6
6
8
8
1
1
.
.
I
I
N
N
T
T
R
R
O
O
D
D
U
U
C
C
T
T
I
I
O
O
N
N
T
T
O
O
A
A
N
N
I
I
N
N
C
C
A
A
R
R
N
N
A
A
T
T
I
I
O
O
N
N
protagonist are included for consideration—and Soifer similarly concludes that
these other characteristics (again, for the most part, with the exception of the first)
are relevant to understanding the Narasiṁha and Vāmana avatars, albeit that they
arise more from their traditional cosmological settings than from anything integral
to the avatar concept itself. But such settings, whilst certainly present in Sathya
Sai Baba’s avatar teachings, are far less central to these than they are to the tradi-
tional accounts. He generally interprets traditional cosmogonies in a strictly phi-
losophical fashion (see pp.190,161), and sometimes even denies aspects of them
(pp.196,340), or connects modern cosmogonic theories to the avatar (see p.127).
One thing that Soifer does not specifically address, but which Parrinder men-
tions, and which others have picked up on
25
, is the idea that the avatars come with
a definite purpose, and this is something that Sathya Sai Baba does often refer to,
and that is a major feature of most avatar accounts (traditional and modern). If
we were to posit any “universal” of avatar ideas, this would be it
26
. Freda Match-
ett (2001:160ff.), in her study of the figure of Kṛṣṇa, writes:
From its first known instances, the avatāra myth is connected with the idea of pur-
pose. Not every transformation of a divine figure is regarded as an avatāra, but only
those which take place with certain ends in view. …
i) the protection of dharma [“righteousness”] and the punishment of adharma;
ii) the removal of the earth’s burden;
iii) the welfare of the universe;
iv) the destruction of asuras [demons];
v) the provision of the means of liberation;
vi) spontaneous enjoyment (līlā).
Sathya Sai Baba generally subscribes to this view—he says: ‘In each Yuga [“age”],
the Divine has incorporated itself as an Avathaar for some particular task’
27
. But,
again, with one exception—the first of these purposes (something of which we
will see shortly)
28
, the particular details of this list do not loom large in his teach-
ings. Nor are they fully representative of his, or even of traditional, views—
Parrinder (1970:124) notes a theme that Matchett does not pick up on: ‘showing
the divine nature and love’ as another important purpose of the traditional avatars.
What Sathya Sai Baba does predominantly draw upon, rather than any such ab-
25
E.g. R.N.Dandekar (1976:45) writes that ‘The avatāra-theory is essentially purpose oriented’.
26
NB Parrinder’s “repetition of the avatars” would be another; I will say something of this later.
27
Sathya Sai Baba (18-8-1968) S8 28:157
28
NB On the other purposes listed by Matchett, see, e.g., pp.136,218 below.
1
1
.
.
3
3
E
E
x
x
p
p
l
l
a
a
i
i
n
n
i
i
n
n
g
g
E
E
m
m
b
b
o
o
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d
i
i
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6
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9
9
stracted essentials of avatar ideas (i.e. the lists of Parrinder, Bassuk and Soifer
also), are the particular details of various traditional avatar accounts. And to un-
derstand these, we must go beyond such neat lists—even if they are well founded
in traditional ideas. This then, is another reason for me to investigate the relation-
ship between Sathya Sai Baba’s avatar persona and some of the particulars of “the
history of avatar ideas”. What Sathya Sai Baba himself says on the “purpose of the
avatar”, for example, makes this clear. Sometimes he does present purposes akin
to the above in a fairly literal manner. Thus, he claims in regard to ‘the revival of
Dharma (righteousness)’, that this ‘one task includes all else’
29
, and he says that a
major purpose of the avatar is ‘to shower His love on all mankind’
30
. But, else-
where, he variously describes his mission as fourfold, threefold, or twofold—viz.:
protecting devotees, protecting dharma, and protecting the Vedas, with the latter
two of these purposes sometimes being considered to be synonymous
31
, and with
the protection of vedic scholars sometimes added in as the fourth purpose
32
. This
last purpose is also one of the major traditional duties and means of legitimation
for Hindu kings
33
, and we will see—especially in Chapter 3 below, in which I will
consider the earliest history of avatar-like ideas—that traditional ideas of sacred
kingship find significant echoes in Sathya Sai Baba’s persona.
In another variation on his above-mentioned threefold manifesto, Sathya Sai
Baba substitutes “protection of women” and “protection of property” for the more
generally stated “protection of devotees and dharma”
34
. In this, he mentions pre-
vious avatars, and so is presumably aligning himself with traditional epic stories
that tell of Rāma’s rescue of his wife Sītā, and of Kṛṣṇa’s helping his cousins to re-
gain their kingdom. Elsewhere, Sathya Sai Baba describes his task more simply:
‘the spread of the knowledge and practice of Dharma’
35
; or ‘to make the people
worthy of the Lord’s grace’
36
. He also says that ‘avatars appear again and again
and help human beings, by leading an exemplary life’
37
. And these are likewise
29
(5-3-1968) http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume08/sss08-09.pdf [10-5-2007]
30
http://members.rediff.com/saivani/SriSathyaSaiBaba.htm [19-4-2007]
31
Sathya Sai Baba (25-1-1963) S3 1:9-10 NB On this connection, see p.244 below. Heesterman
(1978:81,92-94) points out that the content of the Vedas has very little to do with dharma.
32
Sathya Sai Baba (23-11-1962) S2 48:271-272
33
See, e.g., J.C.Heesterman (1987), p.93.
34
Sathya Sai Baba (31-8-1972) S11 45:293
35
Sathya Sai Baba (10-10-1964) S4 31:184-185
36
(11-10-1997) http://sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume30/sss30-29.pdf [14-6-2007]
37
SSB 1978 55