B.S. Chapter 5

This chapter adds further scattered evidence to the basic suggestion that Baba's words and stories sometimes undermine and invalidate his claims of omniscience. It also presents other examples of erroneous or unverifiable (sometimes highly controversial) facts offered by Baba on a variety of topics. He sometimes appears to do this wilfully, for effect, perhaps, and with little or scant regard for the truth which he purports to personify.

The number and range of such discrepancies have been increasing in the past few years, and now appears quite capricious at times. From an objective point of view, the most perturbing aspect is that, even when written references are made to some of these phenomena in the Baba literature, writers and devotees appear to dismiss them indulgently as unimportant, as Baba's little jokes (leelas).

First we shall examine examples of isolated errors, idiosyncratic revelations, contradictions, and apparent untruths, which seem to weaken the claim of Baba's Omniscience. In the second half of the chapter, two major areas of particularly dubious or unverifiable (and sometimes conflicting) information are clearly identified from an examination of two recurring annual Discourse themes: Yugadi predictions and pronouncements about Jesus Christ during the Sai Baba's Christmas Discourses. Because of the special interest of the references, there are many quotations in this chapter.

The learned Hindu scholar, holy man and staunch Baba devotee, Ra. Ganapati, was so preoccupied with the matter of Indian opposition to Baba in the early years and his own struggle with his recurring doubts about Baba's omniscience that he wrote a 100-page book listing the various discrepancies observed and his own satisfactory resolution of the paradox (Avatar, Verily!) as an addendum to his well-known early book, Baba: Satya Sai. The addendum was then incorporated into revised editions of Baba: Satya Sai, Part II as Chapter 46 (pp. 111-202).

Any serious student of Baba's omniscience must take this lengthy and learned study into consideration (in particular, pages 120-173). In writing in such a critical and open way, Ganapati was unique among devotee writers, and, in the more heated atmosphere of Indian devotion to Sai Baba, his attitude showed great integrity and bravery. Ganapati was successfully able to resolve his own doubts by finally positing both Baba's human frailties and the concept of Kshobhana, the Avatar's capacity to test his devotees by confusing them. (See especially Ganapati, II, pp. 164-173). In assuming this human form (argues Ganapati), Baba (like other Avatars) assumes some of the shortcomings of human beings. Later (on pages 158-162), Ganapati reminds us of the important difference between our gross (sthoola) body and the subtle (sukshma) body.

In fact, Kshobhana appears to be related to the more familiar Hindu concept of leela, which is also frequently invoked as an explanation of anything incomprehensible or strange that Baba (or any guru or Avatar) may do or say.

Ganapati begins by confessing his own initial doubts about Baba's materializations and His proclamation about Godhead and Special Powers. The former were very easily dispelled; the latter gave rise to more reflexion on Ganapati's part. Also, like other devotees, Ganapati admits to having felt (and kept silent about) doubts when Baba sometimes:

On pages 123-125, Ganapati lists 6 specific scriptural errors by Baba and says he has come across a few others as well in the Discourses. Some of these errors are:

"'Matr Devo Bhava, Pitr Devo Bhava' (Conceive of the mother as divine, father as divine) - these are famous mantras, occuring in the Taittiriya section of the Krishna Yajur Veda. But Baba has referred to them as occurring in the Rg Veda." (p. 123)

"Another faux pas of Svami: Dakshinamurthi, that is Siva as the Primeval Guru is always depicted as steeped in the silence of Samadhi-Oneness, never stirring out of the banyan tree He is seated under. It is Dattatreya, the first among the speaking gurus, who, according to religious texts, was so humble and receptive that he received unspoken upadesh (spiritual instruction) from twenty four common objects in the world. But in one of His discourses in the 1979 Summer Course Svami has said that Dakshinamurthi roamed about to find His twenty four gurus in even the ordinary objects of the world." (p. 124)

"Svami referred during his Gurupoornima discourse of 1976 to Ramakrishna adopting varying modes of upadesas in keeping with the varying qualities of his disciples. He remarked: "Ramakrishna reprimanded Rakhal (Brahmananda), an extremely modest disciple, for putting up with the denigration of his gugu (Ramakrishna) by others, and thereby roused his feelings. Contrarily, he preached forbearance to the heroic Naren (Vivekananda) and scolded him for furiously flaring up at the detractors of the guru." But in the authoritative biography of Sri Ramakrishna by his direct disciple Saradananda Svamiji, it is seen that the soft student was Yogananda and the aggressive acolyte was Niranjanananda." (p. 124)

Another of these scriptural errors, according to Ganapati (p. 124) is that although the resting place of the 5 Siva Lingams obtained by Sankara from Kailasa are listed in two Scriptures (the Markandaya Purana and the Sankara Vijaya (of Annadagiri) as being: Kedarnath, Neelakantha (Pasupatinath), Chidambaram, Kanchipuram and Sringeri, Baba says that they were installed at Chidambaram, Sringeri, Badri, Puri Jagannath and Dwaraka.

If Ganapati is correct, this could be quite significant, because during his tour of North India in June 1961, one of Baba's celebrated miracles and materializations was at Badrinath, where he claims to have discovered and reconsecrated the netra-lingam brought by Sankaracharya from Kailasa. (Sathya Sai Speaks, II:37-40)

Until the recent flurry of accusations of all kinds against Sai Baba, the main critics of Baba's powers for several decades have been the Indian Rationalists (or Skeptics), and especially their leader, B.Premanand. (See Bibliography) In his recent book, The Spiritual Tourist, Mick Brown refers to the latter and to other critics of Baba's infallibility and omniscience. He quotes their explanation of Baba's perceived ability to read minds as being "achieved through a combination of information being gained by his helpers and the technique of 'cold reading', whereby facts are drawn out of the subject and fed back to them later, without their realising it, questions are disguised as statements and nods or meaningful silences are used to give the impression that he knew all along what the subject was talking about." (p. 73)

However, until the recent Internet burst of critical activity, the only disciplined written source claiming inconsistencies and errors in some of Baba's 'omniscient' pronouncements was a chapter of a privately and Internet-published highly critical general work about Baba by the Canadian academic and sceptic, Dale Beyerstein, Sai Baba's Miracles. An Overview. (http://psg.com/~ted/bcskeptics/sbmir - 75 pages; also available at other Websites, including http://www.indian-skeptics.org/html/index.html. The Indian Skeptics, CSICOP, also publish Beyerstein's book.

Beyerstein also goes on to give a few examples of Baba's unsupported statements about the Life and sayings of Jesus Christ. Since Beyerstein's priority is to give more space to his chapters on Miracles and other important issues concerning Baba's alleged Omniscience and Omnipotence, he virtually leaves the subject of inaccuracies for others to pursue. Here we shall examine more of the conflicting new evidence which has continued to accrue since Beyerstein did his original research over ten years ago.

