Spiritual guru Sathya Sai Baba had initiated several philanthropic activities, and supported educational institutions, hospitals and charitable institutions globally
Apart from giving divine discourses, the late Sathya Sai Baba was known for his philanthropic activities. He had been providing support to a variety of free educational institutions, hospitals and other charitable institutions in over 166 countries.
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute Of Higher Learning (now changed to Sri Sathya Sai University), Prashanthi Nilayam, is the only college in India to have received an "A++" rating by the National Assessment And Accreditation Council (an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission).
The Sri Sathya Sai University for which the late seer himself was the Chancellor, has 3 campuses - one at Puttaparthi for men; one at Whitefield, Bangalore, for men; and one at Anantapur for women.
The Sathya Sai Trust also supports an institute for Indian classical music called the Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College Of Music.
The other educational institutions set up by the man regarded as the re-incarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba aim to impart character education along with excellence in academics with an emphasis on human values and ethics.
Sathya Sai Baba also chaired the Muddenahalli - Sathya Sai Loka Seva School and Sri Sathya Sai Loka Seva Trust Educational Institutions in the Muddenahalli-Kanivenarayanapura regions.
In addition, a Sathya Sai Baba university and medical school, as well as a world class hospital and a research institute, have been constructed over 200 acres to serve the destitute population. On the orders of the spiritual leader, the campus has been modeled after Puttaparthi, and will infuse spirituality with academics.
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute Of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi is a 220-bed healthcare facility that provides free surgical and medical care. The super-specialty hospital was inaugurated by the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao on November 22nd, 1991.
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute Of Higher Medical Sciences in Bangalore is a 333-bed hospital meant to benefit the poor. The hospital was inaugurated on January 19th, 2001, by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. To date, the hospital has provided free medical care to over 2,50,000 patients.
The Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital was established in Whitefield, Bangalore, in 1977, and provides complex surgeries, food and medicines, free of cost. The hospital has treated over 2 million patients till date.
The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust runs several general hospitals, 2 specialty hospitals, eye hospitals and mobile dispensaries, and conducts medical camps in rural and slum areas in India.
The Trust has also funded several major drinking water projects. One such project, which was completed in 1996, supplies water to 1.2 million people in about 750 villages in the drought-prone Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh.
The second drinking water project which was completed in 2004 supplies water to Chennai through a rebuilt waterway named "Sathya Sai Ganga Canal". Other completed water projects include the Medak district project that benefits 4,50,000 people in 179 villages, and the Mahabubnagar district project that benefits 3,50,000 people in 141 villages.
In January 2007, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust had announced that it would initiate a drinking water project in Latur, Maharashtra.
In 2008, 2 million people in the state of Odisha were affected by floods. As a relief measure, the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization had built 699 houses in 16 villages by March 2009.
Sathya Sai Baba's Educare program seeks to found schools throughout the world with the goal of educating children in the 5 human values.
According to the Sai Educare site, schools have been founded in 33 countries, including Australia, Mexico, United Kingdom and Peru.
The Times of Zambia had once published: "The positive influence of Sathya Sai is unprecedented in the annals of education in Zambia. Sai Baba's education ideals as embodied in his human-values-based approach to education are enlightening to educationists in Zambia."
In Canada, the Fraser Institute, an independent Canadian research and educational organization, had ranked the Sathya Sai School of Canada as one of the top 37 elementary schools in Ontario. The Sathya Sai School had scored a perfect 10 out of 10 in the institute's overall rating for academic performance.
On November 23rd, 1999, the Department of Posts of the Government of India released a postage stamp and a postal cover in recognition of the service rendered by Sathya Sai Baba in addressing the problem of providing safe drinking water to the rural masses.
On November 23rd, 2001, the digital radio network Radio Sai Global Harmony was launched through the World Space Organization, United States.
Dr. Michael Oleinikof Nobel (a distant relative of Alfred Nobel, and one of the patrons of the radio network) had said that the radio network would spread Sathya Sai Baba's message of global harmony and peace.
In January 2007, an event was held in the Chennai Nehru stadium which was organised by the Chennai Citizens Conclave to thank Sathya Sai Baba for the 200 crores water project that brought water from the Krishna river to Chennai. (INN)