Sleight Of Hand. The Sleightness of Sathya Sai Baba (Exposing film clips)

Quite often, among our friends or acquaintances, there is someone who has astonished – or appalled! – us with a few magic tricks.

The Ease of Learning and Performing Basic Magic Tricks

Most children and adult libraries have a selection of books on the how-to of a wide range of magic tricks. These show that, without much ingenuity or skill, most people can pick up a few, with a fundament being, of course, sleight-of-hand, not to mention the use of confederates (But can you always trust them?)

For the clear use of a confederate, you can see Doordarshan’s – Indian national radio and television broadcaster –  video footage showing Sathya Sai Baba’s palming of a necklace from beneath a trophy handed to him by his flunky. This film the then Indian Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, a Sathya Sai Baba devotee, quickly moved to censor:

Censored Indian National Television Film of Sai Baba Cheating

Simple Man-about-town’s Magic Impromptu

A few months ago, I was sitting in a cafe and a local character of little education wandered in. He began entertaining the rest of us with a charming and adept suite of parlour tricks. I chatted with him afterwards. Clearly, he had never heard of Sathya Sai Baba. After my briefly describing Sai Baba’s so-called miraculous manifestation of objects, he immediately sprang into action, and indeed the quickness of the hand deceived the eye – until he slowed things down and also stopped diverting the observer’s attention from e.g., palming and transference of objects. Although he felt honor-bound not to reveal a number of the other tricks that he (the young man) had earlier performed, he showed exactly how Sai Baba produces necklances, pendents and sacred ash, etc.

His displays were akin to those of Nils Krøjgaard, the professional Danish conjuror, who is seen in ‘Seduced’, a television documentary (2002) by Denmark’s national broadcaster DR, which exposes Sai Baba. You can see the 53-minute documentary, for Broadband (80 megabytes) HERE. For Dialup (21 mb) HERE. and the transcript HERE.

Goldie Hawn, the famous Hollywood film star is seen sitting, right hand side of the film clip, near to Sai Baba as he performs his trick.

Famous Indian Skeptics Educate Masses About Fraudsters’ Tricks

Courageous Indian rationalists, such as B. Premanand and Professor Narendra Nayak attempt to educate India-wide audiences in demonstrations – ‘Miracle-exposures’ – of the conjuring techniques by which so-called ‘holy men’ like Sai Baba deceive the masses.

Fortunately these days, one is now able to see slowed-down images of Sai Baba as he produces sacred ash (vibhuthi) or other objects. See my blogs of the last few days of March, 2009, which contain relevant links:

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

Censored Indian National Television Film of Sai Baba Cheating

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

Master Magicians or Illusionists

On the other hand, there are master magicians or illusionists who are disciplined in the sense that, for example, a ballet dancer or virtuoso instrumentalist, becomes a consummate practitioner, requiring hours of daily practice. Some magicians risk their lives in pursuit of their craft. A number of them gain, such as the fabled Harry Houdini (see footage at end of this article), almost superhuman personal psycho-physical control. For a contemporary example, see: David Blaine breaks world record on Oprah Winfrey Show for holding his breath

The magic tricks Sathya Sai Baba employs are a pale shadow of these. But they are comparable to what a adroit enough amateur can learn and perform. Do take care, though, as a kid, I once accidently swallowed a coin while trying to master a trick – ah, will the days of half pennies never return?!.

Behold Their Holinesses – the Company of Great Magicians

Imagine how successfully any of the outstanding magicians I refer to below could have set themselves up as ‘holy’ men in India!  Or imagine how, in a socio-economically developing country like India, where there is still a great deal of mystification especially of non-educated and semi-educated, how easy it is for an arch-deceiver such as Sathya Sai Baba – and a great many frauds without his more greatly famed and curious talents – to mislead the public.

Many Indians Disdain So-Called ‘Godmen’ Who Detract From India Greatness

Many Indians of my acquaintance (and I lived in that great country for several years), whether religious, humanist or atheist feel terribly badly about the superstition and corruption to which the socio-economic condition gives rise.

Below, here are a few master magicians. Some of them are teachers by nature and ready to show how some of the tricks are done. The English magician Derren Brown, like the immortal Houdini, is committed to exposing fraudulence.

Note: a) Alphabetical order of surnames is followed. b) Clicking on the name of the magician/illusionist brings up their website

Note: In a forthcoming article:  Formost female magicians! Including:

Dorothy Dietrich
Angela Funovits
Kate Medvedeva
Tina Lenert
Sue-Anne (My own country Australia’s magic star, named (2007) in the book ‘Historias de Magas Antiguas y Modernas’ which surveys the greatest female magicians in history). And, rivalling her for her place –

Cath Jamison, also of Australia

But – for now  –

David Blaine

The New York Times wrote, “He’s taken a craft that’s been around for hundreds of years and done something unique and fresh with it”.

