4
4
0
0
4
4
6
6
.
.
D
D
I
I
S
S
C
C
U
U
S
S
S
S
I
I
O
O
N
N
O
O
F
F
A
A
D
D
E
E
S
S
C
C
E
E
N
N
T
T
same by the term avatāra that the epic traditions had meant; he (generally) saw
the avatar as a “human messenger of God” rather than as a “descent” of a deity
(p.313), but we saw that Sathya Sai Baba—whilst himself evidently being influ-
enced in other respects by Ramakrishna’s views—does more literally adopt earlier
understandings, albeit often innovating in putting these to the service of his spiri-
tual (advaita) and ethical goals.
Some other major themes of note in what we have seen are those upon which I
have focused in this chapter: claims of the avatar acting as an exemplar, and in-
deed “acting” human—in line with the “docetic” avatar ideas that, contrary to Par-
rinder’s assertions, we have seen to predominate across a wide chronological range
of avatar traditions. I also revisited in this context ideas of the “historicity” of the
avatars—another, more minor, theme of my study as a whole—and I will finish
here by citing one of Parrinder’s (
1970:126) more obvious forays into the area of
academic theology, an area that I have hitherto shunned. If nothing else, this may
be of some relevance to predicting the future of Sathya Sai Baba and his cult
:
Historians may, or may not, be able to judge of the occurrence of particular events,
but only faith can declare whether these events are disclosures of God, in a different
way from other earthly happenings.
Ideas of the avatar are ultimately as unfalsifiable as the idea of “God” itself, and,
for Sathya Sai Baba’s followers (myself included), “the faith that moves moun-
tains” (even if Sathya Sai Baba reneges on his prophecy that he will literally “move
an entire mountain range”, see p.219), looks set to carry on his work well into the
foreseeable future. As I write this, my bags are packed for another trip to Prashan-
thi Nilayam. I do not expect to personally meet Sathya Sai Baba, but, as best as I
can conclude from my assessment of the devotional literature that has been writ-
ten about him, stranger things have happened.
S
S
A
A
T
T
H
H
Y
Y
A
A
S
S
A
A
I
I
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
A
A
S
S
A
A
V
V
A
A
T
T
A
A
R
R
4
4
0
0
5
5
E
PILOGUE
I am not Sathya Sai Baba.
1
Strange things did not eventuate on my trip to see Sathya Sai Baba; I was unable
to talk to him, and the only way that I was able to show him my PhD thesis was to
post it to him. I have no idea whether he received it or not (Indian postal services
are notoriously unreliable), but I was content to have made an effort to submit it
to my guru. Nothing happened during my trip that would in any way alter the
general conclusions that I have come to in this thesis. Sathya Sai Baba did come
out in one of his speeches with the statement quoted at top here, and this was
taken by some of those present (including his translator Anil Kumar) as being
rather strange, but he went on to explain it in advaita terms that are familiar to us:
Sathya Sai Baba is the name given to this body. I don’t have any particular name.
…you are not different from others. Those who are unaware of this spiritual princi-
ple become victims of ignorance and are subjected to delusion.
Later, in a second speech, he elaborated upon this in even more familiar terms:
this body has been given the name Sathya. This name is given to the body and not
to Me. I am not the body. I am not the mind. I am not the intellect. I am not the
Chittha (memory and determinative faculty). I am not imagination.
2
Whilst I did not get to speak to Sathya Sai Baba, I did come across a conversa-
tion between him and some of his students (reported in the recently published
fifth volume of his authorized biography) that nicely rounds off this theme and
provides a fitting epilogue to my study. Narasimha Murthy (2005:1-2) writes:
Baba asked the boys pointing to Himself, “Who am I?”
The answer came almost immediately; “God!” shouted many boys simultaneously.
…But Baba smiled and said, “Not correct!”
…One of the boys said, “Swami, You are Shiva Shakti swaroopa!”
All looked at Bhagawan expectantly. …He said, “Not correct!”
…One of the students made bold to say, “Swami, You are Sri Krishna come again!”
Baba laughed aloud and repeated, “Not correct!”
“Swami, You are Sarva Devata swaroopa!” said one of the elderly devotees.
“Not correct!”
…One of [the] devotees pleaded, “Swami, please tell us who You are!”
“I am I!” declared Bhagawan. …“To say ‘I am this or that’, is dwaita bhavam – dual-
ity. ‘I am I’ means adwaitam or ekatwam – oneness. That is the ultimate truth.”
1
(26-7-2007) http://sathyasai.org/discour/2007/d070726.pdf [29-3-2008]
2
(28-7-2007) http://sathyasai.org/discour/2007/d070728.pdf [29-3-2008]