Call For Media and Government Investigation

of Sathya Sai Baba And his worldwide cult, the Sathya Sai Organization

Archive for the ‘Scandal’ Category

Thorbjørn Meyer: Is Democracy Such A Good Idea?

Posted by Barry Pittard on October 5, 2009

My regular readers will perhaps have noticed my use of – not uncommonly – phrases of the sort:   Sathya Sai Baba and certain of his core leaders.  Worthy leaders have their assistants or followers;  oppressive ones have their henchmen.

Thorbjørn Meyer, Sathya Sai Baba Coordinator for Europe

Thorbjørn Meyer, Sathya Sai Baba Coordinator for Europe

Thorbjørn Meyer, European Central Coordinator of the Sathya Sai Organization, is regarded by a number who know him well as being of the henchman variety.  Meyer’s lack of accountability is great.  Abandoned are certain essential values of democratic accountability, as if they had never been heard of. This is of course true in regard to various other key Sathya Sai Baba leaders; however, Meyer is one of the foremost of the guru’s leaders, and his accountability even greater. He is right at the hub of the cover up of Sathya Sai Baba, and of his monumental spiritual betrayal, and of the suppression of serious crimes that would, were India far more properly democratic, be investigated as a matter of course. Indian democracy – it would be a good idea! (Pace Gandhiji!)

Robert Priddy, when head of the Sathya Sai Organization, knew  Thorbjørn Meyer well, has just written the article:

Sathya Sai Baba oils genitals (boys/young men) Part 1

Posted by robertpriddy on October 4, 2009

“It is now a wholly undisputed fact, even among many leading devotees (for example, the European Central Coordinator of the Sathya Sai Organisation, Thorbjørn Meyer) that Sathya Sai Baba takes down the trousers of many young men and boys and handles their genitals intimately, rubbing on oil and sometimes also so-called ‘holy ash’. Many report that he also rubs vigorously so as to (try to) cause an erection, also sometimes kissing them voluptuously on the mouth. That any such things took place at all was long covered up by a number of top leaders in the Satya Sai Organisation! In civilised countries, the touching of genitals under such circumstances is an illegal, punishable action unless carried out by a doctor on prior consent of the patient. A number of Indian devotees have actually said that they see no wrong in this or any other sexual abuse of young males, because God Himself can do no wrong! Some have fanciful theories about it awakening spiritual powers, one even condones all forms of sexual abuse as needful karma (see here)

……………………………………………………………………………….

Further Resources

Thorbjörn Meyer Interviewed on Danish TV News
transcribed word for word in Danish from TV-Avisen
, the Danish prime news show on January 31st at apx. 9:05PM. Transcribed and translated into english by Ole Alstrup. This interview was aired directly in the prime news as the first news immediately following the documentary was first shown on Danish Television.

Robert Priddy  –  on his former colleague in Sathya Sai Baba Organization leadership, Thorbjørn Meyer

THORBJØRN MEYER, CENTRAL COORDINATOR IN THE SATHYA SAI ORGANIZATION, EUROPE
who admits in an e-mail that Sathya Sai Baba does actually ‘oil genitals’, calling it an ‘age old Indian oil ceremony’

by Robert Priddy, ex-leader of the Norwegian Sathya Sai Organisation & former Oslo Centre (active 1983-1999).  Email correspondence with Robert Priddy and a revealing discussion

……………………………………………………………………………….

General

Excerpt From Public Petition (With Barry Pittard’s comments)

(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)

Posted in Opinion, Protest, Religion, Scandal, South Asia, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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

Posted by Barry Pittard on October 2, 2009

Deputy head of the international Sathya Sai Organization and Head of Sai Global Radio G. Venkataraman’s “Mr Idi Amin” Report (http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_05/01JAN07/11-prasanthi-diary.htm) stands as an appalling affront to those who suffered at this monstrous dictator’s hands. 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. Fond Memories

Sathya Sai Baba-Idi Amin Nexus. Fond Memories

Here is what G. Venkataraman wrote:

“The moment of moments came when Swami stood up to give His divine discourse. Swami thrilled one and all with memories of His Divine tour to Africa, namely Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Swami related how Mr. Idi Amin was very fond of Him and used to have the darshan of Swami both in the morning and evening. During His stay, he arranged a dinner for Swami and meticulously got all instructions from Dr. Patel as to Swami’s menu and how it should be prepared. On the day of the dinner, Idi Amin’s wives stood in rows on either side and greeted Swami with veneration. Idi Amin himself introduced each of them one by one to Swami.

On the day Swami was to leave, which happened to be Guru Purnima day, Idi Amin was suffering from pangs of separation and started shedding tears pleading with Swami not to leave them.

Not only did Amin but the Africans were all in tears and fell at the feet of Swami praying:

“Bhagavan! Please spend this day with us.” Their devotion melted the heart of Swami and made Him spend Guru Purnima with them. An important miracle happened on this day. The Africans had wished to take photos with Swami.Swami told them that they might silently pray in their heart so that their requests may be fulfilled. To their joy, each of them found a photo of Swami lying beside them”.

Further Reading

Jointly authored

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).

Note: This document is signed by the following prominent Sathya Sai Organization members:

Serguei Badaev, Russia 1995-2001 Ex-President of Sai Org. Moscow Centre and Deputy National Chairman for Russia.
Timothy Conway Ph.D, USA. Follower for 22 years; President of the Sathya Sai Baba Center of San Francisco from 1982-4.
Dennis J. Hanisch, USA. Follower for 27 years. Founder member and Vice-President, Seattle Center.
David. J. Lyons, USA. Follower from 1981 to 2000. Ex-President of the Center of Greater New Orleans.
Barry Pittard, Australia. 1976-1999. Former English Lecturer, Sathya Sai College, Whitefield.
Robert Priddy, Norway. 1983-2002. Founder member/Ex-Chairman of Oslo Center & Coordinator for Norway 1986-1996.
Reidun Priddy, Norway. 1983-2000. Founder member and Seva Wing Coordinator 1986-1998
Al Rahm,  Office-bearing member of the SSO for decades. Regional Devotional Coordinator and founder of first Education in Human Values school in the U.S.
Barbara Shocket, USA Follower: 1980-1990.
Dhyani Jo Sinclair, Canada Member and Sai Centre Secretary, 1995-2000

——————————————————–

At ‘Sathya Sai Baba Deceptions Exposed’ http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com

Dr. G. Venkataraman, propagandist in the limelight

Sathya Sai Baba, dictator Idi Amin and G. Venkataraman

Apologist for Sathya Sai Baba

G. VENKATARAMAN – CHIEF PROPAGANDIST FOR ‘GOD’

Dr.G. Venkataraman – physicist ‘explains’ Sathya Sai Baba.

G. Venkataraman’s out-dated and fallacious ideas – part two.

Atomic physics Puttaparthi style. Deeply intriguing

Venkataraman – the most gullible physicist alive?

Venkataraman, a victim of emotional blackmail?

Money, Morality and Sai-worshipper Dr. Venkataraman

——————————————————–

At ‘Call For Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba’ https://barrypittard.wordpress.com

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

Idi Amin Video Clip. Amin Claimed Direct Line To God

——————————————————–

Posted in Morality, Opinion, Protest, Religion, Scandal, South Asia, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Issues, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

“The Secret Swami” – BBC Film Footage and Transcript

Posted by Barry Pittard on September 22, 2009

For media and scholarly researchers and others interested in concentrated examination of the issues presented in the BBC’s one-hour documentary, here are some key resources. Those networks beyond the one which led the exposure of Sathya Sai Baba and his core officials can, for convenience share these links with your own channels in local and national media, and mainstream institutions in your communities with which the Sathya Sai Organization attempts to link itself.

From Exbaba.com

SATHYA SAI BABA ‘THE SECRET SWAMI’

PHOTO & VIDEO GALLERY

SATHYA SAI BABA IN EXCEPTIONAL FILM SHOTS. FILMED IN 2004 AT SHIVARATHRI

VIEW THESE EXCERPT TRANSCRIPTS AND VIDEO CLIPS FROM

THE BBC TV DOCUMENTARY ‘THE SECRET SWAMI‘:

THIS DOCUMENTARY CAN BE BOUGHT DIRECT FROM THE BBC MARKETING DEPT.
AS A VHS VIDEO. FOR A FRANCHISE TO SHOW IT ON INDEPENDENT TV STATIONS,  CONTACT THE BBC.

3) DR. MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN DISCUSSES THE SEX ABUSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SAI BABA

4) DR. MICHAEL GOLDSTEIN STATES THE SAI ORGANISATION’S FAITH ABOUT SAI BABA

5) ISAAC TIGRETT DISCUSSES THE SEX ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SAI BABA

6) INDIAN EX-MINISTER OF EDUCATION, M.M. JOSHI, ON THE SEX ALLEGATIONS AGAINST SAI BABA

7) INTERVIEW WITH THE EX-HOME SECRETARY OF ANDRHA PRADESH

8) VERY CLOSE DEVOTEES TESTIFY – SAI BABA’S SEX ABUSE AND DIRE THREATS ETC.

