Satyanarayana Raju, an Indian guru born in 1926 who goes by the name of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He is believed to be divine by himself and his followers, who allegedly number in the several millions. He claims to have paranormal powers and to be able to work miracles. Two of his favorite "miracles" are to make ashes materialize for poor people and to make jewelry materialize for rich people.
The film "Guru Busters" (Equinox) demonstrated that these alleged miracles are little more than a magician's parlor tricks. My favorite line from that film came from an Indian physicist who had been given a ring allegedly materialized by Sai Baba. The physicist said that he had a doctorate from Harvard and could not possibly be fooled by a magician. How many times have we heard brilliant, though deluded, people issue a similar declaration! The film depicts a group called the Indian Science and Rationalists' Association [ISRA] as they travel throughout India debunking and exposing as frauds local fakirs, godmen and godwomen. The ISRA debunkers are to India what James Randi is to America and Canada. They utilize scientific and rational principles to expose the magical art of illusion used by Hindu mystics in performing feats of levitation and other alleged miracles.
For more infomation about the Indian Rationalist Association contact
Sanal Edamaraku
779 Pocket 5
Mayur Vihar 1
New Delhi 110091
India
Tel: (0091) 11-225 0487
further reading
Dale Beyerstein's book on Sai Baba
Sai Darshan - A worshipper's devoted page