Sai Baba of Shirdi also known as Shirdi
Sai who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim devotees as a saint. Hindu
devotees consider him an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. Many devotees believe
that he was a Satguru an enlightened master. 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 the place of Shiridi,
a town in the west of Indian state Maharastra. There are no information is
available regarding his birth and place of birth. Sai Baba never spoke about
his past life or about his Birth.
The meaning of Sai is of Sanskrit
"Sakshat Eshwar" or the “divine”. The meaning of "Baba" is
"father; grandfather; old man” in Indian 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 Shiridi. 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 Shirdi, Upasni Maharaj, Saint Bidkar Maharaj, Saint Gangagir,
Saint Jankidas Maharaj, and Sati Godavari Mataji.
When Sai Baba
was about 16 years old he apparently arrived at the village of Shirdi in the
Ahmed nagger district of Maharastra, India. It is generally accepted that Sai
Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year, and returned
permanently around 1858.
When Sai Baba returns to Shirdi he
adopted his famous style of dress consisting of a knee-length one-piece
negligee and a white cloth cap. Ramgir Bua, a devotee, testified that Sai Baba
was dressed like a sportsperson and sported ‘long hair flowing down to the end
of his spine’. When he arrived in Shirdi and the he never had his head shaved.
It was only after Baba forfeited with a match with one Mohdin Tamboli that he
took up the Kafni and cloth cap. The dress contributed to Baba’s identification
as a Muslim Fakir.
For four to five years Baba lived under
a Neem tree, and often rambled for long periods in the jungle around Shirdi.
His manner was said to be withdrawn and reticent as he embark on long periods
of meditation.
The people of the village
were wonder-struck to see such a young lad practicing hard forfeit, 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 crumbling mosque and lived a solitary life there,
surviving by begging for alms, and receiving nomadic 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 medicinal power. He performed the
function of a local devotee ‘hakim’, and treated the sick by appliance of
ashes. Sai Baba also delivered spiritual teachings to his visitors,
recommending the reading of sacred Hindu texts along with the Quran. He
insisted on the indispensability of the unbroken remembrance of God's name and
often expressed himself in a cryptic manner with the use of fables, 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.
