Captured Venezuelan president Maduro, wife once sought blessings of Satya Sai Baba, visited Puttaparthi

Hyderabad: Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores who are now in US custody were ardent devotees of Indian spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba of Andhra Pradesh. The couple made a quiet, low-profile visit to Prashanthi Nilayam - Sai Baba’s ashram in Puttaparthi in 2005 to seek his blessings.

At the time, Maduro was serving as Venezuela’s foreign affairs minister, and Flores was the president of the legislature. It is understood that Maduro also conveyed a personal message during the centenary birth celebrations of Sathya Sai Baba held in November last year.

“When he visited Prashanti Nilayam in 2005 along with the minister of education, Baba gave him and his family an audience. He (Maduro) was then the foreign affairs minister and was accompanied by his wife, Cilia Flores, who was the president of the legislature. One of the founders of the Fifth Republic Movement, Maduro has always kept a photograph of Baba in his office and has had an illustrious career,” said Sathya Sai Central Trust in April 2013 when Maduro was first announced as interim president of Venezuela.

In his message last November, Maduro referred to Sai Baba as a “being of light”, recalling their meeting with reverence. “I always remember him when we met. May the wisdom of this great teacher continue to enlighten us,” he wrote.

The Sai Trust noted that Venezuela holds a special place among the 113 countries where the Sathya Sai movement is active. The first Sai Centre was inaugurated in Caracas in 1974, followed by the first Education in Human Values (EHV) teachers’ workshop in 1987. The Trust also runs a school and the Institute of Human Values in Venezuela, while regularly organizing medical camps and public meetings to spread awareness of Sai Baba’s teachings and humanitarian work.

When Sathya Sai Baba passed away in April 2011, under Maduro’s influence as then foreign minister, the Venezuelan National Assembly passed an official Condolence Resolution. The government declared a day of national mourning, formally recognizing Sai Baba’s spiritual contributions to humanity and his impact on the Venezuelan people.

It is believed that Cilia Flores introduced Maduro to the teachings of Sai Baba. In the President’s private office, Maduro kept a large framed portrait of Sathya Sai Baba in a place of honour.

'Sai Movement' roots in Venezuela trace back to 1972

The Sai movement’s roots in Venezuela trace back to 1972, when Arlette Meyer and Elizabeth Palmer of the Latin American country first visited Prashanthi Nilayam. Palmer had earlier learned of Sai Baba through one Indira Devi and had visited him in 1968 and 1970. Her early journeys to Puttaparthi, then a modest rural ashram, required great personal preparation bringing along food, sleeping mats, and kitchen utensils as facilities for foreign visitors were minimal.

After consulting Dr. John Hislop, a senior member of the Sai Organization, Arlette founded the first Sathya Sai Centre in Venezuela in Caracas on August 22, 1974. The seven founding members met in her apartment, singing bhajans along with cassette recordings by Janet Bock and studying Sathya Sai Speaks.

As awareness grew, particularly after the distribution of Sai Baba: Man of Miracles, a book imported from Mexico, the number of followers gradually increased. Arlette continued translating Sai literature into Spanish, including Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. I (1977), Gita Vahini (1978), Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains (1976), and Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (1980), followed by subsequent volumes through Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. VII in 1990, said Satya Sai Central Trust.

Each publication listed the contact details of the Sai Centre, which helped draw new devotees.

Venezuelan Executive Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who is now named interim president, is also a devoted follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. She has visited the Prasanthi Nilayam ashram in Puttaparthi on multiple occasions to pay her respects at the Maha Samadhi, the memorial of thespiritual leader.

Rodríguez’s visits have been described as personal in nature. During these pilgrimages, she has spoken of experiencing deep joy, peace, and a profound sense of tranquility. Her most recent visit took place in October 2024, following an earlier one in August 2023.