Another Spiritual journey- to meet Shirdi Sai Baba
Am back....with musings on another spiritual trip.
I just started reading Paul Coelho's book titled 'The Winner Stands alone". Well...the blog is not about the book but he did say some interesting lines which did make me ponder on the deeper meanings of life and the value systems that we grow up with. He says that we live in a culture that has privileged fame, money and power. We are led to believe that those are the only values which are worth pursuing". How true!!! I guess that there are few lessons that are taught today which also encourages mankind to imbibe spiritual values in people. Being human is to be spiritual. The values of truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence are found in all major spiritual paths. These spiritual values are also human values and are the fundamental roots of a healthy, vibrant, and viable life.
Well...the trips to holy places rejuvenates self and gives more confidence in facing life's challenges. In Hindu religion, we don't really have any binding rules that every individual has to visit a temple in order to perform their worship. But it's a great place to go when you want to revitalize your spiritual energies.
Baba's abode
Shirdi Sai temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba. It was established in 1922 to carry out the services of Shri Sai Baba.Shirdi is located approximately 296 Kilometres from Mumbai (Bombay) City in India. At age of 16 yrs Shri Saibaba arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and remained their till his death.
Shri Sai baba of Shirdi lived between 1838 and 1918. His real name, birthplace and date of birth are not known. An Indian spiritual guru and a fakir ,Shri Shirdi Sai baba in Shirdi was regarded with great reverence by both Hindu and Muslim followers. Lord Sai lived in a mosque and after death his body was cremated in a temple.Baba's philosophy ingrained 'Shraddha' meaning faith and 'Saburi' meaning compassion. According to Baba, 'Shraddha' and 'Saburi' were the supreme attributes to reach the state of godliness. "Baba" was no ordinary person but a person with extraordinary godly powers. Such powers are not known or present in normal human beings. Baba preached his principle of love and faith in humanity to all his disciples. The miracles which manifested through Sai Baba were just such as were needed to create faith in the people and to make his devotees ethically and spiritually better evolved. Baba did not purposefully perform miracles to show his powers.
My emotional connection with 'baba' began during my school years. Once, while i walking towards my school, i found a ring. It had 'Sai' etched on the front and was a great fit on my fingers. As is the habit of kids, I kept that ring. I always used to stare at my ring and wonder as to when I'd get to go to Shirdi as i had never been there. I still don't know how, but one fine day, the ring disappeared. I searched for it in all the places that i could think of but i couldn't find it. Strangely, a year after that, I got an opportunity to visit Shirdi. This is a trivia that is connected with Shirdi visits. You can only visit Shirdi when baba invites you. So wait for his summons :)
Shirdi by car- We drove to Shirdi. It's a pleasant journey. The roads are decent. Shirdi is well connected by Road with Mumbai via Nashik-Sinnar and Manmad. You can get the taxis from Dadar-Mumbai(Journey Time-7 hours) up to Shirdi or you can get the Luxury Coach for Shirdi or take a train up to Nasik and take a taxi for Shirdi.
There are stopovers at the highway where you can get good food and water. Do stop at the sugarcane juice stalls that you will find on your way. The simple villagers are not big on cleanliness. Just check on whether the glass is being washed properly. The juice is just yum and good value for money.
Hotels in Shirdi- We left on Saturday morning and reached Shirdi by 12.There are plenty of hotels in Shirdi and you can choose an appropriate one, based on your budget and requirements. You will be spoilt for choices. This time, we chose a Hotel which was somewhat in the interior. The hotel staff were very friendly. They provided pickup and drops to the temple. The hotel was newly built. So the rooms were well maintained. The room service was a bit sad compared to other place. But i guess they have just started. So these issues can crop up due to lack of trained staff. We ordered some food via room service. It was very sad. Not recommended!!! There are places like Rajdhani and other little hotels which may serve better food than what we ate. Anyways, the aim was not eating. It was to go and see Baba and pay our respects.
Temple timings- Sai temple at Shirdi opens for devotees at 5.15 a.m. (0515 hrs) with Kakad Aarti and remains open till the end of Shej aarti at 11.15 pm.
Baba's darshan- We went for darshan (worship) during the afternoon times. Around 3 pm is an ideal time to stand in the line. The queue is very very long. So it's preferable to go to the temple as early as possible. We didn't have any intention of buying flowers and the pooja thali as offerings. I had some money that i needed to put in the hundi. (offering box). The queues are considerably well organised. There are vendors within the temple who serve water and some snacks that you can purchase. It's a good thing as kids are kept busy because of this. The temple interiors are constantly cleaned by the staff but it's really very difficult to keep it spic and span as there are lakhs of people who visit the temple in a single day and the flowers and other offerings do get dropped on the floor, along with other stuff like plastic wrappings and paper etc.Once the queue reaches the interior, there is chaos. People push and jostle each other to get to the main sanctum where Baba's idol and Samadhi are housed. My sister and me allowed most of those who were in a hurry to reach the sanctum to go ahead as we were tired of getting pushed here and there. At some point of time, I got very angry and decided that i had enough of this crowd. So i ensured that I didn't get pushed. I yelled at a guy who was trying to ask us to hurry. I don't get this. The aim is to reach near the idol, pray and move. So what is this hurry all about? It's not like baba is going anywhere. I just can't understand our queue culture. To be frank, we don't have one. When you have millions of people, I guess it's difficult to think of anyone else but one's own well being. Seriously...people have to learn to be more patient while visiting crowded places.
