Sathya sai international organisation

Subtle body

What is the subtle body?

Madhusudan Naidu claims that since Sathya Sai Baba's physical departure on 24 April 2011, Swami now lives in Muddenahalli in a subtle or light body, referred to as Sukshma Baba. Madhusudan Naidu claims that Sukshma Baba communicates through him alone and is visible only to him and a few select supporters. This claim assumes the survival of Swami's subtle body following physical death:

Madhusudan Naidu: Right now, I am not in the physical body, but in the Sookshma (Sukshma) Shareera (subtle body) which is beyond the physical. In My Sookshma Shareera I can move to any part of the world without taking any time. … But Sookshma Shareera is not bound by desha, kala and paristhiti (space, time and circumstances) and therefore cannot be seen with physical eyes.

Sri Sathya Sai Uvacha, Vol. 1, p.10

This subtle form is just like the physical form, without the flesh and bones.

Sri Sathya Sai Uvacha , Vol. 1, p.27
Swami has also confirmed that all beings assume a gross, subtle and causal body when they incarnate. This includes Avatars:

Every living being comprises three aspects: sthula, sukshma,  and karana (gross, subtle, and causal).

SSS 37.24: October 19, 2004, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume37/d041019.pdf

However, Sathya Sai Baba told us that the subtle body, which is composed of the life force, mind and the intellect, disintegrates upon death and that the "I" or True Self has no such bondage:

Hislop: Does man have three bodies?

Sai: Yes. Body, Mind and Soul. Physical body, subtle body and causal body. On death, the physical and subtle bodies disintegrate, but the causal body remains.

CWBSSSB p.79, http://media.radiosai.org/journals/Vol_04/01MAR06/conversation.

There are five sheaths within which the I shines. Of these, the Anna-maya kosha (the material sheath), is the gross body. The subtle body consists of the next three sheaths, prana-maya (the vital sheath), Mano-maya (the mental sheath) and Vijnana-maya (the intellectual sheath). The causal body is the Ananda-maya Kosha (bliss conscious sheath). Even this is a limitation, a phase, a characteristic. The I has no such bounds or bondage. The guru who can make you cognise this I is your own mind. Turn it towards Intelligence and Ananda, you are in the right path; turn it towards the vital, the material, you slide down the path of perdition.

SSS 11.44: July 26, 1972, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume11/sss11-44.pdf

The subtle body functions only in the dream state

Madhusudan Naidu claims that the Swami is living in a subtle body which can move to any part of the world without taking any time:

Right now, I am not in the physical body, but in the Sookshma Shareera (subtle body) which is beyond the physical. In My Sookshma Shareera I can move to any part of the world without taking any time.

Sri Sathya Sai Uvacha, Vol. 1, p.10
Whereas, Sathya Sai Baba said that the subtle body functions only in the dream state not the waking state:

The five pranas (vital breaths), the mind, The intellect and the ten sense organs (of perception and action), constitute the sukshma-sarira (subtle body). It functions in the dream state….There is no relationship between the dream and the waking state.

SSS 23.25: July 7, 1990, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume23/sss23-25.pdf
Devotees who have travelled to Muddenahalli also refer to this subtle body as a light body, however Swami has said that the light body is just another term for the subtle body which He has already said disintegrates at death:
Q: What then is the subtle body?

A: The five organs of perception (jnanendriyas), the five subtlenesses (tan-matras), the five airs (pranas), the mind (manas), and the intellect (buddhi)—these seventeen categories combine to constitute the subtle body.

Q: Is this called only the subtle body (sukshma deha), or does it have any other appellation?

A: Why shouldn’t it? It has. It is also known as the light body (taijasa).

Q: Is it indicated as belonging to any state?

A: The dream state (swapna avastha).

Prasnothara Vahini Answers to Spiritual Questions,

http://www.sssbpt.info/vahinis/prasnottara/prasnotharavahiniinteractive.pdf

Madhusudan Naidu claims that he is able to see and hear what Sri Sathya Sai Baba says in the subtle body and then communicate this to devotees. As Sri Sathya Sai Baba consistently warned devotees not to believe those who claim to be mediums in communication with Him, Madhusudan Naidu claims that he is not a medium.

Mediums

What is a medium?

A medium is a person who claims to communicate with the spirits of those who have passed away. Attempts to contact the spirits of the deceased date back to early human history, with the practice of mediumship gaining in popularity during the 19th century. A type of mediumship is mental mediumship, as defined below:

Mental mediumship: "Mental mediumship" is communication of spirits with a medium by telepathy. The medium mentally "hears" (clairaudience), "sees" (clairvoyance), and/or "feels" (clairsentience) messages from spirits. Directly or with the help of a spirit guide, the medium passes the information on to the message's recipient(s).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediumship#Mental_mediumship
The First Spiritual Temple, founded in 1883, explains mental mediumship further:

Mental mediumship involves the relating of information, through communication, via the varied aspects of thought transference, or mental telepathy. … Mental mediumship takes place within the consciousness of the medium. The results are expressed verbally and must pass through the medium's mouth. … In a demonstration of mental mediumship, it is the medium who hears, sees, and feels what the spirit communicators are relating. Furthermore, it is the medium's function to relate the information, with minimum personal influence and prejudice, to the recipient of the message…

http://www.fst.org/mediumship.htm
For example, the contemporary American medium, George Anderson, claims to hear the voice of spirits and passes on that information to loved ones. His website provides the following description of his mediumship:

George is simply able to hear communication from those who have passed on, much the same way as a radio receives transmissions. Unless your loved ones tell George the information they want him to relate, he does not know it. That is the very definition of a medium.

http://georgeanderson.com/faq.htm