A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 4

The series continues from:  A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 3.  Posted by Barry Pittard on July 25, 2010.  A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 2. Posted by Barry Pittard on July 23, 2010.  A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 1. Posted by Barry Pittard on July 20, 2010

………………………………………………………..

In the article: Sathya Sai Baba Organization’s Betrayal of Love and Compassion, I wrote (referring to Terry Gallagher, the first head of the Australian Sathya Sai Organization, who at first hand probed allegations about Sathya Sai Baba’s serial sexual abuse of boys and young men, and consequently resigned):

At length by telephone, he told me that, against extraordinary unwillingness of devotees to look at the allegations,  he had done what he could to investigate and surface the terrible facts about Sai Baba’s serial sexual abuse of young males. He told me that he had extensively shown documentation to Valmai Worthington, a Brisbane leader of the Sathya Sai Organization, who has led many groups to from Australia to see Sai Baba, but this had not led to meaningful action. Other leaders were likewise impervious and went into the utmost psychological denial. Groups, including those with young males in them, continued to go to the ashram.

From October 1999, I made extensive investigations globally, finding much corroboration from families and individual survivors themselves – many of whom did not know each other. Others too, many former followers independently of each other, were making their own investigations. There was no doubting their excellent standing in their professions, trades and wider communities. From about April 1999, an Indian, Hari Sampath, who was at that time working, via a ‘green card’ in the USA, was coordinating a ‘pepper group’ of former devotees. This group was remarkably effective in arousing major media and UNESCO, and other major organs. An individual of great significance from that time and up to the end of 2004 was the late Glen Meloy of the USA. See: Glen Meloy (“Standing up for truth and goodness”) – In Memoriam.

More troubling than anything was the sense of terrible betrayal and heartache in so many individuals and families. This fact of the alienation of many respected, now former, Sai Baba followers is all too well-known to many leaders and increasing numbers within the rank and file of the international Sathya Sai Organization. But, in Orwellian fashion, it has acted virtually as if those many who have left it never existed. And as if those long honored as good were now, almost overnight, bad. See:

The Sathya Sai Organization: Almost overnight, dissenters treated as demons! 

On Leaving the Sathya Sai Baba Cult – Ex Leaders and Rank-and-File

Story of My Disqualification, and other articles by Serguei Badaev

New Zealand Lawyer Exposes Official Cover Up of Killings In Sathya Sai Baba Bedroom

David Bailey and Thomas Wiehe. Transcript Of Phone Link: Sathya Sai Abuses

Truth In Action: David and Faye Bailey Vs Sathya Sai Baba

Stephen Carthew, A Voice of Testimony From Australia, On The Dangers of Cults

Letter from Stephen Carthew

The Late Leo Boogaard: A Dutch Voice of Conscience On Sathya Sai Baba

In short, members of the Sathya Sai Organization have typically, grossly and repeatedly:

• ignored the afflicted individuals and families, and:
• deliberately hidden vital facts from many rank-and-file devotees

The list of leaders sycophantic to Sathya Sai Baba is long. Briefly suggestive of top leaders who have severely abrogated norms regarding duty of care and transparency a list includes:

Many within the Sathya Sai Organization have frequently wondered why Sathya Sai Baba has appointed certain key leaders in his organization. A common, in-denial, euphuistic cry is:  never mind, Swami has done it to teach us patience and forgiveness and as a test for our sadhana (spiritual discipline). Here are but a few names of those involved in longtime, shameless cover up. Clicking on the links will bring up articles which, in their own turn, contain further recondite links:

John (Jack) Hislop, Michael Goldstein,  Indulal Shah, G. Venkataraman, William Harvey, Bob Bozzani, Hal Honig, Jagadeesan, Ashok Bhagani, Thorbjørn Meyer, Steen Piculell, Leonardo Gutter,  T.Sri Ramanathan, Pal Dhall, Bernard Gruber, Pietro Marena,  Jörgen Möllgård, Richard Friedrich, John Behner, Phyllis Kristal …

Terry Gallagher wrote:

The purpose of this visit was to find the reason why former students of Sai Baba’s college would want to kill him, particularly when they had been given a free education! The eye witness accounts were horrific! After bursting into the Mandir, four students found themselves trapped upstairs where Sai Baba was staying. Each was interrogated by police, then one at a time they were executed! The stench of death was everywhere. I made further inquiries about Sai Baba having sexual relations with college boys and male students – some of these as young as seven years of age – and whether this was the reason for former students wanting to kill him. I was told, to my horror, that this was an acceptable Indian practice! I felt sick, and just wanted to take my family and leave the ashram and India as quickly as possible. Before we did, we were all called for interview with Sai Baba and we told him what we had experienced and been told. Sai Baba made no comment on our accusations and was only anxious to know who had told us these details, requesting us to tell him several times! Having had dozens of interviews over the years, this was the most stressful and uncomfortable interview our family had ever experienced. Sai Baba was tense and agitated and his body language told us all, that what we had found out about him was the truth! We left the interview and returned to Australia.

Of the mounting allegations of Sathya Sai Baba’s serial sexual abuse of boys and young men, Terry Gallagher wrote:

I made further inquiries about Sai Baba having sexual relations with college boys and male students- some of these as young as seven years of age – and whether this was the reason for former students wanting to kill him. I was told, to my horror, that this was an acceptable Indian practice! I felt sick, and just wanted to take my family and leave the ashram and India as soon as possible. Before we did, we were called for an interview with Sai Baba, and we told him what we had experienced and been told. Sai Baba made no comment on our accusations and was only anxious to know who had told us these details, requesting us to tell him several times! Having had dozens of interviews over the years, this was the most stressful and uncomfortable interview our family had ever experienced.

Sai Baba was tense and agitated, and his body language told us all that what we had found out him was the truth! We left the interview and returned to Australia. The following years were very difficult spiritually; we concentrated on all the positive aspects we had experienced over the past ten years and found this comforting. When we attempted to tell others about our experiences and the truth about Sai Baba, no one would believe us, except those who had also had similar experiences- and mostly fear prevents them from telling others. It has only been in the past twelve months that former students and devotees of Sai Baba have begun communicating with each other, confirming experiences to be true and supporting each other spiritually and emotionally when necessary.

———————————–

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

There is a Spanish version available:

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader

A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 3

The series continues from:

A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 2. Posted by Barry Pittard on July 23, 2010.  A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 1. Posted by Barry Pittard on July 20, 2010

Apart from Terry Gallagher, the other two individuals whose articles appeared in the Nexus magazine also had respected histories as Sathya Sai Baba devotees. One of the articles related the frightening escape experiences of wife and husband Gurprit and Jens Singh (Germany), who sought the assistance of the (then) Federal West German Embassy in New Delhi. I have written of this couple here: ‘BILD’ Story. “Guru Wants Sex” (Sathya Sai Baba).

The other author was Hans de Kraker (Australia). Sathya Sai Baba appointed de Kraker Western Canteen Director, a position he held from 1989 to 1997. Nexus magazine covers many stories which the media has not run or else run extensively. There is sworn testimony in both these cases.

I emailed and spoke by phone with Terry Gallagher, Hans de Kraker  and Jens Sethi, and others in different parts of the world. A group of former followers was able to obtain investigation at a most senior level by UNESCO, the U.S. State Department, Times of London, BBC, and other reputed organs. See also:

The Case of UNESCO’s Missing Media Advisory

U.S. State Department Named Sathya Sai Baba To BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’

Hans de Kraker told me that he took his concerns to the former head of the Australian Sathya Sai Organization, T. Sri Ramanathan (a former commercial judge in Sri Lanka) and another one of the Australian Sai organization’s most prominent leaders, Dr Sara Pavan (who has spent lengthy times living at Puttaparthi, serving as a doctor in Sai Baba’s Superspeciality Hospital and as an anaesthetist at Concord Hospital, Sydney, Australia).

Hans de Kraker said that Ramanathan, who more recently has worked with senior law students at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales, immediately avoided the issues, and launched into a recital of how Sai Baba had done such wonders. One example was how (not in person) Sai Baba had miraculously recovered a diary. This embarrassingly contained Ramanathan’s law students’ examination details that he had lost in Malaysia in transit to visit Sai Baba. Another story was how Sai Baba had, again miraculously, in  a hotel in Bangalore, made Ramanathan’s non-functioning tape recorder work.

When Ramanathan phoned me – at first to try to use ‘sweetness and light’ and then to make his fruitless threats of litigation against me – he told me these stories as well, and I suppose he has regaled many Sai devotees with them over the years. It seemed like a sort of litany. As long as one keeps rolling the beads, all the misgivings, all the contradictions, all the dark secrets, all the discomfort can be conveniently filtered out.

Hans de Kraker said that Dr Pavan’s response was that one does not talk of these matters (which de Kraker had raised).

This terrible dereliction of duty of care and accountability has been endemic in the international Sathya Sai Organization throughout the world. History can only but be severe in its judgement on it. The organization’s much-vaunted truth, compassion, and right conduct, among the values enshrined in its so-called “all Faiths” edifice, turn out, in this respect to be, to use a Sai Baba phrase, ‘tinsel and trash’. Or Stone pillar. Stone consciences.

