I originally promised to publish this Appendix for use by researchers. It is, after all, their future efforts which will finally disclose full comparisons between ALL the official Telugu recordings of SSB's Discourses and the edited print versions. Naturally, this fresh material is also relevant for others interested in the biography of Sathya Sai Baba.

Both the SSO (usually obliquely) and their defenders (more brazenly) continue to turn a blind eye in public to the substantial body of clear evidence offered in my Dossier on the Packaging of SSB's Discourses. My basic point was (and is) that there is an essential difference between what SSB says in his frequent unscripted Telugu Discourses and what is subsequently published in English and other languages for devotees to read and study. This in turn indicates that the real SSB is different in certain aspects from the officially projected version of him. Most devotees have been totally unaware of this and therefore inadvertently quote the officially published commercial versions of the Discourses as if they offered SSB's exact words (and style). His real words (insofar as we are allowed to glimpse them from time to time) show personality aspects which differ from those which have been promoted internationally, including a rambling spoken style and an even greater propensity to human error and confusion than that already visible in the official translations. Such basic comparisons of the different Discourse versions further undermine his own claim of Divine Omniscience and those made by associates and echoed by devotees.

Like the original Dossier on Packaging, this Appendix offers a collection of a variety of SSB Discourse extracts in two forms:
- the literal translations of SSB's rambling and extemporaneous Telugu talks and
- the official edited translations, which are the only printed versions that most devotees see.

Readers or researchers may browse here (and in the previous Dossier on the Discourses) to obtain a clearer view of SSB's oratorical style and public personality, more or less as Telugu speakers must hear him. The effect of the heavy official editing is also clearly visible in a comparison of the two versions. The important difference revealed by the comparisons is:
- SSB as he really is and sounds
versus:
- SSB as he is (and has been) promoted internationally by his associates and by devotees.

In general, although most of the Discourse evidence about SSB comes from the heavily edited official translations, clearer insights are offered by the condensed and rapid simultaneous translations performed onsite by SSB's public interpreter, and by the much rarer but more valuable careful literal published translations based on the ashram's audiotapes. The content of the latter is more reliable because both literal and other translations from Telugu can be made after the Discourse and under less pressure of time. In addition, there are a few scattered printed summaries or transcriptions in old books about SSB (e.g. by Kasturi, Gokak, and Vijayakumari), or (until recently, when the principal 'open' devotee chat groups became private conclaves) on Internet devotee websites.

NOTES
1. As already explained in my previous Dossieron packaging, it was precisely because the devotee translators of the rare literal published versions were Telugu speakers and preferred what they heard as SSB's simple poetic style to the drier, more sophisticated official prose that they made such a concerted voluntary effort to allow devotees to see something quite close to the truth. The stated aim of these bilingual devotees (from 2000 to mid-2002) was as follows:
"The following discourse has been translated into English [and several other European languages] from Bhagavan's Telugu speech as heard on this festival's ashram audiocassette. It is a complete, literal translation made with the objective of preserving Bhagavan's precious original poetic style as much as possible."

In mid-2002 (when the literal translations had began to attract Internet comment outside devotee circles), the devotee translators ceased to publish their literal translations and within a month or two the whole of their collection of between 40 and 50 literal translations into several languages disappeared from the Internet site (www.internety.com/premsai).
See here.

2. Since 2002 the SSO has conducted a concerted public relations campaign on official Internet websites and elsewhere following worldwide controversy about SSB and the SSO. One of the relevant research benefits of this massive proselytisation effort is that audio versions of past Discourses are now available at all hours of the day, at least in Asia and some other parts of the world, on Radio Sai Global Harmony.

3. Official versions of the Discourses are also available for download on SSO websites (especially www.sssbpt.org) and for purchase from the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust in Prasanthi Nilayam or from overseas SSO centres.

Typical of SSB's personal preaching style is the following (from the Premsai literal translation for 22 October 2001):
"That only is the embodiment of God. Such wisdom is the embodiment of God. Therefore, why go aside to have Darshan of God's form? You are everything. All is within you. Some moments ago, our Sanjay Sahani said, "With you, in you, around you." If you think of 'with you', it means that you are going towards Divinity. 'In you' means that you are making a study of it. 'From you' means that you are going about in the world.
"But these are not the correct meanings. These are the meanings in English. All wrong meanings are coming. We are spending our life in misunderstandings. Even if one wants the correct meaning, it is impossible. So we are entering into wrong meanings. The nature of the Atma has to be understood. 'P-u-t' is pronounced 'put' (poot). 'B-u-t' should be pronounced 'but' (boot); yet will they say 'but' (but). This is all only the phonetics of language. All in this world is Creation. We are only following this (man-made) creation, but we are not following the proper embodiment of Truth."

