend of ours - V. Ramnath of the Indian Administrative Service (the most prestigious body in India, the Indian Civil Service,'IAS') - told us in 1994 how the then-head of IAS, a Mr. M., had lost his 7-year old son and he and his wife had an interview with Sathya Sai Baba, who consoled them. Then Sathya Sai Baba tapped on the wall of the interview room and a figure of a white-haired man with a stick appeared. Sathya Sai Baba told that it was Mr. M. himself as he would be after his retirement when he would be head of the Prashanthi Nilayam ashram. His retirement was scheduled for 2000. So far he is not installed. Believers can wait and see, but experience of such Sathya Sai Baba 'revelations' indicate that they will be disappointed yet again, just as the young man whom he told to train as an airline pilot to fly him and who did so, but was then told succinctly by Sathya Sai Baba with a shrug, 'No plane!' Just another one of many, many disappointments from "the swami who never disappoints" (a phrase he often uses in interviews).
The discourses of Baba
express his increasing sense of desperation suggesting that his goodness
and divine nature are not receiving the dues of name and fame he expected.
His predictions, made repeatedly through the last 30 years, that the entire
world will soon sit at his feet - though doubtless intended mostly figuratively
- have evidently created expectations that are still very, very far from
being fulfilled... for only a tiny sub-fraction of the world is sufficiently
aware of him and his works to sit up and take enough notice even to investigate
further. Even this is not recognised within the mini-world of Baba's ashrams
and organisation, where talk of Baba as being world famous and accepted
in every remote corner of the earth is commonplace and treated as an a
priori truth. One cannot but be amused. This would be outright laughable
were it not for the fact that they believe there is true meaning in every
word of Sathya Sai Baba, who in various discourses has made some of the most preposterous
claims every dreamt up.
UNCONFIRMABLE
MIRACLES, LEELAS AND 'DISINFORMATION'
The Sai movement feeds greedily
on news of Sai miracles and leelas, while pretending
that these are but unimportant things, because Sathya Sai Baba
insists they are only like his 'visiting cards' and
have no importance. Yet anyone can see that, without
these 'miracles' and 70 years of spreading rumours
about and rumours around them, it is very hard to
conceive that this large movement could have arisen.
That belief in these is the crucial factor
can most easily be seen just by reading the first
300 books published in English about Sathya Sai Baba, where they
are almost always the hook that catches the author.
The most popular early book by H. Murphet was entitled Sai Baba, Man of Miracles. Many other of these
books have 'miracle' or 'leela' in their titles. Only
very few devotees do not in actual fact (despite denials)
lay huge weight on these paranormal 'leelas' or alleged
major miracles.
Alleged major miracles are also an overwhelmingly central theme in the official biography by Prof. N. Kasturi and other books authenticated by the Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust from its inception. All in all, the great majority of the described leelas are subjective experiences and, as such, do not lend themselves to any kind of direct, objective checking. This problem also affects events to which several persons were present... their accounts usually support one another in some things, but vary considerably in others. Prof. Erlendur Haraldsson tried to investigate the possible authenticity of such miracles and leelas. He was only able to register what people alleged in most cases, but when he could check records, he discovered a number that were certainly not supported by evidence, most notably the resurrection from death that Sathya Sai Baba claimed to have performed on US multi-millionaire Walter Cowan. The doctors named denied that Cowan had died or that any death certificate was issued. No records of such were found, though Sathya Sai Baba had claimed it had been made out. This was one of the most sensational and effective pieces of disinformation ever spread by Sathya Sai Baba.
Sathya Sai Baba seems to outclass even the KGB at disinformation. He has spoken of such inexplicable events as a result of his 'maya' (i.e deceptive appearances), or even as 'his sport'. Whatever the truth of these phenomena may be, however, he has been shown here earlier without doubt also to engage widely in disinformation:
(from The Messianic Legacy by Baigent, Leigh & Lincoln London 1968)
As is well-known, no kind of scientific investigation whatever of his alleged powers has ever been allowed by Sathya Sai Baba. He will not demonstrate them, but he has been unable to stop filming showing him most evidently faking materialisations. Having woven a legend about himself - however many holes there are in it - Sathya Sai Baba and his collaborators can invent all kinds of story, the one more fantastic than the other. It is extremely seldom that Sathya Sai Baba or any of his institutions or office-bearers in his organisation make public rebuttals of false claims of miracles or the like. However, Sathya Sai Baba directs his officials and/or his journal's editors to challenge and disown those bogus claimants who are in competition with him for followers and not least, in drawing off large funds that would otherwise probably have fallen to Sathya Sai Baba. These refutations have so far been made in particular against those who lay claim to sharing powers, such as in materialising ash, rings, lingams, healing powers, 'divine advice' etc. ... that is, Sathya Sai Baba's competitors and parasite mystics!
Incidentally, and correctly, Sathya Sai Baba is not in favour
of lotteries anyhow, as the following shows:-
"A lottery attracts money from persons who
are moved by greed; it holds out the attraction
of quick riches and tempts men from the wrong angle.
It will be tainted money... " (Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 1, p. 135)
"I am also against lotteries, where
the lure of getting a big prize, for which one does
not do anything, a prize collected out of other
people's earnings..." (Sathya
Sai Speaks Vol 3, p. 156)