SWAMI ROBERTO

The above-mentioned Riccardo wrote to exbaba.com about the presence of Swami Roberto in the recently posted Guru Gallery. The answers from the exposé team which made the GuruGallery are inserted in the letter text in red text.

I have just read the "Guru Gallery" news item, in which someone speaks of Roberto, quoting also my words. By the way, the quotation: Swami with a few people from Anima Universale (in which there was Roberto's mother). During the Darshan Swami stopped front of Roberto's mother and said loudly with Roberto's voice (!) "Roberto is Baba, and Baba is Roberto." has been wrongly ascribed to me. It was another person, not I, who wrote these words. Now that you have made this clear it will be corrected directly, of course.
I decided to contact you, the webmaster of ex-baba, because I don't know who actually wrote "Guru Gallery". As my name is mentioned there, I kindly ask you to publish the following reply.
Best wishes Riccardo.Thank you very much. We will publish this and make our own comments point by point.

I feel it my duty to make some clarifications, because you have made a great blunder. We cannot in good will see that any blunder has been made by us, on the contrary, your arguments only strengthen considerably our conviction that Swami Roberto belongs in the Guru Gallery.
Swami Roberto does not belong in the context of “Guru Gallery”, for he started his own mission as a spiritual master when he was just a child; moreover, he has manifested supernatural phenomena since birth. Exactly the same has been claimed about Sathya Sai Baba, who was born (according to himself in 1926) and became active long before Swami Roberto.
This fact, clearly stated on his website, is proved by several academic papers, books and newspapers. But this is just a matter of belief. Newspapers and academic writings do not amount to proof, nor does it clear Swami Roberto from having chosen to appear in a guise very like Sai Baba's.

Most of the supernatural phenomena of Swami Roberto are pertinent to a Christian spiritual context unrelated to Sai Baba. At the age of five - without any read - Roberto spoke already on spiritual subjects showing such a deep Knowledge that astonished the theologians studying him. The same is asserted by Sathya Sai Baba and by various of his devotees.
Therefore, he has certainly not the need to borrow his words from anyone else, no matter who. But very much of what he says has been said before by many others, and especially Sathya Sai Baba. No one can be very original in spiritual or religious statements... it is all learned in this life from others, one way or another (No one is born who does not have to learn a language from others, and therefore must also learn the rest too).

Roberto has always had many followers coming from several parts of Europe (mainly Catholics of course, for he lives in Italy), especially after that he, at the age of eighteen, celebrated prayers on the pulpit of the most important churches in Italy: e.g. in the sanctuaries of Divine Love in Rome and of Loreto - and even in Lourdes, France. Please tell me whether Sai Baba has ever gone in those spots to pray exactly in Christian terms, saying the Holy Rosary to Our Lady.
The same sort of thing is asserted of Sai Baba, though not confined to a Christian, Catholic and European context: e.g. he has followers all over the world, he has revived ancient shrines and holy sites around India etc. So Roberto follows also this pattern!

Does Sai Baba love Our Lady as Roberto?
You must ask Sathya Sai Baba, who will doubtless reply 'yes', as he invariably does to such questions.
Swami Roberto founded a Marian Movement named the “Universal Soul”. Has Baba ever founded a Marian Movement?
This is a rather absurd question, but Sai Baba founded a spiritual movement too, of course. We have not claimed that they are identical.
No, indeed, being him of Hindu extraction.
Of course. But why then does Roberto use the Hindu title 'Swami', may we ask?

Swami Roberto is a stigmatic - see the photographs at http://www.animauniversale.it/it/zeglio.php
Has Baba ever shown visible stigmata? Undoubtedly not.
Most likely correct. But this is beside the point. However, the alleged stigmata (a bloody cross on his forehead) is not a wound suffered by Jesus, and not one exhibited by other famous 'classic' stigmatists (eg. St. Francis of Assisi, Teresa Neumann of Bavaria or Padre Pio). Besides, the website photo can prove nothing, and only tends to increase suspicion that it is a trick. It does not look convincing, especially as he is clearly posing for the photographer. Is this a credible thing to do?

Thus, what has Swami Roberto got to do with copyists? Why does he, an Italian and supposedly a Christian (and not a Hindu), call himself 'Swami', wear a similar hair-do and similar unusual style and colour robes to Sai Baba, hold what are called 'darshans' by Sai Baba and utter many statements which are almost identical to those Sathya Sai Baba has said before?

I stop here, while there would be many more examples of the difference between Roberto and Baba; nonetheless their followers would be wrong if thinking not that They can be One; I am sure they are One.
Is this not exactly the same as, "Roberto is Baba and Baba is Roberto"? Earlier, did you not want to distance yourself from such words or viewpoint? Further, the above is precisely the sort of thing Sai Baba would also say, which again indicates that Roberto is spreading ideas held by Sai Baba.

