The telepathic claims are made about Sai Baba's `knowledge', which comes in three varieties: (1) Scientific, historical and technical expertise purportedly had by Sai Baba that he could not have come by in normal ways; (2) religious knowledge; and (3) apparently telepathic knowledge of the doings of Sai Baba's devotees. The first is hard for lay people to assess; and so if Sai Baba gets away with a few bloopers from time to time, the explanation may be twofold: either that the followers do not themselves know the facts, or that they don't care. However, while this explanation will work for many of Sai Baba's devotees, it strains credibility when applied to some very well educated followers. On the other hand, some readers may think that science according to Sai Baba would strain credibility even more.
Of course, all followers, even the best-educated ones, put their religion above other worldly concerns, so we should expect both Sai Baba and his followers to be specially on their toes when it comes to these claims. Now it will not do to criticise Sai Baba's religious pronouncements from the standpoint of a rival religion--this would simply beg the question. So in the section devoted to religion below, I concentrate on occasions where Sai Baba quotes or paraphrases from the Christian Bible, in order to examine how accurate he is about the passages themselves. It is, to be sure, possible that Sai Baba knows better than the scribes and translators of this document. I am not interested whether this is so. I am merely interested in whether he shows any awareness that his interpretation differs from the usual one. After all, this is an item of knowledge of which an omniscient being would be aware!
I should make it clear why I dwell on the truth or falsity of the claims when telepathy is supposed to be the issue under consideration. The claim that Sai Baba displays telepathic powers in his display of `knowledge' of any of the three sorts listed above, as made by his devotees, in turn consists of two sub-claims: First, that he has knowledge in these matters, and second that he gains this knowledge through means other than the way people normally gain knowledge i.e., other than through asking questions, reading others' accounts, one's own observation, inference, guessing, etc. Actually, Sai Baba's defenders never propose an account of how Sai Baba gains the knowledge he is said to have. Nowhere in the literature do we find an hypothesis of how Sai Baba's telepathy works. Nor do we find a systematic discussion of what Sai Baba's telepathic powers really amount to. So the evidence presented by Sai Baba's defenders for Sai Baba's telepathic powers has to be inferred from the always fulsome, and often incoherent reports of his putatively miraculous pronouncements. If I understand the logic of these accounts, what they are purporting to show is (a) that Sai Baba knows intimate details of his followers' lives, and historical facts--such as details about the life of Jesus of Nazareth--that could not have been discerned through normal means; and (b) that Sai Baba knows so much about so many different things that no one would have time to learn these things through normal channels; and (c) that Sai Baba has such a `deep understanding' of such things as science and religion that he must have access to ways of knowing that are denied mere mortals. In other words, their evidence for telepathy rests on their analysis of the knowledge itself.
Since we do not have an argument from devotees about how Sai Baba gets hisclaimed knowledge we have nothing to speculate on here about this. In whatfollows, I concentrate on the supposed knowledge itself. In the selectionswhich follow, I quote devotees' reports of Sai Baba's pronouncements on a rangeof topics, and various responses and data from which the reader can judge forherself whether Sai Baba's statements really do constitute knowledge, andwhether they are so profound and accurate. If the reader decides that SaiBaba's knowledge is not so impressive after all, perhaps she will not feel thelack of accounts of how these items could have been got by telepathy.
I also quote passages where Sai Baba reports his knowledge about his followers' lives, and the reader can judge how intimate Sai Baba's knowledgeis. The purpose of these illustrations is to allow the reader to entertain an alternative hypothesis about where Sai Baba's `knowledge' of these matterscomes from.
I will not attempt to be systematic here, but will simply exhibit some ofthe obvious problems even a cursory examination of Sai Baba's speeches willreveal for any attempt to make good claims that Sai Baba has completetelepathic knowledge. If the reader thinks I am pushing over a straw man inthis chapter, I remind him of the claims made by some of his most influentialfollowers:
27 - Hislop's Claim For Sai Baba's Telepathic Knowledge:
Baba demonstrates again and again that nothing is concealedfrom him, that in fact he can give an immediate true answer to any question inany field of knowledge--spiritual or mundane. Even specialists bow to himbecause of his superior knowledge in their fields of expertise.
John Hislop, My Baba & I, p. 74.
28 - Sai Baba on Winston Churchill:
You have to learn from the example of Churchill, who though hedid not fare well at school, through sheer self-confidence and self-education, became the Prime Minister of England. He enlisted in the army at a young age. When he later entered politics, he trained himself to become an effectivepublic speaker. Before going to a meeting, he would practise before a mirrorhow he would address the meeting and what kind of impression he would make on the audience by his gestures and movements. By correcting himself in this way,he developed great self-confidence and acquired an impressive publicpersonality.
He became a master in the art of repartee. At an election meeting he wasrailing against the opposition without mincing words. A woman in theaudience, who was greatly provoked by Churchill's attack, got up and shouted: `Shut up.' She remarked: `If I had been your wife I would have administeredpoison to put an end to your life.' Churchill coolly replied: `If I had beenyour husband, I would have thrust the cup of poison down your throat.' Thewoman was put to shame and remained silent thereafter.`
Sai Baba, quoted in the official organ of the Sai Babaorganization, Sanathana Sarathi, February 1989, p. 32.
29 - Churchill's Wit, Represented by Everyone Else:
At a weekend party given by the Duke of Marlborough at BlenheimPalace, Churchill found himself seated next to Lady Astor. The beautifulAmerican born Nancy had been angered at some of Churchill's savage attacks onthe Baldwin government and had fought him in House of Commons debates. Whencoffee was served, the acid-tongued Nancy said, `Winston, if I were your wife,I'd put poison in your coffee.' `Nancy,' Churchill replied to the acid-tonguedlady member of Parliament, `If I were your husband, I'd drink it.'
James Humes, Churchill: Speaker Of The Century, Stein &Day, N. Y. 1980, p. 284.
Lady Astor: Winston, if I were your wife, I'd put poison inyour coffee.
W.S.C.: If I were your husband, Nancy, I'd take it.
Kay Halle, Irrepressible Churchill, World Publishing,1966 N.Y., p. 85.
Lady Astor neither gave nor asked for quarter, and she got nonefrom him. At a dinner party she told him: `Winston, if I were your wife I'dpoison your soup.' He replied, `Nancy, if I were your husband, I'd drink it.'
W. Manchester, Winston Spencer Churchill, Visions OfGlory, Little Brown and Co. Boston 1983, p. 34.
...Lady Astor said, `Winston, if I were married to you, I'd putpoison in your coffee.' Churchill responded, `And if you were my wife, I'd drink it.'
C. Fadiman, ed., Little Brown Book Of Anecdotes, LittleBrown, Boston, 1985, p. 122.
The battles between Winston and Lady Astor were long andfurious. `If I were your wife,' Lady Astor roared at him, `I would put poisonin your coffee'. To which Churchill replied with dignity, `And if I were yourhusband I would drink it.'
Bocca, G., The Adventurous Life of Winston Churchill,Quoted in Man Of The Century, Little Brown Boston 1965, p. 130.
30 - Sai Baba on Ramsay Macdonald:
In Britain, there was a poor lad who used to make a living bywriting addresses on covers for illiterate persons and to give tuitions to children. Each time he wrote an address, he used to say: "May God blessyou." He used to tell the young children before they went back to theirhomes after their lessons: "May God shower His grace on you." He hadfirm faith that some day God would raise him to a position where he would beable to render service to the people. He always told his young students: "Havefaith in God." He himself had firm faith in God.
In course of time, he became the Prime Minister of Britain. He was JamesRamsay Macdonald. From a poor address writer to the Prime Ministership ofGreat Britain what a change in fortune wrought by the grace of God!
Quoted in Sanathana Sarathi, August 1986 from aDiscourse given 21-7-1986.
