An example of child brainwashing
The following dialogue comes from a speech of May 6 1991, posted on the Italian Sathya Sai Baba Organization official website. It is a "questions and answers dialogue between Sai Baba and a 9 years old children, which in my opinion shows with clear evidence the kind of "education" which Sai Baba proposes with his "educational system". The child's answers, in the comment posted on the official website, are defined "spontaneous and revealing"... but how much spontaneous could be a 9 years old child, facing a person whom he considers to be the Supreme God, and being evident that he unconditionally worships that man? You will be able to judge by yourself how much spontaneous are those answers.
My opinion is that those answers are repetitive, mechanical and slavish,just like a mnemonical lesson; and they are not even revealing of anything, since they only repeat more and more those things that all SB's devotees worldwide say. The only revealed thing here is: "one has to unconditionally worship Sai Baba, and don't think to anything else than him".
Here is the dialogue:
Sai Baba: |
The child: |
| - What's your name? | - Sai Giridhar. |
| - How old are you? | - Nine years old. |
| - How do you know it? | - Swami, You alone told it to me. |
| - I've never told you anything. | - You alone gave me birth and You alone told me. You alone are my Mother, my Father and everything. |
| - How many brothers and sisters? | - Everybody are my brothers and sisters. |
| - How can you say this? | - Swami, You alone are everybody's Mother. Therefore we are truly brothers and sisters. |
| - Good boy! Where you are from? | - From You, Swami! |
| - Oh! From Me? | - Yes, Swami! The entire world comes from You. |
| - Oh! How can you know about the world? | - You alone have taught me all these things, Swami! |
| - But I've never talked to you before. | - Yes, Swami! You alone are my Guru. You are the only Guru for everybody in the world! |
| - Okay. Where are you now? | - I am in your heart, Swami. |
| - But your body is separate, My Body is separate. | - No, Swami! My body too has come from Your Body, Swami. |
| - How do you know this? | - Yes, Swami! The entire world comes from Your Body. You are Brahma, Vishnu and Maheshwara. |
| - Have you ever seen Brahma? | - Yes, Swami. You alone are Brahma. |
| - What is the form of Brahma? | - Brahma has four hands with lotus flower, sankha and chakra. |
| - But I have nothing... look! | - Yes Swami! You have everything. |
| - Why do you say so? | - You alone made me see the vision of Brahma! |
| - When? | - In my dreams you appeared to me in all God's forms! All the Deities come from You alone! |
| - (to the boys) Another Hanumanthappa! (referring to the Vice-rector of the University of Bangalore who told many dreams with such visions). | (the boys laugh) |
| OK. What do you want? | - I only want You, Swami! |
| - No! No! Ask for a material thing! Anything, pen, pencil? Chocolate, watch? | - No, Swami, no! I want only You, Swami! I don't want anything else. |
| - Do you perform any japa, Dhyana? | - Yes, Swami, I chant the 108 names of God! |
| - OK, tell me! | - Om Sri Bhagavan Sathya Sai Babaya Namaha! Then I keep on singing this name for 108 times (the boys laugh). |
| - Any prayer? | - Yes Swami. At morning I say: "Karaagre vasathe Lakshmi". At midday, at lunch I say: "Brahmaarpanam". |
| - Do you know their meaning? | - Yes, Swami. "Brahmaarpanam" means I offer my food to Brahma. |
| - Who is Brahma? | - You alone are Brahma! I offer anything to You. |
| - Do you like the other Gods like Rama, Krishna? | - Why should I have to love other Gods when You are with me. You alone are Rama, Krishna... everything. |
| - Do you perform medtiation? | - Yes, Swami. |
| - How? | - I stay in Padmaasana, with closed eyes. |
| - What do you see? | - I only see Swami! |
| - How long do you do it? | - I don't know, I have no watch. |
| - Do you want a watch? | - No, Swami! I only want You! |
| - Do you know some ordinary prayer? | - Yes, Swami! "Loka samastha sukhino Bhavanthu". |
| - Some other prayer? | - Yes, Swami! "Oh God! Take my heart..." |
| - Some song? | - No song, Swami, i only know some bhajans. |
| - Then sing. | - "Govinda bholo! Gopala bholo!" (he chants the entire bhajan) |
| - Do you watch TV, video? | - No, Swami. I only watch cartoons at home! |
| - But cartoons are not God! | - Yes, Swami! God is everything. You alone are God! |
| - But I am not a cartoon... | - Yes, Swami, you are all. |
| - Good boy! Do you quarrel with other boys or are you jealous of them? | - No, Swami! You are in each one; so how could I be jealous of somebody? |