I say it again: I am speaking to their followers, of course. On the other hand Jesus and Buddha, instead of fighting, would embrace each other, since both spoke the same language: Love and brotherhood. Jesus taught people to forgive and to be not attached to material things; if one reasoned like you, he should necessarily think that Jesus copied Buddha, who delivered the same teachings 600 years before.
But Sathya Sai Baba has stated to Richard Bock (who made a film about the subject) that Jesus was indeed in India during his lost years in youth when he studied Buddhism, and after the Crucifixion when he was allegedly revived and went to live in Kashmir! Sathya Sai Baba and others have said that Jesus' grave is in Kashmir, and it is visited by many people, including Sai devotees! Jesus was reportedly known widely in India as Isa since his own lifetime.
As to forgiveness, while still apparently perpetrating sexual abuse, Sathya Sai Baba does not ask for forgiveness from the vic tims of his various acts, nor does he offer forgiveness to his critics... in his 2000 Christmas discourse he threatens many lifetimes of shame!

The Truth is Unique, because Our Father who is in Heaven is the same for all; therefore the same identical aim, Loving God and the neighbour, makes all one though each person may have a different creed.
'The Truth is Unique' is just a vague verbalisation. The truth is also supposed to be everywhere, in everything... so how come it is 'unique'. No. The truth about people who deceive others is also truth, which cannot be overridden by some imagined 'higher truth'. If it were, there would be no difference at all between truth and falsity, authenticity and deceit. But there IS!

Many years ago Swami Roberto founded the Movement “Universal Soul”, a Church with its own priests: the Ramia. They are men and women who chose to dedicate their lives to serve the neighbour full time and to spread the teachings of their spiritual master, Roberto.
The same is asserted of Sathya Sai Baba, though in an Indian context. One of his best known sayings is "Love all, serve all", and his emphasis is especially on one's local area.

In the Universal Soul temples, the Ramias celebrate all the rites that a person may need along the path of his or her life and spiritual elevation, such as marriage, funeral, spiritual purification and so on. The meaning of these rites comes from specific spiritual concepts, like reincarnation. The same is asserted of Sathya Sai Baba, though again in an Indian context. But reincarnation is an integral part of Hindu and Indian belief, rather than Christian and Italian belief.

Here in the Western world, thus, Universal Soul allows the people who share this belief to be self-consistent, having the possibility to attend the rites of a Church in which they have not to recite the Creed. It is obvious, in fact, that a person believing in reincarnation cannot believe in the resurrection of the flesh as well.
Baba has never done something similar. The Universal Soul doesn’t ask people to convert to its own believe; instead it proposes a path to those who have reached the spiritual awareness to go beyond dogmas and human precepts. Central in Sai Babas teachings.
Universal Soul tries to help the individual to discover God in his or her own consciousness. Also central in Sai Babas teachings.
All the above facts are the proof that Roberto did not turn himself into a guru on any given day of his adult age in order “to build up a personal following, name and fame...”. But this is just what he is doing as best he can nonetheless!

Thanks to his spiritual power, instead, he has relieved and advised suffering people since he was a child. The same is asserted of Sathya Sai Baba.

Along the years several Centres were built in different parts of Italy and abroad, and more are still building, in order to welcome people wanting to meet Swami Roberto and to learn his spiritual Knowledge. The same applies to the centres of the Sai Organisation in India and around the world.

All is realised only thanks to the Divine Providence, that shows Itself by means of the heartily offerings given by all those wishing to express their own gratitude, thus helping the growth of Universal Soul. This is virtually identical to how Sathya Sai Baba gets money.

You wrote: “... among the prime motives for such imitators include the hope of taking over (especially dissatisfied) devotees of Sathya Sai Baba.... and to tap the huge financial potentiality devotees represent, (especially from rich countries and upper stratas of society)”.
O.K. So let us modify this a bit, then, to: "We consider that there are sufficient signs to cause suspicion that the above is so." There is virtually always competition for followers between such movements that solicit for funds etc., even though they say they don't.

Here you slipped very badly, showing your misinformation about the actual facts.
On the contrary, your 'misinformation' or lack of information about Sathya Sai Baba and the likenesses between his and Roberto's teaching is striking.

Roberto, in fact, never asks for money (unlike most spiritual realities included the Catholic priests do).
The same is asserted of and by Sathya Sai Baba. However, billions of dollars have poured in and the flow goes on....

