7
7
8
8
1
1
.
.
I
I
N
N
T
T
R
R
O
O
D
D
U
U
C
C
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I
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mands ([rational-]legal authority).
2. Traditional grounds—resting on an established belief in the sanctity of imme-
morial traditions and the legitimacy of the status of those exercising authority
under them (traditional authority); or finally,
3. Charismatic grounds—resting on devotion to the specific and exceptional sanc-
tity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the norma-
tive patterns or order revealed or ordained by him (charismatic authority).
These categories usefully delineate factors of (reasonably) universal applicability
that imbue persons and ideas with authority. Indeed, as we will see, more than
one work of recent scholarship that is relevant to our concerns invokes similar dis-
tinctions quite independently of Weber’s terminology (see pp.156,354 below).
I will often find occasion to employ Weber’s terms (taking “charisma” in its
revolutionary sense) and will use these to describe the ways in which Sathya Sai
Baba creates (and asserts) authority for his ideas. Thus, as in the instance with
which I began this section, we will see that there are some fairly direct appeals to
traditional authority made in the service of legitimating Sathya Sai Baba’s avatar
persona. And, as exemplified by his assertion that: ‘There is no such thing as God
“descending” on earth or leaving it’, we will see a number of “charismatic” proc-
lamations on his part that deliberately undermine the force of traditional ideas.
Lest it be thought that my proposed investigations along these lines reflect little
more than my own scholarly predilections, I would point out here that questions
have been invoked by other academics, devotees, detractors, and even Sathya Sai
Baba himself, as to how “traditional” his teachings might be. Several previous
scholarly studies have characterized Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings as being thor-
oughly traditional, if eclectic. Susan Ackerman and Raymond Lee (1988:114) write
that Sathya Sai Baba’s movement is not ‘concerned with reforming or reinterpret-
ing Hindu beliefs and practices’, and David Mearns (1995:267) likewise suggests
that many of ‘the rites pertaining to Baba reinforce and recodify familiar and ac-
cepted Hindu practices’. Alexandra Kent (2005:57) similarly highlights Sathya Sai
Baba’s ‘lack of doctrinal originality’—pointing out that this ‘is in keeping with Sai
Baba’s own contention that he is here to rekindle awareness of eternal truths, not
to invent new ones’
18
. And, in a more narrow context, William Jackson (1994:
18
NB There are a number of devotees’ works that purport to relate—with Sathya Sai Baba’s sanc-
tion—teachings “channelled” from him by supposedly paranormal means, e.g.: Lucas Ralli (nd-
1993); Graciela Busto (1998); and Sudha Aditya (1992). These works generally exhibit a close affin-
ity in terms of style and content with Sathya Sai Baba’s own, but they do significantly reflect the in-
dividuality of their authors. It is thus somewhat misleading that Kent repeatedly quotes Ralli as giv-
ing the words of Sathya Sai Baba (see, for example, Kent 2005, p.42) without noting the (suppos-
1
1
.
.
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4
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&
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7
7
9
9
196-197), in a book on the famous South Indian singer-saint Tyāgarāja (1767-1847
CE
)
19
, cites Sathya Sai Baba as an example of 20th century persons who have ex-
pressed views on this figure, saying that he ‘epitomizes the traditional view’
20
.
There is some justification for all of these opinions, but a number of similar
conclusions to which various other scholars have come are contentious. Deborah
Swallow (1982:157,156) concludes of Sathya Sai Baba that:
What he offers his devotees is the traditional bhakti [devotional] resolution to their
problems; the chance of salvation while continuing to carry out their worldly duties,
if they offer him devotion. But the ways in which this devotion is demanded, and the
themes Sathya Sai Baba uses to explain the dilemmas his followers face, all help to
persuade them that their orthodoxy is right and proper, and their traditional values
are as relevant today as ever before.
But she also cites contrary factors: ‘He cannot simply revert to time-honoured for-
mulas… he has to be a cultural broker between traditional answers and contempo-
rary problems’. And, as we have already seen, in addition to devotional compo-
nents, there are strong philosophical strands in Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings—some
of which, what’s more, themselves lean towards the “unorthodox”.
Furthermore, whilst Palmer (2005:106) sees Sathya Sai Baba’s Hindu devotees
as being ‘well versed in the traditions [to which Sathya Sai Baba refers], knowing
their source without it explicitly being stated’ (thus being ripe candidates for “con-
firmation in their orthodoxy”), Babb (1987:175) writes that: ‘Many of my [Indian]
devotee-informants had only the sketchiest idea of the Hindu tradition, and this it-
self was sometimes gained only as a result of participation in Sathya Sai Baba’s
cult’. It is surely not the case that this last group is gaining confirmation of its tra-
ditional beliefs—although its members might be revelling in a new found sense of
tradition. But even this does not apply in some instances, such as my own encoun-
ter with Sathya Sai Baba (described earlier)—my new-found “traditional” answers
to his questions, even if drawn from his teachings, were clearly not acceptable.
It is true that bhakti traditions often have their own strong philosophical com-
ponent
21
and, moreover, often deliberately aim to subvert any and every other tra-
edly) “channelled” nature of these (see Ralli (nd:Vol1;xiii)). NB On this phenomenon in general,
but with some reference to Sathya Sai Baba, see Beverley J. Scott (1997).
19
On Tyāgarāja see Section 4.6, p.267 below.
20
NB Jackson bases his comments on Sathya Sai Speaks Volumes 1-10, but he only cites a couple of
passages from the first two of these volumes, supplementing this, it would seem, with some views
expressed by Sathya Sai Baba to Jackson personally in interviews in 1981 and 1982 [Jackson
(1994:202,n75; 203,n76; ,n77)].
21
NB Alf Hiltebeitel (1983:207) sees Biardeau as rightly criticising modern scholarship that has