Among the many documents that report Sathya Sai Baba’s grossly improper practices is a letter from Hans de Kraker.  It was addressed to David and Faye Bailey, and Faye Bailey’s son. Indeed, her son, too, had been the target of Sathya Sai Baba’s advances, according to testimony. (Apart from other documentations, the present writer had the account from the son’s sister, and both have long enjoyed a close friendship). As indeed has been typical, and constant across many years, in the accounts of so may other males from around the world have reported in their own cases.  Hans de Kraker wrote: 

There was a big power shake up in the kitchen and I had no interest to participate in the whole situation any longer. I had a chat with the leader of the group because I had not been going to darshan anymore. My last day in the ashram I talked to the leader of the group. (Editor, c.f., Veronica, long an organizer of the Western canteens see here).

 

 

Again she insists that I tell her what happened. “So did he try to have sex with you?” was the question. Tired of it all I told her what had happened. This was the evening of the fourth or fifth of January. Immediately after she has an interview with Sai Baba, by herself this time, without the rest of the group. After she comes out of the interview room, several hours later, I am summoned to an elderly gentleman from Security, whom I knew well, with whom I had built a friendship. Several years before, when I accompanied a couple from Europe, who did not speak any English, he had spent time with this couple, their three-year-old son, who had cancer and me. This gentleman looked very awkward and asked me if he could take my photo. I said of course not knowing what was happening, understanding something had gone wrong. He was accompanied by 2 seva dal’s. One them took a picture from the front and then asked me to turn to the side. When I asked my friend what was happening he nodded uncomfortable and said I don’t know.

They then escorted me to the secretary of the Ashram who told me I was ordered to leave as soon as possible. I had behaved improperly and had to leave. When I asked what the reason was he commanded that I was not allowed to ask anything, and that I was only allowed to leave. “You are to leave the Ashram. You are strongly advised not to hang around the village, to go as soon as possible to Bangalore and catch the first flight out…

I left. All my friends of the group were absolutely amazed and destroyed when they heard that I had been expelled. Except for one person…the same person who spoke to Sai Baba a few hours before. So they got rid of a possible “loose cannon”

———————————–

For next installment, see:  A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 4

———————————–

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

There is a Spanish version available:

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader

 

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 2

The series continues from: A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 1. Posted by Barry Pittard on July 20, 2010

In October 1999, I read Terry Gallagher’s startling accounts, and, increasingly those of others. He was the first head of Australian Sathya Sai Organization and an agricultural scientist and businessman of Kiama, New South Wales, Australia. His brother-in-law, Neville Fredericks (a past mayor of Kiama)succeeded T.Sri Ramanathan as head of the Australian Sathya Sai Organization. Following his extensive investigation, Terry Gallagher’s revelations spoke of Sathya Sai Baba having sex with boys and young men, and being complicit in other disturbing crimes. He discovered disturbing facts about the local, state and central government cover up of police killings in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom at Puttaparthi on June 6, 1993. He and others in various parts of the world resigned. Many simply left the Sathya Sai Organization, without formal resignation. Sai devotees in centers around the world have heard their leaders state the allegations are made by a handful of disgruntled former devotees. Yet the Sathya Sai Organization holds aloft the value:  Truth …

The Editor of the Australian magazine Nexus (published in a number of countries), Duncan Roads, had found the Gallagher article along with two other accounts of former Sathya Sai Baba devotees on the internet. The Gallagher document was in the form of a letter to David and Faye Bailey. Duncan Roads wrote: 

 I had heard the many rumours about Sai Baba’s sexual impropriety over the years, and like many, dismissed them as disgruntled devotees.  Later on, I actually took those attacks as ‘evidence’ that Sai Baba was growing in influence, and that this was the ‘system’ attacking him … 

Unlike Sai Baba believers, I have an open mind, one which allows me to read and listen to things that Sai Baba believers refuse even to allow into their consciousness.  I read some of the more recent testimonies, and decided to investigate for once and for all to put an end to the rumours …

I ended up speaking to many victims, parents of victims, former Sai Baba centre ‘leaders’ and some respected ‘figureheads’ from the movement.  All confirmed the same pattern of abuse and sexual misconduct …

I did not want to believe any of these testimonies, but I also had to be true to what I was uncovering.  Sai Baba is, and has, been involved in sexual misconduct with boys and young men.  The effects of this misconduct has caused unestimatable damage within many many families, including suicides

Photo below: David and Faye Bailey. Authors of ‘The Findings’. An historic and lengthy indictment of Sathya Sai Baba and his charismatic cult, by two former and exceptionally close disciples.

See my articles: 

Truth In Action: David and Faye Bailey Vs Sathya Sai Baba, and

Reply to a Sathya Sai Devotee’s Note re: David and Faye Bailey

————————–

For next in series, see:  A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 3

————————–

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

There is a Spanish version available:

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 1

For twenty-five years, I was deeply devoted to Sathya Sai Baba. He is widely regarded as India’s most famous and most politically and religiously powerful guru. At his behest, and as an unpaid service, I taught all three years intake in the Humanities degree course at the Sri Sathya Sai College at Whitefield, via Bangalore, South India (1977-1978). In particular, quite apart from a large workload with the first two years, to have been handed the college Principal’s third year English lectures was a considerable challenge for which I shall always be grateful, especially given that this was my first teaching job, except for school experience in my teaching diploma, and my coaching at a college in Australia that helped put me through university, and having also just done post-graduate theatre training.

I had already done some work at the Sri Sathya Sai College for Arts, Science and Commerce before these classes and tutorials began; for example, my own mime performance, and a two-handed performance with an actor from New York of our condensed “Julius Caesar” by William Shakespeare for the senior boys along, and also supervised setting the foundations for a small library, apart from the main library. The ‘small library’, as it came to be called, eventually bloomed into a thriving cultural meeting-point. It gave me contact with boys from many parts of India, and has remained high among memories of a sort that a teacher cherishes. It meant excellent contact with students of very diverse socio-economic background right across the college. Generous funds were advanced so as to stock the ‘small library’ with books most likely to act as drawcards to students at diverse levels of interest and ability. I also originated an audio-visual acquisition committee consisting of the Principal of the college, D. Narendra Rao, (the late) Dr John Hislop (the then head of the Sathya Sai Organization in USA and latin America), and the film maker Richard Bock. See:

Timothy Conway Ph.D – On ‘The Hislop Letters’

Sai Baba films by Richard Bock

After years away, I returned to India in November 1997. When I arrived, boys I had taught - now grown men, many in a variety of professions - sped up and milled around. Here and in other places, there was a joy of reunion after long absence. Any fond old teacher’s heart gladdens at the sight of former students, and with rare exceptions. One feels that one has lived not in vain. There is a vital strain within India culture which holds learning, including secular learning, sacred indeed.

————————–

This series continues at:

A Sathya Sai Saga. Barry Pittard Recollects. Part 2

————————–

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

There is a Spanish version available:

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

Gerald Moreno: No Real Sai Baba Devotee Could Applaud

It would not be possible for any professional, nor indeed competent school students of clear thinking, to view as urbane, civil and non-defamatory the writings of the internet fanatic, stalker and extreme manipulator of internet rankings, Gerald Joe Moreno, of New Mexico, USA.

Moreno’s bush-lawyering and untutored ‘research’ would be spotted (and regularly have been) in a few sentences by any lawyer, journalist or other bona fide researcher. That he is supported by well-known Sathya Sai Baba devotees is yet another sure sign of the trouble that the Sathya Sai cult is in. Demonstration of the poverty of Moreno’s intellectual and ethical status is not reliant on those who oppose Sathya Sai Baba and his cult. No sensible and civil individual would give Moreno a pass mark. For the freakish feat of staying on-the-job by night and day, often engaged in the most peripheral machinations, he fully merits an A+++.

In striking at prominent former Sathya Sai devotee coordinators such as Robert Priddy and me, he will even abuse the names of their family members. Terribly faulty inductions abound in his writings. By regular misreading of his paucity of facts, he maintains that these family members are involved in, or somehow support, the critique of Sathya Sai Baba. The independent British author of books and papers on religion and philosophy Kevin R.D. Shepherd writes:

“I learned about the invasive Moreno tactic of emailing the acquaintances of victims, a tactic designed to elicit details or to convey adverse reports. Furthermore, many emails sent to Joe Moreno have been paraded on his primary website in a manner that does not inspire universal approval. Those emails include some from the son of Robert Priddy dated January 2005. The non-devotee Kai Nicolai Priddy objected to being drawn into stigmatising web coverages along with his ex-devotee father. He repeatedly requested that his image and personal information should be deleted from the primary Moreno website saisathyasai.com. The Moreno responses were aggressive, and unyielding with regard to the image of the protester. Moreno excused his action in this respect by arguing that he had merely published a screen capture of a public domain image”.

Moreno stoops so low as to cause great concern to a young child (and of course his extended family and friends) by putting up his photo and naming him in multiple references, all the while severely defaming his father (myself). What child (indeed what adult) does not query his or her name, and the name of this or that friend, in an internet search engine? As typical of his attacks on many others, Moreno gets facts wrong such as the child’s age, making the child appear older than he is. Of course, a child of any age should not be drawn into such matters. That he would draw sobbing tears from a child by associating his name with Sathya Sai Baba related matters is despicable, and indeed seriously unbalanced. Yet he is a known associate of those closely associated with Sathya Sai Baba. How can it be said that these individuals – for example, those associated with the saibabaofindia group and key followers elsewhere – are following his teachings of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Right Conduct), Shanti (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non Violence)?

