Will Huffington Post Give Sathya Sai Baba Critics Equal Space To Plethora of Sai Hagiographers?

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Four days back, in the article:  Huffington Post Needs To Update Views On Sathya Sai Baba and His Authoritarian Cult.  Posted by Barry Pittard on January 20, 2013, I wrote of  Professor Vamsee Juluri’s article in the Huffington Post (US), Revisiting Puttaparthi and the Abode of Peace, noting: 

It will be interesting to see whether Vamsee Juluri thinks he can meet, with the slightest amount of evidence contrary to the contentions of two recent responders to his Huffington Post article (see below) – or the vast  Sathya Sai Baba exposure data on the web ….

No comment from Professor Juluri, at least as yet. HP has posted two of my comments. Below is a reply from ‘Saidas’, who writes as though familiar with what goes on at Puttaparthi.

I wrote:

Scriptures are of their own time. Taken literally they can assault reason, humanity and commonsense. Sai Baba believed literally in gods and demons. His statements e.g., about Jesus and Martin Luther, are historically inaccurate. He made bad scientific mistakes and unfulfilled prophecies. Many former leaders investigated with the utmost integrity. Pointing out anomalies should not invite abusive comment. Points pro Sai Baba commentators raise on HP are more than dealt with by the more capable former devotee writers on the internet. It is about responsibility, not about hate.

Before and since exposure via major world media e.g., the BBC’s documentary ‘The Secret Swami’, viewed by millions in many countries, many foremost leaders and followers quit the Sathya Sai Baba cult. Still more, after the Indian media and Andhra Pradesh state government (June, 2011) revealed Sai Baba’s vast secret hoard of money and valuables. Exposed too was the Sathya Sai Central Trust. He claimed he would live till circa 2022 and rule the world, yet died suspiciously, legalities side-stepped. World-wide data attest e.g., Sai Baba’s serial sexual molestation of boys and young men, the apartments scams, and, chillingly, the hushed-up killings in Sai Baba’s bedroom.

Barry Pittard, Australia, former lecturer in English at the Sathya Sai Baba College, Whitefield, South India. http://barrypittard.wordpress.com

‘Saidas’ responded:

Repeating untruths do not make them true Barry. It is obvious you are pulling your factoids here and there from the internet and presenting them as facts which is glaringly obvious to anyone who has first hand experience. You have no direct experience or knowledge on this subject yet feel free to make declarative statements as if you do or even know what you are talking about. “It is on the internet so it must be true” is a very weak hand to play.

I replied:

Sai-Das, Your comments do not square with the facts. Well before and after media or internet revelations, many foremost Sathya Sai Organization leaders have carefully investigated the heartbreaking allegations from many countries, and, with profound conscience, resigned. I was closely involved – first hand – in coordinating many submissions to media, UNESCO, government, Interpol, FBI and other agencies. Sadly, many from a wide array of socio-cultural backgrounds who spent years of great Sai Baba devotion and service, and who at great cost to themselves have fearlessly spoken out in good conscience, have been defamed, reviled and misrepresented. Yet, in their wider communities, professions and trades, they are regarded as being most decent human beings with high integrity. Various statements that you make in your other posts contain aspects of the facts that informed former devotees do not deny, but they miss crucial data, which you may rectify by reading the critical literature, especially of the prominent writers, who are deeply informed – often at first hand.

General

Excerpt From Public Petition (and introduction)

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

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