Sri Shirdi Sai Baba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sai_Baba_of_Shirdi

Sai Baba of Shirdi (Unknown – October 15, 1918), also known as Shirdi ke Sai Baba (हिन्दी: शिर्डी के श्री साई बाबाBengali: শ্রী সাঁইবাবা, Marathi: शिर्डीचे श्री साईबाबा, Telugu: శిరిడి సాయిబాబా, Kannada: ಶಿರಡಿ ಸಾಯಿ ಬಾಬಾ,Malayalam: ഷിര്‌ദ്ദി സായി ബാബ, Tamil: ஷீரடி சாயி பாபா, Urdu: شردی سائیں بابا‎), was an Indian guru, yogi, and fakir who is regarded by his devotees as a saint. Many devotees — including Hemadpant, who wrote the famous Shri Sai Satcharitra — consider him an incarnation of Lord Krishna[1] while other devotees consider him as an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. Many devotees believe that he was a Satguru. No verifiable information is available regarding Sai Baba's birth and place of birth.
Sai Baba's real name is unknown. The name "Sai" was given to him upon his arrival at Shirdi, a town in the west Indian state of Maharashtra. Mahalsapati, a local temple priest, recognized him as a Muslim saint and greeted him with the words 'Ya Sai!', meaning 'Welcome Sai!'. Sai or Sayi is a Persian title given to Sufi saints, meaning 'poor one'.[2] The honorific "Baba" means "father; grandfather; old man; sir" in Indo-Aryan languages. Thus Sai Baba denotes "holy father", "saintly father" or "poor old man".[3] However, Sāī may also refer to the Sanskrit term "Sakshat Eshwar" or the divine.
Sai Baba remains a very popular saint,[4] especially in India, and is worshiped by people around the world. He had no love for perishable things and his sole concern was self-realization. He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and guru. Sai Baba's teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam: He gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque he lived in,[5] practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions, and was buried in Shirdi. One of his well known epigrams, "Sabka Malik Ek " ("One God governs all"), is associated with Islam and Sufism. He always uttered "Allah Malik" ("God is King").[6]
Some of Sai Baba's disciples became famous as spiritual figures and saints, such as Mahalsapati, a priest of the Khandoba temple in Shirdi, and Upasni Maharaj. He was revered by other saints, such as Saint Bidkar Maharaj, Saint Gangagir, Saint Janakidas Maharaj, and Sati Godavari Mataji.[7][8] Sai Baba referred to several saints as 'my brothers', especially the disciples of Swami Samartha of Akkalkot.[8] Meher Baba considered Sai Baba as one of the Five Perfect Masters of his age and had received Sai Baba's blessing in his own spiritual journey.

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INDEX : Religion  November 27, 2015 01:13:45 PM

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