MAHASHIVARATHRI 2004 - SATHYA SAI BABA SICKS UP INTO A TOWEL & COLLAPSES
Sai Baba said in public weighed three tons!
see video clip from BBC where he collapses


Sai Baba allowed an unprecedented live broadcast in the Indian subcontinent of his so-called 'lingodbhava' (bringing the egg-like ellipsoidal object out of his mouth after what looks like a painful process of 'regurgitation'). However, one can most clearly see that NO lingam 'actually emerged at all this year. Instead there was a small spurt of apparently yellowish vomit, which was later claimed to be the lingam in liquid golden form! However, this any colour was due to the poor video quality or manipulation, because on the BBC film of the same incident, only transparent water came from his mouth! It is clear that most devotees will believe just anything they are told by him or his cronies. However, the BBC documentary film makers filmed it all close up and one can see clearly that there was no golden liquid or any lingam coming from his mouth, as attended by the BBC film-maker - Eamon Hardy - and his team, but one appears "somehow" in the towel he was holding!


A film clip of the 'actual emergence' has been posted on the internet by devotees. One can pause the video and examine each frame separately to analyse the movements. (View the Indian poor quality film-clip by clicking here). From before the alleged 'emergence', Sathya Sai Baba is clearly seen to be holding something just about the size of the lingam inside the towel between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand! Now what on earth could that be, one wonders? After the vomit, he lets go of what he was holding in secret and fumbles to extract it with his right hand, taking the lingam from under the towel just where it was being held earlier, and we see a rather confused look of resignation cross his features. It seems that Sathya Sai Baba must have lost his nerve on this occasion, for he did not even try producing the lingam from his mouth this time. We know from a private source who observed the event that Sathya Sai Baba collapsed directly after that and was in a terrible state when he was carried off. Very likely partly a reaction to the stress of being on live TV and of realising he had not managed to pull it off convincingly to conceal his fraud from the cameras. But his favourite, Anil Kumar, reported that Sathya Sai Baba had to go away to 'produce' two more 'atma lingams' in private out of sight of anyone! (believe it if you can!). Was Sathya Sai Baba feeling too ill, or too camera shy? Those with perspicacious and open minds can decide the nature of this 'divine mystery'. However, it is also noteworthy that there was suddenly a significant increase in defections from his movement just afterwards. But despite that they claim (very excessively, no doubt) that from 60 to 100 million are still followers!

The lingam was allegedly formed in the towel from vomited 'liquid gold' (though there was actually no colour except on a badly made cheap video).

Sai Baba said in his discourse (13/3/2002) "As you all can see, this Linga is rather bigger in size. There is a meaning behind this. This is five Tolas in weight. Every human being possesses five Tolas of gold essence known as Hiranyagarbha... Gold represents energy in man and is the cause of his radiance. The gold content within each body is this size only. It is gold essence in the body that makes the eyes see, ears hear etc." (Sanathana Sarathi April 2002, p. 127)

Surely only a person whose entire mind is permeated with unfounded beliefs and superstitions can credit this pseudo-science. Interestingly, we can also compare this with the words of Sathya Sai Baba as attributed to him directly by his one-time very close servitor Swami Karunyananda, who lived to over 100 years and spent about 4 decades living within Sathya Sai Baba's apartment. On p. 367 of the first edition of 'The Glory of Puttaparthi' (Bangalore, 1980) by V. Balu, we read:-

Sri Karunyananda also enlightened me about the lingam which Sri Baba used to materialise from his body on Shivarathri day. Sri Karunyananda was near at hand once when a solid gold lingam was brought out by Sri Baba. The lingam was quite big and heavy and the corners of Sri Baba's mouth had been hurt a little as it emerged! What pain the passage of such a big and heavy substance must have caused Sri Baba as it came out through his throat, thought Sri Karunyananda.
Sri Baba quieted his doubts; "When I will its birth, it is born only as a very soft, pliable substance. It is soft as it emerges from the stomach and comes up the throat. It hardens only at the time it is ejected from the mouth."

As pointed out by former devotee, Sanjay Dadlani, this account has been spread around, such as in the book 'Sri Sathya Sai Baba - a story of God as man' (1985) by former long-term ashram resident M.N. Rao, and so we can all see how Sai Baba has changed his mind about how the lingam is formed, and probably has forgotten how he once explained it.

