About Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Who is Sri Sathya Sai Baba?

Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926 in the village of Puttaparthi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. Even as a child, His spiritual inclination and contemplative nature set Him apart from other children of His age, and He was known as ‘Guru’ and “Brahmajnani’ (knower of Brahman or Godhead) among His peers and others in the village. However, it was not until October 20, 1940, the day He made the historic declaration of His Avatarhood, (Avatar - Divinity Incarnate) that the world at large learnt of this divine phenomenon. Today, millions of devotees from all over the world, professing various faiths, and hailing from various walks of life worship Him as an ‘Avatar’, and an incarnation of the Sai Baba of Shirdi. Thousands gather every day at Prasanthi Nilayam, His ashram established beside the village of Puttaparthi, for His Darshan, when He moves among devotees blessing them and providing spiritual succour and solace.

Revealing the purpose of His Advent, Sai Baba has said that He has come to re-establish the rhythm of righteousness in the world and repair the ancient highway to God, which over the years has systematically deteriorated. In His own words, “This Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illuminating the Atmic Reality (Atma – The Self) of each being, to reveal the Divine which is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the animal and rise up to the Divine, which is the goal.”

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an integral manifestation who combines two very significant roles. Firstly, He is a great spiritual Master, famed for His simple and sweet exposition of the greatest and most intricate of spiritual truths which form the fundamental teachings of all the religions of the world. Elucidating on His mission, Bhagawan declares “I have come not to disturb or destroy any faith, but to confirm each in his own faith, so that the Christian becomes a better Christian, the Muslim a better Muslim and the Hindu a better Hindu.” His formula for man to lead a meaningful life is the five-fold path of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Shanthi (Peace), Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non-Violence). Love for God, fear of sin and morality in society – these are His prescriptions for our ailing world.

Secondly, He is an inexhaustible reservoir of pure love. His numerous service projects, be it free hospitals, free schools and colleges, free drinking water supply or free housing projects, all stand testimony to His selfless love and compassion for the needy and less privileged. True to His declaration - “My Life is My Message”, He has inspired and continues to inspire millions of His devotees worldwide by His personal example to live the ideal that service to man is service to God. The Sri Sathya Sai Organization today has a presence in over 167 countries in the world and members undertake group service activities that benefit their immediate community.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is thus a beacon of hope in a world that is desperately seeking an end to the unrest and sorrow prevalent today. His message of “Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God” is a spiritual salve that will lead mankind from the darkness of ignorance to the light of immortality. Indeed, very rarely does such a divine power walk the earth. As one devotee said, “Bhagawan Baba is nothing but Love walking on two feet”. Mankind must use this golden opportunity to follow in His footsteps. That is the way to its redemption and its salvation.

Row won't affect drafting of Lokpal Bill: Pranab

New Delhi, April 22 (PTI) Government today said controversies involving some civil society members of the joint committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill would not affect its working and will work with the members to prepare a strong and sound anti-corruption legislation.

After a meeting of Congress' Core Group headed by Sonia Gandhi with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by her side, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said controversies "won't affect" the working of Lokpal Bill drafting panel.

"Controversies have been raised about members of the joint committee on the Lokpal Bill. I would like to make it clear that the view of government as also the view of party, the Congress, the working of Lokpal Bill drafting panel won''t be affected by these controversies.

"Government members of the committee look forward to working with Anna Hazare and his colleagues on the committee and to draft a strong and sound Lokpal Bill to fight corruption," he said.

Mukherjee's remarks came after a 90-minute meeting of the Core Group that discussed the issues threadbare.

Hazare had written a letter to Gandhi earlier this week alleging a smear campaign by some Congress leaders and sought to know whether the exercise had her sanction. Replying to it, Gandhi had said her party did not support any kind of smear campaign and was committed to rooting out corruption.

Mukherjee's statement came a day after the Prime Minister's remarks that government hopes to introduce during the monsoon session of Parliament the Lokpal Bill on which a committee of Ministers and representatives of civil society are working.

Admitting that there is little public tolerance for the prevailing state of affairs on the issue of corruption, Singh had yesterday said that his government is committed to facing this challenge boldly as people expect swift and exemplary action.

Talking to PTI today, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, in the thick of a controversy over remarks on the Lokpal committee members Shanti and Prashant Bhushan and Justice Santosh Hegde, said Congress and the government would in no way hamper the work of the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill.

