On June 6, 1993 four people who were armed with knives were killed after they had intruded in Sai Baba's bedroom. The intruders had killed two aides of Sai Baba. The incident was widely published in the Indian press. Sathya Sai Baba claimed in his 1993 Guru Poornima discourse on July 3 that jealousy among his followers was behind the incident, without giving a detailed explanation of the events. The former Secretary of the Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh, V.P.B. Nair, who came from of a police bac
kground, expressed in the BBC documentary his opinion that the four assailants in 1993 had unnecessarily and illegally been shot by the police. There are other opinions from the eye witnesses who were present in the Mandir premises on that night, that police did the right thing to protect the life of several others, as the four people were armed and had already stabbed two people to death. The debates about Sathya Sai Baba were fueled by a document published in 2000 called "The Findings", written by David and Faye Bailey (former followers who together wrote three books on Sathya Sai Baba , in which they described their disillusionment with the guru. According to an article in Salon.com in the year 2001, a great part of the Findings contains testimonies of sexual harassment and sexual abuse. The Findings contain allegations of fakery, claims that Sai Baba does not heal sick people and allegations of financial irregularities with charity projects, such as the Super Specialty Hospital and water project. David Bailey previously wrote, in his two books about Sathya Sai Baba, that he personally witnessed manifestations, healings, miracles and was saved from a car accident by Sathya Sai Baba. The Daily Telegraph stated that Sathya Sai Baba rubbed oil on the genitals of a young male devotee. The testimonies of sexual abuse of young men were shown in TV documentaries, including "Seduced by Sai Baba" by Denmark's national television, and documentary film "Secret Swami" by BBC. The TV documentary "Seduced By Sai Baba", produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway.
Al Rahm, a father of one of the young men who claimed to have been sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba, spoke with Dr. Michael Goldstein, in the USA about the alleged sexual abuse.[57] According to Rahm, Dr. Goldstein responded by saying that he hated the idea of having wasted 25 years of his life and that he accepted Sri Sathya Sai Baba's statement "Swami is pure" as the truth. Dr. Goldstein further stated that he did not support an investigation of the sexual abuse allegations, although he felt that Sathya Sai Baba was not above the law. He said that it was against his "heart and conscience" to believe the allegations because he had personally observed Baba interact with students very frequently, in very informal circumstances, and he had never seen anything inappropriate, ominous or anything indicative of fear or apprehension.[57] Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Café and a prominent follower of Baba, stated in the BBC documentary that his admiration for the Baba will not change even if the charges of child sexual abuse and murder were proved beyond all doubt. In this same documentary, Khushwant Singh stated that Sathya Sai Baba's popularity could not be ascribed to any type of publicity campaign. Singh compared Sathya Sai Baba to Mahatma Gandhi, in that Gandhi never had any publicity but became nationally known through word of mouth According to the BBC reporter Tanya Datta, numerous sexual abuse victims have undergone a genital oiling by Sathya Sai Baba that they believe is part of Hinduism. Singh reacted to this by saying that this genital oiling is not part of Indian tradition.
According to the journalist Michelle Goldberg of Salon.com the fact that the Baba has high ranking Indian politicians as his supporters and the charity works done by the various organizations associated with the Baba help to explain why he has not been brought into a court of law in India. The Indian consulate website states that crime victims must file charges with the police. In an article that was published in the India Today magazine in December 2000, it was stated that no complaints had been filed against Sathya Sai Baba by any alleged victim, in India. The magazine stated they are in possession of an affidavit signed by Jens Sethi (an ex-devotee) and reported that he filed a complaint with the police in Munich.Sathya Sai Baba did not give a detailed public rebuttal to the accusations of sexual abuse. In his Christmas 2000 discourse Sai Baba said that people disseminate false negative stories about him because they have been bribed. Koert van der Velde, a reporter for Dutch newspaper Trouw, claimed in a critical article that Sathya Sai Baba forbade people to look at the internet. In the years 1999 and 2000 Sri Sathya Sai Baba has repeatedly belittled the internet and discouraged its use.The Guardian and DNA stated that, although Sathya Sai Baba has not been charged over old allegations of sexual abuse, a travel warning was issued by the US State Department about reports of "unconfirmed inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader", which officials later confirmed was a reference to Sai Baba. The Guardian further expressed concerns over a contingent of 200 youths travelling to the Baba's ashram in order to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
According to The Telegraph, Glen Meloy (an ex-devotee) organized a campaign that concentrated on "e-bombing" allegations against Sathya Sai Baba to various agencies and officials. The Telegraph stated that the most conspicuous success of Meloy's campaign came when, in September 2000, UNESCO withdrew its participation in an educational conference at Puttaparthi, expressing "deep concern" about the allegations of sexual abuse. The Telegraph also stated that despite all the allegations made against Sathya Sai Baba over the years, he has never been charged with any crime, sexual or otherwise.
