Hindu holy man Sai Baba dies at 84

NEW DELHI – Sathya Sai Baba, a Hindu holy man who was considered a living god by millions of followers around the world, died Sunday of multiple organ failure in a hospital near his south Indian ashram. He was 84 and left behind a trust worth billions of dollars.

Sai Baba was known for conjuring jewelry, food and vibhuti, or sacred ash, out of the air, which devotees saw as proof of his powers and skeptics called sleight of hand.

Followers wept as his body was taken by ambulance from the hospital to his ashram, where it was placed in a glass coffin with gold plating. “The passing away of Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an irreparable loss to all,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in a prepared statement. “The nation deeply mourns his passing.”

His gentle demeanor, disheveled, Afro-style hair and tolerance of other belief systems attracted an estimated 6 million active and 33 million passive followers, including former presidents, generals, Bollywood luminaries and sports stars. His group maintains more than 1,000 ashrams in 126 countries.

His legacy is not without controversy. There were several allegations that he sexually abused young male devotees. And in 1993 six followers were killed in his ashram, four of whom allegedly sought to assassinate him. The incident was never fully explained.