Hindu guru revered by millions

PUTTAPARTI, India — Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba, revered by millions worldwide, died Sunday after nearly a month of hospital treatment near his southern Indian ashram. He was 84.

The news brought an outpouring of grief from his followers, including high Indian officials, who remembered him as a pious person who worked selflessly to help others through his charitable trust.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, where Sai Baba spent the past weeks on breathing support and dialysis, appealed for calm. Police, heavily deployed since Sai Baba was hospitalized March 28, kept tight control over road traffic and crowds.

Sai Baba had a huge following, with ashrams in more than 100 countries and devotees in India including high-placed politicians, movie stars, world-class athletes and industrialists.

He was said to perform miracles, conjuring jewelry, Rolex watches and "vibhuti" — a sacred ash that his followers applied to their foreheads — from his halo of wild, frizzy hair.

But rationalist critics called him a charlatan and his miracles fake.

Hundreds of thousands are expected to pay last respects in Puttaparti, where a funeral with state honors is planned for Wednesday.

Sai Baba was said as a child to display spirituality and unusual intelligence. In 1940, at age 14, he declared himself an "avatar," or reincarnation, of another Hindu holy man, the Sai Baba of Shirdi.

As the young guru attracted followers, his home of Puttaparti grew from a sleepy village into a vibrant town with the sprawling "Prasanthi Nilayam" ashram built in 1950, as well as a large hospital, a university and schools run by his Satya Sai Central Trust, set up in 1972.

The trust, estimated to be worth at least $8.9 billion, also established spiritual centers in the cities of Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai. It built another hospital in Bangalore, where Sai Baba had a summer home.

Health woes over recent years had forced Sai Baba to cut down on public appearances.

Sai Baba was also mired in controversies, with several news reports about allegations of sexual abuse and fake miracles. He denounced the charges as vilification campaigns, although many of his followers broke with him.

Sai Baba was never married and has no children. AP

Sai Baba meets his devotees in New Delhi last year. The holy man was said to have conjured jewelry from his hair and performed other miracles. | apMustafa QuraishiDevotees grieve Sunday on hearing the news of the Hindu holy man Sathya Sai Baba's death outside Sai Baba's ashram in Puttaparti, India. | Aijaz Rahi~apAijaz Rahi