Kent Alexandra_Divinity Miracles and Charity in the Sathya Sai Baba Movement

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43Divinity, Miracles and Charity in the Sathya Sai Baba Movement

Divinity, Miracles and Charity

in the Sathya Sai Baba Movement

of Malaysia

Alexandra KentGteborg University, Sweden

abstract This paper examines how a Hindu revitalisation movement addressesthe modernisation in Malaysia. Modernisation entails material development and

nation-building, but also the weakening of the authority of religious institutions and

the internalisation of faith. The following of the Indian guru, Sathya Sai Baba, is larg-

ely urban-based, attracting many Indian business people, scientists and professionals.

The paper elaborates theoretical debate on the gift, pioneered by Marcel Mauss,

and explores how contractual and sacrificial religious giving is articulated within

this movement in a way that reconciles spirituality with modernity. This articulation

enables devotees to bid for a position as the custodians of morality within a modern,ethnically plural society, in which the elite of the Indian minority is marginalised in

several respects.

keywords Sathya Sai Baba, Malaysia, gift, modernisation, Mauss

This paper concerns the way in which a Hindu revitalisation movement

in Malaysia attempts to address some of the spiritual and social

changes that accompany modernisation. Among these changes are

the celebration of the sovereign and independent individual (Guerra1994),material development and nation-building, but also the weakening of the auth-

ority of religious institutions and the internalisation of faith: religion becomes

a matter of personal preference (Gombrich & Obeyesekere 1988). Bharati(1970:268) notes how the idiom of the Hindu Renaissance, harnesses tech-

nological simile and parable to vindicate or exemplify ancient truths, thus

enabling basic religious values to be reiterated in the garb of modern, Western

culture. Some Hindu academics argue that there is an inherent congruity between

Hinduism, seen as a set of universal and eternal doctrines, and modernisation(Balasubramaniam 1985). Lee (1997) proposes that Hinduism accommodates

Come to me with empty hands.

I shall fill them with gifts and grace.

sathya sai baba(quoted in Murphet 1975:77)


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modernity by repeatedly reissuing its religious tenets in novel, syncretic

amalgamations, through historically apposite, charismatic individuals. This

he contrasts with the theocentric worldview of Islam, which, he contends,

gives primacy to the word of God and tends therefore to collide with the

competitive pluralism of modern institutions.One of the most influential contemporary, charismatic revitalisers of Hindu-

ism is the living godman, or avatar, Sri Sathya Sai Baba a renowned miracleworker who was born in 1926 in a village called Puttaparthi, in Central India,

where he still lives. Although he almost never leaves his country, he has at-

tracted a substantial global following, represented by Sai Baba organisations

in over one hundred and thirty countries. The living Sai Baba, who claims to

be the second of three Sai Baba incarnations, appeals particularly to Western-

ised, middle-class Hindus (see Bowen 1988; Klass 1996; Swallow 1976). Buthe also attracts European and North American followers and, in Malaysia, a

number of Chinese (Kent 2000).The movement is largely urban-based and includes business people, scient-

ists and professionals in its membership. As of1995, Malaysia was home to

thirty-five registered Sai Baba centres and thirteen so-called devotional groups

altogether controlled by one hundred and forty-four office bearers. Registered

members of the Sai Baba organisation represent a small fraction of the normal

congregations of the centres, which may number anywhere between ten anda hundred and tend to fluctuate somewhat over time since many people are

active in other religious organisations as well.

I want here to look at the way in which religious gifts operate within the

Sai Baba movement in order to illuminate a central feature of the Sai value

system: the relationship between what I shall call here contractual and selfless

sacrificial giving. In terms of Sai philosophy, contractual giving, which under-

lies material progress and therefore the project of modernity, is ideologically

subordinated to selfless sacrifice. This relationship, I suggest, shows how SaiBaba enables Hindus who have been acculturated to a modern way of life

and its rationality to nevertheless feel that they are living in accordance with

the ancient tenets of Hinduism. Although Sai teachings hold particular appeal

for the prosperous middle classes and make allowance for their continued

material progress, they ultimately reconcile personal gain with Brahminic

Hindu ideas of spiritual elevation by promoting an ideal of socially-directed

selfless sacrifice charity. Using various ethnographic threads from the Sai

Baba following in Malaysia, I intend to show how the interestedness motiv-

ating contractual gift-exchange is transformed into the disinterestedness of


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and that the gift inspires a balanced reciprocity: The thing that is given pro-

duces its rewards in this life and the next (p. 56).

