Shri Saibaba of Shirdi was an Indian spiritual guru and a fakir who transcended the barriers of religions, and was regarded with great reverence by both Hindu and Muslim followers. He lived in Shirdi, a town in the west-Indian state of Maharashtra, between 1838 and 1918. His real name, birthplace and date of birth are not known. The name Sai was given to him upon his arrival at Shirdi, by Mahalsapathi, a devotee of Kandoba Raya at the temple stairs where he first saw him.Sai Baba remains a very popular saint, and is worshiped by people around the world. He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and guru. His philosophy ingrained Shraddha meaning faith and Saburi meaning patience. According to him Shraddha and Saburi were the supreme attributes to reach the state of godliness. It is believed that sometime in the year 1858, at a tender age of 16 years Shri Saibaba arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra along with a marriage party. He lived in in mosque in Shirdi until his demise in 1918. Sai Babas teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam, practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions, and was buried in Shirdi. One of his well known epigrams, Sabka Malik Ek (One God governs all), is associated with Islam and Sufism. He always uttered Allah Malik (God is King). He gave the name ´Dwarkamayi´ to the mosque and for the entire 60 year period Sai Baba lived there he kept a fire (Dhuni) burning 24/7. His Sacred Dhuni had very special place and relevance in Saibaba´s life. He never let the Dhuni extinguish during his lifetime and his followers used to contribute fuel and match boxes to help him keep the Dhuni alive. Sai Baba used to sit by the side of his Dhuni and look at it while being deeply absorbed in thoughts. He used to distribute the Udi the sacred ash of his Dhuni, to all who came to Him, as a token of His grace. Sai devotees believe when you visualize Sai Baba sitting near his Dhuni in the Dwarakamai of your heart, all your senses and sins of present and past will be offered to this holy fire. Everything we see, smell, listen, read, write, possess, want, desire and our own body is reduced to ashes and goes back to the mother earth. This is one of the simple teachings of Sai Baba. All the living and non living things come into being due to mother earth and all of them back to earth. The soul when it has finished its cycle of birth and death goes back to the eternal ´Light of God,´ and for us Shirdi Sai devotees this means ´reaching the holy feet of Shirdi Sai Baba´ means ´reaching the holy feet of Shirdi Sai Baba.´For the previous 153 years Sai Baba´s Sacred Dhuni is perpetually burning and still graces millions of devotees who visit his shrine in Shirdi with Baba´s blessings. SaiDhuni now brings the same Scared Dhuni to hundreds of millions of Sai Devotees worldwide. Dhuni’ is the Sacred fire that perpetually burnt before Baba in ‘Dwarkamai’ mosque. He always used to sit by the side of ‘Dhuni’ and look at it deeply absorbed in thought. Fire is a manifestation of energy of which the whole universe is made. The fire sacrifice stands for the cosmic consciousness in which the manifold creation is projected, maintained and constantly transformed. Hence, the ‘Dh it uni’ is the symbol of ‘Chidagni’ or Cosmic energy.‘Dhuni’, which is perpetually burning at Shirdi, is the fire sacrifice for burning down the sins to ashes for those who seek complete refuge in this peerless Master.Baba used to distribute the Udi, ash of this sacred fire to all who came to Him with faith, as a token of His grace. Today also the devotees partake a pinch of this sacred ash as a token of His blessings. The Sacred Ash (popularly known as UDI) had curative powers in and whosoever visited Shirdi used to carry it with him.Today, due to the visit by a large number of devotees, a spoon full of this Ash is given.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 14:33:08 +0000
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