ASIAN VOICE ARTICLE ON BBC'S 'THE SECRET
SWAMI'
DOCUMENTARY ON SATHYA SAI BABA
WITH TWO REBUTTALS
Asian Voice - Sai Baba Controversy
[Click
here for the original article.]
NEW
ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE AGAINST SAI BABA
Payal
Nair
He claims to be the direct
incarnation of the saint Shirdi Sai Baba, and is self-proclaimed living
god with supernatural powers. The prolific Sri Sathya Sai Baba, India’s
most popular and enigmatic spiritual guru with a claimed world following
of 30 million devotees in over 165 countries, is no less than a global
phenomenon. But, this living avatar has been dogged by controversy for
over 40 years. He is the subject of several books, newspaper articles
and documentaries, most questioning his god-like powers and, rather
worryingly, alleging that he has sexually abused young male devotees for
a number of years.
Last Thursday, a BBC 2
documentary entitled
The Secret Swami, sought to rake up this controversy once again.
Investigative journalist
Tanya Datta travelled to Puttaparthi, a large township in Ananthapur
District of Andhra Pradesh state, in South East India, the birthplace of
Sai Baba and home to his famous Prashanti Nilayam ashram to shed light
on recent allegations.
The documentary had a two
fold purpose, firstly, to investigate sexual abuse claims against the 78
year-old guru, and secondly to try and ascertain whether he really does
have god-like powers. What Ms Datta found were disturbing testimonies by
two western devotees, who claim to have been abused as teenagers when
they lived in Sai Baba’s
ashram during the early 1970s.
Americans Alaya Rahm and
Mark Roche say they were subject to degrading abuse at the hands of Sai
Baba, and that he had allegedly threatened if they told anyone.
“He told me that if I said anything, then my life would be full of pain
and suffering. I became afraid that if I told my parents, I would lose
them forever. No youngster can handle that,” says Alaya Rahm. It further emerged in the documentary that the
youngster’s
father, Al Rahm, had also been subjected to similar experiences as a Sai
devotee, but had thought it was
‘normal
practice, an initiation ceremony.’
When asked what he felt about Sai Baba, Mark Roche said,
“I
feel totally betrayed. I gave 25 years of my life to Sai Baba, and he
has completely let me down.”
On the subject of Sai Baba’s
miracle making, the jury is most definitely out. There have been several
formal investigations by western scientists, who have concluded that Sai
Baba does, indeed, possess some paranormal and psychic powers. However,
the sceptics are out in force within India, and some of the country’s
top illusionists claim he is no more than a glorified magician, whose
hand waving distracts the crowd while he supposedly conjures up objects
out of thin air. However, one phenomenon that remains unexplained is the
sudden appearance of Vibhuti (holy ash) from Sai Baba pictures.
With as many critics, Sai
Baba also has his large, devoted and loyal following, who will hear no
wrong against their god. Some of his famous followers include John
Lennon, actor Richard Gere and Bill Clinton. The ashram in Puttaparthi
is said to be more visited than the Vatican in Rome, as millions flock
to see, touch and be near Sai Baba. Pilgrims come from all over the
world, and in particular the ashram sees many foreign devotees from as
far a field as Croatia and Nigeria. According to one London-based Swiss
devotee, Avalane Prashad,
“his
appeal is universal because his teachings draw people in, you feel calm
and peace when you see and hear him,” she says.
The latest allegations
against Sai Baba have caused a furore amongst the global Hindu
community, some of whom have threatened to take legal action against the
BBC. Asian Voice spoke to Mr Ashok Bhagani, a trustee of the Sai
Organisation UK, who said,
“The BBC has acted totally irresponsibly. The allegations in the
documentary are completely factless and baseless.”
He adds, “What actual evidence does the BBC have to substantiate these claims?
These allegations have been circulating for years and have never been
proved. As far as I’m
concerned, there are 30 million happy devotees in the world, but every
so often you will get two or three who will make these wild allegations.”
Mr Bhagani also states that when devotees are selected by Sai Baba for a
private interview, there is always someone else present in the room, and
this is especially the case when women and children meet him.
“We
will not take these claims lying down”,
says Mr Bhagani, “we
will protest and make our feelings clear to the BBC.”
A spokesman for the BBC
told Asian Voice, “The
profile of Sai Baba went to great lengths to be balanced and fair, and
did not simply concentrate on the negative allegations.”
“As
the research developed it became clear that the film was about a crisis
and ultimately a betrayal of faith. Genuine Sai Baba followers like the
Rahm family have had their faith shattered in the most disturbing
manner. The man they believed to be God was repeatedly sexually abusing
their son. All over the world similar stories are emerging from former
devotees. Governments around the world are deeply concerned and are
beginning to take action warning their citizens about Sai Baba.”
“We
were very keen to cooperate with the Sai Baba organisation in the making
of this film, offering them many opportunities to take part but they
refused. This was in no sense an attack on the faith. I believe the film
showed respect for the genuine believers, and it would have been remiss
of the BBC not to examine such allegations. A stance we’ve
taken when similar charges have arisen within other denominations.”
Speaking about his positive
experiences as a biochemistry student at the Sathya Sai Arts College in
Bangalore during the 1970s, Navin Patel says,
“I’ve
studied there long enough, and visited the ashram many times, to know
that these allegations are untrue.”
He adds, “The
documentary is very misleading. They have based it on just these two
western devotees, who may have their own monetary agendas. Why didn’t
they speak to Indian or British devotees, and why weren’t
people in the ashram interviewed? In my opinion, it is just western
journalists jumping on the Sai Baba bashing bandwagon.”
Another devotee, Gitaben
Shah, tells me, “Sai
Baba is God because he advocates pure love, peace, truth and
humanitarian service. He doesn’t
ask that people change their religion just that they become better
people.”
Sai Baba’s motto of “love
all, serve all”
is particularly evident in the charitable works he has orchestrated of
building several schools and the Super Speciality hospitals in
Puttaparthi and Bangalore, and the large water project he initiated in
Bangalore in the 1990s. Adorned by the rural poor as a messiah who has
bestowed them with clean water, this is where his popularity is said to
lie. Although there have been calls for Sai Baba and his ashram to be
properly investigated, he seems to have full impunity from the Indian
government, with many ministers, senior politicians , industrialists,
judiciary members and Bollywood stars also being devotees.
Whether Sai Baba is a
living god, or just a charlatan, one thing is for certain, he is rarely
out of the headlines, and will continue to be for many more years to
come.