RootsIn -Sathya Sai Trust divided on Baba idol placement?

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Sathya Sai Trust divided on Baba idol placement?

Location - Anantapur (Rural), Anantapur, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh ..Posted on 24 Apr 2012

ANANTAPUR: One year after the demise of spiritual guru Satya Sai Baba, who passed away on April 24, 2011, there still seems to be confusion on installing his idol, with members of the Sathya Sai Central Trust (SSCT) allegedly divided on the place where it should be installed.

The trust constructed a Maha Samadhi of Baba after his death at the Sai Kulwanth Hall and devotees have been visiting it and paying their respects.

It was also resolved then that an idol of Satya Sai Baba would be installed in front of the Samadhi.

Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, a devotee of Sai Baba, had come forward to donate a white marble idol of Baba to the trust.

But the trust members kept postponing a decision the issue.

Meanwhile, with the Baba idol arriveding in Puttaparthi a week ago, speculation started growing that it will be installed on Tuesday, to mark his first death anniversary.

However, it is learnt that some trust members are against installing the idol at the Samadhi.

At a trust meeting, Sai Baba's nephew RJ Ratnakar had reportedly opined that installing an idol at Baba's Samadhi would give a particular religious identity to the place restricting access to devotees from other religions.

"Once the idol is installed, it will turn into a temple and rituals like Dhoopa-Deepa-Naivedyam will take place and there will be no scope for devotees from other religions to visit the Maha Samadhi," he is learnt to have said.

Satya Sai Sevadal branches were located in 132 countries and involved in service activities irrespective of caste and religion.

It would not be proper to attribute a particular religion to the Baba, he felt.

He reportedly suggested that instead of at the Maha Samadhi, the idol be installed at some other place.