9) SOME CLOSE BEDFELLOWS OF SATHYA SAI BABA

—————————————–

At this blogsiteCall For Media and Government Investigation https://barrypittard.wordpress.com see the articles:

—————————————–

A list of but a few of the Sathya Sai Baba critics who have been attacked in an attempt to prevent proper third party investigation of Sathya Sai Baba and core leaders of the Sathya Sai Organization:
Robert Priddy, Barry Pittard, Timothy Conway Ph.D (author and scholar), Brian Steel (author and scholar), Kevin R.D. Shepherd (author on religion and philosophy), Serguei Badaev, Al Rahm, Alaya Rahm (BBC testifier to sex abuse), Tal Brooke (author), Duncan Roads (journalist, editor of Nexus) Conny Larsson (Swedish actor subsequently active in criminal/drug rehabilitation), Mick Brown (UK journalist and author, Daily Telegraph), Ojvind Kyro/Øjvind Kyrø (Danish journalist and television producer with DR, Denmark’s national broadcaster), Vir Sangvi (Indian newspaper Editor and journalist), (the late) Marianne Warren Ph.D (academic and author), M. Alan Kazlev, Mary Garden (Australian author), David Bailey (former top Sai Baba favourite), Faye Bailey (David Bailey’s wife), (the late) Elena Hartgering (accredited abuse counsellor), Basava Premanand (famous sceptic honoured by the Indian Government), Alexandra Nagel (academic), John Purnell (Roman Catholic priest), Terry Gallagher former head of Sathya Sai Organization of Australia), Stephen Carthew (former spiritual convenor, Sathya Sai Organization, South Australia), Sanal Edamaruku (President – Indian Rationalist Association), Reinier van der Sandt, Hans de Kraker, Marc Andre Saint-Jean (author and publisher), Lisa Tice, Diana Scott, Dave Lyons, Gabriel Merrun, Sanjay Dadlani, Afshin Said Khorramshahgol, Ullrich Zimmermann, Jens Sethi, Dennis Hanisch, Keith Ord, Jesper Andén, Jed Geyerhahn, Sharon Purcell, Satch Purcell, Greg Gerson, Mark Roche, David Paul, Karen Tilley, Paul Throne, Marcus Martenson, Veronica Isacsson, David Juliano, Rosalia Malagelada de Neves and many more.

—————————————————————

General

Excerpt From Public Petition (With Barry Pittard’s comments)

(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)

Posted in Miracles, Opinion, Prophecy, Rationalism, Religion, Scams, Scandal, Sex, South Asia, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Religions | Tagged: , , , | 3 Comments »

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

Posted by Barry Pittard on September 13, 2009

The article quoted below, in which Jens Sethi , a former devotee, recounts being sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba, is from the magazine ‘BILD’ of Munich on 21 August, 2000. Wikipedia states that ‘BILD’ is “the best-selling newspaper in Europe and has the sixth-largest circulation worldwide”.

About a year earlier, NEXUS Magazine (Australia), August-September 1999, featured three articles on Sathya Sai Baba, containing serious allegations. One of these was the testimony of a German husband and wife, Jens and Gurprit Sethi who had been devotees, but had left him.The other articles were the testimony of Terry Gallagher (who, on principle, had resigned as head of the Sathya Sai Organization in Australia) and Hans de Kraker, also Australia, who had reported his own experiences of Sathya Sai Baba sexual abuse, and had likewise resigned his roles having further investigated allegations of Sathya Sai Baba’s serial sexual abuse of boys and young men. Kraker was, for a number of years, head of the Western Canteen at Puttaparthi, See here) . Kraker’s account can be seen at:

A searing testimonial about Sathya Sai Baba

Posted by robertpriddy on August 30, 2009.

Until the NEXUS article, mentioned below, I had dismissed for many years as absurd no fewer than nine accounts of sexual abuse by Sai Baba, five of which I had heard between 1978 and 1982, and two shortly before I read the NEXUS articles, the rest between 1997 and 2000. I must say, though, it was a relief when leading sources such as India Today, The BBC, UNESCO, The Times of London, The Telegraph, The Guardian, BT, The Age, The Australian Financial Times, Vancouver Sun, Ottawa Citizen Gatopado , UNESCO, some academic institutions such as Flinders University, Australia and others, not known for sensationalism, took our team and witnesses seriously. Even the like of these have been attacked by an unscrupulous zealot who is known to be assisted by those long and strongly associated with Sathya Sai Baba. See: Exposure of Sathya Sai Baba. Media Source List

Posted by Barry Pittard on October 23, 2007Sethi-Munich

BILD (Wolfgang Ranft) interview on Sathya Sai Baba

Translation of text:-

RESIDENT FROM MUNICH RAN AWAY FROM INDIA –  GURU ALL OF A SUDDEN WANTS SEX

By Wolfgang Ranft

MUNICH – Jens Sethi was young, naive, full of religious expectations. In 1988 this resident from Munich who worked that time in a printing office travelled to India the land of the Hindu Gurus. The 24-year-old man was looking for new spiritual fulfillment. He found, what he was looking for. Sethi succumbed to the fascination of a Guru who was already 62-years old that time: Sathya Sai Baba. “I was totally fascinated by the Aura of Sai Baba”, he says today. “I surrendered in a way that I was mainly concentrating on him.” Every year he travelled together with his wife for four or six weeks to the Ashram of Sai Baba. During the festival time more than 20 000 devotees gather there.

The fascination remained for Sethi just an external moment as he never could approach the Guru during the first years. This happened only in October 1996 when Sethi finally decided to go to India where he settled down in Puttaparthi close to the Ashram. During the daily pilgrim-meeting he was called for an interview by the Guru, the utmost a pilgrim can expect within the Ashram. Sethi enjoyed his good luck. He, one of those rare devotees, who has been personally selected by the Guru.

But the conversation took a different course than he expected. Sethi appeared together with his wife. The Guru was outraged and has sent the woman away. Alone in the room the old man started to kiss the man from Munich, stroke him and went into the trousers. Shocked but still full of faith and naivety Sethi accepted two other meetings some month later. Again the Guru kissed him and finally touched his genitals.

Only then the young man ran away back to Germany. It took him three years to overcome the crisis and to separate himself mentally from his spiritual guide. During that time he did investigations in the internet and came to know about other young men from UK, Sweden, USA who underwent a fate of similar experiences.

Only this summer he did the final step to escape from the spell under the Guru: He brought a charge against Sathya Sai Baba at the public prosecutor´s office in Munich – because of sexual molestation.

———————————————————–

Related References

In its cover story on the allegations, the mass distribution, multi language edition magazine ‘India Today’ (4 December 2000) stated:

“In Australia too, The Sunday Age carried an article on Baba’s sexual abuse. In Munich, Germany, Jens Sethi, a former devotee who claims he was molested, has filed a complaint in the public prosecutor’s office. In Sweden, the central Sai group has closed down and so too has a school based on programmes devised by educationists at the Baba ashram in Puttaparthi …

JENS SETHI is a German settled in Munich. He was a Sai Baba devotee for 10 years. His charges were published for the first time by the Focus magazine on September 18.

Allegations (as sent in a signed affidavit to INDIA TODAY): “In the private chamber, Baba said ‘Come,’ and kissed me on my lips for a long time. I resisted and he gurgled, ‘Have no fear. This is a good opportunity, so many are waiting for months and will not get.’ He asked me to remove my trousers, unzipped my fly and went with his right hand into my underpants. Baba massaged the genitals unasked. He expected some erection but this did not happen for I didn’t feel any sexual excitement. I also didn’t come for such games to Puttaparthi. I was really disgusted. Baba was disappointed and had the impudence to say, ‘It is very weak, don’t waste energy.’ When I looked at him, I realised the truth about him. He had such an evil vibration that moment. Soon, he sent me out of the room without saying a word.”

STATUS: Sethi recently filed a complaint with the public prosecutor in Munich. The Sai Baba Ashram has no comment on the allegations”.

———————————————————

General

Excerpt From Public Petition (With Barry Pittard’s comments)

(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)


Posted in Morality, Opinion, Protest, Religion, Sai Baba, Scandal, Sex, South Asia, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 12 Comments »

Indian Newspaper Reports of Killings In Sai Baba’s Bedroom

Posted by Barry Pittard on June 22, 2009

Reading through the press reports written at the time of the police killings in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom under hugely suspicious circumstances on June 6, 1993 is instructive. At first, word had escaped too far and fast for the Puttaparthi officials to slam a suppressive lid. But then followed the monstrous machinery of cover up. For the Anantapur District Journalists’ Union (ADJU) unanswered questions, see:  Press Council of India Long Silent On Sathya Sai Baba Bedroom Killings

Sathya Sai Baba was known to be in charge of situations in the hours before the intruders were slain. Robert Priddy’s accounts of his (and my) friend V.K. Narasimhan’s private depictions to him are very disturbing – they detail some of the processes – such as a remark to Sai Baba’s brother Jankiramaiah (also known as Janakira Ramiah, Janakiram, Janakiramaiah and Janaki), made within VKN’s hearing, of the then Home Minister, S. B. Chavan, a Sathya Sai Baba devotee, who had come poste haste to Puttaparthi, about “dead men tell no tales”.

The powerful central, state, local and ashram cover up that that followed was known to many in India, and beyond. In a properly functioning democratic country, there would have been rigorous, accountable police and jurisprudential processes. Many Indians have pointed out that Sathya Sai Baba will never be prosecuted. He, they say, is far too powerful in his sway over politicians of the major political parties. Travel virtually anywhere in India and you will find, as many travelers report, that this view is very wide-spread. Puttaparthi propaganda ceaselessly tells us that Sathya Sai Baba is being hailed through the world. In our many countries, we know, of course, that this is simply untrue. In India he is not only famous but infamous. Many Indians heartily abhor the way in which Puttaparthi scandals have for so long been covered up. Many deplore the incredible pomp and circumstance that forever surrounds him. All you will need to do is to ask your Indian contacts whether this is so. Many are too polite/embarrassed or not wanting to get involved in an unpleasant discussion. Some feel a deep sense of shame at the international ignominy which he has brought upon India. See:  Sathya Sai Baba: ‘Considerable Concern’ In Wider Hindu Community and Sai Baba, Kubla Khan, Citizen Kane, Bill Gates et alia

A major Hindu leader (to whom on request I shall gladly direct responsible and reputable media or scholars, authors, etc) once wrote to me:

“There is considerable concern among the Hindu Community, especially among the educated. It is very hard to get any action from the temples as they do not wish to cause difficulties with the Sathya Sai Baba groups. People are starting to distance themselves from Sathya Sai Baba. It’s going to be gradual process of education. The biggest impact it appears was the ‘The Secret Swami’ … it seems it has had a tremendous negative effect on Sathya Sai Baba”.

