My response to Mr. Ganti's post against SSSCT

Last updated on 23rd April 2020

23rd April 2020 Update: I had an inner urge to name-snip the names of some person(s) in this post and so have done so.

This response is to the FB post here: https://www.facebook.com/notes/vr-ganti/betrayal-by-sri-sathya-sai-central-trust-an-appeal-to-sai-fraterntiy-to-come-tog/10205531512351837.

To: Vr Ganti​

Sir, I have been very appreciative of your work in informing the Sathya Sai fraternity regarding the Muddenahalli FALSE BELIEF matter, and also your questioning the very slow and ineffective response of Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT) and other leaders of the Sai orgn. in combating the SERIOUS DIVISIVE THREAT posed to the post-Mahasamadhi Sathya Sai movement by Muddenahalli group.

But this post of yours, in my considered opinion, is an UNFAIR ATTACK on all the trustees of SSSCT. As somebody who was in the Sai university at the time of the GREAT TRAUMA of the immediate post-Mahasamadhi HUGE POWER VACUUM AND SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP VACUUM in Puttaparthi/Prasanthi Nilayam, and continued to stay in Puttaparthi after I quit the Sai university in Mar. 2012, I know how challenging and dire the situation had become then for Prasanthi Nilayam ashram, the institutions managed by SSSCT and Puttaparthi town.

Sure, some mistakes may have been made by the trustees. But they are also human like the rest of us. Don't we commit mistakes? In the face of that huge challenge, many of the trustees could have taken the easy way out, resigned from SSSCT and those trustees living in Prasanthi Nilayam ashram could have left Prasanthi Nilayam/Puttaparthi forcing the govt. to run the affairs which may have taken Prasanthi Nilayam from the frying pan right into the fire. Don't forget the chaos that the Telangana separatist movement created in erstwhile unified Andhra Pradesh. Even today the residual state of A.P. faces a SERIOUS FINANCIAL CRISIS.

In my considered opinion, Shri K. Chakravarthi, Shri S.V. Giri and Prof. G. Venkataraman (Radio Sai head and former-VC of Sai university, but not a trustee), all of whom were based in Prasanthi Nilayam ashram and could have easily jumped ship after Mahasamadhi and escaped the trauma of managing the immediate post-Mahasamadhi chaos & confusion, have done a great service to not only Prasanthi Nilayam ashram but also the Sathya Sai fraternity at large as Prasanthi Nilayam is the HQ of the Sathya Sai movement, by helping to stabilize Prasanthi NIlayam system in the immediate post-Mahasamadhi phase.

While I do not know the exact role of the other trustees of SSSCT, I think they would surely have given important support to the above mentioned leaders. That does not mean they may not have had disagreements among themselves - that is common in any group of people. But without the MAGNETIC physical form of Bhagavan, Prasanthi Nilayam had become far more dependent on support from Sathya Sai fraternity outside Prasanthi Nilayam than earlier. So surely the support from Sathya Sai orgn., Indian and international, would have gone a long way in helping Prasanthi Nilayam ashram get stabilized then.

Regarding slow action of SSSCT in combating Muddenahalli group: Well, this was a betrayal from within. Shri Indulal Shah was a very revered leader who was publicly praised to the skies by Bhagavan in Sai Kulwant Hall. That Shri Indulal Shah turned against SSSCT of which he was the most revered trustee perhaps and joined hands with Narasimhamurthy, must have been paralysing betrayal to veteran leaders of Sai orgn. including those trustees of SSSCT who had decades of close proximity to Bhagavan. To make things really, really bad, the then vice-chancellor of SSSIHL (Sai university) --Name1-snipped-- started believing in Narasimhamurthy's dream instructions and started ignoring SSSCT view of rejecting these dream instructions.

I hope you don't feel bad, sir, but at that time who came to Prasanthi Nilayam to support SSSCT? Did you come sir and extend your support to Prasanthi Nilayam? You came into the picture only after Muddenahalli FALSE BELIEF started impacting your Singapore Sai center and Singapore orgn. sometime in second half of 2014. Now, in hindsight, one can say that SSSCT should have shared all these matters with the Sai fraternity (transparency) rather than trying to sweep it under the carpet and assume that by Bhagavan's grace the matter will get sorted out somehow. But those were very chaotic and traumatic days, sir. Only those who have been through that trauma know what it was then.