Unfortunately, the internet is a ‘wild west’, and frequently prevents actions against libel, defamation and other forms of abuse. Our formal complaints to internet authorities and the police about Moreno’s conduct have proved fraught with difficulties. Particularly, these relate to the anarchic state of the world wide web. Internet freedom is treasurable, but unlike democratic freedoms and norms, where there are legal and other measures of accountability, it can transgress against the most fundamental civilities and ethical responsibilities. There is a place for robust, even painful debate. But, characteristically, the internet tolerates far more than this. It is the magnet for those hellbent on causing hell for others.

Moreno’s myriad and unrelenting ploys include taking a fact or a half-truth and twisting it in hostile and extreme degree, and in putting worst-case constructs on facts for which commonsense alone would suggest alternative explanations. Whatever does not meet with his interpretation is branded a lie and a deception. He attacks virtually every individual who has another view on Sathya Sai Baba. His language is full of denigration and heat. When Sathya Sai Baba’s failed prophecy, made on his 60th birthday, that he would not age thereafter is pointed out, Moreno calls foul, calls us ageist, and puts up photographic proof of the ageing process in the Sai Baba critic. As usual, he misses the point. But then, such gross distortions abound in his writings.

In short, it is simply not possible for a Sathya Sai Baba devotee genuinely following his or her guru’s teachings to agree with his conduct. Strangely, one of his plethora of internet sites is named: Love, Light and Spirituality.

Robert Priddy has recently posted the articles:

Guru-buster Premanand exposed Gerald Moreno

Posted by robertpriddy on July 14, 2010

and:

Gerald Moreno: straw man fallacy re Conny Larsson, Sanjay Dadlani etc.

In the latter article, he writes:

“The logical fallacies that Moreno does not employ cannot be listed, as there seem to be none. He is the great proponent of argumentum ad hominem and equally the straw man argument. This fallacy is one of his most basic crutches. The Straw Man fallacy occurs when one ignores a person’s actual position and substitutes a distorted, exaggerated or misrepresented version of that position through a false association to other persons or standpoints. For example, it works thus:

Robert Priddy states x Conny Larsson states x, but also y Therefore Priddy supports y!

Sanjay Dadlani stands for x and y Priddy endorses Dadlani’s stand on x Therefore Priddy endorses y!

Kevin R.D. Shepherd is against x Priddy is also against x Therefore Kevin R.D. Shepherd is for what Priddy is for!

One can substitute for x and y all manner of specific terms, as Moreno does ad lib. All such ‘arguments’ are completely fallacious conclusions – there is no common middle term in any argument”.

For many years, Robert Priddy headed the Sathya Sai Organization of Norway. He is a retired academic in philosophy and the social sciences, University of Oslo. His articles for ‘Sanathana Sarathi’, Sathya Sai Baba’s official publication that goes round the world, were highly regarded by its editor V.K.Narasimhan (who had been one of India’s greatest newspaper editors). See my article:

Robert Priddy (3) Friendship With V.K. Narasimhan

For Priddy in relationship to his long years of friendship with V.K. Narasimhan, See:

V.K. Narasimhan on the 1993 Sathya Sai Baba murders

Posted by robertpriddy on April 22, 2010

A fairly recent Priddy blog on Moreno was:

Gerald Moreno: absurd screencap fraud claims contra Priddy

Posted by robertpriddy on May 27, 2010

…………………………………………………

Further Reading

Wikipedia entry under: Robert Priddy

My Credo

His Blogsite

His Website

‘Robert Priddy Not Exposed’ blog

Australian scholar Brian Steel on Moreno

Diversionary Tactics by an Internet Demagogue.
The pro-Sathya Sai Baba Campaign of Gerald (‘Joe’) Moreno . Brian Steel    December 2007  (Updated March 2008)

Independent British author on religion and philosophy on Moreno

Internet Terrorist Gerald Joe Moreno

Alan Kazlev, who had a serious change of mind about Moreno

Gerald “Joe” Moreno. A case study of a Sai Baba fanatic

————————–

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

There is a Spanish version available:

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

Does ‘Forgiveness’ Mean Letting Offenders Ride Rough Shod Over Us?

In a list of systemically misleading topics, ’forgiveness’ would have to rank near the top. Wooly notions about it all too readily allow perpetrators to go free and without challenge. They can remain perpetrators, and their victims left in abject circumstance. Those who advocate passive types of forgiveness too often invite themselves to be trodden upon. Still more, their modeling of a behaviour creates contexts which allow others around them to be trodden upon, as well.

I view foregiveness as the cultivation of an inner attitude, where – while still attending to what one conceives to be civil and ethical duties – one takes daily steps towards achieving an inner peace, and moves away from first reactions, such as thirsting for and implementing revenge. This inner attitude is far removed from notions such as peace at all costs, or the fool’s ‘paradise’ of avoidance of issues, of being in denial, of being lovey-dovey and wishy-washy, and of retreating to euphoric states.

I heard the Dalai Lama speak well on the subject of forgiveness, and made notes. See:  

Dalai Lama: Forgiveness does not mean forgetfulness

Posted by Barry Pittard on June 15, 2007

……………………………………….

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

    

  Subscribe in a reader   

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba   

MI6 Warned Prince Charles Off Sathya Sai Baba, ‘Sunday People’(UK) Says

Will there be further attempts by members of the Royal Family to have any connection with Sathya Sai Baba or his Sathya Sai Organization? A number of active, networked critics of Sathya Sai Baba and his cult feel reasonably satisfied that there will not be. There is also recent and entirely reliable confirmation that certain UK government officials - who did not act according to their proper duties – have been made to mind their p’s and q’s. Their earlier derelictions have recently ended them up in a lot of sweaty archive trawling, and accountability questions from on high. (Reputable media or bona fide scholars are welcome to contact this blogsite and I shall get back).  The following article from the archives reflects but one of a number of ventures which give rise to this feeling of some confidence that the Sathya Sai cult has done its dash in matters Royal in Great Britain.

—————————————-

Paedophile Guru in bid to snare Charles Sunday People U.K. – March 12, 2001

MI6 are probing bizarre sect’s link with the Royals

A PERVERT guru who believes he can sexually abuse young boys because he is GOD has tried to lure Prince Charles into his sinister religious sect. He has enlisted some of the Prince’s closest associates in his move – and the future King has admitted he has considered meeting the swami. Yet we can reveal the FBI and police forces round the world and even a senior UN organisation are already investigating millionaire mystic Sai Baba over scores of alleged sex and other crimes. Now MI6 are probing his bizarre movement’s links with Buckingham Palace.

Pot-bellied

For, the Sunday People can reveal, he planned to increase his worldwide influence by converting Charles into one of his millions of followers. The tiny pot-bellied holy man – who wears orange frocks and sports a 70s-style Afro hairdo – enlisted the help of one of the prince’s most-trusted advisors. He hoped that architect Professor Keith Critchlow would be able to persuade Charles to visit his temple, or “ashram”, in southern India.

Amazingly, we have obtained a copy of a letter which Charles wrote to another of Baba’s high-powered disciples within royal circles. In it, he says: “Keith (Critchlow) has often told me about Sai Baba and the effect he has had on many people and it is wonderful to know of the difference he has made to your life. “Perhaps I will be able to meet him one day when the time is right.”

The letter is signed: “Yours most sincerely, Charles.”

At the time, the prince was unaware that Sai Baba was being investigated for sex crimes. Nor did he know that there were also allegations of fraud and widespread financial corruption. UNESCO has also withdrawn support for a conference they were going to co-organise with Sai Baba. And the Foreign Office is now warning British travellers to India to be wary of the group. A senior legal figure linked to Sai Baba’s victims discovered the guru’s plan to target the prince and alerted M16. Sai Baba, the son of a humble peasant farmer, has a massive worldwide following, including at least 40,000 supporters in the UK.

Millions of families with children flock to his luxurious temple, near Bangalore in southern India, to pay homage. But to gain respectability for his movement, Sai Baba has deliberately set out to target showbiz stars, leading politicians, and royals as VIP supporters. Among them is 70-year-old Animal Hospital presenter and children’s favourite Rolf Harris. He claimed the guru’s teachings had transformed his life and played his famous didgeridoo on a fund-raising CD of mystic chants. Another disciple is British blues singer Dana Gillespie. But Sai Baba’s biggest dream was to ensnare a member of the British Royal Family.

Concert pianist David Bailey, who got involved with the movement during the early 90s, told how he and Prof Critchlow held several meetings in India with the guru. And one time Critchlow asked him: “Isn’t it time for me to bring Prince Charles out to see you?”

Bailey said: “The organisation loved to get celebrities in the fold. They were invited to Baba’s birthday parties.   “At the time I was completely besotted and like other devotees thought I’d win brownie points by recruiting influential people.”

Brainwashing

Bailey even tried to “hook” Prince Andrew and Fergie before their marriage broke up. He said: “I had been asked to organise an evening of music at their home and, to put it bluntly, planned to start brainwashing them. “But the evening was cancelled at the last minute.” Fergie did later pay Sai Baba a private visit in 1997 on the recommendation of a stress counsellor following her marriage break-up. The guru likes to amaze followers by passing off cheap conjuring tricks as “miracles” and producing watches and jewellery out of thin air. And he astonished Fergie by making the bangle appear apparently from nowhere.

Bailey finally turned his back on the sect after learning the disgusting truth about Sai Baba’s sexual perversions. He has spent the last two years exposing the bogus holy man, who likes to rub oil into boys’ genitals claiming it helps release their sexual tension. Bailey, who once worked as a music teacher at the Indian temple, explained: “To my horror, I found out he was a homosexual paedophile.” Now every attempt is being made to ensure Sai Baba is kept away from Charles and other royals.