The following additional discrepancies indicating a lack of omniscience and/or truth may be noted here:

In Baba's Sarva Dharma Emblem, there are five symbols for five religions. Noticeably missing is the Star of David, which symbolises the Jewish Faith. It was only because of the persistence of the American Jews and in particular questions from John Hislop that Baba eventually gave permission for Overseas centres and Organisations to add the Jewish Emblem to the Sarva Dharma Symbol, if they wished. To this day, the Star of David does not appear on the Indian Sarva Dharma (nor, interestingly, on that of some Western Nations).

During the discussion between Hislop and Baba, the following surprising fact came to light: Baba did not know that Jews and Christians did not form a homogeneous group

."It is not through any intention that the Jewish Symbol is excluded [from the Sai emblem]. In India, there is not a general awareness that the Jewish symbol is substantially different. Does the Cross fail to symbolize the Jewish faith to a substantial degree?" [Hislop: "Yes".] "Then let the Jewish people make a proposal to us and we will give consideration to it." (J.Hislop, 1985:186-187; Oct 25, 1978)

Baba gave them a group interview at Puttaparthi in 1980. "The Sai symbol of five religions represents the five major religions found in India. For the West, the Jewish Star may be added as a sixth representation on the Sai symbol." (J. Hislop, 1985:191; Dec. 1, 1980)

"The very fact that I announced that I am Shirdi Baba 40 years ago, when I was only 10 and when nobody in this part of the South has known or even heard of Shirdi Baba proves this fact."

Equally clear is the "official" backing for this claim, voiced here by the President of the World Council, Indulal Shah: "All this confirmed more and more my faith in Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's announcement at the age of 14 that He is the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai. What appeared remarkable to me is that He made this announcement in his village where no one had even heard of Shirdi Sai Baba!" (Shah, 1980:51)

These statements are very strongly contradicted by evidence in LIMF in several places, but in particular on pp. 78-9, where two of Baba's classmates recall that Baba had Shirdi Sai pictures in his books and pockets and on p. 117 where the meticulous researchers quote the following extract from an interview they conducted with a contemporary, showing that the practice of worshipping Shirdi was becoming common in Puttaparthi by1940: "The practice of Shirdi worship was becoming common in Puttaparthi. Raju's uncles, Venkatarama Raju and Venkatasubba Raju, were worshippers of Sai Baba of Shirdi long before Raju announced himself as being 'that' Sai Baba. Venkatasubba Raju brought a Shirdi Baba portrait and started offering worship before it. During the worship, Raju used to sit behind him and, on many occasions, would fall into a trance." This should surely raise a few questions.

"In Argentina bhajans are being held in every home [cheers]."(Sathya Sai Speaks, XXIII, 29:255 - 20-10-1990, on the alleged 50th anniversary of Baba's 'Declaration'.

Baba went on in the next sentence to say, somewhat incongruously, but I have no proof this is not true: "In Panama, some military officers campaigned against the government in power and called for a "Sathya Sai Government". These officers were arrested and kept in a mental asylum ..."

In fact, these last two dubious comments sound like snippets fed to Baba by his newspaper-reading associates. But why should he accept them for onward transmission? (Oddly, 7 years later the following was reported in Sanathana Sarathi (June 1977, p. 164 in an article entitled 'An Argentinean Journalist's Experience', pp, 161-164, excerpted, we are told from a talk in New York in March 1997 (no venue given) by an Argentinian devotee, Claudio María Domínguez: "In my country, 80 per cent of the people now know who Sai Baba is. ..."

On one occasion, Baba vaunts his powers in his customary way: "A.K.C. was wondering when I came how I came exactly at 10.30 as per his announcement over the mike a few hours previously. Perhaps he forgot that I could hear his announcement miles and miles away." (Sathya Sai Speaks, IV, 3:20) However, in 1968, on arrival in Nairobi, Kenya, a published letter from Baba to Dr. Gokak describes this less confident situation: "When I started to address the audience, Kasturi was missing. He had to translate my speech into English. He could not be located in the huge ocean of humanity; he was called for on the mike. After a search of two hours by the police, Kasturi and company were located." (V.K.Gokak. 1975: 242) But, one is left wondering, why couldn't Baba see where he was and tell the authorities? (At darshan he is often credited in devotees' accounts with being able to pick out exactly where the wife or husband of a chosen interview candidate is sitting among the thousands sitting at darshan.) (There is a similar report of what Baba told devotees on his return from Africa by an eye-witness, Smt.Vijayakumari, p 323).

One of the best known Sai Baba emblems is the logo with the "Five values" on it (in Sanskrit, or in the national language of the devotee (e.g., Truth, Right Living, Peace, Love, and Non-violence). But in the early years of his Mission, Baba used to refer to four values only:

"Where is your husband?" "He's gone, Baba," I sadly replied.
Like a compassionate Father, he replied, "I know. I know. He was a good man." (J.D.Barker, The Touch of Baba, p.13)
But 5 years later, in 1995, the following equally "unomniscient" exchange took place:
"Where is your S bend?" (sic)
"He died in 1989," I told him.
"Yes, he was a good man." (the same comment as in 1990) "Yes, he was, Baba."
(p. 38) Although she recognises the repetition of Baba's lack of knowledge, Barker makes no comment or criticism! This is typical of the extent of devotees' indulgent and uncritical denial in relation to some of Baba's words and actions.

"I told them: No one knows exactly when the Vedas were collated in their present form. Bala Gangadhar Thilak surmised that it must have happened 13,000 years ago; others bring the date down to 6,000 years ago, but all are agreed it was beyond at least 4,000 yrs!" (Sathya Sai Speaks,, IX, 22:116, Prasanthi Nilayam, 14-10-69) No one knows? Not even Baba?

"Untouchability as a social practice must have had its origins in the realisation of this truth." (XII, 48:282) Why "must have"? Doesn't he know?

"Svami fumbled for a moment to recollect the name of the first man to land on the moon. Immediately one of his college students sitting in the front row gave out the name as Yuri Gagarin and Svami repeated it. But it was wrong. Gagarin was the first man to travel round the earth in a satellite. It was Neil Armstrong who was the first to land on the moon." (Ra. Ganapati, Part II:145)

Robert Priddy (1998, p.259) confesses to being shaken on hearing Baba's interpreter say, in a talk by Baba, that "Cricket was first played in Melbourne in 1898".
"Where is your husband?" "He's gone, Baba," I sadly replied.
Like a compassionate Father, he replied, "I know. I know. He was a good man." (J.D.Barker, The Touch of Baba, p.13)
But 5 years later, in 1995, the following equally "unomniscient" exchange took place:
"Where is your S bend?" (sic)
"He died in 1989," I told him.
"Yes, he was a good man." (the same comment as in 1990) "Yes, he was, Baba."
(p. 38) Although she recognises the repetition of Baba's lack of knowledge, Barker makes no comment or criticism! This is typical of the extent of devotees' indulgent and uncritical denial in relation to some of Baba's words and actions.

