(Note: This is Part 1 of a revised and expanded version of Chapter 4 of The Guru from Puttaparthi. An Alternative View)

In Chapters 1, 2, and 3 we have seen the basic ways in which the myth of SB's Divinity was built up by his own confident self-promotion and the backing of the SSO (on which there remains much more to examine in a later chapter). Chapter 1 has illustrated his frequent early extraordinary claims, his promotion of a climate of expectation of healing and materialisation miracles. Chapter 2 showed a part of the contribution of the SSO (from 1965) in translating, editing and packaging SB's limited Telugu message for a wider audience. Chapter 3 showed how the total faith of devotees that he IS the Purna Avatar has persuaded them to inflate the messages he gives in his basic English far beyond what an objective examination would consider reasonable.

It is now time to examine how three other groups have contributed to the building and dissemination of this Divine myth. The first group of contributors is that of rank and file devotees themselves (Part 1); the second more selective and probably most influential group of contributors to the myth is that of official and unofficial spokespersons, including the SSO, trusted associates of SB, psychics, and professional "New Age" practitioners (Part 2); a third very mixed and 'ragged' group of contributors to the Divine myth consists of the hundreds of devotees who have written about SB's alleged Divinity (Part 3).

Many devotees follow one of the basic and very positive teachings of the guru SB: Serve others. These individuals and groups contribute an inestimable amount of labour and finance to a number of worthwhile charitable causes.

Many devotees also experience varying forms of personal transformation as a result of their devotion to this guru and as a result of belonging to an enormous association of people of many nationalities, coordinated by the SSO, which in recent decades has become a large international charitable organisation.

Such efforts are highly commendable and beneficial in a world full of inequalities and need which depends on such loving and good people to improve the lot of the underprivileged. I have no wish to criticise or belittle these humanitarian works by such individuals. My only concern in writing about the organisation to which they belong (and to which I once contributed) is that they may have been led to believe that the unique inspiration for their charitable thoughts and actions is the Living God that SB has claimed to be.

Since there is now sufficient evidence to show that SB is NOT what he has claimed to be, working to do good in his name, although highly commendable and most worthy, is no MORE worthy than working for any other national or international charitable organisation, whether religious, spiritual, or secular. And unlike other charitable organisations, because of the self-promotion that SB initiated sixty years ago, the uneasy question remains: WHY did he choose to present himself as the unique "Purna Avatar" when he clearly is not?

Even in India, where Gurus with special powers are accepted as a fact of spiritual life, Sathya Sai Baba is unusual. The well-known intellectual and sceptic, Khushwant Singh, in his regular column in The Hindustan Times on March 20, 1999 (during a rare visit by SB to New Delhi) made the following enlightening remarks:

"... If anyone is to be put on a shrink's couch, it is not the godman but his followers who look upon him as God to find out what is missing in their lives which they hope to fulfil by associating with their chosen godman. It is not producing vibhuti (sacred ash), materializing watches and medallions from the air or regurgitating sivalingas - all such tricks can be performed by magicians and cannot stand the test of scientific scrutiny. The devotees' faith has more solid foundations. They have unquestionable belief that their guru can do no wrong."

The above picture may be extremely difficult for non-devotees to accept as true. Nevertheless, it is accurate and its strange features need to be emphasised if people are to realise that this very special relationship is produced by the interaction between SB and his followers. SB's strong human appeal is based not simply on 'charisma' but on the special 'Super Charisma' that surrounds the concept of a Living God, which he began to project at the beginning of his Mission. For so many, faith in and loyalty to their beloved Guru is enhanced and enormously strengthened by their belief in him as GOD Incarnate. It is a very heady feeling to experience the kudos of seeing, knowing and being with GOD, the GURU of Gurus. As we saw in Chapter 3, the possibilities of such inspired thinking are endless. If SB says something brief and incomprehensible to the devotee, it is the devotee's duty to search for the 'real' meaning. One or two devotees are on record as having taken literally years to figure out the meaning of a simple gesture, a word or two, or a look from SB, all deemed to be filled with unknown significance only because they are perceived as emanating from God. In these circumstances, the possibility that such trivia may ONLY be trivia is not entertained by the devotee.

