Baba reportedly arrived at the village of Shirdi in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, India, when he was about 16 years old. It is known that he spent considerable periods with fakirs, and his attire resembled that of a Muslim fakir. Various communities have claimed that he belongs to them, but nothing has been substantiated. [Įarly yearsHistorians and devotees agree that there is no reliable evidence for a particular birthplace or date of birth. Some of his disciples became famous as spiritual figures and saints, such as Upasni Maharaj, Saint Bidkar Maharaj, Saint Gangagir, Saint Jankidas Maharaj, and Sati Godavari Mataji. Sai Baba is revered by several notable Hindu and Sufi religious leaders. According to Purdom, when Kulkarni Maharaj requested Upasni Maharaj to pay a visit to Sai Baba, Upasni replied 'Why should I go to a Muslim?' A mosque still stands in Shirdi, a place in which he once lived and continued to visit regularly. Though the debate over his Hindu or Muslim origins continues, many of his practices point more to his being a Muslim : believing in the unity of God, reciting Al-Fatiha and other Qur'anic readings at Muslim festival times, listening to hamds and qawwali twice daily, practicing Salah (Namaz), wearing clothing reminiscent of a Sufi fakir, eating meat, and abstaining from alcohol. He always uttered ' Allah Malik' ('God is King'). One of his well known epigrams, ' Sabka Malik Ek ' ('One God governs all'), is associated with both the Bhagavad-Gita and Sufism. Sai Baba's teaching combined elements of Hinduism and Islam: he gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque he lived in, practiced Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions, and was buried in a Hindu temple in Shirdi. He taught a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace, and devotion to God and guru. He remains a very popular saint, and is worshipped by people around the world. Sai Baba had no love for perishable things and his sole concern was self-realization. His parentage, birth details, and life before the age of sixteen are obscure, which has led to speculation about his origins. Thus Sai Baba denotes 'holy father' or 'saintly father'. The honorific 'Baba' means 'father grandfather old man sir' in Indo-Aryan languages. Sāī is of Sanskrit origin, meaning 'Sakshat Eshwar' or the divine. He is a well-known figure in many parts of the world, but especially in India, where he is much revered. Many devotees believe that he was a Sadguru, an enlightened Sufi Pir ( Urdu: پیر), or a Qutub. Hindu devotees consider him an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. Sai Baba of Shirdi (Septem – October 15, 1918), also known as Shirdi Sai Baba ( Marathi: शिर्डीचे श्री साईबाबा, Urdu: شردی سائیں بابا), was an Indian guru, yogi, and fakir who is regarded by his Hindu and Muslim devotees as a saint.

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