As the reader can see from the following quotation, there is no subtlety about the antidemocratic, authoritarian nature, even in certain public statements, about Sathya Sai Baba and his then chief functionary, Indulal Shah:

“When press persons met Mr. Indulal Shah, chief functionary of the Sri Satya Sai World Trust, after the murders of six young Sai followers in Sathya Sai Baba’s bedroom in 1993, Indulal Shah is reported as having said: ‘the matter is purely internal and we do not wish to have any law enforcement agency investigating into it.” (from The Hindu, 10-6-1993).

N.B. Examine, pray, Shah’s photo. Does he appear brimful of spiritual joy? But why should he be? Sai Baba devotees who know the facts know that he has long been a ‘supreme’ hatchet man, widely feared.

……………………………………………………..

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

……………………………………………………..

Robert Priddy (a major commentator, along with B.Premanand, on the killings and cover up):

Indulal Shah, cover-up man for Sai Baba

General ResourcesFurther Reading

The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision

BBC Hidden Camera in ‘Secret Swami’. Ethical?

Guru Sex Abuse Testimony To BBC – After Years of Silence

Indian Minister Shields Sai Baba on BBC television

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

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

Exposure of Sathya Sai Baba. Media Source List

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://home.hetnet.nl/~seduced/seduced.wmv
(21 MB, Modem)

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

BBC and Other Film Footage Shows India’s Top Guru Sathya Sai Baba Faking Miracles

BBC Footage Exposes Fake Sathya Sai Baba Miracle « Call For Media and Government Investigation

Sathya Sai Baba Chief, Dr Goldstein, Explodes. “I am the consummate professional” (See Film Clips)

Raising ever more serious questions about how spiritual is the head of what Sathya Sai Baba has called THE divine organization in the world,

Michael Goldstein explodes with anger (710kbs)

at the BBC’s perfectly reasonable questions about accountability

Dr. Goldstein again reveals his higher self (1.500Kb)

Michael Goldstein and the sexual allegations (2,10 Mbs)

Michael Goldstein admits his view is merely a belief (456kbs)

Sathya Sai Baba Cult Exposure By Major TV Channel In Australia « Call For Media and Government Investigation

Posted in Morality, Opinion, Religion, Scandal, Social and Politics, South Asia, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

No Nobel Peace Prize For Self-Claimed God of Gods Sathya Sai Baba

Posted by Barry Pittard on June 18, 2009

Not far short of a decade ago, it had been announced in Sathya Sai Baba centers round the world that Sathya Sai Baba was a candidate for a Nobel Peace Prize. On behalf of our networked group of former followers of Sathya Sai Baba, I wrote to Dr Geir Lundestad, then Director of the Nobel Institute. An exchange of emails ensued, and I provided him with in-depth documentation concerning Sathya Sai Baba and his sect. 

Dr Geir Lundestad ex-Nobel Institute Director. No Prize For Sathya Sai Baba

(Photo: But no Nobel Prize for Sathya Sai Baba. Dr Lundestad is on the Left of H.H. the Dalai Lama, recipient of that Prize in 1989).

Dr Lundestad emphasized that the policy of the Institute is never to issue any list of candidates, either before or after the winners of the Peace Prize are announced, and that the names of Nobel Prize recipients are announced, while the names of failed candidates are not revealed.

Dr Lundestad’s statements are a far cry from the announcement of Sathya Sai center leaders worldwide. Great had been the rejoicings of devotees, despite the fact that a Nobel Peace Prize – in an odd come-down from the dizzy heights of Heaven – would sit oddly encircling the neck of God.

The fact of the matter is that this was a time when there was great and organized dissent by former devotees. Increasing numbers – including very prominent and respected leaders – were leaving the Sathya Sai Organization. The Sathya Sai Organization had a problem of huge dimensions on its hands.  See:

 

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

 

Any straw to clutch onto was welcome, or even the hope of a plum from the Nobel Insitute ‘tree’.

 

To the Nobel Institute, we offered, among other compelling evidence, material that referred to UNESCO, Interpol, FBI, Australian Federal Police, and so on. We had witnesses with credentials of outstanding service and repute in their own communities. These came from many professions, trades and cultures. We had decent families who have invested years of dedication and sacrificial service to Sathya Sai Baba. Sathya Sai Baba’s serial sexual molestation of their children, and other grievous abuses, had shattered their lives. The names of most we have not allowed to be publicized, though they have long stood ready to cooperate with well-reputed media, institutes, etc.

 

Moving into Scandavavian waters, we also cited  ‘Seduced’ by DR, Denmark’s national television and radio broadcaster, subsequently shown by SBS in Australia, retitled: ‘Seduced By Sai Baba’, which, as it had done with DR, the Sathya Sai Organization threatened to sue. In a phone conversation with me, when I mentioned the (then) Australian head of the Sathya Sai Organization T.Sri Ramanathan’s threat to sue, a senior Producer with SBS laughed, and said: “Let them!”.  As always, when Sathya Sai Baba’s officials have threatened instrumentalities like the BBC and other leading media, they failed to carry out their threats. It is a behaviour seen in many groups widely deemed to be cults that reveal a strong autocracy, perhaps most famously Scientology.

 

Among other documentation available to the Nobel Institute was that from former devotees from several countries, including sworn testimony, earlier provided for UNESCO, resulting in a stern Media Advisory. Furthermore, UNESCO successfully intervened with a complaint to the Press Trust of India when The Times of India (with a leading member of the Sathya Sai Central Trust on its Board of Directors, ex-Chief Justice of India P.N. Bhagwati) tried to water down the Advisory. See:

 

The Case of UNESCO’s Missing Media Advisory.

UNESCO and Indian Government – Were Up To Tricks

BBC Caught UNESCO Head Bowing To Indian Government

Note:  Puttaparthi officials and the Indian Foreign Minister (himself a follower of Sathya Sai Baba) tried to get UNESCO to suppress the Media Advisory – but were sharply thwarted by the BBC.  

Further Reading

 

‘Black Sheep’ Of Sweden’s Nobel Family Called By Ba-Ba (Sathya Sai Baba)

Posted by Barry Pittard on June 14, 2009

QUOTES

‘One of Sathya Sai Baba’s many hugely expensive and major Sai propaganda efforts has been the setting up of Sai Global Harmony via WorldSpace International Satellite Radio Service. It broadcasts 24/7 to many countries. A director of WorldSpace is Dr Michael Nobel.”

Note:  Sai Baba publicly mistakenly stated thatThe man who gives the Nobel Prize (Chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee) is coming here on the 22nd November. The ones who will show this to the whole world, TV people, are all coming here on the 22nd”.

‘In fact, Michael Nobel has been repudiated by the Swedish Nobel Committee and exposed in the New York Times.

There are many instances that show how Sathya Sai Baba, far from his being, as he claims, all-knowing and all-seeing, has behind him a trail of egregious blunders and unfulfilled predictions, promises of cures, and much else. In this article, I quote the mess he made in the (would-be) Nobel Peace Prize incident. Repeatedly, he hangs his claims on their own petard. His apologists are too blinded to see, not the ‘Glory of Puttaparthi’ but the absurdity of Puttaparthi’. 

http://robertpriddy.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/nobel.jpg

……………………………………………….

UNESCO Media Advisory 

UNESCO WITHDRAWS FROM CONFERENCE

Paris, September 15 – UNESCO has decided it will no longer sponsor nor take part in a conference it had been due to co-organize with the Institute of Sathya Sai Education (ISSE, Thailand) and The Flinders University Institute of International Education (Australia), in Puttaparthi, India, from September 25 to 29. The decision means UNESCO is no longer associated in any way through sponsorship, organization or participation of any kind with the conference on Strengthening Values Education: Innovative Approaches to Teacher Education for Peace and International Understanding.

UNESCO’s withdrawal was prompted by several factors. Certain decisions were taken by the ISSE without consultation, such as plans to hold some of the sessions at the Ashram of the Sathya Sai movement in Puttaparthi, and the inclusion of some speakers in the conference programme without their previous consent. Furthermore, the Organization is deeply concerned about widely-reported allegations of sexual abuse involving youths and children that have been levelled at the leader of the movement in question, Sathya Sai Baba. Whilst it is not for UNESCO to pronounce itself in this regard, the Organization restates its firm moral and practical commitment to combating the sexual exploitation of children, in application of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires States to protect children from all forms of sexual exploitation and violence.

Posted in Morality, Opinion, Politics, Religion, Scandal, Skeptics, South Asia, Spirituality, Trends, Uncategorized, World Issues, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Isaac Tigrett. Selling Out Those Condemned to a House Of Blues

Posted by Barry Pittard on June 9, 2009

One of many Sathya Sai Baba backers, who have donated fortunes to the Sathya Sai Central Trust, is Isaac Tigrett, of the USA. The BBC’s documentary ‘The Secret Swami’ (2004) exposed the attitudes of major figures connected with Sai Baba. Only Tigrett granted the ‘probability’ that the allegations of sexual abuse of boys and young men were true, but he still adheres to his guru, and has recently been reported living at Puttaparthi. Tigrett sold out his world-famous Hard Rock Cafe and House of Blues chains. But, too, he can be regarded as having sold out honoured families and their children (many of them with a life-long devotion to Sathya Sai Baba) around the world who have been shattered by their treatment by Sathya Sai Baba and those in the international Sathya Sai Organization who have been involved in years of far-reaching cover-up. 

