India's leading spiritual leader and guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba dies at 84. Some videos of his performances

According to the website of the BBC: "One of India's most revered spiritual leaders, Sri Satya Sai Baba, has died in hospital at the age of 84.

The guru, who suffered respiratory problems and kidney failure, died in his hometown Puttaparthi after a cardiac arrest, doctors said.

But he was dogged by controversy including allegations, never proven, of sexual abuse and charlatanism.

High-profile followers included former Indian Prime Minster Atal Behari Vajpayee and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar.

Many devotees considered him a living god, and credited him with mystical powers including the ability to conjure objects out of the air.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described his death as an "irreparable loss".

"He was a spiritual leader who inspired millions to lead a moral and meaningful life even as they followed the religion of their choice," said Mr Singh."

Sai Baba was famous for his alleged supernatural materializations (specially of vibhuti, clocks and other objects).

Many of this materializations were caught on video:

Obviously such supposed materialization (in the above video, of a so-called lingam = object which represents the Hindu deity Shiva used for worship in many temples in India) is absolutely unconvincing. It seems to be more a (crude) trick by an amateur magician than a real paranormal or supernatural manifestation.

Look at these videos (materialization of vibhuti):

They're interesting, but nothing that an amateur magician cannot do.

A more interesting video is this (look specially and carefully at the second 2 through the second 6, where Sai Baba dissapears an object, a collar it seems, in his bare hands):

The above video is far more interesting than the previous ones, but I still think that they can be done by tricks. Just compare that video with the following materialization video by David Copperfield, a seasoned professional illusionist:

Obviously, the point is not that Sai Baba's materializations are false because seasoned magicians can reproduce the same tricks. Rather, the argument is that Sai Baba's supernatural performances (at least, the ones caught on video) are unconvincing as evidence for his supernatural powers. That's all.

Finally, enjoy these couple of videos by David Copperfield (these are considered by many amateur magicians and fans of magic like myself as some of the best illusions ever):