A further minor (but perhaps still relevant) characteristic of Sai Baba's discourse style may be described: the use of attention-grabbing illustrative examples or analogies involving very large numbers. These always sound impressive but cannot always easily be verified. The main examples I have seen (some of them repeated in different Discourses, occasionally with a discrepant figure) are:

In his estimate of the number of species on earth, Baba seems consistent: "Birth as man is the final stage in the upward evolution of the 840 thousand species of living beings. In previous lives, one might have been an insect, a worm, a bird or an animal." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XVI, 25:137 PCH 10-10-83) "Of the 84 lakhs of species of living beings, no species is afflicted with the disease of insatiable desires as much as man." (XX, 22:186)

Other figures appear rather exaggerated: "When the Mahabharata was completed, it ran into100 crores of verses. It was a colossal compendium of all knowledge and ranked as the fifth Veda." (XXI, 26:211) [Since the Indian crore equals 10 million, that amounts to1 billion (1,000,000,000), which sounds too high.]

According to Hislop, Baba told him in one of their conversations that in the age before Rama, the average height was 14 cubits (that is, 14 times the distance between the tip of the finger and elbow); then at the time of Rama, 7 cubits, but that in our present Kali Yuga age, the average height is only half that. (J.Hislop, 1978:118) Check the measurements!

Professor Kasturi quotes Baba as proudly announcing to an American: "I know not only what happened 7,000 years ago at the historic battlefield of Kurukshetra but what happened 70,000 years ago, too. I read no books. When you run on the first gear, the car goes forward; shift to reverse gear, you go backwards. I can go forwards and backward in time, and know anything I wish. Time and Space can impose no limitations on Me." (S.P.Ruhela, 1996a:113, quoting from Kasturi's1975 article, 'The Interviews He Gives', in A Garland of Golden Roses, 50-53.)

In the following examples, there are serious discrepancies, which make one wonder once again whether Baba sometimes simply makes things up as he goes along - a suspicion which is strengthened by the more serious items in the rest of this chapter and elsewhere in this study: "In the 5000 years of human history, fifteen thousand wars have soaked its pages in blood." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XV, 57:322) But in Volume XX, one of the figures changes: "... in 5500 years of recorded human history there have been as many as 15,000 wars." (XX; 28:226)

"It is well known that the earth spins around itself at the rate of 1000 miles an hour. ... Moreover, the earth is going round the sun at the speed of 66,000 miles an hour. As a result we have changes in seasons conducive to cultivation of crops." (XXI, 116:129) Four years later, there is a significantly different figure: "This earth revolves round itself hundreds of miles in an hour." (XXV, 10:110)

Baba sometimes chooses to give conflicting versions of the facts. With the meticulous research carried out in Volume 1 of the recent biography, Love is My Form, the idea that he sometimes makes up details at his own whim, capriciously, is given further strength.

Firstly, on 18 October 1999, Baba delights his listeners by a long reference back to his schooldays and he tells the story of his deskmates, Suresh and Ramesh, (Sanathana Sarathi, August 2000, pp. 236-241 - an unusually late publication date, 10 months after the Discourse).

The following year, on the same Dasara festival (according to a Special Issue of Sanathana Sarathi for November 2000, pp. 327-330, Baba, a propos of nothing in particular, again begins some schoolday reminiscences, and proudly repeats in less detail the story of how he helped these rather unintelligent deskmates, Ramesh and Suresh, to pass the Elementary School Leaving Certificate examination (the E.S.L.C.):

Before the 2-hour exam he told them to pretend to write answers. In the exam they sat far apart. "I wrote for both of them in their handwriting after finishing My paper within half an hour." (p. 330). When the results were posted, only Baba and his two chums had received First Class results. In the ensuing oral examination, the other two were unable to answer the questions but Baba had told them to say that they had known the answers during the written exam. So, apart from claiming a considerable personal feat (if not a miracle), Baba, the Educator, is condoning cheating and dishonesty. A little odd. Odder still, however, is the specific news, backed up by documents (in LIMF, p.129), that: "Sathya's school records at Bukkapatnam indicate that, in 1942, he was not allowed to take the ESLC examination as he did not have the minimum required attendance at school." The photocopy of the school register is also offered as evidence on page 69. The researchers go on to say that "All the 41 students, who attended the ESLC, failed. (Sathya joked that they had all failed because they had gone to take the exams without him.)." [The editors do not give a reference for this alleged remark.]

This carefully researched LIMF volume had only just been published when Baba made this second Discourse on 1 October 2000. It makes no mention of these companions, although it traces other schoolmates of Sai Baba. He may have known about the book, which had been in local preparation for 7 years by the Sai Towers editorial team. He may have seen it. Nevertheless, he seems to have decided, almost compulsively, defiantly, to give extra unknown information including the above and the extra and spectacular revelation (not in the October 1999 version) that his two devoted friends both committed suicide just after his Declaration of Avatarhood and leaving school. LIMF does not mention these suicides either.

Having provided convincing contradictory evidence to one of Baba's stories, the editors of LIMF try to reduce its importance but merely succeed in compounding the suspicion of inaccuracy on Baba's part with the following statement: "In a number of Discourses, Sri Sathya Sai Baba has referred to His classmates under various names, such as 'Ramesh, 'Prakash', 'Suresh', 'Sudhir' and 'Paresh'. Our thorough search failed to locate their existence in any of the four schools in which Sathya studied as a boy. It is possible that Sri Sathya Sai Baba chooses not to disclose their real names, in order to protect their privacy." (LIMF, p, 61, footnote 8) Possible, but surely most unlikely since most of Baba's schoolmates have been described and pictured in the book!

On a more anecdotal level, in Sanathana Sarathi, August 2000, a Discourse for 18 October1999 (the same inventive one in which one of the schoolboy stories appears), Baba gives a different version of the standard youthful miracle of the Telugu message in flowers:

An old man, Subbarayadu, forecast to Baba that his glory would "reach every nook and corner of the world." Baba's father, challenged or queried this prediction and then Raju went out, brought back flowers and, reciting a poem, threw them down to form the name: Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Professor Kasturi's standard version (K1A, p. 48): Later [in 1940], on one Thursday, someone challenged Sathya, asking Him, "If you are Sai Baba, show us some proof now!" ... :Yes, I shall." Then everyone came nearer. "Place in my hands those jasmine flowers," He commanded. It was done. With a quick gesture, He threw them on the floor and said, "Look." They saw that the flowers had formed while falling the Telugu letters, "SAI BABA."

Finally, to end this rather serious section on a lighter note, if the following exchange is true, it is most interesting.