Isaac Tigrett. With Hollywood Associates John Goodman and Dan Akroyd
Isaac Tigrett. With Hollywood Associates John Goodman and Dan Akroyd

Isaac Tigrett donated the many millions of dollars that built the Superspecialty Hospital at Puttaparthi. He has been a chief agent in spreading Sathya Sai Baba to many countries, an influence which has included the White House in the case of Al Gore. Politically, the hospital is used as a showpiece and a propaganda tool to impress politicians and medical authorities both in and well beyond India. In the first raptures of their enthusiasm, some of these visitors are shepherded into keynote speaking roles, and used to showcase Sai Baba as all-beneficent, etc. An example of this  outreach is Dr Michael Nobel, a great grand nephew of Alfred Nobel, of Sweden, who bequeathed the Nobel Prize. The New York Times has exposed Michael Nobel as an imposter, and he is repudiated by the Nobel authorities but not by Sathya Sai Baba, whose Sai Global Harmony satellite broadcasting company WorldSpace, of which Nobel is director, beams Sathya Sai Baba and the Sathya Sai Organization internationally .

ISAAC TIGRETT
Interviewed by the BBC in the one-hour documentary ‘The Secret Swami’. This is a brief except. Transcript and Video clip details are below.

                                             

BBC Interviewer 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. (Tigrett laughs at this rather wildly …
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.
Tanya Datta: You believe there is truth to the rumours?
Isaac Tigrett: Sure, there probably is, probably is.
(Click to view video clip of this episode- file size 1.34 MB)
. And –  Transcript and Commentary

Smitten by Sathya Sai Baba, who claims (a fantasy now fast and absurdly being forced to recede in all but his blinded followers) that he will save the world and save it before he leaves it, Tigrett tells Tanya Datta:

“India’s so unique, it’s so incredible. If there’s a spiritual train then India is the engine. All this mysticism, all the strangeness that surrounds Sai Baba and all that stuff, this is the perfect home for it.”

…………………………………………………………

Robert Priddy On Isaac Tigrett (2008)

The fall and fantasies of Sai Baba supporter, Isaac Tigrett

A known appreciator of the Pythonesque, Priddy writes of ….:

‘Tigrett’s strange antics involving a crystal skull which he claims was ‘materialised’ for him in an interview by Sathya Sai Baba. He implanted this skull in the top of the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee and, when it was removed by the powers-that-be, an Internet source reported:“According to Mr. Tigrett: “You don’t have any idea what you have done,” he said upon being told that the crystal skull had been removed, adding somberly that the cosmic balance of the earth could be disturbed as well.”’

…………………………………………………………

The BBC interviewed other major figures covering up for Sathya Sai Baba, allowing them to expose themselves badly: 

Dr Michael Goldstein world chairman of the Sathya Sai Organization,, who (with a BBC hidden camera trained on him) lost his temper and makes unsupportable remarks about accountability and transparency).  For commentary and BBC video footage of the angry and evasive Dr Goldstein, see: Sathya Sai Baba Chief, Dr Goldstein, Explodes. “I am the consummate professional” (See Film Clips). Millions of viewers in over 120 countries have seen ‘The Secret Swami’. As a shocking example of belief in a spiritual elect, which has been documented from Goldstein’s widely-distributed email to Sathya Sai Baba devotees, see:   Sai Baba Saved Devotees From 9/11 Says Dr Michael Goldstein. See also: BBC Hidden Camera in ‘Secret Swami’. Ethical?

Murali Manohar Joshi, a senior minister in the then Vajpayee right-wing government of India, lost his temper, bullied and jabbed the air with pointed finger at the BBC’s Tanya Datta, accusing the BBC and people in England of plotting against Sathya Sai Baba, A.B. Vajpayee and P.N. Bhagawati (a key Sathya Sai  Central Trust member and former Chief Justice of India). He arrogantly shouts at her: “No, no, no… You don’t know the meaning of interviewing a minister in my capacity, as a minister of my stature.” See:  Indian Minister Shields Sai Baba on BBC television

By their fruits ye shall know them!

…………………………………………………………

Robert Priddy

Indisputable facts about Sathya Sai Baba by BBC

Barry Pittard at https://barrypittard.wordpress.com

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

The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision

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

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

Guru Sex Abuse Testimony To BBC – After Years of Silence

India A Mature Democracy? BBC Probes

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

Posted in New Age, Opinion, Religion, Scandal, Successful People, Uncategorized, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Sathya Sai Baba Man Gerald Moreno – Banned By Eight Wikpedia Editors

Posted by Barry Pittard on May 2, 2009

 

In case legal actions and/or media interest occur, Gerald Joe Moreno’s and the Sathya Sai Organization’s libels of many decent and upright members of wider (but former devotee) communities throughout the world, are being recorded. This is so, also, of material that Moreno takes off his Internet sites.

Gerald Moreno – Allied Covertly With Those Close To Sai Baba

Evidence of Gerald Moreno’s connections with those close to Sathya Sai Baba, such as the saibabaofindia.com consortium, as well as members of the Sathya Sai Organization in various countries, will be provided, should they require it, to bona fide media, scholarly and other investigators well-respected in the international community.

Astonishingly, Gerald Moreno’s main blogsite is entitled: Sathya Sai Baba – Life, Love And Spirituality. By no token, whether by dictionary definition, by normative ethical categories or any other yardstick, could it be fairly said to be related to love and spirituality. There can be little doubt that Moreno himself has been tackled by some decent Sathya Sai Baba devotees. However, many (like most former devotees) stay well clear of controversy.

Gerald Moreno – Banned By Eight Wikipedia Editors

Wikipedia LogoGerald Moreno is a man whom no fewer than eight Wikipedia editors banned indefinitely from that encyclopedia. He was accompanied in this by his confederates Simon Brace and Moreno’s longtime confrere, the exceptionally foul-mouthed Lisa de Witt. For those interested in sublime love and deep spirituality, it will be edifying to go to this small selection of de Witt and Wisdom HERE.

Moreno and Dr G. Venkataraman have had a hard time reckoning with critical forces other than former devotees, too – for example, the investigations of organs such as the BBC, DR, Times of London, India Today, Salon.com, Azul TV, and major media in Europe, Canada, Australia, etc. Dr Venkataraman is Sai Baba’s deputy world chairman and head of Sai Global Radio (via WorldSpace). See my  Sathya Sai Baba’s ‘Minister of Propaganda’ – Dr G. Venkataraman . And Robert Priddy’s Slander by Dr. G. Venkataraman & Joe Moreno.  For Gerald Moreno and G.Venkataraman, in their profoundly attached and blind-faith idolising of Sathya Sai Baba, the equation works thus:  themselves – right. But the rest of the world (which Sai Baba has said that he will save in his own lifetime) – is wrong. The demons pictured by their minds are those who question Sai Baba and his cognition of himself as God come to rule the world. Indeed, the term ‘demons’ Sai Baba himself has used of his critics in his Christmas Discourse of 2000. See too Sathya Sai Baba – the spirit of Christmas.

Gerald Moreno’s Aggressive, Bullying and Demonizing Tactics 

 

For the independent British scholar Kevin Shepherd’s account of Moreno’s repeatedly aggressive, brash, rude rule-flouting conduct in the editing of the Wikipedia article on Sathya Sai Baba, see Wikipedia, Moreno, Google. Once Shepherd (whose many works have earned respect in the world of scholars) spoke, he too was marked for Moreno’s strenuous attacks, full of inaccuracy and distortion. Moreno has a strong line in several directions:  a highly typical rush to judgement, name-calling, jeering, aggressive disparagement … He intensively attempts to link former devotees – who have spent all their lives free of such atrocious attitudes – as somehow condoning Christian fundamentalism, pornography, anti-Semitism … He brands his critics, variously, as “senile”, “half-senile”, “septuagenarians”, “ugly”, “bald headed”, with “deep wrinkles”… Anything he cannot understand or find an alternative commonsense interpretation for, he calls “lying”, “cheating”, “disinformation” …  There are his highly partial interpretations of his critic’s words and lives, setting up of  insulting graphic representations of some of his critics (which may remind one, for example, of an artifice of the Nazi Party in the case of the Jews and other targets) … His argumentative capabilities are often poor, although capable of engendering a populist following of Sai devotees who clutch at Moreno’s extravagantly-waved straws – a fact that gives him misleadingly ‘healthy’ looking statistics for his main blogsite.

Moreno As Populist Demon-Slaying Sai Baba Hero

Fifty million – of whatever the absurdly indemonstrable number of Sathya Sai Baba followers the Sathya Sai Organization may currently like to say the number of Sai Baba’s followers are – CAN indeed be wrong! Some of them are steadied by Moreno’s writings. These are Moreno’s flock. He slays the wolves all round. Perhaps, just like his hero, a pure gold throne should be reserved for him, and he can be carted about on a pure golden palanquin. Costly  gold statues and museums should be raised to him, and a vast pomp and ceremony lavished.

                                                                           Sathya Sai Baba Mounted In Pure Gold Spendour                   Is that Gerald Moreno mounted up there, or Sathya Sai Baba?

After all:  what better spiritual fare can there be than Moreno’s ‘Life, Love and Spirituality’? Let us all flock there … should we not?

