经济学人29:印度最具争议的上师之一赛巴巴

 　　Obituary;Sai Baba;

　　讣告;赛巴巴;

　　Sathya Sai Baba (Satyanarayana Raju), one of India's most controversial gurus, died on April 24th, aged¹ 85;

　　萨提亚·赛巴巴（赛提亚纳拉亚纳·喇举），印度最具争议的上师之一，死于4月24日，享年85岁;

　　With a mere² circling wave of His Hand, Sai Baba could make objects materialise out of the air. Gold rings, amulets³ and necklaces; blocks of sugar candy; images of Shiva made of topaz and sapphire⁴; bottles of tonic⁵ and packets of blue pills; rosaries, silver vessels⁶ and even medallions inscribed⁷ with the name of the recipient⁸, the day and date. He could produce vibhuti too, holy Ash that poured from under His fingernails. On average a pound a day flowed from Him as He gave darshan, allowing His followers⁹ a sight of God as He moved among them, a tiny ochre-robed figure with an immense black afro, or halo, of hair. The Ash might be salty or sweet, blackish or white. Smeared¹⁰ on the body, it forgave sins; taken in water, it helped digestive complaints.

　　赛巴巴仅仅挥手划一个圈，就能够使空中突然出现很多东西：金戒指、护身符、项链、冰糖块、黄水晶与蓝宝石制成的湿婆神像、药瓶、汞丸袋、念珠、银器、甚至是刻有接受者名字和年月日的纪念章。他还能够变出圣灰，它们从他的指甲下流出。赛巴巴身材较小，穿着赭黄色长袍，一头巨大的圆蓬式黑发象光晕一般。当他赐福时，通常一天变出一磅的圣灰。他在信徒中走动，使他们能够瞥见一眼神性。圣灰的味道或咸或甜，颜色略黑或白。把它涂在身上，可以消除罪障；它吸水后有助于消除心中的抱怨。

　　Sceptics were always trying to show how it was done, saying that the Ash was a pellet crushed between His fingers, or that the gold and silver ellipsoidal lingams (the Form of the Formless) that He coughed up at certain festivals were in fact hidden in His handkerchief. The BBC made a documentary, and slow-motion videos were all over YouTube. Sai Baba laughed at their efforts. His miracles were as trivial, in comparison with His Reality, as a mosquito to an elephant. But at least 6m people, probably closer to 100m, in 126 countries of the world, accepted them as tokens of the Divinity He personified. And He was defended by figures no less than Manmohan Singh, prime minister of India, and Sonia Gandhi, leader of the Congress party, who journeyed to pay their respects before his state funeral.

　　怀疑者们总是企图揭露这一过程，他们说，圣灰是在赛巴巴的手指间碾碎的小球，在某些节日上赛巴巴咳出的金质和银质的椭圆体形男根雕像（无形湿婆神的象征物）实际上藏在他的手帕里。BBC拍摄过一部纪录片，慢镜头视频在油条吧上随处可见。赛巴巴对他们的企图不屑一顾。因为与实相相比，他的神通是微不足道的，就如同蚊虫比之于大象。但是在世界上的126个国家里，至少有六百万，或许接近于一亿人，相信它们是赛巴巴所代表的神的象征物。拥护他的人数不亚于曼莫汉·辛格和索尼亚·甘地，前者是印度首相，后者是国大党领袖。信徒们在赛巴巴被国葬之前远程而来表达敬意。

　　Besides, he said, all the enquiries and science in the world could not begin to explain the other things that He, as an avatar of God, could will to happen. He could raise people from the dead, even when ants were already crawling over them. He could hold back the rains. He could leave His own body, letting it slump¹¹ stiff and lifeless in His chair for five minutes while He travelled to the Kashmir Front or the seashore at Mumbai. Sufferers from duodenal ulcers¹² would find Him operating on them, materialising the instruments from thin air. He could change water into petrol or diesel¹³ on which cars ran for many miles.

