On June 6, 1993, an attempt was allegedly made on his life by his close aides. Questions were also raised over sexual preferences but they were dismissed by him and his followers as vilification by his detractors or those who had fallen out with him. But he was reviled by critics and rationalists who campaigned against him with magic shows.įrequently, reports alleging scandals in his ashram appeared.

Sathya Sai Baba became famous for his magic tricks by producing objects from thin air. Sathya Sai Baba invariably referred to Shirdi Sai Baba as 'my previous body' whenever he spoke about him.

It was on Octoat the age of 14 that Sathyanarayana Raju declared himself as the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. He was also known as a singer, having released several CDs of bhajans. His talents were in drama, music, dance and writing, and he was an avid composer of poems and plays.

It boasts of an exclusive airport where chartered flights, carrying Baba's devotees from different parts of the globe, land.Īs a child, Sathyanarayana Raju was described as 'unusually intelligent' and charitable. Now, Puttaparthi - which metamorphosed into a self-contained city - finds itself on the international map, thanks to the large number of the Baba's foreign devotees who visit Prasanthi Nilayam day in and day out. Top-ranking politicians including prime ministers, Union ministers, governors, chief ministers, filmstars, sportspersons, industrialists and virtually the 'who's who' of the country rank among the high-profile devotees of the Baba.īorn into an ordinary family as Sathyanarayana Raju in the sleepy Puttaparthi village in the dry Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, on November 23, 1926, he was to later become Sathya Sai Baba, the reincarnation of the saintly Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Sathya sai baba shirdi sai baba