NOTE; IT WAS NOT UNTIL EARLY 2000 THAT I FIRST LOOKED AT THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST SATHYA SAI BABA THAT I WAS TOLD HAD APPEARED ON THE INTERNET SINCE 1999. BY MAY 2000, I WAS ABLE TO GET FURTHER IN INVESTIGATING THE NUMEROUS ALLEGATIONS OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT. AROUND THAT TIME I CIRCULATED THE FOLLOWING TO CIRCULATE TO MY FRIENDS AND FELLOW DEVOTEES. THIS SHOWS HOW I BEGAN THE PROCESS WITHOUT JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS. THE RESULTS I EVENTUALLY OBTAINED PUT THE ISSUE BEYOND ALL POSSIBLE DOUBT IN MY MIND. HAVING SUBSEQUENTLY COMMUNICATED WITH FORMER FRIENDS WHO HAD BEEN SEXUALLY ABUSED BY SSB (WITHOUT MY KNOWING IT THEN) I EXPRESSED MY CONVICTION ON THE INTERNET AND, BECOMING KNOWN AS A STRONG CRITIC OF SAI BABA AND A RELIABLE DEFENDER OF ALLEGING VICTIMS ,MORE CONVINVING EVIDENCE POURED IN TO ME. THIS IS HAVE THOROUGHLY CHECKED AS TO THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE ORIGINATORS AND THE PLAUSABILITY OF THEIR ACCOUNTS, WHICH AGREE IN COUNTLESS DETAILS WITH ALL I KNEW ABOUT SAI BABA, HIS ASHRAMS, AND MORE.
The Accusations of Sexual Molestation
Sai Baba always sets narrow limits in his discourses for being a good devotee: he teaches that one should never say anything that might hurt anyone - however true. One should only see, hear and speak good. Criticism and especially back-biting are 'evil' and 'demonic' in his view. This, however, also makes for a very powerful kind of self-censorship... and is also used as a doctrinal basis for censoring others. I have appended it because I do not susbscribe to the belief that all unpleasant facts should be ignored and denied.
It is an all too obvious fact that sexual & similar allegations (some
true, some false, many beyond judgement) are endemic as never before in the
media across much of the world and are levelled at some time against almost
every politician, star as well as many other innocents in society these days.
The most important principle of
'giving the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise', has, however,
itself become more and more doubtful as a valid principle in this specific
case. Obtaining legal proof pro or contra in this case is a most difficult
matter, if not impossible, for a large number of reasons. The extreme
sensitivity of the subject for the victims is well known from countless cases
of abuse worldwide: many takes decades before they can even mention it in
public. Further, Indian students living in
It has been demonstrated that there is, at present or for the foreseeable future, no chance of getting investigation done by any internal source, let alone an independent court. Sai Baba’s devotees in the judiciary and High Court recently had the case lodged against Sai Baba thrown out. Sai Baba himself is not publicly approachable on any such issue and, despite his outwardly positive and loving attitude to most people, he is known without any doubt to be capable of reacting very negatively to what displeases him. The investigation of the cold-blooded execution by police on the orders of own younger brother and Central Trust member, Janaki Ramiah, of four devotees in his own living quarters was quashed (when it at length made progress towards the facts) through the offices of Sai Baba’s devotee politicians - notably the Home Minister, S.B. Chavan – without reaction from the Prime Minister or President, who were also his devotees. Even mentioning or discussing the accusations is evidently frowned upon, not least by Baba himself, as his discourse against those who seek or discuss such facts on the Internet shows. Further, though he has compassionate qualities towards those who worship and obey him he has, in his 2000 public Christmas discourse, angrily condemned his accusers as Judases who shall have to live through many future lifetimes in shame. While this proves nothing of itself, it is neither confidence-building nor indicative of his guiltlessness.
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