Sai Baba rises above mortality
Messiah's worldly exit: Devotees make a beeline for last darshan
Revered by millions and enjoying a cult status, godman Sathya Sai Baba, who was battling illness caused by multiple organ failure for nearly a month, breathed his last at 7:40 am here on Sunday.
Born Ratnakaram Satyanarayana Raju, Sai Baba, whose followers included the high and mighty within and outside the country, passed away at a superspeciality hospital founded by him here due to a cardio-respiratory failure, doctors attending on him revealed at 10 am. The spiritual guru was being treated by globally renowned doctors since March 28 when he was hospitalised.
“Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is no more with us physically. He left his earthly body on April 24 at 7:40 am due to cardio-respiratory failure,” A N Safaya, director of the Institute, said.
Baba’s body will lie in state at Sai Kulwant Hall, the place where he used to address devotees, for two days for his followers to have a final darshan.
After being duly embalmed, his body, covered in saffron, left the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in an ambulance at 10:40 am and was taken to the hall. It would be kept in state till 6 pm on Tuesday for the public and VVIPs to pay final tributes before being buried at the same place on Wednesday. Baba’s nephew Shankar Raju broke down, saying, “We are alone.” Former student of Sathya Sai Baba and present Principal Secretary (finance) L V Subramanya said: “This is one thing that I did not want to experience but not everything that we want happens the way we want…”
The Andhra Pradesh government has declared a four-day mourning in the state to honour Baba’s memory.
Ironically, the day the world celebrates as the day Jesus Christ resurrected himself, brought to an end the life of one of India’s most celebrated godmen, ending decades of spiritual life accompanied by charity, public service and chequered by controversies. Born in a humble backward caste family on November 23, 1926, Baba emerged as one of the most popular godmen in India in modern times.
Initially, he attracted attention through acts like producing from thin air articles like sacred ash and ‘lingam’ which his detractors claimed was a sleight of hand, but later he came to be known for his founding institutions of learning and philanthropy. Baba considered himself a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. Baba had once prophesied that he would live till the age of 96.
The charisma of the spiritual leader, though, has not faded with his death. Thousands of devotees from all walks of life and all over the world made a beeline to the hall where “sacred darshan” had been arranged.
Extreme grief and sorrow was the dominant emotion in Puttaparthi as hundreds of people on the street were seen openly crying and mourning his death.
As a reflection of his ability to draw people towards him, VVIPs including Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, actor Chiranjeevi, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Stalin and RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat flocked to get a final glimpse of Sai Baba, while Sachin Tendulkar, former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan and Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil are among those expected on Monday.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, while expressing grief announced Wednesday as a public holiday for Ananthpur district.
“Eighty five years of love and peace” may well be the epitaph for Sathya Sai Baba but some of his grieving devotees are still hopeful of their deity reincarnating himself, like another miracle.
