A trip to Joshua Tree National Park, California

Joshua Tree though only 80 miles from Riverside,  it is only after four years that the trip to this obscure desert park finally came to be. The ocean and the greener parks have a much stronger pull on me, and from what I had gathered about this place, spiny trees and barren rocks,  it is not surprising that there was not a strong desire in me to visit this deserted land scape. After spending one day driving and walking in this desolate wilderness, I have to admit that it has a charm and beauty of its own, which though not gregarious of the abundant greenery or the giggling river or the infinite ocean or the towering mountain, can be compared to that of a silent dissenter. 


Our team, ironically consisting of citizens of two different nations but speaking the same language-Bengali, started a little later than 8 in the morning. With six Bangladeshis , Tushar, Sourav da and myself, it had a pre-partition all Bengal representation. We got some fruits, breads and lots of drinks. It was less than two hours when we reached the Information Center of the Western Entrance of the Park. I called up mom to hear Mamata got an euphoric welcome back in Kolkata.


Armed with the map of the park, we embarked on our expedition. Soon we found ourselves surrounded by Joshua trees, from which the park derived its name, thousands of them. They were indeed interesting looking trees, bearing an uncanny resemblance to a lanky guy with a crazy hairdo and multiple stretched arms.The entire land scape was strewn with these trees when they were surrounded  by equally interesting looking rock formations. The most curious of them was the one aptly named "Skull Rock". We criss-crossed the park, at times scrambling the rocks, catching a misty panoramic view of the Palm Spring Valley from a vantage point ( the mist  a result of the pollution), and simply rambled in the rocky arid terrain. Other than the Joshua trees, there were different kinds of cactii and shrubs dotting the land. One remarkable kind was the Cholla Cactus. Woolly and innocuous in its appearance, light green in color, about three or four feet in height, they are notorious for their sharp spines. Hundreds of them covered a large area called the "Cholla Cactus Garden", which had a board at its entrance saying "If the plant bears any helpful or even innocent part in the scheme of things on this planet, I should be glad to hear of it"- J Smeaton Chase, curtly expressing the feeling of an utilitarian mind.


The most memorable part of the trip came with the sunset-saunter in the meandering sandy path, which can be mistaken to be a riverbed, cutting through the hilly slopes on two sides and flanked by trees greener and fleshier than the ones we saw all day. It was the Cottonwood Springs.The stroll in the shadow of the setting sun together with the cool breeze caressing our faces, and the gentleness of the place contrasted to the ragged landscape that we saw all day, brought a refreshing and rejuvenating element to it and we savored every moment of it.


The glow of the setting sun covered the entire landscape with a stillness and a quiet glory. Slowly the sky turned scarlet, then deep purple, finally dissolving into black. No sooner the entire sky revealed the countless gems which lied hidden in its bosom, the twinkling and sparkling stars, like crushed diamonds, popping up in endless numbers from every corner, unhindered and unobstructed from the city's pollution and light. The moon was conspicuous in its absence. The majesty and the mystery, which remains shrouded from us otherwise, as if in the characteristic divine humorous way, reminded us of how small and insignificant we are in the order of things, but at the same time, how we have been blessed with the most extraordinary of all things in creation, the awareness to witness them and get awed. 

His presence in everything I behold, His grandeur and glory, it filled my mind through out the day. It is He who envelops everything and fills it with His essence, consciousness. Once again I realized, that it's in nature, almost untouched by humans, that He reveals Himself the most. It is in such places that one feels connected to Him, almost effortlessly, with an intimacy which eludes us in the concrete jungle.

-May 2009

Obama and the Muslim world

President Barrack Obama addressed the Muslim world from the pulpit of the Cairo University a few hours ago. Exhorting Islam's hoary past, its myriad and rich contributions in making of the human civilization as we know today, as well as their inability to address some fundamental issues facing the world today, Obama brought out the dichotomy cutting across the Muslim world- that of their zealous adherence to their tradition and faith and that of confronting modernity and progress as defined by the West. Rather than commenting on Obama's speech, let me articulate my thoughts about the Muslim world, their complex world view and their even more complicated engagement with the non-muslim world.


