~Sri Saibaba The Saint of Shirdi~

Sainthood in India was never earned from any separate religious authorities but from people. Saibaba of Shirdi was a saint of his own might, who created a sense of harmony across the western Indian states. When a nation was broadly divided by separate religious afflictions and beliefs, and the clashes between them could become brutal, Saibaba played his part to build bridges between all of them to unite people.

Love and respect with resilience was preached by Saibaba throughout his life. This was his magic that brought hundreds of disciples from all over India across the 19th and 20th century. More than his mystic and magical power, people of 21st century remember him for his humanitarian approach that unified believers and non-believers under one roof. His theistic approach was ‘Sabka Malik Ek’— a simpler theory that omitted the differences in separate religious teachings.

Life Accounts of Saibaba

Saibaba had always refrained to give an account of his birth or parental origin, but it was widely noted that he arrived in the village of Shirdi as a faqir in Ahmednagar District in Maharashtra, India. He was sixteen years old at that time. According to the biographers, Baba stayed there for three years, then disappeared for one year, and reappeared to stay permanently since 1858.

Saibaba was the saint of his own might. He opposed orthodoxy in religious practices, and asked every believer to treat people with respect and have faith upon each other. This teaching translates into his motto ‘Shraddha’, ‘Saburi’. Saibaba interpreted religious texts of both Islam and Hinduism. He said,

“Unless there is some relationship or connection, nobody goes anywhere. If any men or creatures come to you, do not discourteously drive them away, but receive them well and treat them with due respect.”

Mahalsapati Nagre was believed to be the first devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba.

Sai baba had lived a simpler life until death. The mosque where he lived was named as Dwarakamayi by him. His Hindu followers believed that Baba was the incarnation of Dattatreya.