Similarly, the idea of negative possibilities is automatically ruled out; there must be a positive aspect. If SB seems to break a promise, that must have positive meaning for you as well. If Swami's forecasts of a marriage, or a new baby in the family do not come true, look instead for the special significant message from him in that apparently negative fact. Any discordant or critical news MUST be incorrect, since God can do no wrong. But it is because of this total lack of critical questioning of ANY behaviour of SB, however strange, that unconditional devotees of SB as GOD begin to act, under pressure, like members of a cult (in the pejorative sense of that term). Part 3 of this Chapter will examine this massive denial phenomenon, which is still extraordinarily strong in spite of a considerable series of revelations of counter-evidence in the past two years.

So, one of the most fortunate blessings of having SB as your spiritual guide is the simple bliss of TOTAL BELIEF in not just a Guru but a DIVINE Guru to whose personal intervention you can attribute every action, especially fortuitous. Whether positive or negative, it is 'good' for you. All personal thoughts, dreams, experiences are now inextricably linked with and due to SB. So if you experience success, inspiration, a bettering of health, a change in your ambitions, etc., then SB is 'obviously' behind it and it is evidence of your good fortune in being his devotee. If you feel like writing and the writing flows, and maybe strange things happen on your computer during the writing, or you come across a previously unknown book about him, then it is natural and satisfying to attribute this to him (and to your very privileged personal link with him, which does nor depend on the physical contact of a personal interview) rather than to some other valid form of synchronicity or serendipity. He may seem always to be with you, seeing you, encouraging or rebuking you for your actions. That is VERY powerful stuff, immensely flattering to the ego! For some it leads to dreams of SB, for others, to visions of him, and even whole dialogues (which usually get published).

(Some devotees apparently believe in or aspire to other sorts of special relationship with SB, if the following notice is to be believed. It was seen on the Internet in June 2002. It is alleged to have been issued under the name of the Convenor of Satya Sai Publications Trust:

"Notice: Person's [sic] desiring to donate manuscripts to the Book and Publications Trust, should take in consideration some cultural views: Books containing too 'personal' information about the devotees relation to Swami, is not always approved of. Terms as 'husband', or 'wife', etc. in relation to Baba, even if meant in spiritual metaphors, are not understood and are taken as very offensive and should be avoided. Convenor. Sathya Sai Publications Books and Trust Prasanthi Nilayam " (Copied from the apparently now closed or discontinued website <www.saionline.com> in June 2002. It appears that this "saionline" may have been the forerunner of the second official SSO website, which concentrates on practical information for visitors to SB's ashrams.)

Devotees are also blessed with an enormous fellowship of like-minded and similarly 'chosen' people from all over the world. In the face of the powerful, creative, and collective thoughts and energy generated by such a positive fellowship, they do not think of attributing them to other possible divine or spiritually benign influences which may be being evoked by such a collective well of love and goodwill; such a welcome phenomenon is merely felt to be further proof of SB's Divine influence. Many devotees, encouraged perhaps by the example of the editors of SB's Discourses and the SSO Publishing Trust, always refer to SB in writing with the respectful initial capital letters reserved for Deity: He, Him, His. As a devotee, these were also my feelings and my respectful writing habit, although I now find it interesting to note that some of the most prominent (and most intelligent) SB writers like Murphet, Krystal and Sandweiss did not adopt this extreme form of adulation.

A natural consequence of such total faith is that SB devotees, in their conversations and writings, joyfully pass on information about their 'Divine' guru and repeat what they learn from others. Much of this information consists of data which, for the devotee, further verifies and reinforces the claims of Divinity made by SB himself. Unfortunately, as some devotees and ex-devotees have discovered to their personal mortification, when considered without the rose-tinted glasses of the true believer, a portion of this information (especially accounts of secondhand, third-hand or otherwise unverifiable accounts of miracles and the interpretations and suppositions of what SB 'means' by his often 'enigmatic' pronouncements) is at best no more than unfounded hearsay and at worst, sheer nonsense. Such would be the reaction of an unbiased outsider to some of the information and rumours which are passed around at devotee meeting places in Puttaparthi and Whitefield or anywhere in the world where SB devotees foregather, including, increasingly, on the Internet Bulletin Boards and Clubs.

