Sathya Sai Baba breathes his last
Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba died at the Sathya Sai super speciality hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district today. Doctors said he died at 7.40 am of cardio-respiratory failure. The 84-year-old was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems.
His condition since Thursday morning had been described as "very critical" by doctors attending to him. Most of his organs were not responding to treatment. The condition of his liver and his low blood pressure were causing concern, they had said.
Godman to some, miracle-man to others and revered as God by lakhs of his followers, Sathya Sai Baba had the rich, famous and powerful from the world of politics, business, films and sport flocking to his doorstep in Puttaparthi, the small Andhra Pradesh village that he made internationally famous.
Born on 23 November 1926 in a modest family in Puttaparthi, Satyanarayana Raju declared himself a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba at the age of 14. From then on his devotees and admirers only grew in numbers over the years.
Though a few controversies did cast shadows on Sai Baba's image and critics have been skeptical about claims that he would produce holy ash, golden rings and mementoes from thin air, Sathya Sai Baba also earned respect for setting up world-class educational and health institutions and also for charitable work like drinking water projects for four semi-arid districts of Andhra Pradesh and in Chennai. The institutions and properties that he built are estimated to be worth over Rs. 27,000 crore.
After a hip fracture in 2006, Sathya Sai Baba was confined to a wheel chair and gave darshan from his car or a portable chair.
He breathed his last at 7: 40 a.m. on Sunday due to cardio-respiratory failure. His body will be kept at the Sai Kulwant Hall for two days for people to pay their homage to the spiritual guru.
The Baba was admitted to the super-speciality hospital at Prashantigram at Puttaparthi on March 28, following respiration-related problems.
In view of his deteriorating health, the Andhra Pradesh Police had deployed additional forces in Puttaparthi to maintain the law and order. Born as Sathyanarayana Raju, on November 23, 1926, Sai Baba was a popular Indian guru, spiritual figure and educator.
He had claimed to be the reincarnation of the great spiritual guru, Sai Baba of Shirdi, whose teachings were an eclectic blend of Hindu and Muslim beliefs.
Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations support a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in India and abroad.The number of active Sathya Sai Baba adherents was estimated in 1999 to be around six million, although followers’ estimations are far higher.
The Sathya Sai Organization reports that there are an estimated 1,200 Sathya Sai Baba Centers in 114 countries worldwide. In India itself, he draws followers from predominantly upper-middle-class, urban sections of society who have the “most wealth, education and exposure to Western ideas.”
A cultural icon in his home country, Sai Baba had attracted Presidents and Prime Ministers from India and beyond who have become his devotees in 2002, he claimed to have followers in 178 countries.(ANI)
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