This latter piece of total confusion is dutifully and discreetly reduced to 3 lines in the edited version of that Discourse (www.eaisai.com/baba):
"Such wisdom is verily divine. When you are everything and everything is in you, why do you go in search of God elsewhere? As our Sanjay Sahni pointed out in his speech, God is in you, with you and around you."

The 1996 Christmas Day Discourse (also videotaped and sold by James Redmond)

Here are some of the statements (as they were interpreted on the spot) which this amazing videotape registered:
1. "Three hundred and fifty years B.C., before Christ, Jews lived. However, among Jews, there were religions such as Islam and Christianity. People of that land, they are all Jews. That land is the birthplace of both the religions, Islam and Christianity. The Hebrew language was very prominent. This Hebrew language is more or less equal to our Sanskrit. ..."
2. "Christianity is not just 2,000 years in its origin. It was there even before Christ, 350 years. There the divinity is explained very clearly."
3. "The name and the fame of Jesus Christ have spread far and wide. Here, at this moment, there are two schools of thought. The first group of thought - Roman Catholics. There is another group that fought with this group. This group is called Protestants. As they protested, they are Protestants. So among Jews there are these two groups: Catholics and Protestants. The difference of opinion has increased day by day. This led to Jesus, whose life was in danger. Jews there in Jerusalem did not permit Jesus to go there. Like this, religious conflict and fighting was ever on the rise. There were 250 schools of thought, divisions there. They also monopolized certain countries."

Doubtless, the SSO editors saw that SSB had had a 'bad day'. They thoughtfully cast into oblivion SSB's extraordinary statements on Christian and Jewish history, but readers of their official printed version will never know that he made these statements because all they will see in Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XXIX is a brief editorial note on page 393:

THAT, surely, is packaging. It is also clear evidence of devotees' unquestioning faith in SSB, which did not allow those who heard the original Discourse and the translation to publicly question these ridiculous remarks in 1996, whatever they may have thought in private. Perhaps they were also mesmerised by the spectacular but brazen stunt performed by SSB after these strange remarks: the conjuring up (apparently from under the edge of the table) of what was instantly to become famous among devotees as the 'Bible', a miniature book, about which SSB made some of his customary extravagant and exclusive claims, which were instantly believed, of course. Reinforcement came in the shape of extra alleged details from spokespersons: the book had been teleported from, and later returned to, its safe haven in a monastery or library on the Black Sea coast. (See Omniscience and Truth for evidence that this is just another of SSB's famous stories.)

Christmas 2001
From the literal translation, which most devotees will not have seen:

and:
"In the very beginning, all the Roman Catholics did not say that he was God. They didn't say that he was a disciple. They didn't say that he was the servant of God. However, they gave him another name. They called him, "Persona." All the Roman Catholics called Jesus, "Persona, persona, persona."

"Persona" means 'sacred'. English people made that sacred word 'persona' into 'person'. So the word 'person' has come from 'persona'. This means that this sacred Divinity is present in every single human being. Therefore, they called everyone 'person, person, person'. (Applause) Hence, even I and even every human being is a form of the Divine.
[Hint: Roman Catholics = Romans]

13 April 2002 (literal)
"All the authorities of the World Bank came here. They declared, "We have not heard about and we have not seen, in any place or in any country, this kind of seva. (Applause) Sathya Sai Baba is giving water like this to Madras which is somewhere else (far from Puttaparthi)." Today a phone call came saying that the World Bank authorities had said, "We will give the entire cost of this." (the project to supply drinking water to Madras) (Applause)

20 October 2001 (literal)
"Today no man is doing sacred works like this. Even though beholding and consulting elders, the answers that come from them (those elders) to us are not right at all. Yet, when one does not have any satisfaction, what can one teach to others? So, first and foremost, when Jesus came to the Roman country (Empire), all of the Roman population recognized him as 'persona'. They recognized the Truth that Divinity fully exists within every man."

The official edited version of this makes a little more sense but it is a formal bureaucratic product rather than a sample of what SSB really said.

"The true meaning of morality lies in cognising and manifesting the latent divinity in humanity and propagating the same to the entire world. The English word 'person' has its origin in the Roman word 'persona'. The Romans used this word to describe Jesus as he manifested his divinity and attracted everyone. The word 'persona' symbolises the divinity latent in man." [=Latin word].

Mahasivaratri 2002 (literal)
"There are taste buds. How many taste buds do we have on the tongue? There are 3,000 taste buds. How many light rays are in the eye? There are two crores [20 million] of light rays. We can't see even one ray. You half close one eye (squint) and look. All of these lights shine with light. This is all its effect."

16 July 2000 (literal translation from Telugu by devotees)

Name of Krishna
"Now, here is a small example of Divinity. Krishna. Many people have different kinds of Asha (expectations), different kinds of Love. How many letters are there in the word 'Krishna'? Most people would say that 'Krishna' has two letters ('Kri' and 'shna' of all Indian languages including Sanskrit and Telugu). But no! There are five letters in the word 'Krishna.'