What was Ramsay Macdonald's job? Sai Baba suggests that address writing wasa principal source of employment for the young Ramsay Macdonald, and that thereason he was addressing covers was because the letters were being sent onbehalf of illiterate persons who could not write their own envelopes. Here isthe information from two biographies which make clear that the envelopeaddressing was very brief, and in any case, the members of a Cyclists' TouringClub were not illiterate senders of mail whom Ramsay Macdonald would be kindenough to bless! Since Ramsay Macdonald was doing stenographic work for theCycling Society he would not have had any opportunity to offer the blessingswith which Sai Baba so colourfully and generously embellishes the story. Hereis what two biographers of Ramsay Macdonald have to say about the same time inhis life.
31 - Biographers of Ramsay Macdonald on the SameIncident:
...He tramped the streets of London in search of work, ekingout the few pounds he had somehow contrived to save at Bristol, living onoatmeal sent from home, an occasional threepenny beefsteak pudding, and hot water in place of tea or coffee. When he was almost at the end of his meagreresources he found a job addressing envelopes at the National Cyclists' Unionin Fleet Street, at 10s. a week. But this was only a temporary refuge, andanother period of unemployment followed, until he found a post as an invoiceclerk in the city at 12s. 6d. a week, rising to 15s.
David Marquand, Ramsay MacDonald, Jonathan Cape,London, 1977, p. 19.
It is said that it was on the afternoon of the last day onwhich it was possible to keep the struggle going that he found employment. Itwas the addressing of envelopes at ten shillings a week, for the newly formedCyclist Touring Club. And so, though he had been within a few hours offailure, he had survived. He had not been driven back from the gates ofopportunity. Ten shillings a week and the envelopes of the Cyclists' TouringClub had ensured him a political career. Not that the Cyclists afforded aneconomic anchorage for long. It was temporary work, and there was anothertrying hiatus before he was taken on, this time at fifteen shillings a week, asinvoice-clerk in a warehouse.
Lord Elton, The Life Of J. Ramsay Macdonald, Collins1939, London, p. 53.
32 - Sai Baba's Explanation of Edison's Deafness:
The Example of Edison
Students need both faith in God and determination (deeksha) for success inlife. There is the example of the great American scientist, Thomas AlvaEdison. He was born in a poor family on February 11, 1847, in the State ofOhio. Although he made no progress in his studies, he became a great inventor, thanks to his supreme self-confidence and his perseverance and determinationin the pursuit of his experiments. His early experiments had untoward results,which provoked his parents to punish him and ultimately to send him out of thehome. For a time he earned a living by selling sweets in trains. Once, aguard slapped him for causing an explosion in the closet of a train. Hishearing was affected thereby. A benefactor came into his life after he hadsaved a child from being run over by a train. He got a job in a telegraphcompany and was free to carry on his experiments...
Satya Sai Baba, quoted in Sanathana Sarathi, February1989. The subtitle was given by the editor of the journal.
33 - Edison Biographer M. Josephson's Debunking of thisMyth:
The earlier stories of his (Edison's) boyhood done long ago inthe Horatio Alger style, have much pathos but are misleading. From thesymptoms of his deafness, as described by himself and others as well, it seemsto have been traceable to the aftereffects of scarlatina suffered in childhood,and to have developed through periodic infection of the middle ear that wasunattended.
In the earlier tales of how his deafness arose he is described as having been busy one day in his baggage-car laboratory. In those times theiron-plated tracks were so unpredictable that they sometimes curled up andpierced the floors --and seats!-- of passing cars. At all events, the trainsuddenly gave a violent lurch, and a jar holding some sticks of phosphorus inwater fell from the shelves to the floor; on being uncovered and exposed to theair the phosphorus soon ignited with a startling white light and burst intoflames. The wooden floor of the car took fire, while the boy struggled vainlyto smother the flames. The conductor, one Alexander Stevenson, sometimesdescribed as a `dour Scot', came forward in time to douse the little fire. Then, it is related, he lost his head, `cursed Edison roundly and boxed hisears' with such `brutal blows' that the boy soon afterward became deaf. `Whena few minutes later the train stopped at Smith's Creek station, the conductorthrew the boy overboard, and after him his whole laboratory and printingpress.' Tom Edison was left weeping beside the railroad track, and permanentlyinjured as well.
The details of this story, however--and it has become a legend--are broadlyinaccurate. Edison himself tried to recapitulate things toward the end of hislife, so as to correct the more romanticized accounts of his boyhood misfortunes. According to these later recollections, he was delayed in gettingto the train one morning; it was already leaving the station. `I was tryingto climb into the freight car with both arms full of heavy bundles ofpapers...I ran after it and caught the rear step, hardly able to lift myself. A trainman reached over and grabbed me by the ears and lifted me...I feltsomething snap inside my head, and the deafness started from that time and hasprogressed ever since.' He remembered that at first he could hear only `a fewwords now and then,' after which he `settled down to a steady deafness.'
In retelling the story to his intimates of later years, he also roundly declared that the ear-boxing incident never happened. `If it was that man wholifted me by the ears who injured me, he did it to save my life.'
Matthew Josephson, Edison, A Biography, McGraw Hill, NY1959, pp. 30- 31
34 - Sai Baba on Einstein's Kindness to a Little Girl:
In the ward in which Einstein was living, there was a girl whowas weak in mathematics and was repeatedly failing in that subject. A friendsuggested to her that if she went to Einstein, the greatest livingmathematician, he would help her to learn the subject well. The girlapproached Einstein and he readily agreed to give her tuition everyday. Thegirl was immensely grateful and gained confidence from Einstein's offer. Thegirl's mother, who had observed her daughter going to the great mathematicianfor tuition everyday, felt that the little girl was wasting Einstein's time byasking him to teach her elementary mathematics. She went one day to Einsteinand apologized to him for her daughter's intrusion on his valuable time. Einstein told her: "Do not think I am just teaching mathematics to her. I am learning as many things from her as I am teaching her."
Sai Baba, discourse of Aug. 16 1987, published inSanathana Sarathi, September 1987, quoted from reprint in Soham, (VancouverB.C. Sai Baba newsletter) p. 17, Nov. 1987.
35 - Ronald Clark Debunks This Story:
With the `great stir' [Einstein's sudden fame--ed.] therestarted the Einstein mythology, the complex structure of story and half-story, half-truth, quarter-truth, adorned exaggeration, and plain lie, which from nowonwards increasingly surrounded his activities. ...There were many reasons forthe mythology which developed from 1920 onwards. One was that inventions hadgood ground to grow in. Immersed in his work in Berlin, Einstein did on oneoccasion use a check as a bookmark; it was therefore pardonable that the storywould surface as the account of how he had placed a $1,500 check into a bookand then lost the book. ... His character was kindly and gentle, and he was at least once asked by a neighbor's small girl to help with her sums; after that,small girls all over the world had Einstein doing their homework despite thefact that he had refused the request on the grounds that it would not be fair. The legends themselves, melting in the harsh light of investigation, show notso much what sort of man he really was as what kind of man the world thoughthim.
Ronald W. Clark, Einstein, The Life and Times, (Avonbooks, N.Y., 1972 p. 310.
36 - Sai Baba on Judgment of Character:
Einstein attached great importance to the kind of associateswith whom one moved. He used to say: `Tell me what company you keep and Ishall tell you what you are.' If you associate with good persons you become good; if you move with wicked persons, you become bad.
Sai Baba, same discourse as above, Sanathana Sarathi,Sept. 1987, quoted from p. 17, Soham, November 1987.
This quotation bears no resemblance to the well documented quotations of Einstein on such matters. Einstein was a fierce individualist, and thisquotation appears to be entirely fictitious without even any pretext orhalf-truth to justify it! As in the previous quote, Sai Baba appears to befar more interested in the moral of the story than the morality of telling thestory inaccurately. For Einstein's attitudes on these matters, see Clark, ibid,throughout.
