Sai Baba? (Jesus, ritual, moral, Earth, reincarnation)

[Doktormartini]

Hey everyone! I work at this camp and this weekend about 600 devotees of Satyha Sai Baba came. I just wanna know some info abut Sai Baba. I know he brought free schools to India (correct?) and he's a lot like Jesus, Imaculate conception, miracles...etc. Also, they told me that he knows when he will die (they don't call it dying they call it leaving the body) at age 94 and where he will be reborn.

I have seen websites talking about how he is a fraud and trying to show how his miracles are fake. Is this some kind of cult or what? Sorry if I offended anyone, I am just curious!

[Hema]

He is like an avatar of God. We are all manifestations of God but avatars are powerful manifestations who come on earth for a particular purpose. He is definitelty not a fraud. By best girlfriend is a devotee of his.

I was going to start a thread about this in the Hinduism forum, but I'll tell you anyway. One of my dad's friends, who is in the same business as him has had some miracles happening at his home. My parents heard about it at their Temple but my friend went there and actually saw it. Sai Baba manifests Vibhuti - a type of sacred ash. When my friend went to the home, she said that Vibhuti is growing on a picture of Sai Baba as well as a picture of Jesus and Mary. Even if the Vibhuti is taken off, more keeps comng back. She also said that in one of the rooms in the house (the daughter's room), there is a chair. If the chair is moved to face a certain direction, it turns back for itself as if someone is sitting on it...which in this case would be Sai Baba. We have heard that the daughter is not really a spiritual person so my friend said that Baba said that he will come to people who don't believe to prove to them that he exists.

My friend has experienced a few miracles herself involving Sai Baba. I'm sworn to girlfriend secrecy, but it mainly involves her being depressed and asking him to send signs that he's there...then of couse, her getting signs...stuff like that.

[Omnipresent Truth]

I am not one for structured religion but believe in messengers of 'God' such as the Swami, Sathya Sai Baba.
Not to take anything away from him but Jesus The Christ is just another example of a human being existing with knowledge of the Universal Laws and how to make use of them without exploitation.

[Atman]

Namaste all.

I've heard some rather unsettling things about him, not to mention quiet a few videos which seem to disprove his so-called "divine powers". Naturally I'm no fan. Shirdi Sai Baba on the other hand (the man who Sathya claims to be a reincarnation of) is either an extremely saintly man, or an avatar, as far as I'm concerned.

[Mr Spinkles]

Allow me to paint a portrait of two people:

One man worked diligently for decades on the antibiotic known as penicillin. He carefully and methodically documented his work, which has been studied and expanded upon by countless scientists. His work has saved, and continues to save, millions of lives every day. No one remembers this man's name. Few parents tell this man's amazing story to their children.

Another man can perform tricks, such as making ash appear seemingly out of nowhere. He claims that they are manifestations of divine power, although his tricks are not as impressive as the ones performed by many magicians, such as Penn and Teller. He performs the tricks to demonstrate his power, yet he has refused many invitations to perform the tricks under controlled conditions. These tricks do not save anyone's lives. Millions know this man's name: he is Sathya Sai Baba.

Friends, what's wrong with this picture?

[vandervalley]

Originally Posted by Mr Spinkles

Allow me to paint a portrait of two people:

One man worked diligently for decades on the antibiotic known as penicillin. He carefully and methodically documented his work, which has been studied and expanded upon by countless scientists. His work has saved, and continues to save, millions of lives every day. No one remembers this man's name. Few parents tell this man's amazing story to their children.

Another man can perform tricks, such as making ash appear seemingly out of nowhere. He claims that they are manifestations of divine power, although his tricks are not as impressive as the ones performed by many magicians, such as Penn and Teller. He performs the tricks to demonstrate his power, yet he has refused many invitations to perform the tricks under controlled conditions. These tricks do not save anyone's lives. Millions know this man's name: he is Sathya Sai Baba.

Friends, what's wrong with this picture?

The man who invented penicillin will most likely be rewarded with long lives in heaven and if reborn into human worlds be as rich and powerful as bill gates or president shrubs; due to the tremendous amount of good karma accumulated

[Henk]

I like the words He is speaking:

If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in character.


Removal of immorality is the only way to immortality.


Henk

[Don Penguinoini]

Interesting.

[michaelm]

I have several friends who are devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. I have been to his ashram in Puttaparthi twice. Frankly i do not know what to make of him. In spite of trying hard to decide I could not think of him as divine, nor as a fraud. I guess each person must make up their own mind on him.

[Aupmanyav]

There are two Sai Babas. The one is Shirdi died in 1918, the other in Puttaparthi was born in 1926. Both cults are very popular in India. The Puttaparthy Sai Baba is known for the educational institutions and hospitals that he has helped to establish. He is the one who is associated with many miracles and equally many scandles, wrongly or rightly, about being a homosexual (Free Schools? Many people have established free schools). There have been murders in his Ashram. I do not believe in immaculate conceptions, neither of Jesus nor of any Baba. As for knowing when he would die and where he will be reborn, that is BS, at the moment he is a tottering old man.

The Shirdi Sai Baba has assumed the proportions of an Avatara. He is associated with many miracles as Hema describes (the ash miracle being the most common with all god-men). Her best friend being a devotee of Sai Baba does not prove anything. As she herself mentions, the lady has psychological problems. As for the moving chair, that is BS (apologies to Hema). If he said he would come to people who do not believe, he has certainly not cared to come to me. Basically his so-called devotees have established a very successful promotional program.

Now, if you go by the 'Advaita' philosophy of hinduism, every thing is a Brahman. So that is nothing new, I am none other than Brahman, Hema is none other than Brahman. You, MichaelM are also nothing other than Brahman. There is nothing else in the universe other than Brahman. In that case it is wrong for any Baba to be considered God. No one is special. Brahman does not entertain differences. 'Advaita' philosophy does not entertain Avataras.

Vandervalley, there is no heaven, no hell, no God, no spirit, no judgement day, no raising from the dead. When we are dead, we are dead. Christians and muslims go to graves, hindus go up in flames. Of course, the inventor of Penecillin was a benefactor of human kind and we respect his memory.