From the 10th century till about 15th-16th century, the Muslim people where not only the most powerful, but where also intellectually, academically, and culturally much more advanced than their European counterparts, who were still rolling in the dark middle ages. That was the period which saw Islam spreading in all directions from its Arabic epi-center, taking with them not only their faith in One Allah and His Prophet, but also their art, science, culture and politics to distant lands. They came and conquered India, they swept through East Asian countries, they spread over Africa and interestingly they also conquered vast stretches of Europe, including Spain and France. It was the golden era of Islam. It is also reported that the works and philosophy of ancient Greece- that of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, were preserved by the Arab intellectuals of the Muslim world, before passing them on to European hands, which would ultimately play a major role as a precursor to the European Renaissance and Enlightenment. It would not be an exaggeration to state that Islam was the dominating power of the world in those centuries.


But then with the rise of European Colonial powers, together with the explosion of ideas during the period of Renaissance, slowly but surely the baton of dominance passed on from the Muslim/Arab hands to the Christian/European hands. The Muslims also faced some crushing and humiliating defeats at the hands of the Europeans, especially in Europe and Eurasia. In Europe, political power got concentrated in the hands of the Church. But at the same time new world changing ideas in science and philosophy, influenced by the spirit of rationalism and skepticism of Aristotle and Plato, started rocking the new epi-center of world power- Europe. 


While Europe witnessed increasing conflict between the Faith and the Reason in those centuries and ideas like liberty, rationality, sovereignty, democracy, freedom were born of that tumultuous wedlock between the Church and Free thought,  the Muslim world quietly retreated into their ghetto, sulking in their loss of power, defensive and determined to remain free from European influence. Uninhibited pursuit of knowledge and an invigorating intellectual life, which was how Islamic civilization can be characterized between 8th-15th century was all but replaced by indoctrinated and dogmatic understanding of the Holy Quran, and a civilization based on it. Uncertainty and loss of power in the political domain led to certitude and exclusivity in religion.The separation of Europe  and the culture of European Enlightenment and the Arab world with its own understanding of the world, rooted in their interpretation of the Holy Quran, was almost complete. Perhaps some vestiges of interaction remained in the periodic clashes of the two sides, but that only increased the feelings of hostility and bitterness. 


Over the last few centuries majority of the followers of Islam have defined their identity based on a defensive mindset with regards to their faith. In their forced exclusion, they have rigorously created this division of Us vs. Them- the faithful vs the infidels. This differentiation was central to their self-identity. The difference in the attitude of the Muslims of the 9th-10th century, who at the height of their glory and power, self-confident and sure of their faith, were far more liberal and tolerant of diverse ideas, and even learning from and preserving those foreign ideas, and the Islam of 17th,18th and 19th century which was hostile to outside influence, parochial and inward looking, cannot be more striking.


But the world started changing very quickly from the middle of 19th century and by 20th century the two sides were again face to face. But clearly the Europeans and European ideas where ruling the world. All the major political ideologies of 20th century- Nationalism, Socialism, Communism, Nazism, Fascism- were born in Europe, as did all the major scientific break throughs and discoveries. The big colonial powers were European, in fact, large Muslim populated areas were colonies of Christian European powers- mainly British, but also Portuguese, French and Spanish.That is the proud and zealous Muslims, who were not completely reconciled to their humiliating defeat by the Christian Europeans, now vastly superior and definitely more powerful, where again confronting each other. Though a few centuries have passed, the tides of resentment have not really ebbed between the two worlds and the tension could always be felt under the surface. 


When we look at the events of the world today with this back ground, we would have a clearer perspective and a better understanding of them. 

June 5th 2009.

Dearest Didi

Dearest Didi,


       This letter is long over due, let me admit right away.


       I always thought of writing to you after your spectacular victory last year, not only to congratulate you but also to express the exhilaration I felt to see the Communists at last being thrown out of Bengal. When most of us resigned to the fate of an indefinite thuggish cadre-raj of the all pervasive party, to the indefinite subservience to the arrogance of the  self-righteous  dhuti-clad Marx-Lenin-Mao quoting bhodrolok netas, to the indefinite stifling of all creativity leading to the flight of the most talented and the brightest of Bengal’s boys and girls away from the shores of Bengal, to the indefinite irritation of a political culture of bandhs and empty slogans, and most of all, to the toxic intrusion of party politics in all spheres of life,  you carried on your improbable and almost impossible struggle against the most entrenched of powers, at times alone, sometimes battered, often ridiculed, but yet unfazed . In spite of facing mightiest of odds your spirit remained untrammeled. Your resolve and determination remained unshaken. And then at the end of a long and lonely battle of over three decades, when Bengal unabashedly rewarded and blessed you and your incredible doggedness, I was not only beside myself in joy, but also awed by your stupendous life-force. Didi, you veritably appeared to have personified the power of Shakti to many of us!


