What the Sai Baba Phenomenon Says About India Today

The recent death, at the age of 85, of Sathyanarayana Raju, an Indian man whose numerous devotees considered him an incarnation of God, provides an opportunity to highlight the frightening degree of tolerance of corruption and dishonesty in Indian society. Please see below two TV documentaries on the deceased godman. (The documentaries are available on YouTube in ten-minute segments. I have never been able to figure out the logic behind or the purpose of YouTube's ten-minute limit.)

Seduced by Sai Baba (DR, Denmark, 2002)

• Part 1 http://youtu.be/nsPwhkqboSI (introduction)
  
• Part 2 http://youtu.be/44uX8JcpXQ4 (holy ash and jewelry scam)
  
• Part 3 http://youtu.be/XF_LDKgODZE (amrit, alchemy, sexual abuse)
  
• Part 4 http://youtu.be/FFX47jL8Osk (sexual abuse of underage boys)
  
• Part 5 http://youtu.be/YoPZc0WgtK4 (sexual abuse of underage boys)
  
• Part 6 http://youtu.be/mvEJi2YNsvU (sexual abuse of underage boys and a possible link to the mysterious police killiings of four men in Sai Baba's apartment in 1993)
  

The Secret Swami (BBC, 2004)

• Part 1 http://youtu.be/_BVEJDPrGpM (introduction)
  
• Part 2 http://youtu.be/i-Ajawd59RM (Western devotees)
  
• Part 3 http://youtu.be/Ag93TX6DI0w (The Rahm Family of Arkansas and Alaya Rahm, immaculate materialization scams, Mark Roche)
  
• Part 4 http://youtu.be/CROnyK2fzcs (sex abuse of Alaya Rahm, regurgitation scam)
  
• Part 5 http://youtu.be/1PHsxBEYI9g (Murli Manohar Joshi)
  
• Part 6 http://youtu.be/6Q4M2raOwPI (The police killing of four "boys" armed with knives in Sai Baba's apartment)
  
• Part 7 http://youtu.be/mGZ3Bdjvg3I (legacy of corruption)
  

See also Miracle Man by K. Venkateshwarlu, Frontline, May 7, 2011.

A truly awful aspect of the entire episode is its clear demonstration of the utter shamelessness of the Indian establishment. Raju's funeral was attended by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minster, and Ms. Sonia Gandhi, the President of the ruling Congress Party.

Good god!!