Parry (1985) firmly rejects this application of the contractual ideal to

danadharma. He declares that Mauss, in his eagerness to establish the viability

of his theory, has forced the Indian ethnography to fit and thereby violatedthe nature ofdanadharma, in which the reciprocity obligation is conspicuouslyabsent. Where Mauss proposes that the spirit of the gift stimulates an obligation

to reciprocate, Parry argues the contrary; the essential point about the danad-harmagifts is that they must not be reciprocated, but must be transferredaway from the donor in an attempt to expiate the negativity attaching to his

soul. Accordingly, the power of this gift be it in cash or kind is its ability

to convey badness (attachment, desire, greed, selfishness, envy) away from

the giver. It is a personal sacrifice or offering up of a part of self the giversspirit is cleansed through the disinterest (in tangible gains) with which he

unburdens himself of his gift. Also, the ideal recipient is a Brahmin who has

no interest in accepting such an offering. Should he receive willingly, then he

not only condemns himself by his attachment to materia, but he also condemns

the giver whose increments in merit depend on his choice of a worthy and

disinterested recipient. The Brahmins duty is to neutralise the negativity inherent

in the gift by practising austerities or Vedic learning.

For danadharma, Parry notes, the rule is that pure asymmetry must obtain(p. 461). The unwilling Brahmin recipient must not reciprocate, and the onlybenefit the donor should seek is that ofkarmicmerit. The contractual natureof gift-giving is eclipsed as the expiatory is brought into focus, and the two

aspects, Parry claims, exist in inverse proportion to one another: Where we

have the spirit, reciprocity is denied; where there is reciprocity there is not

much evidence of spirit. The two aspects of the [Mauss] model do not hang

together (ibid.: 463). The giving away of worldly possessions, when accom-

panied by a disinterested state of mind, enacts the sought-after ideal of liberationfrom attachment to comfort and fortune, The unreciprocated gift becomes

a liberation from bondage to it, a denial of the profane self, an atonement for

sin, and hence a means to salvation (ibid.: 468). Brahminical Hinduism glori-fies world-renunciation as the preferable path to salvation and this neces-

sitates abandonment of contractual exchange and interest in returns. Detach-

ment from the physical and social world is promoted over commitment to it.

Parry argues, therefore, that giving a religiously charged gift with any hope

of reciprocation in this world would debase and destroy its spirit utterly.

In this paper I would like to take a step beyond the Mauss/Parry impasse


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by examining the issue of gift-giving and receiving in the context of the Sai

Baba movement. As we shall see, Sai Baba promotes the purposive utilisation

of mans interestedness, engaging it as a means towards a final goal of socially-

committed selflessness. The crux of this is the way in which it enables the

transformation of interestedness into disinterestedness, of worldliness intosublimity. My ethnographic exploration here is in part intended to show how

the centrality and infinite versatility of the gift in human culture may stimulate

continued theoretical debate about it.

Divine Gifts

The ethnography presented here traces the passage of gifts between the

profane and the divine realms realms that are realised partly by dint of the

attitudes of donor and recipient.Sai Baba preaches a universalist and modernist form of Hindu devotionalism.

He declares all religions to be simply different paths towards the same final

Godhead, which devotees understand to be manifest in the world as Sai Baba.

This interdigitation between the profane and the divine the world has divine

potential inherent within it and divinity has the potential to manifest in the

world permeates the material. Sai Babas devotees strive to realise their

inherent potential divinity in a forum of gift-giving and receiving that is not

renunciatory.I shall explore here various kinds of gift transmission. Each elaborates the

central theme of embracing yet transforming attachment and self-interest.

This theme achieves several things. It guides the individual in his spiritual

quest, provides the Sai Baba community with a yardstick against which to

measure the spiritual prowess of others, and it offers a politically viable strategy

for presenting Sai philosophy to Malaysian society at large.

Gifts from the Divine Person

Sai Baba as divine incarnation (avatar) has the ambiguous status of beingboth God and man. His acts and proclamations are consequently both human

and divine events. When he gives, he does so both as a person who has a

measure of human interestedness in reciprocity and as the supreme, disinter-

ested Godhead.

Sai Baba is best known for his reported ability to manifest objects out of

thin air and for healing the sick. These miraculous powers are repeatedly al-

luded to and often described in great detail in the apologetic literature. One-

time sceptics write of how their confrontation with these inexplicable events


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led them first to wonderment and stupefaction, and finally to an utter

transformation of their understanding of the nature of the world (e.g. Sand-

weiss 1975). Indeed, Babb (1983) argues that it is the miraculous that is the

absolute axis of the movement since the teachings contain nothing unique or

remarkable they are typical of Hindu devotionalist (bhakti) movements ingeneral. The miracles not only suggest that there is a reality beyond human

comprehension but they also attract followers with their promise of divine

rewards. Sai Baba explains that the miracles exploit the baser attributes of

human desire in order to catalyse spiritual metamorphosis, I give people what

they want in order that they will come to want what I have to give. Although

he belittles the materialisations as trivia, it is clear from devotees stories that

the miracles are the primary agents that transform people into devotees.

