The life and work of Sathya Sai Baba - Atasi Das

Sathya  Sai Baba, the popular  Indian spiritual guru, left for his heavenly abode on 24th April, 2011  at the age of 84. People from all walks of life attended the last rites of Sai Baba. The list of dignitaries included the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Gujarat Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, Union Ministers S. M. Krishna and Ambika Soni, Sachin Tendulkar and former Srilankan cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga. Around 500,000 people were estimated to have attended the burial, which was accorded the status of a state funeral by the Andhra Pradesh government.

Sai Baba was born in Puttaparthi, a small village in South India, as Sathyanarayana Raju. As a child, he demonstrated compassion, generosity, and wisdom. On 29th October 1940, at the age of 14, he announced that he would henceforth be known as Sai Baba, as he was the reincarnation of the Shirdi Sai Baba, a saint who became famous in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Maharashtra, and had died eight years before Sathya was born.  

A distinct characteristic of Sai Baba’s teachings was that no one would have to leave their own religion, since his objective was the propagation of Sanatan Dharma, which believed in one God. Sai Baba is said to have around 30 million followers worldwide, way back in 2006. Sai Baba's followers believed that he had magical powers.

Sai Baba's main ashram, called Prasanthi Nilayam (the Abode of Divine Peace) was  started in  1950 and since then it has been the  meeting  place of millions of spiritual followers belonging to different religions,  from all over the world.

Sathya Sai Baba was actively involved in the service of mankind through his various philanthropic ventures under the aegis of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. The trust has established a number of free educational institutions, hospitals, and charitable institutions. This include the Sri Sathya Sai University in Prashanthi Nilayam,  Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music  for  Indian classical music,  Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi,  Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital  in Bangalore. The trust had funded drinking water projects and organised medical camps in the rural and slum areas.  A unique feature of all the educational institutions under the trust is the pursuance of the dual goal of excellence in academics, with special emphasis on human values and ethics. Even before the completion of the last rites of Sathya Sai Baba, questions have arisen as to who should control the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. As per the official estimate, the trust has financial assets worth Rs 40,000 crore, though unofficially the figure has been pegged to be as high as Rs 1.4 lakh crore. Many people close to the Baba have opined that there should be no government interference in the running of the trust. However, the trust, with its huge financial resources should be put in safe hands, and any government action towards this only seems rational.

Institutions, organisations and projects
Sathya Sai Baba supports a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals, and other charitable works in over 166 countries. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (now changed to Sri Sathya Sai University) in Prashanthi Nilayam is the only college in India to have received an “A++” rating by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission). Sri Sathya Sai University for which Baba is the Chancellor, has three campuses, one at Puttaparthi for men, one atWhitefield, Bangalore for men and one at Anantapur for women. His charity supports an institute for Indian Classical Music called the Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music. Baba’s educational institutions aim to impart Character Education along with Excellence in academics with emphasis on Human Values and Ethics.

Sathya Sai Baba chairs the Muddenahalli-Sathya Sai Loka Seva School and Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust Educational Institutions inMuddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura regions. In addition, a Sathya Sai Baba University and Medical School as well as a world class hospital and research institute are being constructed on over 200 acres (0.81 km2) to serve the destitute population. Baba has said that the campus will be modeled after Puttaparthi and will infuse spirituality with academics.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi is a 220 bed facility that provides free surgical and medical care and was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narasimha Raoon 22 November 1991. The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore is a 333 bed hospital meant to benefit the poor. The hospital was inaugurated on 19 January 2001 by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. The hospital has provided free medical care to over 250,000 patients.

The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was opened in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977 and provides complex surgeries, food and medicines free of cost. The hospital has treated over 2 million patients.

The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, two specialty hospitals, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India. The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects. One project completed in 1996 supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh. The second drinking water project, completed in 2004, supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway named “Sathya Sai Ganga Canal”. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi praised the Chennai water project and Sai Baba’s involvement. Other completed water projects include the Medak District Project benefiting 450,000 people in 179 villages and theMahbubnagar District Project benefitting 350,000 people in 141 villages. In January 2007, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust said it would start a drinking water project in Latur, Maharashtra. In 2008, 2 million people in the state of Orissa, India were affected by floods. As a relief measure, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization, has built 699 houses as a part of their first phase in 16 villages by March 2009.