Sai Baba of Shirdi
 Sai Baba of Shirdi | |
Sai Baba of Shirdi (Around
1835/1838 – October 15, 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba was an Indian guru, yogi,
and fakir who
is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim devotees
as a saint. Many Hindu devotees including Hemadpant who wrote the famous Shri
Sai Satcharitra consider him an incarnation of Lord Krishna [1] while
other devotees consider him as an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. Many devotees believe that he was a Sadguru, an enlightened Sufi Pir, or a Qutub. He is a well-known figure in many parts of the world, but
especially in India, where he is much revered.
Sai Baba's real name is
unknown. The name "Sai" was given to him upon his arrival at Shirdi, a town in the west-Indian state of Maharashtra. Mahalsapati, a local temple priest, recognized
him as a muslim saint and greeted him with the words 'Ya Sai!', which means
'Welcome Sai!'. Sai or Sayi is originally a Persian title given to Sufi saints,
meaning 'poor one'[2].
No information is available regarding Sai Baba's birth and place of birth.
Sai is also of
Sanskrit origin, meaning "Sakshat Eshwar" or the divine. The
honorific "Baba" means "father; grandfather; old man; sir"
in Indo-Aryan languages. Thus Sai Baba denotes "holy
father" or "saintly father".
Sai Baba remains a very
popular saint, and is worshiped by people around the world. He had no love for
perishable things and his sole concern was self-realization. He taught a moral
code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace,
and devotion to God and guru. Sai Baba's teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam:
he gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque he
lived in practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures
that drew from both traditions, and was buried in Shirdi. One of his well known epigrams, "Sabka Malik Ek
" ("One God governs all"), is associated with Islam and Sufism.
He always uttered "Allah Malik"
("God is King").
Sai Baba is revered by several
notable Hindu religious leaders. Some of his disciples became famous as
spiritual figures and saints, such as Mhalsapati, a priest of Kandoba temple in
Shridi, Upasni Maharaj, Saint Bidkar Maharaj, Saint Gangagir, Saint Jankidas
Maharaj, and Sati Godavari Mataji.
Early
Years
Little has been officially
documented on the early life of Shirdi Sai Baba. An account of Shirdi Sai's
missing childhood years has been reconstructed by his disciple Dasganu, after
researching in the area around the Village Pathri. He collected this story in
four chapters on Sai Baba, later also called the Sri Sai
Gurucharitra. This
account is largely overlapped by the narration by Sathya SaiBaba.
In the Book Sai Sacharita, it has been said that Baba was found meditating at
the village of Shirdi in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, British India, when he was about 12 years old. It is generally
accepted that Sai Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a
year, and returned permanently around 1858.
Return to Shirdi
In 1858 Sai Baba returned to
Shirdi. Around this time he adopted his famous style of dress consisting of a
knee-length one-piece robe (kafni) and a cloth cap. Ramgir Bua, a devotee,
testified that Sai Baba was dressed like an athlete and sported 'long hair
flowing down to the end of his spine' when he arrived in Shirdi, and that he
never had his head shaved. It was only after Baba forfeited a wrestling match
with one Mohdin Tamboli that he took up the kafni and cloth cap, articles of
typical Sufi clothing.
This attire contributed to
Baba's identification as a Muslim fakir, and was a reason for initial
indifference and hostility against him in a predominantly Hindu village. According
to B.V. Narasimhaswami, a posthumous follower who was widely praised as Sai
Baba's "apostle", this attitude was prevalent up to 1854 even among
some of his devotees in Shirdi.
For four to five years Baba lived under a neem tree, and often wandered for long periods in
the jungle around Shirdi. His manner was said to be withdrawn and
uncommunicative as he undertook long periods of meditation.
The Shri Sai
Satcharita recounts the reaction of the villagers : The people of the
village were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard penance, not
minding heat or cold. By day he associated with no one, by night he was afraid
of nobody.
He was eventually persuaded to
take up residence in an old and dilapidated mosque and lived a solitary life
there, surviving by begging for alms, and receiving itinerant Hindu or Muslim visitors.
In the mosque he maintained a sacred fire which is referred to as a dhuni, from which he gave sacred ashes ('Udhi')
to his guests before they left. The ash was believed to have healing and apotropaic powers.
He performed the function of a
local hakim, and treated the sick by application of ashes. Sai
Baba also delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors, recommending the
reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Qur'an. He insisted on the indispensability of the
unbroken remembrance of God's name (dhikr, japa), and often expressed himself in a cryptic
manner with the use of parables, symbols and allegories.