      Didi, I was born in the early years of the CPI(M)-regime. Many of us forget that it was in those years that contained the seed of your most humble political beginning. I heard that in those initial days of your political life, you went around pasting Congress party posters on the walls of Kolkata. Is it true indeed?  Coming as you did from lower-middle class strata of our society, with no convent education, or with little middle-class sophistication, perhaps the only way you could move ahead in the treacherous world of politics is by honing your raw street-fighting instincts in your uncompromising and often visceral opposition to the ruling establishment. You were a woman in the world dominated by men. Even today after all these years, I find it difficult to name one other woman politician of our country (or for that matter in all of south Asia) of any consequence, who did not come from the higher echelons of our society, or more importantly did not have a powerful male figure propping them up. How could you achieve this inconceivable feat Didi?


      Of course we know how you were physically assaulted by the CPI(M) goons, and at least on one of those occasions you were inches away from a fatal consequence.  We also know how you had to walk out of the Congress party, even as their wily leaders tried to contain you from your uncompromising crusade against the Communists. We remember how you caused wrinkles to form on the otherwise unfazed foreheads of the Left leadership in those first elections that you faced with your newly formed Trinamool Congress party. In those years, I remember, and I’ll be honest with you, though many of us eagerly wanted the Left to go, somewhere deep within we were wary of your impulsive emotional style of politics. Used to as we were to the façade of civility of the politicians of the day, your brand of deeply personal and earthy politics made us unsure of your viability as the administrative head of our state. The question was, would you be able to translate the fury on the street to the much needed functioning of the State? And it took almost ten years for us to cross over that hesitation and bless you with an overwhelming mandate. Surely Didi, you earned it and to an extent, we were convinced that you were squarely on the road to transformation from an unrelenting rebel to a responsible guardian of the state.


       But we forgot Didi, that like much of the pitiable state of affairs of Bengal, you too have been a product of the pernicious three decades of the CPI(M) regime. Your entire political life was shaped in the lurking shadow of the Communist rule, and your almost improbable political ascent has been defined by the magnitude of the shrillness of your reactions to the machinations of that regime. Perhaps in your incessant struggle against the Communists, in a cruel irony, unwittingly you internalized some of their perfidious ways.  In your austere life style, in your rallying behind the poor and the oppressed, in your courting the intellectuals and the civil society, in your obdurate street-fighting instincts, in your fasts and in your bouts of fury, you actually succeeded in out-smarting the Communists in their own political idiom. Borrowing their rhetoric, you actually made it more shrill and subverted them in their own home-turf. In some ways Didi, you embody the legacy of the three decades of a retrograde communist regime, may be much to your own chagrin. 


      In our excitement and jubilation in the initial months after your glorious victory, we perhaps overlooked this reality. So happy we were to see the Marxists gone, we indulged ourselves in thinking that at last we have cast off any lingering shadow of Marxist influence for good! But Didi, with the news of the recent events that are coming out of our state, and more disturbingly your reactions, perhaps inadvertently, to some of them, we have been almost violently shaken up from a state of blissful stupor. For us, who welcomed your meteoric rise and your eventual installation as the CM of our state, it is somewhat embarrassing and disturbing, but to be honest, not entirely surprising. Our disappointment  is mainly because we see in your recent actions a dark shadow of the vanquished Stalinist regime. 


      Didi, what you have achieved so far is nothing short of impossible. The biggest strength you possess is you grit and tenacity. You have your share of weaknesses too, which I am sure you very much aware of. But in spite of them, your strengths outdid your weaknesses and you succeeded in ejecting the malevolent Communist regime from our State of West Bengal. That was nothing short of a political miracle. Now Didi we are desperately hoping to see you perform even a greater miracle- that of cleansing your psyche of any remaining malicious Communist influence that you loathed and fought against for much of your life. 