　　此外，他曾说，这个世界上的所有探索和科学都绝不可能解释作为神之化身的他所做的其他一些事情。他可以使死人复活，即使蚂蚁已经爬满他们的身体。他可以使下雨停止。他可以离开自己的身体，让它在椅子里陷入僵直和毫无生气的状态达五分钟，此时他飞往克什米尔前线或者孟买的海滨。十二指肠溃疡患者找他做手术，他可以使手术器械从虚空中突然出现。他可以将水变成汽油或柴油，很多汽车加上这些油可以跑好几英里。

　　A number of more straightforward¹⁴ good works could also be attributed to Him. At remote Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh, His birthplace and the site since 1948 of His ashram, He established an airport, two sports stadiums, a free super-speciality hospital and an institute of higher learning rated A++ by the National Assessment¹⁵ and Accreditation¹⁶ Council. He set up free primary and secondary schools all over India, had another free hospital built at Bangalore, and paid for drinking water to be piped from the Krishna river to Chennai and from the Godavari river to upland Andhra Pradesh. Perhaps 2m people benefited. This helped to muffle¹⁷, though never to quiet entirely¹⁸, controversies¹⁹ about His $5 billion trust fund and claims of sexual abuse of His boy disciples²⁰.

　　他也直接做了很多善行。遥远的安德拉邦的普塔帕蒂是他的出生地和1948年后他的静修地，他在这里修建了一座飞机场、两个运动场、一所免费的综合专业医院，和一所被全国评估与鉴定委员会评为A++级的高等教育机构。他在全印度建立了很多免费的小学和中学，在班加罗尔建了另一所免费医院，为从奎师那河输送到金奈市、从戈达瓦里河输送到安德拉邦高地的饮用水付费。大约有二百万人受益。这些有助于抑制关于他的五十亿美元的信托基金的争论，和关于他的一些男孩门徒被性虐待而要求索赔的争论，尽管争论从没有完全平息下来。

　　But then there had always been people who had refused to believe in his Godhead—from His father, who in the beginning beat Him with a stick and made a village healer lacerate His scalp and rub it with garlic and lime juice to cure His madness, to the rationalist who sued Him in 1986 under the Gold Control Act for bringing so many gold articles out of the air. (The case was dismissed.) They ignored the obvious signs of His divinity, such as the cobra that had cradled Him at birth, or His ability as a schoolboy to bring forth²¹ peppermints²² out of an empty bag. He mostly hid His Godhead in those years, but found it frustrating²³, and was glad at 14 to be able to reveal (after a scorpion²⁴ sting had put Him into a trance) that His previous body had been that of a 19th-century saint called Shirdi Sai Baba, whose statue, in marble, He placed beside His own in His Temples, and whose fresh photograph, in several copies, He would often produce out of the sands of the Chitravathi river.

　　然而总是有一些人，从他的父亲到唯理论者，拒绝相信他的神性。为了治好他的疯病，起初他的父亲用棍子打他，让一个乡村医生割破他的头皮并用蒜汁和石灰水摩擦。1986年唯理论者根据《黄金管理法》控告他从空中搞出来如此多的黄金制品。这一诉讼被驳回了。这些人忽视了明显显露他的神性的迹象，例如，在他出生时有一条眼镜蛇将他放进摇篮，在他是个学童时就能从一个空瓶子里弄出薄荷糖来。那些年他通常都在隐藏他的神性，但是他发现隐藏不了。在14岁时，他曾被一只蝎子蛰了，使他陷入神志恍惚，之后他很高兴他能够发现他前世曾是一位十九世纪的圣人，叫做舍帝·赛巴巴。在他的寺庙中，他将舍帝的大理石雕像置于他自己的雕像旁；他根据舍帝的一些摹本，经常用齐彻瓦底河的沙子制作舍帝的新图像。

　　As a boy He demanded to be worshipped on Thursdays; as a man He enforced no particular rites²⁵ or rituals, save the chanting of Om and the names of God. (He Himself had 108 names, and this was the number of crystals formed by His steps on the shore, and the number of pearls on the garland that was once presented to Him by the sea.) He endorsed²⁶ no particular religion, though He used the terms of Hinduism, embracing all faiths as valid²⁷ ways to truth, love and peace. He ignored distinctions of race or caste, and was happy to eat rice from an aluminium²⁸ plate in the house of an untouchable. If His teachings had any flavour, it came from His background among poor farming folk. The hearts of His devotees were dry, He said, like a village tank before the monsoon²⁹; they had to be ploughed by the mind, watered by prayer, sown with seeds of Love.

