Shirdi Sai Baba – A Saint in One Side and A Fakir in the Other

We are surrounded by spiritual leaders. They not only increase the richness of the country but make the difference from other countries. As a country where spiritual leaders are worshipped everywhere, India has become a leader in front of the world. Only in India, we get so many spiritual leaders that are uncountable. Many interesting stories we hear about their lives. We also get inspiration from them. Remember, our parents used to tell us stories about mystical personas.

Some of the miraculous stories are very well-known in India. They have become a religion. We have seen it from Jesus to Muhammad. Many temples have been built by their names. Many films about those saints inspire us every day.  

Some people believe in the miraculous power of the spiritual, and some don’t. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is that their energetic power on us that gives us the inspiration to go ahead in life. This article would be one of such saints who are worshipped around the whole world. Shirdi Sai Baba is popularly known as Sai Baba. Whatever the information about him we get is either from a book named Sai Satcharitra written by one of his disciples, Hemadpant or Annasaheb Dabholkar or Govind Raghunath in 1922 after four years of Baba’s death or by historical researchers.  

Growing Up in an Obscure State

There is a contradiction about his birth date and place. He was considered as the man of mystery because his answers were equipped with fog about his origin. The name Sai Baba is a combination of Hindu and Muslim words. Sai is a Persian word that means holy person, and Baba is a Hindu word that is used for father. So, we can say he was the holy father.

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Shirdi Sai Baba got the name “Sai” from Mahalsapati, who was a priest at the Khandoba temple in Shirdi. His original name still remains unknown, but some researchers say that his name could have been Haribhau Bhusari. But according to Mahalsapati, he was born in a Deshashtha Brahmin family in a small village of Pathri. Later, he was given care of a Fakir.

In another instance, Shirdi Sai Baba was born to a Fakir family and later sent to the care of a Hindu guru, Venkusa Selu. He had stayed there for 12 years. Both of the theories are accepted widely. His birth date is also in the mist because there is no evidence about the particular date. According to some researchers, it is generally accepted the birth date would possibly be 1838. It was around 1858 when he came permanently to Shirdi and gained a reputation as a famous spiritual leader. 

Days in Shirdi

People started to recognize him at Shirdi after some miracles happened. Shirdi Sai Baba used to wear Knee-length Kafni cloth and a cap. He grew his hair also, according to his devotee. It was the time when he got his name “Sai”. For 4-5 years, he lived under a Neem tree. There he used to meditate for a long time without keeping any connection with the outer world. He begged from house to house. Then, he got a resting place in a dilapidated mosque.

He read Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana and Quran. There was a sacred fire and Udi. Whenever any visitor would come, he gave the sacred ash to them. But at a later year, in 1910, he came into prominence. His fame began to spread to Maharashtra. Shirdi Sai Baba was gaining attention from his followers as a saint. The first temple was established at Bhivpuri, Karjat.

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Unknown Facts about Shirdi Sai Baba

According to his dedicated devotees, there are many miraculous stories about him. Those stories are hair-raising events for everyone. He could perform many miracles like mindreading, exorcism, removing limbs and getting them back, entering Samadhi at will, curing the blind person and the stories go on. Some of the notable facts are discussed below. 

1. A lady was suffering great pain in her eyes, and the doctor said she couldn’t be cured. She went to Shirdi and prayed for her eyes. In one year, the miracle happened. She could see anything clearly. 
2. It was another blind man who went to Shirdi with his son to pray for his eyes. He said while prostrating, “Baba, I can’t see you; I am sorry.” And Baba said, “Of course, you will be able to see.”
3. One day, a blind was being bothered by some punks. Baba was sitting under the tree, meditating. He felt irritated by the activities. Then he threw divine rays to them, and the blind man was rescued and found he wasn’t blind now. 
4. In another instance, when Sai was requested to give a photograph, but he refused. Once agreed, he told them to take the feet only. But some of the photographers took a chance at it and captured the full figure. But the result was what Sai wanted they got. Only his feet were photographed, not his full figure. 
5. Another devotee who was a Dattatreya follower came across a remarkable incident. He was suffering from TB and gave up all hope. One day, when he was sleeping, a Fakir came into his dream and applied Udi on his forehead. Then, he began to recover soon. When he realized that it was Sai, he began to worship him after that. 
6. It is believed that the people who go to Shirdi feel charged while visiting his Samadhi. They believe that there is an electrical penchant that flows from Dwarkamayi to Buti Wada. It isn’t easy to find the reason behind this. 

Conclusion

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Shirdi Sai Baba took Samadhi at his will on 15th October 1918 on the same day as Vijayadashami that year. To get some more information about him, either you read the book I mentioned above, or you can watch some well-known movies like Shirdi Ke Sai Baba, Bhagban Shri Sai Baba, Malik Ek, Shirdi Sai and so on. Today, Shirdi has been a famous pilgrimage for the devotees as well as tourists. Many spiritual figures have credited the teachings of Sai Baba, such as Mahalsapati, Upasni Maharaj, Saint Gagangiri Maharaj, and so on. He is also said to be an incarnation of Dattatreya. He was a man who taught the whole world about the realization of the self.