Shirdi

Shirdi is a small city located in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra. It was the home of revered 19^th century Saint Shri Sai Baba. Today, the holy city attracts millions of Sai Baba devotees from all over the world, who come to Shirdi to visit the famous Shri Sai Baba Temple. The temple is visited by more than 25,000 devotees daily. More than 1,00,000 devotees visit the temple every day, during festivals and auspicious occasions.

Shri Sai Baba first visited Shirdi when he was 16 years old. He left the city for a few years, but later returned and lived in Shirdi till his Samadhi in 1918. Considered to be an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya, Sai Baba lived an ascetic life. The spiritual guru preached the importance of realization of the self and inner peace. He encouraged his devotees to surrender to God, read holy scriptures and chant God’s name. He guided his followers to lead a moral life by helping others and doing charity.

The biggest teaching of Sai Baba was that all humans are equal, irrespective of their religion, caste and creed. Till date is unclear if he was Hindu or Muslim. Both Hindus and Muslims were devotees of Sai Baba during his lifetime, and they worship him even today. Few of the greatest epigrams of Sai Baba such as ‘Allah Malik’ (God is King) and ‘Sabka Malik Ek’ (Everyone’s Master is One) are associated with both Hinduism and Islam.

Situated in the heart of Shirdi, the Shri Sai Baba Temple complex is spread over an area of 200 sq. meters. The welfare and maintenance of the temple is handled by the Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust, one of the richest temple trusts in India. Besides the Shri Sai Samadhi Mandir, the temple premises include the Gurusthan, Dwarkamai, Chavadi and Lendi Baug.

Inside the Shri Sai Samadhi Mandir, one can take the ‘Darshan’ of Shri Sai Baba’s Samadhi. A huge statue of Sai Bai is situated next to the Samadhi. The divine white-marble statue of Sai Baba is extraordinarily crafted, radiating grace and compassion. Devotees are moved to tears by the sheer sight of Sai Baba’s lifelike idol.

This statue of Sai Baba was installed in the temple in on 7^th October 1954 on the day of Vijayadashmi, 36 years after the saint’s Mahasamadhi. It was sculpted by Balaji Vasant Talim. The idol is adorned with gold, silver and exquisite silken vastras (clothes). Every day, the idol of Sai Baba is honoured with a hot water bath (Abhishek) and is offered breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Sai Baba is worshipped through beautiful and soothing devotional aratis, which are the highlight of this temple. Most devotees time their visit during the time of aratis, so that they can also partake in this passionate form of worship. The atmosphere during aratis becomes highly-charged and stirs the emotions of faith, longing and devotion. Arati is held four times at the temple – in the morning at 4.30 am (Kakad Arti), in the afternoon at around 12.00 pm, in the evening during sunset at 6.30 pm and again in the night at 10.30 pm.

Every day, there are long queues for Sai Baba’s Darshan. Prior to visiting the temple, devotees can avail the facility of online booking of ‘Darshan’ and ‘Arati’. The ‘online pass’ queue moves comparatively faster. There is a separate queue for senior citizens above the age of 60 and for mothers with infants less that 1 year of age.

After taking the Samadhi Darshan, one can head to the Gurusthan – a shrine that has the huge Neem tree, under which Sai Baba was first spotted meditating by the residents of Shirdi. Besides the Neem tree, the Gurusthan shrine has a pair of marble padukas on a pedestal, a Shivalinga and a statue of Baba.

One of the most important places in the complex is Dwarkamai, the mosque where Sai Baba resided for a continuous period of 60 years. Dwarkamai houses the perpetually burning sacred fire known as ‘Dhuni’. The Dhuni was lit by Sai Baba and has been maintained ever since. The ash produced by the Dhuni is called Udi. During his lifetime Sai Baba blessed his devotees by distributing the Udi. The Udi is said to have healing powers and one can collect it at the temple even today. Also found at the Dwarkamai are several articles associated with Sai Baba such as his ‘Kolamba’ and water pot, his grinding stone, his chillim and the stone on which he used to sit.

After visiting Dwarkamai, one can go to the Chavadi. Chavadi means a village office. Initially it was used by the Sansthan as an office, but was later converted into a shrine. During the last decade of his life, Sai Baba would sleep in the Chavadi on alternate nights. Every Thursday night, Sai Baba’s ‘Padukas’ and ‘Satka’ are carried from Dwarkamai and taken to Chavadi in a traditional Palkhi procession. The procession is extremely joyous with devotees singing melodious devotional songs. One must definitely time their visit during the The Chavadi Palki procession and get a first-hand experience of the exuberant ceremony.

The complex also has a Sai Museum, which displays artefacts used by Sai Baba including his Padukas, his folded clothes, his Satka, his chillims, a few cooking pots and a silver palanquin. Another must-visit place in the temple complex is the Lendi Baug (Garden), which has tombs of some devotees, a shrine, and the perpetually burning lamp lit by Sai Baba and placed between the two trees he planted. The complex also has the shrines of several other deities including Lord Hanuman, Lord Ganesha, Lord Dattatreya, Goddess Mahalaksmi and more. One can also visit the Khandoba Mandir, the spot where Sai Baba acquired the title of ‘Sai’.

The Sai Baba Sansthan Trust provides devotees with several facilities such as accommodation, breakfast/lunch/dinner and refreshments, all available at very reasonable rates. Besides the accommodation provided by the Sansthan, there are several other decent hotels, restaurants and resorts in Shirdi.