2nd phase of Bengal polls today

KOLKATA: The second phase of Bengal polls is going to be crucial for Congress as it will decide the party's status in the Trinamool Congress-led alliance. What worries Congress is the Trojan horses that may queer the Opposition pitch, paving the way for the Left Front in some of the 50 seats as three districts ^ Murshidabad, Nadia and Birbhum ^ go to the polls on Saturday.

Murshidabad Congress strongman Adhir Chowdhury has the highest stakes in the 22 seats in the district. Adhir ignored Congress president Sonia Gandhi's appeal to vote for the alliance candidates and went ahead with his decision to fight Trinamool and the Left in the district. A slip in the Congress tally is likely to impact Adhir's political career.

Adhir is backing rebel Congressmen in four of the total 22 seats, namely Bhagabangola, Jalangi, Sagardighi and Hariharpara. The risk seems to be highest in the Hariharpara assembly seat ^ a marginal seat in the 2009 LS polls ^ where the Opposition led by a thin margin. Trinamool candidates are in the fray against Congress nominees at Kandi, Behrampore and Raninangar.

Like Adhir, Sankar Singh is backing four rebel Congressmen in four of the 17 seats, namely Karimpur, Kaligunj, Nakashipara and Krishnanagar (South), in Nadia. The Krishnangar (South) was a marginal seat during the 2009 LS polls. BJP holds the key in the constituency. The party bagged 19% votes during the last LS polls. The Congress leadership isn't likely to spare Sankar Singh if any of the four seats goes to the Left.

The Left can expect a few seats from the district. The Left trailed in all the 16 seats other than Kalyani where it led during the 2009 LS polls.

The Left is likely to do well in Birbhum that sprung a surprise in the last LS polls. The Left is banking on five seats ^ Sainthia, Nanoor, Labhpur, Dubrajpur and Mayureswar. Nalhati that had once backed Forward Bloc minister Kalimuddin Shams looks tough for the Left with Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijit in the fray. The Opposition is confident of winning five seats ^ Suri, Nalhati Hasan, Rampurhat and Murarai.

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PSLV-C16 launch successful, satellites injected into orbit

SRIHARIKOTA: In a precision launch, India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle- C16 placed on a 822-km sunsynchronous orbit three satellites – ResourceSat – 2, an Indo-Russian YouthSat and Singapore's first satellite X Sat, on Wednesday.

The launch went off as per schedule and the satellites were placed in orbit 18 minutes after blast off from the launch pad at the Sriharikota spaceport.

Wednesday's successful launch, which was the 17th consecutive one for India's space warhorse PSLV, has pushed up India'a remote sensing capabilities.

Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K Radhakrishnan said the launch was a grand success. "We wanted to put the satellites into a 820-km orbit, but we got an 822 km orbit," he said. The mission cost Rs 250 crore.

The launch was keenly watched across the world as data from ResourceSat – 2 will be used by 15 countries. The satellite, which weighs 1206 kg will collect data including those on ground water and mineral resources on land and fish density in the sea. The satellite is equipped with three cameras that can cover 740 km wide, 141 km wide and 17 km wide at resolutions ranging from 22 metres to 5 metres.

"The satellite will replace ResourceSat I which is in orbit since 2003. ResourceSat- 2 is a global mission and has many improvements. It has three cameras that can monitor natural resources at different resolutions. It can be used to monitor snow cover, glacier changes, urban landscape and others," said Radhakrishnan.

PSLV-C16 mission director Kunhikrishnan said all the stages of the rocket performed well. "The solid stage propulsion and liquid stage propulsion worked well and we were able to achieve the orbit in 18 minutes after the launch. The solar panel of ResourceSat- 2 has been deployed and the satellite was pushed to the second orbit soon. If all goes well with the satellite, the ground centre in Bangalore will start receiving images from April 18," he said.

The other payloads are 92-kg YouthSat, an Indo-Russian stellar and atmospheric satellite built with the participation of students from Universities. It is the second in A mini satellite series. The YouthSat mission intends to investigate the relationship between solar variability and upper layers of atmosphere.

The third one, X Sat, is Singapore's first satellite and weighs 106 kg. The mini satellite has a multispectral camera IRIS as its main load. The satellite intends to demonstrate technologies related to satellite-based remote sensing and onboard image processing.

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