     The tendency to see an insidious conspiracy lurking behind every mishap, the temptation to divide society based on political loyalty, the urge to indulge in foolhardy populism, the unfortunate compulsion of shielding thuggish political workers, the tendency to stifle any expression of dissent and disenchantment with the ruling establishment, the diffidence associated with transferring officials and restructuring the administration to serve one’s political purpose,  Didi we have seen this is what characterized the Communist regime in Bengal for over three decades. When we elected you, Didi,  with that overwhelming majority, we thought that we have brought an end to this baneful political culture that plagued our state for so long. But now we see some of these very qualities peeping out through the cracks and crevices of your government and your leadership. Will it be impossible Didi to get rid of these last vestiges of the Communist regime that you inherited in some ways, which is what the people of West Bengal actually wanted to see when they blessed you raising both their arms?


        You have thrown out the Marxists from the Writer's Building, now, will you not be able to throw them out of your system? Indeed this is a much more daunting task, needing much more than grit and guts. But on this will depend your true success, your enduring legacy and the fulfillment of hopes and aspirations of millions of hapless Bengalis, crushed under a brutal regime for far too long.


I must say, I have not lost hope on you Didi. Not yet.


Best regards,
-Debarshi.
Hyderabad.

A moment of lucidity...

          I was standing by the bus stop, like I do every day of the week, waiting for my office bus to come. To be honest, I was becoming a little impatient and badly wanted it to come as soon as possible, so that I can escape into its quiet air-conditioned space, away from the dust, heat and chaos that seemed to swirl all around me in that corner of the street. 


          The road in front of me was teeming with faces, making me feel as if half of Hyderabad has converged there. Though it was just ten in the morning, most of them already looked tired and weary. But in most of them, I could also discern a sense of quiet determination and a steely sense of purpose. Each of those faces, I surmised, must be clothing a mind, preoccupied with the intensity of their own narratives. And as this idea developed in my mind with all its implications, not only did I find it a revelation, but also redeeming!


          In a flash of a moment, I realized the complete fallacy and sheer absurdity of my self-pity, bitterness and a sense of betrayal with which I was approaching the many things that were happening around me. My helplessness was accentuated by the fact that there was little I could do to change or alter the chain of events, almost bordering on insanity, I was finding myself hemming me from all sides. Though I resisted every attempt to give into a sense of despair and dejection, a feeling of rancor would swell within me whenever I would dwell on the unfairness and unjustness of it all. 


        But on that morning, in all that chaos and confusion, submerged in an unknown crowd of humanity, a calm and contentment descended on my mind. And in that moment of unexpected lucidity, I realized how foolish it would be to depend on things, people and situations to make me happy. How futile it is to expect this world pulsating with a few billion souls, all entrapped in their own stories of woes and worries, to single me out, a puny speck of an individual, and relieve me of all my imagined feelings of pain and hurt. Every moment I loose in feelings of resentment and indignation, I have failed to appreciate the beauty and joy of life itself. The greatest miracle I have always held is to be alive and feel the throbbing force of life coursing through one’s veins. What can be more beautiful and exhilarating than accepting the incredible blessing of life itself with all it has to offer? 


       In the end, I realized, it’s a lonely world. And it is only up to me, how I choose to make the best of the time allotted to me by the unseen hands of destiny. At times we can choose the things we do, and at other times when there is little we can do, we can still choose the way we react to the things that happen to us.


 One alone is responsible for one's state of mind. No one and nothing else matters. 

उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं नात्मानमवसादयेत् |

    आत्मैव ह्यात्मनो बन्धुरात्मैव रिपुरात्मनः ||

One should raise oneself through the self,

and never lower oneself;

For the self alone is one's friend,

And the self alone is one's enemy.

Bhagawad Gita 6:5.

From Form to Formless...

       Today is Mother Eashwaramma day. The day when 39 years ago, the Avatar's chosen mother shed her physical coil. The day which since then has been celebrated as one dedicated to the "Chosen Mother", in gratitude, for conferring on mankind the greatest gift- the avatar of the age, the most beautiful of all human forms, the very embodiment of all that is auspicious, truth and beauty. And on this day, I have chosen to write down about the passing away of that amazing beautiful form, the form that captivated millions for over eight decades, the form that gave strength and solace untiringly to hundreds of thousands, the form that inspired love, purity and selflessness in thousands on a scale that the world has never seen. The form that claimed to be the "embodiment of all forms of divinity"- sarva-devata-swaroopa. The form that was my anchor, my rock of Gibraltar, my most cherished object on the face of this planet. That form is no more. Or should I write, that form chose to transcend to become formless. That form, which was described as "ocean in a ink bottle", chose to break free and again become the boundary-less all encompassing ocean. But what ever I might say, the passing away of that form will leave behind a gaping hole in the hearts of the millions who had the greatest good fortune to have come to His presence, to have been touched by His inexpressible sweetness. 

