Sai Baba

It is unclear when Sai Baba was born, his real name or who his parents were. He arrived one day in 1872 at Shirdi in Maharashtra, dressed like a fakir (Muslim ascetic). He lived in a dilapidated mosque but spoke of a Hindu guru called Venkusa. Well acquainted with Hindi scriptures, he also quoted from the Quran. The word Sai is Persian meaning 'saint' and Baba is Hindi meaning 'father'. As his name would indicate, Sai Baba has both Hindu and Muslim disciples. He did not approve of conversion and believed that everyone had a right to follow his own path to God.

Everything known about his beliefs is deduced from his actions. He was not given to theorising. He died in 1918. Even during his lifetime he had become famous, and now, after his death, Shirdi (where he had lived for almost half a century) has become a place of pilgrimage visited by hundreds of devotees every year.

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