Of course it is no reflection on Sai Baba's intelligence that he appears tobe ignorant of customs and habits of a foreign country, or of biographicaldetails about foreigners. What I am suggesting is that the above items, citedby supporters of Sai Baba, seem to indicate beliefs picked up from casualreading and misremembered many years later, or from anecdotes heard swapped by people in casual conversation in the past, already garbled and subject to worsegarbling once memory plays its normal tricks. Of course we are all subject tothese flaws--however, most of us do not claim to be omniscient, with telepathicpowers! Most of us do better when the items in question concern importantincidents in our own country's history. Let us see how Sai Baba does with suchan item.
37 - Sai Baba on Alexander the Great:
India Then and Now
...By following the advice of one country or other India has made a hash ofits economy and finances. In ancient times, India served as an example toother countries. A king from Greece came to India to study the conditionshere, especially in regard to education and religion, after visiting other countries in Asia. He was impressed by the gurukula system of education andthe kind of relations that existed between the guru and the sishyas. Theashram of every guru was a veritable university, without any of the paraphernalia of modern universities. The students were prepared for all kindsof hardship to acquire knowledge from the gurus. He noted also the disciplineand high character of the students. He collected books like the Upanishads andthe Gita and realised what values Indians attached to truth and integrity. Hemade a study of the Bible, the Quran and Buddhist texts and found that all ofthem laid emphasis on Truth. He noted that the Bible declared: "Righteousnessexalteth a nation." In the Quran he found that only by adherence to Truthcan one be a real man. He noted the essential truth which was common to allfaiths and recognised that in Bharat there was religious toleration and harmonyas part of the people's code of ethics. He decided to follow India's examplein Greece. Alexander the Great, who came to India at the behest of histeacher, on his way back to Greece took with him a lump of Indian earth, avessel full of Ganges water, copies of the Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata and the blessings of an Indian sage.
Quoted from a Discourse given 21-8-1986, in SanathanaSarathi September 1986. (The subtitle, "India Then and Now" was givenby the editor of the journal.)
38 - Comment by Dr. Anthony Barrett, Professor ofClassics, the University of British Columbia:
The University Of British Columbia
DepartmentOf Classics
February 3, 1990
I have read the section from ``India Then and Now'' relating to Alexanderthe Great.
While it is true that Alexander reached India, and would have taken an interest in the life and customs there, I am aware of no ancient documentaryevidence to support the claims made about him in the text. In my opinion theallusions to the study of the bible and Buddhist texts and to the copies ofsacred Indian texts are inherently implausible. The allusion to the Quran (noearlier than 7th Century AD) having been studied by Alexander the Great (4thcentury BC) is clearly erroneous.
(Signature)
Anthony A. Barrett
Professor
39 - Sai Baba's Claims About the Time Of Jesus's Birth:
Mary and Joseph made their way along the road toward Bethlehem. Mary was with child. The pains began. They knew no one nearby, so they tookrefuge in a cow shed. Joseph made a space between two cows. It was midnight. He went out to find a woman who could help. Then he heard a baby cry. Christwas born. A huge aura of splendour filled the sky with light...
Sai Baba, quoted in Eastern View Of Jesus Christ, SaiPublications, London, 1982, p. 6.
However during his Christmas discourse of 1979, Sai Baba said that Jesus was born at 3:15 am, rather than within minutes of midnight:
Jesus was born early in the morning at 3:15 a.m. on December24th one thousand nine hundred and eighty years ago. It was Sunday.
Sai Baba, Eastern View Of Jesus Christ, p. 156.
These two statements about the time of Jesus' birth do not appear to be consistent. However, it might be said that `midnight' in the first passagequoted simply means `the middle of the night'. It is the second passage whichprovides truly specific details, and so it is the information contained in thatpassage which we must look at for possible accuracy.
Sai Baba says that Jesus was born on December 24th. Here is a quotation ofthe earliest recorded comments on the subject of Jesus' birthday.
40 - Clement of Alexandria on the Month and Day ofJesus's Birth:
...there are those who have determined not only the year of ourLord's birth, but also the day; and they say that it took place in the 28th year of Augustus, and in the 25th day of Pachon. And the followers ofBasilides hold the day of his baptism as a festival, passing the night beforein readings. And they say that it was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar,the fifteenth day of the month of Tubi, and some say that it was the 11th of the same month.
Quoted in Bond, J.J., Handy-book Of Rules and TablesFor Verifying Dates, George Bell & Sons, London, 1889, p. 22
The same source explains that the 25th of Pachon works out to the 20th ofMay, the fifteenth of Tubi works out to the 10th of January, and the 11th ofTubi works out to the 6th of January. (Ibid., p. 22.) The consensus amongscholars is that the celebration of the birth of Jesus at the time of thewinter solstice was an accommodation to pagan custom.
Sai Baba's statement that Jesus was born "on December 24th one thousand nine hundred and eighty years ago" was spoken in December 1979. Therebeing no ` 0' year between the year 1 B.C. and the year 1 A.D., Sai Baba isreferring to the year which is known as 2 B.C. (See Handy-book For VerifyingDates p. 321 with regard to the absence of the `0' year.) Let us turn toscholarly opinion on this matter. We know that there is disagreement on thisquestion; but there are some dates for Jesus's birth which many scholars agree,even if there is no date on which all agree. Thus, any plausible date wouldbe one on which at least one reputable scholar who is aware of the recentliterature has argued for. Let us see to see if anyone agrees with Sai Baba onthe date of ` his' birth:
41 - J.A.S. Evans, Head, Classics Department, theUniversity of British Columbia, on Sai Baba's Dating Jesus's Birth at 2 B.C.:
The University Of British Columbia
DepartmentOf Classics
I find the statement, apparently unsupported, placing Jesus' birth in 2 B.C. difficult. It would mean that King Herod was already dead, and hence thestory that connects Herod with the Three Wise Men would have to be rejected.
This story, incidentally, seems to be a transplant from Magian propaganda,for if Magi in the east saw a star in the east and followed it, it would notbring them to Bethlehem which was west of their starting-point. It would,however, bring them to Persepolis. But the part of the story which placesJesus' birth within the reign of Herod the Great may be a nugget of historicaltruth.
(Signature)
J.A.S. Evans
Professor and Head
42 - Paul Mosca, Professor Of Hebrew, UBC, on Sai Baba'sDating of 2 B.C.:
Although the `divine discourses' of Sathya Sai Baba entitled AnEastern View of Jesus Christ are largely composed of instruction andexhortation concerning ethics, prayer, etc., they do occasionally venture intothe historical realm. And whatever one may think of Sai Baba's advice inspiritual matters, his assertions regarding historical events are ofquestionable value. A few examples must suffice.
I. On page 6, Sai Baba's account of the birth of Jesus opens with the claimthat "King Herod ordered a census." This is at best a misleading statement. According to Luke's Gospel (2:1), Caesar Augustus ordered a censusto be taken; and it is implied that the decree was transmitted through theRoman legate in Syria. We still lack any independent evidence for such adecree, and the accuracy of the Lucan claim has not gone unchallenged. Butfor an Augustan census we at least have on ancient witness however unreliable Luke. For a census ordered by Herod we have no evidence whatsoever. TheJewish historian Josephus has left us two detailed accounts of Herod's reign(Book I of the Jewish War and Books XV-XVII of the Jewish Antiquities). Neither even hints at such a census, nor does any other ancient source.
II. If the statement on page 6 is inaccurate regarding the census, at least it is probably right to date the birth of Jesus to Herod's reign (compareMatthew 2:1; Luke 2:1) It is, therefore, quite surprising to find that page156, #172 (from the 1979 Christmas discourse) unwittingly contradicts theassertion of page 6. The 1979 discourse claims that Jesus was born "onethousand nine hundred and eighty years ago" (i.e., in 2 B.C.). Not onlydid Herod order the census; he did so from beyond the grave! For it is clearfrom Josephus' accounts that Herod died in March/April of 4 B.C., 1982 yearsbefore the 1979 Christmas discourse.
