Visiting Shirdi

Shirdi is north of Mumbai and has an extensive layout of buildings associated with Shirdi Sai Baba, often called a fakir, now regarded as Saint and Holy Man in North India.

Shirdi Sai

This is a Sathya Sai Website, so we place Shirdi Sai in context with the Sai Parampara, which will consist of three divine descents (avatara). It is known that two of the three divine descents have occurred; one, at Shirdi; the other, at Puttaparthi; the third and final descent of this avatara will be revealed at Gunaparthi in the Mandaya District of Mysore.

There has been a persistent stream of revealed knowledge about the Shirdi life time by Sathya Sai Baba to satisfy his devotees that he is the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi; that is, he is Shirdi Sai, "come back" as it were. There is sufficent documented information in many books. For example, Peddubotta Ma recognised Sathya Sai as reincarnation of Shirdi Sai and has written so in her recent autobiography. Most books on Sathya Sai Baba refer to this reincarnation. The following is taken from the book GOD LIVES IN INDIA

R. K. Karanji's Questions about Shirdi incarnation

Q: At the outset, Swamiji, we would like to know something about your triple incarnation - past, present and future - that is, from Shirdi Sai Baba to Satya Sai Baba and the Prem Sai Baba to come, according to your prophecy?

BABA: First of all, you must grasp the complete oneness of the three incarnations of contemporary times with those of the past like Rama and Krishna. This is a difficult task. When people cannot understand the present, how can they comprehend the past? Every incarnation is full and complete in relation to the time, the environment and the task. There is no distinction between the various appearances of God as Rama, Krishna or Sai.

Rama came to feed the roots of Truth and Righteousness. Krishna followed to foster the plant of Peace and Love. Now these sacred principles are in danger of wholesale destruction by reason of human weakness under the onslaught of evil forces. They are overcoming the good, the spiritual and the divine in man. That is why the present Avatar has come invested with the totality of Cosmic power to save Dharma from anti-Dharma.

WHY GOD TAKES HUMAN FORM

Q: By the present Avatar, you mean Sai Baba?

BABA: Yes, I incarnate from age to age, time to time, to save Dharma from anti-Dharma. Whenever strife, discord and disharmony overwhelm the world, God incarnates in human form to show mankind the way to love, harmony and peace.

Q: That is understandable. But sceptics wonder why God should assume a human form?

BABA: Because that is the only way to incarnate the God within man. The Avatar takes the human form and behaves in a human way so that humanity can feel kinship with Divinity. At the same time he rises to godly heights so that mankind also can aspire to reach God. The realisation of the indwelling God as the motivator of life is the task for which Avatars come in human form.

Previous Avatars like Rama and Krishna had to destroy a few individuals who could be identified as enemies of the godly way of life and thus restore the dharmic path. Today, however, wickedness has tainted so many that humanity itself stands under the threat of destruction. Therefore, in my present Avatar, I have come armed with the fullness of the power of the formless God to correct mankind, raise human consciousness and put people back on the right path of Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love to Divinity.

MESSAGE OF TRIPLE INCARNATION

Q: Why had this task to be divided into three separate incarnations of the Shirdi, Satya and Prem Babas?

BABA: They are not separate. I have already mentioned the complete oneness of the three in the final objective of the mission. I will give you an example. Take a kilo of Gur. The whole of it tastes sweet. Next break it into small pieces. Each of them is sweet. Finally break it into small pieces. Each of them is sweet. Finally break them further into small grains. You find the same sweetness in them. So the difference is one of quantity and not quality. It is the same with the Avatars. Their tasks and powers requisite to them differ according to the time, the situation and the environment, but they belong to and derive from, one and the same Dharma Swarup or Divine Body.

LET us take the example of FRUIT. It begins with the SEED which grows into the TREE and from it comes FRUIT. WORK can be compared to the SEED, WORSHIP to the TREE and WISDOM to the FRUIT.

The previous Avatar, Shirdi Baba, laid the base for secular integration and gave mankind the message of Duty that is WORK. The mission of the present Avatar is to make everybody realise that since the same God or Divinity resides in everyone, people should respect, love and help each other irrespective of caste, colour or creed. Thus every WORK can become an act of WORSHIP. Finally Prem Sai, the third Avatar, shall promote the evangel that not only does God reside in everybody, but everyone himself is God. That will be the final WISDOM which will enable every man and woman to rise to be God.

Thus the three Avatars carry the triple mesage of WORK, WORSHIP and WISDOM.

Shirdi

Every activity at Shirdi revolves around the vast temple complex dedicated to Sai Baba. Devotees start queuing up in the early hours of dawn to catch a glimpse and seek the blessings of the life-size statue of Sai Baba. Thursday is marked by special pujas and darshan of the Sai Baba statue. There are other places of interest that devotees can visit as well including Dwarkamani Mosque where the Baba meditated and slept on alternate nights. Near the mosque, in a corridor is the dhani or eternal flame that burns day and night. Other places of importance are the Gurusthan, the Kandoba Temple, Shani Mandir, Narsimha Mandir, Changdev Maharaj Samadhi and the Sakori Ashram.

Getting there:

Plane
Nearest airport is Aurangabad
Train
Nearest railhead is Kopargaon, 15 Kms. on the Manmad-Daund section of central Railway.
Car and Bus
Mumbai-Shirdi,296 kms. (Mumbai-Nashik-Niphad-Yeola-Shirdi - Around 6 hours drive)
Nashik-Shirdi 112 kms.
Aurangabad-Shirdi 126 kms.(Aurangabad-Vaijapur Yeola-Kopargaon-Shirdi)
Pune-Shirdi,183 kms.(Pune-Kalamba-sangmner-Talegaon-Shirdi).
State Transport buses ply regularly from Mumbai, Nashik, Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Pune and kopargaon.
MTDC runs a bi-weekly round trip bus service to Shirdi form Mumbai.
Taxi
Prince Carriers, Mumbai 635 M. Joshi Road Dardar, Mumbai 400-014
Fax 0091 22 416-2587 Phone 4120299
email rusdin (at ) bgl.vsnl.net.in Prince Carriers are located close to the airport at Mumbai. About ten minutes away. They charge for a return trip from Bombay to Shirdi is Rs. 4000/- for a non A/C car and Rs. 5000/- for an A/C car.
Accommodation

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