(official)
The editors reduced and revised SSB's muddled passage.

19 November 2001 (literal)
"Good boy, good boy, good boy. Only that good boy will become a God boy. But a bad boy will not become a God boy. Others should think of your child as a good boy, good boy. How did it come in the past? In the past, when all the British people were here, they all used to say, "Good boy!" But afterwards they said, "Good-bye." Afterwards, this 'good' went away and only 'Bye-bye, bye-bye' was said. (Laughter) Due to time changing in this way, all words have changed. But what we should achieve is good boy. Become a good boy and I am hoping that finally you will take the form, of a God boy."

12 March 2002 (Mahasivaratri)

(literal)
Giving his own name another bit of public promotion, SSB apparently offered yet another of his fanciful 'etymologies' (which I have examined elsewhere):
"The essence of all Vedas gives the inner meaning of these words. The word 'Sathya' represents Rig Veda. The letter 'Sa' represents Sama Veda. The letter 'A' represents Atharvana Veda. 'Ya' represents Yajur Veda. Sathya-Sa-a-yi. (Applause) 'Sathya' = Rig Veda. Sa = Sama Veda. A = Atharvana Veda. Ya = Yajur Veda. Sathya Sai. Therefore, the essence of the Vedas is contained in every word. We inquire of the proof fully; but foolish people who don't know the meaning may create any number of wrong meanings."

The hard-working editors, not daring perhaps to omit the reference tro SSB's name, did what they could to make it look a little more plausible, and so this is the sanitised but still nonsensical reduced version which devotees see:

(official)
"Every word has a deep inner meaning. Take for instance the name Sathya Sai. Sathya stands for Rig Veda. 'Sa', 'Aa' and 'Ya' in Sai stand for Sama Veda, Atharvana Veda and Yajur Veda, respectively. Therefore, Sathya Sai is the very personification of the four Vedas."

(On 27 July 2002, SSB repeated this novel statement.)

6 May 2000, Easwaramma Day
Note how the official version - 1 (b) - drastically reduces SSB's rambling style)

1 (a) (literal)
"Nowadays in the world, millionaires have all they need. There is no dearth (shortage) of rich people in India at all. There is no dearth at all of educated people. There is no dearth at all of scholars. No dearth of doctors at all. We have as many people as we want. What is the use of them being there? There is no unity between one and the other. When one educated person one sees another, he is proud. When one rich man sees another, there is a lot of jealousy. Qualities like these are increasing in man.

1 (b) (official)
"There is no dearth of scholars, scientists, educated and rich people in India, but the country is in no way benefited by them. They are afflicted with evil qualities of jealousy and hatred and fight with each other. There is no unity among them. One may be rich or well educated, but all the wealth and education will be useless if one lacks virtues."

2. (literal)
"After building the hospital, all of this happened. She said she wanted water. I said, "It will happen, it will happen. Don't think about it." It is no use to put just very small bore wells. Many people are putting bore wells. They are saying, "We have dug so many bore wells, so many bore wells!" But they don't have even a drop of water after some time. Rather than digging those bore wells, it is better not to dig anything at all. Many people nowadays dig bore wells. That year there is water. Then the next year it goes dry. I don't like those bore wells. Bore wells are only empty words. Therefore, I don't like them. I had a well dug. I built it near the old Mandir."

(official)
"Then she wanted the village to be provided with drinking water. I promised that it would be done. I found that bore wells were being dug to overcome water scarcity. But they become useless within a short period of time. So, I got a big well dug in the Old Mandir."

16 July 2000
SSB indulges in another of his favorite, but often inaccurate or inventive, speaking pastimes: the etymological derivation of Sanskrit words.

(literal)
Name of Krishna
"Now, here is a small example of Divinity. Krishna. Many people have different kinds of Asha (expectations), different kinds of Love. How many letters are there in the word 'Krishna'? Most people would say that 'Krishna' has two letters ('Kri' and 'shna' of all Indian languages including Sanskrit and Telugu). But no! There are five letters in the word 'Krishna.'
"We have the sound of ka, rru, a, sha, and a. Krishna. Ka - rru. Do you see? What does 'ka' stand for? 'Ka' is the name of Rama Devi (Goddess of Wealth). 'Ka' means Rama Devi. 'Rru' is Sita. Therefore, each letter has a meaning. 'Sha' is for 'Shanti' (Peace). Then, this 'a' is for 'Adi Shakti' (the Primordial Power).
"If you look at it like this, the five elements and the five senses are contained in the name of Krishna. They defined the name of Krishna as Karasha Teeti Krishnah. Karasha means 'ploughing the land'. So it means the one who ploughs the field of our heart is God. When the field becomes soft, the one who sows the seed of Love is only God. Therefore, Karash Teeti Krishanah. Kushu Teeti Krishnah. (The one who makes the effort also is Krishna.) Aakaarsha Teeti Krishnah. (The one who attracts is Krishna)." (www.internety.com/premsai)

(official)
The editors deleted the etymological 'story' and completely revised this muddled passage.

