So far, we have considered some aspects of replying to the statements in The Findings against Sathya Sai Baba.
We have said that Sathya Sai Baba is a GURU and as such he should be judged. There are some requirements central to that task while others are peripheral. We have thus examined some components of those requirements:
The next quality of the GURU
is:
The capacity to lead others to the goal
effectively.
We will break this into two component parts:
In any language, leadership is about needs; meeting task need, group need and individual needs. The Functions of Leadership embrace Task Needs:
The Functions of Leadership embrace Group Needs:
The Functions of Leadership embrace Individual Needs
A great leader has to act from a central vision, a central motive for action beyond personal self, pelf and power. Functional and effective leadership encompasses
The great mantra on leadership says:~
"A good leader knows his people as well as their mothers do, and cares for them even better"
We move on to the next element of this GURU capacity:
According to Sathya Sai Baba, the goal of human life is spiritual liberation, known by such names as moksha, nirvana, mukthi, etc. Spiritual liberation comprises the ending of the cycle of birth and death based on karma.
You must have heard of people seeking moksha [liberation] and getting moksha; but many are under the impression that it is some rare honour that only a few secure or that it is some area like Paradise or Colony of the Elect or a Height that some heroic souls alone can climb up to. No, moksha is something which all must achieve, whether they are heroic or not; even those who deny it have to end by realising it.
Attainment of the goal is the aim. When the valuable years are frittered away in petty pleasure, flimsy gossip, feast and festivity, idleness and sleep, one becomes unfit to receive or retain spiritual knowledge, the vital harvest one has to gain...
You must tread the spiritual path with an uncontrollable urge to reach the Goal; you must cultivate the yearning for liberation from all this encumbrance. Remember that you have to dwell in a house built on four stout pillars: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, (Right conduct, wealth, desire and liberation); Dharma supporting Artha, and Moksha supporting Kama (desire). However much you may earn either wealth or strength, unless you tap the springs of bliss, you cannot have peace or lasting content.
Capacity is energy that expands to accommodate further energy. Sathya Sai Baba, since the revelation of his Divinity in the small town of Uravakonda, has been expanding his capacity endlessly for and on behalf of his devotees.
Sathya Sai Baba has demonstrated a perpetually expanding capacity for selfless, divine love. His love has expanded to include not only all who call themselves his devotees, but also all who call upon his name.
Sathya Sai Baba rescues those who give their lives over to him
"When He was in the middle of the conversation, he would suddenly go into a trance. There was no set time or situation for this. If any devotee suffers from severe ailment or pain, anxiety or incurable disease, any handicap, the Lord leaves His body and goes to that place where there is suffering. Even while coming down the stairs, He would go and fall whilst He was coming down the stairs. He would lean back or forward. While in bhajan, he would become like a statue. His body would get stiff. At once, men would make Him lie down. He once said, "A woman in America was having labour pains. The child was upside down. I set it right and have just returned. The people lost all hope and now everything is fine."
Sathya Sai Baba expands the circle of protection on his devotees:
When Partha Mandir had been constructed in 1946, many persons came to stay with Baba. All the devotees slept in the open space at the rear of the Mandir with Baba on his bed in the centre. At about 3.00 am before everyone got up, Baba would rise and go to His room. He would get up at night and walk around the sleeping devotees to ward off evil spirits and protect them as they slept. Now that Prasanthi Mandir has been in existence since 1950, Sathya Sai Baba has expanded the circle of protection to all who are within the walls of the Mandir.
Demonstrated expanding capacity for devotees:
Sathya Sai Baba has ALWAYS demonstrated an expanding capacity for the care and accommodation of his devotees. Early devotees attended bhajans on a Thursday at the Kannams house in Puttaparthi; This was soon too small, and a shed with a cover was provided for bhajans. Soon devotees were singing bhajans in the street; arrangements were made for the construction of the first bhajan mandir, now called Partha Mandir, which was completed in 1946. When this had opened, the land for Prasanthi Mandir had already been purchased. Prasanthi Mandir was completed in 1950 and is still expanding to accommodate devotees.
The list could go on. Baba feeding the poor on the sands of the Chitravathi River; the trip around India to recharge all the major spiritual sanctuaries in India; darshan, interview, personal guidance of devotees since 1946, divine discourse non-stop since 1943, out of body visits to devotees, materialisation of vibhuti, sacred pendants and linga for devotees--this is an endless litany of leading devotees to the goal of human life.
We need to examine final essential criteria and the peripheral criteria and move on, even though the history of Sai Baba is replete with signal examples of these criteria.
Examine further essential criteria