Kevin Shepherd, British philosphy and religion scholar

Kevin Shepherd, British philosophy and religion scholar

 In the above-mentioned article, Kevin Shepherd, who has had no association with the Sathya Sai Organization nor friendship with critical commentators on Sathya Sai Baba, writes :

“The decision of the March 6th 2007 Wikipedia arbitration committee is documented at (HERE. ‘Wikipedia Requests For Arbitration’). This item contains the relevant clause that “Wikipedia is not a soapbox for propaganda or activist editing.” Earlier, in January 2007, Moreno had gained a reputation in Wikipedia for making personal attacks on other editors. Suspicions were confirmed when, after his ban, Moreno engaged in complaining webpages and other postings about Wikipedia. In general, the tendency of Moreno to personal attacks in his web harassment is acute, and ex-devotees have viewed this as a convenience for the evasive policy of Dr. Michael Goldstein, the presiding American supporter of Sathya Sai”.

It can safely be said that no self-respecting school teacher of clear thinking could award Moreno with other than a poor result. Sai Baba devotees who are teachers might well consider the terrible disrepute he is bringing to their Sathya Sai Organization. Moreno has repeatedly denied this nexus. In fact, certain prominent figures as well as rank-and-file members have supported him, and the longer he denies the evidence, the more difficulties he weaves for himself. Time will not treat him well.  

One of Moreno’s most constant resorts is argumentum ad hominem, attack upon persons instead of genuinely dealing with the issues: appealing to people’s emotions and prejudices instead of their ability to think ( formal )’. In the interests of keeping focus on matters of real substance about Sathya Sai Baba and his sect, and refusing to spend valuable time and energy in bothering to read his forever toxic and libelous outpourings, others and I have ignored Moreno’s attacks down many years. However, he has now attacked the family members or others associated with former devotees. See Robert Priddy post Sai Baba Hatchet Man Picks On A Young Child . See too Alan Kazlev’s page Gerald “Joe” Moreno on Wikipedia, and refutation of his allegations against Robert Priddy

Kazlev, an Australian, for some time was partial to Moreno but, as is typical with the Moreno modus, Kazlev became, too, from virtually the moment he began to question Moreno, the target of Moreno’s sustained vitriol. Kazlev, who has written about what others have observed as a socio-pathic, or feelingless tendency recurrent right across Moreno’s writings, has noted in an extensive page tracing his, Kalev’s, history of experience with Moreno, notes:

“In all of Moreno’s thousands of pages, blog posts, personal attacks and so on, there is one thing that is very apparent. That is the utter humourlessness of all his pages and hundreds of thousands of words. Not one genuine joke, not one ray of humour or levity. Instead of genuine laughter, there is harsh mocking ridicule. Instead of laughing with you, he will laugh at you. Indeed, he is incabable of doing anything else”.

Still further, as I mentioned, Moreno has been found to have connections with those close to Sathya Sai Baba and other notable members of the Sathya Sai Organization. This is a decisive factor in Robert Priddy’s and my writing on an almost infinitisimally small part of Moreno’s vast and frequently nasty opus.

……………………………………………..

Two important articles to read are by the Australian scholar in Bibliography and Linguistics, Brian Steel

Diversionary Tactics by an Internet Demagogue.

Evidence of an Internet Activist in Action: Gerald ‘Joe’ Moreno

 ……………………………………………..

Robert Priddy’s Blog Series Refuting  Gerald Joe Moreno

Gerald Moreno’s major lie about linking to exposé websites

Gerald Moreno’s fundamentalist Christian slur campaign

G.J. Moreno’s ’senile dementia’ slurs, avoidances & irrationality

Gerald Joe Moreno – untruth and lies

Gerald Moreno’s personal details removed from vishvarupa.com  

Joe Moreno’s schoolyard tit-for-tat attacks

‘Genital Oiling’ by Sathya Sai Baba + video evidence

Gerald Joe Moreno and genital oiling by Sai Baba

Gerald Moreno backs lying saboteur M. K. Yachendra

Joe Moreno admits he is a web impostor

More personal attacks by Gerald Joe Moreno

Sathya Sai Baba Apologist Joe Moreno’s Random Personal Attack Style (1)

Joe Moreno – massive internet abuse

Sathya Sai Baba’s front man on the Internet

Sathya Sai Baba Love, Light and Spirituality Exposed

Moreno and sexual abuse, denial and subterfuge

Sathya Sai Organisation defended by proxy

Sathyasaibaba in the shadows

Copyright infringements by sathyasaibaba

Gerald Joe Moreno (aka sathyasaibaba) dares not show his face. Why?

sathyasaibaba, Munchausen and sick fantasies

sathyasaibaba specious claims and self-defeating ‘arguments’

Cultic Labeling of Dissenters As “Disgruntled”. Sathya Sai Baba Case

Sathyasaibaba scales up hate attacks on critics

Terrorist-related Slurs Used By Sai Baba Internet Fanatic

Sai Baba Hatchet Man Picks On A Young Child

Sai Baba Internet Man – No Apology When Caught Using Anti-Semitism Slur

Sai Baba Proxy Attacker of Ex-followers and the Media

Proxy Defender of Sai Baba and SWARA

Gerald Moreno and “oiling between the pubic area and the navel”

Joe Moreno as “sathyasaibaba” with smear campaign

Demon Slaying

Demon Slaying

Posted in Opinion, Religion, Scandal, Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

Sathya Sai Baba’s Followers Face Alienation In Their Wider Communities

Posted by Barry Pittard on April 4, 2009

Among those who defame and libel former devotees who have stood forth (indeed who have done so at considerable personal sacrifice) is the deputy chairman of the Sathya Sai Baba Organization, Dr G. Venkataraman. See:

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

Indian Nuclear Scientist Now Sai Baba’s Global Radio Chief

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

The Declaring of Non Persons and Annihilation of Personal History

There were earlier leaders – very nice men! Such as Harry Mansbridge, Ron Laing, Lucas Ralli – all of them significantly disillusioned. One who was tenacious in following up reported cases of anomaly and betrayal was the Australian head, Terry Gallagher, who eventually resigned on a matter of highest principle. Lucas Ralli was told in great detail about the Sai Baba abuse-suicide case of Keith Ord but was in deep psychological denial. See the tragic Keith Ord story, Times of London: Monday August 27, 2001. Three die after putting faith in guru. By Dominic Kennedy -: “The Times has learnt that three Britons have apparently taken their lives after placing hope in India’s most popular holy man”.  

More recently, an important former UK Sathya Sai Organization leader, Aime Levy, has had awakenings but has not wished to make these public.

However, there are many in the Sathya Sai Organization who suppress a palpable  fact:  namely, that many of those who have left it, having investigated the allegations – particularly in their own Sai centers – were held in high esteem for decades. This is one of the facts that people like Goldstein, Venkatarman, Moreno (see below) and other cultists are bent upon obscuring.

These continuing Sai Baba center members have allowed themselves, year after year, to be party to defamation of many former devotees by the core leaders, and by Internet defamers – chiefly Gerald Moreno with whom some of them league closely (e.g., the slightly less-than-official Saibabaofindia.com group) – which has been echoed all the way down the leadership hierarchy.  See:  Gerald “Joe” Moreno on Wikipedia, and refutation of his allegations against Robert Priddy.

Moreno began his activity in earnest against practically any individual who criticized his idol, Sathya Sai Baba. By reference to the Internet Wayback Machine, a likely candidate for focused commencement of this activity is: 31 Mar 2009, at 19:28. Highly qualified, independent lawyers in three countries have stated emphatically that Moreno’s many defamations, and acting on them by intruding into community settings, jobs and professions in a number of countries and attacking individuals and families, are highly actionable. But who can afford the time, energy and money? He plays on this restrictive factor and the fact is that the Internet is a sort of Wild West for the unscrupulous and sociopathic. Furthermore, some former devotees have not been in favour of legal recourse if it were encompassable – for what they deem to be spiritual reasons:  e.g., ‘take not thy brother to court’ …

Dereliction of Duty of Care: Some Key Sai Baba Leaders 

Top leaders from around the world who have:

  • Ignored the afflicted individuals and families and
  • Hidden vital facts from many rank-and-file devotees include: 

Michael Goldstein, John (Jack) Hislop, Indulal Shah, 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.  

(Note the incredible top-heaviness of males in the Sathya Sai hierarchy!).

Sathya Sai Baba Sect Alienates Wider Communities

As the siftings and sortings of both documentary and psychological history portray themselves, it will be to their lasting shame that so many Sai devotees have stifled their consciences and commonsense.

As the Sathya Sai Organization has only too potently seen, ever wider political, civic, religious, academic institutions now shy away from them when the sect attempts to gain outreach in communities around the world. In regard to the Hindu community, see the note to me from one of the most notable Hindus in his country:  Sathya Sai Baba: ‘Considerable Concern’ In Wider Hindu Community

There has been a huge effort by former devotees to bring to international attention the facts relating to:

Further Reading

Robert Priddy  (former longtime head of the Sathya Sai Organization, Norway. Retired academic of University of Oslo)

Sathyasaibaba scales up hate attacks on critics

Sathya Sai’s Dato Jegathesan and smear campaigns

UK Sathya Sai Organization’s false propaganda

Terroist-related Slurs Used By Sai Baba Internet Fanatic

Sai Baba Hatchet Man Picks On A Young Child

Sai Baba Internet Man – No Apology When Caught Using Anti-Semitism Slur

Sai Baba Proxy Attacker of Ex-followers and the Media

Proxy Defender of Sai Baba and SWARA

Barry Pittard (Former Lecturer, Sri Sathya Sai College, Whitefield)

Sai Baba. Some Dissenting Themes and Resources

Cultic Depersonalization or Demonization of Dissenters

Some Key Cultic Responses To Critics

Sathya Sai Baba World Cult Leaders Fail To Meet Concerns on Libel

Sathya Sai Baba Organization and Libel and Disinformation

Sathya Sai Baba Cult. Blind Eye To Massive Slander

Dissent From Guru Cults Draws Slander and Harassment

Sathya Sai Baba Organization’s Betrayal of Love and Compassion

Sathya Sai Organization Libels Those Who Have Left It

Sathya Sai Baba and his Organization Permit Attacks On Ex-followers

Posted in New Age, Opinion, Rationalism, Religion, Scandal, Social and Politics, South Asia, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Tony McNulty Expenses Outcry. Select List of Major UK News Articles

Posted by Barry Pittard on March 28, 2009

Via the news organization Silobreaker, Friday, March 27, 2009 8:23 PM, below are some links to major British media articles on the Tony McNulty expenses uproar.

