At this sad hour,I express my deep condolences to his followers,” Gandhi said. The Congress president hailed Sai Baba’s contribution towards establishment of institutions for social welfare and said these would be remembered for a long time. In his lifetime,he inspired the people of this country and those abroad towards spiritualism and religion,” she said in her condolence message. He was a spiritual person in whom lakhs of people had faith.
“The news of the death of Sai Baba of Puttaparthi has greatly pained me.
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi said she was greatly pained over the death of Sathya Sai Baba. However,Reddy,who has been camping here for the past two weeks,said there is no controversy on the issue of trust activities. The Sai Baba leaves a big empire estimated from a conservative figure of Rs 40,000 crore to a staggering Rs 1.5 lakh crores raising questions over who will manage the Trust. Surviving on ventilator support,his kidneys stopped functioning and his health suffered deterioration a few days ago when his liver also stopped functioning. Initially he attracted attention through acts like producing articles like sacred ash and ‘lingam’ which his detractors claimed was a sleight of hand,but later he came to be known for his founding institutions of learning and philanthropy.īaba,who considered himself a reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi,was hospitalised on March 28 following problems related to heart and respiration and had been lying critical following multi-organ failure. The Government also decided to give a State Funeral in honour of the Baba.Ĭhief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy,who along with Governor E S L Narasimhan paid homage to the Baba,announced that Anantapur district will have a local holiday on Wednesday when Baba will be buried.īorn as Sathyanarayana Raju in a humble backward caste family in 1926,Baba emerged as one of the most popular godmen in India in modern times. The exact time will be announced later.Ĭonsidering his huge following and the social and developmental work he had undertaken in Andhra Pradesh and elsewhere,the state Government announced a four-day State Mourning. State Major Industries Minister J Geetha Reddy said the members of Baba’s family and the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust have decided that his burial will take place on Wednesday morning. Since then, he had been focusing on social and charitable work and his devotees include several heads of states, top businessmen and celebrities.
In the 1990s, he stopped performing the miracles after rationalists accused him of fraud. Arrangements will be made for darshan after 6:00 pm today at the Hall,” he said.īaba will be buried at the Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanti Nilayam on Wednesday in line with the practice adopted for spiritual leaders in India,contrary to the Hindu custom of cremating bodies. In 1963, Sathya Sai Baba declared that he would incarnate as Prema Sai in the Mandya district of Karnataka. “Baba’s body will lie in state at Sai Kulwant Hall for two days - Monday and Tuesday.