Sex in the Interview Room?

By: Ella Evers

Date: 08-03-01

From an eyewitness...

In order to understand where present devotees of Sai Baba may find themselves today, I like to illustrate my own denial of a mere possibility of sexual impropriety, I witnessed with my own eyes. My story with Sai Baba began in 1986 when an alternative healer had given me a book about Sai Baba and showed me photos of his ashram. I had been a spiritual aspirant for many years and was a student and initiate of a mystical school, as well as an alternative healer.

Reading the book the Embodiment of Love by Peggy Mason and Ron Laing aloud to my husband left a deep impression on both of us. The fact that Sai Baba told Peggy and Ron in one of their interviews with him that he was indeed the Father, who sent Jesus to the world, gave to our souls hope and joy. It was the knowing that God as promised had not forgotten his world, and that he was even living with us, in human form, in a remote Indian village called Puttaparthi. It seemed too good to be true, but we wanted to believe it with all our hearts. We embraced the teachings of Sai Baba and started a Sai Center in Eugene, Oregon in 1986. The teachings were to motivate the human character to implement the virtues of:

PEACE, TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, LOVE and NONVIOLENCE. His teachings also embraced the essence and unity of all religions.

Devotees believe that Sai Baba as the God of Gods can do no wrong and that Baba knows each of his devotees better than they know themselves. A devotee's life rests in his hands. He is believed to be the embodiment of transcendental truth, pure without any desire.

My husband, daughter and I made a trip to India in the summer of 1989 to see Sai Baba. For my daughter and me, it was our third trip. When a devotee visits Sai Baba's ashram, the prime focus is "going to darshan", which means seeing Sai Baba as he makes his rounds through the crowds of devotees. I had never been called for an interview, which is considered the highest honor and experience. After all it was understood to be coming face to face with God. Nothing on earth could be more important for a dedicated follower of Sai Baba.

It was during that summer of 1989 that my husband, daughter and I became members of an international group that formed in the ashram in Puttaparthi, southern India, in the hope to augment our chances for a group interview. That moments of moments arrived in early September. We had been sitting for almost six weeks twice a day for many hours waiting for Swami, as he is affectionately called, seeing him strolling slowly through the masses, that were neatly lined up by the volunteers, called Seva Dals.

My daughter mentioned that she could see our Russian friend from Moscow (on the opposite side of the Temple compound, where the men sit separate from the women) was being called by Swami for an interview. This was the signal that all the men on the other side from our group as well as the women sitting on the opposite side of the temple (called Mandir) could follow him to the verandah of the temple, Sai Baba's abode at that time. With thousands of devotees watching us this was the spiritual and psychological high of our lives. Many people were sitting on the verandah weeping for joy. After Swami came back from his rounds, he welcomed our group inside. We were ushered into a fairly small room with a granite/marble like looking floor. No furniture except for a chair, like a throne, was visible. Swami switched on the lights and sat down on his throne. We all were seated already on the floor yogi style. Sai Baba began to speak in a very soft voice asking questions and giving a small discourse about God and Jesus. After a five minute talk he called in two Indian young men to his inner sanctuary behind a black cloth curtain, that could be moved over a rod on the curtain rings attached to the top.

The curtain was closed after the two boys entered. To my surprise from the angle where I was sitting I could still look into the Holiest of HOLY (Sanctum Sanctorum), the inner interview room. Swami was sitting down on yet another throne in this innermost Sanctum. I saw the two young men standing in front of Sai Baba, a very strange thing indeed as devotees are never allowed to be taller than the Avatar. People who ask questions during darshan often kneel before approaching Sai Baba. The Seva Dals volunteers in doing their duty of keeping law and order during darshan, constantly walk with knees half bend to make themselves appear smaller than Swami. Anyone who during darshan would stand up, would immediately be motioned down by these volunteers.

The Indian boys appeared taller than Sai Baba on his throne. This puzzled me and I kept looking. Suddenly I noticed that Sai Baba was unzipping the pants of the young man, standing to the left. I stared at Sai Baba in a kind of disbelief, not trusting what my eyes saw. Immediately, Sai Baba became aware that I could see him and the boys..., he came, leaving his throne-like chair, dashing forward, his eyes fully fixed on me and drew the curtain shut in front of my eyes.

The dictum of a good devotee, Purity of Thoughts, Words and Deeds, flashed through my mind. At that time I believed he had read my unclean thoughts. I had been standing naked before God. I immediately began to suppress what I had seen. Not he, but I was at fault!

Only last year, June 2000, after I read the letter about the sexual misconduct in two private interviews by Sai Baba of a fifteen year old young man, I knew, did I tell my husband what I had seen and suppressed for all those years, wanting so desperately to be a good devotee.

What I did so many years ago, I see now happening with the remaining Sai Baba devotees. They believe that no negative thoughts must ever be thought. All is well and all is good, above all Sai Baba, who has even said: "My life is my message". We live in a world composed of good and evil and all the shades in between. The outside world reflects our inner world. We must stop evil inside and out. Devotees who say "look at the goodness of free hospitals and schools" should understand that these buildings and services are paid for by donations or voluntary services of devotees.

This is a call to all devotees to wake up and to recognize that indeed much evil is taking place under the cover of goodness in teachings.

I am an advocate for children, justice and truth and as such ask devotees sincerely to investigate as I did to find the truth about the dark side of Sai Baba.

In that interview of 1989, I could have understood more deeply that something was amiss with Sai Baba. I had to wait all these years to realize that which had been shown to my very own eyes was indeed unclean, not in my thinking or desire, but his alone. Through further investigation I have found proof from many sworn statements world wide that Baba is indeed not only a pedophile, but a sexual pervert as well.

Many ex devotees are praying that devotees will not be deluded any longer and will stand for TRUTH and help stop these crimes against young males.

Know that:

EVIL THRIVES WHEN GOOD MEN AND WOMEN DO NOTHING