A startling number of people believe that SSB creates many things from nothing, is all-powerful and knows everything about everyone. These include a dozen heads of state, various royalty and film stars etc. His 'creations' are most often rings, medallions, bracelets, necklaces and so on, through which he says he communicates to - and 'sees' what happens to - his devotees. These amulets or talismen are believed by thousands who wear them to be a 'hotline' to SSB and also they "bind people to him", such as the rings created by Dark Lord Sauron in Tolkien's famous fiction. The major issue then is whether Sathya Sai Baba really as pure and good as he constantly repeats he is, or is he blemished and bad at the core?

STRANGE DERANGEMENTS TAKE HOLD OF MOST SATHYA SAI BABA DEVOTEES ONCE THEY BELIEVE THAT HE CAN CREATE AND DO JUST ANYTHING, THAT HE IS WHAT HE CLAIMS TO BE, GOD THE FATHER INCARNATE!

Even if we accept that some or even many of the alleged 'miracles' attributed to Sai Baba through the past 70-plus years do have some real basis in people's experiences, there remain many more incredible claims by him to which a follower has to relate. Amazingly many persons soon surrender all wit and reason and believe literally anything SSB says, however contradictory, however unlikely or totally impossible. The number of such persons is far more than it is easy for an outsider to believe! These awkward beliefs are not central to the SSB story as a whole (about 500 books in English alone), but they come as an unavoidable part of the baggage… The key beliefs and hopes that help attach more than a million people to him are for personal salvation, 'healing', and liberation in the afterlife. It cannot be denied that SSB is credited with with many inexplicable healings, miraculous interventions of unusual kinds plus a long list of good works... However, this is still the very deceptive bright side of his other more than unfortunate activities.