SATHYA SAI BABA PASSES AWAY AT 84

INDIAN SPIRITUAL GURU
SRI SATHYA SAI BABA DIES

www.hindu.com - Prominent spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba passed away at Puttaparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh on Sunday morning, leaving behind millions of mourning devotees in India and abroad, and a sprawling system of educational, medical and philanthropic services that has huge resources at its command. He was 84.  He had bravely battled complications of the heart, lung and kidney for four weeks.  The end came at 7.40 a.m., after 28 days of intense anxiety among his followers and frenetic activity by doctors of the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences.  The medical team gave him expert care but could not save his life as multi-organ failure set in.  After his admission to the hospital on March 30, a cardiac pacemaker was implanted. As his condition deteriorated, doctors put him on a ventilator system and on dialysis.

As news spread that the Baba’s body would be brought to the ashram in the afternoon, people ran onto the streets in a frenzy of emotion. Men and women of all age groups could be seen crying without any restraint. The air was filled with the slogan, ‘Satya Sai Bhagwan ki jai.’  After the passing of Sai Baba, a vast empire spread across Puttaparthi, Bangalore, Kodaikanal, Hyderabad, Chennai and Mumbai, and overseas centres, needs to be administered as effectively as before. The spiritual guru was the Chairman of the Sathya Sai Central Trust that manages funds pouring in from devotees across the globe, as well as the affairs of a string of service and spiritual organisations.  The body will be interred in the hall on April 27 around 8 a.m.

Hindu spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba died on Sunday in a hospital near his southern Indian ashram. He was 84.  Many devotees considered him a living god.  Sai Baba as a teenager had asserts to be a re-embodiment of the well-known Shirdi Sai Baba.  His organisation has financed health and education projects, among them hospitals and clinics that claim to cure illnesses beyond the capabilities of mainstream medicine.  Indian’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described his death as an “irreparable loss”.  “He was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice,” said Mr Singh.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US?  

Satya Sai Baba (1926 - ) has become a legendary figure and is considered to be God incarnate by his many followers. The religious organization associated with his name has performed great service to humanity by providing excellent hospitals, schools, colleges, and drinking-water facilities, as well as undertaking many other social activities.  His ashram, known as Prasanthi Nilayam (Abode of the Highest Peace) at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, is always buzzing with religious and philanthropic activities.  He promotes a virtuous life, vegetarianism, abstinence from alcohol, and charitable deeds.  He is famous for his everyday miracles, such as producing sacred ash and other articles from nowhere, but he dismisses all that as being only the initial attention-catching activity.  The real thing, according to him, is the spiritual awakening and moral transformation.

Dr. Hiro Badlani:
“Hinduism - Path of the Ancient Wisdom”
Chapter 42: “Hinduism in Modern Era”
“Spiritual Masters of the Recent Period”
http://hinduismpath.com/ -  http://hinduismpath.com/book-contents/chapter-42/