kground, expressed in the BBC documentary his opinion that the four assailants in 1993 had unnecessarily and illegally been shot by the police. There are other opinions from the eye witnesses who were present in the Mandir premises on that night, that police did the right thing to protect the life of several others, as the four people were armed and had already stabbed two people to death. The debates about Sathya Sai Baba were fueled by a document published in 2000 called "The Findings", written by David and Faye Bailey (former followers who together wrote three books on Sathya Sai Baba , in which they described their disillusionment with the guru. According to an article in Salon.com in the year 2001, a great part of the Findings contains testimonies of sexual harassment and sexual abuse. The Findings contain allegations of fakery, claims that Sai Baba does not heal sick people and allegations of financial irregularities with charity projects, such as the Super Specialty Hospital and water project. David Bailey previously wrote, in his two books about Sathya Sai Baba, that he personally witnessed manifestations, healings, miracles and was saved from a car accident by Sathya Sai Baba. The Daily Telegraph stated that Sathya Sai Baba rubbed oil on the genitals of a young male devotee. The testimonies of sexual abuse of young men were shown in TV documentaries, including "Seduced by Sai Baba" by Denmark's national television, and documentary film "Secret Swami" by BBC. The TV documentary "Seduced By Sai Baba", produced by Denmark's national television and radio broadcaster Danish radio aired in Denmark, Australia and Norway.Al Rahm, a father of one of the young men who claimed to have been sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba, spoke with Dr. Michael Goldstein, in the USA about the alleged sexual abuse.[57] According to Rahm, Dr. Goldstein responded by saying that he hated the idea of having wasted 25 years of his life and that he accepted Sri Sathya Sai Baba's statement "Swami is pure" as the truth. Dr. Goldstein further stated that he did not support an investigation of the sexual abuse allegations, although he felt that Sathya Sai Baba was not above the law. He said that it was against his "heart and conscience" to believe the allegations because he had personally observed Baba interact with students very frequently, in very informal circumstances, and he had never seen anything inappropriate, ominous or anything indicative of fear or apprehension.[57] Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of the Hard Rock Café and a prominent follower of Baba, stated in the BBC documentary that his admiration for the Baba will not change even if the charges of child sexual abuse and murder were proved beyond all doubt. In this same documentary, Khushwant Singh stated that Sathya Sai Baba's popularity could not be ascribed to any type of publicity campaign. Singh compared Sathya Sai Baba to Mahatma Gandhi, in that Gandhi never had any publicity but became nationally known through word of mouth According to the BBC reporter Tanya Datta, numerous sexual abuse victims have undergone a genital oiling by Sathya Sai Baba that they believe is part of Hinduism. Singh reacted to this by saying that this genital oiling is not part of Indian tradition.
According to the journalist Michelle Goldberg of Salon.com the fact that the Baba has high ranking Indian politicians as his supporters and the charity works done by the various organizations associated with the Baba help to explain why he has not been brought into a court of law in India. The Indian consulate website states that crime victims must file charges with the police. In an article that was published in the India Today magazine in December 2000, it was stated that no complaints had been filed against Sathya Sai Baba by any alleged victim, in India. The magazine stated they are in possession of an affidavit signed by Jens Sethi (an ex-devotee) and reported that he filed a complaint with the police in Munich.Sathya Sai Baba did not give a detailed public rebuttal to the accusations of sexual abuse. In his Christmas 2000 discourse Sai Baba said that people disseminate false negative stories about him because they have been bribed. Koert van der Velde, a reporter for Dutch newspaper Trouw, claimed in a critical article that Sathya Sai Baba forbade people to look at the internet. In the years 1999 and 2000 Sri Sathya Sai Baba has repeatedly belittled the internet and discouraged its use.The Guardian and DNA stated that, although Sathya Sai Baba has not been charged over old allegations of sexual abuse, a travel warning was issued by the US State Department about reports of "unconfirmed inappropriate sexual behavior by a prominent local religious leader", which officials later confirmed was a reference to Sai Baba. The Guardian further expressed concerns over a contingent of 200 youths travelling to the Baba's ashram in order to gain their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
According to The Telegraph, Glen Meloy (an ex-devotee) organized a campaign that concentrated on "e-bombing" allegations against Sathya Sai Baba to various agencies and officials. The Telegraph stated that the most conspicuous success of Meloy's campaign came when, in September 2000, UNESCO withdrew its participation in an educational conference at Puttaparthi, expressing "deep concern" about the allegations of sexual abuse. The Telegraph also stated that despite all the allegations made against Sathya Sai Baba over the years, he has never been charged with any crime, sexual or otherwise.
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