The uninterrupted philanthropy for over 70 years has come to an end with Sri Sathya Sai Baba breathing his last on Sunday. He was born on November 23, 1926. Though he was named Sathyanarayana Raju, he changed his name later.
He had declared himself as the incarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi in 1940. In 1948, Baba’s followers, who were by then inspired by his teachings on spirituality, had started building an ashram in Puttaparthi. The ashram was completed in 1950 and was called Prashanti Nilayam.
He faced criticism from atheists, but attracted millions of devotees by exhibiting ‘miracles’ apart from his discourses. He was known for presenting gold chains and other presents for devotees by spinning them out of thin air.
The doubters took a back seat after the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust started spending on philanthropy.
The trust had given priority to health care, education and drinking water. The funds collected from devotees in the form of contributions were all spent for infrastructure. The 220-bed super specialty hospital in Puttaparthi attracts patients from world over and the poor are treated free. Even the expensive surgeries are free. Several educational institutions in the country including the institute for higher learning in Puttaparthi impart free education till post graduation.
Many villages in AP today have drinking water infrastructure completely funded by the Sai Trust. It has also funded a pipeline project to take drinking water to Chennai from AP.
It is said that the godman used to take personal interest in tracking every project taken up by the trust. Though the details of the funds used for philanthropy are still not available, sources involved in the activities said “thousands of crores” have been used so far for all the activities.
The trust has been funding reconstruction activities in calamity-hit areas in various states. It has also been taking up philanthropy in various countries. The devotees believe in one of his prophecies about his reincarnation. Baba had said that he would be reborn in a Karnataka village in 2030 as Prema Sai.