Excerpt of letter by Dr. Paul Mosca of 13 September1990, original with the editor.
The consensus amongst scholars is that Jesus was in all likelihood born before, or at the latest, during, the year 4 B.C. (See also, Michael Grant,Jesus, An Historian's Review Of The Gospels, Scribner's New York, p. 71; IanWilson, Jesus, The Evidence; etc.)
We also can examine the correspondence between the day of the week and theyear, month, and day of the month presupposed by Sai Baba's pronouncement. Although Sai Baba may not have realized it when he made his statement concerning the precise time of day, day of the week, day of the month, month,and year of birth of Jesus, there are tables listing correspondences betweenday of the week and the month, day of the month, and year. Was the December24th of 2 B.C. a Sunday, as Sai Baba says it was?
43 - Paul Mosca's Comment on Sai Baba' Claim that Jesus'sBirthday Was a Sunday:
... [In the Eastern View Of Jesus Christ collection of Sai Baba discourses--ed.] on page 156, #'s 172-173, December 24 of 2 B.C. is identifiedas a Sunday. According to John J. Bond's Handy-Book of Rules and Tables forverifying Dates with the Christian Era, it was a Thursday, in both the Julianand Gregorian calendars! (December 24 fell on a Sunday in 6 B.C., and not again until 2 A.D.)
Dr. Paul Mosca, letter of September 13 l990
The reader may wish to consult Bond's Handy-Book directly. The book shouldbe readily available through any good university library or inter-library loansystem. The reader who checks it out will find that p. 34, gives us the information that the pattern of the calendar of 2 B.C. is given in the table ofthe "D" year. The calendar for the "D" year is given on p.58 of the same work, and indicates that December 24th of that year was aThursday, not a Sunday.
The confusions do not end here. Next we examine Sai Baba'sinterpretation(s) of the Star of Bethlehem story: There are two accountsconcerning the Star of Bethlehem given by Sathya Sai Baba in the Eastern Viewcollection of his discourses:
44 - Sai Baba's First Statement About the Meaning of theStar of Bethlehem:
Christ was born. A huge aura of splendour filled the sky withlight. This was a sign that He had overcome the darkness of evil andignorance. The light of Love had come into the world. it was the dawn of theera of Divine Guidance.
Sai Baba, quoted in Eastern View, p. 6.
45 - Sai Baba's Second Statement About the Meaning of theStar of Bethlehem:
The bright star that appeared on His Birthday was the samebright star which appears once every 800 years. The bright star appearedbecause of its own natural pattern, not because of Jesus. Emotional people saythis star appeared for Jesus. There is no rule that bright stars must appearwhen divine energies or Divine Incarnations descend to earth. In theiremotion about God devotees spread sentimental stories.
Eastern View, p. 156.
Was Jesus opposed to the sacrificial system of the Jerusalem temple? In his 1977 Christmas discourse, Sathya Sai Baba depicts Jesus as a revolutionaryout to abolish the animal sacrifice system of the Jerusalem Temple:
46 - Sai Baba on Jesus's Attitude Toward Temple Ritual:
At that time in Jerusalem Jewish religious custom routinelyinvolved blood sacrifices of goats or other living animals...Jesus Christ saw pigeons and other animals being sold inside the temple. Money-lenders sharedtheir profits with the priests. Every worshipper was forced to bring or buyanimals and join in the slaughter. No one was spared. Jesus announced thatbloodshed, money-lending, and corruption have no place in a temple built inGod's name.
Sai Baba, quoted in Eastern View p. 98.
According to Sathya Sai Baba, Jesus held that `bloodshed', that is, animalsacrifice, had no place in the Temple. However the idea that Jesus was opposednot only to the money-changers in the Temple courts, but also to the verypractice of sacrifice is not supported by any ancient materials at all. Itis, rather, contradicted by the ancient materials. However opposed Jesus mayhave been to the commercialization of the Temple courts, he is quoted severaltimes in the Gospels instructing disciples to offer sacrifice. At thebeginning of his ministry, Jesus is depicted as instructing a leper to bringthe animal sacrifice offering as required by Mosaic law to the Temple:
47 - The Gospels On Jesus's Attitude Toward TempleRituals:
Jesus said to him: See to it that you tell no one. Go andshow yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses prescribed.
Gospel According To Matthew 8:4. (See also Mark 1:44and Luke 5:14)
In the middle of his ministry, Jesus also endorsed the Temple sacrifice system:
48 - Jesus Endorsing Sacrifice at the Temple:
If you bring your gift to the altar and there recall that yourbrother has anything against you leave your gift at the altar, go first to be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Gospel According To Matthew, 5:23,24.
As for his attitude at the end of his ministry, the Gospels depict Jesus asinstructing his disciples to make sure that the Passover sacrifice is performedon his behalf. The Passover sacrifice was performed in the city of Jerusalemat the Temple precincts so as to associate the sacrifice with the Temple.
49 - Jesus Endorsing Sacrifice at the End of HisMinistry:
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary tosacrifice the paschal lamb, his disciples said to him, Where do you wish us togo to prepare the Passover supper for you? He sent two of his disciples withthese instructions: Go into the city and you will come upon a man carrying awater jar. Follow him. Whatever house he enters, say to the owner, Theteacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with mydisciples? Then he will show you an upstairs room, spacious, furnished, andall in order. That is the place you are to get ready for us. The discipleswent off. When they reached the city they found it just as he had told them,and they prepared the Passover supper.
Gospel According To Mark, 14:12-16. (see also Matthew26:17-19; Luke 22: 7-13).
50 - Paul Mosca's View of Jesus's Position on Sacrifice:
...Nor do the remarks on pages 98-99 regarding Jesus'opposition to animal sacrifice have any greater claim to accuracy. Whateverelse he may have been, Jesus was a Jew. That both he and his familyparticipated in the sacrificial system demanded by the Mosaic code is clearfrom such passages as Luke 2:22-24; Matthew 5:23-24; and Matthew 8:4//Mark1:44//Luke 5: 14.
Excerpt from Dr. Mosca's Sept. 13 l990 letter.
In §46, Sai Baba talks about ` money lenders':
Money-lenders shared their profits with the priests. (ibid)
This is a minor point perhaps, but Sathya Sai Baba seems to be confusing `money changers' with `money lenders'. The two activities are quite distinct,especially in the context of Jewish law of the time. Here is what Markreports about Jesus's activities:
51 - Jesus and Money-changers, According to Mark:
When they reached Jerusalem he entered the temple precincts andbegan to drive out those who were engaged in buying and selling. Heoverturned the money-changers' tables, and the stalls of the men selling doves. Moreover, he would not permit anyone to carry things through the temple area.
Gospel According To Mark, 11:15-16
Sathya Sai Baba seems to be under the erroneous impression that Judea at the time had many temples, just as India in ancient and modern times has manytemples. The following two passages show this:
52 - Sai Baba on Temples (1):
In a temple in Jerusalem, pigeons were being sold. Jesusentered the temple and objected to the traffic in birds in a sacred temple. The priests jointly questioned Jesus about his authority to raise such anobjection...' Priests and teachers are proclaiming that they are adhering tothe injunctions of the scriptures, but in actual practice are not followingthem...' declared Jesus. The priests got angry and levelled a number ofcharges against Jesus.
Sathya Sai Baba, quoted in Sanathana Sarathi, Aug.1989, p. 206.
53 - Sai Baba on Temples (2):
Due to the efforts of selfish egoistic men who dedicated theirlives to atrocities and lawbreaking, evil crept into the holy temples in Jerusalem. Businesses and impure practices sprang up.
Sai Baba, quoted in Eastern View p. 141.