    Swami, you will be dearly dearly missed, though we know You will continue to live in the deepest recesses of our hearts, and around us as the Cosmic Sai.

They declared it on April 24th:

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is no more with us physically. He left His earthly body on 24th April, 2011, at 0740 hrs. due to cardio-respiratory failure.

Bhagawan Baba's Body will lie in state at Sai Kulwant Hall for two days (Monday and Tuesday). Arrangements will be made for Darshan after 1800 hrs. today, at Sai Kulwant Hall.

     And with this declaration, curtain came down not only to the most amazing phenomenon on the planet, but also to the earnest prayers in the heart of the millions, who fervently hoped and prayed their dearest Swami will not disappoint them and pull His self up from the hospital bed and be in their midst again. But it turned out the Avatar had chosen a different plan for Himself.

     A week before He was hospitalized because of His irregular heart beat, on March 20th, He folded His hands in a gesture of thanking to the assembled devotees in Sai Kulwant Hall. With this one gesture of Namaskar, of gratitude, of a final good bye, or perhaps apologizing to all His millions of devotees- that it is time now to put an end to His self-imposed limitations and return to His formless infinite state, a gesture he had never ever done before, he conveyed so much. It reveals that this was exactly how the Avatar willed it. That this was part of the master-plan. That this was not outside the script the Avatar had wrote for Himself. That He was till the end in complete control.


 During the preparation of His 85th birthday last November, he gave indication to make all the arches and decorations to be made of a permanent nature, unlike previous years, when they were made only for the occasion to be brought down after the celebrations. Such were the Divine hints of the imminent exit. But poor hapless humans that we are, we failed to look through the Divine Plan.

        I was talking with my mother over phone, and constantly refreshing the www.radiosai.org and the www.sssbpt.org on that fateful Saturday night (It was Sunday morning in India). Usually they put that day's morning health bulletin by 830-845 pm our time (I was in Arizona, USA, in PST time zone). But that evening it was almost 9 15 pm , and there was no update. I started to have a bad feeling, when soon I discovered that they have declared Swami was physically no more.For sometime I went blank. I did not know how to react, what to react. A feeling  of utter despair and sorrow engulfed me, and my heart wanted to burst out crying. But not a drop of tear flowed out of my tear-ducts, as if all the fluids in my body had dried up. 

    Swami's passing was the only news on all the channels, all over India. What Swami did not do in His life, with all His mega service projects, with all His Divine display of superhuman powers, He did that in His shedding of the physical form. Sai's name resonated from every home, from every corner of the country of 1.2 Billion. Nay from all parts of the world. All major newspaper all around the world reported on Him. The little boy of a god-forbidden nondescript Rayalseema village, was hailed as the Avatar of the Age, and seemed to have plunged the entire planet into mourning. The hundreds of thousands of people from all walks of life, the Presidents and the Prime-ministers, the cricketing gods and the silver-screen divas, the yoga gurus and the corporate honchos, all were united in their grief and paying obeisance to the One who was so many things to so many people. When was the last time humanity saw such unity of purpose on one man’s passing?

     For me those moments that I was supremely blessed to be in His presence will remain my most precious possessions for all the time to come. They will be my shield in times of challenge, my source of inspiration when I'll be in gloom, most cherished memories etched in my consciousness till my last breath. They will be the memories that I will relive with my friends and family, children and grandchildren,  when they will be awed and incredulous listening to those marvelous mind-boggling stories. 


    Swami, may those memories remain as fresh as ever, may time have no influence on them, may I feel your touch and your Love that I saw in your eyes for ever and ever, may those amazing words in your amazing inimitable voice ever ring on my ears. May I remain always aware of your all encompassing Presence. For ever and ever. 

-May 6, 2011.