Levin: "Doesn't Swami know the difference between a photostat and a forgery?"' Kasturi: "How can he know that? He's only from a village." (H. Levin, 1996b, 54) This sounds disrespectful coming from Baba's most devoted and flattering assistant and companion, but it may be spontaneously revealing.

In addition to the preceding isolated cases of factual inaccuracies, there are two major constant sources of Sai Baba's inaccuracies and discrepancies: Yugadi predictions and pronouncements about Jesus Christ in Baba's Christmas Discourses.

Still following the trail of inconsistencies and possible inventions in Baba's pronouncements, let us now turn to certain items of information given out by Baba in his annual Discourses on Hindu and Christian Festivals. Because these Festivals (for example, Mahasivaratri, Krishna's Birthday, Baba's Birthday, Christmas Day, etc.) commemorate specific important spiritual events, there is a set basic theme for the Discourse (with a great deal of variation in the content) and a certain amount of listener expectation about what they are about to hear. For instance, at Mahashivaratri, miracles are expected, and often seem to have been performed. Secondly, on the Southern Indian Festival of Yugadi, or New Year (usually in March or April), in recent years, Baba often issues a short (expected) prophecy for the year whose beginning is thus being commemorated. There are some interesting cases to examine.

Christmas Revelations

Finally, an examination of the startling new undocumented and sometimes contradictory revelations about Jesus Christ (of whom Baba claims intimate knowledge as a previous emissary of God) in Baba's annual Christmas Day Discourse, particularly for "Western" devotees, who attend the ashram in their thousands. This tendency to reveal "unknown" knowledge about Jesus has accelerated in recent years.

Here, as elsewhere with Baba's published words, when one begins to examine the pronouncements from an objective point of view, without the idealisation of a devotee, it is not long before examples of inconsistencies and discrepancies turn up.

In a 1965 Discourse (when he was already 40 years old), Baba airs a commonly felt Hindu grievance when he is strongly critical of the alien Christian and foreign missionaries' presence, in India and elsewhere: "We see missionaries inspired by Christ moving thousands of miles away from their homes into lands with alien cultures, strange habits of food, drink, and dress, speaking unfamiliar languages, and starting schools and hospitals to propagate their Dharma." (Sathya Sai Speaks, V, 58:314)

The first fleeting mention of Jesus in the Discourses does not occur until Christmas 1970. Baba was already aged 44, and a week or so previously he had recovered from an appendicitis emergency allegedly taken on by him in order to save a devotee's life).

This was a crucial time in the development of the Organisation when Western interest was accelerating considerably and the Australian Howard Murphet and the American John Hislop were in the Baba fold and about to publish seminally important books about Baba which would dramatically increase the flow of "Western" devotees to Puttaparthi. Both they and subsequent writers were quick to point out the striking (and undeniable) similarities between the spiritual teachings of Sathya Sai Baba and Jesus Christ. Subsequent more detailed mentions of Jesus by Baba came at Christmas 1971, 1972, 1976, 1978, and almost annually to date as more and more Westerners flocked to Puttaparthi for Christmas. The Christmas celebrations in Puttaparthi, with carol singing concerts, have become a major feature alongside the otherwise predominantly Hindu festivals.

Baba's main emphasis, and his references to Jesus elsewhere, is not on Jesus as a full Avatar, and certainly not on His miracles, but on Jesus as a person doing good in the Name of God and realising a definite spiritual path to realisation of His Divinity, as we all can and should. The reason for this portrayal may simply be to make it accessible to Baba's vast hindu following.

In the references that follow, there is a bewildering series of discrepancies and inconsistencies regarding the date and participants in the birth of Jesus, His life and travels, His statements and His father's death. And, as with so much about the Sai Baba story, a total lack of documentary evidence.

The 1970 mention is very short. In Sathya Sai Speaks, X, for 1970, the 9-page Discourse for 25-12-70 at Dharmakshetra, contains a short penultimate paragraph: "This Day marks the beginning of the Christian Era, the year of Christ. Christ sacrificed his life for the sake of those who put their faith in him. He propagated the truth that service is God, that sacrifice is God." (X, 39:264) (The reader will note, incidentally, that neither the translator nor the printer thought Jesus important enough to justify the capital letters usually accorded to Divinity: He/ Him/His. Later, this would be rectified.)

In the Discourse given on 23 December 1971 (Sathya Sai Speaks, XI, 35:239) at a Madras Conference, on which Baba is commenting (so the topic of Jesus must have been discussed there), there seems a new policy (See Chapter 7) to link other religious figures with Sai Baba, particularly Jesus because of the common message of love. Baba mentions three statements by Christ as realising at different stages of His life that He is the messenger, then the Son of God, and finally at One with God. (This sequence of development and these statements will be repeated frequently in later Christmas Discourses). Baba adds in a practical way: "The Sathya Sai Organisation has to seek out chances of studying and substantiating these basic similarities and promote love and mutual cooperation."

1972 (in Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol XI, Chapter 54) is also the year of the first Brindavan Summer Course, and perhaps an ecumenical approach had been discussed or advocated by Baba or one of his close associates like Kasturi, Gokak or Shah, or his new foreign converts like Murphet and Hislop (who was to be instrumental in the setting up of the US Sai Baba Organisation in 1974), or benefactors like Elsie Cowan (who undertook to set up a Sai Baba Book Centre in USA).

On this occasion there is a much more detailed 10-page treatment of the Jesus story (especially useful for the majority of Baba's listeners who are Hindus). Jesus Christ is acknowledged and claimed as universal by Baba. But Baba uses this Discourse (on 24-12-72, in Bangalore), titled 'He whom Christ Announced', not only to comment ambivalently on the miracle of the star of Bethlehem but much more significantly, to make the extraordinary, spectacular, breathtaking claim that Jesus actually foreshadowed the eventual coming of Baba himself, not as Jesus's successor, but as God the Father. Baba puts into the mouth of Jesus several prophetic references clearly describing Baba, including a reference to a lamb and to the word "Ba-Ba", imitating the sound of a lamb. This time there are one or two capital references to 'He'.

A few extracts: "And, the story says, there was a Star in the sky, which fell with a New Light, and this led a few Tibetans [sic] and others to the place where the Saviour was born. This story is read and taken on trust by many, though stars do not fall or even slide down so suddenly. What the story signifies is this: There was a huge halo of splendour illuminating the sky over the village where Christ was born. This meant that He, who was to overcome the darkness of evil and ignorance had taken birth, that He will spread the Light of Love in the heart of man and councils of humanity.

"Appearances of splendour and other signs to herald the era that has dawned are natural when incarnations happen on earth." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XI, 54:344)

Two pages further on, at the end of the Discourse: "There is one point that I cannot but bring to your special notice today. At the moment when Jesus was merging in the Supreme Principle of Divinity, He communicated some news to his followers, which was interpreted in a variety of ways by commentators and those who relish the piling of writings on writings and meanings upon meanings, until it all swells up into a huge mess."