19 January 2001

1. (literal)
"From ancient times in Bharat, the great ones, Yogis and have undertaken numerous types of investigations for the sake of health.
"Therefore numerous people, even sages, helped in this: to protect health in order to develop bliss, and to give the country peace and security. It is felt that Allopathy, English medicine, is very important. However, not only Allopathy. They had the belief that Ayurveda is also very necessary. However, this Allopathy cures illnesses temporarily, but it does not give permanent release (cure). Hence, because Ayurveda cures permanently, it became so sanctified in the history of the country."

(official)
"In life, health is the greatest wealth. Since ancient times, many Yogis, sages and seers and men of excellence have been making deep investigations into the ways and means of keeping good health. They made great efforts in this direction as they were of the view that man could work for the peace and security of the nation only when he was hale and hearty. In modern times, some people repose complete faith in Allopathy while some others feel Ayurveda is also essential along with Allopathy. Allopathy only gives temporary relief; it does not have permanent cure of diseases. But Ayurveda can provide permanent cure of diseases."

(the bare literal version)
"In this Allopathy also, some powers are there. After some time they will reduce. Then symptoms will increase again. So, one individual felt that Ayurveda had a great history. In the country of Germany, in a town called Mesh that individual was born. Samuel Hahnemann is the name of that individual. He is one who became perfect in this. The dictate of Bharat is Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu. Taking Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu - May all the world be happy as a foundation, that was his aim. Due to this, he achieved something great and permanent."

(the improved official version)
"Allopathy cannot eradicate disease causing germs permanently. It can control them only to a certain extent for a certain period of time. There is always the risk of relapse. Though AIIopathy has been progressing from time to time, the number of diseases too has been increasing. Dr. Samuel Hahnemann of Germany, who discovered homoeopathy, also made deep investigations into Ayurveda. Welfare of the whole world was his motto."

2001 July (Guru Purnima)

1.
(literal)
"Buddha used his intellect in the society and through it, he tried to understand this truth and he shared his wisdom with society. Out of these five elements, from the very beginning, he controlled his vision. What is the reason for controlling this vision? Among these five elements, this vision is very powerful. Forty lakhs of light rays are shining in the eyes. We are wasting these light rays in numerous ways. Hence, the body that man has donned, is gradually becoming decayed."

(the official improvement)
"Having understood the significance of the five elements well, Buddha made concerted efforts to gain control over his five senses. He taught Buddham Saranam Gachhami, Sangham Saranam Gachhami. He used his intellect to understand the truth and shared his wisdom with society. First of all, he exercised control over his vision. Among the five senses of perception, the eyes are endowed with immense power. They have 40 lakhs of light rays in them. Today man is putting his senses to misuse and as a result, his body is becoming weaker day by day."

 2.

(literal)
"Gurus of those days appeared in order to teach Oneness like this. Today it is very difficult to obtain Uttama (the highest, best) Gurus. Uttama disciples can be obtained, but Uttama Gurus cannot be obtained. Now there are so many good disciples. Among our students, there are so many very good, good children. However, if there are one or two bad ones among them, bad will come to all the children. They will also have to experience the results.
"One small example: At night, you have laid down. Lying down, a couple of mosquitoes have come and bitten you. Mosquitoes! Two or three mosquitoes came and bit you. In the early morning, you get up thinking, 'These mosquitoes have bitten me,' so you take 'Flit' (mosquito repellant) and spray all the mosquitoes.
"Only two or three bit you. However, you are killing so many. Have you killed those that bit you? No! In that same way, even with God, if there are one or two bad people, due to that bad company, it also becomes necessary to punish the one beside them, the one in their company."

(official)
"Today there are many good disciples, but it is very difficult to find a true Guru. We have many good boys among our students. However, even if one or two are bad, all of them will earn a bad name and will have to face punishment. Here is a small example. When you sleep at night, you are bitten by one or two mosquitoes. The next morning, you spray insecticide and kill all the mosquitoes though you are bitten by only a few. Likewise, God also punishes those who join bad company."

(literal)
"You do not know how great this bliss is. If we experience bliss one time. (Note: Swami pauses, leaving the last sentence incomplete.) One small example: There is a fire. If you put a small stick into the fire, that stick will also catch fire. The whole stick will transform into fire. In that same way, being near to Swami, when you are near to the Mano Thathwa (Mind Principle) of Swami, that Mano Thathwa will also enter into you. Your mind will also be illumined. There being illumination, it will make your darkness distant. It will make your bliss shine."

