still inside Madhusudan.
Some consider him a deceiver, and others perceive him as a great saint. I think it would be right to show culture and tolerance, recognizing the right of people to a personal point of view on such a complex issue.
It is not my job to discuss what is really going on. Whether Madhusudan is a saint, or a deceiver is an individual choice. It is about the elementary respect for alternative points of view.
One more problem is that the ashram in which Madhusudan lives (Muddenahalli), has gone out of the legal control of the ashram in Puttaparthi. Alas, this conflict has clear financial and legal foundations.
Another significant split was the division of the international organization of Sathya Sai Baba. This happened in 2022. Although the conflict itself began to mature immediately after the passing away of Sathya Sai Baba. As a result, two international organizations emerged. The first one is called Sri Sathya Sai International Organization. The second one is called Sri Sathya Sai Global Council.
The devotees of Sathya Sai Baba live in one hundred and forty countries of the world. According to some reports, at the time of Sathya Sai Baba's death, there were about two thousand centers around the world where followers regularly gathered and educational activities were carried out.
The split of the international organization of Sathya Sai Baba into two structures after his death caused a crisis among the followers. Now, in all countries of the world, two organizations function in parallel, which clearly contradicts the fundamental principles of spiritual unity, which were proclaimed by Sathya Sai Baba. Why did this happen? The reason, alas, is obvious — the ambitions of the leaders led to such an outcome.
Some readers may tell me, as the author, not to mention conflict situations. Wouldn't it be better to focus on the positive foundation of the Sai tradition? It was a difficult decision for me to include references to conflicts and divisions in the materials of this book.
If we openly analyze difficulties, then in the future we will gradually learn to overcome them. In addition, it is important for me to mention the crisis situations in the tradition, because the beginning of the mission of Prema Sai Baba takes place not only against the backdrop of world political crises, but also at a time of difficulties within the Sai tradition itself.
In my opinion, in this difficult situation, Sai devotees should show awareness, mutual respect, love and compassion, wisdom and unity. If administrators at various levels are unable to manifest the principles of spiritual leadership, millions of devotees from all over the world must do so. It is not enough to hang a portrait of Sathya Sai Baba on the wall — it is important to follow his teachings about unity and selfless service.
The tradition of Prema Sai Baba is now beginning to take shape, including his organization as a legal structure. The appearance of a legal structure around Prema Sai Baba is inevitable, because any spiritual tradition must be officially registered in order to develop in society.
We should consider both the positive and negative experiences of our predecessors. It seems to me the legal structure emerging around Prema Sai Baba should demonstrate a high culture of communication, respect for alternative opinions, and be the embodiment of the spirit of selfless service and unity.
The emerging tradition of Prema Sai Baba faces several difficult questions. How to interact with ashrams in Shirdi, Puttaparthi and Muddenahali? How to interact with parallel existing international Sathya Sai organizations? How to interact with other Prema Sai candidates and their organizations? In my opinion, the basis for our relations and communication should be mutual respect and the principle of tolerance.
37. Sathya Sai 96th Anniversary Celebration
In 2021, on November 23, an important event was celebrated — the 96th birthday of Sathya Sai Baba. According to Indian tradition, a newborn child is considered to be one year old. From the Western point of view, when a child is born, he is at the zero point, and in a year, he will be one year old. Therefore, according to Indian tradition, the 96th anniversary of Sathya Sai Baba falls in 2021, but according to Western standards it falls in 2022.
This date is very important for all Sai devotees, because all of his life Sathya Sai Baba predicted he would live exactly up to the age of 96 years.
As we know, he left his body twelve years before this date. Many devotees are trying to understand the significance of his early departure. Sathya Sai Baba himself explained why he needed to end his life earlier. He completed his mission and had to quickly reincarnate in his next form as Prema Sai Baba in order to start a new phase of his divine plan to transform humanity.
There is evidence that Sathya Sai Baba, a few years before his premature departure, told his close devotees he would leave the body earlier than planned. It is completely impossible for an ordinary person to "plan" their death, but for an Avatar it is completely natural.
Many devotees have been looking forward to this day, November 23, 2021, Sathya Sai Baba's 96th birthday. Some were preparing for some unknown grandiose events. In the year of 2021, a group of devotees arose who began to spread the idea that supposedly Sathya Sai Baba would physically resurrect on that day and continue his mission on Earth in an old body.
On that day, amazing events did happen in Puttaparthi, but they were not what many expected. There was a big flood in Puttaparthi. Fortunately, no one died, but half of the city was heavily flooded. That is why the full-scale holiday did not work out. It seemed that nature itself canceled the celebration in Puttaparthi (the main ashram of Sathya Sai Baba).
There was also no big holiday at the Madhusudan ashram; for unknown