Accusation and response
Personal Statement from Brian Steel
Date: 04-12-02
By: Brian Steel
Email: ompukalani@hotmail.com
Website: http://bdsteel.tripod.com/index.html
Note from editors of www.exbaba.com:
The Necessary Personal Statement from Brian Steel is in fact an Introduction to his excellent on line book:
SATHYA SAI BABA: GOD OR GURU?
Version 1.0 (November 2001 - Copyright © Brian Steel 2001)Necessary Personal Statement
Like a large proportion of Baba devotees, my attention was attracted (in the early 1980s) firstly by an interesting home video of a group visit to Sai Baba's ashram, quickly followed by written and hearsay evidence of the God-appeal (the "I am God" claims), and of constant miracles (particularly to do with health, healing, and omniscience) as well as an acquaintance with the impeccable basic teachings first revealed in the books of enthusiastic commentators like Murphet, Sandweiss, Hislop and, later, Krystal.
With these powerful, compelling accounts of Sai Baba's teachings and personality, I soon came to accept and believe his claims to be an incarnation of God, with full Divine Powers, as also revealed in many other books written by devotees. Although I never experienced the over-brimming blissful love that many devotees do, nor the special (often dramatic) impact of seeing Baba for the first time (and, for some, at every darshan), I considered myself a devotee.
I did not join a Sai Baba Centre or attend any bhajan singing meetings until almost ten years later and for several years I felt no wish or compulsion to go to India to see Baba. My first visit to the Prasanthi Nilayam ashram was in a group form Australia in December 1988. On my return home, I conceived (like so many others) a strong desire to do something to help spread knowledge about Sai Baba and his Mission, and I attempted to do this for the next 10 years or more. For five of these, I was fairly seriously dedicated to studying books on Sai Baba and writing about him, eventually publishing two serious and original compilations about Baba and his Mission.
In my personal life, I tried to follow some of his teachings but, unlike many devotees, I didn't follow Baba's exhortations to give up meat, alcohol or coffee. I did very little seva (service to others) beyond normal (and convenient) family seva, and writing, and I was never in any hurry for Moksha (Liberation from life on earth and from further reincarnations) nor to comply with the (Hindu) expectation of celibacy and increasing spiritual practices as a Sannyasi in the fourth and final stage of life (from the age of 50). Nevertheless, through my time as a devotee, I have come to appreciate many other aspects of the Hindu religion, which underlie Baba's teaching and worship of him (karma, reincarnation, respect for all religions, the power of individual meditation and of certain mantras, especially the Gayatri Mantra).
The few Discourses by Baba that I have heard live in the ashram (with interpretation into English) on special Festivals, or on videos, seemed disorganised, rambling, and incomprehensible. When I finally read the apparently edited versions, only the small pithy enlightening sentences and analogies appealed to me and I skipped the endless Hindu scripture stories. I was still happy to be a devotee.
I also remember feeling impatience and great physical discomfort at the prolonged waiting cross-legged for up to 2 hours for morning and afternoon darshan. I admit that it was disappointing not to be looked at by Baba although he did (eventually) accept my few letters on each visit. He also briefly blessed my 2 books in darshan. The first time in1997, with a cursory nod and a hand gesture of blessing toward the book - Abhaya hasta - and in morning darshan on March 6, 1999, when he pushed against the proffered book cover and poked me on the head with a bony finger and asked the familiar questions which often precede an invitation to a personal interview : "Where are you from?" and "How many?"). There was no invitation but I was still delighted by the attention. Those were the only words Baba ever said to me.
I never had an interview with Baba but I accepted this as due to my own spiritual unworthiness and my largely undiminished ego. I noticed (approvingly) that Baba does seem to make a good choice of interviewees by choosing the more sensitive, loving and committed devotees. This ability still impresses me, although I am told by others more cynical that, for some devotees, particularly if a donation is involved, an interview may sometimes be "arranged" by the senior officials of the Baba Organisation!
For my previous writing and for the present investigation, this lack of the valuable observations and experiences of a personal contact has been a handicap. It has made my research and belief much more dependent on my own observations and feelings during darshan and, more crucially, dependent on the writing and conversation of other more favoured devotees.
In the mid-1990s I did come to love the group experience and uplift of singing and hearing devotional bhajans, especially when I discovered (in Mexico) that I could sing them reasonably well. For a couple of years, I was happy organising bhajan sessions in my home and still have the photo with what appear to be some tiny spots of vibhuti which appeared on the glass cover after one bhajan session. I am impressed by many of Baba's materializations and particularly by the spontaneous appearance of vibhuthi and amrit/nectar in devotees' homes, which I have witnessed.