Further, when Sathya Sai Baba resumed the lingam business again two decades after he stopped the yearly show - when his crisis with the major sexual abuse allegations began and something was badly needed to help slow the thinning out of his followers - he pronounced of the lingam he 'brought forth' then: "This lingam will not break even if it is dropped from a height with force. This is Amruthtatwam (symbol of immortality). It is changeless. You cannot see such a manifestation anywhere in the world. It is possible only with Divinity." (Sanathana Sarathi - March 1999, p. 73). If that were really so, how come that Swami Premananda did exactly the same year upon year up until he won himself a double life sentence for rape and murder in the early '90s? Or how come the regurgitation of lingams is a known fakir trick, which can be seen on various films, including a film screened on TV in 1988 ( 'Das Mysterium Der Shiva - Heilige Männer' (Ein film von Eberhart Thiem, Helga Lippert, Arno Peik) from a German series called 'Terra X - Rätsel alter Weltkulturen').

Finally, the eternally changeless 'atma lingam' this year changed into itself from yellow vomit into a lingam... how come? If the lingam really is made of gold, then it can surely be changed by heating it sufficiently, or putting it under a steam hammer. If not, then we have been deceived by Sathya Sai Baba as to what it is supposed to be. If it is so eternal and changeless, then why not clear up all questions by getting an advanced physics laboratory to see if they are able in any way to change one (Sathya Sai Baba has dozens of them)? Yes, why not? Or are they too holy to stand up to any test of truth? Or is it all a great con?

THE "LEGLESS" AND "HEADLESS" MAGNETIC GOLDEN LINGA

Sathya Sai Baba's delusions of grandeur on the public record reveals him to have a semi-literate villager’s mind, holding a discourse which surpasses even his sheer ignorance of atomic physics and magnetism. The subject of Sathya Sai Baba s discourse on Sivarathri, March 13, 2002, was magnetism with a capital M. Magnetism is physical magnetism which  – we are taught –  is also the metal gold, but not just that either, for it is love, or ‘the magnet of love’ (as well as being ‘reputation’?) but it is also material magnetism, (which also repulses)  because it is divine magnetism (which only attracts)… even though it is also a kind of ‘animal magnetism’. He speaks of magnetic flowers and says the body is a magnetic temple! Finally, it is ‘embodied’ in the legless, faceless linga and so on…  

Sathya Sai Baba evidently can’t hold two ideas at once separate from one another and the result is sheer mental melt-down! The entire aimless ramble goes takes him into mental pitfalls and semantic minefields! At least, those who find Sathya Sai Baba At least his crushingly boring and repetitive discourses were temporarily lightened by light relief and heavy farce) of his 2002 Shivarathri discourse. But the applause that greeted some of the weirdest statements makes one wonder if many more enthusiasts are not also loose on their rockers… even if most applause would have been from all the local uneducated villagers? So much for this "universal spiritual teaching" (bodha)?

 The discourses of Sathya Sai Baba are becoming wilder and woolier, more irrational and confused as the years roll by. He speaks of the golden linga (i.e. an egg-shaped and egg-sized spheroid) as being "without legs" and "without a head"! This romping balderdash reminds of the fantasy tales of Lewis Carroll.

The time has come, the swami said,
To speak of many things,
Of pink string and sealing wax,
And whether pigs have wings
Or why a linga has no legs
And even lacks a head…


The Sathya Sai Baba Lingam Question and 'Liberation' More Fully Examined

The production of lingams at the Shivarathri festival was discontinued in the 70s, according to Sathya Sai Baba, because the crowds were too large and injuries were being caused. It is of note that Sathya Sai Baba started up the lingodbhava in public again when the allegations had broken and the crowds were thinning and the donations doubtless too. (Note: The whole 76th birthday crowd - overwhelmingly Indian - fitted into the Kulwant Mantap with max. capacity ca. 15,000, so the Hillview Stadium was not needed).

Two main lingam films, from 2000 and 2001, show Sai Baba apparently 'regurgitating' a golden lingam. In the sequences from 2001 (one taken head-on, and one from the side filmed by Dr. Sara Pavan) we see that Sathya Sai Baba holds a towel before his mouth and fiddles for about 5 seconds, appearing to put the regurgitated lingam back in his mouth, before letting it come out in full view slowly (but it drops before he catches it) is interesting.

