How far is it to Dharma?   Serguei Badaev (badaev57@mtu-net.ru) Date: March 7, 2006 Publication date: March 3, 2006  Sathya Sai Baba proclaimed himself Purna Avatar that is full incarnation of God, who came to the earth for nothing else but to save humanity from all troubles. He declared that his mission is to restore righteousness (Dharma) and make India an outstanding example of Dharma for the rest of the world. According to his own words that is the reason why he has been staying in India for all his life (except one visit to Africa in 1968) and has not visited other countries.  How far is India from being a nation of Dharma? How close is the mission of Sathya Sai Baba to completion? Here is an extraordinary example which makes one think that India is not a kingdom of Dharma so far.  In 1999 Ms Lal was shot dead in a Delhi restaurant. According to the witnesses she was shot by Manu Sharma, son of a Congress party leader and minister in Haryana state, after she refused to serve him a drink. The eyewitnesses later retracted their statements, and on 21st February 2006 the court acquitted Manu Sharma, the main accused in the case, along with eight others citing insufficient evidence. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4744948.stm  If Indian judicial system cannot restore justice in such obvious cases, how can one expect it to be efficient in more complicated ones? From this perspective the uninvestigated murders in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom in 1993 are seen as typical of the corrupted judicial system.   There are a number of other observations which create a rather sad picture. According to Transparency International, India is still among the countries with a high level of corruption (index=88) like Iran, Mali, Gabon, etc. http://www.transparency.org/policy_and_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2005  In 2002 in Gujarat state there were interreligious riots where more than 1000 Muslims were killed by outrageous Hindu mobs. Many of those crimes are still uninvestigated properly and only recently under the pressure from the Supreme Court have some of those cases been reopened for further investigation. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4747082.stm The problem of the destroyed Barbi mosque in Ayodhya is still the matter of great religious and political tension in India. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4723409.stm Religious minorities often do not feel safe facing growing Hindu religious nationalism. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/2885741.stm All in all, it is too far from religious harmony and peace.  There are a lot of social problems even in Andhra Pradesh state, where Sathya Sai Baba lives. They are (1) terrorist attacks from armed Maoist groups, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4184444.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4152706.stm (2) one of the highest levels of HIV infection in India, spread of which is considered to be aggravated by the Indian law on homosexuality as a criminal activity http://www.nacoonline.org/facts_statewise.htm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4463899.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4602068.stm (3) poor farmers committing suicide every year being unable to pay back their loans, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4669480.stm (4) the highest level of suicide among young people in the world, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3590847.stm etc.   Well, quite enough to come to the conclusions that the mission of the aged Avatar of the Age has failed and Andhra Pradesh is apparently not a best place in the world to live.   It sounds as a bitter irony that Sathya Sai Baba, who has been going to restore righteousness in India and around the world, is now himself under serious allegations including sex abuse with young male followers.      Please take notice of the following: More on how police and courts can be corrupted by top people in India