Sai Baba burial with full state honours today

Sai Baba burial with full state honours today

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi today joined thousands of mourners in paying homage to Godman Sathya Sai Baba, who will be interred in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday after a state funeral.

An estimated two lakh people filed past the body of the spiritual leader at the Sai Kulwant Hall where prominent personalities including Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers S M Krishna, Ambika Sonia, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrashekhar paid their last respects.

In keeping with the secular traditions at the Prashanti Nilayam, Sai Bhajans invoking Shiva, Ram, Allah and Jesus Christ were rendered as Singh and Gandhi sat for 10 minutes near the body of the spiritual leader, who attracted millions of followers across the globe.

Both the leaders flew here from Delhi by a special aircraft and drove straight to Prashanti Nilayam. They placed wreaths at the feet of Sai Baba, whose body was lying in state in a glass case. They stood in silence for a few moments, prayed and then sat for 10 minutes listening to the bhajans.

Singh and Gandhi exchanged a few words with Srinivas, a member of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust before leaving Prashanti Nilayam from where the Godman ran his spiritual empire that included educational and medical institutions and developmental and philanthropic activities.

Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy accompanied the two leaders to Prashanti Nilayam.

With mile long queues of Baba's followers waiting to have a glimpse of his mortal remains, the authorities decided to extend the darshan till midnight tonight. Till evening today police have estimated that about 3.5 lakh people would have visited Prashanti Nilayam and paid their homage.

There was some commotion occasionally when the milling crowds got impatient at the long wait. Arrangements were modified to allow people to stand in four rows instead of two.

They also decided to thrown open the 'samadhi', where the Baba will be interred in line with the practice adopted for Hindu spirital leaders, for two days till Apr 29 from 12 noon Wednesday.

Pontiffs from various religious mutts, especially in South India, are expected to attend the burial ceremony tomorrow between 9 AM and 9:30 AM in Kulwant Hall, where a memorial is expected to be erected.

Union Ministers Panabaka Lakshmi and K H Muniyappa, former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, his son H D Kumaraswamy and Sri Lankan minister and President Mahinda Rajapakse's brother Basil, VHP leaders Ashok Singhal and Pravin Togadia, controversial Swami Nithyananda were among those who visited Puttaparthi to pay their homage.

Other prominent personalities included former Sri Lankan cricketer Arjuna Ranatunga and his wife, sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shanker, playback singer Suresh Wadekar and drummer Sivamani.

Narendra Modi told reporters that he had been a devotee of the Baba for 30 years. "He has been an inspiration for people all over the world. He has shown the world how to serve people. It is a great loss not not to me but to Gujarat as well."

Meanwhile, the Sathya Sai Trust, which is said to command a wealth of the value of at least Rs. 40,000 crore, met for the first time day after Sai Baba's death and adopted a resolution paying glowing homage to him.

In a statement issued after the meeting, the trust said "the task that lies ahead of the trust is unquestionably enormous and complex and offered themselves to continue the work.

The statement was issued by Baba's nephew and Trust member R J Ratnakar, considered one of the contenders to head the trust.

Three special trains from Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada brought in a large number of devotees to the town on the final day of darshan.

Inspector General (Rayalaseema Region) Santosh Mehra said the darshan timing, which was to end at 6 pm today, has been extended till about midnight.

"Devotees are standing in queue of about 1.5 km and their arrival is on the rise.We are trying to ensure that all devotees have an opportunity to have final glimpse of Sai Baba," he said.

"We have spoken to Sai Trust authorities with regards to the extension of darshan timings from 6 pm till midnight and they have agreed to it," he said.