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Sai Baba of Shirdi: the fakir revered by Hindus and Muslims
साईं बाबा
Sai Baba of Shirdi (c. 1838–1918) was a fakir, a wandering holy man, who spent some sixty years in the village of Shirdi in Maharashtra and was revered in his lifetime by Hindus and Muslims alike. Nobody knows where he was born, what his real name was or which faith he was born into, and he refused to settle the question. Today his portrait hangs in taxis, shops and homes across India, and Shirdi, where he is buried, is one of the country's busiest places of pilgrimage.
Story
No one knows whether he was born Hindu or Muslim; he lived in a ruined mosque he called Dwarkamai, kept a fire that still burns, and gave its ash as medicine. Shirdi today draws more pilgrims than most temples of the gods.
His life: what is known
Most of what is known comes from the Shri Sai Satcharita, a Marathi life written by his devotee G. R. Dabholkar shortly after his death; independent records are few. He first appeared in Shirdi, in today's Ahmednagar district, as a youth of about sixteen, sitting in meditation under a neem tree, indifferent to heat and cold. He left, and around 1858 came back for good. The priest of the local Khandoba temple, Mahalsapati, greeted him as "Sai", a word for a holy mendicant, and Baba, "father", was added: Sai Baba. His birth name is unknown.
He dressed as a Sufi fakir, in a long kafni robe and a cloth tied round his head, and after years under the tree moved into a dilapidated mosque, which he gave a Hindu name, Dwarkamai. There he begged for his food, kept a dhuni, a sacred fire, burning, and gave its ash, udi, to visitors and the sick. From about 1910 his fame spread to Mumbai and crowds began to come. He died in Shirdi on 15 October 1918, on the day of Vijayadashami, and was buried in a stone house, Buti Wada, which became the Samadhi Mandir.
What he taught, and what devotees believe
When pressed about his own religion, he would not choose. He spoke of Rama and Krishna and quoted the Gita to Hindus, spoke of Allah and quoted Persian verse to Muslims, told Hindus to read the Ramayana and the Bhagavad Gita and Muslims the Qur'an, and condemned discrimination by religion or caste. His moral teaching was plain: love, forgiveness, charity, contentment, and two virtues above all, shraddha (faith) and saburi (patience). A verse sung at the midday aarti in Shirdi still says that between Hindu and Muslim there is no difference.
For his devotees he is much more than a teacher. The Shirdi trust's own site says he is worshipped as God incarnate, and the Satcharita records Hindu devotees who saw in him an incarnation of Dattatreya. Devotees tell of healings through his udi, of lives saved and wishes granted, and many believe he still answers those who call on him; these accounts belong to faith and are recorded as such.
✅ Symbols and images
Unlike the gods, he was photographed, so most images follow a few real photographs.
- Kafni and head cloth — The plain robe and cloth of a Sufi fakir; in temples the marble image wears a gold crown and royal cloth instead.
- Dhuni and udi — The fire he kept in Dwarkamai, which devotees say still burns, and its ash, given out to pilgrims as a blessing.
- Neem tree — Where he sat as a young man on first coming to Shirdi.
- Thursday — His day: every Thursday his palanquin is carried from the Samadhi Mandir to Dwarkamai and the Chavadi and back.
- Om Sai Ram — Not so much a mantra as the greeting of his devotees.
Shirdi and Sai Baba temples
Shirdi is a small town built around one man's grave; everything worth seeing is within a short walk.
Samadhi Mandir
The main temple over his tomb, with the Italian-marble image, run by the Shree Saibaba Sansthan Trust. About 25,000 people come on an average day and up to 100,000 at festivals. Four aartis a day, from Kakad Aarti before dawn to Shej Aarti at night; darshan passes are booked online on the trust's site, which warns that it authorises no agents. Meals at the trust's Prasadalaya are free to all.
Dwarkamai and Chavadi
The old mosque where he lived and kept his fire, and the Chavadi, the village hall; both lie on the Thursday procession route.
Lendi Baug
The garden he is believed to have tended, named after the Lendi stream that once ran beside it.
Across India
Sai temples are found across India and abroad; he is especially revered in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Gujarat.
Festivals
Shirdi keeps three great festivals: Ram Navami in March or April, Guru Purnima in July, and Vijayadashami, the last day of [Dussehra](/en/festivals/dussehra/), which is also the anniversary of his death, the Punyatithi. On these days there are palanquin and chariot processions, public readings and bhajans, and the Samadhi Mandir stays open all night on one of them. In 2026 the Punyatithi festival runs from 19 to 21 October.
❓ FAQ
Who is Sai Baba of Shirdi?
A fakir and spiritual master who lived in Shirdi, Maharashtra, from about 1858 until his death in 1918, revered by both Hindus and Muslims. Many devotees worship him as God incarnate.
What are Sai Baba's teachings?
Love, forgiveness, charity and contentment, no discrimination by religion or caste, and two virtues above all: shraddha (faith) and saburi (patience).
What was Sai Baba's real name?
Unknown. "Sai" was the name the priest Mahalsapati gave him on his return to Shirdi around 1858, and "Baba" means father.
Who is the current Sai Baba?
There is none: Sai Baba of Shirdi died in 1918. Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthi (1926–2011), a different and separately followed figure, claimed to be his reincarnation.
Where is Shirdi?
In Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, in western India. The town has grown around the Samadhi Mandir.
What is the Sai Baba mantra?
"Om Sai Ram", the greeting of his devotees, also repeated as a prayer. In Shirdi itself, aarti is sung four times a day.