Kahaani

      


       

     A slow slumbering Saturday was once again upon me.  The week had left me exhausted.  The difficulties that had fallen on me, I was too tired to even complain about their unfairness. The loss of trust and betrayal had left a bitter taste in my mouth. As the solitary shaft of the morning light slipped into my room through the creaks in the window, I sat up clumsily, whispering a silent prayer and trying to think of the day ahead. Instead my mind fleeted backwards (Ah! the mind! When will it ever listen to me?!) to the days when things were different, when people were different, when Saturdays were different. I tried not to feel bad about them. I tried not to feel bitter. I tried not to feel terrible. My mind, surprisingly, listened to me for once.


Feeling the menacing morning heat all over my body, I stepped out of my bed wondering whether I should pamper myself with an AC this summer. The heat and the summer reminded me of my year in Arizona! Oh how I loved complaining about its heat! I found it strange, as much as I complained about the intolerable mercury level of the Grand Canyon State of USA, it was not without a touch of fondness. 


I turned the newspaper munching on my break-fast, clearly my mind pre-occupied with a hundred things. These days my mind remains occupied with so many things! I tried to pay attention to the comments on Pranab babu’s budget by the financial pundits. But soon the mind escaped again. Ah! the mind!


I sat staring at my lap-top. I played some music, and soon my room was filled with soothing vibrations. Alone in my room, I felt liberated. I felt a strange satisfaction and a power of conviction. The dark lumbering clouds that filled my mind over the last few days, something deep inside assured me will dissolve soon.  Feeling much lighter and better, I decided for Kahani  in the evening. 


Kahani- I’ve heard enough good things about it to wean me away from my instinctive hesitation for a Bollywood movie. The setting being Calcutta, the gorgeous Vidya Balan being the protagonist, the fast-paced thriller being the theme- all of it sounded like a delicious combination. And as luck would have it I got a good corner seat right at the back when I booked my ticket online.


And what a movie it was! Watching it I soon found myself back in the all so familiar grimy streets of the City of Joy, my own Calcutta!  It is now my seventh year that I am staying away from her. Watching the movie made me realize how deeply I am still connected to her, in spite of my never ending complains and grudges. The noise, the warmth, the rain, the clouds, all felt like an extension of my ownself, which in the din of things I almost forgot. The women wrapped in saris, exactly the way I see my mother wearing it, I felt as if I have known them forever.  The crowded streets, the chai wallahs, the narrow alleys, the glistening faces- all took me back to the time when they were so familiar that  I hardly noticed them. And yes, how can I forget the Durga Puja! The annual advent of the Divine Mother fills the air of Calcutta with a festivity that only a Calcuttan can feel and connect to. The flashing lights, the splendid pandals, the wide-eyed bejeweled idols of Ma Durga, showering un-inhibitedly  her divine benedictions on all her children, the defiant spirit of exhilaration in an otherwise capricious city, all of that came rushing back to me. After all these years.


But what filled my heart, in this season of betrayal and ingratitude is that the power of love is still the strongest. It can fill the spirit with so much resilience, that even the most insurmountable hurdles fizzles away when faced with it. The strength that wells up in the heart, pure and unsullied, what can stand in its way? The inevitability of what is right and goodness to prevail over what is wrong and unjust,  I walked out of the dark theater into the bright multiplex, once again reassured of this faith. I could hear Tagore's immortal lines "Jodi tor daak shune keu na ashe tobe ekla cholo re" (If no one heeds to your call, then walk alone!) as it  floated out of the theater before getting drowned in the cheerful chattering.

A response to Vir Sanghvi's allegations on Sathya Sai Baba

This is a letter written to Mr. Vir Sanghvi in response to his article on Satya Sai Baba in 2006 that appeared in his column Counterpoint. I happened to chance on it again today and thought of sharing it. I did not get any reply from him. Today Vir Sanghvi remains embroiled and discredited after the Nira Radia case, while Satya Sai Baba has attained Mahasamadhi and ever since has been hailed as a Divine Incarnation by more and more people and His unimaginable contribution to Humanity finding ever increasing recognition. He continues to guide and inspire millions of His devotees to become better human beings.

Dear Mr. Sanghvi,

      I don't know whether I should write this email to you in the first place. I had and perhaps still have a high regard for your views on a wide range of issues. I find them well nuanced, filled with conviction, and most importantly refreshingly unbiased and to a large extent unopinionated . But your recent column on Sri Satya Sai Baba has completely dissappointed me. It seemed reading your article that you are somehow deeply disturbed by the growing following of Sai Baba and have an urgency to express your displeasure without trying to understand why and how he became what he is considered to be - a divine incarnation worshipped and revered by millions all across the world.

