Mānasa Bhajare: A Commentary on Sathya Sai Baba's First Public Discourse

Ratnākaram Sathyanārāyaṇa Rāju alias Sathya Sai Baba (1926-2011), from the village of Puttaparthi in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, has been one of the most popular Indian gurus. Scholarly attention has focused on his charismatic figure, purported powers and transnational movement but very little on his teaching activity, though the guru considered it to be an essential part of his mission as an avatāra. Indeed he constantly engaged in teaching (upadeśa), both through his discourses and his writings. This article offers a commentary to his first public discourse, which he delivered in his ashram of Prasanthi Nilayam on 17 October 1953, on the final day of the Dasara festival.