Sai Baba of Shirdi: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Hindu and Muslim saint (died 1918)}}

{{redirect|Sai Nath|the university|Sai Nath University}}

{{Use Indian English|date=May 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}

[[File:Shirdi Sai Baba on steps of Dwarakamai.jpg|thumb|Sai Baba (seated right), Abdul Baba (seated on the first step), Tatya Kote Patil (seated on the third step with a book in hand), and Nanavali (seated on the left) at Dwarakamai.]]Although Shirdi Sai Baba's place and date of birth are unknown, there are some indications that he was born not far from [[Shirdi]], in a town now in the west Indian state of Maharashtra.  According to some sources, he was born in the small village of [[Pathri]] in Maharashtra, to a boatman called Ganga Bhavadia and his wife Devagiriamma.<ref name="Chaturvedi 2000">{{Cite book |last=Chaturvedi |first=B. K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79tYVqDsFukC&q=birth |title=Sai Baba Of Shirdi |date=2000 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7182-046-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Ganguly 1994">{{Cite book |last=Ganguly |first=H. S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wsNF65EyAaQC |title=Sai Baba Of Shirdi |date=1994 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |isbn=978-81-7182-370-3 |language=en}}</ref>  Sai Baba is also claimed to have been born in Tamil Nadu. According to this version, his mother’s name was Vaishnavdevi and his father’s name was Abdul Sattar.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-20 |title=Explained: The many beliefs surrounding Sai Baba's place of birth |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/sai-baba-shirdi-maharashtra-birthplace-6224585/ |access-date=2021-08-11 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Shirdi Sai Baba and devotees2.jpg|thumb|Sai Baba with some devotees]]

Baba reportedly arrived at the village of [[Shirdi]] in the [[Ahmednagar District]] of [[Maharashtra]], [[India]], when he was about sixteen years old. Although there is no agreement among biographers about the date of this event, it is generally accepted that Baba stayed in Shirdi for three years, disappeared for a year, and then returned permanently around 1858, just after the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]]. This suggests a possible birth year of 1838.<ref>{{cite book | last = Rigopoulos | first = Antonio | title = The Life and Teachings of Sai Baba of Shirdi | publisher = [[State University of New York Press|SUNY]] | year=  1993 | pages = 45 | isbn = 0791412687}}</ref> He led an ascetic life, sitting motionless under a [[neem]] tree and [[meditation|meditating]] while sitting in an [[asana]]. The Sai Satcharita recounts the reaction of the villagers.

==External links==

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* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Sai Baba of Shirdi}}

* [http://www.saibaba.org/ Shirdi Home Page]

[[Category:Ascetics]]

[[Category:Consequentialists]]

[[Category:Indian Hindu monks]]

[[Category:Indian Sufi saints]]

[[Category:Islam and other religions]]

[[Category:People considered avatars by their followers]]

[[Category:Religious pluralism]]

[[Category:People from Ahmednagar]]

[[Category:People from Maharashtra]]

[[Category:People from Marathwada]]