(Late) Ron and Peggy Laing: Deeply Alienated From Sathya Sai Organization

Even before the worldwide onslaught of revelations – greatly facilitated by the sudden, dynamic growth of the Internet – of Sathya Baba’s serial and widespread sexual abuse of boys and young men (and other abuses far beyond), well-loved devotees like Ron and Peggy Laing (UK) saw that Sathya Sai Baba’s worldwide organization did not bear fair and reasonable scrutiny. Ron Laing was in the unusual position of being the only non-Indian (at the time) on the Sathya Sai World Council.

It appears that among the Laings’ other grave concerns was the extremely rude and autocratic conduct of the then world head of the Sathya Sai Organization, Indulal Shah. It was the latter who summarily sacked two widely-respected UK organization heads, Lucas Ralli and Aime Levy, simply because they disagreed with him. Summary sacking is much the way in this cult, and spells finis to its claims to being all about light, love and spirituality.

In his article ‘Sociological evidence on the Sathya Sai Organisation’, academic sociologist (University of Oslo) and former head of the Sathya Sai Organization in Norway, Robert Priddy, has written:

“On my visit to the highly-respected Peggy Mason of The Embodiment of Love, and her husband and co-author, Ron Laing in UK in 1987, Ron spent most of two hours telling me in detail of his negative experiences on the World Council and in the Sathya Sai Organization, strongly criticising it and not least Mr. Indulal Shah. After resigning from it, Ron Laing wrote, in the Spring 1988 edition of Peggy Mason’s ‘Sathya Sai Baba – quarterly magazine’, as follows:

‘Organisation has been the bane and pollution of all world religions. How can administrators and bureaucrats not fail to misinterpret and travesty the teachings of the great mystics who have founded the world religions and who have not been able to embody their spiritual insights into limited human language? There is bound to be distortion, misunderstanding and man-made theology. In my opinion, with man’s growing consciousness, this is why the age of churches is dying out, and the age of spiritual truth is emerging.

It is vital to understand that in the Sai Movement the Organisation is quite separate from the Divine Mission. This is why Swami has recently said: “Those who are organisation-minded are those who do not understand the meaning of love. They continue to believe in reports and organisational detail, none of which is important.” Love knows no rules. There is room for freelancers and individuals in the Sai Movement’ “. 

Resources

Peggy Mason and Ron Laing [Mason], Sathya Sai Baba. Embodiment of Love, London, Sawbridge, 1982. [3rd ed., Bath, Gateway Books]

Mrs Mason reports that Sathya Sai Baba told her – see the Chapter ‘The Second Coming has Come’ p. 149-160 – that he is the ‘Cosmic Christ’

General

Barry Pittard’s comments in regard to the Public Petition) -:

Petition For Official Investigation Into Sathya Sai Baba Cult

Posted by Barry Pittard on July 10, 2009

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)

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