The hypocrisy of religiosity.

The recent Mahasamadhi of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, lovingly referred to as Swami by his followers,sparked off many commentaries, discussions and musings on the phenomenon of Divinity incarnating in a human form, by those who subscribe to that view, and many more that totally rubbished the former and even went the extra mile in “sensationalizing” the Life of Swami so as to make for a good weekend sop opera.

This write up is not intended to address the sections of the media looking for pulp fiction to make a quick buck, instead I hope to reach out to those with an open mind, those with who claim to have nurtured a rational though process towards life.

Miracles, just Humbug! ??:- This is something I have heard a lot over the past few weeks. “How can miracles happen”? This question is largely fueled by reports of millions of devotees of Swami, who have met with situations of 'no-return' and yet the supernatural way that they were pulled out to 'safety'.Let me quote to you an instance from the vast ocean of experiences that devotees of Swami have experienced around the world. There was once a lady who was diagnosed with fatal cancer in one of her vital organs; the docs of course numbered her days and gave up hopes. The lady was obviously distraught and rushed to Swami. Swami pulled out sacred ash from no where, and said “ Cancer is Canceled”; Lo and behold subsequent lab reports confirmed the non existence of the disease. Now that was just a 'moral' of the story and the I have not ventured into the emotional roller coaster that the person would have gone thru. Now, let me pose a question to those who would urge with rationality, “Is this not Divine intervention?”.

There is immense hypocrisy that lies within man today. Faced with trauma, physical or mental, man looks towards God for succor. He goes to Temples, Churches and other pilgrim spots with a hope for a miracle. But when the same divinity descends on earth wearing a human 'dress', there is resentment, dis-belief. Swami used to refer to this anecdote on many occasions. Man worships the snake, he makes beautiful idols of the reptile and offers prayers to the same. If the snake comes alive, Man will gather a few strong people and get the snake banished from human habitation. Such is the reaction of man towards divinity. People pray the miracles happen, but it has become a fashion to criticize them in public.

Khalil Gibran wrote "We shall pass with the flowing of the rivers, and we shall be nameless. But those who crossed Him in mid-stream shall be remembered for crossing Him in mid-stream." For those of us that were privileged to be in the proximity of the Divine, wearing the human form of Sri Sathya Sai Baba, consider it a life worth living. For those who weren’t as fortunate, instead of crying 'sour grapes' have no choice but to look within. For Swami says, “I am God. You are also God. The only difference is I am aware, and you are not.”

May peace and wisdom prevail.