Temples

"If you cast your burden on me, I shall Surely bear it" - Shirdi Sai Baba

Sai Baba has promised, “I shall be active and vigorous even from the tomb,” and it is perhaps in the Mandir that we can most fully experience the phenomenon of Sai Baba and the remarkable way he has touched the hearts and lives of millions of people from all over the globe.Baba’s omniscient presence is felt when one has Baba’s glance, when one sits at Baba’s feet.

“Sri Satchidananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj ki Jai !” (Hail the great Sadguru, Lord Sai, who is being-consciousness-bliss!) is the chant on the lips of most of His devotees while most others may sing bhajan or whisper prayers.

The statue was installed on 15 October on Vijayadasami day. As the main object of adoration in Sai baba, the idol is accorded all due honours. Out of their love for Baba Devotees wish to provide every comfort and respect they can. Accordingly, Baba is given a hot water bath in morning, offered breakfast, lunch and dinner, has his clothes changed four times a day before each arati and is adorned with for the arati worship. At night a mosquito net is hung and the tomb is spread with a special white cloth, of plain cotton, of the kind that Baba’s kafni was made. Each morning at four o’clock, Baba is woken up, the mosquitop net is removed, and incense is offered ( this ritual is known as bhupali ). A glass of water is kept by his side. After the first arati of the day, an abhishek (ritual bathing of the idol with water, milk curd, ghee etc) is performed. Devotees may sponsor the abhishek by contacting the Sansthan. Visitors may also donate cloth for Sai Baba.

Arati is held four times a day at Sai Baba at 4.30 am, at noon at 12.00pm, sunset (around 6.30) and at 10.30 p.m.

Gurusthan means “place of the Guru”. It is both where Baba spent most of his time when he first came to Shirdi, and also where, according to Baba, the tomb of his own Guru is located by the neem tree.

Once when some villagers were digging the foundations for Sathe Wada just behind the neem tree, they came across some bricks in the soil and what looked like the opening of a tunnel. Uncertain whether to proceed or not, they asked Baba what they should do. He told them that this was the site of the tombs of his ancestors and that it would be better not to disturb them.

There are several references to Baba’s Guru recorded in the literature, but they are somewhat enigmatic, and it is not clear whether he was referring to a Guru in his present lifetime, or a previous one.

The first thing that catches the devotee’s eye at Gurusthan is the huge neem tree. This tree gave shelter to Baba for a few years when he stayed beneath it. Neem has many medicinal properties, though its leaves are notoriously bitter. However, some people once reported that the leaves of one of the branches tasted sweet. For them it was a sign of Baba’s grace; others see it as evidence of the tree’s exceptional sanctity.

One incident concerning the neem tree illustrates how practical and down-to-earth Baba could be. In the early 1900s, after Baba had moved to the mosque, construction work on Sathe Wada was hampered by a long branch of the tree. However, nobody wanted to remove it, as this tree had been sanctified by Baba’s stay under it. When Baba was approached for his advice he told the villagers, “Cut off however much is interfering with the construction. Even if it is our own fetus which is lying across the womb, we must cut it !”. But despite this clear instruction from Baba, none dared to meddle with the tree. Eventually Baba himself climbed up and lopped off the branch.

Another reason for the villagers’ reluctance to prune the tree may have been that some time previously a boy had climbed the tree to trim it, and had fallen to the ground and died. At that moment, Baba, who was in the mosque, sounded a note of distress, blowing shankh (the sound a conch shell makes when blown into) with his cupped hands. Baba sometimes did this when a person was in great danger, although he could not have “seen” from the mosque what was occurring at Gurusthan. Villagers linked the boy’s death with his attempt to cut the tree, and became afraid to do anything to it that might have been a sacrilege.

The padukas were made in Bombay and sent to Shirdi. When they arrived, Baba commented that they were “Allah’s padukas” and should be placed in Gurusthan on a particular day. The padukas were duly installed in a solemn ceremony on the August full moon day (15th) of 1912, having been carried in procession from Khandoba Temple (it was G. K. Dixit who bore them on His head).

At this time, arati was already being performed every day in Sathe Wada and Dixit Wada. With the installation of the padukas, a third arati was started, at Gurusthan and G. K. Dixit was employed to officiate.