The miracles initially create a quasi-contractual relationship between SaiBaba and the devotee. They forge a social bond and in this sense the objects

he materialises compare with thehauof the Maori taonga(the spirit of thething given), which,Even when it has been abandoned by the giver ... stillpossesses something of him (Mauss 1990:12). The gift exerts a grip upon its

recipient, obliging him to receive and later to reciprocate. On one level, Sai

Baba is interested in making his devotees beholden to him. Many of the objects

he materialises (necklaces, watches, rings) are intended for wearing on the

body, so that Sai Babas imperceptible presence becomes physically contiguouswith the recipient, constantly reminding them of his hold over them.

Sai Baba has proclaimed a manifesto for charity, education in universal

human values, worship and meditation and has dictated that an international

Sai Baba organisation should be established to execute it. As a social actor,

he puts his devotees under contractual obligation to him, commanding their

participation in the implementation of the mission, in exchange for his possible

delivery of Gods grace, Improve and expand our Organisation as you go

back to your places. Just dont stop here ... Then only can you call yourselvesas true devotees (Sai Baba in Rao, n.d. 8:11). Sometimes he gives his gifts

together with very specific instructions, such as in the case of the lingamhematerialised for a Malaysian devotee,

He ... moved his hand and materialised a black elliptical shaped stone, about the

size of an egg. Atma lingam, Jyothi lingam. He repeated placing the lingam on my

palm. Do Abishega [ritual bathing]! Can do anytime of the day. Do it for sick

people, mental troubles, anything!! (Jegadesan n.d. Journey to Godiii:69).


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Conversely, devotees often expect, or at least hope for returns for their efforts

and they usually interpret miracles as repayment for their spiritual achieve-

ments. When these hopes are dashed, explanation is sought and usually found

through the theodicy ofkarma, He did not cure me because then I would

simply have to pay for my past sins later.There is clearly a worldly, social dimension to these divine gifts, one which

involves social bonding and the obligation to reciprocate. The beneficiary of

a miracle becomes indebted to Sai Baba as person, and should repay by

participating in his utopian programmes. From the other side, there is a con-

ception that human spiritual endeavour may bring miraculous rewards. How-

ever, the alliance these gifts create is far from bilateral and symmetrical. It is

intrinsically hierarchical and asymmetrical. In all cases, the conduct and atti-

tude of the mortal is crucial while Sai Baba is free from obligation and codes ofmorality. This is because everything he does, no matter how bizarre, unpleasant

and capricious, is assumed to be in the spiritual interests of mankind. His

divine unaccountability means he is not constrained by the norms of contractual

relations that bind his mortal followers. While they understand themselves

to be obliged to him, he is under no equivalent obligation towards them. A

devotees relationship to his guru is therefore neither properly reciprocal, nor

is it symmetrical.

It would seem then that although interestedness plays a role for both partiesin this form of gift-giving, the model of bilateral contractual gift exchange

does not fit accurately. To stop the analysis at this point would also be to

miss the further development and final resolution of the issue of giving in the

Sai Baba movement. Not only is the devotee-deity relationship inherently

lopsided, but all interestedness, for both parties, is finally resolved in an ideo-

logy of disinterestedness. On the one hand, Sai Babas humanlike interest is

ultimately subsumed within divine indifference, and on the other, devotees

desires for divine returns are subordinated to the ideal of pure, selfless sacrifice.

Gifts of Divinity

Sai Baba is not only a person for his devotees, but he is also an instance of

universal divinity that has supposedly manifested through its own volition.

As far as he is concerned, the benefits of his gifts are designed to accrue to

mankind only. He himself has no need of them,

God does not desire anything. There is nothing that God wants. Love is

what you need to give God (Rao, n.d., 1:6). Since he is divine, Sai Baba is free

from the worldly interests that enslave mankind. He claims to be unaffected


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by the use or abuse to which his miracles are put. They are, he declares, simply

means to help mankind achieve its own spiritual realisation. If the recipient

fails, it is he who will suffer. Divinity remains impassive and unaffected,

I have come to give you the key of the treasure ofananda, or bliss, to teach youhow to tap that spring ... If you waste this time of saving yourselves, it is just yourfate ... I do not cause either joy or grief. You are the designer of both these chains

that bind you ... The establishment ofdharma (righteousness): that is my aim ...

These miracles as you call them are just a means towards that end ... I call you to

me and even grant worldly boons so that you may turn Godward ... I am always

full of bliss. Whatever may happen, nothing can come in the way of my smile (Sai

Baba1968 in Sandweiss 1975:8991).

Devotees see Sai Baba and his teachings as unquestionable truth the directoutpouring of universal divinity. This universal force is the animating spark

of selfhood; it is the ultimate Self , that participates in all beings. Thus, the

recipient of a divine gift finds himself, somewhat circularly, finally obliged to

the Self , which is resident within himself and all beings.

