Anantapur, May 14: It has been 18 days since spiritual leader Satya Sai Baba has passed away, but the affairs at Prashanti Nilayam in Puttaparthi, the heart of Satya Sai Baba’s spiritual empire, are yet to be settled.
The doors of Yajurveda Mandir, which were closed on April 15, are yet to be opened and the security at the place is unprecedented. The room reportedly has most valuable things, the details of which are only known to Satya Sai’s caretaker Satyajit and trust member Ratnakar.
It has been a custom for Satya Sai to present gold chains to his devotees and rumours are afloat that such gold chains are kept in heaps in the Yajurveda Mandir along with crores of rupees.
However, Satya Sai Central Trust members are not daring to open the doors of Yajurveda Mandir, not even for stopping rumours and speculations about the contents of the hall.
Though, police and the district collector as the district magistrate have powers to open the doors, they are reluctant to take any action as the issue is sensitive one.
Superintendent of police Shah Nawaz Qasim says that when the polling is completed, they keep the ballot boxes in the strong room and stay guard, but they have no right to open it. Likewise, here too, they have no right to open the doors.
District collector Janardhan Reddy too had claimed that he has no powers to open the doors of Yajurveda Mandir, but the trust members have the powers. It is now up to the government to decide what to do about it.
During the hospitalisation of Satya Sai Baba, principal secretary (finance) L Subramanayam, who coordinated between the trust and the government machinery, had suggested clearing people’s doubts over the affairs at Prashanti Nilayam. He also suggested appointing a judicial commission on the trust’s assets.
Whether the government accepted or declined the proposal is not known. Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Yajurveda Mandir and what lies behind. Meanwhile, sources say that the trust members are contemplating to turn Yajurveda Mandir into a museum dedicated to Sai Baba.
Meanwhile, devotees are wondering who will be handed over the affairs of Satya Sai’s Vidya Vahini project. Will it be Satyajit ? It was on his 85th birthday, Satya Sai with the help of industrialist Ratan Tata, contemplated the project with an objective to provide value based education to children in rural areas. The proposal was mooted by Satyajit, who impressed upon Satya Sai the value of the project.
After the demise of the spiritual leader, efforts were intensified to target and drag Satyajit in controversies. As Satyajit is the only person, who knows in and out of Prashanti Nilayam, the trust members are reported to have held discussions with him at his parents house.
–Agencies