The businesses and impure practices which Sathya Sai Baba is referring toare those of the money changers in connection with the animal sacrifices. Judean synagogues, which might incorrectly be referred to as `temples' bysomeone ignorant of the difference between the Jerusalem Temple and thesynagogue (a house of study, a school, essentially) cannot be the referenceSathya Sai Baba is making. No ritual sacrifices could be brought except to theone Jerusalem Temple. It follows clearly that Sathya Sai Baba has in mind thatthere were many temples in Jerusalem where "businesses and impurepractices sprang up" in conjunction with animal sacrifice. Anyone witheven a passing acquaintance of the situation in Judea at the time knows thatthere were no such "holy temples in Jerusalem" but only the oneJerusalem Temple.
54 - Paul Mosca on the Temple of Jerusalem:
The reference to `the holy temples in Jerusalem" (page141, #47) is simply wrong. There was only one temple in Jerusalem, the onerebuilt after the Babylonian exile, embellished by Herod, and destroyed (in 70A.D.) by the Romans.
Dr. Mosca, letter of Sept. 13 l990.
Sai Baba's reference to impure business practices occurring in "theholy temples in Jerusalem" shows an astonishing ignorance of the Jewish religion at the time. Does he do any better on the events surrounding Jesus'scrucifixion?
The personal name of the betrayer of Jesus is very widely known: Judas. But what was his second name, or the name which singled him out among the manyJudas' of his time? Anyone familiar with the Christian literature knows thathe is referred to as Judas Iscariot.
Sathya Sai Baba, however, refers to him as `Judas Simon':
55 - Sai Baba on Judas Iscariot's Name (1):
Judas Simon is well known today as the disciple who wastreacherous to his spiritual guide and guardian.
Sai Baba, quoted in Eastern View, p. 111
Once again, Sai Baba's sloppiness with basic elements of the Jesus narratives is cause for astonishment. No one today knows Judas Iscariot as`Judas Simon', and so the statement is plain wrong that "Judas Simon iswell known today as the disciple who was treacherous..." Equallyimportant, in Gospel materials, the betrayer of Jesus is referred to simply as`Judas', or as `Judas Iscariot', or as the son of a man named `Simon Iscariot'. Ancient materials do not recognize Judas Iscariot as `Judas Simon' any morethan people today do. Another disciple of Jesus, however, was named PeterSimon (see for example, Mark 14: 37) and it appears that Sai Baba has gottenthese various names confused. In any case the erroneous reference to `Judas Simon' as the betrayer of Jesus is not just a single slip. Prior to thepassage quoted, Sai Baba says:
56 - Sai Baba on Judas Iscariot's Name (2):
Jesus Christ had twelve foremost disciples. Among the twelveonly Judas Simon would injure Jesus, their teacher and spiritual saviour.
Sai Baba, Eastern View, p. 111
Sai Baba's notions of what happened at the time of Jesus's crucifixion arein conflict with the reports in the New Testament. Believers, however, maysimply prefer Sai Baba's account, on the grounds the he (in some sense) wasreally there. In any event, Sai Baba's remarks here occur in the context ofhis `materializing' a crucifix, supposedly out of thin air. Materializationsare Sai Baba's stock in trade, and I provide more on this in §§85 and93-105. But our present concern is with Sai Baba's knowledge of thecrucifixion, as demonstrated by the crucifix he `created' and what he saysabout it.
57 - Sai Baba's Claim that Jesus was on an Eight-Day FastPrior to the Crucifixion:
This shows Christ as he really was at the time he left hisbody, not as artists have imagined him or as historians have told about him. His stomach is pulled in and his ribs are all showing. He had no food foreight days.
Sai Baba, quoted in John Hislop, My Baba & I, p. 19
However the Gospels not only make no mention of this eight day fast of Jesus prior to the crucifixion, but also they positively inform us that Jesusinstructed his disciples to prepare the Passover meal for him, and that Jesusparticipated in the ritual feast universally known as the Last Supper the nightbefore his crucifixion!
58 - Another Version Of Sai Baba's Remark:
In 1973, Sai Baba produced a small crucifix, gave it to hisdisciple named Dr. Hislop, and, according to Dr. Hislop, said, "this showsChrist as He really was at the time when He left his body. No writer orartist has imagined him this way before."
Eastern View, p. 7
As for the claim Sai Baba makes that the crucifix "shows Christ as he really was at the time he left his body, not as artists have imagined him oras historians have told about him", and "no writer or artist has imagined him this way before," the following are comments from Uno Langmann, a highly reputable art, antique, and curio dealer headquartered inVancouver B.C., and Dr. William S. Dale, Professor Emeritus in Fine Arts at theUniversity of Western Ontario, upon inspection of the full page magnifiedcolour photograph of the crucifix reproduced at p. xi (Plate 2) of Dr.Hislop's book, My Baba & I:
59 - Uno Langmann's Comments on the Crucifix:
Judging from the photograph, the sculpture would be an ordinary inexpensive crucifixion depiction. The material of the Christ figure wouldprobably be of soft metal such as pewter or lead. Of course this is hard totell from a photograph. It might be bronze or conceivably silver, but neitherof these is likely. The casting is cheap and not very skillful, which supportsthe idea that the material would be lead perhaps. You can see little airbubbles around the feet which indicates that it was made by cheap plaster ofParis mold. The sculpture is affixed to the wood by small manufactured nails. The rendering of the feet and toes is especially coarse, which also indicatesthe cheapness of the piece. The wood appears to be low-grade hardwood of somesort. Finally, as to the image itself, it is a typical artistic conception of the crucifixion. I believe I have seen this sculpture image before. I wouldguess that it's a medieval European representation originally perhaps 12th or13th century. At least that would be a period to check. In this miniaturereproduction form it would not be a particularly interesting piece.
Uno Langmann, personal communication, 1988
60 - William S. Dale's Comments on the Crucifix:
Dear Friends,
Your letter of February 8, enclosing the material on Sai Baba and the miraculously-produced crucifix, has arrived, and I have studied it with greatinterest.
From the photograph it is quite clear that the metal figure closely resembles those on crucifixes of the 19th and early 20th centuries (As isnormal with these, the suppedaneum is cast in one piece with the figure.) Its small scale suggests that it may once have been attached to arosary.
Contrary to Sai Baba's claim, there is nothing unusual about the iconography of the piece. The representation of the dead Christ, his bodysagging, his head drooping onto his right shoulder, and his eyes closed, isfrequently found in monumental crucifixes after the 10th century. From thelate 12th century one foot is placed over the other, and a single nail is usedto fasten both to the cross, instead of one for each foot. By the middle ofthe 13th century the braided crown of thorns becomes a prominent feature, andin some examples the stomach is drawn in, showing the ribs.
As for the statement that this crucifix "shows Christ as he really was at the time he left his body", it has been demonstrated that nails throughthe palms of the hands, as in the artistic convention followed here, could nothave supported the weight of Jesus' body on the cross. Instead, it has beensuggested that the nails would have to go through the wrists, as the image onthe Holy Shroud of Turin seems to indicate.
With mass-produced objects such as this it would be impossible to pin downany single source of inspiration, since it draws on such a long and richtradition. In any case it seems unnecessary.
Yours sincerely,
(signature)
William S.A. Dale, Ph.D.,
Professor Emeritus
P.S. A good basic reference for the iconography of the crucifix is GertrudSchiller, Iconography of Christian Art (Lund Humphries, 1972) Vol. 2.
William S. Dale, personal communication
The crucifix given to John Hislop was supposed to have been materialized bythe paranormal powers of Sai Baba. The question might also be raised as to theplausibility of a true materialization which reproduces such details as airbubbles identical with those caused by techniques of inexpensive massreproduction, and standard but historically inaccurate iconographic featuressuch as nails through palms.
