Ravi S. Iyer: Spiritual

Above picture is of the samadhi of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Sai Kulwant Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam (Puttaparthi), with recently added gold Sarva Dharma symbol and ornamental engravings. Pic courtesy: Anand Raghupathy, Facebook user. His post has been Facebook-shared by me here: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/1733968976819672 , dated April 26th 2016. The share has a few more pics of the gold engravings. The Sarva Dharma (All Religions) symbol (logo) is explained in detail on the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT) website Unity of Faiths page, http://www.srisathyasai.org.in/pages/his_teachings/Unity_of_Faiths.htm . The logo is shown on the top left of the page. I have given below a clearer image of the Sarva Dharma logo (courtesy: https://saiprema.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/sai-symbol.jpg ). I think the Sarva Dharma symbol engraved on the Mahasamadhi of Bhagavan in the picture above is similar to the Sarva Dharma symbol in the SSSCT webpage mentioned above a

Last modified on 20th April 2020 20th April 2020 Update: I had an inner urge to name-snip the names of some person(s) in this post and so have done so. Given below is a modified version of an email response of mine to a similar question raised by a correspondent. I faced a similar problem in 2011-12. Let me first tell you about the picture then even if some of my info. below is repetition. I went through my main trauma from Jul 2011 to around Jun 2012, when I had direct experience of the way Sai university became the KINGDOM of --Name1-snipped-- and those who collaborated with him. I saw that veterans like Prof. Anilkumar Kamaraju and Prof. Krupanidhi who were treated very well by Swami (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba), were now treated very badly by then vice-chancellor --Name1-snipped-- and Registrar --Name2-snipped--, the two Hitler-Stalins of the Sai university after Mahasamadhi. Of course, I too was treated very badly by these two fellows and the DMACS HOD, --Name3-snipped

Last updated on 30th April 2016 In the Aradhana function (Mahasamadhi day function) held in Prasanthi Nilayam (Puttaparthi) on 24th April 2016, the morning program had a discourse clip of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba where Bhagavan is very critical of wealth and power craze (Artha trishti adhikaara drishti) of people today. This can be viewed from around 2:25:30 in the video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h09a02UdDpc , Aradhana Mahotsavam Morning Programme - 24 Apr 2016. I tried to locate the discourse text (English) corresponding to this discourse using Google search on sssbpt.info but failed to locate it. It seems to be a birthday discourse as Bhagavan is wearing a white robe. So if somebody shares which year the discourse was given, it should be easy to locate the discourse text. While doing this Google search on sssbpt.info I came across this very interesting discourse of Bhagavan on similar lines, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume17/sss17-12.pdf . The pdf document s

From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venkaiah_Naidu : Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician serving as the Union Minister of Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation and Parliamentary Affairs in the Narendra Modi government. A prominent leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he has also served as its national president from 2002 to 2004. Earlier, he was the Union Cabinet Minister for Rural Development in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. ... Both as a student leader and political figure, Venkaiah Naidu gained prominence as a brilliant orator, who vigorously championed the cause of the farmers and the development of backward areas. His oratory skills and political activism propelled his political career and he was elected as an MLA to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly twice from Udayagiri constituency in Nellore district in 1978 and 1983. He rose to become one of the most popular leaders of the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. ... Follow

An extract from discourse of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 7-4-1997, http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume30/sss30-08.pdf : Everyone goes about trying to see what he can get from society. Today, thanks to the influence of the Kali Age, two kinds of diseases have grown. One is the insatiable thirst for wealth. In every city there is a mad rush for making money. Everyone is caught up in this craze for money. No doubt money is necessary, but only up to a limit to meet one's needs. Owing to excessive desire people lose all sense of proportion. Men turn into demons in the pursuit of wealth. It may be asked whether at least they make good use of their immense wealth. No, ultimately, the money may fall in the hands of robbers or others. What you get from society, give it back to society. That is the primary value to be cherished by every one. The second malady is the thirst for power. The thirst for power and position is unquenchable. Afflicted with these two maladies man is co

Given below is an extract from the book, The life and teachings of Sai Baba of Shirdi by Antonio Rigopoulos. The extract is from the chapter titled, HIS LAST THREE YEARS, page 233 and can be viewed in Google Books here, https://books.google.co.in/books?id=8cMAumAoZe0C&pg=PA233 : Ramalingaswami offers some important information about Baba's last years: When the Almighty Shri Sai Baba was in flesh and blood, there were other Sai Babas. One Sai Baba was in Kopargaon, called as Kopargaon Sai Baba. One Sai Baba was in Bandra called as Bandra Sai Baba. One Sai Baba was in Nagpur called Nagpur Sai Baba. They were all telling their devotees that they were Shri Sai Baba, thereby making their own ends meet. Even knowing all their acts and affairs, Baba tolerated and allowed them to go on in their own way as he pretty well knew the ins and outs of their actions. Gradually, all [Ravi: these other] Sai Babas vanished without leaving trace. [Ravi: end of Ramalingaswami's account]

