Sai Baba!

Sai Ram! Beth and I left Goa and some unfortunate sea food (first vom attack of the trip) far far behind in search of some spiritual enlightenment at the ashram of Sai Baba here in Puttaparthi, near Bangalore. Here's the low down on Sai Baba incase you don't already know- He's 81 years old, five feet nothin' and he rocks an orange robe and an afro every day. His followers, and there's millions of them all over the world, think he's god. At the age of 14 he went into a trance and woke up a few days later saying he was the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba, a lesser known Muslim/Hindu guru that had died 22 years earlier. He supposedly heals the sick and performs other miracles, mostly waving his hands and pulling objects out of the air. His specialty is producing holy ash from the air which he gives to followers, who then eat it or rub it on themselves in some infected area that needs healing.

We've been here 5 days now, and I'm not so convinced that this dude is god. We've been attending darshan, a mass blessing by his presence, where he gets driven around the prayer in an electric car before disappearing into a room for a while. People wait for hours in the crazy heat to see this and can't contain themselves when he's driven by, which I guess makes sense since they think he's god. Today must have been a very special darshan because instead of heading into the room straight away, he wheeled around the prayer hall (he's in a wheel chair since a nasty spill in 2002) and let everyone get a good look at him. People went nuts. Some people had to be contained. Beth and I wondered what was going on. We did a lot of looking at each other and shrugging. He talked more privately to a few people and at one point materialized a necklace for a little boy. Or he pulled it out of his sleeve, whatever you want to believe. He decided to hang with the crowd for a little while, and different groups performed devotional songs and skits for him which I guess are prepared for just such an occasion. My favorite part by far was when a marching band played that devotional classic "Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely" by the Backstreet Boys. It was moving for sure. But it somehow failed at convincing me that this guy's god. We roll out on Monday, maybe I'll have changed my mind by then.

Other than the disappointment of not actually finding a living avatar of god, Puttaparthi is a great place to stay. The ashram is beautiful and people seem to be really friendly. Things are less expensive than in other parts of India, and there's even an organic foods store. We were greeted on day one by a really really friendly face from home which helped a lot. It was great to have such a hospitable welcoming committee who knew the area so well. We even got a home cooked lunch which made me miss home quite a bit.

Two months in, one month left...