Sai Baba: A Whiff of Fraud
(This article was written and adapted for Nirmukta by Sanjay Dadlani. The original post can be found here)
As a former devotee of Sathya Sai Baba I would like to relate an experience I had of his apparent omnipresence.
Back in my college days, travelling to the college naturally required me to cross a few streets when walking to the building. One morning, just as I was about to turn into a street crossing and walk over, the most fantastic smell entered my nostrils. It was the well-documented jasmine smell that is associated with the 
Baba and it was unmistakably ‘his scent’, and which led me to the conclusion that Sai Baba was near me in a disembodied and etheric form. Similar experiences have been reported by other devotees. I would have liked to have stopped there and inhale more of “the divine presence” had I not been conscious of my educational committments, and so I thanked Sai Baba for his presence with me that morning and moved on.
A few months later I found the same smell assaulting my nostrils. I was initially filled with a sense of wonder and was about to thank Sai Baba for his divine omnipresence again when I suddenly realised that I was at the same street-crossing and it was around the sametime as the previous experience!
Something sure smelled fishy, pun not intended, and I took a few minutes to do some detective work. I discovered that the smell was originating from a shop about 4-6 meters away from the street-crossing, a dry-cleaning business run by an Indian family. As a part of their own religiosity they had the custom of offering prayers to God before they started work, and sure enough there was a couple of agarbatti (incense) sticks burning in front of a deity’s picture. The smell had wafted out into the street because the shop door was kept open, and as I neared the entrance to the shop the smell became stronger. Incidentally, this family were devotees of Sathya Sai Baba though I do not recall noticing his picture there.
I was disgusted. Sick and thoroughly disgusted. Not only did I have to suffer the painful realisation that Sai
Baba was not with me at those instances, but I had to deal with the fact that I had bought into the propaganda that such events were typical of Sai Baba’s “omnipresence” when they had a perfectly mundane and rational explanation. It also made me wonder about the authenticity of the other experiences recorded by Sai devotees. Knowing their capacity for exaggeration, it’s perfectly possible that a large number of “omnipresence” instances accompanied by otherworldly smells and other ‘signs’ can have their occurrences explained in a similarly rational manner.
Written by Sanjay Dadlani
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May swami richly bless u all. Nd may u all find peace, jai sai ram
I don’t understand why these devotees couldn’t use their brain to think intelligently.
My basic questions are:
1. If he is a god man, why is he suffering with disabilities? Some people said, being in a human form, he should undergo the normal karmic cycle. Ok, they agree that this man had committed some sins in his previous birth, which should definitely disqualify him to be born as a god man.
2. While he is unable to cure his own decease, how could they expect him to treat theirs?
3. He has been proved of hoarding illegal treasures in his room. Now, people try to put the blame on his greedy nephew. So, this god couldn’t even mould his own nephew in to a good citizen, how could others expect godly blessing from him?
I can’t understand these people.
Santhi
I’m shocked to see ur foolishness.Ur mind was compl. involved in a fantasty ‘sai world’.Its offcourse part of the indian,hindu freternity to imagine all that glitters is gold.
Common sence is jus not common in the worshipping lot of people.Guys!Leave stop pointing out fingures,take the best & leave the rest for HIM to decide.
Dont 4get to put on ur thinking caps even in a religious matter.Reason out & function ur brain jus like how the open parachute does.
ACCEPT THE ONE’S OF THE ALMIGHTY!
Estimated assets grossed up with the sai trust is between 40K to 100K Cr. tax free money.
What was spent on hospitals/education and other charities is not more than 4K cr till date.
Trustee’s enjoy power & wealth. Most of the money ended up at the temples and these kind of trusts is not legally earned.
Politicians spend hell lot of money of tax payers for visiting these psudo’s.
donnow when people will learn.
How could u initially fall for that? u obviously were an educated person. Gosh, someone who did not finish primary could con graduates, learned man. I guess that.s the power of religion. There is no life after this. accept it! then u will have set urself free. isnt that what enligtenment is all about2
It is all whiff of fraud, this man is a fake, why do we want to believe in miracles performed by a human being? Believe in yourself. Not to mention that this cult is also dangerous. Go against them and you are finished.