If we add to this attitude of total uncritical acceptance of any news about SB or of personal contact with him, the natural narcissistic tendencies which we all share to different degrees, we have a powerful reinforcement of the myth-inflating (and sustaining) environment of the ashrams and any gathering of SB devotees.

Many of us have the automatic habit of inflating or idealising any piece of news or details about ourselves. For evidence we only have to go as far as published autobiographies, our personal diaries or letters, or conversations about ourselves. In these contexts, events very often tend to be presented in such a way as to show us in the most interesting, flattering, amusing, dramatic, or otherwise appealing way. We endeavour to enhance our own self-worth, both to ourselves and to other people.

It may not be generally realised that much of the basic information (especially the more dramatic, spectacular, dubious, or unverifiable parts of it) about SB's miracles and pronouncements comes, not from his own Discourses but from indirect first-hand or second-hand, reports. These are then spread by people to whom he has allegedly confided information, like unofficial spokespersons (to be dealt with separately later), other devotees, or from the many devotees who write about him. Even a cursory study of the Discourses and a knowledge of the principal 'facts' and events of the Mission will prove this to be the case. To give one obvious example, most of the information devotees have about the third Avatar, Prema Sai, and about his announced birth, comes almost exclusively from these 'indirect' sources, not from SB's Discourses (as we have seen in Chapter 1). By reverse irony, the same is true nowadays about SB's claims of Divinity which, in Discourses at least, tend to be much more muted or indirect. Notwithstanding that significant fact, his associates, spokespersons, and the SSO continue to proclaim his Divinity to the faithful.

Since, as we have seen, the miracle factor is acknowledged by many to be a powerful magnet attracting people to SB, unsubstantiated (mythical) miracles and stories, as well as more convincing or plausible ones, can be a factor in the 'recruitment' of new devotees, as part of the common 'Rolling Snowball Effect'. This is how it works: Person 'A' describes a miracle. Persons 'B', 'C', 'D' and others read about the miracle and are very impressed. They find out more about SB, in other books, or by going to the ashram. Most of them eventually become devotees. A smaller number of devotees are SO enthralled by it all that they write their account of experiences with SB, and retell the miracles described originally in Person A's book. As a result of the publication of these new books, other newcomers are attracted to the SB fold, some of these write books (as I did while in a state of unquestioning belief), and so on.

Many such contributions are offered in the hundreds of (uncritical) books and articles, videos and magazines, or can be overheard as devotees' 'satsang' at SB Centre meetings all over the world, and in many conversations between devotees. In their understandably zealous efforts to support the Mission and teachings of their divine guru, devotees frequently suspend all judgement and pass on information which in other contexts and groups would not merit a serious consideration. Occasionally, in the SB literature we read a wise plea for restraint from a writer:

"Baba may be perfection itself but the bhakta is an evolving human being with a mixture of strengths and weaknesses. All paranormal claims by bhaktas should be scrupulously verified. If they cannot be verified, it is best to ignore them. Competitive holiness is a disease like any other and makes people quite ill. There is no place for hysteria in spiritualism." (V. Ramnath, 82)

It is disappointing (but perhaps significant) that the influential hierarchy of the SSO has not seen fit to implement a simple but strict policy of repudiating devotees' excesses in this respect and urging that greater care be taken to verify and give accurate references for stories about SB or alleged quotations from him. This should apply especially to those who write about SB (books, articles, even notes and letters on devotee Websites) or who talk about him in public. The truth, evidenced in so many books, booklets, and Internet devotee groups about SB, is that the flimsiest of stories purporting to support the authentic nature of SB's alleged Divine powers are repeated time after time by over-zealous and under-critical SB devotees.

The reality is, then, that a surprising amount of mythical information - like any information about SB - tends to be passed on, uncritically, from one devotee to another, and even printed or posted on the Internet. Such repetition, especially in print, often leads to the unquestioning acceptance of myths as reality.

Dubious Contributions by Some Devotees

Unsubstantiated gossip and rumour? Certainly, and of an extreme type undoubtedly deplored by many SB devotees, but nevertheless accepted in some form by many others and therefore yet another irresponsible contribution to the continued propagation of mythical aspects about SB.

Note: The current posted form of Part 2 of this chapter (on 'The Responsibility of Spokespersons and Writers') is due to be replaced by a thoroughly expanded and updated version.

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