Sai Baba participated in religious festivals and was also in the habit of
preparing food for his visitors, which he distributed to them as prasad. Sai Baba's entertainment was
dancing and singing religious songs.
After 1910 Sai Baba's fame began to spread in Mumbai. Numerous people started visiting him, because
they regarded him as a saint with the power of performing miracles, or even as
an Avatar. They built his first temple at Bhivpuri, Karjat.
Teachings and practices
Shirdi Sai Baba, leaning
against the wall of his masjid, with devotees Sai Baba opposed all persecution
based on religion or caste. He was an opponent of religious orthodoxy –
Christian, Hindu and Muslim.
Although Sai Baba himself led
the life of an ascetic, he advised his followers to lead an ordinary family
life. In his personal practice, Sai Baba observed worship procedures belonging
to Hinduism and Islam; he shunned any kind of regular rituals but allowed the
practice of namaz, chanting of Al-Fatiha, and Qur'an readings at Muslim
festival times. Occasionally reciting the Al-Fatiha himself, Baba also
enjoyed listening to moulu and qawwali accompanied with the tabla and sarangi
twice daily.
Sai Baba encouraged his devotees to pray, chant God's name, and read holy
scriptures. He told Muslims to study the Qur'an, and Hindus to study texts such
as the Ramayana, Bhagavad Gita, and Yoga Vasistha. He advised his devotees and followers to
lead a moral life, help others, love every living being without any
discrimination, and develop two important features of character: faith (Shraddha)
and patience (Sabr). He criticized atheism. In his teachings, Sai Baba emphasized the
importance of performing one's duties without attachment to earthly matters,
and of being content regardless of the situation.
Sai Baba interpreted the religious texts of both Islam and Hinduism. He
explained the meaning of the Hindu scriptures in the spirit of Advaita Vedanta. His philosophy also had numerous elements
of bhakti. The three main Hindu spiritual paths – Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Karma Yoga – influenced his teachings.
Sai Baba said that God penetrates every thing and every being. He emphasized
the complete oneness of God which was very close to the Islamic tawhid and the Hindu doctrine of the Upanishads. Sai Baba said that the world is transient, and
that only God and his gifts are eternal. He emphasized the importance of
devotion to God – bhakti – and surrender to his will.
He also talked about the need
of faith and devotion to one's spiritual guru. He said that everyone was the
soul and not the body. He advised his followers to develop a virtuous
character, and taught them that all fate was determined by karma.
Sai Baba left no written works. His teachings were typically short, pithy
sayings rather than elaborate discourses. Sai Baba would ask his followers for
money (dakshina), some of which he would give to the poor and
other devotees the same day, and the rest was used to buy oil to maintain Dhuni. According to his followers, this was done to rid
them of greed and material attachment.
Sai Baba encouraged charity, and stressed the importance of sharing. He said:
"Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If
any men or creatures come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive
them well and treat them with due respect.
Shri Hari (God) will certainly be pleased if you give
water to the thirsty, bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, and your
verandah to strangers for sitting and resting. If anybody wants any money from
you and you are not inclined to give, do not give, but do not bark at him like
a dog." Other favourite sayings of his were "Why do you fear
when I am here", and "He has no beginning.
He has no end."
Sai Baba made Eleven assurances to his devotees. This is also known as
"Akra Wachan" or "Gyarah Wachan".
Sai Baba (1918)
Sai
Baba 11 quotes
Ø
Whosoever puts
their feet on Shirdi soil, their sufferings will come to an end.
Ø
Whosoever climbs
the steps of my Samadhi (tomb), His sorrows will vanish.
Ø
I shall be ever
active and vigorous even after leaving this earthly body.
Ø
My Samadhi (tomb)
shall bless and speak to the needs of my devotees.
Ø
I shall be active
and vigorous even from my tomb.
Ø
Those who
surrender to me, Will evolve and progress.
Ø
Those who look at
me with love, I look back at them with
love.
Ø
I will forever
carry your burden, This is my promise to you.
Ø
If you seek my
advice and help, it shall be given to you at once.
Ø whoever becomes one with me
forever, I will forever be indebted to him.
Ø
Whoever takes my
name, will receive my grace.
