Sai Baba: A rocky journey marred by controversies

Hyderabad, Apr 22: Thousands of Sai Baba devotees are praying and uttering chants and mantras for the speedy recovery and longevity of their spiritual guru and god-incarnate. They are hopeful that Baba will stride back to good health. For many, Baba means life itself. While some claim of a miraculous act, others claim that a mere physical presence can do wonders for the millions of devotees spread across the globe.

But the journey to the spiritual altar was not smooth with Sai Baba's sojourn marred by sexual abuse allegations and accusations of Baba being a paedophile featuring in his elevation as the revered one. But in spite of the allegations, the voices were feeble due to the resounding chants of devotees who consider the Baba above all wrongs.

In an expose that was published in the India Today way back in 2000, Sai Baba's sexual abuse accounts were put forth by his devotees in the magazine that stirred up a controversy. (Read: The India Today article) The victims were primarily those who were blinded by the enigma of the Baba. The article quotes, Jeff Young, an American and a former employee at the Sai Baba Organisation in the south-central region of the US who had accused the Baba of sexually exploiting his 16 year old son, Sam. Similar sentiments were shared by others who were part of Baba's inner circle and found the incriminating details on his illegal sexual activities.

Various such instances have come to light from devotees spread across UK, US, Europe and Australia but have not been proved and questioned by any authority. Some also feared that the Baba's clout was far-reaching for anybody to file a case against the godman in Indian courts.

In spite of all the allegations and pointing fingers, Sai Baba was instrumental in diverting huge sums of money and energy to welfare schemes for the lesser privileged including bringing Krishna water from Andhra Pradesh to Chennai in a project worth Rs 200 crores. Schools in 33 countries and numerous other welfare measures were also benefited by thousands of poor people in the country.

Sai Baba was a great do-gooder and carried out so many noble deeds which has led many to attain peace and calmness through his discourse and advice. As an intelligent said, let bygones be bygones; after all as they say the present is the greatest truth.

OneIndia News