This is where Baba makes his striking claim referred to above: "The statement itself has been manipulated and tangled into a conundrum. The statement of Christ is simple: ' he who sent me among you will come again!' and he pointed to a Lamb. The Lamb is merely a symbol, a sign. It stands for the Voice: Ba-Ba; the announcement was the Advent of Baba. 'His Name will be Truth,' Christ declared. Sathya means Truth. 'He will wear a robe of red, a blood-red robe.' [Here Baba pointed to the robe He was wearing.] 'He will be short, with a crown (of hair). The Lamb is the sign and symbol of Love.'

"Christ did not declare that he will come again. He said, 'He who made me will come again.' That Ba-ba is this Baba and Sai, the short, curly-hair-crowned red-robed Baba, is come. He is not only in this Form, but he is in every one of you, as the dweller in the Heart. He is there, short, with a robe of the colour of the blood that fills it." (XI, 54:346)

A comment on the above. Rita Bruce, the popular author of Vision of Sai (Volumes I and II) confesses to having been captivated at the outset by Sandweiss's account of his first visits to Baba, especially by Sandweiss's lengthy quotation about the "Ba-Ba" Discourse (The Holy Man ... 176-178) and his opinion that this was "the most mind-blowing event of all regarding Baba's relationship to Christ." (p. 176) And it is a sensational piece of news! Unfortunately, unless one accepts the claims in blind faith, as most devotees probably do, there appears to be no evidence that Jesus made these detailed references.

In 1973-1975, there are no printed Discourses for Christmas Day. In Brindavan on 25-12-76 (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol XIII, Ch 27, Baba merely repeats the Messenger of God description ( p.175-176 ). For Christmas Day, 1977, there is no Discourse in the Indian or US editions of Sathya Sai Speaks, but according to the American edition, Vol X (Ch 28 for 1-1-78), Baba refers to and repeats remarks he made in an alleged Discourse on 25-12-77. One can only wonder why the Organisation in India failed to print this important Discourse in its Revised Edition (unless Baba himself or an associate made the decision).

The salient features contained in the U.S. Edition (and in Sathya Sai Baba. An Eastern View of Jesus Christ. Divine Discourses of Sathya Sai Baba, London, Sai Publications, ?1982 Translated by Lee Hewlett and K.Nataraj ) are outside the teachings of the orthodox Christian churches but are familiar in New Age circles. Interestingly, the so-called "lost years" of Jesus (which Baba was to mention on more than one occasion) were the subject of research and a contemporary video by the prominent American devotee, Richard Bock, who also made videos about Baba in the early 1970s (Gokak, 1975:284). Bock's original video about Jesus, and his wife Janet's book, The Jesus Mystery. Of Lost Years and Unknown Travels (1980) are almost certain to have been shared by them with Baba.

(p.178) "today is New Year's Day, associated with the birth and life of Jesus. It is a good occasion to give up the old and welcome the new. ... Jesus was the embodiment of compassion and love. ... His entire life was dedicated to service. ... Jesus was engaged in worship of Divine Truth throughout his life; that is to say, he was adhering to truth. ...

(p.179) "On Christmas Day I mentioned that Christ spent all his life in the service of mankind. He spent twelve years alone promoting the inner vision and realizing God. While engaged in service to the diseased and the downtrodden, he announced himself as the "Messenger of God". When you are engaged in service, you too must feel as messengers of God. ... Later, for some years Christ reflected on the Divine nature present in him and came to the conclusion that he was the "Son of God". Thus he moved closer to God. You should strive to come closer to God and realize that He is the Father and you are His children.

(p.180) "Thereafter Christ lived for five years in the Himalayan region of ancient India. He settled in Kashmir and met many exponents and practitioners of the adwaitha system of thought which declares that there is only one God. He realized the Oneness beneath all diversity, and then He spread the Truth that 'I and My Father are One'." (US Vol X, 28:178-180)

In the translation published in London, a similar account is offered in clearer English: Baba: "Early in His life He announced, 'I am God's Messenger. I have come as a servant to all God's children.' ...Later He retired from the world to be alone and contemplate the nature of God. He was totally immersed in the God within Himself for twelve years. ... Craving God still more, He went on a pilgrimage to an isolated part of the Himalayan mountains, dwelt even more deeply and constantly in God's Love. He continued this practice for five years... In His mountain retreat He practised a number of intense spiritual disciplines. He realized that the embracing Love of the Father was His own basic nature. He declared ``I and My Father are One... "The full awareness of His unity with the Almighty occurred while He was in India... After obtaining Divine Unity with God, and realizing that He and the Holy Ghost were One and inseparable, He made His way back to the countries of the West. He had been completely alone for seventeen years." (Sathya Sai Baba, An Eastern View of Jesus Christ, 113)

In 1978 (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 14, Ch. 16 ) Baba deals with the three stages again and repeats the story of Christ's sojourn in Kashmir. At Christmas1979, Baba repeats the Jesus as Messenger idea (Sathya Sai Speaks, XIV, 45:286) and adds: "There are various theories about the birth date of Jesus based on the 'bright star that appeared at his birth'." (XIV,45:288 ) Baba also goes on to say, in an attempt to demystify the "star", that the star was visible every 800 years and had nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. "The Star that appeared that day appears only once in 800 years. Its appearance had nothing to do with the birth of Jesus. There is no rule that, when Divine Energy or Divine Incarnation descends on Earth, a star has to appear."

The point of this deflationary remark is not at all clear unless it is in line with Baba's thesis that Jesus isn't a full avatar (as Baba has suggested elsewhere in his Discourses), especially at His birth, but a good man who realises his Divinity slowly. It sounds even more confusing when contrasted with the 1972 reference to "Appearances of splendour and other signs to herald the era that has dawned are natural when incarnations happen on earth." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XI, p. 344)

The years1980-1983 are lean ones for those seeking Baba's thoughts and revelations on Jesus. There is nothing much to comment on: Jesus is described as a good man, an ascetic searcher, and so on. "Jesus wandered purposefully in lonely places for twelve long yrs, engaging himself in study, spiritual exercises and meditation on God." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XIV, 60:390 - 1980) "Jesus was compassion come in human form." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XV, 37:204 - Christmas 1981) By 1982, Baba was back to the Messenger theme again and at Christmas 1983 there were no references.

