Sathya Sai Baba on historicity of Rama and Krishna

Last modified on 5th Dec. 2019

The link, http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/25616/9/09_chapter%204.pdf, quotes the American follower of and writer on Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Dr. John Hislop, from one of his books on Sri Sathya Sai Baba. [For more on Hislop please see http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_02/13July01/02_Cover_Story/cover_story.htm] The relevant quote is given below:

John Hislop: Sometimes Swami speaks of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as if they were historical, and sometimes as if they were to be taken as representative of every individual's inner conflicts, virtues, bad qualities etc. Are these events and people historical fact?

[Sathya] Sai Baba: Yes they are a record of historical people and incidents... Rama was a real person and an Avathar. And Dasaratha was His father. Krishna was real and the events of His Avathara were real. Rama’s life, over the ages, has been altered and distorted somewhat, and Swami's story of Rama will be a classic through several Yugas.

John Hislop (2002) Conversations with BSSSB [Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba]

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The youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7R8FwIxwUk&t=1m40s, Interview with Sathya Sai Baba part - 3, is part of a 1978 interview of Sathya Sai Baba with overseas devotees of his. From around 1 min, 40 secs in the video the conversation is as follows (Please note that Sri Sathya Sai Baba's mother tongue was Telugu, and that most of his public discourses were in Telugu, which usually would be (immediately) translated to English by a translator. But in interviews with foreigners, He, I believe, usually used to speak in English, as was the case in this interview.):

Questioner: Swami, when were the days of Krishna and Rama? How long ago was that?
Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Many thousands of years.
Questioner: 5000, 10,000?
Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Krishna is 5,860 years ago. 5,860 years ago.
Questioner: Thank you.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba: Rama is not .... Rama is 20,000 years ago. Rama is 20,000 years ago. Between Rama & Krishna, many thousands, 15,000 years.

[Note that the first video of this series, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBPZbAj2oHY, gives the following description/title at the beginning of the video, "Swami gives interview to oversea-devotees 24th of december 1978".]

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[11th Feb. 2019 update:

I created and uploaded on my youtube channel, a video clip from the first of the above mentioned videos, to have just the appropriate part recording the vital revelation about historicity of Rama and Krishna by Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Sathya Sai on historicity of Rama and Krishna, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3Lep9OXSfw, 43 seconds, published on 9th Feb. 2019.

end-update]

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5th Dec. 2019 update: A correspondent who wants to be anonymous, wrote me sharing the video: Birth Date of Lord Krishna (20 July 3228 BC) - Sathya Sai Baba, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJcaYZQ-pME, around 2 mins, where Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba mentions birth year of Krishna as 3228 BCE.

The correspondent also pointed out that as per (earlier and above contents) of this blog post, Krishna lived 5860 years ago as per Swami statement in 1978. 5860-1978=3882 BCE and so Krishna lived in 3882 BCE.

But 3882 BCE is over 600 years prior to 3228 BCE! This brings in some confusion as I think both cannot be correct.

I have no answer for the above confusion. I felt it appropriate to mention this confusion in this blog post.