Funeral for Sri Sathya Sai Baba draws a half million mourners (VIDEO) (UPDATES)

Nearly half a million mourners, including Bollywood stars, celebrities, politicians and hundreds of family members of the revered Indian spiritual guru Sri Sathya Sai Baba, have paid their respects to him at a state funeral in the southern Indian town of Puttaparthi.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi were among those paying their respects to Sai Baba — a billionaire guru whose charities and claimed miracles won him both devotion and scorn — at the funeral held at his ashram in Andhra Pradesh state.

He had been suffering from health problems and died Sunday of multiple organ failure at the age of 85. Unlike most Hindus, who are cremated, Sai Baba was buried, as is the custom for people Hindus esteem as holy men.

According to CNN, hymns rang through the ashram as his body was sprinkled with petals and holy water before a private burial behind a maroon curtain.

Since his death on Sunday, hundreds of thousands of people have paid their respects and queued for hours to see his body as it lay encased in a glass casket. Among the visitors to the temple’s auditorium were cricket superstars Sachin Tendulkar and and Sunil Gavaskar.

Sai Baba was admitted to hospital almost a month ago for multiple-organ failure and died after his heart and respiratory organs failed, A.N. Safaya, director at the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, said in a statement on the hospital’s website. The hospital avoided using the word "dead," noting that "Sai Baba is no more with us physically."

In his condolence message on the day Sri Sathya Sai Baba died, Singh remembered the spiritual leader for inspiring millions to lead a meaningful life regardless of their religions. "His teachings were rooted in the universal ideals of truth, right conduct, peace, love and nonviolence," Singh said.

Hard Rock Café founder Isaac Tigrett reportedly sold his stake in the restaurant chain and donated the entire proceeds of $108 million to Sai Baba for the Puttaparthi hospital, which provides free health care to the rural poor.

Sai Baba claims to be the reincarnation of the great spiritual guru Sai Baba of Shirdi, who died in 1918 and is worshipped as a saint by Hindus, Muslims, and Christians.

The living Sai Baba, instantly recognizable because of his trademark saffron robes and Jimmi Hendrix-style frizzy 'do, has followers that number between 20 million and 50 million worldwide, the Washington Post reports. His ashram, the world's biggest with 50,000 visitors each day, offers “darshan,” or “a visit with God,”  twice daily. His devotees call him a “godman” and the “Second Coming of Christ” and believe he can make objects materialize and perform other miracles.

Sai Baba’s critics, however, point to Sai Baba’s incredible wealth — more than $9 billion — and level accusations of fraud that sit alongside more serious claims of sexual abuse and murder.

The U.S. State Department had issued a warning against possible pedophilia offenses by Sai Baba toward young male devotees.

Hundreds of thousands of followers are expected to pay their respects and police have set up barriers to hold mourners back from the hospital.

“At least 200,000 devotees have paid their respects. Schools and other establishments are closed,” senior police official B. Narasimhalu told Bloomberg.

“He is going to live in our hearts permanently,” former Indian cricket captain Gavaskar told reporters in Puttaparthi, where Sai Baba built his ashram. “He will still continue to inspire us,” Gavaskar said.

— Freya Petersen