The spiritual benefit to be gained through giving and receiving is that of

approximating Sai Babas compassionate yet unaffected state of being, He

who has no trace of hatred towards any creature, who is friendly and com-

passionate towards all, who is free from the bondage of I and mine, whotakes pain and pleasure as equally welcome and who is forbearing in spite of

provocation (Kasturi n.d.: 208). The materialised items remind devotees of

the spiritual purpose Sai Baba defines for them, which is to become close to

Sai Baba both as person and as a state of being. At the worldly level of illusion

(maya), the devotee is made beholden to Sai Baba as person, but through andbeyond this, in a universal and transcendent sense, he is supposed to become

beholden to Sai Baba as divinity, the selfsame divinity that dwells as a potential

within the receiver himself, You are God ... Swami [Sai Baba] has no trace ofselfishness. All the time He thinks of helping somebody somewhere or other

and never for Himself. You will be divine if you develop such a feeling (Sai

Baba in Rao, n.d., 1:5).

The interestedness Sai Baba shows through his gifts is really an interest in

bringing about disinterestedness in his devotees, I am interested in the work,

in the loving heart, in the self-less service (Sathya Sai Council of Malaysia

Publications 1984: 22). Every time the recipient looks at or touches his miracle

gift, he is reminded of Sai Babas insistence that divinity is present, that it

exists in human form and that everything and every place is imbued with


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divine potential. As a selected recipient of Gods grace, he bears a particular

responsibility to honour this knowledge he becomes obliged firstly to the

person of Sai Baba, but through him to the redemptive mission and finally to

the development of his own inner divinity.

Overcoming Desire

Devotees beseech Sai Baba, as a compassionate, deified human, to deliver

divine favour to them in return for their prayers and devotion. Following many

of the prayer meetings I witnessed in Malaysia, devotees were urged to stand

up and tell of personal experiences of miracles. These stories often made a

causal link between the devotees commitment to prayer or charity and worldly

rewards. They mentioned how some of the most staunch devotees had been

healed, how one devotees shop was saved from a fire which ravaged the restof the street, how a young devotee was accepted into medical school even

though his exam results were inadequate, and how a devotee doctor who

had incurred considerable debt had then won exactly the amount of money

he owed on a lottery ticket.

As a person, Sai Baba interacts partly in the style of contractual relations,

offering benefits in exchange for participation in his spiritual mission. There

are numerous stories that reinforce the idea of recompense for carrying out

Sai Babas will. For example, a blind young man miraculously regained hissight after he had mended a broken statue of the goddess Durga, and Sai Babaexplained, I gave his eyesight back because he does too much work Gods

work. He mends all the Gods all the time, so now I have mended him (in

Jegadesan n.d. i:234).

Desire for Sai Babas favours, however, is something most devotees struggle

with. They understand that to evolve spiritually, one must progress beyond

desire. Many admit to longing for an interview with Sai Baba or a miracle,

but they try to overcome this. One devotee I interviewed had gone to Puttaparthimany times and almost all his friends had been called for interviews with Sai

Baba, but not he. Although he admitted he was disappointed, he reasoned

that Sai Babas nonchalance actually demonstrated his compassion; by re-

fusing to satisfy his longing he was helping him to vanquish the ego with its

attendant hopes and expectations. Others explained that Sai Baba apportions

grace according to peoples needs and karmicdeserts and not according totheir desires. Devotees understand that desire is discordant with Sai philosophy,

but they ask favours of him as a fellow human who, notwithstanding his divine

disinterestedness, is also able to greet them with human concern.


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Giving of and for the Self

The discussion above concerns primarily the passage of gifts from com-

passionate yet ultimately disinterested divinity to mortal. I now want to turn

to the gifts that pass in the opposite direction from mortal to divinity. The

crux here is that the purity or divinity of both the gift and its donor is actual-ised by the attitude with which it is given: contractual or sacrificial.

In terms of Sai morality, the ideal gift is that given with an attitude of selfless

disinterestedness, but not to a Brahmin. The Sai gift is exemplified by the cha-

rity activities run by Sai Baba organisations. Charity is exalted because it is

directed towards an all-pervasive divinity that is present in all beings, Society

is the divine proliferation produced by the will supreme (Sai Baba in Sand-

weiss 1975:205). However, offering charity is not a divine actper sesince it

may be accompanied by the wrong attitude. To achieve true Sai charity, devoteesare exhorted to give of universal, selfless love,

You have to uproot egoistic tendency, get rid of all sense of mine and thine, and

burn to ashes the pride that comes of the feeling that you are offering service to

some one poorer and less fortunate ... Seva [charitable service] in all its forms ... is

spiritual discipline, mental clean-up. Without the inspiration given by that attitude,

the urge is bound to ebb and grow dry; or, it may meander into pride and pomp

(Sai Baba in Sathya Sai Council of Malaysia Publications 1984:34).

