Sai Baba EXPOSED!

28 November 2005

The Meat Problem for Sai Baba's devotees

In some ongoing discussions, mention has been made of Sai Baba's exhortations to his followers to give up the practices of smoking, meat-eating and the consumption of alcohol. It is a reasonable assumption that those who consider themselves to be his devotees would make something of an effort to put these principles into practice. Here is the relevant text from the 69th birthday speech of Sai Baba (23/11/1994):

Today, let it be anyone, whether one deems himself a devotee or not, he should give up meat caring. Why? Meat eating promotes only animal qualities. It has been well said that the food one consumes determines one's thoughts. By caring the flesh of various animals, the qualities of these animals are imbibed. How sinful is it to feed on animals, which are sustained by the same five elements as human beings! This leads to demonic tendencies, besides committing the sin of inflicting cruelty on animals. Hence, those who genuinely seek to become devotees of God have to give up non-vegetarian food. Calling themselves Sai devotees or devotees of Raama and Krishna, they fatten on chicken. How can they be deemed Sai devotees? How can God accept such a person as a devotee? Therefore, whether they are devotees in India or outside, they should give up from this instant meat eating.

Next, there is the question of drink. The water that one drinks is life-giving. It issues from the head of Shiva. It is sacred. Instead of such wholesome drink, it is wrong to drink intoxicants. It makes a man forget his true nature. Alcoholic drink is utterly obnoxious. It degrades the addict. It makes him forget God. The drink addict is not conscious of what he says or does. The very sight of such a person is revolting. The drink evil has ruined innumerable families. Alcoholics have caused misery to their wives and children by wasting all their money on liquor. Of what use to the world are such derelicts?

In addition to liquor, many are addicted to smoking tobacco. Today cigarette smoking is the cause of many diseases like asthma, lung cancer, cosonaphilia and heart ailments. The evil effects of smoking can be easily demonstrated. If a whiff of cigarette smoke is blown at a handkerchief, the cloth turns red at the spot. If smoke can cause such damage to a piece of cloth, how much damage will it not do when it gets into the blood stream? It ruins one's health and shortens one's life-span. Therefore, those who aspire to become true devotees of God have to give up meat, liquor and smoking.

Drink addiction is the cause of many evils. But no Government can stop this. The change must rake place at the individual level. This can take place only through a mental transformation and not as a result of preaching by others. Each one has to recognise the truth and reform himself.

Embodiments of Love! You are deeming this day as the sixty ninth birthday of Svaami. I have no desire to celebrate such birthdays. As I was coming I was greeted by many wishing Me "Happy Birthday" I am always happy Why should anyone wish "Happy Birthday" for Me? Be happy yourselves. Your happiness is My happiness.

Today, as an offering to Svaami, give up meat eating, consuming liquor and smoking. By renouncing these three, you will benefit yourselves as well as society and the nation. Svaami's sole aim is to promote the welfare of the family, the society and the nation. If you wish to carry out Svaami's aim, renounce from this moment itself these three bad practices. Do not put if off to tomorrow. Take the resolve from this moment. Expecting that you will carry out Svaami's wish and thereby promote the well being of your family and the nation, I bless all of you.

Whereas Sai Baba's opinion on the matter is quite clear, it is also reasonable to assume that there would be a uniformity of opinion among Sai's devotees. Unfortunately this is not the case, as several followers have problems accepting the totality of the implications contained above and even find ways of justifying their reluctance to accept Sai Baba's principles.

This is quite easy to sympathise with as even I was a meat-eater when I first became a devotee. I even continued to eat meat for at least two years afterwards. Although I cannot recall fully, I don't think that anyone in my circle of devotee-friends had any major problems with this as many of them were also meat-eaters. The President of my Sai Centre had both of his children studying in Sai Baba's schools, and he consumed eggs. Several other devotees related to me their problems with drug and alcohol dependency and cigarettes, and how they had found strength in Sai Baba to give those habits up even though many still continued to maintain such vices. As far as I could see there was no big deal attached to these issues as it was accepted that such vices had to be given up in their own time and that it was a question of the individual's motivation , although everyone knew that Sai Baba himself disapproved of these things.