Worship and devotees
The Shirdi Sai Baba movement
began in the 19th century, while he was living in Shirdi. A local Khandoba priest - Mhalsapati Nagre -
is believed to have been his first devotee. In the 19th century Sai Baba's
followers were only a small group of Shirdi inhabitants and a few people from
other parts of India. The movement started developing in the 20th century, with
Sai Baba's message reaching the whole of India. During his life, Hindus
worshiped him with Hindu rituals and Muslims considered him to be a saint. In
the last years of Sai Baba's life, Christians and Zoroastrians started joining the Shirdi Sai Baba movement.
Shirdi is among the major Hindu places of pilgrimage.
The first Sai Baba temple is
situated at Bhivpuri, Karjat. The Sai Baba Mandir (Hindu temple) in Shirdi is visited by around twenty thousand
pilgrims a day and during religious festivals this number can reach up to a
hundred thousand.
Shirdi Sai Baba is
especially revered and worshiped in the
states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat.
The Shirdi Sai movement has spread to the Caribbean and to countries such as the United States, Australia, Dubai, Malaysia, and Singapore.
The Shirdi Sai Baba movement
is one of the main Hindu religious movements in English-speaking countries. Sai
Baba had many disciples and devotees:
- Nana Saheb Chandorkar: Deputy Collector – legend has it that Sai
Baba saved this man's daughter from labor complications.
- Ganapath Rao: police officer who resigned to become an ascetic, and
also known as Das Ganu. He was an itinerant who spread Sai Baba's message.
- Tatya Patil: had immense faith in Sai Baba and served him until Sai
Baba took samadhi. Sai Baba used to treat Tatya Patil as His nephew.
- Baija Mai kote patil: Sai Baba treated her as His elder sister and
equivalent to mother. She was Tatya Patil's mother.
- Haji Abdul baba: He served Sai Baba until Sai Baba died in 1918.
- Madhav Rao Deshpande: Later known as Shama, one of the staunch
devotees of Sai Baba.
- Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar (Hemadpant): Sai Baba allowed him to
write the Shri Sai Satcharita.
- Mahalsapati Chimanji Nagare: A priest of Khandoba Temple.
- RadhaKrishna Mai: A great devotee of Baba, cleaned the temple every
day and looked after Baba's needs.
108 Shirdi Sai Baba Slogans
(mantras) are sung by devotees in praise of him as worship.
Reported miracles
Sai Baba's millions of
disciples and devotees believe that he performed many miracles such as bilocation, levitation, mindreading, materialization, exorcisms, making the river Yamuna, entering a state of Samādhi at will, and lightning lamps
with water, removing his limbs or intestines and sticking them back to his body
(khandana yoga),
curing the incurably sick, appearing beaten when another was beaten, after
death rising on third day like Jesus Christ, preventing a mosque from falling
down on people, and helping his devotees in a miraculous way.
He also gave Darshan (vision)
to people in the form of Rama, Krishna, Vithoba and many other Gods depending
on the faith of devotees. According to his followers he appeared to them in
dreams after his death, and gave them advice. His devotees have documented many
stories.
Historical sources
Biographers of Sai
Baba (e.g. Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar, Acharya Ekkirala Bharadwaja, Smriti
Srinivas, Antonio Rigopoulos) have based their writing on primary sources.
One
such source is the Shirdi Diary by Ganesh Shrikrishna Khaparde, which describes every day of
the author's stay at Shirdi.
Speculation about the unknown episodes of Sai Baba's life are primarily based
on his own words.
The most important source about Sai's life is the Shri Sai Satcharita,
written in Marathi in 1916 by Govindrao Raghunath Dabholkar,
whom Sai Baba nicknamed Hemadpant.
Consisting of 53
chapters, it describes Sai Baba's life, teachings, and miracles. The book
compares Sai Baba's love to a mother's love: caring and loving, but
reprimanding when needed. It describes Baba's lifestyle, his selfless attitude,
and his love for his devotees. The book describes how one should surrender
one's egoism at God's feet and trust one's guru. It explains how God is supreme
and His devotees should trust Him and love Him. It teaches that God is
omnipresent in all living things, so that everything on Earth must be treated
with love and respect.
Sri Sai Baba and His Teachings by Acharya Ekkirala Bharadwaja is an
in-depth study of Sai Baba's life routine and activities. B.V. Narasimhaswamiji
has written important books such as Sri Sai Baba's Charters and Sayings and Devotee's
Experiences of Sai Baba.
