The Sai Baba who is also popularly known as Shirdi Sai Baba is a saint who is worshiped by large number of devotees from all caste and religions across the globe. There are large number of stories which are associated with Sai Baba and his miracles. Though he is very popular all over the globe but people in India have enhanced faith in Sai Baba.
The life and teachings of Shri Sai Baba are very well documented in the Sai Satcharitra which is written by Shri Hemadpant in Marathi and this was blessed personally by the Sai Baba. It is believed that the name Sai Baba is a combination of Indian and Persian origin where the word Sai is from Indian Origin meaning “ Sakshat Ishwar†and the word Baba as used in Indo Aryan Languages means “ Father, Sir or Grandfatherâ€. Thus we can say that Sai Baba denotes Saintly Father or Holy Father.
The details regarding the birth and the life of Sai Baba before the age of 16 are vague and has thus lead to various speculations with regards to his origin. Sai Baba lived in a mosque which was called Dwarkamayi and through his life and teachings he tried to reconcile the Islam and Hinduism.
Sai Baba practised Hindu as well as Muslim rituals and he used the figures and the words which were inspired by both the traditions. Sai Baba was buried in a Hindu Temple located in Shirdi.
There was no love for perishable things by Sai Baba and his sole concern was in self realization. Sai Baba’s popular epigrams stated that : God is “ Sabka Malik Ek†which had its roots in the Islam, Sufism and Bhagwad Gita.