The gift that is given without self-interest and attachment is divine and mani-

fests the divinity of the donor,

These are the intangible gifts of love that every devotee can and should aspire for

the gift of sharing and caring; for, the ability togive and receive lovewithout fearor favour, without expectation or reward, to give love even to those who would hateand despise us, is the greatest gift that Baba can give everyone of us. This in fact is thegreatest gift of spirituality and religion to make a devotee as perfect as our father

in heaven is perfect, to become as children, to give love and receive love selflessly

for God is love (Jegadesan n.d. iii:71, italics original).

Of special interest in Sai philosophy is the fact that the self-interest driving

contractual exchange is encouraged and utilised as an integral part of the

spiritual process. Ultimately, it is transformed into the ideal of selfless sacrifice.

It is acceptable to long for materialisations from Sai Baba if the items are

then put to spiritual use and it is acceptable to be wealthy and influential if

these resources are used for the benefit of the needy.

Sai Baba and his devotees generally deplore the classic Hindu celebrationof world-renunciation. The rhetoric criticises hermits, recluses and world-


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renouncers for their failure to fulfil their worldly moral duty or dharma,whichSai Baba defines very much in social terms,

Neither performance of Tapas (austerities), nor pilgrimages to all holy places, nor

study of all Sastras, nor immersion in Japa, will ever help one to cross the Ocean

(cycle of birth to death). The only path that will help you to be liberated from

Samsara is dedicating yourself to the service of others (Sai Baba in Sathya Sai Council

of Malaysia Publications 1984:37).

Sai Babas updated delivery of Hinduism makes no demand that people relinquish

all their worldly acquisitions. On the contrary, he makes it possible and even

desirable for them to maintain their prosperity. He simply provides a way to

reconcile this with spirituality through an inner, emotional transformation

brought about by devotion, love and charity.

Making Contracts with God

I want now to take a rather different turn to look at a major Hindu festival

celebrated in Malaysia. Here, the religious offerings are not necessarily sacri-

ficial either in the strictly unidirectional expiatory sense outlined by Parry, or

in the selfless, socially-committed sense commanded by Sai Baba, but may

be more explicitly contractual. The Malaysian Sai Baba organisation, while

it patronises the festival and tries to establish brotherhood with its partici-pants, implicitly subordinates the goings on there to its own publicly brand-

ished philosophy of sacrifice and in so doing assures itself greater social and

political respectability. Its claim to ideological superiority is permeated by

hegemonic implications.

Thaipusam

The Tamil festival ofThaipusamis one of the most striking examples of

religious gift-giving among Malaysian Hindus.The festival is celebrated annuallyon a large scale in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, and in some other smaller cities.It takes place around the full moon day of the Tamil month ofthaiand honoursthe godMurugan, son of the great deity Siva. Although some attend the festivaland make offerings simply as thanksgiving or to honour the god, many draw

up a kind of agreement with the god in the form of a vow. They may pledge

to perform certain austerities or to make certain offerings in exchange for

and as recompense for a desire fulfilled. The austerities carried out are strongly

focused on the senses. Anything from a few days to a month of ritual preparation

and purification may be observed in advance of the festival and these involve


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overcoming desire. Vegetarianism, sexual and social abstinence, cold baths,

prayers and sleeping on the floor are among the common prescriptions, although

there is wide variation in the duration and extent to which these are followed.

When the time arrives for the devotee to carry his burden (kavadi) up the

steps to the idol, he or she first bathes in the nearby river where they may beinitiated into trance by an experienced kavadibearer. They may then submittheir body to piercing with hooks or skewers through the tongue, cheeks

and skin of the upper body. In 1997, in Kuala Lumpur alone over one million

worshippers were reported to have attended.1 They took offerings of milk,

shaved their heads, pierced their bodies with skewers or carried their babies

up the steep climb to the temple at which they entreat or show their gratitude

to the deity.

Lee (1989) describes how transcendence of the sensory aspects of self isaccompanied by the release of raw individual powers, evident in the form of

sensational performances of multiple piercing. The austerities not only purify

the body and mind, but also produce internal heat, which enables the devotee

to carry kavadiand carry out self-mortification. Lee proposes that this isamanifestation of a religious tradition that emphasises a debt bondage between

gods and men, and the penalties that are incurred if debt remained unpaid

(ibid.: 329). In general, the blessings sought or repaid in this way are tangible

personal awards such as health, prosperity and progeny.

The Sai Embrace

Sai philosophy accommodates this kind of religious activity on several levels.

Partly in obedience to Sai Babas insistence that his followers return to their

own religious traditions, to rekindle them and their spiritual essence, the Malay-

sian following is supportive ofThaipusamand readily participates in it.However, Sai Baba and those who lead the Malaysian Sai Baba organisation

phrase Sai philosophy as superordinate to instrumental folk Hinduism. WhenI asked Malaysian Sai Baba devotees about their participation in Thaipusam,they explained that their aim was to raise their level of consciousness and

cleanse their minds. They interpretedMurugansspear (vel) as representingthe sharpness, the penetration and the breadth of wisdom and they told me

that supplicants should seek wisdom from the deity. Several described the

pursuit of worldly benefits from him as the kindergarten stage of spirituality.