Gurusthan A few months after their installation the padukas were damaged by a lunatic who also destroyed some of Shirdi’s temple idols. The devotees were very distressed, believing it augured ill. Baba, however, took the matter casually and told them simply to repair the crack with cement and undertake a poor-feeding. In fact, the broken padukas were later replaced and the originals are said to be in the pedestal underneath.

The shivling was installed in Gurusthan the same year. It had previously belonged to Megha Sham, a zealous devotee of Shri Sai Baba, who had taken over officiating the arati in the mosque after the demise of Tatyasaheb Noolkar. How Megha acquired the shivaling is a beautiful example of Baba’s leela:

Megha was a simple, austere Gujarathi Brahmin, who worshipped Shiva but saw his chosen deity in Sai Baba. Characteristically, Baba encouraged his devotee to maintain his worship of Shiva. One day Baba blessed him with a vision, appearing to him early one morning telling him to draw a trident (emblem of Shiva) and leaving behind a few grains of rice (the kind that are used in puja). When Megha went to him in the mosque Baba emphatically confirmed the instruction, and Megha returned to his room to carry it out. The next day someone presented a shivling to Baba. Baba called Megha over saying, “Look, Shiva has come for you!” and giving the shivaling to Megha, told him to use it for worship.

At that time, Megha was staying in Dixit Wada. He took the shivling home with him and showed it to H. S. Dixit. Dixit then disclosed that he had just had a vision of the very same shivling arriving at the wada! Megha worshipped this shivling with great dedication until the end of his days. When the padukas were to be installed, the devotees wanted to take the opportunity to put a shivling there too. If there was a tomb here as Baba had said, then according to Hindu custom, it required a shivling. They therefore asked Baba’s permission, and he said they could use the shivaling that Megha had worshipped until his death at the beginning of that year. So the shivling that we see there now is the same one that Baba lovingly handed over to Megha.

During Baba’s lifetime, Gurusthan was completely open and looked quite different from the fully paved and enclosed area it has now become. Shri Sai Baba said that whoever burns incense and cleans here on Thursdays and Fridays would be blessed by Allah (Thursday is sacred to Hindus, and Friday to Muslims). We assume that out of love and respect for his Guru, Baba wishes the place to be venerated and kept clean.

A small dhuni on a stand is kept in front of the shrine here. Until recently it was kindled every day by embers brought from the main dhuni at the mosque, but this is now done only on Thursdays and Fridays.

Finally, before we leave Gurusthan, let us return to the mighty neem tree. Since the 1980’s more and more devotees have started doing pradakshina around the tree (and thereby the tomb). Now, one can often see large numbers of people going around throughout the day and night. Others find that Gurusthan is a powerful place to sit quietly. Some people regard the tree as a symbol of the Guru’s grace under which humanity may take shelter and protection. Indeed, Sai Baba once commented that his devotees are simply resting in the shade of the neem tree while he bears the brunt of their deeds.

Just across from Gurusthan, to the east of Dixit Wada opposite the neem tree, near to where an open theatre has recently been built, there used to be a takia or small shed. A takia is a resting place for visiting fakirs and Baba also sometimes spent the night here when he first came to Shirdi.

Sai Baba had a great love of music and dance. In his early days he would often go by the takia and sing devotional songs, usually in Arabic or Persian, or the (Hindi) songs of Kabir. His voice is described as “very sweet and appealing”. Sometimes he would put on bells and anklets and dance around in ecstasy while singing, probably in the company of visiting fakirs who were putting up here for a night or two. Even though the takia is not there any more, one can easily imagine the scenes of ecstatic devotion that were creatively enacted here during the night hours.

To the devotees of Sai Baba, Dwarkamai is one of the treasures. The spirit of tolerance, acceptance and welcome for all is very much alive. Baba has said that merely going inside the mosque will confer blessings, and the experiences of devotees confirm this. Sai Baba respected all religions and creeds, and all had free access to the mosque. It is typically unique of Sai Baba that he regarded a place of worship – the mosque – as a mother. He once told a visitor, “Dwarkamai is this very mosque. She makes those who ascend her steps fearless. This masjidmai is very kind. Those who come here reach their goal !”

