Shirdi Sai Baba Temple
The temple of Sai Baba was built near that tree in 1922. Shirdi Sai Baba Temple is located in Shirdi which is 296 Kilometers from Mumbai (Maharashtra) in India. Shirdi is known as “Land Of Sai”. It is closely and highly connected to Ahmednagar city. Sai Baba used to do meditation under a tree of neem and he was died under that tree. Shirdi Sai Baba was and is the true and tangible belief of people. Both of his Muslim and Hindu devotees esteemed him with a deep soul. He is the most popular saint of India. People of all over the world worship him with a true faith. Perishable things were not the part of his divine love. His spirit is mostly concentrated on self-realization. A moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and guru were taught by him. His teachings followed the path which covers up the characteristics of both the Hinduism and Islam. His sayings are:
- Allah Malik Ek-means one god governs all
- Trust in me and your prayer shall be answered
- Allah Malik– means god is king
Getting There
One can reach Shirdi sai baba Temple by mean of three modes: road, rail and air. There is abus network from all major destinations of Maharastra.The important railway station near Shirdi is Daund-Manmad Line and Manmad. The airport which is near to Shirdi is at Nasik, Pune and Mumbai. People can reach the shrine by mean of local transport.
Security And Some Tips
The security arrangements are good at this temple. So many CCTV cameras are installed within the temple premises. The private security guards which are employed here are 730 in number for the purpose of crowd management. Yatris should not carry cash and ornaments with them. Yatris should also place their luggage at safe and secure place.
When to Visit
The best time to visit this shrine is during the month of September to April. The timings of the temple are 5:30 AM to 10 PM. People from distant places flocked towards Shirdi to visit the temple for getting mental peace.
What To See And Do
The temple consists of an assembly hall comprises near about 600 devotees. The first floor of the temple consists of the paintings of the saint which reveals his life story. The Sai Baba Temple complex comprises:
- The Khandoba temple: the place where baba has gained the title of Sai
- Gurusthan: the place where he spend a large part of his time under neem tree
- Dwarkamai- a mosque i.e. a dwelling place of baba
- Chavadi- the place where baba used to spend his alternate nights
- Lendi Garden- The place which holds Nanda deep set up between a neem and a bodhi tree planted by baba himself. The lamp-Nand Deep has never been extinguished.
The deity of Sai Baba is the stunning figure made up of Italian marble. Darshan of Sai baba is the most delightful and divine achievement of the devotees. The starting of the day takes place by morning aarti which is held at 5:30 am daily. After that the holy bath is carried out. At temple entrance devotees use to make queues since 4 am so as to have regular Darshan starting at 7am. The Sai Baba temple complex consists of four gates and the queue for the darshan starts at gates 2 & 3. The closing time of gate is 10 pm after the night aarti.
The temple does not accept cooked food from outside as an offering. Following items are offered to make the parshad of the temple and also to participate in the temple services:
- Clothes (Dress) for Baba: The holy bathing of baba use to take place daily and for that dresses are offered.
- Flowers: After holy bathing and changing of clothes garlands of fresh flowers is offered to Baba daily. The number of garlands that are offered daily is about eight to ten.
- Fruits: The offerings of fruits use to take place during whole of the day at the time of worship.
- Oil: The oil lamp which burns all the time in the temple use to get lighted by Sesame oil.
- Naivedya: It is offered thrice daily to Baba and is made inside the temple itself.
Where To Stay:
There are many dharamshalas in shirdi for having stay at economical price. They are: Gobind Dham, Shri SAI Dham, Shri Sainivas Mega Dharmasala and Gobind Dham. The rooms in these people are big enough for providing space for about 10 people.
Where Else To Stay
There are so many hotels in Shirdi which provide luxury and they are meant for rich people. These hotels are: Hotel Sai Mahal, Veer Sai Hotel, Sun-N-Sand, Marigold Regency, Matrix Inn, Keys Hotel Temple Tree and Hotel Sai Leela
Festivals
Lakhs of people are gathered in the temple premises to celebrate the festivals. People use to do puja and chant bahjans during these festivals. The festivals which are celebrated here are Guru Purnima (celebrated during the month of July), Ramnavami (celebrated during the month of March-April) and Vijayadashami (celebrated during the month of September).
Side Trips
There are many fascinating places to visit near Shirdi. These places are: Muktidham, Kalaram Temple, Shanishinganapur, Ellora Caves, Daulatabad, Shanishinganapur, Coin Museum, Pandavleni Caves and Ramkund.
Travel Tips
Yatris should take a personal diary with them in order to have a written record of the whole visit. Yatris should also hire a tourist guide to have the complete knowledge of the temple including its history. They should also take first aid in order to cure frequent injury.
Hence, devotees use to get mental peace and purity of soul at this temple.