Sai Baba's claim is that he knows Indian Classical music since he is the author and composer of all the pieces:
61 - Mrs. Kamala Sarathy's Description of Sai Baba'sKnowledge of Music:
When I first came to Puttaparti, Swami used to sing many songsof classical Indian music as an experienced, trained singer. Our family andthe Kuppam family were both trained in music, but still Swami would sometimescorrect us, also on the text of the songs and the timing of the music. He wasa very good singer. My late music teacher, Mr. Chidambara Iyer, who was aviolinist with All India Radio in Delhi and once went with me to Swami, wasmuch impressed with his outstanding knowledge of music, although he had neverhad a music teacher. Sometimes he would sing some rare compositions ofThyagaraja that only learned musicians would know.
Now they no longer sing classical songs at bhajans, only popular bhajan songs. In the evenings when my music teacher used to massage Swamiji's legs,Baba would often sing some rare compositions of Thyagaraja. So my musicteacher asked him: `Where did you learn these songs?' Baba then answered:'Thyagaraja had these songs from me, Thyagaraja was inspired by Rama', meaningthat Swami was the origin of Thyagaraja's music.
Quoted in Haraldsson, Miracles Are My Visiting Cards,p. 150.
Where did Sai Baba learn this music? An hypothesis suggests itself when weread the previous page of Haraldsson:
Mrs Kamala Sarathy...first met Swami in l949...
Haraldsson, ibid., p. 149.
This information, along with the following, makes Sai Baba's feats seem much less remarkable.
62 - Data for Alternate Hypothesis, As Reported by Mrs.Sarathy:
The twin brothers Mr. B. V. Lakshmanan and Mr. B. V. Ramanare by profession singers of classical Indian music. They came to know SaiBaba in February 1948 when they were asked to sing at the inauguration of atemple by Sai Baba in Guindy Madras. After the inauguration Baba came to themand asked if they would come to Puttaparti for the Sivaratri festival...`Westayed for a while around Sivaratri and were frequently in Puttaparti after that.'...The singers became very close to Baba and served as personalattendants of a kind. From 1949 to 1963, they stayed with him several months ayear and led the singing of the bhajans. When Baba went on visits, forexample, to Madras or Venkatagiri, then they, especially Raman, would accompanyhim.
Haraldsson, ibid. p. 156.
Mrs. Sarathy's music teacher, Mr. Iyer `once went for a visit'. It isobvious that if Mrs Sarathy began visiting Sai Baba in 1949, then Mr. Iyer'svisit must have been no earlier than that. Yet beginning in l948 the classicalmusicians were spending prolonged periods of time playing music together withSai Baba. Plainly, Sai Baba had plenty of opportunity to learn classicalIndian music from Laskshmanan and Raman, if not from others even earlier. Ininvestigations of supposedly paranormal feats or abilities, one should alwaysbe cautious of claims like, "He couldn't have learned it through normalmeans." People who believe these claims without investigating them willthemselves learn very little through normal means; and one hopes for theirsakes that there are paranormal ways of acquiring knowledge--otherwise theywill be very ignorant!
63 - Sai Baba's Knowledge of Geology, and ItsRelationship to Chemistry, Physics and Botany:
SAI: At the center everything is liquid.
RB: Does Swami mean the world?
SAI: Yes, everything is melted. No temperature.
RB: No heat, Swami?
SAI: No temperature. Everything is liquid. Like water. Gold,iron, silver, gems, all are liquid. Next there is solid. Then trees.
JH: Trees, Swami? Trees like we see around us?
SAI: Yes, trees. Then human beings and animals. At the verycenter is the Divine. It is the support of everything. First is liquid,chemistry. Then solid, physics. Then trees, botany. Then man, the pinnacleof life. But at the center, supporting all, is the Divine. Without theDivine, where is chemistry, physics, botany? Like this will be the teaching ofall courses at the University. The students will understand the full picture.
Sai Baba, quoted (as Sai) in Hislop, My Baba & I,p. 197.
64 - Sai Baba's Comprehension of the Meanings ofScientific Terms:
Mine is no escapism but the fundamental and eternal truth. Isay so not because I am unsure of my own divinity. It is my confidence in itsabsolute and total authenticity that makes me affirm this fact. It is the scientists who are so unsure of themselves that they indulge in escapisttheories.
For example, they say that the moon is lifeless. Simultaneously, theymaintain that all matter consists of moving atoms. Now isn't the moon also aconglomerate of the same moving atoms? Then how can it be lifeless? There isno matter which does not consist of atoms, electrons, neutrons and protons,which are all constantly moving. This energy, too, is God."
Sai Baba, quoted in Sandweiss, Spirit And Mind, p. 254.
Sai Baba is well known for his materializations of watches. This will bethe subject of §§93 - 99. However, our immediate concern is with SaiBaba's understanding of the legality of what he is doing.
65 - Sai Baba on Patent Law:
BABA: Most people desire talismans symbolic of myprotection. So I provide them. When they are in trouble they feel the grip ofthe ring, bracelet or watch to remember me, and call me to their rescue so thatI can help them. On the other hand, if I give them something that they cannot wear, they are likely to store it and forget about it.
The main thing is that these trinkets or talismans, by whatever name you call them, give people a sense of security and protection they need in time oftrouble or crisis and create a symbolic link covering the long distancesbetween them and myself. When the devotees need me, these objects flash themessage as if by wireless and I instantly come to their rescue.
Q: I am sorry to be so persistent, Swamiji, but isn't the gift ofan Omega or HMT watch an act of cheating the company or breach of its patent?
BABA: I assure you there is no such thing. It would be cheatingthe company or breaching the patent if it were a case of transfer of the watchfrom one place or the other. But I do not transfer; I totally create. Whatever I will, instantly materializes. I know of no company that hascomplained about any breach of patent.
Quoted in Samuel Sandweiss, Spirit And Mind, Birth DayPublishing, San Diego l985, p. 241. (The Questioner is Mr. R. K. Karanjia ofBlitz magazine. The interview was originally published in 1976 in that Indianjournal.)
66 - T. Ganesh U. Pai in Conversation With A Sai BabaDevotee Who Is a Lawyer:
I told him, "The godman you mentioned had given a Swisswatch, allegedly produced from thin air by waving his apparently empty hands,to one of my brothers. Any dispute on this?
"No", he replied.
"Then let us go into the facts about the watch so produced." Isaid. "One of the possibilities explained is that, prior to giving thiswatch, the godman transforms himself into another form and appears in Switzerland, Hongkong, Japan or such other place, lands in a watch shop, buysthe watch and then reappears in his original form before his devotee andpresents the watch. Mind you all this is supposed to have happened in a splitof a second."
I added, "Granting this was true, then the godman did not go through customs and immigrations before he left his country. He purchased a watchpaying foreign currency not released by the reserve Bank of India and againreturned without the knowledge of customs and immigration authorities. Thiswould amount to smuggling the watch. It is not only to my brother that he hadpresented the watch. He had given to thousands of others. Would this notlead to the fact that your godman is involved in a smuggling racket?"
"If this is not the version, the second possibility explained is thaton account of his divine powers, he is able to move things from one place toanother. If this be so, I added, "You all say that your god man does notaccept anything from any one and if he has no other business or occupation, hecould not possibly have any possessions, and so it should be concluded thatthis watch did not belong to him. Still he has managed to produce it, and itamounts to stealing the same from somewhere."
"The third possibility is that as he has claimed to be the Creator himself, he has the power to materialise this watch from thin air! If this istrue," I said, "had he created his own brand, possibly we could nothave said anything. But he has created duplicate watches of well known foreigncompanies with their monogram, serial number etc., without their knowledge, consent or license to produce. This amounts to infringement of their patentrights."
"The only possibility I can think of," I said, "is that somedevotee like you might have presented him one watch which he hid somewhere in his person and brought it out mysteriously as a magician would do. But you alldeny he would do so. If his production is not like that of a magician, theother methods, if true, would amount to a fraud! That is all, your honour",I said.