————————-

See also

UK Guardian On Sathya Sai Baba and Duke’s Awards

Posted by Barry Pittard on October 21, 2008

QUOTE

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

“His Royal Highness’s officials had to act on top of a ‘politically’ not very experienced or competent UK Duke of Edinburgh Awards CEO, Peter Westgarth – see HERE. They were slow off the mark. However, after very high level representations from our side, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme trustees and Prince Philip’s Private Secretary, Brigadier Sir Miles Hunt-Davies KCVO, CBE,

realized that a serious matter was at hand. Questions were also raised by some powerful citizens, including a former Home Minister, Tom Sackville. The Duke of Edinburgh Awards required of Dr G. Venkataraman, head of Sathya Sai Baba’s international propaganda apparatus and deputy world chairman of the Sathya Sai Organization, that an official Sai Baba website take down the triumphant – but absurdly mistaken – information that the Duke of Edinburgh Award had been awarded to Sai Baba himself. Venkataraman complied”.

A Duke Stops An Emperor. Edinburgh Routs Sai Baba

QUOTE

“Officials of The Duke of Edinburgh Awards and Buckingham Palace were upset by the boasting of those such as Dr G. Venkataraman and about the Award connections. (Dr. G. Venkataraman is Sai Baba’s deputy world head, who also directs Sai Baba’s international 7 days 24 hours propaganda satellite radio service via the WorldSpace International corporation). See Shitu Chudasama HERE. Shitu Chudasama is the UK Sai Baba national youth coordinator”.

Prince Charles, Princess Diana and Sathya Sai Baba

QUOTE

“I joined the Sathya Sai Organisation in 1983 and soon learned from the Indian immigrant Mr. Manubhai Patel of Wembley – who ran a Sai Baba bookshop there – how he had since the 1960s been regularly sending books about Sathya Sai Baba to Prince Charles, c/o the Palace. He had even received a formal letter of thanks. At the same time, Manubhai Patel told that he had heard it said by some Indian who were present to the wedding of Charles and Diana in St. Pauls Cathedral that – as he had passed them – he had said ‘Sai Ram’ (the usual greeting between Sai devotees). Many followers of Sai Baba doubtless wanted to believe that and the ‘story’ was circulated widely. The likelihood of it being a fact is extremely low – that His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales Britain’s defender of the faith (Anglican Christian faith) would utter such words under the glare of the world’s TV cameras and invasive microphones! Such wishful beliefs are food and drink to many Sai devotees, as some viewing of dedicated Sai Baba sites on the web will clearly show. However, the idea is not entirely without a certain back-up, for Prince Charles certainly has been very interested in Sathya Sai Baba, at least during the 1990s (and almost certainly before that). Britain’s national newspaper the Daily Express published an report in 1990 (though unconfirmed by official sources) that a representative of Prince Charles had written to Sai Baba asking if the Prince might visit Sai Baba, and that this request had been turned down by a letter from the ashram authorities”.

———————————-

Some UK Newspaper Reviews of the BBC Documentary ‘The Secret Swami’ About Sathya Sai Baba

Sathya Sai Baba dared not sue ‘Sunday People’ newspaper

Video Resources

The Secret Swami (BBC Television):
(154 MB, Broadband)

Seduced (DR, Danish Broadcasting, Denmark’s national television and radio broadcaster):
(80 MB, Broadband)

http://www.rfjvds.dds.nl/ex-baba/~seduced/seduced.wmv
(21 MB, Modem)

———————————-

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

    

  Subscribe in a reader   

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba   

Alexandra Nagel. A Seminal Writer On Sathya Sai Baba, A Guru Accused

Sathya Sai Baba’s slow but enormous rise was badly retarded with an explosive series of revelations, commencing circa 2000. From around the world, the indicting accounts were greatly facilitated by the advent of the internet age. What Sathya Sai Baba defenders do not reveal is that the majority of those who left his fold have never taken to the internet. They do not engage in controversy, and refusal to speak about the sufferings endured is quite common.  The Sathya Sai Organization knows the seriousness of its widespread losses. There is a repeated pattern of senior leaders telling Sai Centre leaders that the mischief comes from the merest handful of disgruntled former members. In quite Orwellian fashion, there is an erasure of uncomfortable memory, for many devotees know that those who have left have not, down many years, been other than tremendously devoted, hardworking, and dear friends or colleagues.

In a manner which contradicts Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings about truthfulness, loving words and actions, etc., members of the Sathya Sai Organization (in some cases who are close to Sathya Sai Baba and his core leadership) have supported, from the background, untold attacks on former devotees, and even their children and others who have had no part in exposing Sathya Sai Baba. The veracity and decency of many who have left the organization, including those who have had years of closeness to Sathya Sai Baba, and roles of outstanding responsibility, have been assailed. Decades have passed, and, overnight, former devotees are pronounced to be “demons”, “Judases”, and so forth. 

Those who attack Sathya Sai Baba apostates ignore, in the case of those who have quit his side, the great deal of pain, and sometimes tragedy as when suicide, death, missing persons, the failure of his promises to cure, family, financial and other forms of severe breakdown have been the case, that has afflicted so many Sathya Sai Baba centers when revelations, impossible to ignore, erupt. The cultish blindness has been monumental. It is the poignant story reported by those who have left so many other authoritarian cults.

Rapidly, from around the world, there was an upthrust of allegation and counter-allegation. Apart from material often by non-writers, there was serious, sustained, analytical work. After the watershed first two to three years of internet exposure of Sathya Sai Baba and his sect, others than the Dutch former devotee academic writer Alexandra Nagel, like Robert Priddy, Brian Steel, Timothy Conway Ph.D., and myself took issues to many other levels, but certainly Ms Nagel’s writing was seminal, and it would be a pity to see it neglected. (Her M.A. thesis deals with aspects of the History of Western Esotericism). Though she has dealt with internet issues, she herself has not had a blogsite or website. Robert Priddy, Brian Steel, Timothy Conway have long had extensive websites. The former two have blogsites, and I have this one, ‘Call For Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba’.

See:  A Guru Accused.  Sai Baba, from Avatar to Homo-paedophile. Alexandra H. M. Nagel. The Netherlands, August, 2001

Most people are deeply conservative, and afraid to enter controversy. It can have repercussions in the family, among friends, in the workforce and places of study, and so forth. Alexandra Nagel, in the very midst of the furore, wrote clearly and intelligently.

——————————————

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

     

  Subscribe in a reader   

Relative Weightings of Allegation and Proof In Exposing Corrupt Institutions (Pt2)

This article continues from:

Relative Weightings of Allegation and Proof In Exposing Corrupt Institutions (Pt1)

Posted by Barry Pittard on June 29, 2010

Let us suppose that not all facts are uncovered. There are some distinct advantages of stating facts or clues such as they are understood at the time. One is dealing with a powerful institution bent on cover up. Excellent media investigations show how badly whistle-blowers and other dissenters who expose institutional corruption have been treated. The more one holds to telling the truth, the higher the price. But, then, truthfulness is deemed by many belief systems as priceless. It is therefore ironic to see the chasm of difference between preaching and practice.

One of the advantages of allegation (where it is not vexatious, defamatory and libelous) is that issues that are all too susceptible to dismissal and cover up can be brought out into the open. The unquestioning nature of human beings in general, so lamented for example by parents and teachers who make a stand for urbane attitudes of questioning, is badly exacerbated in the case of cultists. For example, the title of this blogsite is:  Call For Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba. That is to say, that the contentions of those who allege are under public scrutiny just as are those of an institution under question.

Repeatedly, media investigators and scholars who have tried to investigate Sathya Sai Baba and his international Sathya Sai Baba Organization. They have found that it is a monolith, strongly impervious to questioning – even my independent researchers no matter the excellence of their qualifications and note. As Sir Karl Popper has well described in his classic ‘The Open Society and its Enemies’, the foes of the open society are those who use its very openness to achieve their closed and devious ends.

A decided advantage of speaking out, even though one may not be in command of all material evidence, is that individuals who are well-positioned to know – or to ascertain more evidence – are then able to do their own sleuthing. Sometimes, this situation entails attempts, by the institutions, to further cover up trails, such as using threats to silence witnesses, hushing up leaders and rank-and-file members within their own midst, destroying paper trails or simply by letting crises blow over and attending to damage control by other means. See: ‘Secret Swami’ Cult Recruits At Prime Public Venues and The Quiet Weeding Out Of Sathya Sai Baba’s Embarrassing Statements

The additional evidence provided by strong allegations repeatedly confirms the sad experiences of those who had not thus known of, or at least heeded, the allegations.  

Attackers of Sathya Sai Baba’s prominent critics do not face this fact. Without much stir from prominent critics, revelations concerning the turpitude of Sathya Sai Baba’s and certain of his leaders come to a head, sooner or later, in his centers round the world. Here, crises arise from revelations of abuses and anomalies which are uncovered in the centers themselves or in any corresponding center. Some centers have had professional, experienced psychological counselors, who have themselves led the exit from Sathya Sai Baba centers.

