UTTAPARTHY,
India — The president of India, who is best known for overseeing
India's nuclear tests in 1998, recently paid a state visit to the
country's largest ashram, to meet and receive the blessings of a
holy man who preaches nonviolence.
The visit underlined the appeal of the unusual holy man, Sri
Sathya Sai Baba, who draws presidents, prime ministers and other
leaders not only from India but also from outside it; altogether he
claims followers in 178 countries.
The separation between state and religion in India, clear and
bright in the years immediately after Indian independence in 1947,
has grown less distinct. That is especially true with the political
ascendancy of the governing Bharatiya Janata Party, which emphasizes
Hindu nationalism.
Part of the appeal of the Baba, as he is called by followers and
others here, is that ever since the 1940's he has been preaching an
unusual mixture of faiths and encouraging religious tolerance.
Official visits here have become one of the odder features of
Indian public life, and among the most colorful. The Baba's mixture
of religions extends far beyond traditional Hindu beliefs, and that
lets him attract politicians of various faiths, including Muslims
like President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam of India.
President Kalam, a former nuclear scientist, flew to the ashram's
private airport here in southern India on a blue-and-white air force
jet. Saluted by olive-clad police officers, he climbed into the lead
car of a motorcade, and Sikh military aides in scarlet turbans
followed suit.
Lining the road to the ashram were stone tablets inscribed with
the swami's utterances. "Money comes and money goes/Morality comes
and grows," read one sign in English, signed simply Baba, meaning
divine father.
On a hillside at the ashram's entrance stood enormous, brightly
painted statues of Jesus, Buddha and Hanuman, an Indian monkey god.
Farther on was a large Chinese temple and a big billboard of a
benevolently smiling Baba, his hand raised in blessing.
Two-story modern buildings in fuchsia lined the paved avenue,
incongruously interspersed with 30-foot-tall statues of acoustic
guitars and wooden drums. The clunky Indian-made Ambassador cars
chugged past them and pulled to a halt in front of the great hall of
the ashram.
More than 10,000 closely packed acolytes sat cross-legged on the
floor, the women in saris of brilliant emerald, ruby and indigo
silk, the men in white short-sleeve shirts and white trousers,
symbolizing purity.
President Kalam deferentially slipped off his brown loafers and
walked in stocking feet to the front of the hall, followed by a
small entourage, whose members had also tucked their shoes under
flowering bushes outside. The Baba, 76, a short man with a thick
mane of black hair, shuffled forward in his robe.
Acolytes discreetly angled for the Baba's notice; one of the few
Westerners nearby, a middle-aged man also sitting cross-legged,
clapped his hand to his heart and wobbled visibly with emotion when
the Baba appeared to wave in his direction.
Famous for seldom saying much in public even to his followers,
the Baba silently greeted President Kalam. The two men disappeared
through polished wood doors decorated with reliefs of Hindu gods and
into the Baba's inner sanctum, where they remained a quarter of an
hour while the crowd waited quietly.
A senior aide to the Baba whispered that the spiritual leader's
full name, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, signified holy, truth, divine mother
and divine father.
Preaching the five principles of truth, peace, love, nonviolence
and right conduct, the Baba "represents unity of religion, all
religions," not just Hinduism, the aide said.
The president emerged and led his entourage out of the great
hall, putting on his shoes and hopping back in a car for a short
drive to the ashram's guesthouse. In a brief interview there, he
said he had discussed with the swami how to achieve an educational
system that combined values with science.
"When they are fused, you get an enlightened citizen," said
President Kalam, whose role is mostly ceremonial in this
parliamentary democracy; the Parliament elected him in July.
Coming from a Muslim background, the president is a rarity among
national politicians in a country that is four-fifths Hindu. He has
long contended that India's nuclear weapons program is necessary to
keep the peace in the region, and he does not represent warlike
intentions.
N. Chandrababu Naidu, the chief minister, or governor, of the
Indian state of Andhra Pradesh here, said the Baba was not just a
holy man but a public policy expert. Mr. Naidu described repeatedly
seeking the swami's advice while turning Hyderabad, the state
capital of Andhra Pradesh, into a high-tech center where American
companies like
Microsoft and Oracle now
employ thousands of computer programmers.
Using donations from around the world, the Baba has built two
hospitals near here that provide free care to the poor. He is now
spending $50 million to build systems for drinking water and
irrigation, Mr. Naidu said.
But for all the swami's interest in technology, he refuses to use
e-mail, or even pick up a telephone. "He won't correspond with
anybody, he won't use phones either," the chief minister said with a
faint hint of irritation. "Everyone has to come here."
President A.
P. J. Abdul Kalam of India, a Muslim, left, with the holy man Sri
Sathya Sai Baba, who claims followers in 178 countries and draws
leaders not only from India but also from outside it.
Anil Kumar for
The New York Times
Schoolchildren and teachers took part in a ceremony at the ashram of
the holy man, who encourages religious tolerance. Official visits
there have become one of the odder features of Indian public life.