HDevotees call him the 21st century incarnation of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. His critics have a different opinion. He transformed Sathya Sai Grama, which was just a collection of buildings a decade ago, into a thriving spiritual sanctuary that brings to life the preaching and practice of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, the home of spiritual gurus, is managed by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSSCT) and has lost both its crowd and popularity to upstarts. It’s coming.
A war has broken out over the legacy of Sathya Sai Baba, who passed away in 2011. On one side is Madhusudan Naidu, 43, a business management graduate from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Education (SSSIHL). ” He is one of the many universities established by Sri Sathya Sai Baba at Puttaparthi, and he claims to be the rightful successor of the spiritual guru. The other is RJ Rathnakar, the Guru’s nephew who has been the managing trustee of SSSCT since 2020, but he considers Naidu to be just an impostor and that he is the real custodian of Sathya Sai Baba’s endowments. claims to be a person.
Long-time Sathya Sai devotees and officials of the Puttaparthi-based organization are outraged by the rise of Madhusudan and former SSSIHL hostel manager BN Narasimha Murthy, who lead a rival faction. “Puttaparthi is the holiest place for devotees,” says J. Geethaleddy, a former Andhra Pradesh minister. “Sathya Sai spread his mission of service and love from here.”
However, despite Rathnakar’s repeated efforts to expand the base of (SSSCT), Prasanthi Nilayam’s activities have not grown by leaps and bounds since Sathya Sai Baba’s death. In contrast, under Naidu, now known as Sadhguru Madhusudan Sai, the picturesque Muddenahalli vineyard valley in Karnataka’s Chikkaballapur district, a short drive from Bangalore Airport Sathya Sai Grama, a 100-acre hamlet, will be a sacred hub comparable to Prasanthi Nilayam, where the late Guru lived and died. Sathya Sai of Muddenahalli The central figure of his grama is no ordinary pulpit preacher. Following in the footsteps of his spiritual master, Madhusudan was able to cultivate a charismatic image. He may not have the guru’s curly mop of hair, but with his crew cut, clean-shaven look, eternally friendly expression, and shiny saffron silk robes, he have their own unique personality.
But Madhusudan derives its legitimacy from more than just looks. It also draws from the late Guru’s words, “My students are my property,” and the change agents who were making his dreams of a new world of harmony, peace, acceptance, service, and love come true. It is. Shashidhar Prasad, former vice chancellor of Mysuru University and his SSSIHL, attributes Sathya Sai’s rapid growth of his grama to the mystical powers of Madhusudan. “Swami (Sri Sathya Sai Baba) told me that he would spend the last hours of his life in the hilltop building of Sathya Sai Grama in Muddenahalli. One day he asked me to meet Brother Madhusudan there. I was surprised that he revealed so many very personal things about his interactions with Swami,” says Prasad. Such anecdotes helped strengthen Madhusudan’s claim to Sathya Sai Baba’s legacy.
Muddenahalli’s connection with Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Puttaparthi goes back 50 years. It was here that Madhyar Narayan Bhat, an ardent devotee, founded Sathya Sai Grama (SSG) after meeting Sai Baba in 1962. In 1972 a boarding school for boys was established, followed a few years later by a pre-university college. . Until a decade ago, these were the only buildings at SSG, apart from the community hall where Sri Sathya Sai Baba used to grant darshan when traveling between his Puttaparthi and Whitefield ashrams in Bangalore. During his last visit to Muddenahalli in 2009, he had given instructions to build a house. So Anandam, a building with a spiral slope on top of a hill, was designed as his residence. There is a clock tower on the roof of the building with a 153 feet tall statue of Shiva and another of his statues of Nandi next to it. After Sai Baba passed away in 2011, Madhusudan moved into the space vacated by him.
The Rise and Rise of Madhusudan
Under his guidance, Sathya Sai Grama came into its own and attracted devotees and celebrities alike. Madhusudan said that to carry on Sai Baba’s legacy, he relies on two watchwords: “Love and Service” about the power of love and the manifestation of that love: service to the poor. He calls the three panaceas of nutrition, education, and health care the key service areas. A year after Sai Baba’s death, Madhusudan opened a school in Kalaburagi in northern Karnataka, followed by a pediatric cardiac care hospital in Nava Raipur Atal Nagar in Chhattisgarh. Since then, his mission has only evolved and grown.
The speed with which things have moved on his watch is astonishing, his supporters say. In 2018, Sri Sathya Sai Sarala Memorial Hospital, a 300-bed multispecialty hospital for the poor, was opened on the Muddenahalli campus. The stylish swastika-shaped hospital is currently the busiest place in Sathya. At Cygrama, a long line of patients formed at the reception counter. “We see close to 1,000 outdoor patients every day,” claims project director SS Balaskumar. We mainly focus on pediatric congenital heart disease and obstetrics and gynecology. His 250-person staff includes his 70 physicians. Most of them remain on campus and their children study in schools there. Among them is Shagufta Ara, a nurse from Jammu and Kashmir. She was recognized as a coronavirus warrior during the first wave of the pandemic in 2020, when she cared for 100 newborn babies at Srinagar’s Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hospital. While visiting Muddenahalli Ashram to receive her award, she quit her job at Srinagar Hospital and set up her base with her husband, her two daughters and her in-laws. I decided to move it. Ara is currently in charge of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Sri Sathya Sai Sarala Memorial Hospital. “I was very impressed during our visit,” she says.