——————————————

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

   

  Subscribe in a reader   

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba   

Relative Weightings of Allegation and Proof In Exposing Corrupt Institutions (Pt1)

Obtaining proof of crimes can be hard and sometimes impossible. It is the nature of evasion to make it so. Sadly, innocence, too, can be hard or impossible to prove. I have long observed that authoritarian cults such as the Sathya Sai Organization make far too little of the role of allegation and large-scale public testimony and far too much of the demand for legal proof. Frequently, the superficial understanding of liberal and democratic notions, such as the freedom of religion or other beliefs, allow authoritarian cults in their self-interest to undermine these cherished notions.

 

Such cults threaten genuinely civil society. Societies that espouse democratic values from top to bottom often accord and vigorously uphold rights in some sectors while, in practice, denying these same rights to other citizens who are equally entitled to them. In countries worldwide, we can see individuals devastated and families and communities torn apart by the activity of cults. Typically, political parties see the issue as too prickly a nettle to grasp. They fear that they will be attacked for subverting the notion of freedom of religion, for example.

Many of these cults have great financial resources, and pump vast amounts into types of promotion that flourish the broad smile and outstretched welcoming arms, but conceal their heavy agendas. Well-heeled cults are prompt to hire high-paid lawyers, and often need but to threaten litigation. Cults, like any other sort of authoritarian regime, bully and harass so as to silence dissent.

I do not say, of course, that rights cannot thrive in a court of litigation. But for those without great funds, it can be a perilous avenue to take, irrespective of the merits of one’s cause. Nonetheless, the Rahm family (whose story was a mainstay of the BBC’s 2004 one-hour documentary on Sai Baba ‘The Secret Swami’) morally supported their young son, Alaya, in civil litigation in the Orange County Superior Court, California, USA. Alaya Rahm alleged that Sathya Sai Baba serially sexually abused him (as, similarly, have many males, or families speaking for minors, around the world). The case was heard by Judge John M. Watson of the Superior Court, County of Orange, California, on April 28th, 2006. See:  Alaya Rahm’s Lawsuit vs Sathya Sai Society of America. Joint Statement by the International JuST Group and the Rahm family (Date: July 16, 2006), and Alaya Rahm’s Testimony – Some Key Statements . California leaders of the Sathya Sai Society of America include the world chairman of Sathya Sai Baba’s organization, Dr Michael Goldstein.

In Part Two of our jointly written four-part article The Sathya Sai Organisation’s Deception and Propaganda Exposed, Robert Priddy and I wrote:

(Dr G.) Venkataraman, with back-up from the facile attorney Robert Baskin, now dares come out into the open, mistakenly asserting that the Alaya Rahm’s self-dismissal of his case against the Society is a triumphant vindication of the Sai forces …

In a statement by the Rahm family, their attorney and the International JuST Group 9, we read: “No court found Alaya’s allegations to be false. Simply, the suit could not continue on a technicality, and the claims of sexual abuse stand irrefutably true, just as before”. Dr. Venkataraman is himself making a false allegation! Attorney William Brelsford Esq., seeing formidable legal obstacles set by the defendants, and not least working against a statute of limitations deadline, advised Alaya Rahm to self-dismiss the case. Along with other difficulties encountered, his attorney has explained, June 29th, 2006, to Alaya Rahm and his family:

“We were successful at the demurrer stage in establishing that a duty would be owed by the Society in the event they sponsored and/or endorsed the trips that Alaya went on when he was abused by Sai Baba. As it turns out, the Society is not the “hub” of all of Sai Baba’s corporate activities. Rather, the Society, pursuant to declarations under penalty of perjury, confirmed they are a bookstore… nothing more. Accordingly, we do not have the necessary factual requirements to establish liability on the Society/Book center.”

(Note:  Eminent legal opinion that I have sought opines that Alaya Rahm, son of one of the formerly highest profile Sathya Sai Baba leaders, Al Rahm of Akansas, USA, had far from the best legal advice. Alaya Rahm’s lawyer, William L. Brelsford, represented him on a profit-seeking, no-win-no-pay basis. It became, all too late, glaringly evident that Brelsford’s research/discovery processes relating to the body he sought to pursue were badly lacking. What a shock it is for a litigant, once the case is in court, to find that there was no incorporated entity to litigate against. The lawyers for the Sathya Society of America represented that the only entity was a bookshop. How could that be sued? What clever foresighted provisions the lawyers of the Sathya Sai Organization had taken against future legal challenges! The blundering Brelsford then advised Alaya Rahm client to self-dismiss his case. 

Should any reputable, bona fide legal, academic or media or agency investigators wish to look at the case, I am happy to refer them to those legal experts consulted.

——————————————

Part 2 of Relative Weightings of Allegation and Proof In Exposing Corrupt Institutions is due to appear shortly

——————————————

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

   

  Subscribe in a reader   

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba   

Major Downturn of Foreigners Visiting Sai Baba At Puttaparthi

Long ago, Sathya Sai Baba told his followers that eventually very few of his devotees would remain. One may posit, of course, less divine explanations for this foretelling, though his devotees think that he speaks from divine all-knowingness. For example, rather, that he saw (rather than omnisciently foresaw) that his unbridled sexual appetite for boys and young men and many other most terrible abuses would finally catch up with him. His game is up, but not his game of relying powerful elements of the Indian power structure to cover up for him.

We receive reports of the enormous decline in the number of foreigners visiting Sathya Sai Baba at the Puttaparthi ashram. It is the western media, such as the BBC, that have investigated and exposed Sathya Sai Baba and his cult. Visitor numbers from within India have been assisted by the pushing of a railhead to Puttaparthi. The airport, however, is now seen by many as a spent force. See Robert Priddy’s: Sathya Sai Airport “white elephant” for sale!  See also: Sai Baba’s tennis stadium another white elephant?

I recall being in a group listening in the 70′s to the late Professor P.N. Kasturi, his official biographer, editor of Sai Baba’s magazine Sanathana Sarathi and often Sai Baba’s on-stage translator, saying that:  A “big government minister” implored Sathya Sai  to allow a railhead all the way up to Puttaparthi, but was refused. It is there now, and enhances Indian crowd numbers, especially among the peasants and the middle class. A powerful reason for his continued patronage in India is that, to its undying shame, most of the Indian media eschews material critical of Sathya Sai Baba. His political clout is too great. 

——————————————————-

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

   

  Subscribe in a reader   

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba   

Sathya Sai Baba’s Chief Broadcaster Dr G. Venkataraman: Select Critical Articles by Barry Pittard

Dr G.Venkataraman is about as close to Sathya Sai Baba as it is possible to get. His worldwide brief as his international broadcaster and his deputy chairmanship of the Sathya Sai Organization makes it relevant to look at his performance. The reader may keep in mind the question:  Is Venkataraman’s performance what one would expect of a chief disciple of – supposedly – God fully incarnate? Of course, even the most eminent disciples of famous spiritual leaders of the past made some bad showings – but (if the historical records are to be credited) turned out okay in the final run home. But has Venkataraman done so? He has had decades of practice for the “run home”? 

A detailed analyis of Venkatarman at work is found in Robert Priddy’s and Barry Pittard’s jointly authored, four-part article ‘The Sathya Sai Organization’s Deception and Propaganda Exposed’ .  To see his machinations in concert with the Vajpayee government and the then Director of UNESCO (which were exposed by the BBC’s David Saville), see: The Case of UNESCO’s Missing Media Advisory

………………………………………………………..

Sathya Sai Baba’s ‘Minister of Propaganda’ – Dr G. Venkataraman

“G. Venkataraman, formerly an intimate member of India’s nuclear bomb community, was Vice-Chancellor of Sai Baba’s university at Puttaparthi. He is now second-in-charge of the international Sathya Sai Organization, and head of Sai Global Harmony. The latter entity broadcasts, in affiliation with WorldSpace International Satellite Radio Service, 24/7 to many countries. With a behind-the-scenes corporate-style, assisted by the billions of funds that pour from many countries into the Sathya Sai Central Trust, the aim is to penetrate to every corner of the globe. A vital question will be whether politicians in democratic countries will be capable of distinguishing between the issue of freedom of religion and the issue of cults that decidedly do not, whatever may be their rhetoric, respect democracy …. Dr Venkataraman is tantamount to being Sathya Sai Baba’s ‘minister of propaganda’. Practically all heads of the Sathya Sai Organization are forbidden to comment on critical matters, but G. Venkataraman is an exception. The few spokesmen (and they are almost always men!) say very little, as one would expect of a virtually Soviet-style, cultic organization, with a leader and a deputy chairman who can both wax lyrical about how the former dictator of Uganda Idi Amin wept with tears of devotion over Sai Baba”.

Sathya Sai Baba’s Deputy Head, Dr G. Venkataraman, Speaks of “Mr Idi Amin”

“Dr G. Venkataraman speaks of how thrilling was Sai Baba’s account in this ‘Christmas’ 2006 discourse of his 1968 visit to Uganda! But oh, what an inspiring figure was Idi Amin to refer to in a Christmas message! In case G. Venkataraman or anyone badly informed of Idi Amin’s evil deeds and regime, here and here are BBC reports at the time of his death in August 2003 and a list of resources”.

(Above photo – is but a graphic art impression of the Dr G. Venkataraman-Sai Baba-Idi Amin Love-Fest).

“THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND” – GOD’S ORDERS and Sai Baba 

“The issue is not about high-profile leaders who unavoidably find themselves mixing with monstrous human beings – for example, dignitaries simply going about their formal duties, such as a King, Queen, President etc. The clear issue is that both Sai Baba and G. Venkataraman enthused warmly about recollections of Sai Baba’s visit to Idi Amin in Uganda in 1968, saying how Amin and his retinue were in copious tears of devotion for Sai Baba. Amin was one of the world’s greatest monsters – causing a holocaust estimated at 400,000 people, torturing, raping, engaging in violent orgies and cannibalism. And yet  – Sai Baba (who claims to be all-knowing and God fully manifest on earth and come to save the planet before he leaves it) and Venkataraman showed the most appalling bad taste and absence of judgement”.

Sathya Sai Baba and Dr G.Venkataraman: Will They Disavow Their Idi Amin Fondness?

“Note how Venkataraman, on Sai Global Radio, refers to Mr Idi Amin. I may add that it is interesting that Amin claimed to have a direct line to God. Did he have in mind, specifically, Sathya Sai Baba? Perhaps Amin scholars may have something among their files, and can let us all know.

Sathya Sai Baba-Idi Amin Nexus. Foolish-fond Memories

Dr G. Venkataraman, Sathya Sai Baba’s Nuclear Boon Companion

“Robert Priddy is the former long-time head of the Sathya Sai Organization in Norway and a retired philosopher in the Social Sciences, University of Oslo. He has written insightfully on the extraordinary, often Procrustean efforts of Dr G. Venkataraman to rationalise his beliefs in Sathya Sai Baba”.

Indian Scientist Dr G. Venkataraman Accused of Plagiarism

”In his article, Venkataraman – the most gullible physicist alive? Robert Priddy (see Wikipedia entry) notes:

Dr. G. Venkataraman reviews at length developments in our scientific knowledge of the cosmos… though nothing scientific that is not found in hundreds of books and other media. Venkataraman was a physicist working for the Indian government’s nuclear programme. However, he has copied his information on astronomy from other scientific authorities. Yet he does not once attribute anything he reports to its originators or to other scientific sources! He has even plagiarised text from the Dennis Dutton website, without any mention … “

BBC Hidden Camera in ‘Secret Swami’. Ethical?

“Despite the alarum and excursions of Dr G. Venkataraman (and informally allied Sathya Sai Baba proxy defenders on the Internet whose libels and slanders are deemed by top lawyers in three countries to be extreme, widespread and highly actionable), the BBC had every just cause to shoot clandestinely. The extensive lack of accountability, transparency and of Duty-of-Care were not only seen clearly by the BBC but have also been noted by other world leading, high quality media in several countries”.

The International Sathya Sai Organization – an accessory to a massive libel and disinformation campaign. Open letter to the Prasanthi Council – c/o Dr. M. Goldstein, Dr. G. Venkataraman and its other members. Here is a quote from that document:

“Two semi-official pro-Sai web sites – saibabaofindia.com/ and saibabalinks.org/ – which could not operate without the help of central officials of the Sathya Sai Organization, Radio Sai Global Harmony and Sai ashrams, have links to websites which libel all former members who have spoken out. Such links reveal the obvious inability of Sai representatives in these groups to reply honestly and cogently to any of the many published allegations about Sai Baba made by those who were long respected members, in some cases prominent leaders, of his international organization. Furthermore, some members link to extremist web sites which have as their primary agenda contrived attempts at character assassination of ex-followers who present critical views. The most prominent of such sites are examined here and here.”

See a list (by no means exhaustive) of typical depradations of those Sathya Sai Baba forces (and those caught up in other cults) who claim to be involved in spirituality: Dissent From Guru Cults Draws Slander and Harassment. See also, Cultic Depersonalization or Demonization of Dissenters

The one-hour BBC dcumentary, The Secret Swami (2004) on Sathya Sai Baba, is compelling, and was the work of more than seven intensive months. Its scope was, however, narrow indeed in comparison to a vast database that discloses that much else ails Puttaparthi Sai Baba and his forces such as the Prashanti Council and the International Sathya Sai Organization. See: The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision

——————————————————-

The Public Petition   

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition): Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization   

There is a Spanish version available:   

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)   

——————————————   

   

  Subscribe in a reader   

Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba   

Indian State High Court Blow For Swami Nityananda In Big Sex Case

As previously pointed out at ‘Call For Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba’, the Nityananda case has had huge coverage India-wide. The battery of television cameras point and shoot at even the most trivial details, along with excited commentary.  Wealthy, influential and international though it is, Nityananda’s organization cannot bear comparison with the enormous wealth, political and religious clout of Sathya Sai Baba and his global Sathya Sai Organization.

Nityananda has spent over fifty days in jail. It has long been a commonplace in and beyond India that Sathya Sai Baba and his core servitors will never be brought to justice. A traveler round India can hear this comment quite easily. An editor of the Times of India told me privately:  Sai Baba and his people are far too powerful to take on. However, a cross-section of Indian commentary suggests a marked increase, if not a mobilization, of concern about the issues of gurudom or swamihood in India. For those who feel relieved by probing, consecutive analysis (vastly lacking in Sathya Sai Baba-proxy internet attacks on virtually all who raise questions about Sathya Sai Baba), there is lengthy and intelligent discussion in The Medha Journal, here - Lessons from The Swami Nithyananda Saga . Wednesday, 17 March 2010 18:40 by Rajiv Malhotra

——————————————————-

Big Story: Nityananda Verdict

By Vox Purpli – YahooINEditors – June 11th, 2010

The Karnataka High Court delivered its verdict on Swami Nityananda’s bail plea. The 32-year-old spiritual teacher and founder of the Dhyanapeetam, faces several criminal charges including that of rape and “unusual sex”.

12th June 2010: Swami Nityananda has got conditional bail but has been instructed not to teach or preach.

11th June 2010: Swami Nityananda gets bail on Rs 1 lakh bond. No witness against Nityananda in rape case.

30^th April 2010: When the CID was interrogating him, the swami’s shocking statement, “I’m not a man. There’s no way I could have indulged in sexual activities with women. Do a potency test on me,” gave a new twist to the  sordid saga.

21^st April 2010: Almost a month and a half after the sex scam broke out, Swami Nityananda was arrested from Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. At the time of his arrest, the Bangalore police found Rs 3 lakh and 2000 dollars with him.

2^nd March 2010: The Swami scandal surfaced in March 2010 when a local channel aired video footage of the swami in a compromising position with a Tamil actress after he had retired from his ashram to live a life of “spiritual seclusion”.

After almost 50 days in jail, the decision on his bail plea will be taken today. Amidst allegations against Nityananda and all the controversy, some loyal devotees continue to hold onto their faith.

Swami Nityananda is not the only self-professed godman to be embroiled in a controversy; several others too have been in the news for all the wrong reasons.

—————————————————

See Also

Robert Priddy

• Swami Nityananda tries to defuse the sex scandal
•  Swami Nityananda tries the Sathya Sai Baba defense ploy
• Tantrick sex Swami Nithyananda’s farce plays on
• Sex scandal in Indian media – Nityananda and forerunners
• Swami ‘Paramahamsa’ Nityananda scandal – latest
• The Dark Underside of some prominent Hindu gurus

Barry Pittard

• Swami Nityananda Sex Scandal News Round Up
• Right Hand. Sleight Hand. Watch Sai Baba Cheat With Sacred Ash (Film clip)
• Is Heat Too Much For Swami Nityananda, Under Fire By Sex Abuse Allegations?
• Why Nithyananda Sex Scandal Investigations and Not A Sathya Sai Baba Probe?
• Lawyer K.V.Dhananjay on Swami Nityananda Furore In India
• Nityananda, Sathya Sai Baba et al… Do Hindus Really Approve Sexual Immorality?
• sathya-sai-babas-sleight-hand
• The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision
• BBC Cameras Catch Sai Baba Cheating With Gold Sivalingam. (Film Clip)
• BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ and British Press Praise
• Sathya Sai Baba 84th Birthday Celebrations. Will 21st Century India Tolerate The Shame That Is Puttaparthi?
• Sathya Sai Baba’s Amazing Predictions
• thumb-secretes-miraculous-ring-under-sai-babas-hand-blow-up1
• Sai Baba To Be Seen In Moon? But Where Was Moon?

———————————–

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition):

Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization  

There is a Spanish version available:  

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

Will Hollywood and Bollywood Dare To Take On The Cult Theme?

Through very separate channels, I have learnt that there have been discussions in different parts of the movie-making world about what approaches to scripting, venue, demographics, legal issues, and so forth, might best lend themselves to portraying the story of a guru so controversial and ’larger-than-life’ as Sathya Sai Baba. Other charismatic cult leader names are mentioned, but Sathya Sai Baba is the biggest.

I earlier wrote:  Dare Songstress Nora Jones Touch Sai Baba? Sathya Sai Baba interests courted Jones (the daughter of the famous Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, both of them his longtime devotees) to play the lead in a movie, oddly titled “My Guy”, and it will be interesting to get confirmation of the story that the project has foundered.

With the above thoughts in mind, as I was looking at a few articles and it struck me how many impactful stories, if followed to their roots,  there would be found in so much work of the more serious and competent critics of Sathya Sai Baba. Wide publics have a thirst for murder and mayhem. This does not lack on Sathya Sai Baba’s bloody trail. There is massive financial, political, and judicial and police corruption. But whether enough audiences can be persuaded to view often-tabooed and acutely distressing themes such as serial sexual abuse is a moot point. One of the top handful of former police chiefs in the world told me that he considered Sathya Sai Baba as plausibly the master criminal of the 20th century. (To reputed media or other serious investigators, I can share his name. He is in consultancy these days). We also know , again at first hand, that in various foreign services there are high-ranking diplomats (including at the level of Ambassador) who do not wish to see Sathya Sai Baba triumph, but in repeated cases they are told by their governments:  not to ‘rock the boat with India’.

