Sai Baba Story

Baba was born somewhere between 1838 and 1842 AD in a place called Pathri in Marathwada in Central India.In a minor section of Islam community, Sai Baba is mainly considered a Muslim Fakir. He appears in Sufism as a Pir. Sai Baba arrived at Shirdi as a nameless entity at a young age tempered by the discipline of penance and austerity. At Shirdi, Baba stayed on the outskirts of the village in Babul forest and used to mediate under a neem tree for long hours.
 An Indian spiritual guru and a fakir that transcended the barriers of religions, Saibaba of Shirdi was regarded with great reverence by both Hindu and Muslim followers. He lived in a mosque and after death his body was cremated in a temple.

His philosophy ingrained 'Shraddha' meaning faith and 'Saburi' meaning compassion. According to him Shraddha and Saburi were the supreme attributes to reach the state of godliness.

It is believed that at a tender age of 16 yrs Shri Saibaba arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and remained their till his death. He found shelter in Khandoba temple, where a villager Mahalsapathi in the temple addressed him as Sai or Saint

 Horse called by the  Sai baba:

Chandbhai, the headman of a village called Dhoopkhede (in Aurangabad, India), once lost his horse and was looking for it. Suddenly he heard a voice say "You look tired. Come here and rest a while". He turned around and saw a young Fakir (Baba). The fakir smiled at him and said "What are you looking for in this jungle, Chandbhai". This surprised Chandbhai and he wondered how the fakir knew his name.
Slowly, he said "I have lost my horse. I have looked for it everywhere, but cannot seem to find it". The fakir told him to look behind a clump of trees. Chandbhai was pleasently surprised to find his horse grazing peacefully behind those trees. He thanked the fakir and asked his name. The fakir said "some people call me Sai Baba."
Sai Baba then invited Chandbhai to have a smoke with him. He got the pipe ready, but there was no fire to light it with. Sai Baba thrust a pair of tongs into the ground and brought out a burning coal. Chandbhai was wonderstruck. He thought "this is no ordinary person" and invited Baba to come to his house and be his guest for a few days.
Next day Baba went to Chandbhai's house and found everybody in a very joyful mood and festivities going on all around. He found that Chanbhai's wife's nephew was getting married. The bride was from Shirdi and the marriage party was going to Shirdi. Chandbhai invited Baba to accompany the marriage party to Shirdi. At Shirdi they camped in a field next to Khandoba's temple.

After the wedding, Saibaba stayed on at Shirdi. At first he lived under a neem tree and begged for food whenever he needed it. He then went to Khandoba's temple, intending to stay there, but the temple priest met him at the entrance and told him to go to the mosque. That is how Baba, started staying at the Mosque which was later called Dwarkamayi.

 Gentleman and Sai Baba:

There was a rich gentleman who was very prosperous in his life. He had amassed a large quantity of wealth, houses and lands and had many servants and dependents.When Baba’s fame reached his ears he said to a friend of his that he was not inwant of anything, and so he would go to Shirdi and ask Baba to give him Brahma Gyan, which if he got, would certainly make him more happy. His friend dissuaded him, saying, ‘ It is not easy to know Brahman and especially for a avarice like you, who is always engrossed in wealth , wife and children. Who will in your quest of Brahma- Gyan will satisfy you, who does not give away even a paisa in charity”Not minding His friend’s advice, the fellow came to Shirdi, and after seeing Sai Baba fell at His lotus feet and said, “ Baba , hearing that , You show the Brahma to all who come to you, I too have come all the way from a distant place. I am much fatigued by the journey and if I get the Brahma- Gyan from you, my troubles will be paid and rewarded.Baba then replied,’’ Oh my dear friend do not be anxious, I shall show you the Brahma. Many people come to Me and ask for wealth, health, power, honor, position, cure of diseases and other temporal matters. Rare is the person who comes to me and asks for the Brahma Gyan. There is no dearth of persons asking for worldly things but persons interested in spiritual matters are very rare.I think it is a fortunate and an auspicious moment when persons like you come and ask me for Brahma Gyan. So forthwith I show to you the Brahma with all its accompaniments and complexities.”Then Baba called a boy and told him to go to one Nandu Marawadi and get from him a loan of Rs.five.The boy left and returned immediately saying that Nandu was absent and his house was locked. Then Baba asked him to go to the Bala grocer and get from him the said loan. This time also the boy was unsuccessful. This experiment was repeated again and again with the same result.Sai baba as we all know  is the living and moving Brahma incarnate. Then someone may ask, “ Why did He want the paltry sum of five rupees and why did He try hard to get it? Really He did not want the sum at all. He must have fully known that Nandu and Bala were absent, and He seemed to have adopted this procedure as a test for the seeker of Brahma Gyan. The gentleman had a roll or bundle of currency notes in his pocket and if he was really earnest he would not have sat quiet and be an onlooker when Baba was frantically trying to get a paltry sum of Rs. five. He knew that Baba would keep His word and repay the debt and the sum wanted was insignificant. Still he could not make up his mind to advance the sum. Such a man wanted from Baba the greatest thing in the world , the Brahma Gyan!When the gentleman asked Baba to show Brahma gyan soon Baba replied,” Oh my dear friend did you not understand all the procedures that I went through, sitting in this place to enable you to see Brahma..” Baba told him that the first important thing to do to know the Brahma Gyan is to have the quality of Surrender. Baba further gave a long discourse to make the rich gentleman understand the qualification of a mumukshu or the seeker of Brahma Gyan.