Although none of the Sai devotees I witnessed in Kuala Lumpur (1997)carried out any form of self-mortification, they expressed no clear consensus

about it. Some said it was in principle justifiable if it helped to bring a person


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closer to an experience of God, though others disapproved of harming the

body. However, it was clear that the Sai Baba followers did tend to regard

the low-caste worshippers who in fact usually carry out the most spectacular

forms of self-mortification, as uneducated and ignorant. The Sai Baba organisa-

tion is at pains to dissociate itself from what it decries as idolatry and supersti-tion and has taken upon itself the task of educating those who have become

illiterate in the language of the gods. One limb of their social agenda, the

Education in Human Values Programme, actually involves morally uplifting

Indians in the urban squatter settlements, teaching them, among other things,

the values of self-sacrifice and charity.

During the Thaipusamfestivities I witnessed, the Sai Baba organisation leadersecured forty-five minutes access to the public address system and he led his

group in singing devotional songs glorifyingMurugan. This advertised theorganisations approval of and desire to participate in the festival. Nevertheless,

although Sai philosophy embraces Thaipusam, this is not a mutual arrangement.The working class, low-caste Indians, who constitute the bulk ofThaipusamparticipants, and non-Sai Baba devotees not infrequently dismiss the Sai Baba

movement as simply a rich-mans cult. Why, some ask, does Sai Baba produce

gold trinkets for those who are already prosperous? The rhetorical superordina-

tion of charity over individual-centred and contractual religious behaviour

holds little appeal for those whose participation in charity could only be asbeneficiaries.

The Malaysian Sai Baba organisation claims privileged access to Truth,

both philosophically and also physically through their relationship with a

living incarnation of Truth. This, combined with Sai Babas assertions concern-

ing the divinity of selfless charity,which provides the middle-classes with ananswer to the classic Hindu equation of material poverty with spiritual purifica-

tion, asserts the spiritual supremacy of the middle-class Malaysian Sai Baba

following over todays politically stronger low-caste, low-class Indian population.The way in which the Sai Baba following participates in Thaipusameventhough it is at the same time trying to provide religious education to counter-

act superstitious practices among labouring class Indians has political implica-

tions in Malaysia. The numerically strong, low-status participants at the festival

receive substantial support from the Malaysian Indian Congress (mic), the

party that represents Indian political interests in Malaysia. The mic is a populist

rather than elitist party and it derives its support from the labouring classes.

As noted, the Sai Baba organisation leaders come predominantly from a small

group of Ceylonese and Malayalis. These two groups of Indians once enjoyed


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privilege and influence under the protectorate. Today, like other elite Indians,

they lack anchorage in Indian political representation and the goodwill they

show by their patronage ofThaipusamsuggests an attempt to secure theirbelonging in the broader category of Indian.

The Transformative Power of Giving

Recalling Parrys argument, his material suggests that worldliness and self-

interest are necessarily inimical to divine realisation. Sai Babas philosophy

says, on the contrary, that divinity exists not in opposition to the world, but

as a potential within it. It is through the transformation rather than renunciation

of the world that this potential can be realised and divinity made manifest.

Let us take a look at Sai Babas materialisations. The objects are considered

to be of divine origin, yet they are inherently equivocal they have the potentialboth to corrupt and to sublimate, and their final realisation is dependent upon

the attitude of the receiver,

every act of outward grace that others can see, admire, praise, develop envy for

etc., every ring, amulet and pendant, as much as these are acts of grace and love,

each one is also a trap ... a spiritual trap, an ego trap ... that can take me far from thepath that I am attempting to pursue. Just because I wear on my person 3 objects

materialised by Bhagavan, does this mean that those with no such physical, divine

manifestations are any less blessed? ... The moment that thought comes to mind,the moment one begins to measure spiritual strength or the grace of God by the

physical trappings ofsai grace, that is the day the spiritual trap-door opens and

we fall into void, fall away from the divine (Jegadesan n.d. iii:70).

The miraculously conceived object is handed over unsullied to the human world.

It contains the potential to awaken divine realisation but also the attendant risk

of abuse the attitude of the recipient is decisive for the outcome. In other

words, the recipient of a gift from a spiritually superior source has the power

to determine the character of the event. Should he transform his person into onedriven by selfless love, devoid of jealousy and envy then the divine potential of

the gift becomes a potent, actualised force that is capable of affecting the world.

Sai Babas major concern is the divine nature that human beings all share

and their potential to realise their spiritual equivalence with each other,

The men and women bound by mutual interests in a society are not merely families,

castes, classes, groups or kinsmen and kinswomen; they are OneAtma... all man-kind is One ... This unity must be experienced by everyone (Sai Baba in Sandweiss

1975: 205, 207).