The need for excellent movies on the contra cult topic is acute. It is one of the most crucially avoided topics by powerful political and religious  instrumentalities. Apart from common-or-garden cowardice, there is a great deal of misconceived liberalism about, with an excess of political correctness and misunderstanding at large in the matter of what, exactly, religious freedom consists. In the preface to Robert Priddy’s and my long article, we wrote, referring to a writer dear to me: 

“The foes of the ‘open society’ (Sir Karl Popper’s term) are those who use its very openness to achieve their closed and devious ends. Sai Baba and his highly authoritarian and cultist organisation have such ends, which critics have tried to make known. Its foremost leaders silence all those who question it - and never face substantive criticisms. For the first time – after six years of pained and guilty silence – since hundreds of long-term devotees left it in disgust – the Sathya Sai Organisation has found it necessary to try to defuse the debate about Sathya Sai Baba’s alleged crimes, deceits and fraudulence. Dr. Venkataraman’s tendentious cover-up article expresses untruths which have long circulated within the cult, giving an opportunity to confront him with facts and truth”:  The Sathya Sai Organisation’s Deception and Propaganda Exposed 

The cultic costs to society are catastrophic, Intelligent movies driven by more than just profits will need to draw together the two main needs: integrity AND profitability. No reason why creative people should languish for honest work. I notice, incidentally, that some movies, expectedly, are jumping, but crassly, onto the 3D bandwagon. But what better country than India to portray via the 3D medium. Imagine if Sir Richard Attenborough’s ‘Gandhi’ had been made in 3D. Those who wish to see the most powerful exposure of cults need to be on the cutting edge, but not for its own sake.

The articles I had in view (although there are so many others) were:

David Bailey on Sathya Sai Baba (transcript from phone call) Excerpts with surprising facts that came to light when this great favourite of Sai Baba was phoned by Thomas Wiehe of Sweden – concerning the reasons why the Bailey’s rejected Sai Baba and all his works.

David Bailey’s disaffection in 1999 (phone conversation transcript & audio) On how Britain’s MI5 investigated David Bailey on account of protection of the Royal family, and the consequences for him, and other surprising facts.

Truth In Action: David and Faye Bailey Vs Sathya Sai Baba

V.K. Narasimhan on the 1993 Sathya Sai Baba murders Shattering information about the 1993 murders in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom – private confidences shared with Robert Priddy’s longtime friend V.K. Narasimhan, one of India’s greatest and most principled newspaper editors.

Inside information on Sathya Sai Baba by very close servitor Famous Indian editor, V.K. Narasimhan, was full of doubts about Sathya Sai Baba’s claims, but supported him due to social improvements his movement has made.

Ullrich Zimmermann’s Shocking Interview With Sathya Sai Baba. With comments by Robert Priddy, referring to the revelations on video by Ullrich Zimmermann of his interviews with Sathya Sai Baba - click here

More Testimony To Male Sexual Abuse By Sathya Sai Baba

Posted by Barry Pittard on May 1, 2010

See also: 

Wikipedia Issues and Sathya Sai Baba

Recent Research on the Claims of Sathya Sai Baba

Glen Meloy (“Standing up for truth and goodness”) – In Memoriam

Sathya Sai Baba Organization’s Betrayal of Love and Compassion

Timothy Conway Ph.D – On ‘The Hislop Letters’

Stephen Carthew, more recently engaged in his Ph.D. work has also given valuable account. He has latterly appeared in a one-hour ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) documentary. See my article:  Stephen Carthew, A Voice of Testimony From Australia, On The Dangers of Cults. An important document is his:

Letter from Stephen Carthew and see too the European head (the late) Thorbjorn Meyer’s similarly soviet-style treatment of Serguei Badaev, when the latter was president of the Sathya Sai Organization’s Moscow center,  deputy national coodinator, and coordinator of the national Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV):-

Sathya Sai Baba Critic Serguei Badaev: An Incisive Voice of Conscience From Russia

Badaev’s account is found in his:

Story of My Disqualification

Al Rahm’s Explanatory Letter To Sathya Sai Baba Internet Proxy Gerald Moreno

Why Has Sathya Sai Baba Not Faced The Indian Justice System?

Big Cult Trumps At Law. Is But A ‘Bookshop’

‘BILD’ Story. “Guru Wants Sex” (Sathya Sai Baba)

Barry Pittard’s Guide To His Articles On The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Exposing Sai Baba)

……………………………………………………………………

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition):

Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization  

There is a Spanish version available:  

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

 

Barry Pittard’s Guide To His Articles On The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Exposing Sai Baba)

Busy journalists, scholars, institutional researchers, and the probing reader in general can do with shortcuts. The following is a guide to my articles written across some six years on the BBC’s one-hour documentary, The Secret Swami (2004) which, according to the BBC itself, has been aired in some two hundred countries.

————————–

The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision . (Extensive article by Barry Pittard, an international former Sathya Sai devotee coordinator and former lecturer at Sathya Sai Baba’s college in Whitefield via Bangalore, South India, who closely interfaced with the BBC and former devotees worldwide in the making of the one-hour documentary ‘The Secret Swami’, which has been aired in many countries around the world).

The BBC’s cameras at Sathya Sai Baba’s ashram at Puttaparthi in South India catch the pomp, circumstance, opulence and the highly stage-managed atmosphere of the crowded Mahasivaratri festival, February 2004. India’s most famous (and controversial) ‘Godman’ has promised a great miracle, the materialization from within his stomach via his mouth of a pure gold lingam (a Hindu cosmic symbol of creation) the size of a generous egg, in full public view. Viewers hoping to see this spectacle will not be disappointed – but they will see the sham in full close-up.

Sai Baba pretends to vomit up pure gold Siva Lingam. A few minutes later, he tells his vast audience, “Out of the stomach emanated Shiva Lingas of the weight  of three tonnes.  That’s the reason why some strain on  the face and the body“.

BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ and British Press Praise

Here is Tigrett’s statement to the BBC’s Tanya Datta in “The Secret Swami’

Tanya Datta: But even if it was proven to you that Sai Baba was a paedophile and a serial sex abuser, you’re saying it wouldn’t change the fact that he is your guru.

Isaac Tigrett: Absolutely not. Absolutely not. He could go out and murder someone tomorrow, as I said, it’s not going to change my evolution, it’s not going to change the good things that have come out of my relationship down there.

Tanya Datta: Does that mean that some part of you believes there could be some truth to the rumours?

Isaac Tigrett: Oh, absolutely I believe there is truth to the rumours.  See also: Isaac Tigrett. Selling Out Those Condemned to a House Of Blues

BBC Cameras Catch Sai Baba Cheating With Gold Sivalingam. (Film Clip)

‘Shiva Lingam’ so-called miracle. Filmed by the BBC for its documentary ‘The Secret Swami’ at Maha Shivarathri Festival at Puttaparthi (2004).  The carelessness with which Sathya Sai Baba botched his trick may be explicable by reference to other serious mistakes, in the context of his declining mental and physical health. See: Sai Baba To Be Seen In Moon? But Where Was Moon?

Right Hand. Sleight Hand. Watch Sai Baba Cheat With Sacred Ash (Film clip)

Repeatedly, on footage of Sathya Sai Baba’s apparent miracles of the materialization type, an observer – other than one stricken with blind faith – can see the same technique that magicians use, the world over. Sathya Sai Baba’s Sleight Hand

SEE my article with links to some of the world’s most famous magicians (or illusionists) using sleight-of-hand far more sophisticatedly than does Sathya Sai Baba. He gets caught out; many devotees who see this react rather like the people in Hans Christian Anderson’s celebrated tale -’The Emperor’s New Clothes’. I have included the story at this link: When ‘Divine’ Magnetism Becomes A Dead Weight.  Learn how sleight-of-hand is done: Sleight Of Hand. The Sleightness of Sathya Sai Baba (Exposing film clips).  See also a well-documented (by DR, Denmark’s national radio and television broadcaster) case of Sai Baba’s fraudulent materialization, many of whose miraculous materializations, do not stand the test of professional evaluations:   Sai Baba – A Fake Avatar’s Fake Materialization

BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ and British Press Praise

Robert Priddy has blogged ‘Undisputable facts about Sathya Sai Baba by BBC’. This is a summary of a number of major factors that came out of BBC’s television documentary ‘The Secret Swami’ (2004) exposing Sathya Sai Baba and his worldwide cult. The documentary was seen by millions in around 200 countries. He cites a number of the many major British press reviews that highly praised this documentary, such as Andrew Billen, of The Times (of London), who wrote:-

“One of the richest supporters of the Indian guru Sai Baba – no less than Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Cafe – told his interviewer that he was perfectly willing to believe that Baba was simultaneously a) quite likely a paedophile and b) God incarnate”

BBC Hidden Camera in ‘Secret Swami’. Ethical?

Was it ethical for the BBC to use a hidden camera in ‘The Secret Swami’? It used it in the case of a highly elusive chairman of a world organization, Dr Michael Goldstein of Covena, California, that faces grave questions in India and many countries around the world. The Sathya Sai Organization, despite many claims not to recruit or fund raise should certainly be scrutinized by a public and its government, political and institutional organs, which it most definitely cultivates at both peak and local levels. Sanctions for the unusual use of hidden camera were obtained by the producers from top echelon BBC management and legals.

