At 7:40am on Sunday, the auspicious moment when Sathya Sai Baba’s birth star Poorvashada was in the ascendant, relatives and members of the Sathya Sai Central Trust finally told doctors to turn off the ailing godman’s ventilator, releasing him from his mortal coil and allowing the soul to embark on its celestial journey.
Doctors later said the 86-year-old spiritual leader had died of cardio-pulmonary failure, almost a month after he was admitted to the super-speciality hospital built by the trust he had set up in Puttaparthi in Anantpur district of Andhra Pradesh.
A sea of humanity gathered at the Sai Kulwant hall in Prashanti Nilayam after Baba’s body was brought to the ashram on Sunday evening. A delay in allowing followers to view the body resulted in a stampede among the 50,000-odd people who had gathered outside the hall by 6:30pm. The police caned the followers as they broke barricades erected to ensure orderly queues.
Baba’s body is being kept at the hall for two days to enable his followers to pay their respects. The body will be laid to rest with full state honours in Puttaparthi at 9am on Wednesday. The Andhra Pradesh government announced four-day state mourning. Neighbouring Karnataka is observing two days of mourning.
Additional forces have been deployed in the town as several VIPs, including prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, are expected to arrive in Puttaparthi on Monday.
Sathya Sai Baba was admitted to the super-speciality hospital on March 28 after developing respiratory problems. Doctors attending on him said last week that the spiritual leader had suffered multiple organ failure. He was put on a pacemaker after his heart rate dropped and had to undergo dialysis as his kidneys failed. Baba was put on the ventilator after his liver stopped responding to treatment and his lungs packed up. He was being provided nourishment through intravenous solutions.
Born Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926, Sathya Sai called himself a reincarnation of Shirdi’s Sai Baba and attracted millions of followers worldwide with his supernatural powers and charitable work.
