Sai Baba of Shirdi was a spiritual guru of India.
Both Hindus and Muslims worshipped him and considered him to be a saint-seer. Many see him as an incarnation of the Supreme. Hindus think he is an incarnation of Krishna, while others see him as an incarnation of Dattatreya. All his devotees believe that he was a Satguru or a Sufi Pir who has no comparison.

Origins of Shirdi Sai Baba

Baba is a very renowned saint in India and abroad. Being an ascetic, he did not care for material things. Sai Baba’s teachings focused on love and forgiveness; inner peace and contentment. He exhorted people to help others; and have faith in God and their guru. His teachings are a mix of Hinduism and Islam. He used to live in a mosque, for which he gave the name, Dwarakamayi, a Hindu name. He was dressed like a Sufi, in a long, flowing robe, with his head wrapped in a loose bandana from the same fabric. Baba observed both Hindu and Muslim rituals, and celebrated the festivals of both religions.

Many of Shirdi Sai Baba’s disciples also became great gurus. They include Mhalsapati, a priest of the Khandoba temple at Shirdi. Upasni Maharaj, another revered spiritual teacher, was another.

Early Years

There is not much information on Baba’s birth. It is said that his parents were Brahmins. One of his disciples, Das Ganu, tried to trace his origins. He went to Pathri, a little hamlet, and collected some details of Baba’s childhood. This is the subject of four chapters of his book on Baba, titled Sri Sai Gurucharitra.

The book says that Sai grew up in Pathri, and was raised by a fakir and his wife. When he turned five, the fakir’s wife entrusted him to the care of Deshmukh Venkusha, a saintly person, with whom the boy continued to reside for many years. Das Ganu describes the young Baba as the reincarnation of saint Kabir.
Baba arrived in Shirdi at the age of 16 and took up residence under a neem tree, where he sat in meditation. He did not talk to anyone much. The wife of the village chief would give him food and he looked upon her as a mother. Then he vanished for a year. He returned to Shirdi in 1858. Around this time, he had begun to dress in his distinctive style, comprising a Kafni or one-piece, knee-length robe and a cap made of cloth.

After his return to the village, Sai Baba lived under the neem tree. He would often go into the jungle and spend a long time there. He hardly talked to anyone, and did rigorous meditation. He was eventually persuaded to shift to an old, dilapidated mosque. There, he lived a solitary life, surviving on alms. It was also where he received his devotees.

Sai maintained a holy fire in the mosque, called dhuni. The ash that formed in the dhuni was distributed by him to his visitors as the vibhuti or Udhi. This ash supposedly had healing powers.

He also functioned like a local hakim or doctor, treating sick people by applying Udhi on them. He also delivered his spiritual teachings to visitors, telling them to read the sacred Hindu and Muslim texts. He also told them to chant God’s name, incessantly (dhikra japa).
During major religious festivals, Baba would visit people’s homes, begging for alms. With the rice and vegetables he got from them, he would prepare a feast for all the villagers and serve it as prasad. After eating the prasad, he would dance and sing God’s praises, with the other devotees.

Slowly, Baba’s fame began spreading to areas near Shirdi, and people from Mumbai and other adjoining areas began visiting Shirdi. His followers, especially those who had experienced his miracles, saw him as an avatar of the Supreme. Baba’s first temple was constructed at Bhivpuri, Karjat.

Shirdi Sai Baba was abhorred all persecution in the name of caste and religion. He was defiant of religious orthodoxy. Baba observed the rituals of both Hindus and Muslims.

He urged his devotees to lead a moral and ethical life, help the deprived, and love everyone without any discrimination. He told his followers to perform their worldly duties and be content, regardless of their problems. Ask Shirdi Sai Baba was known to interpret religious texts and explain them to his devotees. He gave much importance to the act of giving. He wanted everyone to help the poor and the needy.

Shirdi Sai Baba’s Miracles

Shirdi Sai Baba’s devotees have reported many miracles that he performed, even after his demise. When he lived, too, he performed many astonishing miracles. Indeed, miracles were a common occurrence at Dwarakamai. They included mind-reading, exorcisms, materialization, body transcending, bilocation, restoring the dead to life, levitation, etc.

It is said that once, he stopped the roof of the mosque, which was about to collapse, from falling down and killing people, by merely telling the roof to wait for a while as they were having food. After they finished eating, he told the roof to fall, and it did. On another occasion, he lit the earthen lamps at Dwarakamai using water. He always knew if someone would be visiting him, even before they entered the mosque. In fact, he would tell his devotees who the person was and where they would be coming from. He could also manifest himself physically before someone who was in another place and give them advice or warning about some impending danger. No one could enter the mosque without his consent. If they tried to do so, even the walls would block them. People believe that they can visit the temple and get his darshan only if he wanted it. He would also heal the sick by taking on their illness. Later, he would recover from it. Once, it is said that Baba left his own body for some days to save a person who had an untimely death. The story goes that he entered the dead person’s body and restored him to life after curing him. Then he returned to his own body. He also blessed childless couples with progeny. He could also appear in the form of a devotee’s ishta devata or favorite deity and is said to have assumed the forms of deities like Vishnu, Shiva, Krishna, Jesus, etc.

Sai Baba’s main temple is in Shirdi (roughly 300 kilometres from Mumbai). It was built in 1922.

The caretakers here are believed to be descendants of the original devotees during Baba’s lifetime. There are many Shirdi Sai Baba temples now in many parts of India. Despite his death many years ago, Shirdi Sai Baba continues to create miracles in the lives of his devotees, proving that he is truly a saint-seer who defies comparison in his love and compassion for those who repose faith in him and his powers.