Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Today I heard these lines of an oldie haunting Hindi film song, sung by a guy in an eatery in outside ashram Puttaparthi: "Detein hain Bhagavan ko Dhokha Insaan ko kya chodenge? Kasme vade pyar wafa sab batein hain batoon ka kya? Koi kisi ka nahi yeh jhoote natein hain natoon ka kya?" which I translate to: (They) betray God, (will they then) spare (ordinary) people? Promises, love, faith (to loved one) are all talk, what is (the value of) talk? Nobody is anybody's (kin), these are false relationships, what is (the value of) relationships? ----- Ravi: I felt these lines to be quite appropriate for these confused and sometimes tragic days in the post-Mahasamadhi Sathya Sai movement. Here's the video of the song, sung by Manna Dey, written by Indeevar, from the film Upkar (1967), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX7hFKjm_n4 , 5 min. 37 secs. Here's another video which has the scenes in the movie prior to this song followed by the song at around 5 mins...

20th 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. A thought just struck me. Can Sai university (Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, a deemed university under University Grants Commission (UGC) of India) revoke/withdraw the gold medal given to its MBA alumnus, and now false belief so called communicator, Madhusudan Rao Naidu? I think they should do that. But, given that Sai university was the place where Muddenahalli group betrayal occurred with traitors former vice-chancellor --Name1-snipped-- and former warden, B.N. Narasimhamurthy, and quislings (traitor-collaborators) --Name2-snipped-- and --Name3-snipped--, and that Sai university has still NOT PUBLICLY CONDEMNED Madhusudan Rao Naidu and Narasimhamurthy for their betrayal of Sai university and Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust, I very seriously doubt they will do anything of this sort. I guess the reality is that Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher L...

In a recent Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10211856864955849 , Terry Reis Kennedy wrote about the harassment faced by Western women when traveling in trains and buses, and walking in crowds, in India. She reports that she has been "groped frequently", even though she was wearing a saree (Indian garment used by Indian ladies). But that when she tried to find the perpetrator to slap him, she could not single out the perpetrator. She concludes the post saying that, "Westerners come to India to learn about God, about Buddha, about the holy places here. We come here for refuge, not wrestling with gropers!" I have given below the comments (slightly edited) that I made on that post. I think the unfortunate reality of India in the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century is that there are lot of places where women are molested, leered at, groped, and sometimes worse - raped. That is why most sensible family people in India ...

Terry Reis Kennedy's recent Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10211857173083552 , states that Shri B.N. Narasimhamurthy said, in a (public) meeting, on November 29th 2016, "I have to tell you, I have not earned any money in my life other than what Swami gave me physically all the time. I lived like a prince though I'm a pauper. But I'm a God's Pauper!" Given below are some comments of mine on that post: To use words like God's pauper but not be transparent about the funds received by trusts where he is supposed to be the main man, is not demonstrating financial integrity, in my considered view. Let Shri B.N. Narasimhamurthy provide financial details of his trusts (like what Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust does) to the public, audited by a chartered accountant (so the CA can be held responsible for the financial details published), and clearly state how much money has been spent for his and Madhusudan Rao Naidu's upkeep a...

My comments on Mr. V.R. Ganti's post, https://www.facebook.com/notes/vr-ganti/bnnm-has-gone-mad-sani-saturn-dancing-on-bnnms-head-making-him-talk-non-sense/10208425203652311/ , are given below: It is frustrating to helplessly watch Shri B.N. Narasimhamurthy and Madhusudan Rao Naidu continue to do their drama or delusion, which seems to attract so many people, worldwide. Elders in the Sai fraternity advise us to not criticize anybody - in other words, turn a blind eye to these actions of BNNM and Madhusudan. Bhagavan is famous for the tests that he gives to his devotees. But I think this test of Bhagavan is too much to bear! It has been going on publicly since May 2014 i.e. over two and a half years now. What is Sathya and what is Asathya? Sathya is appearing as Asathya and Asathya is appearing as Sathya!!! Utterly frustrating situation! Jai Sairam! --- I should also say that I wish Muddenahalli group well in their service activities including this new ashram and hospital they ...

Last updated on 22nd Jan. 2017 Ravi: The first Sathya Sai samithi that I joined was in Dombivli, Maharashtra which is close (commutable distance) to Mumbai (where I used to work) around 1993/1994 or so. I got associated with Prasanthi Seva as Seva Dal a couple or so years later, and have done six stints of Prasanthi Seva at Prasanthi Nilayam perhaps in the period 1995 to 1998. It was in this period of my association with Dombivli Sathya Sai samithi, and Prasanthi Seva at Prasanthi Nilayam, that I came to have some contact with Shri Ramesh Sawant, a leader and later state president of Maharashtra Sathya Sai Seva Organization. Above pic shows Shri Ramesh Sawant with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Hadshi, Maharashtra in 2009. Pic Courtesy: http://www.saibabaofindia.com/june09/12-3day-evening-sri-sathya-sai-baba-hadshi-panduraga-kshetra-pune-mumbai-maharashtra.jpg I found Sawant sir to be an inspiring leader for LOVING service. He was (and would still be, I think) very approach...

22nd 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. A Sai devotee who lives in France (she is English-American, I believe), Eve Gardener, wrote an article titled, "Sri Sathya Sai Baba Knows Everything" which was shared by Terry Reis Kennedy on her Facebook post here, https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10211822777503684 . Eve started her article with the following two sentences: "I don't think I could ever forget how well Sai Baba knew everything about us, down to the very smallest detail. For me it was always what He knew about us and revealed to us on a personal level that made him truly Divine." She then mentions a visit to Kodaikanal during the mid 1990s (for Sathya Sai Baba darshans). She had a wonderful dream experience of Swami where Swami showed that he knew all about her sleep medications issue and tried to help wean her away from it. Then she mentions a warning dre...