Hinduism
During Sai Baba's life, the
Hindu saint Anandanath of Yewala declared Sai Baba a spiritual
"diamond". Another saint, Gangagir, called him a
"jewel". Sri Beedkar Maharaj greatly revered Sai Baba, and in
1873, when he met him he bestowed the title Jagad guru upon him. Sai Baba was also greatly
respected by Vasudevananda Saraswati (known
as Tembye Swami). He was
also revered by a group of Shaivic yogis, to which he belonged,
known as the Nath-Panchayat.
Other
religions
In Islam, Sai Baba mainly considered as a normal human
being he was a muslim fakir he practiced islam and also appears in Sufism as
a Pir. Meher Baba declared Baba to be
a Qutub-e-Irshad - the highest of the five Qutubs, a "Master of the Universe" in the
spiritual hierarchy. Sai Baba is also worshipped by prominent Zoroastrians such as Nanabhoy
Palkhivala and Homi
Bhabha, and has been cited as the Zoroastrians' most popular non-Zoroastrian
religious figure. Meher Baba met Sai Baba only once in his lifetime,
during World War I, in December 1915.
Meher Baba was still a
youngster named Merwan Sheriar Irani when he met Sai Baba for a few minutes
during one of Sai Baba's processions in Shirdi. This event is considered as the
most significant in Meher Baba's life. Shri Sai Satcharita (Sai
Baba's life story), makes no mention of Meher Baba. But in Lord Meher,
the life story of Meher Baba, there are innumerable references to Sai
Baba.Meher Baba credited his Avataric advent to Upasni, Sai Baba, and three
other Perfect Masters – Hazrat Babajan, Hazrat Tajuddin Baba,
and Narayan Maharaj.
Prominent followers
Sai Baba left behind no
spiritual heirs and appointed no disciples, and did not even provide formal
initiation (diksha), despite requests. Some disciples of Sai Baba achieved fame
as spiritual figures, such as Upasni Maharaj of Sakori. After
Sai Baba died, his devotees offered the daily Aarti to Upasni Maharaj
when he paid a visit to Shirdi, two times within 10 years.
Sathya Sai Baba (1926–2011) claimed to be a reincarnation of Sai Baba, he
had a considerable number of followers in the 20th and 21st century.
Sacred art
and architecture
In India, it’s a
common sight to find a Sai Baba temple in any city or town, in every large city
or town there is at least one temple dedicated to Sai Baba. There are even
some in towns and cities outside India. In the mosque in Shirdi in which Sai
Baba lived, there is a life-size portrait of him by Shama Rao Jaykar, an artist
from Mumbai. Numerous monuments and statues depicting Sai Baba, which
serve a religious function, have also been made. One of them, made of marble by
a sculptor named Balaji Vasant Talim, is in the Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi where
Sai Baba was buried.In Sai Baba temples, his devotees play various kinds
of devotional religious music, such as aarti.
Indian Postal Service released a Sai Baba commemorative stamp in May 2008. On July 30, 2009,
the New and Renewable Energy Minister Farooq Abdullah inaugurated what has been
acclaimed as the largest solar steam system in the world, at the Shirdi shrine.
The Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust paid an estimated Rs.1.33 crore for the
system, Rs.58.4 lakh of which was paid as a subsidy by the renewable energy
ministry. It is said the system can cook 20,000 meals per day for pilgrims
visiting the temple.
Film and
television
Sai Baba has been
the subject of several feature films & serials in many languages produced by India's film industry.
|
Release Year |
Film |
Sai Baba Role Actor |
Director |
Language |
|
1977 |
Shirdi ke Sai Baba |
Sudhir
Dalvi |
Ashok V. Bhushan |
Hindi |
|
1986 |
Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam |
Vijayachander |
K. Vasu |
Telugu |
|
1993 |
Bhagavan Shri Sai Baba |
Om Sai prakash |
Om Sai prakash |
Kannada |
|
2001 |
Shirdi Sai Baba |
Sudhir
Dalvi |
Deepak
Balraj Vij |
Hindi |
|
2005 |
Ishwarya Avatar Sai Baba TV serial |
Mukul Nag |
Ramanand
Sagar |
Hindi |
|
2012 |
Shirdi Sai |
Akkineni Nagarjuna |
K.Raghavendra Rao |
Telugu |
|
2017-2023 |
Mera Sai – Shraddha Aur Saburi |
Abeer Soofi
& Tushar Dalvi |
Sachin Ambre Harsh B. Agrawal Mukesh Singh Mukesh Kumar Singh Anish Surana Harsh B. Agrawal |
Hindi |
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