In 1984, Baba ventures to tell us the words of what are known to Christians as the Three Wise Men. This is a new version of his 3-stages of development (or realisation), using different words: "When Jesus was born, three wise men followed a star to reach his place of birth. Seeing the new-born babe, they bowed to the child in their hearts. Before leaving, each of them spoke about the child as follows to the parents. One sage said to Mary: 'He loveth God.' The second sage said, 'God loveth him.' The third man said, 'He is God.'" (Sathya Sai Speaks, XVII, 30:190)

Baba goes on to link this up with the three stages mentioned in earlier Discourses and "It means that as the Son of God, he is entitled to acquire his father's place. The unity of the Father and Son was proclaimed by the third sage." (p. 191) The development of the theme then gets a little complex:'The inner meaning of all this is that every human being in the world is the messenger of God ..." (p.191)

In 1985, Baba's emphasis is on the essential equality of all faiths, but, doubtless for reasons of internal Indian politics, he chooses to criticise "a growing tendency among propagators of the Christian faith to cast aspersions on other religions. Money is being spent lavishly to spread Christianity. This type of propaganda does great harm to the personality of Jesus." (Sathya Sai Speaks , XXVIII, 30:192)

At Christmas 1986 Baba repeats the "Messenger x 3 stages" theme but very concisely now: "This is the primary message of Jesus. It grew in him by stages. He looked upon himself, at first, only as a Messenger of God. Later, sensing closer relationship with God, he announced himself as the Son of God. As the awareness of Self developed, through contacts and meditation, he realised his identity with God, and he could assert, 'I and my Father are One.'" (Sathya Sai Speaks, XIX, 28:221)

In 1987 Baba quotes St Paul's dream and attributes to Jesus some words which echo his own way of thinking. "St Paul, who was in the beginning an inveterate critic of Jesus, became the first propagator of the Christian faith after having a vision of Christ in a dream in which Jesus told him: 'Every man is a spark of the Divine. When you hate me, you are hating yourself and hating God.' (Sathya Sai Speaks, XX, 31:261)

In 1988 Baba returns to a fuller and more creative treatment of Jesus: "In his twelfth year, Jesus and his parents, Joseph and Mary, happened to go to a Jewish festival in Jerusalem. ..." He gives the story of Jesus getting lost in the temple, and a quotation which shows that: "Jesus this revealed that he regarded himself as the Son of God." "Jesus grew up at Nazareth till he reached thirty." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XXI, 34:272) 'He got baptised by John the Baptist and spent forty days in penance in a forest,. During the penance, he prayed to God for three things: One - He should be blessed with the quality of loving equally everyone; Two - He should have the strength and forbearance to suffer patiently any indignity or persecution that he might be subjected to by anyone; Three - He should be enabled to use his God-given body wholly in the service of God.". (XXI, p. 272)

In 1989 (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol XXII) the theme is again the 3 Kings and their separate messages. In 1990 (Vol XXIII), there is very little, except some self-congratulation on the appropriate way Christmas is celebrated in Baba's ashram. "The Christmas festival is celebrated in many countries with a lot of fanfare, merriment and riotous festivities. ... Nowhere in the world is Christmas celebrated in the manner in which it is done in Prasanthi Nilayam. People belonging to different countries, different faiths and different cultures, coming together to adore God and celebrating this festival in such a holy atmosphere cannot be found anywhere else. This should spread to all countries." (XXIII, 36:312)

In 1991 (Sathya Sai Speaks, XXIV, 29:324), Baba introduces the Sanskrit/Hindu name, Esu (Jesus). "This term also signifies the oneness of Divinity." (XXIV, 29:322) (p.323) The 3 stages again, via the three kings and their words: "Three kings from the East came to see him at the time of his birth. One of them, on seeing the child, felt that he would be a lover of God. Another felt that he would be loved by God. The third king felt that he would one day declare his oneness with God. The first one's thought indicated Jesus's role as a 'Messenger of God'. The second one's thought indicated that he would be the 'Son of God'. The third person's thought indicated that the child would indicate one day that 'I and my Father are One.'" (XXIV, 29:323)

In 1992 "On December 25^th, when Jesus was born, three kings came to his birthplace." (Sathya Sai Speaks, XXV, 39:397) Baba again quotes what each king commented about Jesus but seen from a Baba point of view. "Jesus performed many miraculous deeds ..."(XXV, 39:398) Note this late appearance of Jesus's miracles. Baba again strongly promotes Prasanthi Nilayam as the ideal place for Xmas celebration. Baba repeats the three kings' statements except that the third one says: "Verily, this child is God Himself." (XXV, 39:397) "The first one viewed the child from the physical pt of view. The second saw the child from the mental pt of view. The third saw from the Atmik point of view. "The three declarations indicate how one can progress from the human to the divine level." (XXV, 39:397)

In 1993 (Vol XXVI, Ch 37 ), Jesus is seen as a special person, like a saint, not exactly an Avatar except, fleetingly, in his later years! Baba praises the qualities in Jesus that he wishes to be seen as his too. The Discourse's Introductory verse begins, "Whom the Mohommedans adore as Allah, The Christians as Jehovah, The Vaishnavites as the Lotus-Eyed Lord ... ( XXVI, p. 405) Baba then moves on a page later to tell us about Saint Paul's original opposition to Jesus. Suddenly, in the next paragraph, Baba refers to Jesus as avatar: "In this manner, in the lives of many Avatars one finds that despite all the love and blessings they receive and the benefits they derive from the Avatars, some devotees turn against the Divine when their selfish desires are not fulfilled."( p.409)

On the next page, Baba adds his own idiosyncratic anecdote about St John: "Once Saint John, while walking along, saw an angel reading a book. He asked who she was and what she was reading. She replied that she was an angel and that she was reading a book dealing with the doctrine of love. He asked for the book and the angel gave it to him but said, 'You must eat this book. When you are consuming the book, its taste will be bitter. But after you have eaten and digested it, it will become very sweet.' 'Eating the book' means absorbing the contents of the book, practising them and experiencing the bliss therefrom." (p. 411) (IF, as it appears, this dialogue is apocryphal, one may be tempted to wonder whether Baba, with his endless stock of 'historical/mythological' anecdotes, does similarly imaginative things for Hindu scriptures if it suits his message. We must wait for Hindu scholars to report back on this.)

In1994 comes the first of several startling changes to the story so far: Suddenly they are not kings but shepherds (Sathya Sai Speaks, XXVII, 33:296): "It is said that when Jesus was born ... three kings were led by a star to Jesus's place of birth. In fact, they were not kings but three shepherds." (XXVII, 33:296 )

(p.295) The anecdote about Jesus's trip to Jerusalem with his parents to a festival at the age of 12 is expanded and a dialogue with his worried Mother is lengthened. We are also told that Jesus felt he needed to serve his parents and so stayed with them. Joseph passed away when Jesus was thirty. (But in 1995 Baba will say that Joseph died when Jesus was 10. He will also return to the "kings" idea in that Discourse.) Only then: "He sought his mother's permission to devote himself to the service of the needy and the forlorn... After leaving home, Jesus had himself baptized by John. Then for forty days Jesus observed severe austerities without food and drink. At first he considered himself a Messenger of God. After the penance he realised he was the son of God. He began his ministry with a group of fishermen as his first disciples. He taught them that they should first seek the Kingdom of Heaven ... Jesus further declared to them: 'I and my Father are One.'" (XXVII, 33:295-296) (Here there is no mention of special travels, because, according to this timetable, there would have been no time for them.)