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The moral directive is that each person should learn to recognise his selfhood

in others and try to fulfil the needs of others as if they were his own. A Sai

story recited by a devotee at one prayer meeting expressed this thus,

A man was asked by God if he wanted to go to Heaven and Hell. The man saidhed like to have a look at both options before deciding. So he was shown Hell

first. There was plenty of delicious food but the people were starving and miserable.

They each had a two-foot spoon to eat with and couldnt get it near their mouths.

In Heaven the same thing, there was the same food and the same two-foot spoons

but the people were happy and well-fed. The man asked how this was possible.

God answered that in Hell each tries to feed himself whilst in Heaven they each

feed their neighbour.

In contrast to Parrys Brahmin recipients ofdanadharma, the ideal recipientof Sai charity is one with the greatest need and therefore, presumably, thegreatest interest in the gift. In this way, gifts of charity effect the accumulation

of spiritual capital by the donor, asserting his dominance over rather than

subordination to the recipient. The Sai Baba followers I observed in Kuala

Lumpur spent considerable energy finding the most needy groups to whom

they could offer charity; poverty-stricken, terminal, paediatric cancer patients,

a desperately under-staffed home for severely handicapped children from poor,

rural families, a leprosarium and so on. The passage of the truly divine gift tends

then to travel not upwards towards the superior and disinterested Brahmin,

but downwards towards the poor and needy. Although the poor cannot realise

divinity by giving charity, they are not excluded from the possibility. According

to their Sai benefactors, their redemption consists of accepting the definitions

of spirituality and righteousness expounded by Sai Baba and his following

and acceptance of Sai Baba as a living god. This takes the form of commitment

both to Sai Baba himself and, by implication, to the Malaysian organisation.

However, persistant sub-ethnic and intracommunal rifts within the Indian

community (Rajoo 1982; Mearns 1995; Willford 1998) are reflected in therefusal of the more numerous South Indian Tamil/Hindu labouring class Indians

to submit their religiosity to redefinition by middle-class exponents of a bourgeois,

rational Hinduism and they remain largely absent from the ranks of the move-

ment. Nevertheless, for the Sai Baba devotees, when the divine potential in a

gift is realised, it offers not only emotional and spiritual elevation but also

hope of status enhancement.


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58 alexandra kent

Building a Divine Nation

Sai Babas agenda is largely in harmony with the nation-building efforts of

Malaysias political leadership. Neither prohibits striving for wealth, and both

place responsibility for its equitable redistribution on the individual conscience

rather than on the political leadership. Sai Baba proclaims, There are manyrich people in this world ... They could grow rich because of the efforts and

wealth of the poor. Having received from the poor, you spend for them ... on

medicines and education ... That is true devotion (Rao, n.d., 1: 6), and,

Spend your money for service. Where there is water shortage, try to solve that

problem. Where health care, education and medicines are required, participate in

that activity. Do everything for society and not for the individual ... We should not

depend upon the Government for everything. People should co-operate to theextent possible and provide all types of conveniences for themselves. Then only

will there be a feeling of one family (Sai Baba in Rao, n.d., 8:8; 1:6).

This tallies well with Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamads

insistence that material equality is impossible because it goes against nature

... All are different ... This truth cannot be denied (1993:67). Arguing against

the material equality sought by socialists, which he claims depends upon greed,

he proposes an alternative, Islamic model of equality,

All Muslims, poor or rich, king or commoner, are equal. In worship and in the eyes

of God they are equal. It is this equality which makes Muslims brothers regardless

of economic position, rank, status, race and colour. The basis of the brotherhood

is not status of property-ownership but the spirituality that comes from faith in

the teachings of Islam. It is a genuine brotherhood of pure hearts, free from jealousy

and envy (ibid.: 65).

Furthermore, Sai Baba and Prime Minister Mahathir both marry material pro-

gress to spirituality in remarkably similar ways. The former claims,

Vairagyamor detachment does not imply renunciation of family ties and fleeinginto the loneliness of the jungle. It means giving up the feeling that things are permanent

and are capable of yielding supreme joy (Kasturi n.d. x:14).

And the latter,

In Islam helping people is a virtue and Muslims are exhorted to do so ... What

should be judged is not ... [a persons] ... striving for wealth but his attitude and

beliefs ... Worldly wealth is Gods gift, and not to Muslims alone. Spurning it is an


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act of arrogance and ingratitude to God for His gift. What Muslims should do is to

accept and value the gift without forgetting that they have certain duties in this

world (op.cit.: 81).

Numerous other examples of this kind of compatibility between the two leadersviews of the relationship between the material world and spirituality could

be cited, but suffice it to say that both share sufficient presuppositions that

Sai Babas teachings can enter the Malaysian context without challenging

prevailing political philosophy (see Kent 1999). The recipe seems well suited

to a plural society striving for national unity an ideology of material progress

combined with containment of religious hierarchies and their isolation from

control over public policy, all put together with an increasing emphasis on

internalised religion and the individual conscience as the check on gravitationof resources. Sai Baba himself puts it succinctly,

Service to society is everyones primary duty. Businessmen should develop a moral

approach, use right means for earning wealth and utilise it for the benefit of soci-

ety (Sathya Sai Council of Malaysia Publications 1985:43).

