Shirdi Sai Baba was a revered saint and spiritual master in India with many Hindu and Muslim practitioners, even presently following his teachings. Although the year of his birth is not known accurately, some followers consider it either 1835 or 1838. He lived his entire life as a renunciant and formed beautiful relationships with his followers.
Much of his life incidents and pastimes have been shared by his close followers. His name Sai Baba is a combination of Persian and Hindi words which denote him as a “Saintly person who is like a fatherly figure for everyone”. In this article, we shall closely observe Sai Baba’s glorious life journey and the message he preached.
Born into the family of a Hindu Brahmin during the British rule in India, Sai Baba was different from ordinary children from the beginning. His deep spiritual wisdom and inquisitiveness to know things beyond this world amazed the people around him. Yet at the same time, his kind-hearted and compassionate nature attracted their hearts.
When he was five years old, his parents gave him to a Muslim Fakir to raise him as his spiritual guardian. In his association, the young Sai learned many values and codes of spirituality, an amalgamation of Hindu and Islamic teachings. Slowly and steadily, he started showing symptoms of a detached person who is not interested in sense enjoyment.
His arrival for the first time in a small Village of Shirdi, Maharashtra, is said to be when he was 16 years old. This is the place which is now revered worldwide with the name of Sai Baba. He wore loose white robes up to his ankles and always had a turban-like head cover.
The glistening effect on his face and the soothe in his eyes were the major attractions for the residents of Shirdi village. He would quietly sit under a Neem tree and enter into his meditative state. Sometimes days would pass by when he would not even drink water, what to speak of eating anything.
Curious to know about this unknown young renunciant in Shirdi, people started observing him. His sober personality at this tender age indicated that he was trained as a spiritualist from his childhood. This brought a ray of color into the otherwise dry life of Shirdi villagers.
Possessing nothing and living at minimal requirements, Sai Baba shifted from the Neem tree and took shelter in an old disrepair mosque which he later named “Dwarakamai”. In this mosque, he maintained his consistent daily spiritual practice. An ever-burning sacred fire offering (Dhuni) was looked upon by him. It symbolized divine energy which had several healing properties.
He would go around and beg for alms, exhibiting his humility and simplicity. He did not have much eating needs; he would whatever little a few householders gave him. Initially, Sai Baba spent three years in Shirdi. However, for one year, he disappeared from the village. It is believed that during this period, he met many saints and Fakirs.
In 1858, he moved back to Shirdi where he permanently lived until he left his body in the year 1918. At first, Sai Baba was announced as a madman by several villagers, but later, his selfless actions and intentions turned everyone in his favor. Shortly, even children considered him a saintly man who had no mischief in his mind.
The elderly women of Shirdi saw him as their son and took care of him. The mosque in which he stayed soon became a holy place where people from all walks of life gathered and heard spiritual wisdom from him. Sai Baba had miraculous potency and sometimes displayed his abilities in front of his visitors.
Sometimes he would heal sick people, provide food to the poor, light lamps with water, and cure fatal diseases. But beyond all these things, Sai Baba brought an influx of positivity and divinity into people’s lives. Now they couldn’t imagine their lives without him. Meeting him in the mosque was their everyday routine.
What attracted people the most towards Sai Baba was his inclusive and unbiased idea of practicing spirituality. He preached that all religions lead to the same destination thus promoting the idea of unity among all religious sects.
He often quoted “Sabka Malik Ek” i.e. “One God is the controller of all”. This message of him brought Hindus and Muslims to a state of harmony.
Whoever came to him to see his blessings, Sai Baba urged them to continue their spiritual practices with steady faith (Shraddha) and patience (Saburi). These two virtues, he would say, form the basis for one’s spiritual advancement.
Sai Baba always emphasized the path of devotion and encouraged his followers to chant the holy names of God as a means to establish a personal relationship with Him. This is the most sublime and purifying method of connecting with the divine, according to him.
Through his wisdom and actions, Sai Baba inspired people to engage in charitable activities and serve others without any ulterior motives. He would share the food that he got by begging among others and helping the needy and poor. The true mood of spirituality comes when one transcends their false ego.
Sai Baba led a pure austere life and taught others to also lead a simple life with limited possessions and attachments. Material desires and sense gratification lead to misery while true fulfillment comes from spiritual engagement.
Sai Baba taught everyone to tolerate any injustice done by others upon them and to forgive them. He had solved many conflicts among people with this principle and his followers took inspiration from this and lived harmoniously with each other.
Sai Baba was a boon in the lives of the Shirdi people. Although initially, the villagers were against his asceticism and threw stones at him, his saintly qualities captured their hearts and he soon became an inseparable part of their lives. He changed the fate of many and gave them the hope to live a happy and satisfactory life. He never claimed to be God but considered himself a spiritual guide for his followers.
His divine activities and spiritual teachings continue to inspire millions of people around the globe. The place where he left his body and was buried is now the Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi. Lakhs of people visit the Shirdi temple to take the blessings of Sai Baba, making it a major site of pilgrimage.
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