 Lizards Story :
Once Baba was sitting in the Masjid along with a devotee sitting in front of Him, when a lizard tick-ticked.Once Out of curiosity the devotee asked Baba, whether this tick-ticking of the lizard Signified anything good or was it bad omen?Baba said that the lizard was overjoyed as her sister from Aurangabad was coming to see her. The devotee sat silent not making out the meaning of Baba’s words.Immediately a gentleman from Aurangabad came on horse back to see Baba. He wanted to proceed further but his horse would not go as it was hungry and wanted grams.He took out the bag of grams from his shoulders and dashed it on the ground to remove all the dirt. A lizard came out there from and in the presence of all climbed up the wall. Baba asked the devotee to mark her well. She at once went struggling to her sister.Both sisters met each other after a long time, kissed and embraced each other, whirled round and danced with love! Where is shirdi and where is Aurangabad for the lizard? And how should Baba make the prophecy of meeting the two sisters? All this is really wonderful and proves the omniscience- the all knowing nature of Baba.

Baba Begging Food:

Blessed are the people in Shirdi , in front of whom Baba stood as a beggar and called out,  “ O Mai, give me a piece of bread.!” And spread out His hands to receive the same. In one hand He carried a Tumrel ( a tin pot) and in the other a Zoli or a Choupadari i.e. a rectangular piece of cloth. He daily visited certain houses and went from door to door.Liquid or semi liquid things such as soups, vegetables, milk or buttermilk were received in the tin pot while cooked rice, bread and such solid things were taken in the Zoli. Baba’s tongue knew no taste, as He had acquired control over it. So how could He care for the taste of different things mixed up together?Whatever things He got in the Zoli and in the tin pot were mixed together and partaken by Baba  to His heart content. Whether particular thing was tasty or otherwise, was never noticed by Baba as His tongue was devoid of sense of taste all together. Baba begged till noon but His begging was very irregular. Some days He went up to few rounds and other days up to twelve noon.The food thus collected was kept in the kundi an earthen pot. Dog, cat and crows freely ate from it and Baba never drove them away.The woman who swept the floor of the masjid took some 10 to 12 pieces of bread to her house and nobody prevented her from doing so. How could He, Who, even in dreams never warded off cats and dogs by harsh words or signs, refuse food to the poor helpless people?Blessed indeed is the life of such a Noble Person! People in Shirdi took Him in the beginning for a mad Fakir. He was known in the village by this name.The Fakir was very liberal at heart, detached and charitable. Though He looked restless from outside , He was firm and steady inside. His way was inscrutable. Still in that small village. There were a few kind and blessed people, who recognized and regarded Him as a Great Soul.

Turning water into oil:

Sai Baba was fond of lamps. He used to borrow oil from shopkeepers and keep his lamps burning the whole night in the masjid and temple. This went on for sometime. One day, the banias who supplied oil graties, once met together and decided not to give Him oil anymore.When as usual Baba went to ask for oil, they all gave Him a distinct “ No”.Unperturbed , Baba returned to the Masjid and kept dry wicks in the lamps. The banias were watching him  with curiosity.Baba took the tumrel (tin pot) which contained very little ( a few drops) of oil, put water into it and drank it.And then forced it fall into the  container.After consecrating the tin-pot in this way, He again took the water from the tin pot and filled all the lamps with it and lighted them.To the surprise and dismay of the watching banias, the lamps began to burn and kept burning he whole night.The banias repented and apologized Baba who forgave them and asked them to be truthful in future.

the founder of the temple, the late Sri Keshav Ramachandra Pradhan, was initially an atheist. Sri Pradhan was working for a Parsee gentleman of Mumbai as a pedhi (a collector of debts owed to his employer). He lived in Bhivpuri and would commute to Mumbai to work. In the course of his job he would frequently go to Manmad, Nasik and Kopergaon. Pradhan had a close friend who was a devotee of Sai Baba. He would often go to Shirdi and return after having darshan of (seeing) Sri Sai Baba. Once, Pradhan visited his friend when he was about to leave for Shirdi. He asked Pradhan to accompany him and to have Baba’s darshan. Pradhan, who had no belief in God or Godmen, initially refused to go with him. Finally, however, he gave in to his friend’s persuasion and agreed to go, but not to set foot inside the mosque where Baba lived. His friend accepted the compromise and they set out for Shirdi together.