While Prime Minister Mahathir confines himself to Islam when speaking of

spirituality, the Sai Baba philosophy is explicitly inclusive, universalistic and

ecumenical. The Malaysian Sai Baba organisation is thereby able to assurethe government of its heartfelt involvement in a programme formulated by

the Malay/Muslim leadership, while at the same time expanding the definition

of those included from Muslim, to all. Thus they facilitate their own philosoph-

ical acceptance by the Malay leadership, but simultaneously philosophically

encompass (subordinate) Islam within their own cosmology.

The Malaysian Sai Baba organisation claims spiritual brotherhood with

all compatriots, the Muslim Malays, the Indians and the Chinese. Their exclu-

sion from Muslim dominated political power, and from Chinese-dominated

economic power as well as from the working-class Indian solidarity of the

mic means that spirituality may be one of the few forms of cultural capital

left available to this small, culturally besieged group of formerly privileged,

middle-class Indians.

Conclusions

Starting with Mauss and Parry and taking several ethnographic detours

en route, I have considered the spirit of the gift as articulated in Sai Babas

teachings and philosophy and by his Malaysian followers. I suggest that this


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60 alexandra kent

rendition of the gift squares well with the Malaysian national ideology of ma-

terial development with limited state interference in the gravitation of capital.

The cultivation of an internalised altruistic spirit is favoured over the renuncia-

tion of worldly progress in both instances. Thus interest in returns la Mauss

is reconciled with the expiatory nature of selfless sacrifice described by Parrythrough an attitude of detachment rather than physical detachment.

In the passage of gifts from godman to man and viceversa, the gift is trans-formed from profane to divine by the attitude of detachment with which it

given or received. In all cases, interestedness is integral to and a precursor of

spiritual transformation rather than anathema to it, a conclusion which dif-

fers from that arrived at by Parry for danadharma.Sai Babas double identity as not just man but also God gives his teachings

the status of supreme Truth which absorbs, contains and finally subordin-ates all religious thought and practice.Thus Sai re-animation of the cosmosis not only philosophically satisfying but also has implications for cultural

ennoblement of those who uphold it.

The parallels between Sai Babas and Prime Minister Mahathirs wedding

of materialism and spirituality ease the delivery of Sai philosophy in Malaysia.

This enables the Sai Baba organisation leadership to officially present its reli-

gion as, at the very most, reformist and certainly not as subversive of the political

leadership. The official profile of the movement in Malaysia today exhibitsno resistance, in spite of an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the political

situation amongst the membership. It could be argued that the Sai Baba or-

ganisation in fact contains these rumblings, directing them towards non-

controversial ends and in this manner serving government interests well.

Sai Babas internalisation of religion, something shared both by Western

religion and bhaktidevotionalist traditions of Hinduism, makes his reasser-tion of fundamental Hindu tenets liveable for his followers, most of whom

have been acculturated to the Western ideals of progress, secularisation andrationalism. This qualifies devotees to manage prosperity without forfeiting

their spirituality. Such a philosophy is reminiscent of protestant ideals, a point

which Sai Babas followers would likely see as supporting the universality of

his teachings.

The onward march of modernity closes a classic Hindu door to salvation

renunciation for most middle-class Hindus. However, as the material pre-

sented here shows, new religious movements may offer creative alternatives

even as they further the advance of modernisation. The repackaging of ancient

spiritual formulae in a format appropriate to todays world may not only resolve


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general issues of disenchantment, spiritual vacuity or cultural deracination

among modern, cosmopolitan classes, but it may also provide an avenue for

particular groups to bid for a position of influence for themselves, as guardians

of morality, in the formation of modern society. The case under discussion

here shows also that in Malaysias ethnic plurality Indian identity, which im-plies considerable structural marginalisation, can be reinterpreted through

Sai as a positive attribute implying rightful custodianship of a tradition from

which springs the universal salvation of the modern world. Sai Baba provides

Malaysian middle-class Indians with a means of not only acquiring personal

redemption but also of seeking social validation.

AcknowledgmentsThis study was generously supported by grants from Humanistiska och Sam-

hllsvetenskapliga Forskningsrdet, Svenska Sllskapet fr Antropologi och Geo-grafi and Gteborg University. I would like to acknowledge the help and kindnessI received from all the Sai Baba devotees who participated in this study andfrom my colleagues in Gteborg. I also would like to thank the editors ofEthnosand the anonymous reviewers of this article for their constructive comments.

Note1. The reports may not be accurate, but nevertheless it is probably correct to assume

that the festival celebrations in Penang and Kuala Lumpur attract well over halfof the entire Indian population of Malaysia.

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