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Whoever steps on the land of Shirdi, will be liberated from all the sufferings.
Whoever climbs the steps of my Samadhi, will misplace all the pain.
Even if I leave this body, I will always be there for my devotees.
Have faith in me, and my Samadhi will fulfill your wishes.
You can experience that I will always be there for you all.
Sai Baba
These are few of the promises out of all the 11 promises that Saint Sai Baba, a great, revered saint, promised to all his believers. Indeed, since decades, Shirdi has become a magical place where millions of people find contentment and presence of spiritual powers. This is because Shirdi has been graced with the presence of this great saint. Shirdi has become one of the famous tourists as well as spiritual destinations in India because devotees from all around the world come over here to visit the Samadhi Mandir Shrine and experience the eternity. This is also why it is always crowded all around the year. Let’s see what we all can explore in Shirdi.
Roads to Shirdi!
Along with the spiritually experience, it also gives travelers the opportunity to travel through the serene mountains and ghats like Malshej Ghat. The roads towards Shirdi is blessed with hundreds and thousands of devotees that pave their ways to Shirdi on their foot for may days. Except for rainy season, you will always find the group of cheerful devotees on the roads; irrespective of their gender, age and occupation. Wearing same t-shirts to mark unity, marching forward and chanting “Om Sai Ram,” singing the glories of this forgiving saint, carrying magnificent palakhis with the saint’s idol and taking breaks; they continue on their devotional journey to Shirdi. I usually travel a lot in my car, and I see these numerous devotees walking with painful and swollen legs, thirsty throats and sweaty bodies. You can also see old people struggling to walk. However, one thing that is constant is a smile on their faces. It feels like their devotion is an energy potion for them to continue on their journey. When I am in the car and see all of them, I feel like they deserve a lot of blessings than anyone else. I hope to get a chance of joining them once in my lifetime.
How do we get there?
Shirdi is a small town in the womb of the great Sahyadri plateau of Maharashtra which is also known as Western Ghats. As Shirdi has become a very famous pilgrimage site, you can find transportation from all the major cities in India. The nearest and the most convenient cities are Mumbai and Pune. Mumbai is approximately 250 km away from Shirdi, and it also has an international airport. Pune is around 185km away from Shirdi. Considering the increase in number of devotees, a new airport was inaugurated in 2017 in Shirdi itself. It is connected to the major cities in India; such as Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Indore. This has really made the travel easy for a lot of tourist. There are also some direct train options. You can also try to explore ‘The Deccan Odyssey’. You can opt for the ‘Spiritual Sahyadri’ journey. Through this you can experience being in a luxury train and cover important religious places on the Sahyadri plateau; including Trimbakeshwar (1 out of 12 jyotirlingas), Shirdi (Samadhi Mandir Shrine) and Shani Shignapur. Click here for more information on Spiritual Sahyadri.
Roadway is also recommendable. I always take my car to Shirdi. It feels really awesome to enjoy the scenery on each sides of the road and take quick detours to taste delicious fast foods. Nonetheless, the journey on foot is the best experience.
Click here to find out the precise timetable of buses, trains and airplanes to reach Shirdi.
Let’s find a place to stay!
Shirdi has vast variety of hotel options. Therefore, people from almost all socio-economic classes can visit this place. I would highly suggest pre-booking because it is always crowded, and it is tough to find a convenient accommodation quickly. If you are new to this place, and you are looking for a safe, cheap and good place to stay; then SSST has got you covered. Shri Saibaba Sansthan Trust (SSST) has total four venues of accommodation. Click here to find out the prices and amenities by SSST. You can also check other hotel option according to your preferences. Click here to find more information about it.
Food!
I would highly recommend checking the Shri Sai Prasadalaya. It is the Asia’s largest kitchen that serves approximately more that 40,000 devotees every day. This mega-kitchen runs solely on solar power. Hence, it is the second biggest solar project in Asia. With devotees offering huge amounts of donations to the temple, this is one of the richest temples in India. As a result, it serves food to thousands of people every day for free. Sai Baba always cooked food with his own hands to all the needy people, and he believed that no one should remain hungry. With a lot of miracles performed by Sai Baba, the prasadalaya depicts one of the famous miracles at the entrance of the prasadalaya in which Sai Baba uses his bare hands to stir food in the hot cooking pot. This is an amazing place and you should check this out at least once.
Please view this video to get an idea of this great kitchen.
Personally, I feel a different taste in the food. It is magical! The taste of the food is so unique that it couldn’t be recreated at home. I think that it is probably because it is made with a God’s secret recipe.
There are also plenty of other food options around the city. Considering the diverse demographics of people visiting to Shirdi, restaurants make sure to provide popular Indian food cuisines; like Punjabi, Gujrati, Rajasthani, Andra, Udupi and Maharashtrian (of course!). Also, if you get a chance, then do not miss to taste fresh and pink guava, rich red pomegranates and smoky Masala Butta (spiced fire roasted corn). Yum!
Now that we are clear on our basic necessities, let’s see what we can do after coming to Shirdi.
Places to visit!
1. Shri Sai Baba Temple complex
This is the main Samadhi Temple for which people come to visit Shirdi. For those who are not aware, Samadhi is the last stage in Hindu Yoga where the mystics unite with the divine powers.
Recently, to enter the temple complex you have to take a pass. You can obtain this pass from any Bhakti-niwas (SSST accommodation) or the temple entrance itself. In case of any special requirements, you can also opt for a V.I.P pass. There are different gates from where you can enter. Check your assigned gate number on the pass and follow the instruction. Make sure that you deposit your foot wears and electronic devices in the locker room arranged by SSST. In order to get the darshan, you have to stand in the long queues that are maintained in the huge waiting halls. It takes about 1 to 2 hours to reach the main temple through this queue which highly depends upon the crowd.