Despite the alarums and excursions of Dr G. Venkataraman (and informally allied Sathya Sai Baba proxy defenders on the Internet whose libels and slanders are deemed by top lawyers in three countries to be extreme, widespread and highly actionable), the BBC had every just cause to shoot clandestinely. The extensive lack of accountability, transparency and of Duty-of-Care were not only seen clearly by the BBC but have also been noted by other world leading, high quality media in several countries. See too:  Robert Priddy and Barry Pittard On Dr G. Venkataraman – Sathya Sai Baba Global Propagandist, which contains many recondite links for the avid researcher.

Indian Ex Top Official Dogs Sai Baba On BBC. ‘Cold-blooded Murder’

“Absolutely Cold-blooded Murder”

(Film clip link is below, under Resources)

Former Home Secretary of Sai Baba’s state Andhra Pradesh, V.P.B. Nair,

tells the BBC cameras that the police killings in Sai Baba’s private quarters in June 1993 were “absolutely cold-blooded murder,” and that CID investigations, which were suppressed, showed many lies and cover-ups. He is seeking to re-open the case. Here is what Nair had to tell the BBC

India A Mature Democracy? BBC Probes

The Secret Swami reported that Sai Baba “cuts through the red tape” to provide water to poor villages via a costly pipeline. But the documentary missed the opportunity to suggest a major reason why successive Indian governments and opposition parties alike have covered for him. Yes, he (or rather his organization) accomplishes what they fail to provide, but with multi billions – the greater proportion of it from overseas! See my articles: Trade Follows Flag. Abetting Indian Government Corruption. And: British Labor and Tory Whips Suppressed Motion On Sai Baba

BBC Caught UNESCO Head Bowing To Indian Government

The Genesis of the BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Sai Baba)

Our concerns addressed to UNESCO, Interpol, U.S. State Department, other governments, institutions and  leading world media – and now to the BBC - ranged far beyond the allegations of long years of wide-scale, serial sexual abuse by Sai Baba. These are itemized at the foot of my article: Serial Sex Molestation and Bedroom Killings. But Much More, HERE.

V.P.B. Nair. B.Premanand. R.Priddy: Sai Baba Bedroom Killings

The one-hour BBC documentary, The Secret Swami (2004) on Sathya Sai Baba, is compelling, and was the work of more than seven intensive months. As well as the reports of Sai Baba’s longtime serial sexual abuse of boys and young men from many countries, The Secret Swami reveals much, including information about gruesome Puttaparthi police killings in Sai Baba’s bedroom on June 6, 1993.

Many Indian journalists and editors and others know of the profound extent of the cover up by the then powerful Home Minister S.B. Chavan, and central, Andhra Pradesh State and local governments. It is a pity that very few have had the courage to speak out publicly on the issue, as has former Andhra Pradesh Home Secretary V.P.B. Nair, who was in office at the time of the killings. It is a sad commentary that very few had the courage in speaking out displayed by those such as Nair and B. Premanand. The BBC shot more than 80 hours of footage. It saw the impressive line-up of former devotee witnesses from various countries and, correspondingly, the sheer degree of cover up by Sai Baba’s officials. Consequently, the producers, Eamon Hardy and David Savill, obtained from the top Executives of the BBC permission to use the terribly sparingly-used resort of a hidden camera. They were able to get such a noble and spiritual glimpse of the Sai Baba’s world head Goldstein exploding with anger, and thus reveal a man whose lashing tongue, like that of his master, is frequently not known about by rank-and-file devotees.

The Genesis of the BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Sai Baba)

Protection of Young Was Initial Driving Force For Most Former Sai Baba followers

Our concerns addressed to UNESCO, Interpol, U.S. State Department, other governments, institutions and  leading world media – and now to the BBC - ranged far beyond the allegations of long years of wide-scale, serial sexual abuse by Sai Baba. These are itemized at the foot of my article: Serial Sex Molestation and Bedroom Killings. But Much More, HERE.

Sai Baba followers have attempted to discredit various major media that have listened to us with respect and seriousness, like the BBC, DR, CBC, SBS, ABC, Azul TV, India Today, Daily Telegraph, Salon.com, Guardian,  Age, Australian Financial Times, Guardian, and newspapers in Europe and Canada.

Guru Sex Abuse Testimony To BBC – After Years of Silence

In the interests of establishing a new life for himself, Mark Roche, who had quit Sai Baba at the beginning of the 90′s, preferred overall not to have contact with either devotees or former devotees. The issue was very sensitive with him, as is typical with those who have been sexually traumatized and who feel their deepest trust in their spiritual master betrayed (the latter of which is also a severe ordeal in itself, as many former devotees know who have not been sexually abused). In this way, painful and confusing memories are far easier to suppress.

Click Here for video clip of Mark Roche interview from The Secret Swami, BBC 2, This World, first screened, Thursday 17, 2004.

Probed On Male Sex Abuse, Sai Baba Evicts BBC TV Team

Caught by BBC hidden camera: an angry and shouting Sai Baba’s world chairman, Dr Michael Goldstein of Covena, California, USA. He dismisses the BBC interviewer’s point about organization accountability and transparency and says of the worldwide serial sex abuse allegations against Sai Baba, “I would know it in my heart because I am what I am – a consummate professional. Can you understand that?”

Fortunately, before they were summarily thrown out, the BBC crew had shot close up valuable footage that clearly shows Sai Baba faking the miraculous production of a pure gold Shiva lingam or lingodbhava – a ‘cosmic egg’ from his stomach. He then – there are no signs of him faking this – faints. A few minutes later, in but one of his many statements that question the rationality of his devotees as well as his own, Sai Baba told his vast audience,

“Out of the stomach emanated Shiva Lingas of the weight of three tonnes. That’s the reason why some strain on the face and the body” See also: Sathya Sai Baba Chief, Dr Goldstein, Explodes. “I am the consummate professional” (See Film Clips)

To carefully go through these stark video revelations that expose Sathya Sai Baba cheating with his (so-called) miracles is to see why his chief defenders like Dr G. Venkataraman and Gerald Moreno have raised profound smokescreens and engineered such markedly distorted ‘pictures’ of hundreds of former Sathya Sai Baba devotees. Many of the latter, from many countries, spent deeply dedicated years of their lives serving him. Some of these were leaders such as Terry Gallagher (Australia), Stephen Carthew (Ph.D Program Candidate, Australia), Al Rahm (USA), Richard Nelson, Rick Raines (USA), Timothy Conway Ph.D (USA), Dave Lyons (USA), Serguei Badaev (Russia), Artur Wisniewski (Poland), Britt-Marie Anden (Sweden), Robert Priddy (Norway) …. Although it is men who in real fact lead the Sathya Sai Organization, prominent women leaders who have left after years of work on behalf of the organization include: Shirley Pike, Sharon Purcell and Elena Hartgering (both deceased), Lori Kaplowitz, Ella Evers, and many others …. Shirley Pike and Elena Hartgering have a long professional background as very qualified, experienced mental health counselors, as are a number of former devotees who have very carefully studied the accounts of Sai Baba’s sexual abuse survivors – and some have had personal contact with the terribly stricken individuals and their families and others who know them well.

Robert Priddy, Academic Philosopher and Sathya Sai Baba Critic. Former longtime head of the Sathya Sai Organization, Norway

See also:  The Late Leo Boogaard: A Dutch Voice of Conscience On Sathya Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba Critic Serguei Badaev: An Incisive Voice of Conscience From Russia ‘BILD’ Story. “Guru Wants Sex” (Sathya Sai Baba) and Why Do Prominent Sathya Sai Baba Sect Critics Persist? and Timothy Conway Ph.D – On ‘The Hislop Letters’ and BBC Transcript ‘The Secret Swami’ (Sathya Sai Baba’s Frauds Exposed)

Hollywood interests with a view to glorifying Sathya Sai Baba have been long attempted to raise finance for a movie. They hoped to obtain Nora Jones in a starring role. See: Dare Songstress Nora Jones Touch Sai Baba? However, pro Sathya Sai Baba forces are not alone in the movie world, and not all filmakers view charismatic, autocratic cults favourably. Let us see.

For the convenience of the many new readers coming to blogsites and web sites such as those whose links are given on the left hand side bar of this page, here is the BBC transcript of the 2004 one-hour documentary ‘The Secret Swami’.  The late Glen Meloy, Robert Priddy, and I were closely associated with the international co-ordination and research that went into the making of this documentary. It was seen in some two hundred countries around the world, and was one of a number of key factors in the monumental decline of the Sathya Sai religious empire. Well may his devotees ask why there has been such a marked marked erosion of his so-called ‘Sai Kingdom’  in many countries. The crisis of his international Sathya Sai Organization in having to make salvaging recruiting drives in costly and prestigious venues is exposed in this article: ‘Secret Swami’ Cult Recruits At Prime Public Venues.

In fact, the BBC unearthed compelling testimony from witnesses well beyond those who appeared on our extensively compiled international list.  Note: On the remarkable figure Glen Meloy - historic in terms of the exposure of Sathya Sai Baba and his cult, see: Glen Meloy (“Standing up for truth and goodness”) – In Memoriam

……………………………………………………………………

The Public Petition

Information on the Public Petition for Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization

About the Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition):

Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization  

There is a Spanish version available:  

PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)

——————————————

Subscribe in a reader Subscribe to Call for media and government investigation of Sathya Sai Baba