Fake Letter Attributed to Sathya Sai Baba
A letter is doing the rounds on the Internet - in news groups both public and private, by email, by email forwarding, by email someone type the alleged handwritten letter out, by forward of PDF file, all this.
The alleged letter from Baba trades on the good name of of former students at the Sathya Sai University, formerly Sri Sathya Sai Instiute of Higher Learning. The alleged alumni is not named. The letter has a false authority. We know that no alumni is authorised to speak on behalf of Baba to devotees worldwide.
Many people have forwarded this email on and tell all what the criteria of this letter are:
Sairam to All. Important Message from Swami on What needs to be done by all of us in 2011. Sairam.
- this forward says Important!
- this foward says What needs to be done
- this forward says by all of us in 2011
The letter has gained some traction on its rounds through the Internet News Groups - both open and closed news groups.
Let us look at another example:
I am forwarding a wonderful letter that Swami has written. The following message was sent to me by a family friend who lives in Parthi. The letter is very moving.
The letter is being forwarded by people who express devotion to the contents of the letter.
The letter has gained some accretions, a form of authority has been added to this by citing Baba on another matter:
In the pure, serene (Sathwic) path of meditation, you will consider repetition of the Holy Name and meditation should be as a duty and suffer any amount of trouble for its sake; - Baba
This is an absolute abuse of the divine name and divine teaching, using this to give credit to a fake missive alleged to be from Baba.
The letter has been typed out:
It's a beautiful Divine Letter with very important message for all to imbibe and follow. For ease of reading the Letter (attached) has been typed out word by word, keeping its orginality. Should there be any mistake, I humbly seek the Divine forgiveness and guidance.
The task of the devotee is sathyam anavesham - excavation of the truth. What has happened here with the fellow who has typed this out, is that an alleged misive has been rated creditworthy, on the same level as divine discourse. The devotee who typed this out has failed to exercise his or her discrimination to excavate the truth.
Header
Let's take a look at the top of the letter:
The letter does not give the divine name, or nor the divine form. This is not a letterhead which has resourced from Prashanthi Nilayam.
Fakery, allegations of fraud, conjouring and fake magicians tricks are not new around Sai Baba. For many years, the sempiternal notices has appeared in Sanathana Sarathi that no one is authorised to collect funds in the name of Sai Baba, and nobody speaks for Sai Baba.
Sathya Sai Baba can and does, as ever, speak for himself.
When Baba speaks, that message is always a message of Divine Love. Love, love, love.
Despite all these evidences of endless divine love and felicity towards one and all, the rumour mongers continue to work. An email arrives, the latest "message" is forwarded on to one's accomplices, the circle of friends and devotees to whome we "must" send on this latest missive, the very latest about this marvel we call "Swami".
When Swami's message is one of Love, then we have to ask why is it that people forget this simple message of God's endless flow of love towards them; what is it that makes people forward material filled with conditions? Conditions one and all must fulfil in order to obtain divine favour?
It is because they have only ever known conditional love, and they have not experienced this endless flow of incessant love that Baba is.
Think only of Baba and his love for all this creation. Think only of love which keeps the world spinning on its axis, of love which gives night and day, rain and sunshine, and life to all the kingoms: mineral, plant, animal and human.
With this love flooding our entire being, why is it needful to circulate emails and material which contain lies: statements infused with fear and conditions for devotees to fulfil? Baba has no middleman; the devotee goes direct to God. No one is authorised to give any kind of advice to any devotees. Anyone who purports to be giving messages from Baba is a fake, as Baba himself has told many times, and arranged for notices to be placed in Sanathana Sarathi, that NONE speak for Baba, none collect upon his behalf, none are given special messages to give to other devotees. NONE.
All we are asked is to have love for God, constant remembrance of God and looking upon all beings as only a manifestation of Divinity in different forms and shapes.
When we turn to God with love for God, then all we will know is God's endless burst of love, pure love.
To those to whom nothing in the world attracts any more, I will tell again: the most important thing on the path is love, love and love once more. And this as well: fortune favours the brave.