Sai Baba was a saint and lived in Maharashtra making many miracles and healing the distressed. People from all over the world from all religions and ethnicities visit Shirdi Saibaba temple to take the blessings of Saibaba. Shirdi is a sacred pilgrimage for people of all religions who have faith in Saibaba. Saibaba lived like a mendicant and was a guru of people when he lived. Shirdi is located in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra.
Saibaba was born to a Brahmin couple and his biological parents didn’t take care of him. They gave him away to a fakir. Lord Sai Baba’s date of birth is still not known to anyone and there is no record of it. At the age of 16 Sai Baba came to Shirdi and started doing deep meditation under the Neem tree and did so for several days altogether without any food or water. The wife of the Chief of the village started to take care of his welfare admiring his desire to meditate and do good at such a young age.
Soon the word spread that he was a holy spirit. Sai Baba said that the tree under which he was meditating was a place where his guru had worshipped and must be left untouched. He also suggested that this tree is worshipped instead of him. Till date, nobody touches this tree. He lived in Shirdi for 3 years and left Shirdi. In 1858 he again came back to Shirdi and lived there permanently. Whatever he cooked he distributed among his devotees.
The real name of Sai Baba is not known to anyone. People did not even know where he came from or where was he born. He appeared as a wise mendicant and became the guru of people in Shirdi for as long as he stayed there.
Nobody knows which religion he belonged to. His preachings were a blend of Hindu and Islamic faith. The mosque in which he lived, he gave it a Hindu name called Dwarakamayi. He performed Hindu as well as Islamic rituals.
Sai Baba has told his devotees a few months before his death that he would be leaving his mortal body. In the month of September 1918, he had a high fever and stopped eating. He was still on his bed and asked his devotees to recite holy texts. He died on the day of Vijayadashami, Dussehra, on 15 October 1918.
The body of Sai Baba is buried in the Samadhi Mandir of Shirdi. This is also a place that people visit before visiting the Shirdi temple. This is the shrine of Sai Baba and is made in white marble. It was built on Dussehra in 1954 by Gopal Rao Booty. Inside the Samadhi Mandir, there are various Hindu deities as well.
Depending on the time you choose to visit the darshan can take between one hour to six hours. The queue is long and heavy. On an average, it takes 2-3 hours for a devotee to complete the darshan at the temple complex.
The best time to visit Shirdi is in the months of December and February. The weather is pleasant and you can tolerate the long queues during these months. Thursday is considered as the day of Shirdi Sai Baba. Thousands of devotees visit the temple on this day. Summers are very hot and it is best to avoid visiting Shirdi during the summer season between the months March and May.
05:40hrs to 22:30hrs
Shirdi Darshan is free to everyone, but if you want to skip the long queue then VIP darshan is available
Those who want to avoid long queues can opt for VIP darshan. Shirdi VIP darshan online booking is available at www.online.sai.org.in. This is an official website of Shirdi Sai trust. And you will be given access to the darshan from the Shanti gate.
Quick darshan at Shirdi as VIP darshan costs 200 INR. On Thursdays, VIP darshan tickets are not available.
The VIP tickets are also available at the gate number one.
All 3 means of transport are available to reach Shirdi, you can reach by air, by train, and by bus.
Nearest airport to Shirdi is the Aurangabad airport. This Airport is 130 km from Shirdi, from here private cab and taxi services are available at reasonable rates.
By train, you can directly reach the Sainagar Shirdi railway station which is 3 km away from Shirdi. Other nearest railways stations are Kopargaon 17 Km away from the Shirdi, Nagarsul is 50 Km away from Shirdi and Manmad-Junction is 60 Km away from the Shirdi.
You can as well take a road trip from Mumbai is you love road trips. It is well connected to most of the cities in India. State transportation is available from various cities in Maharashtra to Shirdi. Both air-conditioned and non-air conditioned buses are available on a daily basis. You can take a road trip from Aurangabad to Shirdi which is 130 km, 75 km from Nashik, 157 km from Pune, and 250 km from Mumbai.
Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir, Temple Road, Mauli Nagar, Shirdi, Maharashtra, India.
Shridi Pincode 423109
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