You write, "The MUDDY HILL mess has been created by the Trust , in particular because of the arrogance shown by Mr Srinivasan and Mr Chakravarthy. This alienated BNNM ( as it happened to several other prominent devotees also) resulting in BNNM leaving the fold and swearing to take revenge. Indulal Shah, for reasons best known to him, has swayed towards MUDDY HILL making thousands believe in and support MUDDY HILL."

Mr. Ganti, I don't know when exactly BNNM decided to "take revenge" as you wrote. But in July 2011 he declared that he is getting dream instructions from Swami!! Did he start getting these dream instructions after he got put off by the arrogance of Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Chakravarthy? What was BNNM's demand which was met with "arrogance"? If BNNM's demand was that now SSSCT should start following the dream instructions that BNNM is getting (which is what the vice-chancellor of Sai university, --Name1-snipped-- had started believing in), then I am deeply grateful to Mr. Srinivasan and Mr. Chakravarthy for dismissing such a demand, however arrogant the dismissal may have been. I mean, they were following Swami's instructions in this regard, as given in so many public discourses of his, and as they may have received in person from Swami for similar cases in the past when Swami was in physical form.

The root cause of "MUDDY HILL mess" is not SSSCT. It is the megalomania of Narasimhamurthy who seems to be seeing himself as a Moses-like leader who should be given control of the post-Mahasamadhi Sathya Sai mission. And it is the willingness of some leaders and donors of the Sathya Sai fraternity to IGNORE Swami's public teachings/instructions with regard to mediums and communicators. Prior to Mahasamadhi I personally would not have believed even in my wildest dreams that these people would so willingly accept Narsimhamurthy's and now Madhusudhan Naidu's RIDICULOUS claims.

Now SSSCT may certainly not be perfect. It could do a better job in connecting with the Sathya Sai fraternity. It should become BOLD now and remove Shri Indulal Shah from trustee position (or else explain to Sathya Sai fraternity why he is being retained as trustee). Those trustees who are not able to contribute significantly due to health problems should step down (Prof. G. Venkataraman has set an example in this regard by making way for another head of Radio Sai).

And about making way for the young: I have seen how young student-staff became power-crazy and arrogant in the Sai university leading to many seniors (teachers of these student-staff) leaving Sai university and Prasanthi Nilayam. I mean, why will capable seniors tolerate such foolish behaviour from youngsters who lacked maturity and knowledge and who had been their students? I have observed that in public Bhagavan used to give tremendous respect to elders. Further, I believe that the criteria for assessing contribution must not be based on age alone. Today, many over 70 years old people are contributing significantly in many walks of life in India. A clarion call to replace all elders with youngsters may sound very attractive to immature and perhaps power-hungry youngsters but, in my considered view, such a move may, in all probability, create huge problems for the post-Mahasamadhi Sathya Sai movement.

By making public, audited Balance sheet of SSSCT, I think the trustees have done a great job in bringing financial transparency. Regarding any implied charges of corruption (senior devotee you quoted who will not give a single rupee to PN ashram due to current composition of SSSCT), you need to provide evidence as you are making a very serious charge. I mean, that's the law in India, sir. Suspicion alone cannot be the grounds of making such serious charges against SSSCT which publishes an audited balance sheet annually.

I should also say that if some trustees are wealthy, Sai devotees should not be jealous of them and target them with allegations of corruption in this post-Mahasamadhi phase of the mission. What should be seen is the contribution they are making through their knowledge, experience, stature in society, etc. Some of the trustees are top persons from banking, law and judiciary. How will they feel when such allegations are made against the whole body of SSSCT without evidence? I am afraid I have to say that I strongly disagree with you on these implied allegations of corruption against the whole SSSCT body without any evidence whatsoever.

Regarding the revelations of AP: I have observed many times in Sai Kulwant Hall how Bhagavan would be happy with AP sir and ask him to speak to the gathering in Sai Kulwant Hall. AP sir's talks would be full of devotion and enthusiasm for Sai and the Sai mission. But about what you wrote was conveyed to AP by Swami in Jan. 2011, I am quite shocked. I can say that Bhagavan's physical health was quite down from 2010 onwards itself with even his words being quite hard to understand for many people. Perhaps that created some difficult situations for the leaders of Prasanthi Nilayam ashram. I also have to say that publicly Bhagavan did show a lot of respect towards the leaders, which does not fit in with what you wrote was conveyed to AP.