SaiBaba History

About SaiBaba

SaiBaba was a spiritual Guru in India, depending on one's perspective, was a saint, fakir, or satguru. Both Muslims and Hindu devotees honoured and revered him, and he emphasised the value of submitting to the Murshid or Satguru who may guide his pupil down the path of spiritual training.

His followers revere him all around the world. His lessons placed a strong emphasis on self-realization, serving others, upholding a moral code of love, forgiveness, inner serenity, altruism, contentment, and devotion to the guru and God. He preached both Hinduism and Islam in his sermons. He gave the mosque he resided in the name Dwarakamayi, used both religions' core principles in his teachings, and was buried at Shirdi.

The book Sai SatCharitra contains a wealth of knowledge regarding SaiBaba. At the age of sixteen, he had travelled to the Maharashtra district of Ahmednagar. He performed strict penance and sat still in an asana beneath a tree. He left the community to become a weaver and join the fakirs. He also participated in Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi's army during the 1857 Indian Rebellion.

SaiBaba lived in Shirdi for three years before leaving for a year and then back in 1858 to dwell there permanently. After that, he started dressed in his well-known one-piece kafni robe and cloth cap ensemble. He travelled for four to five years while residing under a Neem tree and spent a lot of time wandering in the wild around Shirdi. Finally, he sought refuge in a crumbling mosque and subsisted on alms.

In the mosque, he kept a sacred fire from which he distributed holy ashes, or Udhi, to his visitors. Ash was thought to offer apostrophic and therapeutic properties. He served as the community's hakim and used his sacred ashes to heal the sick. After 1910, SaiBaba's renown continued to grow. His followers thought of him as a great saint with supernatural abilities or perhaps an avatar. Even his temple was constructed in Bhivpuri, Karjat.

SaiBaba's ideas were counter to Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam's prevailing theological dogma. He urged his followers to pray, chant the name of God, and read the Holy Scriptures. He advocated reading among Hindus.