There are three main possibilities:
1) It is a genuine lingam production in the stomach of the object emerging through his throat.
2) It is brought into his mouth by hand behind the towel (the violent seeming regurgitation being only a fake movement).
3) It comes up his throat when he gags, but he puts it back into his mouth behind the towel to let it seem to emerge.

I find 3) the most likely, then 2) and then 1) the least likely. I believed fully for about 18 years that the lingam productions were all genuine (I have also films of lingodbhava from before he stopped in the 70s. The whole episode looked very much the same as nowadays. The reason for believing most in 3) is that there were much larger crowds than usual due to Sathya Sai Baba having pronounced after the lingam production in 2000 that everyone who saw this actually emerge would gain liberation from the cycle of birth/death, and this would apply again in future. Therefore he surely did not want to disappoint all those there, so presumably put it back in his mouth after it 'came up' so most people would be ready and able to see it emerge. If this was not the 'real emergence', the obvious question then is, did he want to give people the false belief that they would achieve liberation (assuming that liberation could possibly ensue from seeing the actual emergence)? This will be discussed under Part Two of 'The Lingam Question'.

Some reasons for considering 3) most likely and that all lingam regurgitations are fakes are:

1) The technique of swallowing things - not least lingams - so as to regurgitate them is performed by all kinds of wandering fakirs, Tantrics, nagas, 'yogis', showmen in India. The object can be kept in the stomach or throat for several hours at least before regurgitation is stimulated by some physical means (massage, vomit-inducing medicines etc.).

2) Apropos evidence, one can see a lingam production from the mouth by some yogi the a German film crew met around 1990, which shows how common this 'feat' is in India. On the same film we see who could swallow a very large number of very large nails, then regurgitate them four or five at a time. The nails could be seen on X-ray in an extended part of his lower throat. ( 'Das Mysterium Der Shiva - Heilige Männer' . It was shown in Germany in a series called 'Terra X - Rätsel alter Weltkulturen' 'Ein film von Eberhart Thiem, Helga Lippert, Arno Peik") The famous illusionist, Houdini, experimented at swallowing balls and re-gurgitating them, firstly with a piece of string attached. Later he did it without any aids, and regurgitated them with ease on stage. He may have been the first every to perform this feat, as lingam-regurguitation is not described anywhere so far discovered in Indian scripture or esoteric literature before the 20th century!

3) Swami Premananda (formerly of Sri Lanka and Tiruvannamalai, now in prison in Tamil Nadu for life for rape and murder) produced three lingams at Shivarathri (before his trial) witnessed by a good friend of mine. There are many reports of him having done the same as Sathya Sai Baba year after year, once even when visiting UK. He was also celebrated as ' the avatar' in his ashram's publications etc.

There is no reason why the very young Sai Baba should not have learned this technique at the time when he got involved in activities like performing in public and doing peculiar feats, as described once even in Prof. Kasturi's 'official' biography 'Sathyam, Sivam, Sundaram'. (See end of 3rd chapter of Vol. 1., p. 20 in some eds.) Sathya Sai Baba copied another artist - a young girl - who picked up a kerchief with her eyelids from the ground when bent over backwards. Sathya Sai Baba surpassed this "tortuous feat" in public by picking up a needle with his eyelids from the same position. A kind of Tantric or fakir performance, for which feat Sathya Sai Baba was said to have had to suffer a dreadful eye affliction afterwards! Somewhat unbelievable, but still revealing - even that Kasturi believed it.

Promises of liberation?

In common with most other Indian gurus, Sai Baba has promised liberation from the cycle of rebirths to a number of his followers... sometimes in private, sometimes in public. That this is a much sought-after boon is perhaps hardly surprising, not least when considering the longing for salvation that is a driving force in much religion, frequently doubtless stronger even than the desire to be physically healed of serious chronic or fatal illness. This makes a bond with very strong binds!

Since 1999, Sathya Sai Baba again produced lingams from his mouth during Shivarathri (after over 20 years of not doing so in public) and has said that all those who see one actually emerging will get liberation. This is a guarantee he had announced on a few occasions during past Shivarathri celebrations and again after the Shivarathri celebrations in 1999. The promise of being free from the necessity of being reborn certainly exerts one of the most powerful psychological bonds there is, in this case to the guru. It has long been part and parcel of the guru-disciple relationship in India. To keep believing in the guru, obeying him implicitly in all things, is apparently most often 'part of the deal', but the guru's promises may only be conditional... for who can ever tell? This definitely applies to Sathya Sai Baba's promises of liberation too, judging by the people I know who imagine they can be granted such a boon, or actually believe that they have been promised it.

