{"id":1255,"date":"2026-09-20T16:33:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:33:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/?page_id=1255"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:51:14","slug":"life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-2-sri-sai-baba-and-propaganda","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-2-sri-sai-baba-and-propaganda\/","title":{"rendered":"Life of Sai Baba \u2014 Volume 4, Chapter 2: Sri Sai Baba and Propaganda"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.ap-story-page{--ap-ink:#17324d;--ap-muted:#49657e;--ap-teal:#08736e;--ap-line:#dde7ea;--ap-soft:#eef8f6;color:var(--ap-ink);font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;line-height:1.7}.ap-story-wrap{max-width:1060px;margin:0 auto;padding:8px 0 54px}.ap-story-kicker{color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.78rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase}.ap-story-dek{max-width:780px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:1.2rem;margin:.45rem 0 1rem}.ap-story-subtitle{font-size:1.05rem;color:var(--ap-muted);margin:0 0 18px}.ap-story-grid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr) 300px;gap:34px;margin-top:28px}.ap-story-main,.ap-story-card{background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--ap-line);border-radius:12px}.ap-story-main{padding:clamp(22px,4vw,46px);box-shadow:0 12px 28px rgba(16,52,80,.05)}.ap-story-main h2{font-size:1.8rem;margin-top:0}.ap-story-main h3{font-size:1.25rem;margin-top:2rem}.ap-story-main p{margin:0 0 1rem}.ap-story-main p:first-of-type:first-letter{float:left;font-size:4rem;line-height:.8;padding:.1rem .5rem 0 0;color:var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-aside{display:grid;gap:16px}.ap-story-card{padding:20px}.ap-story-card h2{font-size:.8rem;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--ap-teal);margin:0 0 .7rem}.ap-story-card p{margin:.45rem 0}.ap-story-card a{color:var(--ap-teal);font-weight:700}.ap-story-source{background:#fbfcfc}.ap-story-teaching{background:var(--ap-soft);border-left:4px solid var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-tag{display:inline-block;border-radius:999px;padding:4px 10px;margin:4px 4px 0 0;background:#e8f4f2;color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.82rem}.ap-story-note{border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line);margin-top:24px;padding-top:16px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:.86rem}.ap-story-nav{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:12px;margin-top:24px;padding-top:18px;border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line)}@media(max-width:760px){.ap-story-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}.ap-story-nav{display:grid}}<\/style>\n<section class=\"ap-story-page\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-kicker\">Chapter 2 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 4<\/div>\n<p class=\"ap-story-dek\">Sri Sai Baba and Propaganda<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-subtitle\">How Bhate\u2019s transformation and later experiences carried Baba\u2019s name to new devotees.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Sai Baba<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Devotee experience<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Volume 4<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-grid\">\n<article class=\"ap-story-main\">\n<h2>The chapter<\/h2>\n<p>At Kopergaon, Bala Saheb Bhate mocked educated visitors who travelled to Shirdi to see an uncultured fakir. When Bhate finally entered Baba\u2019s presence, he remained absorbed for hours. His contempt changed into remorse, repeated visits and such devotion that he resigned his post despite Baba\u2019s advice to keep his employment.<\/p>\n<p>This change explains why Narasimha Swami defends <em>prachar<\/em>, the work of making Baba known. A devotee who has received Baba\u2019s help can tell others about it, although private experiences should not be forced into public speech before people who will only ridicule them.<\/p>\n<p>The author then records how Baba\u2019s name spread through articles, books and the work of the \u201cSouthern Swami\u201d. Near Vellore, a ten-month-old child who had suffered fits for eight months received Baba\u2019s udhi and never had another fit. The village became devoted to Sai. At Kakinada, arati and Baba\u2019s blessing brought relief to a woman troubled by hysteria.<\/p>\n<p>The author treats these events as Baba\u2019s own prachar. He also points to the cobra that stayed before Baba\u2019s picture at Coimbatore and the \u201cOm Sai\u201d inscriptions reported at Ramachandrapuram. In these accounts, publicity is not an invention added to Baba\u2019s work; it is the way his help and name reached people who had not yet come to Shirdi.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-note\"><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> This page is a concise paraphrase for web presentation and does not reproduce the complete chapter. Please consult the original PDF for the full account and wording.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-nav\"><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-1-baba-and-school-of-philosophy\/\">\u2190 Previous chapter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-chapter-3-babas-moral-teachings\/\">Next chapter \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<aside class=\"ap-story-aside\">\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-source\">\n<h2>Referenced source<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Life of Sai Baba<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By <em>Sh. B. V. Narasimha Swami<\/em><br \/>Volume 4, Chapter 2: <em>Sri Sai Baba and Propaganda<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-4-02-sri-sai-baba-and-propaganda-or-prachar.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View original chapter PDF \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-by-sh-b-v-narasimha-swami\/\">View the complete book \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card\">\n<h2>People and places<\/h2>\n<p><strong>People:<\/strong> Sai Baba \u00b7 Devotees<\/p>\n<p><strong>Places:<\/strong> Shirdi<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-teaching\">\n<h2>Related teaching<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Love, compassion and equality<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This account may be read alongside Sai Baba\u2019s teachings on faith, patience, equality, love and compassion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/teachings-and-parables-of-sai-baba\/\">Explore teachings and parables \u2192<\/a><\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 2 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 4 Sri Sai Baba and Propaganda How Bhate\u2019s transformation and later experiences carried [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1255","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1255"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1255\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1287,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1255\/revisions\/1287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}