I have often felt specially protected, particularly during certain very dangerous moments in my life during the past 18 years, and at different times I have felt strong promptings to write about Baba. I have even had a few dreams of Baba, documented somewhere in my diaries, but nothing worth repeating here. While writing my two previous books, I felt particularly helped and inspired, and very happy. In both cases, the writing process following the arduous research period was quite pleasant - and for one thrilling week in May 1998, a diamond python basked in the sun from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m. outside my study window as I wrote. At the time, I had the impression that my path was being facilitated (by discovering needed or unknown books at the right time, for example) and even that interventions on the computer were being made to make me think twice about including certain points or about rewriting certain passages. I share all this with you because it was my experience.
In 1995, 2 weeks after being rescued at the last moment from drowning by two teenage surfers after desperately calling out for Sai Baba's help, I had the idea of writing three books about Baba. I then settled down more or less full time to the task of reading as many more books about Baba as I could find (perhaps 200 in all). In 1997 and 1998 I published two books on Sathya Sai Baba: The Sathya Sai Baba Compendium and The Powers of Sathya Sai Baba.
These books of mine were my sincere attempts to present a coherent picture of this very special spiritual phenomenon by analysing and condensing the huge (and disparate) literature by Sai Baba devotees produced during the 50 years of his Mission so far.
In 1998, I also began to research a third Baba reference book, with the aim of describing Sai Baba's Mission, but this time through his own words - as published by the Sai Baba Organisation of Prashanthi Nilayam from 1954 to 1997 in the 30 volumes of Sathya Sai Speaks published so far (to which I shall refer frequently during this study).
As the intensive reading and annotation of the 30 volumes progressed, I began to pick up more and more little pieces of evidence which did not fit easily into the descriptive categories I had pre-selected for special coverage (like: Claims of Divinity, Miracles, Omniscience, Devotees, Benefactors and Helpers, Stages and Growth of the Mission, and so on). In fact, these newly discovered discrepancies and worrying pieces of information were niggling reminders of the fragments and threads of perplexing or unacceptable data that I had already had to put aside in separate files during the compilation of the data for the two preceding books.
When I finally completed my database on the 30 volumes towards the end of 1999, I was surprised and perturbed to find that I simply could neither continue with writing up my original project, nor could I contemplate writing a totally different, and critical, book about Sai Baba. I had run into a writer's brick wall!
In this uncomfortable state, I put aside my crammed files and rough drafts, jottings, musings and fragments and I tried to concentrate on other writing tasks and work. Every now and then, my unease and my strong doubts drove me to look over some aspect or other of this awkward mass of information, to pick at it as one's tongue constantly seeks out a nagging tooth.
Then suddenly in April 2000, after months of speculation, came the beginning of an international furore with critical Internet allegations and revelations about Sai Baba's activities, including allegations of sexual misconduct by Baba over many years. I found these revelations very disturbing.
The major part of the subsequent and ongoing activity by the pro- and anti-Baba groups has centred around the sexual allegations and, although the discerning Web surfer can find a few serious website discussions of the issues, the ether has also been inundated by a lot of unhelpful, scurrilous, ranting Internet postings on a number of Bulletin Boards for and against Baba. In spite of a considerable number of published accusations by young male ex-devotees, which suggest that Baba has been interfering with some young devotees over decades, there is as yet no legal proof of misdemeanours or crimes. Should such proof eventuate, of course, those devotees who have remained faithful will be faced with a serious dilemma. A further serious matter hanging over the Organisation and Baba himself are the inadequately explained ashram murders and police shootings of 1993. Both of these issues are having an important influence on the development of the Sai Baba Mission worldwide, and there are currently well-publicised plans afoot to attempt to indict Sai Baba in some national or world arena.
In this public process of accusations and denial, much adverse attention has been attracted to Sai Baba (and his Organisation). Because of this, an unknown number of non-Indian devotees (especially ex-officials of the Sai Organisation in foreign countries like U.S.A., Canada, UK, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Argentina and Australia) have been forced to face the trauma of loss of belief in the Divinity of this guru and have left the Baba fold to face an uncertain spiritual future, or to engage in activities designed to "unmask" Sai Baba. At the moment (October 2001), it is not clear how these allegations will eventually be resolved but the bitter and determined debates will continue to rage around the figure of this Guru until some sort of resolution is achieved.
My own slow and hesitant investigations (kept totally private until now) are along quite different lines, mainly peripheral to the spectacular current allegations and the resulting heated debate. Indeed, part of my dilemma has been that if I publish my "evidence" (such as it is), it will instantly be pounced upon to reinforce the existing allegations of sexual misconduct (and indeed crimes) against Sai Baba. That was and is not my intention. My current position is that, based on what I believe I have discovered (painfully and slowly although it was there all the time for me - or anyone else - to see), I can no longer justify my belief in Baba as an incarnated God on Earth, or as Omniscient and Omnipotent. However, I still recognise that he displays certain special powers (inexplicable outside the Hindu guru or godman tradition). Furthermore, it seems futile to deny that the huge worldwide Sathya Sai Organisation, whatever its alleged or real internal faults and weaknesses, has carried out much worthwhile charitable work, mainly in India.
