Sathya Sai Baba born as Sathyanarayana Raju (23 November 1926– 24 April 2011) was a popular Indian guru,spiritual figure and educator. Sathya Sai Baba and his organizations support a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in India and abroad. The number of active Sathya Sai Baba adherents was estimated in 1999 to be around 6 million.
BIOGRAPHY:
Sathyanarayana Raju was born to Eswaramma and Peddavenkama Raju Ratnakaram in the village of Puttaparthi.Almost everything known about his life stems from the hagiography that has grown around him, the presentation of narratives that hold special meaning to his devotees and are considered evidence of his divine nature.His birth, which his mother Eswaramma asserted was by miraculous conception, was also said to be heralded by miracles. As a child, he was described as "unusually intelligent" and charitable.He was exceptionally talented in drama, music, dance and writing, and was an avid composer of poems and plays.He was said to be capable of materialising objects such as food and sweets out of thin air.On 8 March 1940, while living with his elder brother Seshama Raju in Uravakonda, Sathya was apparently stung by a scorpion.He lost consciousness for several hours.Within the next few days there was a noticeable change in Sathya's behavior.There were "symptoms of laughing and weeping, eloquence and silence.""He began to sing Sanskrit verses, a language of which he had no prior knowledge."Doctors believed his behavior to be hysteria.His parents brought Sathya home to puttaparthi.Concerned, they took him to many priests, "doctors" and exorcists.On 23 May 1940, Sathya called household members and materialized sugar candy and other items. His father became furious upon seeing this, thinking his son was bewitched.He took a stick and asked him who he was. To this Sathya announced calmly and firmly "I am Sai Baba," a reference to Sai Baba of Shirdi.He proclaimed himself to be a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi—a saint who became famous in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in Maharashtra, and who had died eight years before Sathya was born.
PREACHED UNITY:
SERVICES:
Sathya Sai Baba supported a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in over 166 countries. The Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Sri Satya Sai University) in Prasanthi nilayam, is the only college in India to have received an "A++" rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission). Sri Sathya Sai University for which Baba is the Chancellor, has three campuses, one at Puttaparthi for men, one at Whitefield, Bangalore for men and one at Anantapur for women. His charity supports an institute for Indian Classical Music called the Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music. Baba's educational institutions aim to impart Character Education along with Excellence in academics with emphasis on Human Values and Ethics.
Sathya Sai Baba chaired the Muddenahalli-Sathya Sai Loka Seva School and Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust Educational Institutions in Muddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura regions. In addition, a Sathya Sai Baba University and Medical School as well as a world class hospital and research institute are being constructed on over 200 acres (0.81 km2) to serve the destitute population. Baba said that the campus will be modeled after Puttaparthi and will infuse spirituality with academics.
Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital, Whitefield (suburb of Bangalore), Karnataka, India
The Sri Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi is a 220 bed facility that provides free surgical and medical care and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narasimha Rao on 22 November 1991. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore is a 333 bed hospital meant to benefit the poor. The hospital was inaugurated on 19 January 2001 by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.The hospital has provided free medical care to over 250,000 patients.
The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was opened in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977 and provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cost. The hospital has treated over 2 million patients.
The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, two specialty hospitals, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India. The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects. One project completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway named "Sathya Sai Ganga Canal". Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi praised the Chennai water project and Sai Baba's involvement. Other completed water projects include the Medak District Project benefiting 450,000 people in 179 villages and the Mahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350,000 people in 141 villages. In January 2007, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust said it would start a drinking water project in Latur, Maharashtra.In 2008, 2 million people in the state of Orissa, India were affected by floods. As a relief measure, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization, has built 699 houses as a part of their first phase in 16 villages by March 2009.
Sathya Sai Baba's Educare program seeks to found schools throughout the world with the goal of educating children in the five human values. According to the Sai Educare site, schools have been founded in 33 countries, including Australia, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Peru. The Times of Zambia states, "The positive influence of Sathya Sai is unprecedented in the annals of education in Zambia. Sai Baba's education ideals as embodied in his human values-based approach in education are an eye opener to educationists in Zambia."
In Canada, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian research and educational organization, ranked the Sathya Sai School of Canada as one of the top 37 elementary schools in Ontario. The Sathya Sai School scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in the Institute's overall rating for academic performance.
On 23 November 1999, the Department of Posts, Government of India, released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Sathya Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses.
On 23 November 2001, the digital radio network Radio Sai Global Harmony was launched through the World Space Organization, United States. Dr Michael Oleinikof Nobel (distant relative to Alfred Nobel and one of the patrons for the radio network) said that the radio network would spread Sathya Sai Baba's message of global harmony and peace.
In January 2007, an event was held in Chennai Nehru stadium organised by the Chennai Citizens Conclave to thank Sathya Sai Baba for the 200 crore water project which brought water from the River Krishna in Andhra Pradesh to Chennai city. Four chief ministers attended the function.
Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital, Puttaparthi, A.P., India
Swami.... Get Back soon... Many are waiting for you....
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