On entering the mosque one is struck by its powerful atmosphere and the intensity and absorption with which visitors are going about their worship. Another point we notice is the great diversity of devotional expression. Some people will be kneeling before Baba’s picture of making offerings, others will be praying before the dhuni (perpetually burning sacred fire), some may be doing japa or reading from sacred texts, and others will be sitting in contemplation. If we spend some time here we may become aware of a mysterious phenomenon.

The “mayi” aspect of the masjid reveals itself in a number of ways and we feel we are sitting in Baba’s drawing room. See that child over there happily crawling around with a toffee in its mouth, or her sister colouring a comic book ? And what about the old man complaining to Baba about his aches and pains, or that woman sitting with her son on her lap telling him a story ? Opposite is a large family group. The granny has a tiffin tin, and having offered some to Baba, she walks around giving a handful of payasam (sweet rice) to everyone in the mosque. We feel we are receiving prasad almost from Baba himself, and perhaps we are then reminded of some of the stories in Baba’s life in which devotees brought offerings, or when he affectionately distributed fruit or sweets with his own hand. The atmosphere is so homely in the abode of Sai mavuli ! But what is perhaps more remarkable, is that his homeliness co-exists with a powerful experience of the sacred and transcendent. The spirit is profoundly moved by “something” – something indefinable, something great, something mysterious, something magnetically attractive. As we explore Sai Baba’s Shirdi, this aspect of Baba – at once the concerned mother and the Almighty – is shown again and again. Many devotees relate to Baba as a mother, and many as a God supreme. That these two are so perfectly synthesized in Baba – see his care for both the smallest domestic detail as well as the ultimate spiritual attainment – is perhaps the most beautiful and unique aspect of Shirdi Sai.

When Sai Baba moved into this mosque it was an abandoned and dilapidated mud structure, much smaller than the one we see today. In fact, it extended only as far as the steps and wrought iron dividers enclosing the upper section, with the rest of the area an outside courtyard. There were no iron bars around the mosque or the dhuni as there are today, and according to Hemadpant, there were “knee-deep holes and pits in the ground”! Part of the roof had collapsed and the rest was in imminent danger of following, so it was a rather hazardous place to live ! Once when Baba was sitting in the mosque, eating with a few devotees, there was a loud crack overhead. Baba immediately raised his hand and said, “Sabar, sabar,” (“Wait, wait”). The noise stopped and the group carried on with their meal, but when they got up and went out, a large piece of the roof came crashing down onto the exact spot where they had been sitting!

During Baba’s time Dwarkamai was always referred to simply as “the masjid” or mosque. The name “Dwarkamai” came into popular vogue only after Baba passed away but was first coined when a devotee once expressed a wish to make a pilgrimage to Dwarka, a town in Gujarat sacred to Krishna. Baba replied that there was no need as that very mosque was Dwarka. “Dwarka” also means “many-gated”, and “mai” means mother, hence “the many-gated mother” (and Baba did often call it the “masjid ayi”). The author of Sri Sai Satcharitra, identified another definition of Dwarka given in the Skanda Purana – a place open to all four castes of people (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras) for the realization of the four corresponding aims of human existence (i.e. moksha or liberation, dharma or righteousness, artha or wealth and kama or sensual pleasure). In fact, Baba’s mosque was open not only to all castes, but also to untouchables and those without caste.

The Dhuni is a sacrificial rite (Yadnya) on a pyre – a pious devotional act of worship to Agni (fire)

For many visitors, the dhuni is the most significant part of Dwarkamai, as it is so intimately associated with Baba. The dhuni is the sacred, perpetually burning fire that Baba built and which has been maintained ever since, though today the fire is much bigger and is enclosed behind a wire cage. Yadnya produces ash which is the purest substance on earth and has the power to destroy whatever evil and impure. Baba very generously distributed Udi to His devotees for protecting them from maladies.

