[6][7][8] Sathya Sai Baba's followers have attributed to him a range of miraculous abilities, including the materialisation of vibhuti (holy ash) and other small objects such as rings, necklaces, and watches.

In the 1990s, allegations of fraud and abuse surfaced, notably through documentaries such as Guru Busters and The Secret Swami, which featured testimonies from former devotees, including Alaya Rahm.

[36] Almost everything known about Sathya Sai Baba's early life stems from the hagiography that grew around him; these were narratives that hold special meaning[37] to his devotees and are considered by them to be evidence of his divine nature.

[4][5] This was the first time he proclaimed himself to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi – a saint who became famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Maharashtra and had died eight years before Sathya was born.

Several months later Sai Baba, on 20 October 1940, told his parents that he had "come to this world with a mission to re-establish the principle of Righteousness (Dharma), to motivate love for God and service to fellow man.

[48][49] Another concern for Sai Baba's immediate safety arose on 17 January 2002 when an unknown man (later identified as Somasundaram) entered the Whitefield Ashram with an air pistol.

[50] In March 1995, Sai Baba started a project to provide drinking water to 1.2 million people in the drought-prone Rayalaseema region in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.

[73] The Hindu newspaper reported that "Sai Baba's phenomenal mass appeal lay in his unswerving commitment to communal harmony, his encouragement of charitable activity and public-spiritedness, and his own example in building educational and health care institutions that focused on meeting basic needs on a large scale.

[80][63] From the time Sai Baba was admitted to hospital on 28 March, questions and allegations arose about his care and subsequently the role of his personal aide, Satyajit Salian.

"[53] Family members said they were livid about the secrecy around Sai Baba's health and medical treatments and as to why the trust was not allowing anyone direct contact with him except for Sathyajit, his personal attendant.

[53] On 21 April, the Deccan Herald reported an allegation stating that Sathya Sai Baba had died 20 days prior and that his death was not being announced in order to receive money from Indian and foreign devotees.

"[86] According to Lakshmi, the owner of Kumar and Co International (freezer box company}, her colleague Ganesh called Rajendranath to confirm the purchase for Sai Baba.

"[92][93][94] In Prashanti Nilayam, his devotees believed in seeking the spiritual benefit of Sai Baba's darshan, scheduled for morning and afternoon each day, as a form of devotion.

[119] On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts, Government of India, released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses.

[12] Initially called the "Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi",[124] it was established "to enable its members to undertake service activities as a means to spiritual advancement.

[129] In India itself, Sai Baba drew followers predominantly from the upper-middle-class, the urban sections of society who have the "most wealth, education and exposure to Western ideas.

"[144] Stephanie Tallings, in The Harvard international Review, noted Sai Baba's following is drawn from people of all religions, ethnicities, and social classes.

"[2] However, a scholarly review says Babb misapplies the word "cult", responding, "the so-called 'cult' of Satya Sai Baba seems to possess all such characteristics which are, according to the author, central to a religious movement.

Swallow, of the University of Cambridge, referred to it as a cult and said that the "ritual and theology, then, unlike Sai Baba [of Shirdi]'s, is distinctly Hindu in form and content.

[152] In a 2001 scholarly book, Tulasi Srinivas notes, "The Sathya Sai global civil religious movement incorporates Hindu and Muslim practices, Buddhist, Christian, and Zoroastrian influences, and "New Age"-style rituals and beliefs.'

[158] A secret report from the Central Intelligence Agency from the 1990s stated a "worldwide mass religious movement"[24] was emerging around Sathya Sai Baba, who many devotees viewed as a full incarnation of God.

[23][24] Accusations against Sathya Sai Baba by his critics over the years have included sleight of hand, sexual abuse, money laundering, fraud in the performance of service projects, and murder.

[160][161] In April 1976, Hossur Narasimhaiah, a physicist, rationalist and then vice-chancellor of Bangalore University, founded and chaired a committee "to rationally and scientifically investigate miracles and other verifiable superstitions".

[166] A 1995 TV documentary Guru Busters, produced by filmmaker Robert Eagle for the UK's Channel 4, accused Sai Baba of faking his materialisations.

[171] Brown also related his experiences with alleged manifestations of vibhuti (sacred ash) from Sai Baba's pictures in houses in London, which he felt were not fraudulent or the result of trickery.

[26] As a result, in 2002 the parliament of the United Kingdom discussed the danger to male children of British families intending to visit the ashram of Sathya Sai Baba in case of individual audiences with the guru.

[26] After Sai Baba's death, questions about the manner in which the finances of the organization were going to be managed led to speculations of impropriety, with reports stating that suitcases containing cash and/or gold had been removed from his personal lodgings.

[183] Also inventoried at Yajurmandir were thousands of pure silk sarees, dhotis, shirts, 500 pairs of shoes, dozens of bottles of perfume and hairspray, watches, a large number of silver and gold "mangala sutrams", and precious stones such as diamonds.

[190] In an open letter in December 2001, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,[131] Chief Justices P. N. Bhagwati and Ranganath Misra, and Members of Parliament and Najma Heptulla said that they were "deeply pained and anguished by the wild, reckless and concocted allegations" against Sathya Sai Baba, and called him "an embodiment of love and selfless service to humanity".

No matter what is said about him, I can only speak for myself, and I have never had any reason to doubt that he is what he said he is.”[192] Sathya Sai Baba authored 15 books, known as "Vahinis" (river or stream), originally written in Telugu and translated into English by Prof. Narayana Kasturi.