Hindu guru Sathya Sai Baba dies at 86

PUTTAPARTI, (India), Apr 24 (AP): Hindu holy man Sathya Sai Baba, considered a living god by millions of followers worldwide, died Sunday in a hospital near his southern Indian ashram, a doctor said. He was 86. Sai Baba had spent more than three weeks on breathing support and dialysis while struggling with multiple-organ failure at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, near his ashram in Puttaparti village in southern Andhra Pradesh state. He died Sunday morning, hospital director Dr. A.N. Safaya said. Women selling marigold garlands broke down in tears outside ashram when the news was announced. The saffron-robed Sathya Sai Baba had a huge following with ashrams in more than 126 countries. He was said to perform miracles - conjuring rings and watches and "vibhuti," a sacred ash that his followers applied on their foreheads - from his overgrown and unkempt Afro-style hair. Followers gathered to mourn in small groups in alleys and streets surrounding the ashram, while some began trickling into the temple complex where the holy man's body will be brought to lie in state until Tuesday. Hundreds of thousands of devotees are expected in Puttaparti for Sathya Sai Baba's funeral. A heavy police deployment, in place for weeks as the guru's condition worsened, was manning barricades on the roads to restrict traffic in the village. Shopkeepers were told to close to control the number of people near the ashram. Born Nov. 23, 1926, in Puttaparti, the guru was first named Sathyanarayana Raju.