The friends reached Shirdi and stayed in the wada. As it was time for the noon arati, Pradhan’s friend went to the mosque but Pradhan stayed in the wada. The bell rang from the mosque for the arati and Pradhan could hear it from his room. The deep gongs of the bell stirred him as never before. He was enchanted by the sound and unknowingly started walking to the mosque from where this heavenly sound was issuing forth.

He reached the mosque and sat in a corner. Looking at Baba, he was immersed in a state of bliss. After the arati was over the other devotees took udhi from Baba and left the mosque. Pradhan was still in a state of bliss and was unaware of everything but Baba. Sri Shirdi Sai then called Pradhan to draw near and asked him for dakshina. Pradhan had Rs 2500 in his pocket. This was the amount he had collected for his employer from the various debtors. He took out the entire cash from his pocket and, placing it all in Baba’s hands, returned to his room still in the same state of bliss. A little later, Pradhan came to realise that he had given the entire amount to Baba and was surprised that he could do such a thing with his employer’s money. His friend told him not to worry as Baba would take care to see that Pradhan would not get into any trouble because of this.

Pradhan started back via Kopergaon from Shirdi in a horse-cart. It was only after he reached Kopergaon that he realised that he had no money, even for the hire of the cart. He requested the cart man to take his ring, sell it and return the remaining cash after taking his fare. While this was going on a well-dressed gentleman, unknown to Pradhan, arrived. After inquiring about the matter he not only paid the cart man but also bought a ticket to Mumbai for Pradhan and left as mysteriously as he came.

Pradhan reached Bhivpuri. He did not know how he could face his employer and tell him that he had used all the money which he had collected. To gain time, he sent word to his employer that he was sick and would come to work once he had recovered. The employer sent word back granting leave till Pradhan was well enough to return to work. He also wanted to know why Pradhan had sent double the money he had collected and what he was to do with the excess? Pradhan saw Baba’s hand in this and was thrilled to the core of his being by the kindness shown to him by Baba. He was electrified that Baba had showered his grace on him to such an extent in the very first darshan. He became a staunch devotee of Baba and would often go to Shirdi to visit Baba and take his blessings. Pradhan would plead with Baba to come to Bhivpuri whenever he went to Shirdi.

Once, in 1916, Baba gave his statue to Pradhan and said, “Go to Bhivpuri. Build a temple for me there. Keep this statue in the temple and worship it. You need not come to Shirdi any more.” Pradhan returned to Bhivpuri but did not follow Baba’s instructions. When he next came to Shirdi Baba said, “When I have come to your house, why have you come here? Bhivpuri is your Shirdi. Go there and do as I told you.”

In a few days Pradhan built a small temple near his house at Bhivpuri and ceremoniously installed the statue of Baba; regular worship was started. This temple is located in a place which is green with trees and beautiful to the eye. In the silence of the night the sound of the temple doors opening would sometimes be heard. Baba’s form would be seen coming out of the temple and resting under a tree in the front yard. The sound of the temple doors closing would be heard again at three in the morning. All these leelas were experienced not only by Pradhan and his family but also by their guests who stayed overnight. Pradhan had no doubt that Bhivpuri was indeed his Shirdi and he became an even more ardent devotee of Baba

Sai Baba Dead Story:

It was 15th of October of the year 1918, on Tuesday at about 2.35 in
the afternoon that the Supreme Master, Sai Baba of Shirdi breathed
His last. His self-allotted labour of love in His gross body was
perhaps finished. The last words that He uttered were that He
should be taken to an adjoining ‘wada’ (building) as He did not feel
well in the masjid. As the Master shed His gross body all men and
women plunged into agonizing grief.

Baba had given indication of the approach of His ‘Mahasamadhi’
(shedding His mortal body) in as early as 1916 on the same day, that
is the day of Dussehra (a festival in India marking the victory of
Good over evil). A few weeks before His passing out of gross body
He sent a message to a Muslim saint in Aurangabad, “Allah is taking
away the lamp He placed here.” On hearing this that fakir shed
tears.

Surprisingly, the 15th October 1918, which was a day of Hindu
festival Dussehra also happened to be the day of Moharram (A Muslim
festival) and Buddha Jayanti (A Buddhist festival). The departure of
Baba on such a day was symbolic of His universal approach to human
problems cutting across all religions, nationalities, castes, social
differentiation and all such manmade barriers.

After Baba passed away there was a dispute about how and where
Baba’s mortal remains should be interred. At the end, all disputes
and controversy were smoothed out and His Hindu and Muslim devotees
alike decided to inter the body of the Master in `Buti Wada’, as
desired by the Master Himself. The physical body of the gracious
Guru, the Supreme Master, was laid to rest in the central hall with
due formalities, sanctity and honour, but His Eternal Spirit rises
from the tomb to proclaim to His followers again and again the
indisputable evidence of His resurrection and life. The Supreme
Master had often promised and assured that His tomb would speak and
move with those who made Him their sole refuge. His final rest is in
Samadhi Temple, which is open to all caste, creed and religion as a
Gateway to God.

The sound of eternity emerged from Baba’s heart every limb, every
bone and every pore of His body.

Om Sri Sainath Maharaj Ki Jai