This explained the sense of non-attachment to worldly things. Dakshina Sai Baba would demand ‘Dakshina’ or alms from those who visited him. Udi taught the devotees discrimination or vivek. Through this example Sai Baba wished to make his devotees understand the sense of discrimination between the unreal and the real. Explaining the meaning of life He would refer to Udi and taught that like Udi all the visible phenomena in the world are transient. Sai Baba’s Teachings through ‘Udi’ and ‘Dakshina’ Udi’ or the sacred ash was produced from the perpetual fire called ‘dhuni’ lit by Sai Baba in Dwarkamai at Shirdi. He asked for complete surrender to the ‘Guru’. Pointing to his physical frame, “This body is my house. For Him Guru was the profound base of the path of devotion. Sai Baba put Guru on a high pedestal of reverence. Baba often told His devotees, ‘Never turn away anybody from your door, be it a human being or animal’. Himself an epitome of compassion and love, Sai Baba taught compassion among his disciples. Therefore, Baba cautioned His devotees not to make austerity as an end itself, lest they should indulge in physical mortification. Many authors and scholars conclude from various proofs that Baba was born in 1838 in a Brahmin family at village Pathri in. Like most of the perfect saints he left no authentic record of his birth and early life before arriving at Shirdi.
No amount of physical and external cleansing would serve any purpose if the man remained impure in mind and heart. Sai Baba, a personification of spiritual perfection and an epitome of compassion, lived for sixty years. This quality must be ingrained in a seeker from day one, least he looses his stride and leaves the path half way Purityįor Sai Baba it was not the purity of the body but inner purity that mattered. Saburi is a quality needed throughout the path to reach the goal. ‘Saburi’ means patience and perseverance. Baba reiterates the spiritual guidance of Shri Krishna to Arjun – “Whosoever offer to Me with love or devotion, a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water, that offering of pure love is readily accepted by Me”. Baba’s teaching, both direct and indirect explicate the significance of ‘Shraddha’. According to Sai Baba of Shirdi, steadfast love in God is the gateway to eternity. Such faith or trust is generated out of conviction, which may not be the result of any rational belief or intellectual wisdom, but a spiritual inspiration. ‘Shraddha’ is a Sanskrit word, which roughly means faith with love and reverence.