(official)
"Lead a happy and blissful life and share your happiness with others. You do not know how great this Ananda is. Just as a small piece of wood becomes fire when it comes into contact with fire, so also when you are close to Me mentally, you become Divine. Your mind will be illumined and will dispel the darkness of ignorance in you."

Equally confused was a rambling story told by SSB about a Shirdi Sai devotee named Nana (24 October 2001). At the end of the literal translation by the puzzled PREMSAI devotee translators, they felt it necessary to make the necessary revealing editorial comments:
"(NOTE: The details in the above story are slightly different than what Swami has said on previous occasions. According to the book on the life of Shirdi Sai, entitled "Sai Satcharita", the tonga came only on the last leg of the journey, not from Shirdi itself. The devotee sent by Baba took a train up to Jamner, then the tonga to Nana's remote village. The tonga and driver disappeared, but not the devotee who brought the prasad. The devotee who brought the prasad was named Ram Giri Baba, not Shyam.)"

20 October 2001 (Dasara)

(literal original: 21 lines, including much muddle)
"In the English language, 'morality' is expounded in one way. Sanskrit taught morality in yet another way. In Sanskrit, the word 'morality'' is 'pourusha'. In English, the word is called 'morality'.

(official)
Although, curiously, this Discourse does not appear to be included on the official sssbpt website, it is still posted on the devotee website www.saidarshan.org (formerly www.eaisai.com). (It may also have been printed in volume XXXIV of Sathya Sai Speaks.)
Here, the editors reduce the conceptual and verbal ramble to 12 lines, just over half of the original. Like so many other Discourse passages, it should therefore be clearly labelled: 'editor's summary'.
"Morality is referred to as 'Pourusha' in Sanskrit. In fact, Jesus taught the importance of morality to the leaders in the Roman kingdom. Consequently, they named their kingdom after Jesus and called it as the kingdom of God. The true meaning of morality lies in cognising and manifesting the latent divinity in humanity and propagating the same to the entire world. The English word 'person' has its origin in the Roman word 'persona'. The Romans used this word to describe Jesus as he manifested his divinity and attracted everyone. The word 'persona' symbolises the divinity latent in man."

(From information sent by a fellow researcher)
The following italicised piece of an official EDITED version of Sai Baba's 'Ladies' Day discourse on 19 November 2001 contains additional padding which appears to be nonsense. The extract from the official versions is so astonishing that it raises even more questions:
1. Why did the SSB Organisation, which, as we have seen, amends much of what SSB says without any qualms, allow this extraordinarily damaging evidence of totally muddled thinking to appear (in slightly different versions) in print (Sanathana Sarathi, January 2002), and on the unofficial devotee Internet site, www.eaisai.com/baba?

What were SSB's original words? Could they have been even more muddled? How can we tell? By checking with the 'Premsai' Internet version! See here.

This is the short passage from the Ladies' Day Discourse (first in the official version).
"So be happy in the present. Swami expects all parents to achieve fulfilment in their lives by moulding their children into virtuous persons. They should always aspire for the goodness and well-being of their children. It is a good boy who becomes a god boy.

"How did the term good boy get modified? During the British regime, they used to say good boy. Later it became good-bye. Thereafter, the word 'good' vanished and 'bye' has remained. In this way, with the passage of time, various words have become perverted. But what we should accomplish is being a good boy. Give up selfishness and become selfless. Self is lovelessness and love is selflessness." [Italics added.]

For comparison, here is the very slightly different version printed in the official magazine, Sanathana Sarathi, for January 2002 (p. 22).

Here, finally, is the literal translation from the Telugu original by the 'Premsai' team of devotee translated, released on the Internet:
"Good boy, good boy, good boy. Only that good boy will become a God boy. But a bad boy will not become a God boy. Others should think of your child as a good boy, good boy. How did it come in the past? In the past, when all the British people were here, they all used to say, "Good boy!" But afterwards they said, "Good-bye." Afterwards, this 'good' went away and only 'Bye-bye, bye-bye' was said. (Laughter) Due to time changing in this way, all words have changed. But what we should achieve is good boy. Become a good boy and I am hoping that finally you will take the form, of a God boy."

What has happened - and we can only tell this because of the existence of the Premsai literal version (which most devotees will not see) - is that SSB's characteristically feeble pun on the English ('good boy' and 'good-bye') has not even been understood by his EDITORS, who have interpreted his padding as yet another of his frequent factual errors and have altered the passage to cover this up! If you look at the italicised bits in the first two passages above, you will see that they are NOT in the (Premsai) original. They are characteristic ADDITIONS or 'enhancements' by SSB's editors. Except that this time they have got him INTO trouble, not OUT of it, by adding to the confusion.