    Your column has three main allegations against him.


    1. The homosexual allegations.
    2. His alleged miracles.
    3. If he is God why doesn't he do this, this and this.

   Let me take them one by one.


   1. Homosexual allegations :
      
Satya Sai Baba declared his Divine Mission at the age of 14 in the remote remote village of his birth, Puttaparthi in 1940. A westerner visiting in late 1960s described the village as "10 minutes past the stone age". Today his followers number a few millions. And the name and fame of that little hopeless hamlet has reached all corners of the planet. You mention rather ambiguously that the number of allegations against Baba have reached "triple figure mark". That means a few hundreds. Of course all those allegations have no verifiable evidence whatsoever, and almost never taken to any court of law. But even then, what is your source for such allegations Mr Sanghvi? All that you could scramble scourging the net using google search is that the number of allegations have reached "triple figure mark"! You also mention that all the allegations came from his Western "devotees" and not a single Indian. NO INDIANS. If there is any truth to those allegations then surely one would expect at least a few Indians to also have similar experiences to complain about? After all there were ONLY Indian devotees in the younger days of Sai Baba. The westerners started coming only from 1970s when Baba was in his 50s. There should have been a few. Right? But not even one!! If there can be cases against the Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers, of course somebody could have gone to court with these. But did anybody go to the court with these allegations Mr Sanghvi?


Yes of those "hundreds", on record ONLY ONE "devotee" of US went to court with these allegations. Did you keep this news? Do you know what happened?


  The young man who made most of these allegations against Satya Sai Baba and who was the star accuser in the malicious and vicious BBC documentary, filed a case in California in January, 2005. 
The case was set for hearing on April 28 th, 2006. 
During the handling of the lawsuit, witnesses were identified and interviewed, who were present in Prashanti Nilayam, when the molestations alleged by the plaintiff were supposed to have taken place. 
One of the witnesses, Mr. Kreydick was examined by lawyers and the proceedings were recorded on video tape. This happened on March 16 th, 2006 . Subsequently, the video deposition was made into a typed deposition, which Mr. Kreydick signed on April 7 th, 2006 . He also issued a personal statement to the effect that although he originally believed in the allegations made against Sai Baba, he later discovered that there were many critical discrepancies and contradictions in the allegations made by the plaintiff and the anti-Sai community in general. His said that all these allegations had a hidden bias. He therefore retracted his earlier position in support of the allegations. 
This marked the turning point. The young man who filed the complaint then dismissed his own lawsuit on April 19 th, 2006.

The case was then dismissed with prejudice. It means no damages to the plaintiff, and that the case can never be filed again in any court in America or in India.


Its sorry the google searches you did never came up with this information.
Well Goebles was right in a limited sense. If you can repeat the same lie again and again it becomes a truth. At least to some! And I am so sorry Mr Sanghvi you fell for the trap. It was not at all expected from you.

I think thats enough on the first allegation. If you care to know the truth, be truthful to yourself and find out for yourself what is the truth out there. Who are spreading these misinformations. Which people are funding. And why they are doing this.
Try to find out who are these people who are harping these false allegations. There is a common element to all of them . You will then see why its the way it is.


2. Miracles


  Well Sai Baba has made it clear many times the so called miracles are only a very small part of his reality. Sadly his overenthusiastic devotees give them more importance than his teachings. But thats beside the point. Lets adress the issue squarely.


You said that "The sad reality of the Sai Baba's 'miracles' is that every single one of them can easily be duplicated by even a moderately-talented conjuror." If it was so simple, our country if not the whole world would have been dotted by Sai Babas! At least there would have been a few thousand free super-speciality hospitals and universities. If it was so simple why only ONE Sai Baba? Now don't say he enjoys political clout. He started as a simple village boy born in desperately poor conditions, with only middle school education, and absolutely no connection to the high and mighty. The powerful started coming only much later when the amazing stories about Him started making rounds . But today He is the spiritual leader with millions of followers coming from all kinds of back grounds from all over the world? Can you tell me ONE more "miracle-monger" who have achieved this in the history of mankind?


