HYDERABAD: The works for the construction of the Mahasamadhi of Sathya Sai Baba began on May 27 and it will be ready for darshan by next Guru Poornima in July. Though the samadhi is reported to be of normal size, it will be made unique with the marble platform that will cover it. A marble statue of Saibaba in a sitting posture with Abhaya Hastam will be put up there.The works were begun with a simple ceremony on Friday in which board member RJ Ratnakar was present. Industries Minister J Geetha Reddy, an ardent devotee of Sai Baba was also present on behalf of the state government.“The samadhi will be ready by next Guru Poornima. There will be sarvadharma emblem on the samadhi incorporating the tenets of all faiths,” a source in Sathya Sai Trust said. The marble statue of Sai Baba will be made with the `30 lakh donation by cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. “The statue will be inaugurated on Baba’s birth anniversary on November 23,” sources said. Meanwhile, the absence of most of the trust members at the ceremony kick starting the samadhi works has once again raised doubts about differences among the trust members still not being settled. It is no secret that several members of the Trust are still at loggerheads with Ratnakar, who calls all the shots at the Sathya Sai Central Trust.This is the first major event in Prashanti Nilayam after the demise of Sathya Sai Baba on April 24. Though the turnout of devotees at Puttaparthi has dwindled substantially, the trust members are making efforts by arranging giant screens at Kulwanth Hall on which visuals of Baba and his earlier sermons will be played. Regular prayers are being continued and the devotees are still offering prayers at Sai Baba’s samadhi. “After the completion of the Mahasamadhi, I hope there would be more number of devotees. In fact the number has not come down after Baba’s death,” a source in the Trust said.
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