Miracles Of Welfare
Section From "Miracles Of Welfare":
(Reference)
Sai Baba's concern for quality education and medicare is a positive input for nation building.
At the other end of the spectrum is the violently vociferous lobby of local rationalists (convinced that Sai Baba is a confidence trickster) and international apostate disciples (who paint Sai Baba as the Anti-Christ). To add to the chagrin of these voluble detractors, who have criticised his career in print and on the Internet with malicious intensity for at least a generation, is the ongoing booming growth of his mission. The more they rail against the saint, the greater, it seems, is the number of people who flock to have his darshan.
The critics are so intemperate in their dislike that their vituperation now comes across as almost near comical in its predictability. Nothing Baba can say or do meets their approval. If he provides drinking water to thirsty villagers they scent a scam but if he doesn’t provide drinking water he is anti-poor. The ground reality is that even Naxalites have welcomed Baba's charitable intervention, recognising in him a fellow son of the Andhra soil. Often the impression given is that the vilifiers do not hate Sai Baba as much as they harbour contempt for the religious feelings of ordinary cultivators, whose devotion has made Sathya Sai what he is.
Probably because of the intensity of their hate, when it comes to a serious, forensic examination of their allegations, they resort to bluster and evasion instead of hard facts. Smearing sexual innuendo is a traditional ploy but on failing to substantiate their charges, the critics switch to another unrelated subject.
They will claim that all of Sathya Sai Baba's materialisations are phoney. However, this cannot stick either, because millions have witnessed the outpouring of vibhuti at Shivaratri. So then, financial irregularities are imputed to the saint, and when these are likewise found to be unproductive of scandal, mafia happenings are invoked. (As a longtime observer of ashrams, I always note how Puttaparthi is exceptional in not making any monetary demands on the visitor.)
The strategy of the critics seems to be that if sufficient mud is thrown, some might stick. This hit and run behaviour suggests a neurotic concern to damn by any possible means. Certain foreign evangelical missions invest in these hate campaigns as a godly task while in international forums, pressure on voting patterns is discreetly applied by lobbyists of rival religions, to further their own cause.
The latest in these so called exposes is a BBC documentary whose agenda was so predetermined to denigrate Baba that it stooped to the unethical use of a spy camera. In a last farcical gesture, the producer hired some roadside entertainers to attempt to simulate Baba’s chamatkar. The result is so ludicrous that it leaves the viewer wondering as to who is funding this bizarre display of hostile reporting. The BBC is ultimately governed by the Anglican establishment, and churches in the west are losing out financially to the appeal of the Sai Baba movement.
As a commercial broadcaster, the BBC's opting for sleaze would have the dual advantage of discrediting a rival as well as getting good audience rating. The Church of England can have no objection to programmes that weaken perceived threats—like the papacy or Hindu holy men—to its (declining) influence in the world. Posing as a lion in Asia, the BBC is a mouse in Britain. It dare not criticise public icons like the Queen, who happens to be the supremo of the Anglican church.
Even negative assessments of the Sai movement have to concede that its growth has been phenomenal and that, remarkably, there has been no missionary effort involved. It has increased by spontaneous identification, where individuals have been drawn to the persona and teachings of the Sai saints, a voluntary outpouring of faith that has occurred in an amazingly short period.
In appealing to the core of spirit that lies beneath the surface of all religions, the Deccan saints have not only made a dent in the fragmentary nature of the subcontinental religious loyalties but also restored the classical Upanishadic insight of the oneness of all faiths.
This augurs well with the Indian democracy's need to get beyond religious labels that have stultified its development since Independence. Baba's concern for quality education and medical care is another positive input for nation building. The success of his peninsula drinking water network has proved that for efficient development, the crucial ingredient is sincerity of purpose.
Bill Aitken is an expert on comparative religion and a travel writer. He is author of "Sri Sathya Sai Baba: A Life".
©The Week November 27th 2005
(Reference)
Sai Baba's concern for quality education and medicare is a positive input for nation building.
At the other end of the spectrum is the violently vociferous lobby of local rationalists (convinced that Sai Baba is a confidence trickster) and international apostate disciples (who paint Sai Baba as the Anti-Christ). To add to the chagrin of these voluble detractors, who have criticised his career in print and on the Internet with malicious intensity for at least a generation, is the ongoing booming growth of his mission. The more they rail against the saint, the greater, it seems, is the number of people who flock to have his darshan.
The critics are so intemperate in their dislike that their vituperation now comes across as almost near comical in its predictability. Nothing Baba can say or do meets their approval. If he provides drinking water to thirsty villagers they scent a scam but if he doesn’t provide drinking water he is anti-poor. The ground reality is that even Naxalites have welcomed Baba's charitable intervention, recognising in him a fellow son of the Andhra soil. Often the impression given is that the vilifiers do not hate Sai Baba as much as they harbour contempt for the religious feelings of ordinary cultivators, whose devotion has made Sathya Sai what he is.
Probably because of the intensity of their hate, when it comes to a serious, forensic examination of their allegations, they resort to bluster and evasion instead of hard facts. Smearing sexual innuendo is a traditional ploy but on failing to substantiate their charges, the critics switch to another unrelated subject.
They will claim that all of Sathya Sai Baba's materialisations are phoney. However, this cannot stick either, because millions have witnessed the outpouring of vibhuti at Shivaratri. So then, financial irregularities are imputed to the saint, and when these are likewise found to be unproductive of scandal, mafia happenings are invoked. (As a longtime observer of ashrams, I always note how Puttaparthi is exceptional in not making any monetary demands on the visitor.)
The strategy of the critics seems to be that if sufficient mud is thrown, some might stick. This hit and run behaviour suggests a neurotic concern to damn by any possible means. Certain foreign evangelical missions invest in these hate campaigns as a godly task while in international forums, pressure on voting patterns is discreetly applied by lobbyists of rival religions, to further their own cause.
The latest in these so called exposes is a BBC documentary whose agenda was so predetermined to denigrate Baba that it stooped to the unethical use of a spy camera. In a last farcical gesture, the producer hired some roadside entertainers to attempt to simulate Baba’s chamatkar. The result is so ludicrous that it leaves the viewer wondering as to who is funding this bizarre display of hostile reporting. The BBC is ultimately governed by the Anglican establishment, and churches in the west are losing out financially to the appeal of the Sai Baba movement.
As a commercial broadcaster, the BBC's opting for sleaze would have the dual advantage of discrediting a rival as well as getting good audience rating. The Church of England can have no objection to programmes that weaken perceived threats—like the papacy or Hindu holy men—to its (declining) influence in the world. Posing as a lion in Asia, the BBC is a mouse in Britain. It dare not criticise public icons like the Queen, who happens to be the supremo of the Anglican church.
Even negative assessments of the Sai movement have to concede that its growth has been phenomenal and that, remarkably, there has been no missionary effort involved. It has increased by spontaneous identification, where individuals have been drawn to the persona and teachings of the Sai saints, a voluntary outpouring of faith that has occurred in an amazingly short period.
In appealing to the core of spirit that lies beneath the surface of all religions, the Deccan saints have not only made a dent in the fragmentary nature of the subcontinental religious loyalties but also restored the classical Upanishadic insight of the oneness of all faiths.
This augurs well with the Indian democracy's need to get beyond religious labels that have stultified its development since Independence. Baba's concern for quality education and medical care is another positive input for nation building. The success of his peninsula drinking water network has proved that for efficient development, the crucial ingredient is sincerity of purpose.
Bill Aitken is an expert on comparative religion and a travel writer. He is author of "Sri Sathya Sai Baba: A Life".
©The Week November 27th 2005
Labels: sai controversy
