Story of Shirdi Sai Baba: In different space and time, due to certain rigidity or manipulation, people often do not find themselves adjusting to societal norms and try to create their own belief and worship system.
Since ancient times, Hindu society has also seen and faced countless divisions of sects according to people’s own understanding and satisfaction. The origin of Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism is attributed due to same such condition.
A certain individual from Hindu society will rise to the occasion with same kind of different idea and will add followers accordingly. Whenever, the faith crisis has developed in Hindu society, a sect has been created.
That is what happened in the early 20th century, the time of Shirdi Sai Baba. The years of Islamic rule and British policies almost broke the very foundation of Hindu society. We lost our true identity and strangulated in the discrimination.
Hindu society was struggling with social dogmatic practices and one of the worst kind of caste division. This gap intensified due to the foreign rule and many of the Hindu society started to lose faith in their own way of life.
Similar to earlier situation, people started to search for different faith to suit their state of mind. In this chaotic environment, a new ‘God’ Sai Baba emerged.
The sudden emergence of Sai Baba
Although, both place and date of birth of Sai Baba is uncertain but various research accounts show his birth to be in 1838. Different sources connote different places of birth. Some say he was born in Shirdi, Maharashtra.
Some say he was born in a small village of Pathri in Maharashtra in a boatman family of Ganga Bhavadia and Devagiriamma. Others claim he was born in Tamil Nadu to a Hindu mother Vaishnavdevi and Muslim father Abdul Sattar. There is no concrete evidence to support any of the theory.
It is said that he was brought up by a Muslim Fakir in his early childhood and after some time he was left with a Hindu guru named Venkusu of Selu, to whom he was a disciple for 12 years. After many years of nomadic life, he reportedly arrived at village Shirdi in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra in 1858, a year after the First War of Independence of 1857.
Also Read: Bhagwan Jagannath at the feet of Sai Baba, a tragic sight indeed
His Philosophy and Followers
After returning to Shirdi, Sai Baba started to live in a dilapidated mosque and used to survive by begging. But, in late 1890s, a pandemic changed the complete scenario and he became God from a Baba.
In September 1896, the first case of bubonic plague was reported in Bombay province and it spread rapidly in other parts of the city. It is said that 1900 people per week were being killed in bubonic plague. Other than plague, diseases like tuberculosis, cholera and various kinds of fever spread across the province.
In this scenario, every one rushes to find some kind of solution to fight the diseases and Baba emerges as the cure. In the year 1886, Sai Baba suffered from asthma and went into coma for three days. When he woke up from dead sleep, people started murmuring about some kind miracle. News of some supernatural power spread and people started to worship him.
There were many people behind this spread of ideas. Some of them were:
- Bapusaheb Booty – Sriman Gopalrao Booty was a millionaire of Nagpur. Booty became an eminent devotee of Baba right from his first visit. Booty’s outstanding service to the Sai Sansthan and Baba’s devotees was that he constructed a huge building and devoted it entirely for the Mahasamadhi shrine of Baba. This stone building was known as Booty Wada.
- Shyama – Shyama was among Baba’s most intimate devotees. He was regarded as the ‘Nandi’ of Baba and acted like his personal secretary. His parents had moved to Shirdi from Nimon (five kilometres away) when he was two. He became a school teacher in a room next door to the mosque.
- Laxmibai – Laxmibai Shinde was a well-to-do woman, who worked in the masjid day and night. Except Bhagat Mhalasapati, Tatya and Laxmibai, none was allowed to step in the Masjid at night. She used to prepare food for Baba and serve him with great love and devotion. Baba was highly grateful to her and showed his gratitude by giving her a gift of Rs. 9 before taking Samadhi, which is thought to symbolize the nine characteristics of a good devotee
- Nanasaheb Chandorkar – He was among the most prominent devotees of Baba. He was well educated Brahman. A Deputy Collector by profession, he had the distinction of being one of the very few disciples that Baba directly called to his side.
- Abdul Baba – Abdul Baba came to Shirdi in around 1890. On his coming to Shirdi, Saibaba greeted him by saying “My crow has come”. A dedicated worker, Abdul Baba, took care of Baba’s mosque and lit the lamps in Lendi. Baba took care of him, and often had him reading aloud passages from the Koran.
- Bhagoji Shinde – Bhagoji Shinde suffered from leprosy and yet he was among the closest to Saibaba. He accompanied Saibaba to Lendi garden carrying a parasol to give him shade. Once Saibaba got hurt while thrusting his hands into dhuni, Bhagoji was the one who bandaged the wound and dressed him long after it had healed.
- Kakasaheb Dixit – Hari Sitaram alias Kakasaheb Dixit was a prominent solicitor, another of Saibaba’s ardent devotees. Saibaba affectionately called him Langda Kaka and removed fear complex from his mind. Kaka Dixit was known for his obedience to Baba’s orders.
Also Read: Sathya Sai of Puttaparthi – Looking beyond his saintly image
Development of Sai Cult
As the diseases were spreading, society was broken and faith in religion was downgrading, people found hope in Sai Baba. His presentation as a ‘God’ was at the right time in the right place.
It is said that he had some miraculous supernatural power and diseases went extinct in no time. Also, these prominent disciples cemented the common people’s trust in his power and he became God of the century.
In the meantime, he became both a religious preacher as well as a medical practitioner. He spoke a lot about casteism in Hindu society and spread the teachings of Quran, Ramayana and Bhagavad Gita. He followed the Islamic worship procedure and allowed people to practice Salah and chanting of Al-Fatiha.
It is said he used to recite Al-Fatiha, mawlid and qawwali. But, in his religious preaching he used to say Sabka Maalik Ek (There is only one God who governs all). His preaching was centred on Islam.
He used to say, “God being one and the master of all also meant that all his creatures were part of one big”. With his Muslims followers he used to say “Allah rkhega vaiia rahena” and to Hindu followers he asked to read Bhagavad Gita.
As the bubonic plague started to calm down and people were healing, they started to believe in Sai’s miracles. His tryst with fame reached peak in early 20th century and attracted various rich followers. As faith and society was evolving, a new Sai Cult started to develop. People started to categories in Sai faith and history was repeating itself.
To be continued…
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