McNulty has close ties with the wealthy and powerful Sathya Sai Baba sect, and with its UK leader  Ashok Bhagani and other key members. The aim to set up a powerful transmitter in the UK for Sai Baba’s international radio satellite broadcasts has been a part of this relationship.

The Harrowing of Harrow East MP Tony McNulty

The Harrowing of Harrow East MP Tony McNulty

The Tangled Web

McNulty first said that he would not hand back the more than 60.000 pounds sterling that he had claimed for a house in which his parents live. Under closer scrutiny, he then said that he would. He also first said that he had done no wrong. But subsequently said that the “arrangement is indefensible”.

John Lyon, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, is to launch a formal investigation.

McNulty has been widely tipped to be the next Home Minister and also Lord Mayor of London for 2012.  However, he is now under a cloud of approximately the size of the roof of his parents’ house for which he claimed expenses.

See also my related blogs:

Tony McNulty MP Expenses Furore. His Sathya Sai Baba Sect Ties Also Need To Be Probed

Posted by Barry Pittard on March 26, 2009
Tony McNulty Brit MP. Expenses Scandal Erupts. His Sai Baba Cult Nexus Yet To Be Probed
Posted by Barry Pittard on March 23, 2009

—————————————————-

Silobreaker List To Date

View Video Clips From BBC and Other Sources:  Tony McNulty’s favoured Indian guru is exposed for his magician’s tricks. Also Sai Baba’s world head Dr Michael Goldstein and close colleague of Ashok Bhagani is exposed by BBC hidden camera in a fit of anger and denial of accountability, transparency and duty-of-care.

  • Sleight Of Hand. The Sleightness of Sathya Sai Baba (Exposing film clips)
  • 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)
  • Sathya Sai Baba Chief, Dr Goldstein, Explodes. “I am the consummate professional” (See Film Clips)
  • The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Sai Baba). Revealing Footage
  • Further Articles on Ashok Bhagani:

    By Robert Priddy

    (Former longtime head of the Sathya Sai Organization, Norway. Retired academic, University of Oslo).

    (The latter article is valuable because of references and links concerning Ashok Bhagani’s ties with The Eastern Eye).

    BBC Acted “Totally Irresponsibly” Says Ashok Bhagani

    Ashok Bhagani, Sathya Sai Baba cult promoter in UK

    By  Barry Pittard:

    Tony McNulty Sathya Sai Baba Cult Supporter Tipped As UK  Home Minister

    –  Ashok Bhagani – Footsying With Top Blair Minister?

    –  Ashok Bhagani – Blotting Out Conscience and Memory?

    –  Ashok Bhagani and The Secret Swami

    –  Ashok Bhagani Uses Race Card

    –  UK Sai Baba Head, Ashok Bhagani Exposes Himself

    Tool For Media and Other Investigators

    Exposure of Sathya Sai Baba. Media Source List

    Posted in Morality, News, News and Politics, Religion, Scandal, Society, Uncategorized, World Issues, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

    Tony McNulty MP Expenses Furore. His Sathya Sai Baba Sect Ties Also Need To Be Probed

    Posted by Barry Pittard on March 26, 2009

    Those wishing for hotlinks to my blog of yesterday on the Tony McNulty MP expenses furore in the UK, and some questions which it prompts in relation to the Sathya Sai sect can go here as well: 

    Tony McNulty Brit MP. Expenses Scandal Erupts. His Sai Baba Cult Nexus Yet To Be Probed

    Posted by Barry Pittard on March 23, 2009

    God may save the Queen, but will she save her Minister, McNulty? 

     Sai Baba-related Minister Tony McNulty Faces Expenses Enquiry

    Sai Baba-related Minister Tony McNulty Faces Expenses Enquiry

    Great Britain’s State Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, Tony McNulty, is yet again under fire. Recently, he was in trouble for falsely talking up the economy. McNulty’s previous portfolios  as Immigration Minister and Minister for Security and Counter-terrorism at the Home Office also gave him some rocky rides.

    Britons Angered Over McNulty’s Expenses Claims

     Last weekend, the Daily Mail broke a story about his taking large tax-free expenses for a house in which his parents live.  But McNulty himself lives in Hammersmith, a few miles from his Harrow constituency.

    With hundreds of thousands of Britons unemployed, such revelations have angered many.

    At first, but subsequently doing a volte face, McNulty was adamant that he was not going to hand back the at least 60.000 pounds sterling that he had claimed for a home where his parents live. This tax-free claim the Daily Mail and other newspapers (which quickly took up the story) have suggested cannot be justified by his parliamentary duties.  See:

    McNulty faces probe over parents home claim

    ITNMonday, March 23 01:36 pm

    Probe Needed Into McNulty-Sathya Sai Baba Sect Nexus

    A probe into irregularities should enquire about any payments that Sathya Sai sect officials or other members may have paid to Tony McNulty.

    The powerful and extraordinarily wealthy worldwide Sathya Sai Organization broadcasts in the name of  Sai Global Harmony, transmitted internationally by satellite 24/7 via WorldSpace Radio Corporation. The head of this, Dr Michael Nobel, has shown high partiality to Sathya Sai Baba but has been exposed by the Royal Swedish Nobel Foundation and in the New York Times. See my article of yesterday.

    The Sai Baba sect leaders would include the UK head of the sect, Ashok Bhagani, with whom McNultyis said to be good friends.  Bhagani’ s daughter has a lengthy employment history with McNulty, who has made many visits to Sathya Sai Baba gatherings.  See:

    Tony McNulty Sathya Sai Baba Cult Supporter Tipped As UK Home Minister.

     Ashok Bhagani – Footsying With Top Blair Minister?

     

    British PM Brown Says: Investigate paid job’ Outside Parliamentary Duties 

    Although Gordon Brown’s response seems made to get the spotlight off McNulty, it contains a solid suggestion:  investigate paid jobsthat MP’s might be taking beyond their parliamentary remit. 

    An enquiry needs to ask McNulty to disclose his entire dealings with this cult which has been strongly exposed by the BBC in 2004 and other major investigative media in the UK and and other countries. 

    Further Reading 

    The Daily Mail, which  initiated the story, now reports – last updated at 8:53 PM on 25th March 2009:

    Tony McNulty’s political career in doubt as he faces inquiry in    ‘second home’ expenses row
    Tony McNulty’s political career was in peril last night after Westminster’s sleaze watchdog launched an investigation over claims that he abused his expenses … 
    The probe will look at his decision to designate the house in his Harrow East constituency as a ‘second home’ even although he rarely stays there.
    The investigation, which could drag on for months, is deeply damaging for Mr McNulty.
    Until the scandal broke, he was being tipped for a future Cabinet position.
    MP perks targeted by standards committee
    The Guardian Wednesday 25 March
    Payments for second London homes, jobs for family members and interest-free mortgages in the firing line
    The Guardian Tuesday 24 March 2009

                 PM steps into expenses row with inquiry call

    The prime minister also tried to wrongfoot the Tories by saying that Sir Christopher Kelly, the standards committee chairman, should at the same time examine the issue of MPs’ outside interests, including paid jobs outside parliament.

                                      ……………………………………………………………

    View Video  Clips that reveal the risk to the British Labour Government for tolerating Tony McNulty’s long flirtation with a cult leader so resoundingly exposed in the British media, and far beyond

    NOTE: Dr G. Venkataraman, Sai Baba’s radio chief and world deputy chairman, has said on Sai Global Harmony’s official website that the aim is to transmit Sai Baba’s message into every home. What he conceals is that the agenda of the sect is to see Sathya Sai Baba ruling the world.

    Has, then, Tony McNulty been taking consultancy fees or any other kind of payment in regard to the Sathya Sai Baba cult’s plans? These are to ensure that Sai Baba’s message is heard via powerful satellite transmission of Sai Global Harmony through WorldSpace Corporation across the UK, just as it broadcasts to other countries.

