Sathya Sai Baba was born in a small village, Puttaparthi, in Southern India, November 23, 1926 and is considered by 50 to 100 million people to be an Avatar, a descension by the divine into human form. This is perhaps the tenth time in the history of the planet that a full (poorna in Sanskrit) Avatar has taken birth. A Poorna Avatar is said to possess all of the sixteen powers of the divine. From the moment of his birth, and even before, there were miraculous happenings.

Born as Sathya Narayana Raju, flutes and other instruments played on their own at the time of his birth, and a cobra slithered out from under the pillow where his head was resting. The sign of the cobra is said to be a divine omen in Eastern thought, or Vedanta. From his early school days, Sai Baba performed all kinds of miracles, materializing pencils for kids in his classroom, who had no proper school supplies. During those early school days, he would sit under a tree with his classmates, during lunch break, reaching up and materializing a wide variety of fruit for the other children, often fruit never seen in India.

These miracles never stopped, but were a cause of great consternation for his parents, who at one point called in an indigenous healer who had young Sathya buried up to his neck. Two deep cuts were made into the back of his scalp and then scalding fluids were poured in. Three days later, they removed him from this seeming torture. During that time, and to the current day, Sai Baba has maintained a state of complete tranquility and love, even during such physical tortures. It is the transformative power of his love that brings people to Sai Baba. It is his unbroken peace, his unwavering commitment to right action, and his life of love and service that have melted the hearts of men, women, and entire nations.

At the age of 14, Sathya's father angrily asked who he really was, and Sai Baba finally announced, "I am Sathya Sai Baba, the incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, I must leave now as my mission has started and my devotees are calling." Shirdi Sai Baba was a great holy man who died eight years before Sathya was born. At the time of his departure, Shirdi Sai stated that he would re-incarnat e in eight years in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. When Sathya Sai's father asked who he was, Sai Baba revealed the story of Shirdi Sai Baba. He then took a garland of flowers and tossed them into the air. Miraculously, when the flowers landed, they spelled out "Sathya Sai Baba." Sathya Sai Baba says that he is the second in a triple incarnation. Prema Sai Baba will be born eight years after Sathya Sai Baba dies, which he has said will be at the age of 96.

The photo above this text was taken when Sai Baba was about 55 years old. Currently 72 years old, the miracles have never stopped, and now between one in 50 and one in 100 people on earth are devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. These miracles include everything one can imagine: materializing objects out of thin air, curing the sick, returning sight to the blind, resurrecting the dead, being in many places at the same time, knowing everything about everything... and turning hearts of stone into hearts filled with love and compassion. With only an eighth grade education, one cannot explain the fact that he speaks every language on earth. I once spoke with a man from Iran who was amazed not only that Sai Baba spoke to him in Iranian, but that he spoke in the specific dialect of that man's village. Witnessed by hundreds of thousands of people, Sai Baba spoke to huge crowds in two different cities at the same time. And this was not a high-tech miracle.

The following quote sums up the answer to the question, "Is this a new religion?" (and the answer is, "No!"):

"There is only one language, the language of the heart.
There is only one religion, the religion of love.
There is only one caste, the caste of humanity.
There is only one God, and he is omnipresent." - Sai Baba

"The Sai religion is the harmonious blending, through love, of all religions." - Sai Baba

The essence of who Sathya Sai Baba is has little to do with miracles. Yet, miracles get one's attention.

Because I am a devotee of Sathya Sai Baba, and have been since 1978, I am familiar with the miracles surrounding him, moreso than I am with any other teacher. Although the miracles surrounding him are not limited to what can be perceived through the five senses, this web site is limited. We are starting with miraculous stories associated with a visual image, in this case photographs. It should be noted that for every miracle captured on film, there may be millions that are either not caught on film, or could never be caught on film.

May this site inspire you and bring you closer to the roots of your own faith, be it Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Native American, or some lesser-known religions.

Please read "The Importance of Miracles" to more fully understand their purpose and importance.

 

Disclaimer:

This web site is in no way an official site for the Sathya Sai Baba Organization. The official site URL is http://www.sathyasai.org/


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