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Home , Sathya Sai Baba

From everyday life to politics, the power of Indian astrology

Chung Ho-young, Ph.D.c. Department of Sociology, Jadavpur University

ll human beings want to know their fate and block misfortune. It is a common trend in and Korea for women to opt for cesarean sections in the hope of having A babies on auspicious dates. The difference between the two countries is that India uses Hindu astrology and Korea uses the Four Pillars of Destiny. Few countries are as deeply intertwined with astrology as India is. In India, there are even television channels that broadcast Hindu religious events or the fortune-telling of panelists all day long. Moreover, only a fraction of Indians believe that astrology is superstition. Even the educated class are not ashamed to ask astrologers about their fate.

○● Is astrology science? Among the many hypotheses on the birth of Indian astrology, the hypothesis that Hindu astrology began after the conquest of India by

130 POSRI Chindia Quarterly�Spring 2012 :: Culture

Alexander the Great in the 4th Century B.C.E is the most plausible. Indians regard Hindu astrology, which originated in the Middle East and Europe, as an important part of religion and culture, and even as science. On February 3, 2011, the High Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by NGO Janhit Manch that questioned the validity of astrology in order to control the damage caused by con artists who proclaim themselves to be . “The High Court has already considered the issue and ruled that astrology is science. The court had in 2004 also directed the universities to consider if astrology science can be added to the syllabus,” observed the judges of the High Court. Those who make the most use of the influence of astrology on the are politicians. When India’s most revered spiritual leader, passed away in April 2011, many politicians, including , President of the (INC), Prime Minister , and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani, released public condolences. Supernatural power is not important in proving that a is genuine. Confucius did not have any supernatural powers. However, Rasputin, a wicked Russian priest, had healing powers. In the Korean culture, there is no tradition of following someone as a religious leader or guru just because he has supernatural powers. However, Sathya Sai Baba has many Indian followers. Not only L. K. Advani from right-wing political party BJP, but also Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh from secular party INC, had to offer their condolences on the death of the spiritual leader for political purposes.

○● The “” in scandals Sathya Sai Baba was a “saint” who was involved in many scandals. He claimed to be a of Sai Baba, the Saint of Shirdi village, who died in 1918. Sathya Sai Baba claimed that he had the power to make pure gold, silver, sapphires, and other jewels out of thin air. He did not hoard the

131 Spring 2012�POSRI Chindia Quarterly jewels for himself; he used them to help others. People who revered him as a spiritual guru made donations to him. When he died, he left INR 400 billion of wealth. Sathya Sai Baba had an estimated six million followers across the globe. Hollywood stars Goldie Hawn and Brooke Shields are known to be among his followers. A series of photos revealed that Sathya Sai Baba’s manifesting jewelry out of thin air was nothing but trickery. An experiment revealed that the “green diamond” he made was not real diamond. Many allegations were made against him by young boys. However, his devotees did not believe these allegations. Sai Baba, of whom Sathya Sai Baba claimed to be a reincarnation, is believed to have filled a dry well with water, turned water into oil to light the lamps of temples, and performed other miracles. However, Sai Baba was not as lavish as Sathya Sai Baba, who rode in a golden carriage donated by his devotees. Many followers of Sathya Sai Baba do not even question his dying eleven years prior to the date he prophesized.

○● Religious blessings bestowed upon villains The worst problem is Sathya Sai Baba’s relationships with politicians. He once blessed L. K. Advani, the leader of BJP, who spearheaded the massacre of three thousand Islamists under the name of the historically unproven Ayodhya legend. Following the arrest of Advani, Sathya Sai Baba foretold that Advani would be released soon, and blessed his future. Through this blessing, Advani was able to politically absorb Sathya Sai Baba’s influence on the public, whose lives were dependent on religion. It is ironical to give the title “saint” to a man who blesses a politician that conducts mass murder. However, unlike in other religions, the idea that gods bless villains is common in . The ancient epic Ramayana, a must read for understanding Indian culture, has an anecdote illustrating that if a villain sincerely holds memorial services for a Brahman

132 POSRI Chindia Quarterly�Spring 2012 :: Culture

and practices religious austerities, he will become more skillful at committing wicked acts. There are other anecdotes showing the materialistic and temperamental characteristics of Hinduism: the evil King Ravana tyrannizes his country, Lanka, by the grace of Brahma, god of creation; the invading King Vishwamitra, who plunders the Holy Cows, practices extreme asceticism and accumulates power under the blessing of Lord . Sathya Sai Baba, the self-proclaimed god in saffron-colored clothes and an afro, did more than ride in a big golden carriage carried by his devotees in a holy parade. He was also an NGO activist who built schools, hospitals, and charitable institutions. Influential Hindu clergy such as Sathya Sai Baba concurrently involve themselves in religion and NGO’s. Their NGO activities lure the faithful to make donations, and are deeply intertwined with real politics.

○● The religion-NGO-politics nexus Anna Hazare, the symbol of India’s current anti-corruption movement, also shows how politicians are related to men of religion. As soon as Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement began, Hindu clerics expressed their support one after another. The clerics included Baba Ramdev, a star guru who is directly tied to Hindu-nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the most powerful religious support group for BJP. Therefore, conjecture has been made that BJP is one axis of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement. Anna Hazare once lavished praise on for being a clean politician. Modi is a BJP member and Gujarat Chief Minister, who is directly responsible for genocide in Gujarat. Amidst mounting criticism, Hazare withdrew his support for Modi, saying that he had not been aware of Modi’s corruption. Anna Hazare claimed that he was irrelevant to politics and would not enter politics. In fact, he came to be deeply engaged in politics as his team led a movement to vote out corrupt

133 Spring 2012�POSRI Chindia Quarterly politicians. The politicians they targeted to vote out of office were members of the current ruling party, INC. Indians depend on religious leaders in their private lives as well as for their political choices. One should not entirely deny the food for the soul offered by Indian religious gurus. However, believing that all spiritual gurus in India are genuine truth-seekers without connection to worldly matters is misguided, and results from the prejudices of Orientalism.

134 POSRI Chindia Quarterly�Spring 2012