Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Baba has "left his earthly body" today.
He is a man I have felt no draw towards. I know of one who felt strong revulsion. And others who experienced his aura. The allegations about him were not something I looked into, because the Baba hadn't particularly touched my life.
SSB's "miracles" have never done much for me. I never found his miracles to increase my faith, but nor did I find them to make me question his spiritual divinity. I was an agnostic, and his tricks did not change my agnosticism one way or another. I figured if he is divine, then perhaps these sorts of tricks help some people find something to hold on to, and thus even a divine being would have a motivation to be a performer. And if he was not, then the motive for these tricks would be obvious.
But the sexual allegations were more problematic for my agnostic stance. Sexual relations, especially when not pleasantly received, are hard to justify upon grounds of divinity. They make a lot more sense when examined as though SSB was a con-man.
Yet, especially upon his death, I wonder with greater interest: For a man so powerful and so obviously capable, I would imagine that he could easily choose his sexual fulfillment more wisely and with greater care. There would be many within his followers who would willingly associate with him sexually, so why choose men and boys who were unwilling, or those who were unprepared.
A baba devotee explains SSB's sexuality eloquently and with a great deal of faith and passion. http://www.saibaba-aclearview.com/contents1.html
To quote from the website in SSB first person voice:
“If you could see the past lives and the past actions
of the souls with whom I have interacted in that way,
along with their various mental obstacles
and their prior relationships with God,
you would understand what I have done with them perfectly.
And if you could see the extraordinary spiritual benefit
that will accrue to those souls in due course,
as a result of their intimate contact with Me,
you would be ashamed of your doubts!”
...
“Know that whatever I do with my devotees
is always the most efficient medicine for those souls,
and a gift of immeasurable grace.
My actions are always a perfect expression of Divine Love,
for That is what I am.”
Hmm.
This devotee makes a long and strong case surrounding the idea that SSB's sexual encounters were part of his "tantric work" on people who needed sexually charged spiritual attention. To defend why these sexual interactions would be unwelcome, this devotee writes:
"The Divine Doctor won’t hesitate to perform life-saving surgery, even if the patient is reluctant to have it, for the Doctor knows what is needed and realizes that the patient doesn’t. And even if, after a successful surgery, the patient condemns the Doctor for the ‘abuse’ he imagines he received on the operating table, the Divine Doctor will bear the condemnation gracefully, fully understanding the patient’s ignorance."
He substantiates his theory with the idea that the secondary benefit to the exposure of such work is to test the devotees for their faith and to weed out the weak.
Apparently SSB regularly worked with devotees and oiled them below the navel. Some received oiling lower still, to "awaken their Kundalini" by rubbing their scrotum and perineum. Such contact was not always unwelcome and apparently some devotees felt it to be liberating and energizing.
http://www.saisathyasai.com/baba/Ex-Baba.com/sathya-sai-baba-oil-oiling.html
So, were the accusations of sexual conduct coming from people who were mis-interpreting a somewhat regular or common SSB tantric technique ? I read more primary source documents of the original sexual allegations. (Links to several authentic sounding first hand experiences, with the caveat that these are assembled at a website that has a specific agenda):
http://www.saiguru.net/english/personal_exp/new.htm
http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/Seduced.html
Those molested by Baba are not able to reconcile their experiences with any sort of spiritual intent. And first hand accounts don't seem to speak of any spiritual preparatory work that someone with spiritual intent could have done.
I'd phrase my thoughts the way PM Manmohan Singh did, "Sri SSB was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice." And for the good work, positive thought and faith that he inspired, the world has lost something.
He is a man I have felt no draw towards. I know of one who felt strong revulsion. And others who experienced his aura. The allegations about him were not something I looked into, because the Baba hadn't particularly touched my life.
SSB's "miracles" have never done much for me. I never found his miracles to increase my faith, but nor did I find them to make me question his spiritual divinity. I was an agnostic, and his tricks did not change my agnosticism one way or another. I figured if he is divine, then perhaps these sorts of tricks help some people find something to hold on to, and thus even a divine being would have a motivation to be a performer. And if he was not, then the motive for these tricks would be obvious.
But the sexual allegations were more problematic for my agnostic stance. Sexual relations, especially when not pleasantly received, are hard to justify upon grounds of divinity. They make a lot more sense when examined as though SSB was a con-man.
Yet, especially upon his death, I wonder with greater interest: For a man so powerful and so obviously capable, I would imagine that he could easily choose his sexual fulfillment more wisely and with greater care. There would be many within his followers who would willingly associate with him sexually, so why choose men and boys who were unwilling, or those who were unprepared.
A baba devotee explains SSB's sexuality eloquently and with a great deal of faith and passion. http://www.saibaba-aclearview.com/contents1.html
To quote from the website in SSB first person voice:
“If you could see the past lives and the past actions
of the souls with whom I have interacted in that way,
along with their various mental obstacles
and their prior relationships with God,
you would understand what I have done with them perfectly.
And if you could see the extraordinary spiritual benefit
that will accrue to those souls in due course,
as a result of their intimate contact with Me,
you would be ashamed of your doubts!”
...
“Know that whatever I do with my devotees
is always the most efficient medicine for those souls,
and a gift of immeasurable grace.
My actions are always a perfect expression of Divine Love,
for That is what I am.”
Hmm.
This devotee makes a long and strong case surrounding the idea that SSB's sexual encounters were part of his "tantric work" on people who needed sexually charged spiritual attention. To defend why these sexual interactions would be unwelcome, this devotee writes:
"The Divine Doctor won’t hesitate to perform life-saving surgery, even if the patient is reluctant to have it, for the Doctor knows what is needed and realizes that the patient doesn’t. And even if, after a successful surgery, the patient condemns the Doctor for the ‘abuse’ he imagines he received on the operating table, the Divine Doctor will bear the condemnation gracefully, fully understanding the patient’s ignorance."
He substantiates his theory with the idea that the secondary benefit to the exposure of such work is to test the devotees for their faith and to weed out the weak.
Apparently SSB regularly worked with devotees and oiled them below the navel. Some received oiling lower still, to "awaken their Kundalini" by rubbing their scrotum and perineum. Such contact was not always unwelcome and apparently some devotees felt it to be liberating and energizing.
http://www.saisathyasai.com/baba/Ex-Baba.com/sathya-sai-baba-oil-oiling.html
So, were the accusations of sexual conduct coming from people who were mis-interpreting a somewhat regular or common SSB tantric technique ? I read more primary source documents of the original sexual allegations. (Links to several authentic sounding first hand experiences, with the caveat that these are assembled at a website that has a specific agenda):
http://www.saiguru.net/english/personal_exp/new.htm
http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/Seduced.html
Those molested by Baba are not able to reconcile their experiences with any sort of spiritual intent. And first hand accounts don't seem to speak of any spiritual preparatory work that someone with spiritual intent could have done.
I'd phrase my thoughts the way PM Manmohan Singh did, "Sri SSB was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice." And for the good work, positive thought and faith that he inspired, the world has lost something.