Sai Baba is one of the greatest saints that were ever born in India. We will now discuss about this great saint and how he had contributed to the people of our country. Let us first start with the life of Sai Baba. Well the fact is that nothing much is known about how he was born. His religion by birth is not known this is exactly why he is considered as a saint who was loved by all irrespective of their religion. A fakir had once found him in the forests. He was mostly abandoned by his biological parents. The fakir brought him up and taught him religion.
When Sai Baba grew up he started to preach that all religion were the same. His thoughts were very secular. He would dress up as a fakir and lived a very simple life. He performed many miracles and slowly became very popular. He came to Shirdhi in 1838. He stayed there for major part of his life. This is exactly why he is reffered to as the Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. Once he became popular a lot was written about him but the early years of his life remain a mystery. He propagated that god is one and religions are different paths to reach the same destination. Many people were against him but he had a lot of followers too that he had gained over his life. He was considered as a living god by many.
On 15th October 1918 he left his mortal body. A lot of devotees visited Shirdhi on this sad day. However, his followers even after his death continue to worship him. They believe that he still lives in Shirdhi and come to the temple during Mangal Aarti in the morning. This is exactly why so many people visit the temple in the morning for the Mangal Aarti. There is a huge temple of Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi in the small town of Shirdhi in Maharashtra. Every year a lot of people visit this temple to pay their respect and prayers to the Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. The devotees are of the view that Baba has left his body but his soul is eternal and lives on. There are many miracles that Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi had performed and he still continues to perform for all those who believe in him and his grace. People contribute huge sum of money and gold to the temple each year. Making it one of the most powerful and rich temples of India. Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi before his death had told his devotees that on a certain year he will born again and he also gave the exact place where he will be born.
Even in my personal life I have heard of a lot of Miracles that are associated with the Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi. He always told his devotees to be selfless. He taught them that they should get over I and Me and look at the picture and belive in universal brotherhood. He is perhaps the only saint who is equally worshipped by the Hindus and Muslims. He believed in Jaap and Bhakti. She said that with Bhakti we can reach to any level of devotion and feel the divine presence.
He had many names that people gave him. They worshipped him for his powers and his ability to perform unimaginable tasks. When he initially came to Shirdhi he would quietly sit under a Neem tree and meditate. People would not give him much notice. Until one day a group of village boys were playing near the tree. Suddenly they saw a huge cobra all set to attack one of their play mates. They had no idea what to do. They started to cry for help. Sai baba saw this. He immediately looked at the snake and told it to go back and not attack an innocent child. The snake obliged to this. The kids were surprised to see this. They in turn went back home and told their parents. They believed the children and soon the word spread. This was followed with many more incidents that slowly made people realise that this person was definitely god like and had abilities that very few people generally possess.
He would also spend quite some time in a mosque that was in a bad shape. He called it Dwarkamai. At nights he would sleep there. If not here he would be sitting under the Neem tree where people of the village would visit him from time to time. He would light lamps at Dwarkamai. He was a fakir and people were slowly respecting him too. As a result he would go to the shop keepers asking for oil. The shopkeepers would give him oil for free but one day they refused to give him for free. He reached Dwarkamai and miraculously he used some water to light lamps and they did light and were burning whole night. The villagers were surprised to see this impossible act and their respect for this saint only increase. The Neem tree where he would spend most of his time sitting and meditating was once dug. What was under the tree was unimaginable. There were two large rooms that were filled with lamps making the Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi even more divine.
The Sai Baba of Shirdhi never told his devotees to follow a certain religion neither did he interfere with the religious practices he just told them to be good to all. He told his followers to be honest and follow the teachings of Bhagwad Gita. He would consider the rich, the poor, and the powerful equally. He said that all were god’s children and same in the eyes of the lord. All will die one day and death is the equaliser for all.
The Saint Sai Baba of Shirdi was indeed a divine person. His grace still lives on in Shirdhi. Anyone who comes to his temple is blessed and wishes are granted. His teachings are universal and must be followed especially in a country like India where so many religions exists simultaneously. OM Sai Nath!