Barry Pittard on: Sathya Sai Baba and his worldwide cult

For Immediate Release

Former followers of India's supposed 'man of miracles', Sathya Sai Baba, and others such as Rationalists, Humanists, and still others representing several religious backgrounds, and none, allege sexual and human rights abuses and various terrible crimes to have been committed by India's most famous - and infamous - guru, whose exchequer rates in the billions. Vast foreign donations flow to him, a fact not despised by local, state and central governments in India.

BBC investigators saw that Sathya Sai Baba has been profoundly protected by successive Indian governments. In making 'The Secret Swami,' (2004), the BBC felt compelled, given the cultish secrecy and non-accountability of Sai Baba, his ashram officials and worldwide organisation, to use a hidden camera focused on world Chairman of Sai Baba's organisation, Dr Michael Goldstein, who seemed anything but spiritual in his angry responses, and who failed to answer perfectly fair questions. Top journalists from Times of London, Daily Telegraph, the Age, The West Australian, several Canadian and European newspapers and others have found the highly secretive Sathya Sai Baba cult very difficult to investigate. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which thrice in July 2005 at major viewing times showed ï¿½The Secret Swamiï¿½, resisted the protest of hundreds of organised Sai Baba devotee callers, stating that that it stood by the professionalism of its BBC colleagues. Evidence from media organisations suggests that other media who might want to investigate can expect a none-too-spiritual call from wealthy, high-profile supporters, and to be threatened with litigation, withdrawal of advertising, etc.

Worldwide, the official Sathya Sai Organisation attempts to make its founder and itself respectable to mainstream political, religious and social welfare organisations. They do not tell the public about the marked integrity of many individuals and families worldwide who accuse him of sexually abusing boys and young men, of promising miraculous cures that never happen, of distorting well-established historical and scientific facts, of making entirely contradictory claims across his discourses and interviews, or of being implicated in the killings in his bedroom on June 6, 1993, nor of the massive cover-up that attended these and other horrible crimes at the guru's ashram. His promoters (though he says that he does not promote) typically withhold the fact that they regard Sathya Sai Baba as God fully incarnate, come to save the entire world before his self-prophesied leaving of it in AD 2022. They do not reveal that some of his much-vaunted 'miracles' have been exposed as fakes (see video footage at: http://home.hetnet.nl/~comments_on/_the_secret_swami/_sai_baba2.htm )

Sathya Sai Baba's critics comprise many age groups up to people in their 70's. No matter their excellent standing in their professions and wider communities, one after another is relentlessly defamed by a number of Sathya Sai Baba's followers, sometimes by some of his key leaders. Those critics who have resigned on a matter of high principle from his organisation, some of whom were for years highly respected by Sathya Sai Organisation leaders, are now reviled and libeled, as though they had turned overnight from angels into demons. In a public discourse, Sai Baba derided his critics as being bought, as Judases, and - strange for one proclaiming himself to be the greatest of all appearances of the Divine on earth - boastfully compared the extent of his good works to those of politicians, who he says have done one ten-thousandths less than he has done. Critics say that it is, in any case, his followers who perform practically all these services! A comparison with the content of pro-Sai Baba Internet apologist contributions and those of academics, formerly favourable to Sai Baba, like Robert Priddy and Brian Steel, may suggest which group is speaking for freedom, truth and conscience and which reveals blind and sometimes fanatical apologetics on behalf on one of history's most powerful cults. See - http://home.no.net/anir/Sai/ and Brian Steel: http://bdsteel.tripod.com/More/ There are general, multilingual websites at: www.Exbaba.com and www.Saiguru.net The well-supported pro Sai Baba antagonists are easy to locate.

I occasionally produce researched articles but am, essentially, in the 'back room' with others around the world devising/coordinating/operating, and have been involved for over five years in many international actions exposing Sai Baba and the powerful organisation that covers up for him. Our actions recur to media, government, United Nations, law enforcement, building support for survivors of SSB and his outfit, etc. You may see a little of my activity at the following Urls:

http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/124does_unesco_really_protect_the_y.htm
Does UNESCO Really Protect the Young? The Case of the Missing Media Advisory (2005)

http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/116areflectionbybp.htm
BBCï¿½s ï¿½The Secret Swamiï¿½ ï¿½ A Reflection

http://www.saiguru.net/english/news/020927oppenletter.htm
Open Letter to Prime Minister of India, Hon. A.B. Vajpayee

http://www.saiguru.net/english/news/030925exposeupdate.htm
Sathya Sai Baba Exposï¿½ Update (2003)

http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex_baba/engels/articles/inmemoriamglenmeloy.html
In Memoriam - Glen Meloy (2005)

http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/17pittard.htm
To My Dear Former Whitefield College Students

http://tinyurl.com/7bu3g
Dear Brian O'Leary and Barry Pittard Exchange

http://home.hetnet.nl/~ex-baba/engels/letters/lundestad.html
Letter to Dr Geir Lundestad, Director Norwegian Nobel Institute

http://india.indymedia.org/en/2003/11/8326.shtml
Parliaments Learn of Sathya Sai Baba Exposure (2003)

http://www.saipetition.net/
I was one of the drafters of this international petition,
and at:
http://www.saiguru.net/english/articles/120open_letter_from_just_group_peti.htm
of a group riposte to one who has defamatorily and
unceasingly attempted to subvert on the Internet our Sathya Sai Baba Exposï¿½

Co-authored with Robert Priddy:

http://home.chello.no/~reirob/sorg0.htm
Sai Organisation Spending Spree Crashes in Super Dome, Sydney
http://home.chello.no/~reirob/sorg1.htm
http://home.chello.no/~reirob/sorg2.htm
http://home.chello.no/~reirob/sorg3.htm
Sathya Sai Organisation Disinformation and Subterfuge

In addition to the BBC, CBC, SBS, ABC, DR, Azul TV, further major film documentary and media organisations are in touch concerning up-and-coming projects decidedly adverse to Sai Baba and his cult - just as surely as his official organisation is throwing vast amounts of money in damage control and recruiting promotions.

Barry Pittard, Australia
Phone: 61 7 5478 6007

###