Uddhau Madhava rao deshpande

Inshirdi itself by some good fortune one was able to meet a 90 year old devotees of Baba who said Baba played marbles with him when he was a boy of eight . He is Uddhau Madhava rao deshpande , Don of deshpande alias shama , an intimate devotee of Baba . His name has appeared frequently in this chronicle. Udhau Madhava Rao identified himself As the small boy with a cap on and holding a sceptere in his hand in the Photograph of Baba with his devotees taken on his way to the chavadi. In the picture where baba is seen clutching his kufni with his left hand and a royal umbrella held over his head he is flanked on either side by two children and the child to his rtight is Deshapnde's Son . Udhau Madhava rao , who lives in the same house occupied by his father , was too old and feeble to talk much but he was anxious to let the visitor know of his intimate contacts with Baba who had visited his house only once. That was when his father was bitten by snake. Baba had then come and applied udhi on the affected part and asked Shama , as he affectionally called him to come to the mosque the next day for arati. He said their house was no near the mosque that when his mother shouted at home baba could hear her.

Prayers Sung By the Congregation

" Thou art my mother, thou art my father
Thou art my brother, thou art my friend
Thou art knowledge, thou art the embodiment
Of love and tenderness
Thou art everything , my Lord, my Lord.
My body, my speech, my mind and all my senses
my innate being-all these i offer to you , Narayana

" All those who meditate on you diligently have
Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth , dwelling in their homes
Day and night uninterruptedly
You also protect them and remove all their difficulties
such art thou Baba.

" I bow down to the Lord sadguru Sainath
who is truth incarnate and always rootes in consciousness
And bliss, the lord who is the cause for the creation,
Existence, destruction of the world and who has come to
this
World in a human from the sake of his own devotees.

" Sai is the avatar of Raghav (Rama) the Lord
Who fulfils the desires of his devotees for the
Purification of their infatuated and deluded hearts
And minds -to whom I pray , day and night
Untiringly and Blissfully.

"Sainath! You are my God whom i worship
I extol your praises. Let my mind dwell lovingly
On your lotus feet just as the Bee hovers over the
Lotus flowers enticed by the desire for honey

SHIRDI Today

A Visit to shirdi was an exciting , spiritual experience , the memory of which will last a life time . From the moment one got down at Kopargaon railway station and took a taxi to Shirdi ,18 kilometers away ,one was consumed with anticipation and a feeling of exhilaration that one would very soon set foot on the sacred soil of shirdi ; one would charmed and ennobled the lives of thousands of devotees far and near for over a decade and continues to do so even after he shed his mortal coil 76 years ago.
To one who was familiar with Sai Baba;s life and the times in which he lived , Kopargaon was an important name with which was associated many incidents connected with Sai Baba and his devotees. If ine remembers Sai Baba one has to remember Kopargaon too, for it was there that the devotees came first on their way to shirdi . It has been the scene of some of the Baba;s Miracles. It was also the Place Where for some time the station staff was antagonistic to Baba and tried to dissuade people from visiting Shirdi. But they could not stop the flood of pilgrims to shirdi and realised their mistake much later.

Samadhi Mandir

The Most important Building in the complex is the Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir. It was Originally Built by a Nagpur millionare,a devotee of Baba, Bapusaheb Buti, and was called Buti Wada. Sai Baba's Body was interred in the site reserved by buti to build a krishna temple and Baba's Samadhi has come upto here.The Samadhi Has been Built with white Marble Stone. Around The Samadhi railing one can see ornamental decoration. In front of the samadhi are two pillars with decorative designs in silver.
Also in front are two marble padukas of baba and the brick which was broken and led to Baba predecting his death, is kept near the samadhi. Just behind the samadhi is Baba's Statue ,made of italian marble. It shows him seated on a throne with his right leg thrown on the left in the familiar posture which thousands of devotees all over the country know and worship . The statue was made by late Balaji Vasant alias babusaheb Talim who made it out of a sheer sense of gratitude. The idol statue was installed on october 7, 1954 by swami saisharanand, an ardent devotee from Ahmedabad.
Raghupati Raghav Rajaram
Patita Pawan sainam
On the high ceiling Behind the statue is also the inscription:
Sachidananda Sat Guru Sai Maharaj Ki Jai.

Shirdi Prayer

The Prayers To Baba in The early morning arati are intended to wake him up and seek his darshan." With folded hands I lay my head at your feet , oh Sadgurunatha please listen to my entreaty " says the devotee in his prayer . "Irrespective of feelings i have come to you ,please look at me mercifully ,Sadgururaya.Since I desire to be your feet always ,give me shelter , leaving aside all reservations.
The devotee then asked Baba To wake up ."Arise Panduranga (Vithal of Pandharpur) ,it is now dawn . Vishnu's devotees have gathered in large numbers on the grand para (eagle-shaped platform found in vaishnavi temples ). Arise .Arise, Shri Sainath Guru , Show us your lotus feet .
"Tide over and relieve us of all mental tensions, physical tribulations And temporal problems and save us all.
"Oh, Lord Sainath maharaj, You are the sun that destroys the darkness of ignorance of this world . How ignorant we are! We have no words to describe your greatness . Even the great poets are exhausted in their attempt To describe it. Mercifully, Therefore ,give us the ability yourself to sing of your greatness.
"The faithful devotees who follow you with good intentions and feelings to have your darshan are waiting to your doors. We are filled with content to see you in deep meditation but we are eager to drink from you the nectar of your teachings .
"Open your lotus eyes , lord of the poor and the destitute, Lord ramakantha (VIshnu) and look at us mercifully as a mother looks at her child .Your amusing sayings in a sweat voice take away all our sufferings, sainatha.