I am pretty sure dear Mr. Sanghvi you have never seen the Baba. It is not his miracles that brings millions to him. Its not vibhootis or watches. Its not even vibhuti and a host of other kind of materializations that reportedly takes place in his photographs all over the world. There are many sages and saints even now in our country who have their siddhic or yogic powers which would appear to us as super-natural. Read "Autobiography of a Yogi"by Paramhamsa Yogananda. You will understand what I am saying. Miracle-men are not new to our country. But still we have only ONE Satya Sai Baba. Do you know why? Visit him once if you are at all interested. You will understand.


You can fool a few for a few years by cheap magic tricks. What is it the mystery by which Baba has endured all the vicious attacks over the last 8 decades? Why inspite of all the scepticism from different quarters he is pulling more and more people from all walks of life to Him and his Divine mission?  Only by trash magic? C'mon Mr Sanghvi you cannot be serious!

3. If he is God why doesn't he do this, this and this.

 At last you have a serious point!


 I don't know if you believe in the existence of God. If you do the question doesn't make any sense. Even if I accept your view that Sai Baba is not divine, then what about the God whom you believe? Why does not He/She/It solve the problems of life on earth? This is an old philosophical qiestion. And I am sure you know the answers from both sides of the divide.


If you don't believe in God...then what more can I say? Why only Sai Baba, Jesus, Nanak, Krishna, RamaKrishna  and all of them were hoaxes!


You say why doesn't he cure himself. Why did not jesus , being the "son of God" save himself? Why did Paramahamsa Ramakrishna  not cure his cancer? He said he talks with the divine mother! Surely she clould have cured him, if not he  himself! The matter is much more profound than that Mr. Sanghvi.  Physical sufferring is inevitable as long as the body is there. The divine beings teach us with their lives. Their life is their message. There have been thousands of well documented cases of healings done by Satya Sai Baba, only if you cared to find out. But he chooses not to heal his body. Because he wants his devotees to rise above the level of body-consciousness. I don't know if you will get me. Anyways.

Dear Mr. Sanghvi. I am 25,pursuing my PhD in Statistics from university of California. I grew up in the same city that you grew up in , Calcutta. I went to Don Bosco School. The reason I am saying this is because please try to understand why  me and thousands of young persons like me look up to Satya Sai Baba  as a beacon of Hope for mankind, a source of motivation and inspiration to serve the society, to foster brotherhood and love. It is  not the watches or the Vibhutis, Mr Sanghvi.


You have mentioned about his social service programes. I am aware of RK Mission. I am greatly devoted to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Swami Vivekananda. And I hate to compare. But Mr. Sanghvi, RK Mission gained the stature it did  after almost half a  century of the passing away of Swami Vivekananda and even then have you seriously objectively considered and compared the Projects undertaken by Satya Sai Baba with that of RK Mission or for that matter any Non-governmental sector organization? If you really did, you could not come up with such a preposterous statement! The projects of Sai Baba are all inspired by him, executed by him and offered to the service of mankind in his very lifetime, involving thousands of crores of rupees and bringing together thousands of men inspiring them to work selflessly in a scale seldom seen before in the annals of history! Have you pondered on that for a few seconds Mr Sanghvi?


    Can you tell me ONE Superspeciality hospital which offers the best of medical treatments TOTALLY FREE OF COST anywhere acorss this world? Can you tell me of ONE organisation which got life altering fresh drinking water to thousands of villages in the most arid regions quenching the thirsts of millions? Can you tell me of ONE Educational institution which has been offering the best education from kindergarten level to post graduation level in arts, commerce and sciences completely free of cost!! Anywhere in this world? By any organisation? Can you tell me of one other spiritual master who has a following of millions spread over more than 180 countries without ever making a visit outside India save for a lone visit to Africa in the 1960s?

And you still think its all cheap magic?

You have been a wonderful newsperson. I really look forward to your columns every week. But I don't know if I can again read your columns with the same appreciation as before.  It does not matter to us who have or do not have faith in Satya Sai Baba, in what you or the whole world writes about him, or what you or anybody else who have not experienced him think him to be. Our faith stems from a deeper source, of our own authentic deeply personal experience of him. And it is reassured every day in a myriad of ways. I do not expect you or anybody else who have not made the effort to experience him get it. But we definitely wish more and more people could live in the same hope, in the same love and in the same truth, that millions of us do. If only they were sincere in finding out!


Only then you would understand why millions wait for hours  to have just a glimpse of their  beloved Baba. And loves him more than anything else.



Thank you,
Debarshi Dey.