The maintenance of a dhuni is important in several traditions, including Zoroastrianism, Sufism and Hinduism (especially the Nath sect). Fire was also important to Baba, as wherever he stayed – whether under the neem tree, in the forest, or in the mosque – he always kept a dhuni. Baba, however, was not bound by any convention or set rules, nor did he worship the fire. He simply maintained it, using it for his own particular and mysterious purposes. There were no classic restrictions around Baba’s dhuni. Baba did not prevent others from touching it – indeed, villagers would sometimes come to take embers with which to kindle their own household fires, and whenever Radhakrishnayi used to thoroughly clean and whitewash the mosque at festival times, she would move the dhuni into the street outside. Baba did not confine himself to burning only wood on the dhuni, but would throw his old clothes on it once they were worn out, and he would adjust the fire with his foot (in Indian culture it is considered disrespectful to touch or point to anything with the foot). One day, the fire in the mosque got wildly out of control, with flames leaping up to the roof. None of those present with Baba dared say anything to him but they were nervous. Baba responded to their uneasiness, not by prayer or supplication, but by magisterially rapping his satka (stick) against a pillar and ordering the flames to come down and be calm. At each stroke the flames diminished and the fire was soon restored to normal.

When Baba returned from his morning begging-rounds with a cloth bag of food and a tin pot of liquids, he would first offer some of it at the dhuni before taking any himself. We may not be able to discern exactly why or how Baba used the dhuni, but it is evident that despite the apparent informality around it, the fire was an important part of his routine. According to the Sri Sai Satcharitra, the fire symbolized and facilitated purification and was the focus of oblations, where Baba would intercede on behalf of his devotees. Once when Baba was asked why he had a fire, he replied that it was for burning our sins, or karma. It is reported that Baba would spend hours sitting in contemplation by the dhuni, facing south, especially early in the morning after getting up and again at sunset. Mrs. Tarkhad, who had Baba’s darshan regularly, says that at these times “He would wave his arms and fingers about, making gestures which conveyed no meaning to the onlookers and saying “Haq” which means God.”

Today the dhuni is maintained in a carefully designed structure lined with special fire-bricks, in the same place that Baba used to have it. Baba made an intriguing comment about this spot, saying that it was the burial place of one Muzafar Shah, a well-to-do landowner, with whom he once lived and for whom he had cooked. This is recorded in Charter & Sayings of Sri Sai Baba, but as so frequently when Baba speaks about his personal history, we do not know to which life he was referring.

From the earliest days, Baba would give udi – holy ash from the dhuni – to his visitors. The healing power of Baba’s udi is well documented and there are numerous cases of people being healed of pain or sickness by taking Baba’s udi both before and since his mahasamadhi.

Baba would sometimes apply udi to his devotees when they arrived, or when they were taking leave of him, and he often gave out handfuls of it which he scooped up from the dhuni. The Sri Sai Satcharitra tells us that “when Baba was in a good mood” he sometimes used to sing about udi “in a tuneful voice and with great joy” : “Sri Ram has come, Oh he has come during his wanderings and he has brought bags full of udi.” Udi is still collected from the fire for distribution. Since this is a continuation of Baba’s own practice, and the udi comes from the very fire that Baba himself lit and tended, it is considered extremely sacred. Today a small tray of udi is kept for visitors near the steps.

For devotees of Sai Baba there is an emotional attachment to udi as a tangible form of Baba’s blessings, a vehicle for Baba’s grace and a link to Baba himself. People usually put it on the forehead and/or in the mouth.

Baba used to beg for his food at least twice a day. He generally visited only five houses – those of Vaman Gondkar, Vaman Sakharam Shelke, Bayajabai and Ganapat Kote Patil (Tatya’s parents), Bayaji Appa Kote Patil and Nandaram Marwadi – and stand outside them calling for alms. Baba would collect the solid food in a cloth bag and any liquid offerings in a small tin pot. When he returned to the mosque he would offer some at the dhuni, then empty it all into a kolamba and leave it available for any person or creature to take from, before eating a small quantity himself. In continuation of this tradition, a kolamba is still kept here beside the water pot. People leave naivedya (food offerings) here as a gesture of offering bhiksha to Baba, and take it as his prasad. As Baba used to keep one or two water pots by the dhuni (for drinking and performing ablutions), this tradition is also maintained. Devotees like to take the water as a symbol of Baba’s teerth (holy water).

“One morning, Sai Baba was at his mosque. I was surprised to find him making preparations for grinding an extraordinary quantity of wheat. After arranging a gunny sack on the floor he placed a hand-operated flour mill on it and, rolling up the sleeves of his obe, he started grinding the wheat. I wondered at this, as I knew that Baba owned nothing, stored nothing and lived on alms. Others who had come to see him wondered about this too, but nobody had the temerity to ask any questions.

