Editing Sathya Sai Baba (section)

===Responses===
Sathya Sai Baba rejected any allegations of misconduct and was never charged with any offense.<ref name=funeral/><ref name=":0" /> During a speech in December 2000, he used the analogy of [[Jesus Christ]] and [[Judas Iscariot]], saying, "in those days there was one Judas, but today there are thousands."<ref name="sai2000"/> Addressing the allegations, he said that out of jealousy, hate and fear, many devotees were being bought to speak against him, having been offered money to say nasty things.<ref name="sai2000">{{Cite news| date=26 December 2000 |title= Sai Baba lashes out at detractors |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bangalore/sai-baba-lashes-out-at-detractors/articleshow/534425761.cms |newspaper=The Times of India}}</ref>

His followers have also defended him publicly and attested to what they believed to be his character. These include [[Bill Aitken (traveller)|Bill Aitken]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.the-week.com/25nov27/currentevents_article10.htm |title=Miracle of Welfare |access-date=9 September 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060909111636/http://www.the-week.com/25nov27/currentevents_article10.htm |archive-date=9 September 2006 }}</ref> and Anil Kumar, former principal of the Sathya Sai Educational Institute.<ref name="divine">Brown, Mick (28 October 2000). "Divine Downfall". ''The Daily Telegraph''.</ref>

In an open letter in December 2001, Prime Minister [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]],<ref name=Palmer97-98 /> Chief Justices [[P. N. Bhagwati]] and [[Ranganath Misra]], and Members of Parliament and [[Najma Heptulla]] said that they were "deeply pained and anguished by the wild, reckless and concocted allegations" against Sathya Sai Baba, and called him "an embodiment of love and selfless service to humanity".<ref name="letterpmindia">[https://archive.today/20130921020144/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fline/fl2810/stories/20110520281002600.htm Letter from A. B. Vajpayee (the then Prime Minister of India)]</ref>

In a 2015 article, writer [[Paul William Roberts]] said Sai Baba "definitely emanated [[love]] and could perform extraordinary actions defying explanation. No matter what is said about him, I can only speak for myself, and I have never had any reason to doubt that he is what he said he is.”<ref name="pwrmg">{{Cite news | title =From Saddam Hussein to Christopher Hitchens, Paul William Roberts on the remarkable people he's encountered| newspaper=[[Montreal Gazette]] | date = 29 August 2015 | url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/from-saddam-hussein-to-christopher-hitchens-paul-william-roberts-on-the-remarkable-people-hes-encountered|access-date = 15 July 2020}}</ref>