Sathya sai international organisation

Unity is the need of the day, not conflict

Sri Sathya Sai Baba always said that unity was of paramount importance in the Sathya Sai International Organisation.

Differences should not divide us. Members of the Sai Organisation should foster such unity. Let there not be any conflicts. Live like children of the same family. Get a good name, so that there is no other organisation comparable to the Sai Organisation in the world. Develop love and work unitedly.

SSS 31.41: November 20, 1998, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume31/sss31-41.pdf

The sole object of Sathya Sai Seva Samithis, the very breath on which they thrive, is the consciousness of unity, of all as One. But the politics of proliferation attacks the Samithis too and ten men develop into eleven institutions. As in politics, here too, faction, competition, clamour for power and authority, greed for office raise their heads. People are not able to resist the infection of the atmosphere of elections and parties. Such tactics and tendencies will not fit in with associations of aspirants towards the goal of spiritual unity.

SSS 8.40: October 1, 1968, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume08/sss08-40.pdf

In the Sai organisations, the primary requisite is unity and mutual trust. Only with unity can you promote the well-being of the world. If there is discord within the organisation, how can you serve others?

SSS 26.31: October 7, 1993, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume26/sss26-31.pdf
After Sri Sathya Sai Baba left His body on April 24, 2011, Mr B N Narasimhamurthy, Madhusudan Naidu and others began to claim that Sri Sathya Sai Baba had left Puttaparthi to live in Muddenahalli in a subtle body, which Madhusudan Naidu was in communication with. They also founded a separate financial trust and began to conduct activities separate to the Sathya Sai International Organisation.
Madhusudan's claims to be an intermediary for Sri Sathya Sai Baba have caused disunity in the organisation. Swami spoke about this kind of disunity arising in similar situations in the past:

How did differences arise within each religion? After the passing of the founders of these religions, the followers violated the teachings of the founders and quarrelled among themselves on account of their selfish interests. With the passage of time, schisms developed in each religion and separate sects were formed. This is the result of individual, selfish motives and not the fault of the original founders.

SSS 23.36: December 25, 1990, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume23/sss23-36.pdf
Devotees all around the world have rejected Madhusudan's claims, instead placing their faith in Sri Sathya Sai Baba's teachings:

Then, there are some who proclaim that I am "coming upon someone" and speaking through them! They pretend to be My mouthpieces and communicate to others My advice and My suggestions, as if I have 'authorised' them or as if I am Myself telling so through them. Now hear this. I never speak through another; I never possess another or use another as a vehicle of expression. I come direct, I come straight, I come as I am, to confer peace and joy.

SSS 5.18: March 27, 1965, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume05/sss05-18.pdf
Devotees also rejected Madhusudan's claims because they believe Swami's teaching that the easiest method to contact Him is by listening to the conscience:

I advise you to 'Follow the Master.' By 'Master' I mean the Conscience within you, the Voice of God.

SSS 14.13: November 22, 1978, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume14/sss14-13.pdf

The body is the temple of God; in every body, God is installed, whether the owner of the body recognises it or not. It is God that inspires you to good acts, that warns you against the bad. Listen to that Voice. Obey that Voice and you will not come to any harm.

SSS 2.3: February 27, 1961, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss02-03.pdf

The same God dwells in all beings. There is no justification for differences on the basis of

religion. It is attachment to the body which accounts for religious differences. Do not regard the body as permanent. It is a water bubble. The mind is a mad monkey. Don't follow either of them. Follow the conscience.

SSS 29.53: December 25, 1996, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume29/sss29-53.pdf
Swami also referred to the conscience as the heart and said that there is no need for another teacher apart from it:

In this world, who is a true preceptor? One's heart is the true preceptor. … Hence, there is no need to search for a preceptor. The heart is your conscience. When you consult your heart or conscience, it tells you what is right. It is the right preceptor. It will not let you go astray.