    Posted in News and Politics, Opinion, People, Politics, Scandal, Social and Politics, Uncategorized, World Issues | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

    The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Sai Baba). Revealing Footage

    Posted by Barry Pittard on February 24, 2009

    The clips from the BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami, quite apart from the hour-long documentary are in themselves revealing.
    Alert and independent viewing – observing body language, tone of voice, and so forth – will allow the view to come to their own conclusions, and follow their own enquiries in their various countries. It has long been independent investigation by individuals in their own regions of the world who have been able to discover the appalling facts quite without the aid of those of us who have written extensively, such as Robert Priddy and Brian Steel.
    An important series of clips and pages of related information is to be found here at the Sathya Sai Baba News, Photo and Video Gallery.
    Sai Baba’s propagandists do all manner of acrobatics in attempting to defame those many around the world who have raised critical questions about him and his worldwide organization. Those maligned by those such as Dr G.Venkataraman and Sai Baba’s proxy networked defenders on the Internet include the BBC, The Times of London, The Telegraph, The Guardian, and so on. Venkataraman is the deputy chairman of the international Sathya Sai Organization and head of Sai Global Harmony, whose stated aim it is to penetrate every corner of the world with Sathya Sai Baba and his message. See:  Sathya Sai Baba’s ‘Minister of Propaganda’ – Dr G. Venkataraman
    Further Reading
    BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ and British Press Praise
    The BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ – A Revision
    BBC Hidden Camera in ‘Secret Swami’. Ethical?
    BBC Caught UNESCO Head Bowing To Indian Government
    Indian Minister Shields Sai Baba on BBC television
    Probed On Male Sex Abuse, Sai Baba Evicts BBC TV Team
    Guru Sex Abuse Testimony To BBC – After Years of Silence
    The Genesis of the BBC’s ‘The Secret Swami’ (Sai Baba)
    India A Mature Democracy? BBC Probes
    V.P.B. Nair. B.Premanand. R.Priddy: Sai Baba Bedroom Killings
    Recent Exposure of Sathya Sai Baba Cult in Australia By Channel NINEMSN
    Sathya Sai Baba Cult Exposure By Major TV Channel In Australia
    Australian Current Affair Exposes Sathya Sai Baba Cult
    Australian Current Affair: ‘Infiltrating A Cult’ (Sathya Sai Baba)
    Sathya Sai Cult Under Media Scrutiny In Australia
    NOTE:  Footage of this material available. See articles for access details

    Posted in Morality, Rationalism, Religion, Scandal, Spirituality, World Issues, World Religions | Tagged: , | 13 Comments »

    Sathya Sai Fails To Save Satyam

    Posted by Barry Pittard on January 14, 2009

    The massive Satyam corruption scandal engulfs India in a sad and chilling way somewhat remindful of WorldCom, Parmalat, and Enron.

    Sad, for example, because of the tens of thousands of talented workers whose future is under heavy cloud (any bailout for them?!), and chilling because it reveals but a small part of the disordered “backyard” that Sathya Sai Baba famously said he would first “clean up” before transforming the rest of the world prior to quitting it circa AD 2022. And, again sadly, because such scandals can also obscure many instances of probity and quality of service.

    Note:  In Sanskrit, Satyam and Satya (or Sathya) mean: Truth!  Interestingly, the Raju family real estate company into  which the self-admitted fraudster B. Ramalinga Raju poured money from Satyam Computers is called Maytas – which is Satyam spelt backwards. In short, and irony-filled, truth reversed …

    India Now In Glare Of World Scrutiny

    India’s many corrupt political and other leaders from across a broad political spectrum – the same figures who for decades have been complicit in the massive cover up of Sathya Sai Baba-related scandals – are now under intense world focus. Hundreds of Satyam clients are Fortune 500 international companies. Therefore, it is unlikely that these leaders can do other than join a sudden rush to effect matters such as accountability, transparency and due diligence. As far as it goes.

    It will be interesting to see, as the rotten apples begin to fall from India’s old and gnarled tree, how many of them and their close affiliates have close ties to Sathya Sai Baba – for example, in financially supporting him.

    It is too bad that India has no legal and other protective mechanisms for whistleblowers. Much is made about the need for government regulation. But what shall be the case when veniality – in the form of nepotism, casteism and gerontocratic clinging to power – exists so widely among India’s politicians and other power elites? Who shall regulate the regulators?

    Far too much, therefore, will remain hidden.

    The chief perpetrator, B. Ramalinga Raju, has admitted his crimes (at least some of them) and is now, along with his brother, B. Rama Raju, in police custody in Sathya Sai Baba’s own State of Andhra Pradesh. Ramalinga Raju has said that he acted alone but the credibility of such a statement is wide open to question and there may be more arrests. Indeed, CNN (see below) has just reported a third arrest, that of Vadlamani Srinivas, who was Chief Financial Officer in Satyam Computer Services.

    artrajuafp Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju shown being sent to                      prison in Hyderabad

    Reuters reports (Thu Jan 8, 2009):

    “Chairman Ramalinga Raju resigned on Wednesday in India’s biggest corporate scandal in memory, after saying that about $1 billion, or 94 percent of the cash and bank balances on the company’s books at end-September did not exist. The company’s shares plunged nearly 80 percent”.

    Will India’s Strengths Overcome Repute For Endemic Corruption?

    Perhaps the high quality of services worldwide of giant Indian companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and Satyam itself may help India weather the current storm, which comes at a time of global financial upheaval, and recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. See article: Hasty Cover Up Of Sai Baba ‘No bombs in India’ Blunder. Posted by Barry Pittard on December 7, 2008.

    Some Saving Graces For India?

    The prestige issue here is that international client satisfaction has been the yardstick, and not the say-so of India’s spin doctors. Even so, it is feared in many quarters, India may suffer grave challenges to its thriving outsourcing sector. Hasty international reactions need to be avoided.

    Status of Indian Corporate Governance Gravely In Question

    Huge questions are raised about corporate governance in India, including in Andhra Pradesh where the Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy is a notable supporter of Sathya Sai Baba, and complicit in the profound Puttaparthi and local, state and central government cover up of the many scandals involving Sathya Sai Baba and his core officials. Former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. Chandrababu Naidu (see Press Trust of India report below) just claimed that the Satyam scandal was due to “greediness and mania for money” of Congress rulers.

    y-s-rajasekhar-reddy-confers-with-sathya-sai-baba Andhra Pradesh CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy with Puttaparthi Sai Baba

    .

    ……………………………………………..

    Extracted from BBC WORLD NEWS summaries of some major media reactions

    Press reaction to Satyam scandal

    Thursday, 8 January 2009

    News that the head of Satyam, India’s fourth-biggest software firm, has quit after revealing false accounts including some $1bn (£663m) in fictitious reserves has made the headlines and editorials across the world’s prss.

    ………………………………..

    THE ASIAN AGE

    Though Raju says he alone is responsible for what has happened, there has obviously been collusion on the part of the company’s accountants, chartered accountants, banks, and maybe even politicians, in the fraudulent financial engineering that he managed so adroitly quarter after quarter

    THE NEW YORK TIMES

    In the end, the scandal threatened to gobble up not just Mr Raju, who resigned, but his company, Satyam Computer Services. Far beyond Satyam, it raised fears that similar problems might lurk in other Indian companies, particularly in its vaunted outsourcing industry.

    Further News Sources

    FOX NEWS

    The U.N.: Satyam’s Spreading Stain

    George Russell. Monday, January 12, 2009

    The World Bank, a cornerstone of the United Nations’ global anti-poverty effort, failed to tell the rest of the world organization that it had banned now-imploding Satyam Computer Services last February from further business following a corruption probe — and thus allowed the U.N. to enter into a $6 million deal for technology services with Satyam as recently as this July, FOX News has learned.

    U.N. officials were still silent in the wake of questions sent to them by FOX News last week about the $6 million deal between the U.N. Secretariat and Satyam Computer Services, the Indian communications technology company that is embroiled in the largest financial fraud in that country’s history.

    Details of the contentious contract, reference number PD/C0102/08, are prominently displayed on a U.N. Procurement Department website, commonly accessed by procurement officials from across the U.N. System.

    ……………………………..

    PRESS TRUST OF INDIA (PTI)

    Satyam scandal due to Cong rulers’ ‘greediness’: Chandrababu

    Hyderabad, Jan 13 (PTI) TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu today claimed that the Satyam scandal was due to “greediness and mania for money” of Congress rulers.

    He told reporters that Maytas, promoted by former chairman of Satyam Computers B Ramalinga Raju, had grown into a big company in the real-estate sector due to the patronage of the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government.

    Greediness and mania for money are responsible for the Satyam fiasco, he said.

    “Maytas was a small company in 2003 when I was the Chief Minister. But now it has grown manifold with the state government handing out multi-crore rupee projects on a platter,” he said.

    He wondered why YSR was “so interested in Maytas”, saying projects worth over Rs 36,000 crore were awarded to the company without following due procedure.

    “Nobody ever asked these types of favours during my tenure,” he noted.

    It was only to divert public attention from the large-scale corruption under the current dispensation that his name was being dragged into the Satyam scandal, he claimed.

    “I promoted not only Ramalinga Raju but also other businessmen from the state. I took them abroad to seek foreign investments into the state. My only objective was to improve the state’s industry,” Naidu asserted.

    He said that Andhra Pradesh’s image has taken a severe beating because of the Satyam episode and wondered if any investor would come forward to invest in the state.

    ……………………………..

    CNN

    Third person arrested in Satyam scandal

    NEW DELHI, India (CNN) January 10, 2009 — The chief financial officer of India’s Satyam Computer Services Ltd. was arrested Saturday, the third person taken into custody in a scandal that began when the company’s chairman admitted inflating profits with “fictitious” assets and non-existent cash.

    Vadlamani Srinivas will appear Sunday before a special court, said A. Sivanarayana, additional director general of police in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, told CNN.

    ……………………………..

    Some Articles on the India that Sathya Sai Baba has long said he will rescue; – at:   Call For Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

    Shivraj Patil Falls From Home Ministry

    Posted on December 2, 2008

    Quote:

    “A major follower of Sathya Sai Baba, Shivraj Patil, has resigned as India’s Home Minister. Grave questions have been asked about the competence of Patil and others who were meant to be guarding India’s security.