Like many of SSB's favourite anecdotes, this one has several variants, from which we may deduce that not only is he not aware of his own muddle or error but that none of his advisors and staff dare to draw his attention to his embarrassing flights of fancy. Here are two versions from the 1990s, both from the official translations, firstly from Christmas 1995, with a suitably seasonal reference:
"With the passage of time changes are introduced. I tell my children from time to time. Earlier, when a child was born, he was called 'God Boy,' referring to the child as a messenger of God. As time passed, people began to say 'Good boy.' Then they reasoned that they didn't know if he is good or bad, so they omitted the 'O' in boy and began to say 'Good bye.' Then they omitted 'good' and said 'bye-bye.' So changes have led from 'God boy' to 'bye-bye.' It had a sacred origin, but ultimately was reduced to bye-bye."

"They should develop good qualities. Good qualities will become God qualities. During the British rule, children were addressed as 'God boys'. Later on due to the effect of Macaulay's system of education, 'God boy' became 'Good boy'. After sometime 'Good boy' became 'Good-bye'. Later on, even 'Good' was removed, only 'Bye-bye' remained. 'God boy' has come down to the level of 'Bye-bye' due to the effect of modern education. You should remain as 'God boys' and 'Good boys', and never come down to the level of 'Bye-bye'."

19 January 2002

Upset by a local newspaper report about an attack on his life, SSB launched into an emotional 40-line tirade about the Press, indulging his devotees in their insatiable appetite for news and gossip about their guru:

(literal: note the basic concepts, short simple sentences and basic vocabulary)
"Nothing at all happened yesterday. I went to the very end of the hall. I went up to the people who were sitting down. Again from there I looked, took everyone's letters and came back. After coming back from there, I sat on the stage for 40 minutes. Hence, nothing happened at all.

His wary editors crafted this outburst into a more dignified 30 lines, retaining the generous publicity for the two prominent Indian newspapers, but also once again swamping SSB's spontaneous delivery with their upmarket editorial tone.

(official)
"Actually, what had happened day before yesterday was nothing. I went till the last row of the Hall, went near even those who were sitting outside, collected letters from them, then sat on the dais for forty minutes. Nothing happened. After that, I went inside, had a little food and visited the hospital to oversee the arrangements. By the time I returned to Brindavan from there, all sorts of false news had spread all over. I did not see anybody nor did anyone come near Me. But the newspapers have reported that someone came near Me with a pistol. Is it not a blatant lie? Did any of the journalist see the incident with his own eyes? Why should they write untruth? After all, it was only an air pistol, which is used to shoot down birds. Such a minor incident was exaggerated. It is a great mistake."
(148 words in 12 sentences, average 12 words per sentence)

12 March 2002 (Mahasivaratri)

(literal)
Giving his own name another bit of public promotion, SSB apparently offered yet another of his fanciful 'etymologies':
"The essence of all Vedas gives the inner meaning of these words. The word 'Sathya' represents Rig Veda. The letter 'Sa' represents Sama Veda. The letter 'A' represents Atharvana Veda. 'Ya' represents Yajur Veda. Sathya-Sa-a-yi. (Applause) 'Sathya' = Rig Veda. Sa = Sama Veda. A = Atharvana Veda. Ya = Yajur Veda. Sathya Sai. Therefore, the essence of the Vedas is contained in every word. We inquire of the proof fully; but foolish people who don't know the meaning may create any number of wrong meanings."

The hard-working editors, not daring perhaps to omit the reference to SSB's name, did what they could to make it look a little more plausible, and so this is the reduced version which readers will see:

(official)
"Every word has a deep inner meaning. Take for instance the name Sathya Sai. Sathya stands for Rig Veda. 'Sa', 'Aa' and 'Ya' in Sai stand for Sama Veda, Atharvana Veda and Yajur Veda, respectively. Therefore, Sathya Sai is the very personification of the four Vedas."
(On 27 July 2002, SSB repeated this novel statement.)

21 July 2002

Inaugurating a World Seva Conference at a time when he was ill, he reassured his worried devotees by claiming that he had taken on a baby's illness. A close comparison of the differences between the literal and the edited versions is particularly rewarding.

(literal)
"We accept a few illnesses due to the nature of Love. Yet that which comes should go away again. One small example: I am informing you from My own experience. A child had swelling here. (Swami points to His neck.)

(official)
"One should not be unduly attached to the physical body, but it has to be taken care of properly. Sometimes you are afflicted with diseases because of negligence on your part. I take the sufferings of devotees because of My love for them. It disappears in the same way as it appears. Here is a small example. A young boy was suffering a great deal because of mumps

22 July 2002 [The next day]
The Premsai literal translators recorded the following reproachful statements by SSB to his large audience in the second address of 22 July 2002 (during the Guru Purnima Conference). They capture not only his simple populist style but also his emotional distress.

1.
(literal)
"Now and then, I feel a lot of suffering. [Deleted] From the beginning, I used to go so much to Bombay, Madras and Hyderabad. They gained a lot of fame and are well known. Today My mind doesn't feel like going there. Such degenerate people have developed there. Therefore, first and foremost, we should send these degenerates far away."