The beginning of the end of my own problems with meat-eating occurred around 1991. I was so absorbed in the beauty of Sai Baba's 'Bhagavatha Vahini' that simply reading the text filled me with the firm resolve and conviction that I had to give up meat. Given the fact that I highly enjoyed consuming meat products since I was practically old enough to eat, this was quite a big deal for a 12-year-old kid to decide! Unfortunately I made the mistake of being economical; I decided that I would give up eating meat completely just as soon as the stocks ran out in our freezer. As we never stopped shopping I never gave up meat and continued eating it for at least another two years, although Bhagavatha Vahini had left a very strong impression in my mind and the conviction stayed with me.

It was only until the summer of 1993 when I spent a total of three months in Sai Baba's Whitefield and Prashanti Nilayam ashrams that I suddenly kicked the habit. I couldn't explain it. Three months of continuous canteen seva and eating of vegetarian food had somehow weaned me off the addictive meat. I began a vegetarian life and since then I have never looked back. This year I have successfully completed 12 years as a vegetarian. Even now, close friends and family are still amazed as they remember the shocking change.

So while I understand the "addiction" of meat and the reluctance to give it up, I can conclusively state that life is much better and healthy without meat. I also managed to give it up in my own time and didn't have Sai Baba breathing down my neck in a 69th Birthday speech unlike other devotees. You would think that such a statement of clear directions would convince followers to make a serious attempt to give such vices up, but no joy.

As can be seen from the ongoing discussions in some Sai-related forums, many devotees and defenders try to produce some obscure justifications for meat-eating in order to disguise or defend the practice. Here is one such statement from Lisa De Witt:

And don't forget about Jesus feeding the multitudes FISHES and loaves! Narrow-minded bigots like Tony [O'Clery] and Sanjay just DON'T GET that the message is about PREMA. They are so busy messaging their intellectual superiority complexes and minding everyone elses business and then wonder why they are so unhappy and not getting anywhere.

Regardless of my supposed unhappiness and inability to "get anywhere" (what kind of point is that to make anyway?), I cannot help but notice how queer it is to employ Jesus Christ as a way to endorse meat-eating. Anyone who makes a cursory study of the Gospels (John 6, Mark 6, Matt 14, Luke 9 for instance) is made aware that, in the famous 'five loaves and two fish' incident, Jesus simply accepts whatever is available to feed the large crowd. This is not an implicit or explicit go-ahead to eat meat products no matter however one twists it.

To those who would point to other incidents in the Gospels such as those where Jesus consumes lamb for the Passover feast as well as consuming fish in order to prove that his ressurected body was real and true, I would interpret the first as an example of Jesus' following of the Jewish tradition and the second to be another example of Jesus accepting whatever was near and available to prove himself. Even if it could be argued that these incidents support meat-eating, it would show a healthy disregard for the vehement urgings of Sai Baba. How interesting it is that devotees would choose to disregard the pleas of a figure who they revere as God Himself - the Father of Jesus Christ - and follow the bimillennial examples of the Son instead!

Addendum.