    Comment: Whichever Indian government is in power, Sathya Sai Baba has many devotees who are in all ranks to the highest pinnacle of power. The same is true for the armed services, the judiciary, business and finance, industry, the arts and sciences, and so forth”

    Two Indias. Barry Pittard Reflects On India Days

    Posted on October 12, 2008

    Quote:

    “During the number of years I lived in India, I was able to see across-the-board social uplift work in some of India’s poorest villages. One of my strongest observations was the manner in which, for many years, one outfit refused to accept financial input from abroad. A great emphasis was laid on challenging the consciences” […]

    Human Rights World Report 2008. India In Sore Shape

    Posted on September 2, 2008

    Quote:

    “The Human Rights Watch World Report 2008 is in marked conflict with Sathya Sai Baba’s promises made over many decades. He has said that he would first save India and then the rest of the world – this within his own lifetime.
    His millions of followers hear his blatantly untrue statements but remain silent and blindly” […]

    Posted in News and Politics, Rationalism, Religion, Scandal, Society, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Issues | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

    Sathya Sai Baba, 83. Health Critical. Some Key Links

    Posted by Barry Pittard on November 26, 2008

    The following is a select resource for critics, scholars, media investigators, and also those questioning their way out of affiliation with Sathya Sai Baba and his international Sathya Sai Organization

    Robert Priddy

    A glance at this Update Page, indicates the huge labours of key serious writers critical of this teacher and his cult. The Robert Priddy update page is certainly one to consider bookmarking. The list for 2008 alone is extensive, though by no means complete. He was the head of the Sathya Sai Organization in Norway, and a former academic in philosophy and social sciences at the University of Oslo.

    http://www.saibaba-x.org.uk/HOME/Sai_Baba_news.htm

    Robert Priddy’s blogsite, frequently maintained, is:

    http://robertpriddy.wordpress.com

    Robert Priddy and Barry Pittard
    Four-part article, which give further significant hotlinks to other related material, dissecting a seriously defamatory article by Venkataraman – see, Sathya Sai Organization’s Deception and Propaganda Exposed

    ………………………………………

    Brian Steel

    Brian Steel is an Australian Spanish language linguistics expert and lexicographer. When devoted to Sathya Sai Baba, he was author, of a major bibliography and other writing widely distributed throughout the Sathya Sai movement.

    An Annotated Bibliography for Research on Sathya Sai Baba  (in Three Parts) . He has recently extended this major task by adding a third part of the Bibliography

    Sathya Sai Baba: Questionable Stories and Claims, by Brian Steel. Part 1

    Sathya Sai Baba: Questionable Stories and Claims. Part 2

    New Factors for Researchers to Consider

    Sai Baba Researchers’ Huge Debt To Scholar Brian D. Steel

    ………………………………………

    Barry Pittard On B.D. Steel At Call For Media and Government Investigation of Sathya Sai Baba

    Sai Baba Researchers’ Huge Debt To Scholar Brian D. Steel

    Brian Steel’s Surprise Visit To Sathya Sai Baba’s Ashram

    William Aitken’s Sai Baba Book. Major Flaws Says Scholar

    ………………………………………

    Serguei Badaev

    The Story of My Disqualification

    Ex-President of Sai Org. Moscow Centre, (served for 4 years) and ex-deputy National Coordinator and National SSEHV Coordinator, Russia). The Moscow centre wrote a letter to then longtime head of the Indian SS Org and eventually the world Org, Indulal Shah, and 7th World Conference asking for clarification concerning the many worldwide allegations facing the founder and that the guru be asked for the spiritual explanation of the negative information on the Internet about him. There was no reply other than the immediate dismissal of Badaev as President of the Moscow Centre (see here).

     

    For a remarkably similar account of draconian measures meted out to an Australian spiritual convenor, Stephen Carthew, see:

    Letter from Stephen Carthew

    In this case, the axeman for the demise of yet another lovely and much-respected leader in the movement, was the now retired head of the Australian Sathya Sai Organization, Sri T. Ramanathan.

    Timothy Conway, Ph.D.

    Timothy Conway Ph.D, author of several books comparative East-West spiritual traditions, was president of the large San Francisco center and a liaison-consultant for the Sathya Sai Organization, Northern California, in the early to mid-1980s), as well as a longtime member of Santa Barbara, CA, Sai Center since 1988. Resigned February 2001.

    In December 2007, he released his clarification of points raised about very indicting letters that were circulated to peak leaders of the US Sathya Sai Organization by former head, the late Dr John Hislop.

    Timothy Conway Ph.D on: The Crucial John Hislop Letters

    Dr Timothy Conway’s Summary of Ullrich Zimmermann Interview

    Timothy Conway PH.D confirms the Hislop letters

    Formal statement provided to Exbaba.com by Timothy Conway Ph. D. concerning the Hislop letters

    An article in which Timothy Conway outlines many key issues

    Click here to access Timothy Conway’s websitetimothy-conway-website-banner.jpg‘Enlightened Spirituality’

    ………………………………………

    Kevin Shepherd

    An independent British scholar, author of many books on philosophical and social issues and analyses of major religious figures including Shirdi Sai Baba, Shepherd has taken an interest in the Sathya Sai Baba phenomenon. It is valuable to have a writer not involved in the debates, and no sensible reader could be other than struck by Shepherd’s considerable respect for detail and calm disection of many complex issues.

    Citizen Initiative

    http://www.kevinrdshepherd.net/index.html

    A very detailed page with many links to his own work and that of others is:

    Sathya Sai Baba: problems

    ………………………………………

    Two Detailed, Unresponded-to Former Devotee Communications to Peak Body of International Sathya Sai Organization

    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)

    Signed on behalf of wider international group by:

    Serguei Badaev, Russia 1995-2001 Ex-President of Sai Org. Moscow Centre and Deputy National Chairman for Russia.
    Timothy Conway, USA. Follower for 22 years; President of the Sathya Sai Baba Center of San Francisco from 1982-4.
    Dennis J. Hanisch, USA. Follower for 27 years. Founder member and Vice-President, Seattle Center.
    David. J. Lyons, USA. Follower from 1981 to 2000. Ex-President of the Center of Greater New Orleans.
    Barry Pittard, Australia. 1976-1999. Former English Lecturer, Sathya Sai College, Whitefield.
    Robert Priddy, Norway. 1983-2002. Founder member/Ex-Chairman of Oslo Center & Coordinator for Norway 1986-1996.
    Reidun Priddy, Norway. 1983-2000. Founder member and Seva Wing Coordinator 1986-1998
    Al Rahm,  Office-bearing member of the SSO for decades. Regional Devotional Coordinator and founder of first Education in Human Values school in the U.S.
    Barbara Shocket, Professional Counselor in mental health, USA Follower: 1980-1990.
    Dhyani Jo Sinclair, Canada Member and Sai Centre Secretary, 1995-2000.
    Towards Public Accountability and Due Investigation: A Formal Open Appeal To ‘The Prashanthi Council

    …………………………………………….

    Public Petition

    http://www.saipetition.net/

    ……………………………………………..

    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://home.hetnet.nl/~seduced/seduced.wmv
    (21 MB, Modem)


    Posted in New Age, News and Politics, Opinion, Rationalism, Religion, Sai Baba, Scandal, Skeptics, Social and Politics, Spirituality, Uncategorized, World Issues, World Religions | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

    Sathya Sai Speaks. ‘I Do Not Like This Pomp’

    Posted by Barry Pittard on November 21, 2008

    Sathya Sai Baba, who is on the brink of celebrating his 83rd birthday,

    sathya-sai-baba-says-i-do-not-like-pomp

    has said that he will first rule India (innumerable of whose top leaders bow down to him!) and soon the rest of the world. He also has said, December 14, 1963:

    Let Me tell you this now itself: I do not like this pomp and show. I do not derive any joy out of it. Pomp, such as this, has become a fashion now, even among ascetics and monks who ought to know better. They profess poverty and simplicity and yet, they allow or encourage their disciples to waste much energy and money on pomp and pageantry which serve only to develop the egotism of themselves and their followers. The emphasis on show makes a thing hollow of all meaning.(Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 3., p 228)

    Sathya Sai Baba "dislikes pomp"

    Sathya Sai Baba says he dislikes pomp

    He has said:

    “In the days ahead, the whole world will be obliged to come to Prashanthi Nilayam” (p. 320 Sanathana Sarathi December 1991)

    …………………………….

    Some edifying discourses which will no doubt hasten the golden glory of the coming of the Kingdom of Sai:

    Sai Baba’s Birthday. Vast, Costly Pomp and Ceremony

    Sai Baba, Kubla Khan, Citizen Kane, Bill Gates et alia

    Sai Baba To Be Seen In Moon? But Where Was Moon?

    Robert Priddy

    Sathya Sai Baba worshipped by India’s P.M.s etc

    Sathya Sai Baba upcoming birthday

    Sai Baba’s failing health

    ——————————————————

     Further Resources   

     Sathya Sai Baba: ‘Considerable Concern’ In Wider Hindu Community    

     Sathya Sai Organization: World Communities Need To Treat This Sect Cautiously    

    Will World Accept Sathya Sai Baba? He Says Yes. Very Soon     

    Has ‘World Saviour’ Missed His Plane?    

    The Decline and Fall of the Showman Empire 

    Sai Baba Exchequer Worth Billions. Many Countries Donate 

    Self-documented Folly of India’s Would-be God 

    The Sathya Sai Organisation’s Deception and Propaganda Exposed.  Article by Robert Priddy (former leader of SS Org., Sweden) and Barry Pittard (former lecturer at Sathya Sai College, Whitefield).  Part One Two Three Four   

    Quote:    

     “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”   

     ——————————————————

     Some Video Resources     

    (154 MB, Broadband)    

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

    http://home.hetnet.nl/~seduced/seduced.wmv
    (21 MB, Modem)    

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

    BBC and Other Film Footage Shows India’s Top Guru Sathya Sai Baba Faking Miracles 

    BBC Footage Exposes Fake Sathya Sai Baba Miracle « Call For Media and Government Investigation 

    ‘The Secret Swami’ showcased with selected transcripts and brief
    video clips
        

    The Public Petition    

    Excerpt From Public Petition (and comments)   

     

    Posted in New Age, News, Prophecy, Scandal, Society | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »