The Hagiographer and the Avatar

Antonio Rigopoulos

Description

In this biographical study, Antonio Rigopoulos explores the fundamental role of a hagiographer within a charismatic religious movement: in this case, the postsectarian, cosmopolitan community of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba. The guru's hagiographer, Narayan Kasturi, was already a distinguished litterateur by the time he first met Sathya Sai Baba in 1948. The two lived together at the guru's hermitage more or less continuously from 1954 up until Kasturi's death, in 1987. Despite Kasturi's influential hagiography, Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, little scholarly attention has been paid to the hagiographer himself and his importance to the movement. In detailing Kasturi's relationship to Sathya Sai Baba, Rigopoulos emphasizes that the hagiographer's work was not subordinate to the guru's definition of himself. Rather, his discourses with the holy man had a reciprocal and reinforcing influence, resulting in the construction of a unified canon. Furthermore, Kasturi's ability to perform a variety of functions as a hagiographer successfully mediated the relationship between the guru and his followers. Drawing on years of research on the movement as well as interviews with Kasturi himself, this book deepens our understanding of this important pan-Indian figure and his charismatic religious movement.
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments

Introduction: Narayan Kasturi's Hagiographical Enterprise

1. Narayan Kasturi's First Life: Investigating the Hagiographer's Roots

2. Narayan Kasturi's Magnum Opus: Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, Parts 1 & 2

3. Narayan Kasturi's Magnum Opus: Sathyam Sivam Sundaram, Parts 3 & 4

4. The Hagiographer's Multiple Roles within the Sathya Sai Baba Movement

5. A Conversation with Professor Kasturi

6. Understanding Sathya Sai Baba in the Light of Dattātreya

7. Narayan Kasturi's Last Years

8. Epilogue: Narayan Kasturi's Legacy Lives On

Notes
General Bibliography
Works by Narayan Kasturi
Works on Narayan Kasturi
Index

Sujets

• Hinduism
• History of religions

Informations

• Publié par: State University of New York Press
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781438482309
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

THE HAGIOGRAPHER AND THE AVATAR
SUNY series in Religious Studies

Harold Coward, editor
THE HAGIOGRAPHER AND THE AVATAR
The Life and Works of Narayan Kasturi
ANTONIO RIGOPOULOS
Cover: Dattatreya, by Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906). Printed circa 1910 at Ravi Varma Press, Malavli, near Lonavala, Maharashtra.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2021 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Rigopoulos, Antonio, 1962– author.
Title: The hagiographer and the avatar : the life and works of Narayan Kasturi / Antonio Rigopoulos.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2021] | Series: SUNY series in religious studies | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2020056891 (print) | LCCN 2020056892 (ebook) | ISBN 9781438482293 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438482309 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sathya Sai Baba, 1926–2011—Friends and associates. | Kastūri, Nā., 1897–1987. | Hagiographers—India—Biography. | Hagiography—History and criticism.
Classification: LCC BP605.S14 R54 2021 (print) | LCC BP605.S14 (ebook) | DDC 294.5092 [B]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056891
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020056892
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Giovanni
I firmly believe there is none kinder than You,
to shower Grace on me.
Tell me, is this not the reason why
I am at Your Lotus Feet?
I firmly believe You will respond quick
When I do pray and plead.
Tell me, is this not the reason why
I am crying aloud for you?
I firmly believe You are ever beside me
to guide my steps aright.
Tell me, is this not the reason why
I am yours thro’ day and night?
I firmly believe You can never say ‘No’
Whatever I ask from You.
Tell me, is this not the reason why
I long for a glance from You?
What have you designed for me this time?
Why this dire delay to offer boons?
However long you make me wait and wail
I will not leave, I’ll be standing still
Until Your loving eyes do turn on me.
Post Script
Kasturi, begin the New Year with the above prayer.
Endowed with long life and sound health, surrounded by children, grandchildren and friends, keep on imbibing joy through bhakti and jñāna . I bless that your days be spent in the service of Sarveśvara, the Lord of All; spend your life in abundant peace and happiness.
Baba January 1, 1960
[N. Kasturi, Loving God: Eighty-Five Years Under the Watchful Eye of the Lord (Prasanthi Nilayam: Sri Sathya Sai Books Publications, 1982), 82–83]
Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Narayan Kasturi’s Hagiographical Enterprise
1 Narayan Kasturi’s First Life: Investigating the Hagiographer’s Roots
2 Narayan Kasturi’s Magnum Opus: Sathyam Sivam Sundaram , Parts 1 2
3 Narayan Kasturi’s Magnum Opus: Sathyam Sivam Sundaram , Parts 3 4
4 The Hagiographer’s Multiple Roles within the Sathya Sai Baba Movement
5 A Conversation with Professor Kasturi
6 Understanding Sathya Sai Baba in the Light of Dattātreya
7 Narayan Kasturi’s Last Years
8 Epilogue: Narayan Kasturi’s Legacy Lives On
Notes
General Bibliography
Works by Narayan Kasturi
Works on Narayan Kasturi
Index
Illustrations
1.1 Narayan Kasturi as a young College lecturer
1.2 Sathya Sai Baba in Bangalore in 1948.
1.3 The inner shrine of the Old Mandir in Puttaparthi in 1949.
1.4 Janakamma, N. Kasturi’s mother, with the marriage party on the way to Puttaparthi.
1.5 Padma and Balachandran (center) on the day of their wedding in Puttaparthi’s Old Mandir. They are surrounded by Balachandran’s parents (left) and Padma’s parents, i.e., Rajamma and N. Kasturi (right).
1.6 Sathya Sai Baba with, from left to right, Kasturi’s son M. V. N. Murthy, N. Kasturi, M. V. N. Murthy’s two children, Kasturi’s mother Janakamma, and Kasturi’s wife Rajamma.
2.1 One of the earliest purported materializations of Sathya Sai Baba: a picture of Shirdi Sai Baba surrounded by K ṛṣṇ a, Rāma, Śiva, and Hanumān.
2.2 The anointment ceremony of Sathya Sai Baba by his father and mother on the day of his birthday inside the mandir . Kasturi (right) assists them.
2.3 N. Kasturi with Sathya Sai Baba on the Kashmir hills.
2.4 The first photograph of young Sathya taken after his declaration of being Shirdi Sai Baba.
2.5 The anointment ceremony of Sathya Sai Baba by N. Kasturi and his wife Rajamma on the day of the guru’s birthday inside the mandir .
3.1 Prof. Narayan Kasturi.
3.2 N. Kasturi holding the ceremonial umbrella ( chattrā ) over Sathya Sai Baba.
4.1 Sathya Sai Baba correcting N. Kasturi’s English translation during one of his speeches.
4.2 Padma, Kasturi’s daughter, in her small apartment. Prasanthi Nilayam, February 11, 2016.
4.3 N. Kasturi delivering a lecture at Sathya Sai Baba’s presence.
4.4 Kasturi’s son M. V. N. Murthy (left) together with his father performing the recital and commentary of the Sai Bhagavatham .
5.1 Prof. N. Kasturi leaving the lecture hall after his morning talk. Prasanthi Nilayam, November 1985.
5.2 The Polaroid photo of Dattātreya showing Sathya Sai Baba’s countenance as his central face.
6.1 The three-headed god Dattātreya.
6.2 Sathya Sai Baba’s production of vibhūti over a silver statue of Shirdi Sai Baba. N. Kasturi holds the supposedly empty urn.
6.3 Sathya Sai Baba at the inauguration of the Dattātreya temple in Puttaparthi in January 1986.
6.4 Left: Dattātreya’s icon in Puttaparthi’s temple. The deity’s posture recalls Shirdi Sai Baba’s typical posture (center), which young Sathya Sai Baba consciously mirrored (right).
6.5 Sculpture of Dattātreya in the Sri Sathya Sai Sanjeevani hospital recently built in Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh.
7.1 Kasturi and Sathya Sai Baba on Christmas day of 1982, the hagiographer’s birthday. On this day Kasturi’s autobiography Loving God was released.
7.2 Kasturi’s wife Rajamma, together with her husband, offering a garland to her lord.
8.1 Sathya Sai Baba and Kasturi on the day of the guru’s birthday.
Preface
This book explores the seminal roles played by a hagiographer in the making of a charismatic religious movement: the post-sectarian, cosmopolitan community of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011), the center of which is the ashram of Prasanthi Nilayam in Puttaparthi, in the Anantapur district of the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The case study’s protagonist is Narayan Kasturi (1897–1987), a distinguished litterateur and the holy man’s official biographer, who first met Sathya Sai Baba in 1948 and who lived at his hermitage more or less continuously from 1954 up until his death.
My contention is that in order to deepen our understanding of this pan-Indian hero and his movement, attention must especially be focused upon Kasturi’s background, worldview, deeds, and overall aims and expectations. This is all the more necessary given the almost complete lack of research on this figure. Despite the influence exercised by the four volumes of his hagiography titled Sathyam Sivam Sundaram —venerated as a sacred text by all devotees and covering Sathya Sai Baba’s life from his birth in 1926 up to 1979—little scholarly notice has been paid to this truly remarkable intellectual. My study is therefore intended as a biography of Narayan Kasturi, sharing heretofore unknown or little-known information. There being no English-language academic studies on Kasturi and his significance in the construction of the Sathya Sai Baba organization, I hope that the wealth of data on him will be appreciated by both scholars and general readers.
Kasturi’s life and writings are inextricably intertwined with the development, growth, and public expressions of Sathya Sai Baba’s movement. The texts written by the hagiographer played and still play a major role in the expansion of the guru’s fame and an in-depth analysis of them is indispensable for an appreciation of the distinctive features of the guru’s cosmopolitan community. True to his neo-Hindu upbringing and conviction, Kasturi originally wrote all his books and articles on Sathya Sai Baba in English, not in Telugu or Kannada. From the time he moved to the holy man’s ashram, he consistently utilized the medium of English precisely in order to reach out to the ever-increasing constituency of his beloved master.
Given the normative status of the hagiographic genre, the enterprise of the hagiographer stands out as a crucial factor in the establishment and transmission of the defining characteristics of sainthood. Although Sathya Sai Baba exercised thorough control over the representation and communication of his identity and charisma—most effectively through the astounding variety of his alleged miracles—it is hard to overestimate Kasturi’s importance given his association with the guru of Puttaparthi for more than thirty years. Practically all accounts on Sathya Sai Baba as the preeminent divine incarna