Shirdi Sai Baba
शिरडी साईं बाबाశ్రీ షిర్డీ సాయిబాబాஷிர்டி சாய்பாபா
Also known as: Shirdi Sai · Sainath · Sai Maharaj
Shirdi Sai Baba was a saint who lived in the village of Shirdi in Maharashtra from the 1850s until his death in 1918, and both Hindus and Muslims revere him. Devotees remember his call for shraddha and saburi, faith and patience, and sing his aartis on Thursdays, his day.
- Day of worship
- Thursday
Texts for Shirdi Sai Baba
Aarti 3
- Aarti Sai Baba 5 min Aarti Sai Baba is the Shirdi Sai Baba aarti that most devotees know. It was written in Marathi by his devotee Madhavrao Adkar around 1903. It has a refrain and seven short stanzas, and at Shirdi it is sung at the noon (Madhyan) and sunset (Dhoop) aartis. Families and Sai temples abroad sing it on Thursdays, the day the aarti itself names. 8 verses · Madhavrao Vamanrao Adkar (1877–1955), who names himself in the last stanza
- Kakad Aarti Karito Sainath Deva 5 min Kakad Aarti Karito is the song that gives the Shirdi morning aarti its name. Its refrain and three stanzas, written in Marathi by K. J. Bhishma, turn the morning lamp into a picture of the inner life: the wick is made of our faults, the ghee is detachment and the flame is devotion to the Guru. It is sung before dawn at Shirdi and in Sai temples that keep the Kakad aarti. 4 verses · Krishnashastri Jageshwar Bhishma (1854–1935), devotee of Sai Baba and compiler of the Shirdi aarti book
- Shej Aarti: Jai Jai Sainath 5 min Jai Jai Sainath is the main song of the Shej aarti, the night aarti with which Shirdi closes each day. Written in Marathi by K. J. Bhishma, its refrain and three stanzas ask Baba to lie down and rest, thank him for carrying his devotees' troubles, and promise to come back in the morning. It is sung at 10 PM at Shirdi and at the last aarti in many Sai temples. 4 verses · Krishnashastri Jageshwar Bhishma (1854–1935), devotee of Sai Baba and compiler of the Shirdi aarti book
The story
Nobody knows for certain where Sai Baba was born or what his first name was. The traditional account says he came to Shirdi as a young man, left for a while, and returned around 1858 with a wedding party. The temple priest greeted him with "Ya Sai", "welcome, saint", and the name stayed. He made an old, half-ruined mosque his home, called it Dwarkamai, and kept a fire, the dhuni, burning there. He begged for his food in the village and gave its ash, udi, to the people who came to him.
He dressed like a Muslim fakir and spoke of Allah, and he also let Hindu devotees worship him with aarti. People of both faiths came to him and still do. His sayings were short: Allah Malik, "God is the master", and shraddha and saburi, faith and patience. Devotees tell many stories of his help, and they believe he still answers those who call on him. The best-known account of his life is the Shri Sai Satcharita, written in Marathi by his devotee Hemadpant.
Sai Baba died on 15 October 1918, on Vijayadashami. He was laid to rest in a stone building in Shirdi that is now the Samadhi Mandir. The Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust looks after it and holds four aartis there every day, from Kakad aarti before dawn to Shej aarti at night.