oodies
हिंदी खबरें 
Mumbai: Sri Sathya Sai Baba was at Hadsi, a village about 40 kms away from Pune to inaugurate a newly constructed temple. In Shri Ashok Chavan’s family Baba occupies the same reverential place as a preceptor, teacher or Guru in Indian tradition. Before him his father, late Shri S. B. Chavan too was a follower of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Shri Chavan naturally liked to have the Guru’s blessing before swearing in as the new CM of Maharashtra. He also touched his feet. He invited Sri Baba who out of his love and benevolence condescended to visit Shri Chavan’s official residence. Shri Chavan showed due reverence towards Baba and naturally touched his feet and received his blessings. The media took this up and converted it into a political issue. The have left no stone unturned to make a mountain of a mole hill.
No society raises a hue and cry if anybody, even if the President of a country, shows reverence to the Preceptor, whether he has any miraculous powers or not. But a couple of news channels have made such a fuss over this incident, totally a private affair of Shri Chauvan and who is being condemned as someone who has done something very objectionable and politically incorrect and that the Baba is made to appear a most undesirable individual. Dirty references about him have been dug up and are being thrown about to malign the Baba and to criticize Shri Chavan. Sri Sathya Sai Baba is a spiritual Guru. He is not a politician. He does not advise CMs of states or Presidents of countries. In Charles Dickens’s Story “A Deal in Ostriches” one of the passengers on a ship has five ostriches. One of the ostriches on board the ship swallows a diamond belonging to one Padishaw, a merchant and the passengers discuss whether the diamond belonged to the merchant or to the owner of the ostriches. A passenger, claiming to be the father of a lawyer, gives his funny opinion as if he himself were the lawyer and had the authority to give legal opinion in the matter. Of course it was just ridiculous.
The basic question is whether the channels know much about Sri Sathya Sai Baba or just have the temerity to say anything they like about Baba or any other religious head? Obviously they don’t and in order to create sensation and spread misinformation about the Baba their correspondents have been talking irrelevant and offensive things over and over again. They don’t realize that in doing this they are hurting the sensibility of millions of followers of Sri Sathya Sai Baba round the globe in over 170 countries. Baba preaches unity of all faiths which no politician will ever be able to do. Would the media talk in equal derogatory terms about other religious and spiritual heads? Why then do they choose to do this in this case, only because Baba preaches tolerance, love and selfless service of humanity? It was Baba’s love for humanity that impelled him to arrange drinking water for the whole city of Madras which successive governments couldn’t do. His two super specialty hospitals, one in Puttaparthy, Andhra and the other at White field Bangalore provide free medical services to the poor, where free heart and other organs transplants are done. He provided drinking water to the whole of Rayal Seema in Andhra. Such services are numerous. For some details about Baba’s service work this writer’s article “Hands that serve: Sri Sathya Sai Baba” on this site may be referred to.
He has hurt none and has rendered service in such a great volume that no ordinary being would ever do. Incidentally I was a witness when three former Presidents of India (in office) came to pay homage to Baba. All of them were images of humility and piety. The channels would do themselves a lot of good before opening an all out attack on Shri Chavan and Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Late Shri Karanjia, Editor of Blitz weekly too was skeptical about Baba’s greatness like the channels in question but he visited Puttaparthy, to get first hand information about Baba before publishing anything. He visited Baba’s ashram and interviewed him for days like any capable journalist and had to admit the bona-fide of the Baba’s mission of service to humanity and later wrote a book “God lives in India” which is an eye opener for the skeptics and may be to the channels in question. Even otherwise journalists should be well informed about an issue they take up and must first verify the authenticity of persons and things before starting criticizing them. Baba’s followers and all sensible citizens of a democracy like India’s would like the channel to desist from harping on a non issue.
