Sai Baba Shirdi, was a spiritual master that was believed by his devotees to be a fakir, saint, sadguru or incarnation of god. Born in 1838, he left for his heavenly abode on October 15th, 1918. While it was the Muslim sect that started his following, during his life on earth it remained uncertain whether he himself for Muslim or Hindu.
Such meager discriminations were of little importance to Sai Baba himself. He often stressed on the importance of surrender to the guidance of the real Murshad or Sadguru, which would lead a believer through the forest of spiritual training. Almost a 100 years after his death, Sai Baba continues to remain a very popular saint. Within India and around the world, he has millions of worshipers.
His Belief System
It was known that Sai Baba had no love for perishable items and his sole focus continued to remain self-realization. He often preached the moral code of forgiveness, love, charity, inner peace, contentment and devotion. His followership continued to surge because he gave no distinction to castes and religion. Furthermore, even his teachings combined various elements of both Islam and Hinduism.
Birth and Early Life
With there being no reliable record of his parentage and birth, the early life of Sai Baba of Shirdi is a rather mysterious one. It is believed that he was born in Pathri a town in Maharashtra in the year 1938. He arrived in Shirdi in his 30s in the year 1872. Over the next few years, he stayed on the outskirts of this village in the Babul forest and was known to spend his time meditating under a Neem tree. Soon the villagers began to revere him and began to give him food to ensure his sustenance.
However, most historians and devotees agree that there is no trustworthy source that confirms his birthplace or birthday date. Many communities claim that that he belongs to them; however, nothing has been affirmed. That said, it is known that he spent significant time with a number of fakirs and it also justifies his overall attire.
His lifestyle and teachers were rather inspiring. After naming an unused mosque in which lived Dwarakamanyi after the home of Lord Krishna, he began to practice a variety of Hindu and Muslim rituals and began imparting his teachings using figures and words that took influence from both these traditions.
Among his many famous epigrams, his most famous ones include “Sab Ka Malik Ek” (“One God Governs All”) and “Trust in me and your prayers shall be answered”. He influenced his followers to see the almighty in all living beings and at no point claimed to be God himself.
Miracles
The millions of disciples and followers of Sai Baba were of the belief that he performed a variety of miracles such as materialization, exorcism, mindreading, levitation and bilocation. They also believe he was able to light lamps with water, remove his intestines and limbs and join them back to his body, enter a state of Samadhi at one’s own will, cure the mortally sick, appear beaten when someone else was beater, prevent a mosque from falling down and injuring people, etc.
Many of his followers till day claim that he appeared to them in their dreams to give them advice when they needed it the most. In spite of all the mystery and speculation revolving around Shirdi Sai Baba, there is no denying that people’s faith him was unsolicited. Having influenced a number of people to venture on to the path of truth, he continues to influence generations of followers till date.