| - No, no. But at school some boy could be jealous of you and quarrel with you! | - No, Swami! How could they do so if You are in them all? You taught us to love everybody! |
| - But look at this elder brothers. They are all selfish. | - No Swami. They are good! You are in them too! |
| - But in the world something is good, something is bad. | - No, Swami! They are all good! Because you are in everybody! |
| - (showing His hand) What is this? | - It is everything! |
| - But it's just an empty hand! | - No, Swami! All powers are theres! You are all these powers! |
| - How do you know it? | - You alone told me that the world is in Your hands! |
| - OK. Good boy! Now take this 100 Rs. note and put it safely in your pocket. There may be some thiefs outside. So be careful! | - No, Swami! You are in them too. Only You can touch me! No one else can take away what You have brought to me. |
| - Good. When the results (of the exams) will be shown? | - I don't know, Swami. |
| - Will you get the "Excellent" rating? | - Yes, Swami! |
| - How do you know it? | - Because right now you said to me "Excellent". Anything which comes out from Your Divine Mouth must become reality! I will get "Excellent". |
| - Have you read many books? | - No, Swami! I only know Swami's words! Swami alone is every knowledge! |
| - (to everybody) He is steady in the Advaita bhaava (advaita awareness). Another Prahlada! Not even Prahlada would dare to speak this way! Good! Very happy! |
(personal translation from the italian edition)
Once read this dialogue, two possible explanations came to my mind:
1) This dialogue was just a staging, with the child (very likely unaware of it) as an actor playing the part of the "good little boy": mnemonical answers to catechistical questions, all with the purpose of educational propaganda, even with a final money paying. One could even start questioning the opportunity of such a public act (paying with money a 9 years old child in front of thousands people... so there was a performance to be payed? Then what about the "spontaneity"?), also considering that 100 Rupees, for many poors Indian families, are not a negligible sum. This was the first hypotesis; or:
2) This dialogue instead reflects the reality. In this case it is a worrysome and astonishing reality. We see a 9 years old child who, in my opinion, is totally conditioned; infact the little boy gives a series of answers:
totally slavish and repetitive, of which he probably doesn't even know the meaning (given his age, unless he is already an skilled philosopher talikng like a child...), which were inculcated in him by the courses at Sai Baba's schools;
totally non-adherent to the reality, and the reality of 9 years old child: "all are good / no one is jealous / no one quarrels / no one can touch me / I don't want anything / etc."
Other aspects of Sai Baba's educational system become clear too, in the light of this dialogue:
the children are grown in the myth and worshiping of Sai Baba as the Supreme God;
they are made toatlly dependant on his figure;
their still malleable and forming psyche is "flooded" with sacred stories, personages and symbols, to the detriment of any other knowledge, infact:
they are encouraged not to read any book, apart from those talking about Sai Baba and his "sacred stories";
the result is a distortion in their perception of reality, coming to see Sai Baba everywhere, even in what they have never seen or known;
they are encouraged in the performance of practices of meditation, self-hypnosis and self-suggestion, which at those ages are extremely dangerous, since the children are totally unable to master and elaborate neither the practices themselves, nor their effects and meanings. It's also well known that such exercises could even be psycologically dangerous in adult age, when incorrectly performed.
and the list could go on...
The result? A small army of little automatons repeating "Sai Baba is God", "All is Swami", "Om Sri Bhagavan Sathya Sai Babaya Namaha", etc, which gives a good image to the Sai Org ("Look! See how the children adore Sai Baba! Indeed he's really God!"), as well as the preparation of the next generations of Sai devotees, conditioned right from childhood to adore Sai Baba. This is the core and the main purpose of Sai Baba's "superior educational system".
To complete the picture, on the "Sai Baba, childhood, education, etc." theme, you can also read these pages (see the page "links to the thematical pages):
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