Testimony of sexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba by one of his former students

Originally posted in the now defunct Yahoo group which was at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sathyasaibaba2/message/35054
Note, the person has revealed his real name in strict confidence to one person in the exposé and - on agreement - later to the BBC investigating team which made ‘The Secret Swami’. The BBC did not include footage with this person, due to the editorial requirements imposed by a one-hour time frame.

The testimony below is similar to a large volume of anonymous testimony received by three trusted persons involved in exposing Sathya Sai Baba. It serves to emphasize the extreme problem that students who wish to make known that Sathya Sai Baba is a sexual abuser - either of themselves or their relatives and friends. Firstly, most of them became students at Sai baba schools or colleges because their parents were convinced devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. In several case, the parents have refused even to hear a word said by their own sons against Sathya Sai Baba. Those who remain in India are fearful of revealing their identities, and even those who live abroad too since they return to India at intervals, or wish to do so in future. This is for the best of reasons... fear of assassination, harassment. blacklisting by employers and so on, due to the power of the Sai cult in India, with Prime Ministers and presidents as devotees who even worship his feet (including current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh!). The Sathya Sai Baba 'officials' have close connections to police authorities, whose cold-blooded shooting down of four students in Sai baba' bedroom in 1993 was instigated by them through blackmail, and to a series of Home Ministers (including S,B, Chavan [deceased] who covered up the entire case and was involved in causing the quashing by government order of the CBI investigation into the infamous 1993 murders just before they were ready to publish their conclusions!). Other students have died in accidents, one whose burned body was found and caused a major protest by Puttaparthi residents against the Sathya Sai Central Trust, which they held responsible for that student's death. No petition to the law courts has succeeded in bringing Sathya Sai Baba to book, and Hari Sampath's major petition to the Supreme Court as thrown out on a technicality, leaving him with the only option of going to the Sai Baba influenced Andhra Pradesh High Court.

From:  "ihsb1971" <ihsb1971@y...>
Date:  Thu Jan 1, 2004  3:36 am
Subject:  SEXUAL ABUSER

Hi there (in reply)

the reason I wont post a lot of details of this here is because i have family members (who do not believe me) in close proximity to Sai Baba. Secondly this was a very hurtful event which left me confused about myself in general.

At the time, I was 17 years old, I am now 32 years old, have been married and recently widowed. My wife knew of my former faith with sai baba, but she never knew of this abusive experience. some of my family members know the truth now (they are sympathetic to me and want me to get help).

the shame I felt was very bad. I grew up in the bal vikas program from the age of 10 years old, in the UK. I knew many sai devotees including Dr Ghadia who travels the UK and US (where I am now located), I was very "into" the sai experience and very much a devotee. I did not question his validity at the time, I was someone whose family was heavily involved. My mother was a bal vikas teacherat the time and is still very much a devotee.

She is someone who will not believe that sai baba is capable of molestation, but he is. It is to protect her that I do not give my name, because she lives and works there in prashanti nilayam. As an adult I tried to put the past behind me but realised recently that this never really goes away. the shame and hurt still exist especially because at the time sai baba was some whom I felt very close to. His shudders and disgusts me now to think that when I was a teenager he used to stare at me when I went to darshan line. I thought he was blessing me but now I know it was all because he was sexually interested. I was his next victim.

I did not begin to speak out until I realised a few years ago that i am not the only person he has abused. He is a menace to teenage boys who are to afraid and ashamed to speak up. Peer pressure from my family made me shut up at the time, but I am an adult now and I can speak the truth.

As what to do about it I don’t know, if he were here in the US he would have been prosecuted and convicted long ago. He is a paedophile who blankets himself with the reputation of a god/living saint drawing people to him through his "miracles", and speeches. He does have a certain charisma, which has helped him get to the position he is in.

However he is in India , and he cannot really be touched there. I am very sad for other victims and saddened by the fact that there are more potential victims.

Yours truthfully
ihsb1971

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