No godmen could match Satya Sai Baba's name and fame

Puttaparthi(Andhra Pradesh), Apr 24 (PTI) From ordinary believers to the President of India, his clout spread far and wide but controversy also followed Puttaparthi Satya Sai Baba all along.
India had, and has, several godmen but none could
match his name and fame.
In fact, Satya Sai Baba's influence had no barriers as
his millions of followers spanned the globe.
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.
Born into an ordinary family as Satyanarayana Raju in
the sleepy Puttaparthi village in the dry Anantapur district
of Andhra Pradesh, on November 23, 1926, he was to later
become Satya Sai Baba, the reincarnation of the saintly Sai
Baba of Shirdi.
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. It boasts of an
exclusive airport where chartered flights, carrying Baba's
devotees from different parts of the globe, land.
As a child, Satyanarayana Raju was described as
"unusually intelligent" and charitable. His talents were in
drama, music, dance and writing, and he was an avid composer
of poems and plays. He was also known as a singer, having
released several CDs of bhajans.
It was on October 20, 1940 at the age of 14 that
Satyanarayana Raju declared himself as the reincarnation of
Sai Baba of Shirdi.
Satya Sai Baba invariably referred to Shirdi Sai Baba
as "my previous body" whenever he spoke about him.
Satya Sai Baba became famous for his magic tricks by
producing objects from thin air. But he was reviled by critics
and rationalists who campaigned against him with magic shows.
Frequently, reports alleging scandals in his ashram
appeared. 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.
On June 6, 1993, an attempt was allegedly made on his
life by his close aides. Six inmates of Prasanthi Nilayam were
killed right inside the Baba's bedroom. All of them were part
of the "inner circle" of Baba. His personal assistant Radha
Krishna Menon was among those killed in the incident.
Facts of the case still remain a mystery.
In 1944, a small temple was built for Satya Sai Baba's
devotees at Puttaparthi and in 1950 a sprawling ashram
popularly called the 'Prasanthi Nilayam' was built, making it
his permanent abode.
His divine preaching apart, Satya Sai Baba pioneered
many social service activities beginning with a tiny general
hospital at Puttaparthi which has now transformed into the
Satya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, a 220-bedded
super-speciality hospital.
Another super-speciality 333-bedded SSIHMS was
established at Whitefield on the outskirts of Bangalore, where
the Baba's summer abode Brindavan also stands.
The Satya Sai Central Trust manages all the service
activities and also runs the Satya Sai University (formerly
Satya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) at Puttaparthi.
Besides, the trust also runs many schools and dispensaries in
different states while it has also completed large water
supply projects in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
Volunteers from the Satya Sai Seva Organisation are
always found in the forefront carrying out relief and
rehabilitation work during natural calamities not only in AP
but also in other states.
Satya Sai Baba established three primary mandirs
(spiritual centres) in India - Dharmakshetra in Mumbai, Shivam
in Hyderabad and Sundaram in Chennai.
Besides, there are Satya Sai centres located in over
114 countries in the world.
In 1957, Satya Sai Baba went on a temple tour of north
India and made his only overseas trip to Uganda in June 1968.
In 1963, Satya Sai Baba suffered a stroke and four
severe heart attacks but survived.
Since 2005, Baba used a wheelchair and his failing
health forced him to make fewer public appearances. In 2006 he
suffered a fractured hip when a student standing on an iron
stool slipped and both the boy and the stool fell on Baba. He
gave darshan from a car or his porte chair.