Monday, November 5, 2007

Sai Baba of Shirdi


An Indian saint who lived from the mid-19th to the early 20th century. See Sai Baba for other persons calling themselves Sai Baba. Sai Baba of Shirdi or Shirdi Sai Baba (circa 1838 - October 15, 1918), (real name, birth place, and date of birth unknown), was an Indian guru, yogi and fakir, who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim followers as a saint. Some of his Hindu devotees believe that he was an Avatar of Shiva, Dattatreya, a satguru and the next incarnation of Kabir.
In his life and teachings he tried to embrace and reconcile Hinduism and Islam: Sai Baba lived in a mosque, was buried in a Hindu temple, practised Hindu and Muslim rituals, and taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions. One of his well known epigrams says of God: "Allah Malik" ("God is Master").
Sai Baba taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, devotion to God and guru. His philosophy was Advaita Vedanta and his teachings consisted of elements both of this school as well as of bhakti and Islam.
Sai Baba is also one of the most popular of Indian saints[1] (worshipped mainly in Maharashtra, southern Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh) and revered by several notable Hindu, Sufi and Zoroastrian religious leaders. Some of his disciples have received fame as spiritual figures and saints.

Jai Sai Baba


Why fear when I am here? Stay by me and keep quiet. I will do the rest.