It is also a fact that Universal Soul is a non-profit Movement whose activities are open to everyone without fees and obligations.
The Sai organisation is non-profit and no fees or money should ever be demanded or asked for, on his instructions, which are often broken. But Sathya Sai breaks even his own command sometimes by asking for funding for his hospital, water projects etc. - and even in print!.

Actually, one takes off his own mask and shows his unreliability when saying that Roberto wants to tap money from someone else’s devotees.
We stated that this was generally 'among the prime motives', without specifying that it is a motive of Swami Roberto. But the money is there in plenty nonetheless, as you claim yourself later ... and Swami Roberto's 'teaching' is so like that of Sathya Sai Baba on so many counts, that it appeals to Sai followers, brings them to him. If you know Swami Roberto's relationship to money and to Sai Baba so well, which can be doubted, why not state them outright?

You made that conjecture, so you have to prove it. You must demonstrate how, and from whom, the money comes and where it goes... otherwise you are just dragging someone into the mud. On which facts are your assertions based? Admittedly, we probably should have made a specific point concerning Swami Roberto. There are very often grounds to suspect the motives of persons allegedly performing 'miracles' and accepting donations. Perhaps there is a complete public overview of his accounts backing up your assertions?

Please show the readers any official document or evidence. How could an official document 'prove' this? We have no proof but, on the other hand, do you have documentary or other evidence proving that donations have not been given by people who have been or still are involved with Sai Baba? Evidently not. What privileged position or inside information allows you to claim to know this with such certainty? Or are you merely taking these things on good faith? The facts we see are that there are substantial donations, as you also say, and unfortunately history and experience have shown that when that is so, almost invariably, money and power corrupts. The suspicious likeness of Swami Roberto's image and methods to those of Sathya Sai Baba is sufficient to cause scepticism and suspicion of his motives.

Roberto would act as a lookalike of Baba "to build up a personal fllowing"? He looks ver alike, and he has built up a personal following. Please get better information!
Who denies that there are Sai followers who go to Swami Roberto, and/or have 'gone over' to him? The widow of Mario Mazzoleni is an indisputable instance, for a start.

Politicians, celebrities of the show biz, lawyers, physicians, entrepreneurs, policemen, ect. (even catholic priests and nuns, publicly and most often privately) have followed Roberto since ever, thanks to the supernatural aids they receive and acknowledge gratefully - and they are not sympathisers of Baba at all.
Apart from the last assertion, exactly the same is the case with Sathya Sai Baba. There was even an Italian Catholic priest, Mario Mazzoleni, who became a prominent devotee, wrote a book about Sai Baba, and was excommunicated from the Catholic Church.

Having been so bold to found a new Church in Italy, Roberto has been thwarted and outraged for many years by the political-religious power of the Catholic Church (Let’s remember the Vatican is in Italy, and here the religious freedom is a mere utopia) which, as all know, doesn’t welcome any “competitors”, probably for fear of loosing “customers”. Don't they all fear losing "customers"! But not Roberto?
In spite of that, Universal Soul co-operates with several Catholic priests and nuns who are able to surpass the theological differences in order to relieve the poor through humanitarian works; the destination of great amounts of money is here evident and well documented. Great amounts, yes!

Speaking of likeness: Roberto has always had curly hair (sometimes longer, sometimes shorter); moreover, he wears robes of several shapes and colours, mostly presented Him by the devotees. Exactly t he same applies to Sathya Sai Baba, who also wears robes of a variety of colours also seen on Roberto!

Swami Roberto does not oblige anybody to believe in his mission. Nor does Sai Baba!

To publish on a website only those photographs fitting in one’s own assertions, however, is like supporting a claim with a quotation extracted from its context (e.g. a single phrase out of a book). Your website also publishes only what fits your own assertions, we note. The Guru Gallery aims to show the striking similarities between certain gurus... it is not a showcase for Swami Roberto's various other sides nor does it present itself as a complete account of any of the six.

I say it again: everyone is certainly free to think whatever he wants.
Furthermore, he is also free to express his thoughts as long as he doesn’t sling mud at a person’s dignity through unfair, groundless assertions. Riccardo

Final comment from this free-thinking exbaba team: The main thrust of all our assertions, which are far from groundless, are in fact given much more substance by your comments here... We have not asserted any specific misuse of funds by Swami Roberto, but have pointed out that money does come in and that the likelihood is that this is due at least in part, to his Sathya Sai Baba 'lookalike' and 'soundalike' traits. We have studied Sai Baba's teachings for many years and know them in and out, as you probably don't. The trouble with many gurus or spiritual teachers is basically that they don't practice what they teach, and that it is often very difficult to discover, partly due to the cleverness and deception of the teacher, and partly due to the devotee's unwillingness to think ill of the teacher who he thinks so highly of. We know very well how difficult this is.