Sathya Sai Baba movement
[1][2][3] Some of his followers have faith in his claim to be a purna Avatar (full divine incarnation) of Shiva and Shakti,[4] who is believed to have been predicted in the Bhagavad Gita.
[17] Sathya (as Sai Baba referred to himself in those days) "was known to be very lively",[17] and composed many plays, poems and songs for school and friends.
"[16] Narayana Kasturi's biography states Sathya Sai Baba performed many miracles (healings, levitation, materialization of fruit, sweets, pencils, pictures etc.
In this volume can be read the many early claims of divinity made by Sathya Sai Baba, including those of omnipotence and omniscience.
[29] Twice daily, some devotees engage in worship of Sathya Sai Baba by conducting rituals such as aarti and singing devotional songs in front of his picture.
[52] Through center activities, the hope is to achieve the practical spirituality of incorporating the universal human values in all aspects of life and during every conscious moment.
[37] Sathya Sai Baba advocates reverence, adoration and gratitude to the Mother (and parents) as being God, and the first (and foremost) teacher and guru.
[53][54][55] Sai Baba often cites well known figures (Abraham Lincoln,[56] Gandhi,[57] Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar[53]) who have attained their good character, humility and morality due to listening to the advice of their mother.
Sathya Sai Baba has written several articles on religious topics, later collected by the trust in the form of books, titled "Vahinis" (vehicles).
[61] Having written a vahini on the subject of meditation (dhyan),[62] Baba suggests four techniques: repetition of one's own favourite 'name of God'[63] (Rama, Sai, Allah, Aum etc. ...
[64] The Sai organization promotes and advocates five human values: Sathya (truth), Dharma (Sanskrit word translated as "right conduct"), Ahimsa (non-violence), Prema (love for God and all his creatures)[68] and Shanti (peace).
Other teachings are: The popularity and the donations by followers enabled Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations to build an ever-increasing ashram called Prashanthi Nilayam near the once poor and isolated village of Puttaparthi.
[79] Sathya Sai Baba resided much of the time in his main ashram Prashanthi Nilayam ("Abode of Highest Peace") at Puttaparthi.
He could be seen in person to perform these miracles in the form of materializations of small objects, for example jewelry such as bracelets, rings, watches and especially vibhuti (holy ash).
[90] Babb wrote in a 1983 article that "the miraculous are absolutely central to this religious movement" and that the plausibility of these miracles "seems to pull people into convictions ostensibly at odds with what their own subculture deems to be common sense and considered judgment".
He wrote in that article that his observations are based on his contact with the local following of Sathya Sai Baba in Delhi that according to Babb included a sophisticated and cosmopolitan elite.
The five basic human values that he advocates are: Truth (Satya), Right Conduct (Dharma), Peace (Shanti), Love for God and all creatures (Prema), and Non-violence (Ahimsa).
He taught a rather traditional but eclectic form of Hinduism that come from many sects and movements including advaita, occasionally drawing from other religions like Buddhism, Sikhism, and Christianity.
"[10] The anthropologist Alexandra Kent notes that this lack of originality is in correspondence with Sathya Sai Baba's claim to revive old truths.
The charter of the Sai Organization says that every member should undertake sadhana (spiritual discipline) as an integral part of daily life and abide by the following nine-point code of conduct.
[106] Sathya Sai Baba is the figurehead to a number of free educational institutions, charitable organizations and service projects that are spread over 10,000 centres in 166 countries around the world.
[107] The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in Prashanti Nilayam is the only college in India to have received an "A++" rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission).
It is situated six kilometers from the guru's ashram and was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on 22 November 1991 and was designed by the Prince of Wales's architectural adviser, Keith Critchlow[111] The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore is a 333-bed facility with advanced operation theatres, ICUs and CCUs meant to benefit the poor.
Since that time, the general hospital has grown to a 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) building that provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cost.
[128] In contrast, Dr. Kim Knott who worked as of 1997 at the department of theology and religious studies of the University of Leeds, untagged in a table the "Sathya Sai Baba Fellowship" as missionary.
[139][140] Knott tagged in a table the "Sathya Sai Baba Fellowship" as devotional, charismatic authority, reformist, and including non-Asian membership.
[133] A secret report from the Central Intelligence Agency from the 1990s stated that a "worldwide mass religious movement"[143] was emerging around Sathya Sai Baba, who many devotees viewed as a full incarnation of God.
[107] The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in Prashanti Nilayam is the only college in India to have received an "A++" rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission).
[115] The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was opened in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977 and provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cost.
[155][156][157] Simon Weightmann who worked as of 1997 at the department for the study of religions at the University of London wrote that Sathya Sai Baba is one of the most popular gurus, both in India and in the Hindu diaspora and that as a consequence of his inclusivist stance he has a large following among the urban middle class.