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9 Comments:

  • Well I must say HH you have done a good job with the topic of vegetarianism. I thought you would be opposed to it as you are quite opposed to Sai, but you have taken me by surprise. I have been a vegetarian all my life, I can honestly say i was lucky that its been this way. But that's besides the point, the thing is that I have lead a perfectly healthy life ever since I was born. Many non-vegetarians argue that how can you be strong without eating meat. I seem to be doin just fine, and so are the millions of vegetarians out there and I'm sure you'd agree. In fact there is far less risk of having cancer, and heart related health issues! :D

    I see you have read the Bhagavatha Vahini. How is it that you learned well to be a vegetarian, but you attempt to expose Sai, to defame, to create doubt, to spread lies...? I mean how do you jutify having been once a spiritual aspirant, whether or not you were a Sai devotee, to go ahead with going sgainst the fundamentals of all religions? Surely on your spiritual journey you learned about Truth, love and peace? If you don't agree with Sai's teachings, then tough luck, find a Guru, read the scriptures that relate to Sanathana Dharma, read the vedas, and I know that is a task on its own. But you will reap the benefits from doing so. Nothing is gained in this Saiexposedananda act.

    Now it doesn't bother me if this continues to go on, because the people that lose faith in Sai will lose it for the time being, but ultimately all souls will merge with the Godhead, be it through believing in Sai or some other way.

    All religions are but different paths to the one God, as has been said. But what I wish to stress is that when you add man's limited perception into the equation, the High Truth taught in the scriptures becomes tainted. Thus, many Chrisitian texts and Muslim texts, have apparent contradictions. If you want purity in what you learn use the intelligence that is God-given to find it. Don't waste the intelligence instead on finding more contradiciton and spreading more un-truth! I mean you can spend your entire life doing this, and where will it get you? Ask yourself this fundamental question.

    Will you lie on your deathbed thinking, my life has been fulfilling, I spent most of it bein an Anti-Sai activist, and I feel accomplished for creating even more separation, duality and illusion!!!

    This world can be as simple as you make it, and as complicated as you want. There are Priests out there who have molested children, and they have been charged. You honestly think that Sai is also a paedophile??? Honestly, who are you, you have seen Sai in the flesh, been a devotee, and still support such horrendous accusations? Give people proof! Many of these so-called victims are anti-Sai activists, who support their own religions so stronly and fantically that they do not want their kind to follow Sai! So then you get these lies flooding in, and as soon as one person has done it, you get a thousand sheep following in their foot-steps!

    So what I ask of you is, ask yourself where this gets you! Realise that spirituality is about love, peace and non-violence and that the ultimate goal is to realise that we are all divine. We are all God. Finally, I'd like to say from where you're currently headed it looks like you are aspiring to the person in the following website. I want you to visit this:

    http://www.sai-fi.net/sathyasaibaba/barbara_dent_osler_carolyn.html

    As I said earlier, it is not my concern whether or not you get the message, whether you realise the wrong that you're doing. The world is made so perfectly that everone pays for their wrong-doings. If not through the justice system then through God's system! So continue if you will, I just would like to know as I asked earlier, after reading holy texts, such as the Bhagavatha Vahini, have you not learned the fundamental values of all religions? If you understand the values you would never be doing this today. So do respond, I am curious as to what kind of person you are, for you are a vegetarian, a have-been Sai devotee, a believer of Sanathana Dharma, yet you don't seem to be practicing your Dharma even remotely, apart fom bein vegetarian. I await your response.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 19 November, 2007 14:20  

  • A response in the next few days...

    By Blogger Swami Saiexposedananda, at 20 November, 2007 14:02  

  • I think ur a fucking wanker who needs beats and a broom shoved up his sorry faggot ass.

    By Blogger Minakshi Ajay, at 08 July, 2008 18:35  

  • Thanks, Mina, for reminding me about the good behaviour and attitude of Sai Baba's wonderful devotees.

    By Blogger Swami Saiexposedananda, at 09 July, 2008 14:49  

  • your a douche bag. get a life.

    By Anonymous Harold Kumar, at 12 July, 2009 23:11  

  • your a douche bag. get a life.

    By Anonymous Harold Kumar, at 12 July, 2009 23:12  

  • The goal of human life is not to become a vegetarian, the goal of life is to be imbibed with love and devotion, when one is full of love and devotion (bhava and prema) then one will see all living entities on an equal level and of course would cease to eat them.