When you enter the main Garbha Griha (inner sanctum) of the temple, you can see a magnificent white marble idol of Shri Sai Baba. And right in front of the idol, you can spot the samadhi. The idol and samadhi are dressed and decorated with colorful clothes, flower garlands and gold ornaments. When you are in the main sanctum you could feel the brightness and the divine powers in the hall. The walls and the throne are all covered with gold which shines brilliantly. On either side of the idol, you can see two words in shining gold: ‘Shraddha’ and ‘Saburi’. These are the two main teachings of Sai baba in Sanskrit which translates to faith and patience, respectively. The middle passage that leads straight up to the idol is filled with bunch of rose petals. The smell of rose, holy basil (tulsi) and sandalwood (chandan) in the air soothes you. When you stand in the passage, you do not feel like moving from there. You still want to wait and capture the amazing view in your eyes.
Other than the samadhi shrine, the complex also consist of the following:
- Gurusthan
After the pleasant darshan, when you exit the samadhi temple, you can find the Gurusthan right behind it. It is under a huge neem tree. This is the holy place where Sai Baba appeared first as a young teenager. Legends suggest that Sai Baba was trying to dig a pit around the tree. When asked by villagers, he claimed that he wants to remove his Guru (mentor) from deep under the soil. The villagers believed in him and helped him to dig. Then, they all found 5 earthen lamps from the pit which is considered to symbol of Sai’s Guru.
Sai Baba used to always sit near this tree and spread teachings to his followers. Sai’s teachings were so delightful, that the bitter neem leaves on the tree turned sweet. As a result, this place is considered to be Sai baba’s living miracle.
- Staunch devotees’ Samadhi
When you move a little ahead from the Gurusthan, then at the right you can find 4 samadhis. These are the samadhis of Tatya Kote Patil, Bhau Maharaj Kumbhar, Nanavalli and Abdul Baba, the staunch followers of Sai Baba. They did all possible things in their life to serve Sai Baba.
- Lendi Baugh
Going further, you will come across a small garden called Lendi Baug. The garden was watered and nurtured by Sai Baba when he was alive. You can find a Deep Griha called as Nanda Deep. According to the believers, Nanda Deep is a constantly burning earthen lamp since decades. Right behind the Nanda Deep is a temple of Lord Dattatreya. There is also a samadhi of Sai Baba’s favorite horse named Shyamsundar. This garden also has a lovely lotus pond. It is a very beautiful garden, so do not miss to check it out.
- Temples of village deities
This is the last major spot inside the temple complex. Since olden times, every village has a specific deity, so every village has a main temple. Hence, there is a small temple with Lord Shani, Shiva and Ganapati which are the village deities of Shirdi.
2. Dwarkamai
Here comes another important place in the town of Shirdi. Dwarkamai is a mosque where Sai Baba used to live. You must be thinking, “What? She talked about a temple earlier, and now mosque!” This is the uniqueness of Sai Baba. He believed in no religion. He believed that there is only one god for everyone, and we are the people who created the distinction of Hindu, Muslim, temple and mosque. Because of his theory, you can find people from various religions; like Hindu, Muslim and Sikh; preached and offering Sai baba in their own unique way at the same time.
The Dwarkamai consist of a Dhuni, a sacred bonfire that was lit by Sai Baba. It is believed by the devotees that it is constantly burning since baba was alive. The place where Sai used to sit is highly worshiped. You can also find a wooden rod which is protected with steel bars. It is believed that baba used to always take the support of the wooden rod and lean on it.
3. Other places to visit outside temple gates.
Chavadi
Abdul Baba Cottage
House of Laxmibai Shinde
Khandoba Temple
Maruti Mandir
4. Sai Heritage Village.
This is a very recent construction. It is an amazing place to demonstrate the stories and miracles of Sai Baba to young kids through realistic idols.
5. Sai Srinath Art Gallery and Wax Museum
This is a very stunning Art Gallery. You can spot the place right next to the Shri Sai Prasadalaya. It is very easy to find this place, because it has a huge standing Sai baba’s idol at the entrance. It has some really amazing realistic idols carved in Wax.
6. Shani Shignapur
This is also a highly visited place by the devotees who come to Shirdi. Followers of Lord Shani believe that this is a very powerful place. So basically, Lord Shani is another Hindu God who symbolizes planet Saturn. Hence, he is also considered to be part of Navgraha in Hindu Astrology. One unique thing that will definitely strike you about this place is that the houses and banks in this village do not have doors at all. There are also no security guards to the banks. It is a miracle that robbery and burglary never happened in this village till date!
7. Shopping!
This is a pleasing activity for especially kids and women. You can find immense markets which consist of tiny shops tightly connected to each other in a row. From Sai baba’s photos, idols and clothes to women’s beauty accessories, you can find almost all fun things over here. Definitely check this out!
After spending so much time and doing all these above listed activities, you are surely going to be highly tired by the end of the day. My recommendation is to savor the delicious prasadam, gobble some ice cream and head back to your accommodation to rest. The on-going chantings and recitals of the great saint Sai Baba throughout the temple, Dwarkamai, prasadalaya and markets would unquestionable make a divine impression on you about Shirdi.
For more pictures of Shirdi, click here.
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Pack your bags, fasten your seat belts and get ready to ride!!😎
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