Sai Baba buried in state funeral, thousands grieve

Thursday, 28 April 2011 00:02 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

(Reuters) - Spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba was buried on Wednesday as hundreds of thousands of devotees flocked to pay their last respects at his temple in Puttaparthi to a man revered as a living God.

Tibetan monks, Muslim clerics, top politicians and military officers sat with hundreds of family members to commemorate the charismatic guru who drew millions of followers around the world with his diverse teachings that blended Hindu and Muslim beliefs.

Revered as the reincarnation of Hindu and Muslim saint Sai Baba of Shirdi, Sai Baba was a cultural icon in a rapidly modernising Indian economy, where religion and spirituality still remain an integral part of daily life.

Sai Baba, who last month was admitted to hospital in his hometown of Puttaparthi, in Andhra Pradesh, died of multiple organ failure on Sunday. He was 85.

Hindu chants echoed around the temple during the funeral, conducted with full state honours, before the guru’s body was hidden behind a curtain for a private family burial. Giant screens around the town broadcast the ceremony to crowds of devotees.

Top politicians such as opposition leader L.K. Advani attended the ceremony, a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and ruling Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi visited the temple in Puttaparthi.

Hundreds of thousands of people have queued for hours in the stifling heat to file past the guru as his body lay in state since Sunday, dressed in his trademark orange robes. Local officials extended the viewing time to midnight on Tuesday to accommodate devotees.

Queues stretched for kilometres through the town, which has shuttered its shops and businesses since Sunday. Authorities blocked traffic entering the town on fears of overcrowding, as devotees walked tens of kilometres to reach the temple.

His followers, estimated to number six million worldwide, included top politicians, business tycoons and Bollywood stars. Sachin Tendulkar wept as he crouched by the glass casket on Monday.

Sai Baba, with his distinctive frizzy hair and credited with mystical powers including conjuring objects out of thin air, ran schools and hospitals through trusts in numerous countries.

Questions have arisen over who will take over the management of his substantial assets.