Fake Godman: Bala Sai Baba emerges, dresses and acts like Sathya Sai Baba

Kurnool/Hyderabad/Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 18: Bala Sai Baba, a self-styled godman who has a hairdo and robes similar to those of the late Sathya Sai Baba recently celebrated his 52nd birthday on January 14 with fanfare, with foreign devotees dancing to film music. Bala Sai wears the same hairdo as Sathya Sai Baba, wears the same colours of flowing robes - white, yellow, ochre and red - to charm his devotees, sits on the same type of gilded silver throne, and lastly, performs the same types of magic (miracle, if you may please) like those of Sathya Sai. First, a backgrounder: Born on January 14, 1960 in Kurnool, as Sheshasayee Sharma in the family of a Keralite Palakkad Brahmin family. His father Ramanatha Shastri was an ayurvedic practitioner and his mother's name was Jayalakshmi Amma. Bala Sai has two sisters and a brother. Since childhood, his family projected him as an avatar of Sathya Sai Baba and the family claimed that his birth was predicted by the great Sri Ramana Maharshi. Bala Sai's ashram Sri Bala Sai Nilayam is based in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, while Sathya Sai Baba's ashram Prashanthi Nilayam is in Puttaparthi in the same state. Bala Sai's website claims he is the incarnation of Pumrupa Bala Tripurasundari. Bala Sai's devotees claim that he had been performing miracles since childhood. His website says, he has studied medicine, philosophy, dancing and singing. The website also says, the baba's three principles are : Daiva Preethi (love for God), Papa Bheethi (fear of sin) and Sangha Neethi (morality in society). Sri Balasai Baba central Trust runs a residential school, runs eye camps, medical camps, and distributes water, wheelchair and sewing machines to the needy.India TV in its telecast invited magician Ashok Bhandari to perform the same ‘miracles' that Bala Sai usually does: spitting out a small Shiv Lingam from his mouth, offering a chain out of thin air.Bala Sai is facing a case of embezzling Rs 44 lakh from a trader Shiva Prasad, who filed a case in Kurnool court alleging that all three cheques of the trust bounced. Says Ramarao, executive officer of the trust: “The money was instead lent by Bala Sai to the man, and he deposited the cheques in the bank at a time when the balance was a little low.” The case is in progress. Bala Sai has been charged of grabbing two acres of land, to which the self-styled godman himself replied in an interview to a local news channel: “We have not encroached. We have proper documents. If the charge is proved, we will vacate.” He then goes on to rant against TV channels and media for sensationalizing things for TRPs. The third allegation is serious: On November 7, 2012, the Hyderabad police found three bags containing Rs 6 crore 70 lakh abandoned in an auto. The auto driver and the man carrying the bags vanished. A week later, the trust executive officer Ramarao met Hyderabad Police to claim that this money was meant for building activity in the ashram. The matter was handed over to Income Tax department, which is investigating.