Shirdi Sai baba Samadhi

Sai Baba’s Samadhi Mandir is the place where sacred body of Baba is resting in Samadhi. The articles handled by Baba are sealed & displayed here in a special showroom. All rituals like Pooja, Abhishek & daily four Aartis are performed here. The Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba was actually owned by a millionaire from Nagpur and a famous Sai devotee Shreemant Gopalrao is also known as ‘Butti Wada’.

He wanted to keep an idol of Murlidhar there. According to the myths, Sai Baba manifested himself as Murlidhar and the temple became the Samadhi Mandir of Baba. It is built on some land that Baba had tended as a garden. Now that his grave is here and Baba is receiving so many devotees it seems that he is development plants of a different nature and still sowing seeds.

The Samadhi of Baba is built with white marble stones. The railings around it are full of ornamental decorations. The idol of Baba is an eye-catching statue made up of Italian marble built by Late Balaji Vasant in 1954. The temple has an assembly hall for about 600 devotees. The first floor of the temple has the pictures depicting the life of the saint.

The temple opens on 5 AM with morning prayers and close down at 10 PM with night prayers. The daily routine of the temple starts at 5 o’clock in the morning with Bhoopali, a sunup song and closes at 10 o’clock in the night after the Shejarati is sung. Only on three occasions the temple is kept open overnight on Guru Poornima, Dussahera and Ramnavmi. Every Thursday and on each festival a Palakhi with Baba’s photo is taken out from the temple. Shri Sai Baba came to Shirdi with a marriage revelation. Lord Sai baba stayed at Dwarkamai till the very end of his life. Dwarkamai is situated on the right of the entrance of Samadhi Mandir. Here Sai baba solved problems of the people, cured their sickness and worries. Before Baba’s arrival in Shridi, Dwarkamai was an old mosque in a falling down condition. Baba turned it into Dwarkamai and proved that God is one.

The first level of Dwarkamai has a sketch of Baba and a big stone on which Baba used to sit. This level has two rooms. One contains the chariot and the second a palkhi. Just in front of the room where the chariot is kept is a small temple. A saffron flag flies over it. The second level of Dwarkamai has a square stool made of stone which Baba used for taking a bath. The main attraction of this place is the oil painting of Shri Sai Baba sitting in a fixed wooden shrine. This level also has the grinding stone and the wooden vessel called Kolamba in which Baba used to keep the Bhiksha brought from the village. The work was begun around 1915. It was built in stone and was known as dagadi or stone.

The day that Baba took Mahasamadhi on Tuesday 15 October in 1918 was a very important day o for Hindus, it also happened to be the Muslim month of Ramzan. October 15 was the Hindu festival of holy Vijayadasami, a few minutes into ekadasi.

After the first aarti of the day, an abhishek (bathing of the statue with milk, water, curd and ghee etc) is performed. Devotees may sponsor the abhishek by contacting the Sansthan. Visitors may also donate cloth for Baba which will be wrapped around the statue.  All the cloth that Baba has worn is put on sale in the Sansthan shop. Many people like to buy cloth that has been blessed in this way and use it.

Aarti is held four times a day at Baba’s Samadhi at 4.30 am at noon, sunset around 6.30 and at 10.30 p.m. A bell resounds throughout the village a few minutes before the noon and sunset aarti and at four o’clock in the morning. The [Read more…]