　　年少时，他要求每周四被礼拜；成人时，除了念诵咒语“唵”和神的名字外，他没有举行特殊的仪式。他自己有108个名字，这是他踩在海滩上形成的水晶体的数量和有一次大海送给他的花环上的珍珠的数量。尽管他使用印度教的术语，但他不认可任何特定的宗教，他利用所有的信仰作为通向真理、爱与和平的有效途径。他不理睬种族与种姓的差异，他曾经在一个贱民的家里很高兴地从铝盘子里取米饭来吃。如果说他的教导有什么特色，那么这些特色是来自穷苦农民这一背景。他曾说，他的信徒们的心田是干涸的，就像雨季到来前的乡间池塘，它们必需要用理智耕耘，用祈祷浇灌，用爱的种子播种。

　　The devotees who crowded the Puttaparthi ashram, hoping for Blessing³⁰ or stuffing their letters of petition into His hands, never questioned who He was. He was all the multiple forms of God in human shape. Though His forecast that he would die in 2020 was a little out, that did not dent³¹ the belief that He would return in a new body to carry on His work. And Sai Baba, patting them on the back, had always told them they were God also. All they needed was, like Him, to know it.

　　挤满普塔帕蒂静修处的信徒们，从未怀疑过他是谁。他们期待着赐福，或将他们的祈祷文塞入赛巴巴的手里。他是化身为人的所有的神。虽然他预言自己将死于2020年有点不大准确，但这并不妨碍他将以一个新的身体回来继续他的工作这一信念。赛巴巴总是轻轻拍着信徒们的后背，说他们也有神性。他们所需做的一切，就是像他一样，去了知神性。

1 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

2 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

3 amulets   

n.护身符( amulet的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Amulets,\"guards,\" as they are popularly called, intended to ward off evil spirits. 护身符――或者象他们普遍的叫法：“警卫”用来抵御妖魔鬼怪。 来自辞典例句
• However, all oval amulets in a single game are the same. 当然，所有的魔法用品也有类似的情形。 来自互联网

4 sapphire   

n.青玉，蓝宝石；adj.天蓝色的

参考例句：

• Now let us consider crystals such as diamond or sapphire.现在让我们考虑象钻石和蓝宝石这样的晶体。
• He left a sapphire ring to her.他留给她一枚蓝宝石戒指。

5 tonic   

n./adj.滋补品，补药，强身的，健体的

参考例句：

• It will be marketed as a tonic for the elderly.这将作为老年人滋补品在市场上销售。
• Sea air is Nature's best tonic for mind and body.海上的空气是大自然赋予的对人们身心的最佳补品。

6 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

9 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

10 smeared   

弄脏； 玷污； 涂抹； 擦上

参考例句：

• The children had smeared mud on the walls. 那几个孩子往墙上抹了泥巴。
• A few words were smeared. 有写字被涂模糊了。

11 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

12 ulcers   

n.溃疡( ulcer的名词复数 )；腐烂物；道德败坏；腐败

参考例句：

• Detachment of the dead cells produces erosions and ulcers. 死亡细胞的脱落，产生糜烂和溃疡。 来自辞典例句
• 75% of postbulbar ulcers occur proximal to the duodenal papilla. 75％的球后溃疡发生在十二指肠乳头近侧。 来自辞典例句

13 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

14 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

15 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

16 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

17 muffle   

v.围裹；抑制；发低沉的声音

参考例句：

• Mother made an effort to muffle her emotions.母亲努力控制自己的感情。
• I put my hand over my mouth to muffle my words,so only my friend could hear. 我把手挡在嘴上，遮住声音，仅让我的朋友听到。

18 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

19 controversies   

争论

参考例句：

• We offer no comment on these controversies here. 对于这些争议，我们在这里不作任何评论。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史
• The controversies surrounding population growth are unlikely to subside soon. 围绕着人口增长问题的争论看来不会很快平息。 来自辞典例句

20 disciples   

n.信徒( disciple的名词复数 )；门徒；耶稣的信徒；（尤指）耶稣十二门徒之一

参考例句：

• Judas was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. 犹大是耶稣十二门徒之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "The names of the first two disciples were --" “最初的两个门徒的名字是——” 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

21 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

22 peppermints   

n.薄荷( peppermint的名词复数 )；薄荷糖

参考例句：

• She just curls up and sucks peppermints. 她老是蜷着腿躺着，吮着薄荷糖。 来自辞典例句
• Enough, already with this mellow incense and peppermints vibe. 够了，我受够这些薰香以及薄荷的感觉了。 来自电影对白

23 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 scorpion   

n.蝎子，心黑的人，蝎子鞭

参考例句：

• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。
• The scorpion has a sting that can be deadly.蝎子有可以致命的螫针。

25 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

26 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

27 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

28 aluminium   

n.铝 (=aluminum)

参考例句：

• Aluminium looks heavy but actually it is very light.铝看起来很重，实际上却很轻。
• If necessary, we can use aluminium instead of steel.如果必要，我们可用铝代钢。

29 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

30 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

31 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。