The article quoted below, in which Jens Sethi , a former devotee, recounts being sexually abused by Sathya Sai Baba, is from the magazine ‘BILD’ of Munich on 21 August, 2000. Wikipedia states that ‘BILD’ is “the best-selling newspaper in Europe and has the sixth-largest circulation worldwide”.
About a year earlier, NEXUS Magazine (Australia), August-September 1999, featured three articles on Sathya Sai Baba, containing serious allegations. One of these was the testimony of a German husband and wife, Jens and Gurprit Sethi who had been devotees, but had left him.The other articles were the testimony of Terry Gallagher, (who, on principle, had resigned as head of the Sathya Sai Organization in Australia) and Hans de Kraker, also Australia, who had likewise resigned his roles having investigated allegations of Sathya Sai Baba’s serial sexual abuse of boys and young men. Kraker was, for a number of years, head of the Western Canteen at Puttaparthi, See here) .
Until the NEXUS article, mentioned below, I had dismissed for many years as absurd no fewer than nine accounts of sexual abuse by Sai Baba, five of which I had heard between 1978 and 1982, and two shortly before I read the NEXUS articles, the rest between 1997 and 2000. I must say, though, it was a relief when leading world organs such as the BBC, Telegraph, Guardian, Age, UNESCO, some academic institutions and many others, not known for sensationalism, took our team and witnesses seriously. Even these have been attacked by an unscrupulous zealot who is known to be assisted by those long and closely associated with Sathya Sai Baba.
BILD (Wolfgang Ranft) interview on Sathya Sai Baba
Translation of text:-
RESIDENT FROM MUNICH RAN AWAY FROM INDIA - GURU ALL OF A SUDDEN WANTS SEX
By Wolfgang Ranft
MUNICH – Jens Sethi was young, naive, full of religious expectations. In 1988 this resident from Munich who worked that time in a printing office travelled to India the land of the Hindu Gurus. The 24-year-old man was looking for new spiritual fulfillment. He found, what he was looking for. Sethi succumbed to the fascination of a Guru who was already 62-years old that time: Sathya Sai Baba. “I was totally fascinated by the Aura of Sai Baba”, he says today. “I surrendered in a way that I was mainly concentrating on him.” Every year he travelled together with his wife for four or six weeks to the Ashram of Sai Baba. During the festival time more than 20 000 devotees gather there.
The fascination remained for Sethi just an external moment as he never could approach the Guru during the first years. This happened only in October 1996 when Sethi finally decided to go to India where he settled down in Puttaparthi close to the Ashram. During the daily pilgrim-meeting he was called for an interview by the Guru, the utmost a pilgrim can expect within the Ashram. Sethi enjoyed his good luck. He, one of those rare devotees, who has been personally selected by the Guru.
But the conversation took a different course than he expected. Sethi appeared together with his wife. The Guru was outraged and has sent the woman away. Alone in the room the old man started to kiss the man from Munich, stroke him and went into the trousers. Shocked but still full of faith and naivety Sethi accepted two other meetings some month later. Again the Guru kissed him and finally touched his genitals.
Only then the young man ran away back to Germany. It took him three years to overcome the crisis and to separate himself mentally from his spiritual guide. During that time he did investigations in the internet and came to know about other young men from UK, Sweden, USA who underwent a fate of similar experiences.
Only this summer he did the final step to escape from the spell under the Guru: He brought a charge against Sathya Sai Baba at the public prosecutor´s office in Munich – because of sexual molestation.
———————————————————–
Related References
In its cover story on the allegations, the mass distribution, multi language edition magazine ‘India Today’ (4 December 2000) stated:
“In Australia too, The Sunday Age carried an article on Baba’s sexual abuse. In Munich, Germany, Jens Sethi, a former devotee who claims he was molested, has filed a complaint in the public prosecutor’s office. In Sweden, the central Sai group has closed down and so too has a school based on programmes devised by educationists at the Baba ashram in Puttaparthi …
JENS SETHI is a German settled in Munich. He was a Sai Baba devotee for 10 years. His charges were published for the first time by the Focus magazine on September 18.
Allegations (as sent in a signed affidavit to INDIA TODAY): “In the private chamber, Baba said ‘Come,’ and kissed me on my lips for a long time. I resisted and he gurgled, ‘Have no fear. This is a good opportunity, so many are waiting for months and will not get.’ He asked me to remove my trousers, unzipped my fly and went with his right hand into my underpants. Baba massaged the genitals unasked. He expected some erection but this did not happen for I didn’t feel any sexual excitement. I also didn’t come for such games to Puttaparthi. I was really disgusted. Baba was disappointed and had the impudence to say, ‘It is very weak, don’t waste energy.’ When I looked at him, I realised the truth about him. He had such an evil vibration that moment. Soon, he sent me out of the room without saying a word.”
STATUS: Sethi recently filed a complaint with the public prosecutor in Munich. The Sai Baba Ashram has no comment on the allegations”.
———————————————————
General
Excerpt From Public Petition (With Barry Pittard’s comments)
(Note: You may prefer to proceed straight to the Petition):
Public Petition For Official Investigations of Sathya Sai Baba and His Worldwide Organization
There is a Spanish version available:
PETICIÓN PÚBLICA PARA INVESTIGACIONES OFICIALES DE SATHYA SAI BABA Y SU ORGANIZACIÓN A NIVEL MUNDIAL)
No comments:
Post a Comment