The lawyer, not being able to give me any logical explanations to the questions posed by me, left the place, remarking, "You are incorrigible."
From an article by T. Ganesh U. Pai, in Indian Skeptic#1 May 1988 pp. 23-25.
67 - Lawrence Babb On Sai Baba's Knowledge of Sanskrit:
Sathya Sai Baba is, among other things, a teacher. He is afrequent giver of discourses, now compiled in several volumes. He usuallyspeaks in Telugu, and before a Hindi-speaking audience an interpreter isrequired. One of his most characteristic rhetorical devices is the ad hoc (and often false) etymology. For example, he has stated that Hindu means `one whois nonviolent' by the combination of hinsa (violence) and dur (distant).
Lawrence A. Babb, Redemptive Encounters P. 171.
68 - Sai Baba on `Dharma':
There were rules of correct conduct for every being. Theseform the Dharma.
The word Dharma is derived from the root, Dhr, meaning `wear'; Dharma is that which is worn...As clothes maintain the dignity of the person who wearsthem, so, Dharma is the measure of the dignity of a people.
Sathya Sai Baba, Gita Vahini, Shri Sathya Sai Educationand Publication Foundation, l974, p. 56.
69 - Joseph Campbell on `Dharma':
The noun dharma is from a verbal root dhri ("to hold, tobear, to support").
Joseph Campbell, The Inner Reaches, Harper and Rowl988, p. 39.
70 - The Origin of `Guru' According to Sai Baba:
The guru is called so because the `gu' signifies one who hastranscended the three qualities in nature, and `ru' signifies one who hasgraphed the formless aspect of the Godhead.
Sai Baba, quoted in Teachings of Sri Satya Sai Baba,Sri Satya Sai Baba Book Centre Of America, 1974, p. 101.
71 - H. Murphet Quoting from Dr. Bhagavantam on SaiBaba's Attitude Toward Books:
Dr. Bhagavantam is a keen observer, and does not brush asidefacts just because they do not fit into the current framework ofscience...Another fact: `It's common knowledge that Baba's formal schooling didnot extend beyond the first grade of high school yet with great acumen headvises the scientists, doctors, lawyers and businessmen who come to him for counsel on their practical affairs. Furthermore, though he never reads--never,indeed has time to read, the Indian and world scriptures, he quotes from allof them.'
Murphet, Avatar, Sai Books Birth Day Publishing 1977,pp. 55-56.
Indeed he does--but does he quote accurately? The above quotes demonstrate that he doesn't. But Murphet's quote is revealing, not because itpoints out that Sai Baba has no intellectual love of literature, a prerequisitefor caring about accurate citation. Nor is it revealing to be told that SaiBaba has no formal education. What is important in this passage is that SaiBaba followers hold up these facts about Sai Baba as if they were virtues. The tone of this passage captures the attitude of so many Western devotees: they have stereotypes of the uneducated Indian; and when they meet one that isa lot more intelligent than they bargained for, they are so impressed that theyignore the howlers presented in this chapter. But there is another reason: Sai Baba's devotees are not, by a long shot, as interested in physics or Hindutheology as they are in themselves. So, when Sai Baba talks about them, thisovershadows all else. So I now turn to Sai Baba's knowledge of the details ofhis devotees' and of visitors' lives.
72 - Kanu's Claim:
Sai Baba....knows the past, present, and future of every soulliving on the earthly plane...He reveals the life history of those who go tohim, and he shapes their future.
Kanu, Sai Baba, God Incarnate, p. 47
Also, we have noted Hislop making similar extreme claims. How do theseclaims stack up against others' assessments?
73 - Haraldsson's Survey of Devotees:
26 of 29 interviewees had observed Baba exercise mind-readingon themselves. 19 reported he had done so fully correctly, 5 only partiallycorrectly whereas 2 ex-devotees considered his endeavours sheer cleverguessing.
There is no reason to doubt that Baba sometimes goes wrong in his statements when exercising his mind-reading. I recall one Australian lady,probably in her late thirties, who I met in Puttaparti a few years ago. Oneday at darshan time Baba briefly spoke to her. "You should get married",he said. In fact she was married, and as I met her just after that darshan she was walking towards the bus to Bangalore to receive her husband at the airportas he was flying in from Australia. Baba did not know this woman, and had onlyseen her a few times.
Haraldsson, Miracles Are My Visiting Cards, pp.285-286.
74 - Haraldsson on Sai Baba's Predictions:
Predictions are not a prominent feature with Sai Baba. Onlyto half of the 29 interviewees of our survey had he made predictions abouttheir future. To 9 of these interviewees Baba's statements were reported asfully correct but with 4 of them he proved either partially or fully wrong. To one lady devotee hoping for a baby he had predicted that she would have onebut she never did. He advised a close devotee to let his brother go to Delhifor a job interview. Contrary to Baba's predictions the brother did not getthe job, only costly travel expenses.
Haraldsson, ibid. p. 287.
75 - Premanand's Account of Ramaswamy's Audience With SaiBaba:
Baba spoke to [Ramaswamy, editor of the Indian weekly journal, Nasthikam] in Telugu. It is said that Baba would speak to each person in theirown [Indian--ed.] language by knowing with his divine powers what the mother tongue of the person interviewed was. Ramaswamy did not speak a word till theend. When Baba stopped talking, he said that he did not know Telugu! With a finger on his nose and a stare at him, he talked in Tamil.
Premanand, Lure of Miracles, p. 92.
Premanand continues in this passage to relate how Sai Baba repeated back toRamaswamy information about his situation which Ramaswamy had divulged toBaba's attendants. Sai Baba, however, failed to touch upon the actual reasonfor Ramaswamy's visit to the ashram, information which Ramaswamy had not divulged to the attendants. This fact will not be lost on those who havestudied the ways of faith healers and psychics, who unashamedly useconfederates to gather evidence about their clients before having an audiencewith them. Those trusting souls who doubt that this practice is widespreadshould consult James Randi, The Faith Healers (especially Chapter 9) about American faith healers, and Randi's The Truth About Uri Geller, and M. LamarKeene's The Psychic Mafia about psychics and spiritualist mediums respectively.
However, getting information through confederates is not the only way of seeming to know a lot about someone else. The following passages unwittinglyillustrate another method at work:
76 - Transcript of Audiences With Sai Baba, By DevoteeAnnemarie Marwah:
He then called me inside. I first requested His permission totouch His Lotusfeet which He granted. He then sat down in His chair and Iplaced myself at His Feet.
He allowed me to ask questions.
"Swami, how can I serve you?" I asked.
Swami (with great earnestness): "Open a centre."
Delhi being already a big centre, I did not understand why He wanted me toopen a centre. And so I said: "But, Swami, I live in Delhi."
Swami (His face lit up): "Delhi! I shall come to Delhi in March. Ishall see you there. I shall come to your house in March. Very soon I shallcome to your house, very soon." He repeated this five times.
I: "Oh Swami, really! Will you come?"
Swami: "Yes, I shall come."
I said--a little sad: "But how can I meet you in Delhi. There are somany people and all the VIP's will surround you. In Delhi you are verydistant."
Swami: "Why? I will call and will give you an interview and I shallgive lockets to the children. How many children?"
I: "Swami, two."
Swami: "Yes, I know, a little girl. I will give locket."...
Then I remembered the mantra.
"Swami, you said that you would give me a mantra?" I asked.
Swami: "You got mantra from...Tell me your mantra."
I repeated the mantra and Swami was repeating it with me. Then He said: "Butit's a beautiful mantra! Why do you want to change? You know there is nodifference at all."
I said: "Yes, Swami, I know but...
Swami cut in and said: "I know what you mean." Then He changedthe mantra slightly by adding His name. He laid His hand on my head and I fellat His Lotusfeet. He blessed me profusely, and I knew that He had accepted meformally. What a moment!"