Other people's beliefs are none of my business and I willingly recognise that a major amount of evidence contained in the literature written about Sai Baba shows Baba to have been and still to be a powerful, charismatic, and effective guru who inspires millions of people with his impeccable spiritual and moral teachings, and who has been instrumental in attracting many people to the spiritual path and in transforming many lives.
In my case, serious doubts about the truth of the Divinity claims (together with collateral damage to my faith from the accumulating sexual allegations) have forced me to recover my critical judgement, anaesthetised for so long by my belief in Sai Baba's special self-proclaimed Divine nature, and to draw together the strands of the niggling doubts which I collected (but conveniently hid away) into a more coherent pattern. What I can no longer do is hide from myself the embarrassing evidence revealed by my three book research projects. I am being cathartically forced to admit, and (perhaps), as a writer, to share with any others who may be interested, that some of what I happily and uncritically described as unique and exciting truths in my two previous hagiographical books about Sai Baba must now be seen, objectively, as untrue and misleading. Indeed, truth (which is the meaning of Baba's first name, Sathya, and one of the five cardinal principals advocated by him) seems to be what is in question here.
Postscript:
I thought I was right about Sai Baba in my previous books. How do I know if my new opinions are correct? I do not, but I cannot ignore my disturbing evidence.
I welcome comments on what I have written here. However, to avoid misunderstandings and to save unnecessary correspondence, let me repeat that I am not crusading against Sathya Sai Baba as a spiritual teacher. It is not my aim to stop other people from believing in his teachings per se. My constant preoccupation and problem has primarily been to try to sift through a mass of worrying evidence to reach some sort of conclusion. I now wish to share that evidence and the thoughts it has provoked in myself with others who may be in a mood to listen to it.
Finally, when I comment on the naivety and gullibility of devotees, I recognise that I shared these attributes for many years - and I am not totally free of them now.
Dear Ex Baba:
Thank you for sending me the angry and anonymous chat group notes. As you know, I do not have time for engaging in such pastimes. Please post the notes and this full letter on your website and let the anonymous person know they are there. Thanks.
First of all I am grateful to the anon. person for posting my Necessary Statement. Although it is out of date because I have discovered so much more "inconvenient" information and published some of it, the statement gives an idea of my position in November 2001.
I am curious to know why the correspondent offered the incorrect info that I am "raking it in" from my two pro-Baba books of the past. Does he/she understand the meaning of that English phrase? Perhaps not.
Also, it is quite obvious that the anon. correspondent knows nothing about the nature of publishing contracts or the law concerning them! He or she, and others, might like to know that, after signing contracts with publishers (in good faith) in 1995 and early 1999, I could hardly turn around in 2001, after my "change of mind" and demand that they withdraw from circulation the (small quantities of) books they had PAID to publish. However, two fortuitous circumstances make this a lesser cause of concern to me (and your correspondent!) than it might otherwise be:
1. In 3 years of sales, only one of the two Indian publishers has offered any payment: $80. The other has offered to pay about US $200 if I turn up in Delhi. Both have reported zero or near zero sales in the last year or so! This may be a further sign of the waning of interest in SB over there. Not what most people would call "raking it in", is it!
2. The situation in USA (the original 1997 Compendium) shows an even more dramatic decline in public interest in information about SB. In over a year, the publisher has reported well under $100 of royalties, which is BELOW their minimum payment to authors! Rest assured, however, that IF any further monies from these three sources reaches me, it will be given to children's charities, as was the $80 referred to above, $40 from a Sai Baba Bookseller in Australia last year (owing from previous sales) and half of all the "Compendium" money even when I was a devotee! By the way, the US and world sales of that book were about 4,000 copies in 5 years - for about one year's research and writing. Just for the record, but please don't send me any sympathy cards.
If any second printings are produced of any of those books, it will be against my will (but I have noticed that in some countries, publishers tend not to bother too much about consulting authors before reprinting books!).
For all those reasons, the second note by the dyspeptic correspondent pleading with everyone to boycott my books suits me fine and I am grateful to him/her- but only in regard to the books about SB; there are other books of mine on totally different subjects, which I recommend to her/him!
Best wishes,
Brian Steel
P.S. Congratulations, Ex Baba, on your hard work in keeping so up to date with what is going on! I don't know how you manage it. And to all the exbaba volunteers, in Holland, Germany and Italy, keep up the informative work! And please let me know if you see any more of these silly messages - although I don't guarantee to reply to them!
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