1.
(official)
"Earlier on, I have been traveling around various cities like Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc. But these days, I have no inclination to go anywhere. All these places have become overcrowded with such wicked people. It is of foremost importance for us to get rid of them and encourage the godly-minded people.

2.
(literal)
"A snake may be kept near, but don't keep these bad people near. So, don't allow men like snakes to come close. I never ask anyone for even a paisa. So many activities are continuing on. I didn't ask for even a naiya paisa anywhere. You know. (Applause) Until this day I never entered into the subject of money. Money only is the 'God' for many 'devotees' today. Money is God to them. If they begin such wickedness, how can they be devotees? It has nothing to do with devotion at all."

2.
(official)
"You may even live in the company of snakes, but should not tolerate the company of such evil-minded people. We are undertaking so many social welfare activities, but I have never asked anybody even for a paisa. You are all aware of this. I do not involve Myself in money matters. But people today consider money as God. How can such people be called devotees?"

3.
(literal)
"If you want or need anything, ask Me. (Applause) I will never do any kind of deceit to anyone. I won't do it. I won't speak untruth. However, today it became necessary to speak about the sinful actions that are happening to devotees. Hence, whoever it is, I am hoping that from today, such situations will not be embarked upon."

(official)
"If you need anything, ask Me. I have never deceived or let down anybody nor will I ever do so. Untruth will not be uttered by Me. My wish is that no such undesirable act should be perpetrated on any of the genuine devotees."

4. (literal)
"There is also the All-India President. The All-India President should also take note. If anyone in the Organisation is like this, throw them out immediately. (Applause) They should not keep them for even a day. Won't anything continue on without them? Any amount can continue. Such fools like this should be thrown out from here.

(official)
"The All India President of Sai Organizations should deal firmly with such people. He should relieve them of their responsibilities immediately. I am deeply anguished over the current state of affairs in our Organization. Though this feeling has been there in Me for quite some time, I have been waiting for a suitable opportunity to express it. Since so many of you from various parts of the world have gathered here today, I felt this is the most opportune time to express My feelings."

Before the Premsai literal versions became known to me, I had encountered the following evidence of packaging in books by devotees and associates of SSB. (I included some of this material in my original 2001 chapter on SSB's Discourses in the e-book, SSB: God or Guru?)

24 March 1974. (Bold type added)

"SHRI N. Kasturi has translated many of Baba's discourses and these have been published in the seven volumes of Sathya Sai Speaks. More volumes are yet to follow.

"I happened to translate Bhagavan's speech on Ugadi Day, 24-3-1974. The speech and translation were taped by Shri R.R. Kamani. I have reproduced the translation here as a specimen of such discourses.. It will, of course, be included in the appropriate volume of speeches."

[But it was not, as can be seen in the official version printed after Gokak's version below, and so it allows us an early glimpse at different Discourse versions.]

1.
Speaking on Ugadi or Telugu New Year Day on 24-3-1974, Bhagavan said that
"The names of the years of the Calendar are deceptive. This samvatsara or year is named Ananda or Delight. But this year will be full of monstrosities. Delight springs within ourselves. It does not come from the names of calendar years."

(In V. K. Gokak, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The Man and the Avatar, 2^nd ed, New Delhi, Abhinav, 1983. 10 and a half pages in small page format in the original)

The official edited translation is not only very different from the Gokak 'original', but it is abridged, particularly in the second half. There is no editor's note that these are, in effect, edited excerpts. Nevertheless, there are also passages which seem to have been ADDED. (It is, of course, possible that they were added later at SSB's request or that Gokak left pieces out of his version.)

"The Name of the New Year that begins today is inspiring and auspicious. It is called Aanandha - Spiritual Bliss, inner joy, unshakable calm. That name is a clarion call, which must ring in your ears all the 365 days of the New Year --- earn Aanandha, be Aanandha, become Aanandha." (Sathya Sai Speaks,Vol. XII, 1973-74, pp. 36-42)
(The 'monstrosities' have been deleted. Yet Gokak heard SSB predict them.)

2. (Gokak)
"There are many [?] insects of fame in this world who wish to acquire a reputation. When they see that the name, Sathya Sai, has caught up in all the four corners of the world, they wish to affix this name to their own, in the hope that they may be famous. It is my name, after all, that they affix to theirs and they feel happy. Their happiness makes me happy.

2. The editors of the official yearly Discourse volume, Sathya Sai Speaks, reduce and substantially rewrite this as:
"In fact, I am the Witness of activity, not a participant. I am like the electric fan; switch it on, it gives cool breeze. Switch it off, it allows you to swelter in the heat. I have no likes or dislikes. Those who talk ill of Me are also remembering My name and deriving joy therefrom and perhaps earning a few paise thereby. They are happy when they write falsehood; you are happy singing the truth. I am unconcerned with either. I have come on a task which I imposed on Myself. That task will go on, from victory to victory, irrespective of praise or blame. It can neither be halted or hindered.

