So he changed his tomb - from that tomb to the present tomb, which is an extension of the one he had before, and is a form of Baba's body. Then, because he is so loving and he wanted to cater to the growing needs of the people, he had to change. Whoever thinks that this body is Sai Baba, hasn't seen Sai Baba at all.' His devotees need some means of interacting with Baba, and because his body had already been released, it was actually a tomb - a small, moving, limited tomb that was capable of interacting with a number of people.
"Baba was never confined to his physical body even before 1918, because he himself said, 'My murshid (guru) has already freed me from this body.
#SAI BABA SHIRDI GRAVE TORRENT#
"Attention one and all!" commands the noon arati psalm, "Come, come quickly and make obeisance to Sai Baba!" This is exactly what the devotees are hastening to do, and to be part of this torrent of emotion is a powerful experience.Ĭoncerning the significance of Sai Baba's tomb and the response that devotees experience there, Sri Babuji was once asked whether there was any difference for the devotees between now and when Baba was in his physical body.
The atmosphere of fervent and one-pointed devotion reaches its zenith here. People may wait up to eight hours just for the opportunity to pay brief homage to their Lord. At busy times, especially during festivals, the queue for darshan used to stretch for hundreds of metres through the village streets with the recently constructed Queue Complex, this is no longer the case. Some people may be chanting,"Sri Satchidananda Sadguru Sainath Maharaj ki jai!" (Hail the great sadguru, Lord Sai, who is being-consciousness-bliss!) and others may be singing bhajan or whispering prayers. Some may have a personal item - such as a shawl, book, key to a new possession, etc, which they have brought here to obtain Baba's blessing by offering it at his feet and having it touch his tomb. People will be holding flowers, garlands, sweets, or fruit to offer Baba at his samadhi.
#SAI BABA SHIRDI GRAVE FULL#
At any given point, the shrine will be full of devotees eagerly queuing up to have Baba's darshan. For it is here that we find the samadhi (tomb) of Sai Baba, with the compelling statue above it.īaba has famously pro-mised, "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 world. Sri Sai Baba These moving and inspiring words, spoken by Sai Baba, have played their part in ensuring that the Samadhi Mandir (also known as the Sai Baba Temple, although technically it is a shrine rather than temple) is the most important site in Shirdi, and the main focus of Sai worship and devotion. You will hear me from my samadhi and I shall guide you." Shining a spotlight on an incredibly forceful devotional movement that avoids fundamental politics and emphasizes unity, service, and peace, The Afterlife of Sai Baba is an entertaining-and enlightening-look at one of South Asia's most popular spiritual gurus."Do not think I am dead and gone. Tracing his rise from small village guru to global phenomenon, religious studies scholar Karline McLain uses a wide range of sources to investigate the different ways that Sai Baba has been understood in South Asia and beyond and the reasons behind his skyrocketing popularity among Hindus in particular. These days, tens of thousands of Indians and foreigners make the pilgrimage to Shirdi each year, and Sai Baba temples have sprung up in unlikely places around the world, such as Munich, Seattle, and Austin. During his lifetime Sai Baba accepted all followers who came to him, regardless of religious or caste background, and preached a path of spiritual enlightenment and mutual tolerance. Nearly a century after his death, the image of Sai Baba, the serene old man with the white beard from Shirdi village in Maharashtra, India, is instantly recognizable to most South Asians (and many Westerners) as a guru for all faiths-Hindus, Muslims, and others. The Afterlife of Sai Baba is an entertaining-and enlightening-look at one of South Asia's most popular spiritual gurus. Tracing his rise from small village guru to global phenomenon, Karline McLain shines a spotlight on an incredibly forceful devotional movement that avoids fundamental politics and emphasizes unity, service, and peace.