Naturally, those who consider they have achieved this apparent boon will be very loath to relinquish it, such as by refuting anything Sathya Sai Baba says or does. Such a promise by someone one accepts on his own word to be the God Avatar of an entire aeon - once given - ought to be as if 'set in rock'. However, there are instances where this promise is not to be honoured, according to Sathya Sai Baba's own (self-contradictory) words. Dr. John Hislop, who passed over in 1996 without taking any medication for his cancer - wrote that he had once seen Sathya Sai Baba bring one linga out of his mouth complete with a 3-legged metal stand. Another time he is said to have witnessed the linga coming from the mouth as a blue light that then coalesced into the object. Despite this, he was told by Swami that he would have to be reborn:-

Baba said: "Another birth is best for you..."
Hislop: "No freedom yet!"
Baba: "Yes, another birth is best. In that you will get total, final liberation"
Hislop: But, Swami, I don't want to go through youth again. Youth is not a good experience - it is dangerous and difficult."
Baba: It will be a better life than this one. Don't waste time thinking of the future."
("Conversations with Bhagavan SSSathya Sai Baba" by J. Hislop. 1996 revised extended edition, p. 227)

What does this tell us about Sathya Sai Baba's 'guarantee' of liberation for all those who see the lingam actually emerge from his mouth? It has been pointed out to me that Sathya Sai Baba - being God -may countermand this or any other promise (for one lifetime... or more?) and this could even be a boon... to be reborn, for example, to accompany Prema Sai, as two others who also often saw the lingam emerge, Prof. Kasturi and his closest attendant Swami Karunyananda (both now deceased), were both told they would. But this is certainly not how Baba many times has described rebirth... which he holds to be the greatest tragedy that can befall anyone, to have to cry 'Koham?' in complete ignorance of our nature and so forth! He had even once before told Hislop, as recorded in his writings, when he had suggested it could be a boon to be reborn with Prema Sai, that it was definitely not so!

It is frequently described by devotees how Sathya Sai Baba makes promises, but fails to keep them. These broken promises are usually 'explained away' somehow by the writer. Sathya Sai Baba has himself sometimes tried to explain them away too. He will promise an interview next day, but ignore this completely when the time comes, and so on again and again. Like many people I have met at the ashrams, I have experienced broken promises by Sai Baba both as regards trivial matters, such as when he promised my wife and I a room in Brindavan, but also as regards several much more weighty matters, one of which was a promise of 'a healthy life' and 'I will look after his health'. However, my chronic back problems have slowly deteriorated, while various other ailments have come (all this long before I began to discover things which made me doubt much and consider Sathya Sai Baba as something quite other than what he claims to be). Why should he promise so much if he doesn't (intend to) carry it out, or can't manage it? Does he wish to play on our hopes so as to bind us to his purposes? A question worth asking, also whether this is deceitful and immoral too! Therefore, Sathya Sai Baba's promises of liberation also look decidedly shaky!

Sathya Sai Baba has time and again made a great fuss about how "it is impossible for anyone to understand or explain the meaning and significance of Swami." (Sathya Sai Speaks. Vol. 10 new ed., p. 170) and, "In truth, you cannot understand the nature of my reality either today, or even after a thousand years of steady austerity or ardent enquiry, even if all mankind joins in the effort." (Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol II. Old. ed. p. 90). If this is so, how can one really trust anyone who is so non-understandable, so unpredictable? And who makes greater boasts than any person ever known! Good luck to those who can swallow it all, they'll most probably need it, but rather them than I!

It certainly seems that Sathya Sai Baba needs to get more and more followers so badly that he now promises to anyone who will come to his ashram at Shivarathri, not the earth, not even heaven, but eternal bliss in some undefined, unproven limbo. It is remarkable that so many so unquestioningly take all these guarantees as more than boasts and entrapments.... but then most people choose to believe just what they want should be true, even though they don't have a clue what this might involve. However, billions of people - including Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and many another denomination - will obviously never accept Sathya Sai Baba's claims about this, that is for certain. This does not look tremendously positive for Sathya Sai Baba's claims about his effect on world affairs!



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