Wikipedia article

Videos

David Blaine – Video

David Blaine teaches the simple fan

David Blaine Videos – Many Metacafe clips

………..

Lance Burton

“Burton is a magic purist whose show is a loving homage to his craft”.

Kathleen Foley. Los Angeles Times. December 3, 2001.

Wikipedia article

Videos

Lance Burton Sleight Of Hand Magic

Lance Burton and The Dove

Magic Secrets Revealed: Lance Burton unveils some mysteries of magic. New secrets featured each month

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Derren Brown

“… a stage act that stretches back 100 years and a future that might be as lengthy”

Andrew Billen. The Times. January 14, 2009. ‘Derren Brown’s Evening of Wonders’

YouTube – Derren Brown shows how mediums work

Mind Control with Derren Brown

Several videos, both shorter and longer, are at Britain’s Channel 4 website:

http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/D/derrenbrown/index.html

………..

David Copperfield

YouTube – David Copperfield – Thirteen

Doug Henning (The late)

For the magician:

“The hard must become habit
The habit must become easy
The easy must become
Beautiful”

“I consider Jim the most brilliant mind in magic.” Jim Steinmeyer, whom, in turn, the New York Times described as the “celebrated invisible man—inventor, designer and creative brain behind many of the great stage magicians of the last quarter-century.”

Doug Henning’s The Magic Show review, Vimeo.

by Andrew Mayne, magician, illusion designer and filmmaker

Wikipedia article

Videos

Doug Henning On The Muppet ShowDoug Henning presents the Origami illusion

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Harry Houdini (“The Great Houdini”. b. March 23, 1874. Budapest, Hungary. d. October 31, 1926 (aged 52) Detroit, Michigan, USA. Magician, escapologist, stunt performer, actor, pilot, exposer of frauds, historian)

Harry Houdini. Escapist, Illusionist, stuntman, actor, pilot

1. YouTube – Harry Houdini Live!
   	3 min 45 sec – 4 Aug 2007 – Harry Houdini clips with posters n stuff….got clips from houdinitribute.com… ..it’s sooo cooool… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLWhydtd5wI

    

2. YouTube – Harry Houdini
   	8 sec – 11 Jan 2007 – Magician Harry Houdini makes Dr. AM Wilson “vanish” in front of a Vaudville theather. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akkdRYTM0RQ

    

3. Harry Houdini on youtube – The Aerodrome Forum

   YouTube – Houdini flies his Voisin Biplane in Sydney, Australia – 1910

    

4. Harry Houdini Footage From Fantasm Magic – Video
   	1 min 43 sec – 1 Nov 2007 Some Great footage of an early Harry Houdini… Rated 3.96 | 1654 Views | Affiliate Video … escape. Come to Fantasma Magic Headquarters at 421 http://www.metacafe.com/watch/898600/harry_houdini_footage_from_fantasm_magic/

Wikipedia article

Some Further Resources

Indian magicians. Wiki article (which clearly needs Wiki guidelines applied to it) refers to:

P.C. Sorcar Sr “The Father of Indian Magicians”.

P. C. Sorcar, Jr., Gopinath Muthukad P.M. Mithra , Magician Philip, Magician Samraj, Prahlad Acharya , Ashok Bhandari, Ugesh sarkar, Chaitanya Tamhane, Magician Suhani Shah, Solyl Kundu, Indranil Ray, Pradeep Houdino, Magic Leo, Nakul Shenoy, Magician Shado, Escape Arun, Milind kadam, Magician P.R. Akash, Saakaar Sharma, Pratik Shirsat, Sherif Mayika, Magician Roshni, Prince Sil, Magician Susmit Basu, Dharmesh Patel, Prof Jr Shankar

Indian Magicians’ Web Site
P.C. Sorcar Jr.
Magician Philip
Magician Suhani Web Site
Magic Leo Web Site
Magician “Escape Arun”
Magician P.R. Akash
Sherifmayika’ Web Site
The Methods of Hindu Jugglery and Magic. The Indian Basket Trick By Prince Sarath Ghosh. Scientific American Dec. 26, 1914
Prof. Shankar & Shankar Jr.

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Sleight of hand.  Wikipedia

Sai Baba Fraud – Comments and Replies

Posted by robertpriddy on September 7, 2007

Some comments received from Vasudeva S. and replies by Robert Priddy

………………

At ‘Call for Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba’ –

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

Derren Brown’s Magic Trumps Sathya Sai Baba’s

Censored Indian National Television Film of Sai Baba Cheating

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