    Bhagavad Gītā 6.29

    "A true yogī observes Me in all beings and also sees every being in Me. Indeed, the self-realized person sees Me, the same Supreme Lord, everywhere."

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 27 December, 2010 06:47  

  • Im currently a medical student and Im very interrested in nutrition. Im a big fan of former body builder and strong man Phd and M.D. De Pasqual. He wrote the fantastic book about the anabolic diet. Where he reveals the truth about carbohydrates and fat. So what im asking is why being a vegetarian when evolutionary and physiologically we are ment to eat a mix of both. Why? Because the ancient human being would eat meat and lots of fat when this was available and only ate fruits and carbohydrates when this was available. What are the advantages of being a strickt vegatarian when most serious science contradicts this? No problem with people being veggies just dont see why people become this just because a man says that this is bad for your karma etc...

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 26 April, 2011 21:36  

  • .We all know that all animals, Dogs, horses, cats,
    Dolphins, etc give much compassion
    to their owners.
    Do they have a Soul?

    LESSONS FROM GOD - SAI BABA, Do Animals have a soul :

    It was a beautiful summers day, I was checking Ebay and saw a Cessna 172 aircraft for sale at Kemble airport, UK. .I rang the owner, this is how the conversation went : Amarjit Singh "I am ringing about the aircraft for sale"

    Richard "I am sorry, please us later, we are busy at present with our sick horse"

    .Amarjit. "Do you want me to look at the horse and pray"

    Richard, "How can you, you are at London Biggin Hill UK, we are miles away"

    Amarjit, " I can ask God"

    Richard, "Okay there is no harm in trying"

    I asked God and my Guru Sai Baba to allow my consciousness to reach the Horse

    As I looked at the Horse I saw much disturbance in the abdomen, which Richard confirmed internal organ failure!
    The Horse spoke, "Amarjit, why is my head pounding away there is so much disturbance in my head please help me!"

    I spiritually scanned the head and saw pain killers affecting the horse, I asked the Angels .to help reduce the pain.
    The Horse spoke, "Amarjit, I feel a lot better, please ask my Owner where are my testicles".

    I was shocked, what was the horse saying!
    (It is only now I realize Horse testicles are removed for better performance etc)
    I spoke "Richard, your horse wants to know where his testicles are"

    After a stunned silence Richard spoke" It was nothing to do with me the Vet removed his testicles"
    The Horse spoke " It matters not who removed them, but who gave the command,
    why were they removed?"

    Richard was by now very troubled, I could feel his compassion & sorrow, his heart had opened up, he truly loved his Horse. He spoke,

    "His testicles were removed (Gelded) because he is a Racing Horse."

    The Horse spoke, "I will not forgive, you all have to bear this wrong doing to me.
    I wanted children and a normal life I have been denied this, I curse all involved,

    I asked Richard to ask forgiveness, As he asked from his heart and this was a lesson for him too, from God to awaken his Dormant spirituality, his Horse agreed and forgave all involved.

    He died shortly after,
    We bought this aircraft later and she flies beautifully.
    This raises the question Do animals have a soul ?

    Meditate and ask for the answers within yourself God always responds.
    Its in meditation that we hear the Voice of God as the constant chitter chatter in our brain is stilled

    PS The Horse owner has since this episode opened a Spiritual retreat center to
    teach Higher consciousness

    amarjit www.falconflyingservices.com

    Click here: AOL Image Search result for "http://pattycarson.com/images/horses/lsl/cut1.jpg"
    Gelding - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a ...
    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelding -
    Horse Gelding the Male Horse and Aftercare by Cherry Hill
    Gelding and Aftercare - Castration of a male horse, management and care, Description of the process of gelding a male horse and the care after castration .

    www.horsekeeping.com/horse_health_care/gelding_and_aftercare.htm
    http://www.sanskritmantra.com/

    By Blogger Unknown, at 18 May, 2014 15:21  

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