Please skip reading this post if you prefer not to read about this tragic accident. http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/woman-crushed-to-death-in-puttaparthi/article8501215.ece , dated April 21st 2016 An extract from the article: According to the police, as she was about to go for Seva, she stepped into the lift cavity accidentally, believing that the lift had stopped at her floor. As she stepped into the cavity, she plunged down to the ebb of the cavity severely injuring herself, even as the lift came down on her in the space of a few seconds, killing her on the spot. --- end extract --- Ravi: Elevator system maintenance (including door locks when the elevator is not on the floor corresponding to the door) is a serious challenge in Puttaparthi. One needs to ensure that regular (monthly ) elevator maintenance (which will check for these problems) is done by experienced and capable maintenance persons. ======================================= Given below ar

Some background info. about Sabarimala from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabarimala : Sabarimala is a Hindu pilgrimage centre located at the Periyar Tiger Reserve in the Western Ghat mountain ranges of Pathanamthitta District, Perunad grama panchayat in Kerala. It is one of the largest annual pilgrimages in the world, with an estimated over 100 million devotees visiting every year. Sabarimala is believed to be the place where the Hindu god Ayyappan meditated after killing the powerful demoness Mahishi. Ayyappan's temple is situated amidst 18 hills. The temple is situated on a hilltop at an altitude of 468 m (1,535 ft) above mean sea level, and is surrounded by mountains and dense forests. ... Sabarimala is linked to Hindu pilgrimage, predominantly for men of all ages. Sabarimala pilgrims can be identified easily, as they wear black or blue dress. They do not shave until the completion of the pilgrimage, and smear Vibhuti or sandal paste on their forehead. Females who menstrua

Last updated on 18th April 2016 Given below are my comments on Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10209419384420359 . This post deals with an extract of a discourse of Bhagavan about good people who associate with the wicked and do not oppose them, sharing the responsibility for the deeds of the evil doers. Ravi S. Iyer wrote (on April 17th 2016): Saying that it is all Sai's will or Sai leela, is an easy way of escaping responsibility to do one's bit to at least resist Asathya & Adharma. But I don't think that is good character. On the other hand, one should not go to the other extreme making allegations WITHOUT EVIDENCE or WITHOUT DIRECT EXPERIENCE. That only creates a vicious tabloid like atmosphere which is not helpful. --- Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited): [Response to inner-level comment above, at outer-level for more visibility.] Oh! --name-snipped--, my words DIRECT EXPERIENCE seem to have got interpreted in the context

Last updated on 17th April 2016 A friend sent a screenshot of a post by Mervyn Hughes dated 15th April (2016) where he makes some more wild criticism of me. But an interesting part of the message, which I felt I should inform readers about, is that he says that he has deleted all posts relating to me and is not going to write posts related to me in future. His actual words about the latter are, 'I am not going to waste my time talking about you.' Ravi: LOL! Good. That would mean that I do not have to waste my time rebutting and disproving wild allegations & attacks of his against me. I did not feel it appropriate to put up a pic of this post of his. My reaction is that my truth has scored over the falsehood of Mervyn Hughes in this Facebook (court) trial. Sathyameva Jayate! [Truth alone triumphs!] I will be retaining the posts where I have rebutted the previous strong allegations and attacks made by Mervyn Hughes on me. This can be useful to rebut future such atta

Last updated on 20th April 2016 [The post below has been modified significantly in response to an announcement put up here: https://www.facebook.com/SriSathyaSaiSanjeevaniHospital/posts/1044542778950907 .] Given below is one comment (slightly edited) I made on Terry Reis Kennedy's Facebook post, https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10209398992150565 , which I felt appropriate to put up as a separate post. Ravi S. Iyer wrote (slightly edited): C. Srinivas (CS) is quite a respected figure even today in Prasanthi Nilayam circles of Sai university alumni-staff who had physical proximity to Divine and inner knowledge about many of the big events in Prasanthi Nilayam including super hospital constructions. The view I have been given/have formed is that C. Srinivas has played a great role in the medical service mission of Swami by acting as a facilitator and top-level manager for many things associated with the medical service mission. BTW I was told that CS had GREA

Last edited on 20th April 2020 20th April 2020 Update: I had an inner urge to name-snip the names of some person(s) in this post and so have done so. Mervyn Hughes continues to target me. I think his plan is to discredit me by exposing me as a liar and thereby weaken any impact my writings may have. I consider myself answerable to reasonable questioning on social media of any writings of mine, especially related to criticism I have made of others. So I decided to respond to this attack too. It is a longish response. So only readers who are interested in this stuff may want to continue reading this post. I was passed another screenshot of his today (given below) where he has written that he is teaching me how it hurts others when I refer to them as Muddenahalli False Belief promoter(s). He also refers to another person and her critical posts & comments but I would like to focus on his criticism of my posts & comments. He refers to sister Yaani Drucker writing (in O