The Christmas 1995 Discourse (Internet: www.eaisai.baba.com ) In the several pages dealing with the Jesus story, the parallels with Baba's teachings are emphasised. (Here there is a new discrepancy: the age of Joseph at his death and some brand new 'historical' dialogue unknown to Christian theologians and scholars.): "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:
"I will experience divine Love and propagate and exemplify it to mankind under all circumstances. This is the objective of my life."
"I will not be elated by praise nor be dismayed when criticized. I will maintain equanimity."
"I will recognize Love, the inherent divinity in each man, and share Love with all men."

"At the time of Jesus' birth, three Arabian kings ["some Tibetans" in the 1972 Discourse; three wise men in 1984; mere shepherds in 1994] gathered. One of the kings looked at the Christ child and said, 'He will be one who will love God.' The second king said, 'God Himself will love this child.' The third king said, 'This child and God are one.' The one who loves God is the Messenger of God. The one who is worthy of God's Love is the Son of God. The one who understands the unity and non-dualism of the divine principle, and derives bliss from it, verily personifies the truth, 'Father and Son are one.'"

In 1996, Baba again tells us that Joseph died while Jesus was still young: "As the name and fame of Jesus spread, opposition to him developed among a section of the Jews. After his father's death, young Jesus considered it his duty to help his mother and revere her as divine. ... Jesus came with his mother [not parents] to Jerusalem when he was eleven years old. His mother was worried about the activities of Jesus. Jesus was critical of the way the Jews in the temple ... He came out against the harmful practices in the temple and preached the omnipresence of God in all human beings ..."

"What he preached was in accord with the basic teachings of all religions." (Sanathana Sarathi, January 1997, p.2 and Sathya SaI Speaks, XXIX, 53: 393)

Perhaps to live up to his audience's expectations of spectacular Christmas revelations, however, Baba goes on to announce and to produce what he refers to (XXIX, p.394) as "a book compiled in Britain around 1530 A.D. containing all the information about Jesus gathered during the preceding centuries. The Russians condensed all the material in a small book [in which language?] which they preserved in a place on the Black Sea coast [not named]." The official report continues: [Svaami produced the little book by a circular wave of His hand and held it before the audience.] "This is the book. You can see the cross on the cover page. The book was designed to demonstrate the common features of all religions. What is contained in this book is not to be found even in the Bible. It contains an entirely new account of the life of Jesus." [Bold type added]

Apart from Baba's three conflicting descriptions of the book's contents, this is a most disturbing performance because on a video of the 'materialisation', Baba merely seems to pluck the miniature book (2 and a half cms by 3 and a quarter) from below the ledge of the table he is leaning on. Photographs of Baba holding up the tiny book were immediately circulated in Puttaparthi. One of these is on the cover of the Spanish edition of the January 1997 issue of Sanathana Sarathi (El Eterno Conductor) for that same month. However, the mysterious book appears to be nothing more than a copy of the "Good News" edition of the New Testament, freely and cheaply available in India, and overseas. (See Chapter 6)

At Christmas 1997 (Internet: www.eaisai.com), Jesus's Message is shown to support Baba's message of Love. More new dialogue is invented: "There were controversies regarding Jesus. These differences were the cause of the ordeals he had to go through. But Jesus was prepared to face any trouble or any penalty. He considered Compassion as the supreme quality. At first, he declared he was a "Messenger of God." Then, he announced: "I am the Son or God." Ultimately he declared: "I and my Father are One." You must take note of this oneness. You must proclaim your oneness and not your diversity. Today people talk about unity but do not practice it. In every discourse Swami speaks about love. How many practice it? How many have tried to understand the Love Principle? Who has this Love? Love is not to be seen anywhere." ... Today Purity is absent. How, then, do you realize Divinity? You must offer everything to God without any desire. Dedicate your all to God. This was the teaching of Jesus. He considered everything as an offering to God. When he was being nailed on the cross, people around were weeping. At that moment an ethereal voice declared: "All are one, My dear Son! Be alike to everyone. " Jesus declared: "Death is the dress of life." Just as we change our clothes, we change also our bodies. The bodies are vestures (for the indwelling Spirit). Hence bodies should be regarded as mere vestures. We should not worry about the body."

In the 1998 Discourse (from the Internet: eaisai.com and Sainet News), the real birth date is revealed as March, which although not coming as a surprise to Christian theologians, does differ from the dates previously offered by Baba.

"The term Christmas has been derived from the Roman language. Truly speaking, Christmas falls in the month of March, not in December: Since it is very cold in December and people are confined to their homes, they use this time to celebrate Christmas. Actually Jesus was born in the month of March. With the passage of time, this fact has been distorted and misrepresented in the Bible. "Munde munde Mathir Bhinnah" (Heads vary so also thoughts). Each one interpreted Bible in his own way. Some wrote that Jesus was never born. Some wrote that it was the brother of Jesus crucified, not Jesus and that He was in Japan at that time. This is all imagination. Jesus is Truth."

Also more new dialogue is reported: "When Jesus was born three Arabian kings came to see Him. They were overjoyed at seeing the newborn babe. While returning, the first king said to Mary, "Mother, you have given birth to a child who loves God." The second king said, "Mother you have given birth to a child who will be loved by God." The third king said, "Mother Mary, your child is not different from God, both are one and the same." Once we understand the inner meaning of these three statements, we will know the truth. The one who loves God is the Messenger of God; the one whom God loves is the Son of God; the one who understands the principle of unity becomes one with God. ..."

In1999 (Internet: eaisai.com), as if exhausted by so many revelations and invention (or perhaps advised by his Organisation chiefs to tone things down), Baba did not even mention Jesus! He merely stated that Christmas is for everyone, gave the Krishna story and spoke about the preparations for his 75^th Birthday celebrations, especially by the 3000-strong Messengers of Sathya Sai: the distribution of 75,000 saris and a food project.

In his recent (2000) Christmas Discourse (easai.com and Sanathana Sarathi, January 2001), following his annus horribilis of constant criticism on the Internet and in the media, and possibly at the insistence of the concerned leaders of the Sai Baba Organisation, Baba refers at the outset to Jesus and the problems he had from his enemies. The sub-text references to himself and betrayal are quite clear. This is followed, in a very strident tone of voice, by an unusually open, spirited and lengthy self-defence and, also rare for Baba, a lengthy public trumpeting of a list of his main public benefactions and good works as well as a reiteration of the guaranteed success of his mission. The (self-supporting) references to Jesus are frequent. (Unusually, the Discourse was delivered at the Brindavan ashram, instead of Prasanthi Nilayam.)