SSS 30.7: March 8, 1997, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume30/sss30-07.pdf
However, according to Madhusudan Naidu, only those who believe in him are truly following their heart or conscience. Those who believe Sri Sathya Sai Baba's teachings are following their mind and this is the cause of the conflict:

Question: … will you please explain why there is this separation and conflict between Muddenahalli and Sathya Sai Central Trust or Sathya Sai Organization, so that those who are not well informed can understand?

Answer: Truly this conflict is not today, it is happening from olden days. Truly it is not a conflict between two cousins, or two brothers, or two organisations. It is the conflict between the mind and the heart. Those who follow the mind, they can never understand what the heart says. Those who follow the heart, they will never listen to the mind. God does not go with the mind. He goes for the heart.

Q and A session with Madhusudan Naidu, Japan, March 15, 2015, p.5

Truly, it is just the battle between mind and heart. Every single battle fought in the world is actually a battle between the mind and the heart. The mind, even if it knows the truth, thinks about what others would think, and listens to others rather than itself. However, the heart knows the truth, and even if others say otherwise, it still believes in itself, and follows it. Follow the heart. Those who follow the heart will all come together.

Madhusudan Naidu, Italy, April 18, 2015 p.25
In the same discourse where He explained the origins of religious difference, Sri Sathya Sai Baba proposed a solution which would end the disunity that Madhusudan's claims have created:

People must first of all get rid of self-interest and self-centredness. They must develop love, forbearance and compassion. They must try to live harmoniously. Only then can we claim to be lovers of peace in the nation and of the well-being of the world. Service should be the guiding principle. There should be no room for any kind of differences in rendering service. When you wish to serve society, you must be prepared to sacrifice your individual and communal interests. Such sacrifice alone will sublimate one's life.

SSS 23.36: December 25, 1990, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume23/sss23-36.pdf

SUMMARY

1. Sri Sathya Sai Baba asked that there not be any conflicts in the organisation and that devotees should maintain unity.
2. Madhusudan Naidu has banded together with others to form a separate trust independent of the Sathya Sai Central Trust, and a separate organisation modelled on the Sathya Sai Organisation.
3. Sri Sathya Sai Baba taught that He needs no intermediary in order to communicate with His devotees.
4. Madhusudan Naidu claims that Sri Sathya Sai Baba communicates by using him as an intermediary. These claims have caused conflict and disunity among devotees.
5. Sri Sathya Sai Baba said that these kind of differences arose in the past because "After the passing of the founders of these religions, the followers violated the teachings of the founders and quarrelled among themselves on account of their selfish interests". (SSS 23.36)
6. Devotees around the world have rejected Madhusudan's claims because they have faith in Sri Sathya Sai Baba's teachings that He does not need an intermediary and can communicate directly with devotees as the voice of conscience, also known as the heart, in everyone.
7. Madhusudan claims that the reason for the conflict between the Sathya Sai Organisation and his followers is that his those who believe in him are the ones following the heart, whereas those who believe Sri Sathya Sai Baba are following their minds.
8. Sri Sathya Sai Baba says that the heart is your conscience. (SSS 30.7).
QUESTIONS

1. When Swami asked devotees to maintain unity, why did Madhusudan Naidu and Mr Narasimhamurthy feel the need to separate from the Sathya Sai Organisation?
2. Speaking of the cause of religious division in the past, Swami said "After the passing of the founders of these religions, the followers violated the teachings of the founders and quarrelled among themselves on account of their selfish interests. With the passage of time, schisms developed in each religion and separate sects were formed. This is the result of individual, selfish motives." Does this sound like the scenario facing devotees today?
2. Madhusudan claims that those who believe in him follow the heart, those who don't are following the mind, yet devotees all around the world have rejected his claims based on what their conscience or heart has told them. Why would he try to say they are only following their mind?
3. Does Madhusudan's claim that those who do not believe him are only following their minds promote unity or disunity?
3. If it doesn't promote unity, why would Sri Sathya Sai Baba communicate a message that promotes disunity to Madhusudan Naidu?
4. Whose words should we believe? Sri Sathya Sai Baba or Madhusudan Naidu?