SAI BABA – TRYING TO SHINE IN SCHOOLS
Date: 10-14-04
From: http://www.ccgm.org.au/Articles/ARTICLE-0086.htm
Followers of Sai Baba have been trying to gain access to primary and secondary (high) schools in Australia and Papua New Guinea. They have come up with a programme called ‘SHINE’ – ostensibly for ‘Spreading the Light Through Human Values’. Under the auspices of the Sathya Sai Organisation of Australia & Papua New Guinea (and in Western Australia, the Sai Resources & Service Centre) they have been circulating schools with brochures and invitations to participate in their programme. The programme includes having students express themselves in relation to suggested Human Values topics through written essays and visual arts.
How many schools have become involved – without checking the full background and details of the source – Sai Baba himself?
One has to seriously wonder about programmes for children and youth on human values in light of disturbing claims and revelation from and about Sai Baba – the Indian guru claiming to be an avatar – a living god on earth.
His followers believe he is a god and that he performs many miracles.
After all, he himself has said that he is a god and that his miracles are proof that he is a god – he has also claimed that because he is a god what he does are miracles and not tricks, because as a deity he doesn’t need to stoop to human trickery. (A meaningless circular argument when you think it through!)
The reality is that an increasing number of former top followers – actually people in leadership in his movement – have come out and publicly expressed their deep disillusionment and horror of the sexual abuse of boys and young men that has gone on for decades. Many followers have admitted fooling themselves into believing Sai baba’s sexual fondlings and more were a ‘spiritual test’ – instead of the abuse of a dirty old man parading as one of India’s most holy men. As a result of what he had done to them, and then some found out he had also been doing it to their sons, many of his top followers and leaders have left in disgust.
Sai Baba’s claimed ‘miracles’, with producing so-called sacred ash (actually used incense ash) and gold watches and crucifixes etc., have been exposed as nothing more than tawdry human slight -of-hand trickery – including to world audiences of a BBC documentary. Still the believers cling to him as a living god-man! There are reports of murder in his bed room and much more, which have been covered up and never properly explained or dealt with by authorities. He has many powerful friends in India, including leading politicians.
At the same time as his followers are trying to attract others to Sai baba by making him known in schools, reports claiming to expose his perversions and deceptions mount up. A petition, currently with some 495 names (many of former leading followers) is being promoted on the Internet for presentation to governments and authorities around the world to become aware and take action against this guru:
‘To: All governments, human rights institutions, all religious and spiritual leaders, NGOs, politicians and official functionaries, and the media organizations of all countries.
PUBLIC PETITION FOR OFFICIAL INVESTIGATIONS OF SATHYA SAI BABA AND HIS WORLDWIDE ORGANIZATION
This Petition is to bring attention to serious allegations of child molestation and homosexual abuse by Sathya Sai Baba at his ashrams in South India, involving many victims there including boys and young men visiting from other countries. Another grave concern is the issue of unresolved murders at Sai Baba’s main ashram in 1993. Sathya Sai Baba, an Indian man who claims to be the full manifestation of God on earth, is worshipped by several million followers from most countries of the world. These followers include heads of state, royalty and other well-known dignitaries. In the highest echelons of the Indian government, judiciary, and civil service (IAS) are many followers, including Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee.
Sathya Sai Baba has been charged by many individual victims of his assaults. The world’s leading investigative newspaper media have reported on his alleged sexual molestations of numerous boys and young men from all over the world, many of whom were raised to believe that he was God Almighty. Some of the many highly credible personal testimonies can be examined at http://www.exbaba.com or at http://www.saiguru.net.
Is a man, accused of being a trickster and paedophile really a likely source of ‘light’ on human values to be promoted through schools? How well do, and SHOULD, principals, teachers, and parents, check out the origins of programmes and activities promoted for their children? Are we prepared to look beyond the self-promoted PR images of so many groups and organisations?
The following websites will spell things out in further detail, and are well worth exploring for yourself:
http://dir.salon.com/people/feature/2001/07/25/baba/index.html
http://www.rickross.com/groups/saibaba.html
http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/
http://skepdic.com/saibaba.html
http://www.uni-giessen.de/~gk1415/sai-baba.htm
http://www.petitiononline.com/saibaba/petition.html
http://vclass.mtsac.edu:940/dlane/saidebates.htm
ex-baba/english.html
http://www.sokaren.se/INDEX135.HTML
http://www.stelling.nl/simpos/shree_sai_baba.htm