1 October 1976

Both of the following are translations, but only the second one is the official SSO version. There are observable differences, in style and content. The first version sounds more spontaneous but it is the second which will go down as SSB's words.

"All of you who have entered the SSO, if anyone asks you what is the religion of Sathya Sai and of Sathya Sai Organization, you must have the courage and the determination to say with one voice, that the essence of all religions is the religion of the Sathya Sai Organization." (E. Fanibunda, p. 109)

"That is the Sai religion, the religion that feeds and fosters all religions and emphasises their common Greatness. Take up this religion, boldly and joyfully." (p. 148)
(Sathya Sai Speaks, XIII, 139-148. The Chapter Title is given as: 'The Sai Religion'.)

Christmas 1995

"Christ made many attempts to demonstrate and propagate this infinite divine Love. Having lost his father at the tender age of ten, he sought the permission of his mother, and set out to begin his mission of serving the society. Bathing in the sacred waters of the river Jordan, he went to his Guru then and took three vows:
1. "I will experience divine Love and propagate and exemplify it to mankind under all circumstances. This is the objective of my life."
2. "I will not be elated by praise nor be dismayed when criticized. I will maintain equanimity."
3. "I will recognize Love, the inherent divinity in each man, and share Love with all men." (As reproduced by the devotee site www.eaisai.com/baba, which usually follows the official version.)

(The official tidied up version available in .pdf form from www.sssct.org and from www.sssbpt.org.)
"It was to teach mankind the greatness of divine love that Jesus came. His father passed away when Jesus was ten years old. Thereafter, with the permission of his mother, he embarked on his ministry of service to the people. He resolved on three tasks: one, to be filled with Divine love and to share it with others was the main purpose of his life; two, he should not succumb to praise or censure in carrying out his mission; three, to inspire in others the conviction that the Divinity within is omnipresent."

From that same Christmas 1995 Discourse, www.eaisai.com also reproduces the following little story, which is absent from the official edited version.

"The season of Christmas is associated with Christmas Grandpa or Santa Claus. Tokovan was his original name. He was born in Turkey. He began his career as a priest and gradually began to attain spiritual heights. How did he become a spiritual giant? By the spirit of sacrifice. He used to give a chocolate or a doll or a gift to any child he met. All his life he kept on giving continuously. When Christmas was approaching, all the children used to run behind Santa Claus. He used to carry all the gifts in a bag and distribute to all the children. In what manner did he distribute? He said, "Here is a token of God's Love. Here is a token of God's Love," and thus distributed them. Eventually he came to be called Christmas Grandpa, and his original name was forgotten."
(www.eaisai.com/baba/docs/christmas.html - a selection of Christmas extracts)

The above evidence of the careful packaging or 'improving' of SSB's Discourses prior to releasing them to the devotee public is surely clear enough. Nevertheless, much more evidence of the process may become available when a full comparison is made of the hundreds of Discourses for which recordings have been made over the last few decades. Often, as we have seen, the editing process is closer to censoring, especially where the evidence of the literal or unedited translation shows that SSB has made utterances which would cast doubt on the Omniscient or serenely Divine image projected by himself, his associates and his devotees. One final example, from a secondary but much studied source, seems to fit neatly into that latter category. The following transcript of a reported dialogue occurs in the U.S. edition of John Hislop's Conversations with Sathya Sai Baba (San Diego, Birth Day, 1978, p. 134).

This striking passage (with its rather emotional reactions) is missing from the corresponding page (147) of the later revised and expanded official Indian edition of the 'Conversations'. But later in the same conversation, Hislop doggedly mentions kundalini again and SSB contradicts his earlier statement. This second passage is in both editions of the 'Conversations'.

H: 'But Swami, how about the idea that the snake of Kundalini awakens at the base of the spine and activates each chakra as it rises up?'
Sai: 'That energy is prana. It is imagined as rising up the spine by the practice of Pranayama. The practice of Pranayama is dangerous unless all circumstances are exactly correct.'
(p. 153, Rev. Indian ed., p. 139, U.S. ed.)

It may puzzle some readers that the highly educated devotee translators who produced the 40-plus literal translations between 2000 and 2002 did not delete or otherwise edit instances of confusion and factual errors by their guru. In fact, this is simply a further eloquent proof (if any is needed) of the extraordinary influence exerted on individuals by a totally unquestioning faith in a person, an idea, or a cause. This same power prevents many SSB devotees from entertaining the possibility that parts of the SSB image may differ substantially from what SSB, his associates and his organisation (and devotees themselves, especially the many who have written hagiographic books) have presented and promoted for several decades.

 For further reference: Dossier 1. Sathya Sai Baba as Storyteller

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