Now that the dust has settled around all the hullabaloo created by the demise of an 84-year-old man kept in hospital for nearly four weeks, given the best of medical treatment, etc., it is time to take a hard look at the facts. Our movement has been at the forefront of questioning, investigating, and exposing so-called paranormal phenomena. Our organisation, the Federation of Indian Rationalist Associations, was founded by B. Premanand, who took the lead in exposing the paranormal claims of this individual—Ratnakaram Sathyanarayana Raju, more popularly known by his alias, Sathya Sai Baba. Magicians claiming to be rationalists might have rushed to the press, and some self-proclaimed leaders of the movement have made statements, but it is for the President of FIRA to make a review and present the views of the movement before the public.

It has been claimed that the so-called miracles he performed—like the materialisation of ash, small objects, etc.—were not important. That is far from the truth. It is because of these that he became popular. It is also claimed that he stopped performing them after a meeting with a famous magician! But that is not so. As recently as January 2007, at the Chennai residence of the Chief Minister, gold rings were “materialised” for leaders of the “rationalistic” party, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam—a state minister and a Union minister! He also claimed that these were his calling cards! We fail to understand how such bogus calling cards impressed people, including the past President of India, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, who was supposed to be the very epitome of scientific temper! He, who always encouraged children to ask questions, could have asked this man how he could produce matter from thin air! But obviously, advice is always for others! No one has asked questions as to how a man who supposedly healed thousands by the mere application of his holy ash could not heal himself. As he claimed in his own publication, Sanathana Sarathi, he never suffered from any illness because he had no trace of greed! He had also said in the same publication that “Purity, patience, and perseverance… are three things responsible for my health (arogya) and bliss (ananda)!” One wonders how he fell ill. Is it because he developed greed? Or was it his patience, purity, or perseverance—one of them or all of them? Those who call him “Bhagwan” would be well-advised to refer to him by some other name!

How did this man, with a smattering of English and little formal schooling, manage to build up such an empire? It was because of his native shrewdness. After attracting locals with his prestidigitation, he expanded to other states and then managed to attract frustrated people from the West, causing his name and fame to grow. Politicians of all shades and ideologies, with the possible exception of the Left, flocked to him. It is our view that he served them as more than a spiritual guide: as a conduit for their ill-gotten gains and a mediator in their disputes. That, we believe, explains his popularity among them. His trust was placed under the direct purview of the Union Home Ministry, exempted by central legislation from reporting to the state government, and has not been answerable to the state endowments department since 1980. What better arrangement could there be for handling money that its owners would rather not explain? It is funny that those going on fasts to oppose corruption do not see this nexus between religious institutions and corruption. On the other hand, some who were paupers a couple of decades ago and now preside over empires worth thousands of crores have jumped onto this anti-corruption bandwagon.

It was not only in the collection of funds that the laws of the land seemed not to apply to him. Allegations of sexual abuse made by former devotees, and broadcast on European television, were never tested in any Indian court. Critics of the ashram have long pointed to deaths at Puttaparthi that were never properly investigated. The most notorious of these took place in his residence on the night of 6 June 1993, which the late B. Premanand documented in his dossier Murders in Sai Baba’s Bedroom (Indian CSICOP, Podanur). Six people died that night. Four intruders armed with daggers killed two of his attendants, and the police then shot all four intruders dead. The CID later registered a case against the Puttaparthi police, saying the bodies had been moved to support the police account, yet the case was eventually dropped. The trust’s chief functionary declared the matter “purely internal” and said they did not want any law-enforcement agency investigating it—as if the laws of the land did not apply to Puttaparthi. Though the deaths took place in his residence, there is no record that he was ever questioned—so much for the law being supreme! In 2001, the then Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, joined former Chief Justices and other dignitaries in signing an open letter dismissing the allegations against him as “wild, reckless and concocted”! After his death, 98 kg of gold were inventoried at his residence alone. When the late B. Premanand took him to court under the Gold Control Act, the case was dismissed, and his appeal—that “spiritual power is not a defence recognised in law”—failed too! Perhaps now, too, the same may be claimed—that the gold found there was created by him. Anyway, on one occasion in 1992, when he was “materialising” a gold chain to present to a guest in the presence of the then Prime Minister of India, Mr. P. V. Narasimha Rao, Doordarshan cameras caught the trick: the chain being passed to him by his assistant. The tapes were ordered to be destroyed, but the story came out in the Deccan Chronicle.

He was also a creation of the media. One weekly, Blitz, was initially critical of him and then, in a total volte-face, started singing his praises after its editor, R. K. Karanjia, became a devotee in 1976. That was no surprise to anyone familiar with that tabloid’s brand of journalism! TV channels in the South have not shown much courage in exposing him, but many popular ones in the North have had no such qualms. In fact, two years ago, when I handed over some very old footage exposing his so-called miracles to some TV channels in Kathmandu, they ran with it as if the exposé were theirs and it was the latest news! It was mostly European TV channels that showed courage. Channel 4 ran a documentary called Guru Busters, which broadcast the suppressed footage of his gold-chain trick. In 2004, the BBC aired a documentary called The Secret Swami, which carried allegations of fake miracles and sexual abuse, and examined the 1993 killings. There was another documentary by Danish TV, Seduced by Sai Baba, which showed how his “manifestations” could be explained as sleight of hand. Those who praise the charitable work going on there should ask whether the children of the rich and powerful who sing his praises would be attending his free schools!

Now, about the support from the rich and powerful: in our view, the Puttaparthi establishment amounted to a money-laundering racket with clients from all political spheres. There are also film actors and cricket stars who are perceived by the gullible public as the very epitomes of virtue and righteousness. Only such people can take the actions of these individuals at face value. One of the cricketing icons was seen sobbing inconsolably at the demise of an ailing 84-year-old man. One wonders where those tears were when six young people died violently in the residence of the “paragon of truth” at Prasanthi Nilayam—the abode of peace. In fact, when the so-called Bhagwan was in danger, he sounded the alarm just like you and I—ordinary mortals—would have done. At that, people at the very epicentre of peace and tranquility in the universe came running to the abode of peace with whatever they could lay their hands on, probably for a peaceful demonstration of their love!

How can this issue be tackled? He was clever enough to staff his trust with retired bureaucrats and surround it with admirers among retired judges, who possess considerable influence and can affect the outcome of any investigation. The best solution would be to remove the present trustees, appoint trustees from the government—both central and state—and conduct a thorough investigation into all these affairs. If this is not done, it will give the current trustees ample time to put their affairs beyond scrutiny. No one can object to that, as charitable trusts are established for non-profit social work. If the same work can be done better by others, why shouldn’t they be allowed to do it? After all, the funds were donated for charitable purposes with tax exemptions. They should be used for that very purpose!