Sai Baba of Shirdi was one of the Self realized souls of our time. Meher Baba called Him Qutub-i-Irshad, or the First amongst the Masters. A Perfect one is always beyond the finite barriers of religion. The consciousness of the Self is perfectly beyond any notion of caste, creed or religion. Even if it is still a matter of discovery if Sai Baba was born a Muslim or a Hindu, it hardly matters for the spiritual status He enjoyed.
Ramnavami : March/April
Guru Purnima : July
Shirdi Vijayadashmi (Sri Sai Punyatithi) October
Festivals are great time to visit Shirdi of Saibaba. There are three major festivals that are held in Shirdi attracting thousands of devotees from across the world. The three major festivals celebrated at Shirdi are Ramnavami, Guru Purnima and Shirdi Vijayadashmi. All these festivals are celebrated all across India with equal zest and excitement but at Shirdi they have some other significance. All these festivals have their special distinction to them in the way they are celebrated in the other parts of India. The distinction is the association of Saibaba himself which add to these festivals all new and exciting verve to them.
Shri Saibaba of Shirdi lived between 1838 and 1918, whose real name, birthplace and date of birth are not known. An Indian spiritual guru and a fakir that transcended the barriers of religions, Saibaba of Shirdi was regarded with great reverence by both Hindu and Muslim followers. He lived in a mosque and after death his body was cremated in a temple.
Monsoons : June to August
Ramnavami : March/April
Guru Purnima : July
Vijayadashmi (Sri Sai Punyatithi) : October
There was a village named Jambavavi, now in the State of Maharashtra, under the rule of a Nizam in those days. In this village, there was a pious Brahmin named Keshava Rao and his wife. Both were devotees of Venkateswara Lord at Tirupathi. As they had no children, they always used to pray to the Lord to bless them with a child. One night, the Lord appeared to Keshava Rao in a dream and told him that one Ramanand Yogi of Kashi would be born as their son shortly. After this Keshava Rao’s wife became pregnant. He used to read the holy scriptures to his wife and explain them in detail. This was an exercise undertaken by him to impart jnana to the child who was in the womb of his wife. His wife gave birth to a male child on an auspicious day. The parents named him Gopal Rao, and imparted several types of education.