Annemarie Marwah, And The Greatest Is Love, Publishedby Author l985, pp. 63, 64
At 4 P.M. we were sitting in the darshan line when a ladyvolunteer called me and asked me to take from her the books. At the same timeshe told me to go and sit in the verandah of the temple since Baba would beseeing me. I could not believe my ears and started crying with joy. Was itreally true that Swami had again answered my most earnest prayers?
I held the books in my hand and he did not realize that they were alreadysigned....
Sitting now in the verandah of the temple--with Swami still inside His quarters--I was engulfed in a cloud of jasmine smell. Shortly afterwards therewas very strong vibhuti smell. I inhaled both, being conscious of the grace ofSwami. Then Baba appeared and made His round in the darshan circle. Hecalled some more devotees for interview. There was a group of twenty Swedes(all men) and a mother with her two sons, a foreign lady and I. When Swamicame back into the temple verandah He asked me what I was holding in my handand smiled mischievously. I held up my parcel to Him and said:
"Baba, please sign these books."
He said: "Give me--only one book."
"Only one? Can't you sign all three?" I pleaded. "Onlyone," He said firmly. I gave Him one book: He opened it as if He did notknow, then closed it and gave it back to me saying "already signed". Only then I looked at the books properly, finding on the first page with bigletters written WITH LOVE Sri Sathya Sai Baba and the date.
He then ushered us into the interview room....I was sitting on Baba's leftside just next to His chair at His Lotusfeet. He asked:
"Do you do any jappa?"
I said: "Yes Swami".
He asked: "What name?"
I answered: "Swami, you have given me a mantra."
Then He asked me "What do you want?" And quickly answered His own question: "Jappamala?"
I quickly said: "Oh yes, Swami, I want a jappamala."
He waved His hand and there appeared a jappamala...
Annemarie Marwah, ibid. p. 79
In the room I had endless arguments with my husband who hadreturned to his negative mood and he was blaming and accusing me [for stayingwith Baba instead of staying in Delhi with her husband--ed.] I was very miserable and cried a lot. The next morning at darshan I could give Swami aletter which He took willingly. In this I had written to Him that I had toknow what He wanted me to do. I said in it that `if He wanted me to stay Iwould gladly do so. I said that I had burnt my boats and that I would only goback to Delhi and to my family if He would tell me to do so. I was keen to dowhat He wanted me to, but I was being so much attacked with accusations that Icould not judge what I should do. I begged Him to show to my husband some ofHis Divinity so that he could understand me.
Swami must have read this letter very carefully, because in the evening darshan He called me for interview. With this my husband got an interviewautomatically. Was I glad!
When Swami came into the verandah after making His round, He started another Leela of His...!
He saw my husband come into the verandah and asked, "Hare! Ye pakora kaun hai?" (Who is this Pfannkuchen?) My husband said that He had called his wife for interview. Swami asked: "Are you from Madras?"
Husband: "No, Swami, from Delhi".
Swami: "Delhi?" (and looked at me.)
I made sign to Swami that he was connected with me.
So Swami asked him: "Tumhara naam kya?" (What is your name?)
My husband told his name.
Swami (inquiringly looking at me) asked: "What is your name?"
I told him my name.
Then Swami led us all into the interview room. I sat down next to Swami'schair. ...Then Swami sat down in His chair and looking at me searchingly asked: "You are fighting?" I just looked at Swami with an open face and Hesaid very softly and lovingly, "No, you are not fighting. He is fightingwith you." And then turning to my husband He asked: "Why, why areyou fighting with her? She is very good, you know." My husband did notsay anything. After the first batch of devotees had come out of the secondinterview room, Swami called us inside. He sat in His chair and both of uskneeled down in front of Him. He again said to my husband: "Why are youfighting with her? Why are you troubling her? She is very good!"
My husband said: "Yes, Swami, but she does not come home whenever she comes here. She always comes back late. She must come back in time!" Then pleading with Swami he said: "Please, Swami, send her back with me,we need her job."
Swami asked him: "What about your work?"
Husband: "Not very good."
Swami: "Not very good, but not very bad either. Lot of money comingand lot of money going, coming, going coming, going. Nevermind, I shall blessyour work."
Husband: "Please Swami send her back, I give both my hands."
Swami: "(snaps): "I don't want anything, I want only love."
Husband: "Please send her back, I love her so much and the childrenare crying."
Swami: "Malum hai, malum hai baccha rota." (I know, I know, Babyis crying.)
Husband: "Swami, please send my wife back with me. Let all her badkarma come upon me."
Swami: (quickly) "I know, you are a very good man," and turning tome, Swami said pleadingly: "You go with him."
At that moment my husband fell down at Swami's Lotusfeet seemingly moved and repeating three times: "Swami, you have saved my family."
Swami looked at me and smilingly pointing to my husband at His charan as ifto say, `see , see what I have done.'..
Swami: "I bless you both, be happy." and with these words Helaid His hands on our heads blessing us. Then He turned once more to myhusband and said: "You know, your health is not so good. Your liver isbad."...It was the 12th of April l983..
After the interview my husband was in no way peaceful, but argued with meabout Swami's ability to know everything. He was very sarcastic and the nextfew days were very difficult for me....
The coming months showed us the value of ...surrender. Our financialsituation deteriorated considerably. My husband repeatedly remarkedsarcastically: "Well, Swami has blessed my work, he is responsible."
Not only did all our efforts fail to recover from the continuing financialloss but we also received notice from our bank requesting us to repay the loanwhich had been granted over the years, and its interest which had amounted to asubstantial sum. They threatened to go to court against us...
My husband, outwardly calm, must have had sleepless nights. The situationwas not at all good. Something had to happen, but I could not imagine fromwhich quarter help would come.
On the 1st October 1983--six months after the interview with Swami--my husband started his new job as executive engineer with a large company. (Itwas a newly created job.) We all knew that this was the outcome of Swami`blessing his work'...
Ten days later, however, he fell ill. It was later diagnosed as an attackcaused by gallbladder stones.
Again we remembered Swami's words. "Your health is not good. Yourliver is bad."
He recovered from this attack and went back to work after about ten days....
Marwah, ibid. p. 120-124
The reader can easily assess the amount of information Sai Baba requests,and the number of errors he makes as he goes, from the above.
Magicians and self-styled psychics are familiar with the techniques of gathering information from a subject and feeding it back later, when the subject has forgotten that she said it, asking questions disguised as statements, or simply nodding sagely when the subject tells them something, soas to leave the impression that they knew it all along. One wouldn't thinkthat such techniques, along with vague statements which could apply toanything, would leave the impression of having psychic powers with anyone withan IQ above 50. But these techniques, collectively called cold reading, haveimpressed many very intelligent people that have witnessed a psychic perform. Two readily available sources on this technique are Ray Hyman, "Cold Reading: How to Convince Strangers You Know All About Them", and Ronald Schwartz, "Slight of Tongue", both to be found in Kendrick Frazier (ed.), Paranormal Borderlands of Science, Buffalo, Prometheus Press, 1981.
Sai Baba's ability to follow the information given by his devotees, whilecovering for mistakes or impressions the devotee is unwilling to accept, isshown in many devotee accounts. A typical example from another devoteefollows:
77 - Audience with Phyllis Krystal:
I was feeling more and more embarrassed and would have likenothing better than to become invisible but since I could not hide from Baba I would have to hear him out. Then without warning he swung around abruptly toface me, and wagging his forefinger like a school teacher said with mock anger`You are lazy.' I promptly burst into tears...now his accusation of laziness [was] the last straw. I blurted out, `Oh Baba! No, not lazy! You yourself sayI am a hard worker'. When he saw my distress he smiled and with immense loveand gentleness like a mother comforting a troubled child, he almost crooned, `That was only my joke. Don't cry. You must have self control.' I quicklypulled myself together.
Phyllis Krystal, The Ultimate Experience, SawbridgeEnterprises, 1985, p. 155.
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