As the news spread through the village, more and more men and women collected at the mosque to find out what was going on. Four of the women in the watching crowd forced their way through and, pushing Baba aside, grabbed the handle of the flour mill. Baba was enraged by such officiousness, but as the women raised their voices in devotional songs, their love and regard for him became so evident that Baba forgot his anger and smiled.

As the women worked, they too wondered what Baba intended doing with such an enormous quantity of flour... They concluded that Baba, being the kind of man he was, would probably distribute the flour between the four of them… When their work was done, they divided the flour into four portions, and each of them started to take away what she considered her share.

“Ladies, have you gone mad!” Baba shouted. “Whose property are you looting? Your father’s? Have I borrowed any wheat from you ? What gives you the right to take this flour away ?”

“Now listen to me,” he continued in a calmer tone, as the women stood dumbfounded before him. “Take this flour and sprinkle it along the village boundaries.”

The four women, who were feeling thoroughly embarrassed by this time, whispered among themselves for a few moments, and then set out in different directions to carry out Baba’s instructions.

Since I was witness to this incident, I was naturally curious as to what it signified, and I questioned several people in Shirdi about it. I was told that there was a cholera epidemic in the village, and this was Baba’s antidote to it ? It was not the grains of wheat which had been put through the mill but cholera itself which had been crushed by Sai Baba, and cast out from the village of Shirdi.

To this day, a grinding stone is kept in the mosque with a sack of wheat beside it, as it was in Baba’s time. This tradition goes back many years to the time when two devotees – a farmer (Balaji Patil Nevaskar) and his landowner – came to Baba for arbitration. Although Nevaskar had been cultivating the land for decades, the owner wanted it back. Baba advised him to comply with the owner’s wishes, but instead of giving the crop to the owner he sent the whole of it to Baba, keeping none for himself ? Baba took a small portion of it, which he kept beside him all year, and returned the rest. In this way the custom was born and the ritual was repeated every year. These days a bag of wheat is kept in a glass case by the grinding stone throughout the year, and is replaced annually on the festival of Ramnavami.

Though apparently and formally Baba used to go to the Chavadi. In his super conscious state he was never asleep and used to tell his devotees that in his everlasting awareness (consciousness) he will always protect his devotees who were asleep at night.

Sai Baba is intimately connected with this place, as he used to sleep here on alternate nights, during the last decade of his life. It was raining heavily, and water was coming through the leaky walls of the mosque. The devotees tried their best to persuade Baba to move out, if only until the water had subsided, but Baba did not want to go. Eventually, they virtually forced him to leave, by picking him up and half-carrying him to Chavadi. From that day onwards, Baba would spend alternate nights here.

Chavadi is also very significant to Sai devotees as it played a major role in the inception of formal worship of Baba. Once Baba started sleeping at Chavadi, the custom arose of offering regular arati to him on his arrival from the mosque. This was Sej (night) Arati. Later, Kakad (morning) Arati was offered when he woke up there. The performance of Midday and Evening aratis at the mosque probably developed subsequently.

Around the time that Dwarkamai was renovated, Chavadi was also upgraded. The mud walls were neatly plastered, huge mirrors were hung, glazed tiles replaced the mud floor and glass chandeliers were suspended from the ceiling. The funding for the renovations was provided by Anna Chinchanikar, who was deeply devoted to Baba. He had been involved in a land dispute and after a protracted struggle, during which he repeatedly asked Baba about the outcome, he was elated when the court ruled in his favour. Feeling that the triumph was purely due to Baba’s grace, he very much wanted to give Baba the full sum awarded. Baba, however, refused it and Dixit suggested that the money be spent on Chavadi and named after Chinchanikar and his wife.

On the left of the painting is a plain, wooden bed on which Baba was given his last bath after he passed away in Dwarkamai. These days, the bed is taken out each Thursday and the palanquin is placed on it. In the same corner next to the bed is a wheelchair which was presented to Baba when he was suffering from asthma, but which he never used.

The right portion of the building contains the framed photo of the cross-legged Baba kept in grand attire (hence it is known as the raj upachar photo) and this is the picture that is taken out on procession on festivals on each thursday. The silver throne where it is kept is where Baba used to sleep. Women were not allowed in this section and this tradition is maintained today; only men and children are allowed in this area.

Chavadi is open from 3.45 a.m. to 9.00 p.m.