Apart from the hospital, a block of apartments was also constructed for the residents and guests of the ashram. Next up was a 5,000-seat auditorium. Construction work on a sports stadium is underway, while a school for music and performing arts is also in the pipeline. Bhuvana Santhanam, CEO of Global Outreach at Sathya Sai Grama, emphasizes that everything is free on campus. “Housing, food, electricity, water, facilities are all taken care of,” she says. Like many others here, she is also an alumnus of her SSSIHL. Ms. Santhanam, who some have described as “Madhusudan’s right-hand man,” worked as a strategic brand and image management consultant for 20 years before settling here in 2015.
Madhusudan is said to be involved in every aspect of the fast-growing organization. He travels throughout the year for board meetings and site visits, conducts team reviews, and develops strategies to expand the scope of the mission. With plans to intensify efforts through collaboration, he implemented his 3S model, which blends Samaja (Society), Sarkala (Government) and Samstha (Institutions), to implement a host of services and achieve greater impact. I devised it. scale. To achieve this objective, he established the Sai His Global Foundation Coalition, which brings together the international organizational community. He has 35 registered trusts and foundations in 33 countries, including India, implementing various projects.
As a result, Madhusudan is now spearheading a global mission to establish educational, medical, nutritional and spiritual institutes in most of these countries. The company operates six multi-specialty hospitals in India and three hospitals providing free medical care abroad. With 37 educational institutions on 27 campuses, including a university in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, and three overseas educational institutions in Laos, Nigeria and Australia, we have provided ‘values-based education’ to over 6,000 children. is provided. In addition, 12 Human Development Centers have been established in 11 countries with the aim of “the welfare and happiness of all people as one global family.” “In Indian culture, everyone has always been taught to pray for the well-being of other people… A global family is an Indian idea,” says Madhusudan each time he starts a new project.
Funding the mission
The influential Sri Sathya Sai International Organization (SSSIO), based in California and headed by Dr. Narendranath Reddy, remained neutral during Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s lifetime, but now supports pro-Madhusudan-led groups. Funding comes from SSSIO members in addition to corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributions from India and abroad. “His total investments across the three areas of nutrition, education and healthcare have taken him to over $200 million,” said BN Narasimha, chairman of Shri Sathya Sai’s University of Human Excellence in Kalaburagi. says. In fact, sourcing resources is not considered difficult at all. “The selfless act has inspired individuals, foundations and corporates in India and abroad to support this cause,” says C. Sreenivas, Chairman, Shri Sathya Sai Health Education Trust.
“The most attractive thing is the speed of execution. They are trying to complete all the projects in 11 months,” said A. Balasubramanian, Managing Director, Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. say. Sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, who has been visiting and performing in Muddenahalli since 2018, agrees, saying: Their commitment to education, health care, and nutrition is truly selfless. This is a method of service that we cherish in all religions. ”
Conscious of the growing influence of the Muddenahalli group, Ratnakar, Sai Baba’s nephew and Madhusudan’s rival, is stepping up efforts to expand Puttaparthi’s appeal. In Sai Baba’s marble mahasamadhi in Sai Kulwant Hall, adorned with Prasanthi Nil Ayam chandeliers, devotees recently prepared for the 100th anniversary of Bhagwan’s Advent in November 2025. He vowed to practice Narayana Seva, which is “giving food to the poor.” On the 20th, during his 97th birthday celebrations, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization (SSSSO) All India President Nimish Pandya announced that he will feed one million people by 2025. announced the goal.
In 2020, Mr. Rathnakar lobbied the United Nations Economic and Social Council and was successful in securing global recognition for SSSCT’s humanitarian work in 2020. A year later, he established the Sri Sathya Sai Global Council (SSSGC) to guide the activities of the SSSSO. In India and other countries as well. All the rituals initiated during the Guru’s life and social service through education and medical services are preserved in the Prasanthi Nilayam Convention Center and Sri Sathya Sai Media Center, Multimedia Museum in Vrindavan, Whitefield, etc. It continues under the leadership of Ratnakar with some additions. Bangalore. Thanks to lobbying efforts between Ratnakar and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Puttaparthi is now also the headquarters of a district named after Sathya Sai.
On May 8, this year, the SSSGC warned its followers that it has no ties to the California-based SSSIO or its constituent groups supporting Madhusudan. The group said it has no affiliation with or endorsement by His SSSCT of Prasanthinilayam or the Shri Sathya His Sai organizations in the United States and other parts of the world that are affiliated with the Global Council. The SSSGC also rejected Madhusudan’s claim that he channels the spirit of the late Sathya Sai, but simply rejecting the claim may not be enough to rein in the breakaway group. Despite several attempts by INDIA TODAY to contact him, Rathnakar refused to speak.
However, despite Ratnakar’s various initiatives, Prasanthi Nilayam was unable to increase the flow of devotees or expand its social activities. For now, Sathya Sai’s legacy seems to be doing much better under Madhusudan’s leadership and with the help of the massive expansion he has planned. One may notice that Ratnakar is confined to Puttaparthi and its environs.
-With Mr. Ajay Sukumaran
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