Who is Sathya Sai Baba?    

      You may have heard of Sai Baba first in his role as educator, healer, spiritual leader, social worker. Thousands of people in every country in the world are witnesses to these aspects of Baba's life and work.

     These followers are not members of a sect or cult, but people of all walks of life, races, cultural background and religions. For Baba encourages us to seek the underlying unity and divinity in ourselves, in others and in our lives.

     Baba inspires not only through his teachings but above all through his example; he lives austerely and in ceaseless service to those around him, making himself approachable and available to thousands daily, while maintaining a tireless program of lecturing, administrating, writing, encouraging the students. He has no secretary, cleans his own room, accepts no money from anyone (indeed fund raising is forbidden throughout the organization).

     His manner is always patient, gentle, gracious, often humorous and playful. Although invited countless times to visit other countries, Baba has so far stayed in India, (apart from one visit to Africa) maintaining that one has to put one's own house in order before advising others.

     His birthplace, once a tiny rural village, is now a beautiful university town with schools and colleges lining its main street; in addition, hundreds of villages in surrounding areas have been adopted by Baba's voluntary workers who have built roads, bridges, schools and dug wells for them. Regular medical camps care for the health of thousands of local people and Baba's Education program has been implemented in schools throughout India and other countries.

     Again it is not only his example which inspires but his extraordinary level of being, which shines through his teachings and has an impact on all who come into his presence.

     His frequently witnessed and documented healings, materializations of objects, telepathic powers and appearances in more than one place at once are due to powers he was born with, not developed by special disciplines. It is said he is not just a fully realized man but the Main Spiritual Leader of this Age; his life certainly fulfils prophecies in several religions. He says:-

      "I know who I am; I have come to help you realize who you are".

     What are we to make of all this? Could a man who left his village school at 13 have such a profound knowledge of the world religions and the ability to teach and explain them with sayings and stories of Christ-like simplicity? Baba says:-

"Come, test, inquire, taste, experience".

He also says:

      "...do not be attracted simply by stories of what I create by a wave of the hand. Do not jump to conclusions with closed eyes; watch, study and weigh..."

     Since 1950, Sathya Sai Baba's residence and headquarters have been in Prasanthi Nilayam (the Abode of Perfect Peace), a parcel of land adjacent to the village. His name spread quickly in India, and then he became known to people on every continent. For many years Prasanthi Nilayam has been a gathering site for millions of spiritual pilgrims, from all religions through out the world.

     To his followers, Sathya Sai Baba is accepted as the Main Spiritual Leader of this age; a Divine Being who has come to earth as a manifestation of Divine Will to fulfill a cosmic mission. He has stated:-

     "For the protection of the virtuous, for the destruction of evildoers, and for establishing righteousness on a firm footing I incarnate from age to age. Whenever disharmony overwhelms the world the Lord will incarnate in human form to establish the modes of earning peace, and to re-educate the human community in the paths of peace."

     The fame of Sathya Sai Baba was spread, in the beginning, by the stories of his "miracles", acts which cannot be explained by science and which transcend physical laws. His manifestation of material objects; the creation of sacred ash (vibhuthi) on the palm and fingers of his hand, to be used for spiritual and physical aid; changing an object from one metal to another metal simply by blowing on it; all of these and many more, before hundreds of thousands of people, done "by an act of will."

     He is known to heal the sick and maimed and blind; He has protected from harm those who called for help, even though thousands of miles away; He has appeared in his physical form in two different places at the same time; and He has raised from the dead several persons. And yet, He states,

     "You have come to get from me tinsel and trash, the petty cures and promotions, worldly joys and comforts. Very few of you desire to get from me the thing I have come to give you, namely, liberation itself."