"Today you have to remind yourselves of the ideals Jesus stood for. For ages, from time to time, many noble souls, endowed with immense spiritual power, have taken birth to propagate sacred teachings to the world. They struggled hard to make the world a good place to live in. But without understanding their noble intentions, foolish people tried to ridicule and persecute them. Right from his birth, Jesus had to face many trials and tribulations. When the name and fame of noble souls spread far and wide, many people become jealous. Asuya (jealousy) and Anasuya (absence of jealousy) are sisters. The history of Bharat is replete with many examples that bear testimony to this truth. ... ...

"Jesus was the epitome of compassion and the refuge of the poor, needy and forlorn. But many people tried to create troubles for Jesus, since they did not like his sacred teachings and activities. Their hatred for Jesus increased day by day. Even the priests turned against Jesus as they became jealous of his growing popularity. The fishermen held Jesus in high esteem. They started following his teachings and became his disciples. Many people out of jealousy laid obstacles in his path and even tried to kill him.

"Jesus had twelve disciples. Judas was the twelfth disciple, who ultimately betrayed Jesus. At that time, there was only one Judas, but today there are many such 'Judases'. Today the world is engulfed in unrest because of the rise in the number of betrayers like Judas. ... ... Because of their greed for money, people resort to evil and unjust ways, distort the truth, and make false propaganda. This was the case then and it is so even now. No one needs to be afraid of such false allegations. Why should one be afraid of the mistake that one has not committed? In the past, many evil-minded people were jealous of the divine personalities who attained worldwide fame through their teachings of truth and righteousness. Even today there is no dearth of such wicked people.

"Today, many people are jealous of Sai, since His name and fame are spreading far and wide. Neither do they undertake any good activity nor can they tolerate if someone else is doing good. ... ... It was Sai Baba who quenched the thirst of lakhs of people of Rayalaseema. Today, the cost of heart surgeries run into lakhs of rupees. Again it is Sai Baba who has established a Super Speciality Hospital, where most expensive heart surgeries are done totally free of cost.

"I have started yet another Super Speciality Hospital in Bangalore at a cost of Rs. 300 crores. (cheers). In this vast land of Bharat, do you find any politician in power associating himself with such noble cause? On the other hand, rather shamelessly, they go on talking ill of others. People who try to put obstacles in the way of sacred activities are no human beings at all. They are verily demons. Even if the whole world were to be filled with such demons, Sai's resolve will never change. (cheers). Some people, out of their mean-mindedness, are trying to tarnish the image of Sai Baba. I don't crave for name and fame. So I don't lose anything by their false propaganda. My glory will go on increasing day by day. It will never diminish even a bit if they were to publicise their false propaganda in the whole world in bold letters. Some devotees seem to be disturbed over these false statements. They are not true devotees at all. Having known the mighty power of Sai, why should you be afraid of the 'cawing of crows'? One should not get carried away by all that is written on walls, said in political meetings, or printed as the vulgar tales carried by the print media."

Then a promise to the faithful: "In the future, you are going to witness many more glorious events. There is nothing that Sathya Sai cannot accomplish. (cheers). In fact, He can strike people with awe and wonder with His deeds. But His only aim is to make everybody happy. Loka samastha sukhino bhavantu (May the entire world be happy)."

And, again appealing to his self-identification with Jesus, Baba adds: "So, do not harbour hatred toward those who criticise you. Accept anything good that comes in your way. Ignore all that is bad. People may praise or criticise, but none can shake Sai. (cheers). Sai lives in truth. None can shake truth at any point of time. Lead your lives with such strong conviction. Develop faith in God day by day. As faith increases, all the wickedness will perish. Do not give up the spiritual practices that you have been doing all along. Since Jesus bore all the difficulties with fortitude, he is being adored and worshipped to this day."

On page 6 of this self- defence, Baba shows part of the reason why he is speaking: to rally doubting devotees: "I hope I am not causing you baadha (trouble) by speaking at length. In fact it is not baadha but a great bodha (teaching). People who are fear-stricken should be given the tonic of courage. Do not give scope for any weakness whatsoever."

Once again, with the apparent farrago of invention and bewildering permutations about the life of Jesus, we see quite clearly that Baba is using the Christ story as a metaphor for his own mission and message and with scant regard for textual truth and accuracy as it is recorded in Christian theology. If Baba really were omniscient, the revelations and dialogue would be consistent in details and would have to be accepted, but the detailed comparison above reveals that there is so little consistency on several important points of the Jesus story that Sai Baba's credibility becomes the first casualty. Comparisons such as those above strongly suggest that, as with Yugadi 'predictions', and the etymological inventions of a previous chapter, Baba often improvises or embroiders on the theme of the Jesus story as he goes along, using his powerful story-telling techniques to rivet his adoring and uncritical listeners.

As a footnote, it may be added that Jesus is not the only subject of Baba's apparent factual embroidery on spiritual biographies. In September 1990, one of Baba's Discourses caused a stir of excitement when he gave hitherto unknown facts about Shirdi Sai Baba's date of birth and his youth. (Incidentally, for possible reasons which were suggested in Chapter 3, this Discourse followed a 19 year silence on Shirdi in Baba's printed Discourses.)

On the first day of the Navaratri festival at the end of September, Sai Baba made a revelation: Shirdi Sai Baba was born on September 28, 1835, had stayed with a fakir (his adopted father) for four years (1835-1839) and stayed in Venkusa's ashram for 12 years from 1839 to 1851. (Sanathana Sarathi, November 1990, p. 290). Two years later, at the same festival (September 27,1992), Baba caused another stir by further revelations about Shirdi Sai in which he changed the alleged date of birth to September 27, 1838, three years later. Baba went on to speak of other unknown details of Shirdi's early life, with no reference to his previous Discourse, as if he had forgotten not only the content but its existence. (Sanathana Sarathi, November 1992, p. 255).

With such evidence, one is entitled to feel a recurrent suspicion that, at least sometimes, Baba says whatever comes into his head, showing not only a lack of omniscience but a lack of concern about what anyone else may think! A strong and fearless policy, perhaps, but also, surely, a reckless one because it undermines the claim to Divine omniscience. But so far, 50 years on, and with a violent anti-Baba campaign gathering momentum on the Internet, few have expressed much interest in this odd behaviour, and the handful of devotees who given the matter attention (like Ganapati, as described at the beginning of this chapter), have been able to rationalise the habit either as being a perfectly acceptable divine leela, a test, or as the natural occasional fallibility of the human mind which the present Avatar has chosen to inhabit. True, faithful, totally committed devotees will no doubt continue to accept this view. Others may no longer be able to justify such blind trust in the face of the accumulating evidence.

And the key question remains: with such evidence of (at best) doubtful or (at worst) incorrect information being disseminated by Baba in his Discourses, what is one to make of other 'omniscient' pronouncements and claims made by the same guru?