Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba died of multi-organ failure at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences founded by him at Puttaparthi in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, at 7.40 am today. He was 85.
He had been taken to hospital with breathing and heart problems on March 28.
The Andhragovernment today announced state mourning till Wednesday. Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy announced that the last rites would be performed with state honours.
Born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926, he declared himself a reincarnation of the Shirdi Sai Baba (who died near Ahmednagar in Maharashtra at the age of 80 in 1918) at the age of 14. Since then, he had attracted millions of followers, including the influential, from across the globe.
Sathya Sai Baba founded the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust in 1972. It is managing an estimated Rs 40,000 crore worth of assets, including free schools, a university, free hospitals and cultural centres, besides undertaking development and philanthropic works across 165 countries, with money coming from donations of an estimated 30 million devotees.
“Sri Sai Baba is a symbol of love, affection and passion. He had given his great self to service of humanity in the form of various services not only to our state, our country, but also to the entire world. The Sathya Sai Trust has extended qualitative education, medicare and drinking water to the needy, “ said Chief Minister Reddy. “The trust has provided drinking water to parched throats in drought-prone areas in Andhra Pradesh, mainly in Rayalaseema and Telangana regions. He will be remembered for ages to come by all sections of people all over the world.”