Inner Sanctum- We reached the inner sanctum. To be honest, I put the money in the hundi, made a quick prayer to baba and moved on. I was very tired by then and wanted to get out of the temple as soon as possible. I told baba that there are others who had bigger problems to share with him which explains as to why they were pushing and jostling to get ahead. I am pretty contented in life apart from a problem or two here. So why take too much of baba's time? After this, we went to stand in another queue to buy some prasad. That was a totally disorganised queue. My brother in law got into an argument with a woman who broke the queue. There was only one man manning the prasad window. Considering the crowds, i think that the temple staff need to think of adding more folks to do the distribution tasks.
Sometimes, I think that the best option is to pray at your home. At least, there's peace and quiet and your mind is calm while you say your prayers. But then again, it's the selfish desire to see Baba at his abode which keeps you going despite all the inconveniences.
Dwarkamai- You can also visit Dwarkamai which is located near the temple.Lord Sai baba stayed at Dwarkamai till the very end of his life. Dwarkamai is situated on the right of the entrance of Samadhi Mandir. Here god sai baba solved problems of the people, cured their sickness and worries. Before Baba's arrival in Shirdi, Dwarkamai was an old mosque in a dilapidated condition. Baba turned it into Dwarkamai and proved that God is one. The first level of Dwarkamai has a portrait of Baba and a big stone on which Baba used to sit. This level has two rooms. One contains the chariot and the second a palkhi. Just in front of the room where the chariot is kept is a small temple. A saffron flag flies over it. The second level of Dwarkamai has a square stool made of stone, which Baba used for taking a bath. The main attraction of this place is the oil painting of Shri Sai Baba sitting in a carved wooden shrine. This level also has the grinding stone and the wooden vessel called Kolamba in which Baba used to keep the Bhiksha brought from the village.
Shopping- After all the pious tasks, it was time to do our own little shopping. Me and my sister can't do without it. You get pretty bangles in the shops that surround the temple. You will have to pay double the price for the same bangle in Mumbai. There is a Rajasthani place in the shopping mall adjacent to the temple where you can get good bedsheets, saris and dress materials, wall hangings and jewellery. LOL! Well...people like us is what Shirdi requires as we buy stuff from these towns and the economy does well. That's the justification for shopping!!!
Once done, it was time for dinner at Rajdhani. The Thali (food plate) has umpteen number of vegetable curries and snacks that are traditionally made. It's not recommended for those who don't have an appetite as most of the food may go waste. If you are not open to tasting a different cuisine, it's preferable to eat at a different place.
Next day, we packed up and got ready to leave for Mumbai. Lunch was at Nasik. We stopped at 'Mainland China'. The buffet was awesome. We reached Mumbai by 6 pm.
It's back to routine life again but with fond memories of having visited Baba in 2012. Awaiting his summons to visit him again in 2013 :)
I just started reading Paul Coelho's book titled 'The Winner Stands alone". Well...the blog is not about the book but he did say some interesting lines which did make me ponder on the deeper meanings of life and the value systems that we grow up with. He says that we live in a culture that has privileged fame, money and power. We are led to believe that those are the only values which are worth pursuing". How true!!! I guess that there are few lessons that are taught today which also encourages mankind to imbibe spiritual values in people. Being human is to be spiritual. The values of truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence are found in all major spiritual paths. These spiritual values are also human values and are the fundamental roots of a healthy, vibrant, and viable life.
Well...the trips to holy places rejuvenates self and gives more confidence in facing life's challenges. In Hindu religion, we don't really have any binding rules that every individual has to visit a temple in order to perform their worship. But it's a great place to go when you want to revitalize your spiritual energies.
Shirdi Sai temple is a beautiful shrine that was built over the Samadhi of Shri Sai Baba. It was established in 1922 to carry out the services of Shri Sai Baba.Shirdi is located approximately 296 Kilometres from Mumbai (Bombay) City in India. At age of 16 yrs Shri Saibaba arrived at the village of Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and remained their till his death.
My emotional connection with 'baba' began during my school years. Once, while i walking towards my school, i found a ring. It had 'Sai' etched on the front and was a great fit on my fingers. As is the habit of kids, I kept that ring. I always used to stare at my ring and wonder as to when I'd get to go to Shirdi as i had never been there. I still don't know how, but one fine day, the ring disappeared. I searched for it in all the places that i could think of but i couldn't find it. Strangely, a year after that, I got an opportunity to visit Shirdi. This is a trivia that is connected with Shirdi visits. You can only visit Shirdi when baba invites you. So wait for his summons :)
Shirdi by car- We drove to Shirdi. It's a pleasant journey. The roads are decent. Shirdi is well connected by Road with Mumbai via Nashik-Sinnar and Manmad. You can get the taxis from Dadar-Mumbai(Journey Time-7 hours) up to Shirdi or you can get the Luxury Coach for Shirdi or take a train up to Nasik and take a taxi for Shirdi.
There are stopovers at the highway where you can get good food and water. Do stop at the sugarcane juice stalls that you will find on your way. The simple villagers are not big on cleanliness. Just check on whether the glass is being washed properly. The juice is just yum and good value for money.
Hotels in Shirdi- We left on Saturday morning and reached Shirdi by 12.There are plenty of hotels in Shirdi and you can choose an appropriate one, based on your budget and requirements. You will be spoilt for choices. This time, we chose a Hotel which was somewhat in the interior. The hotel staff were very friendly. They provided pickup and drops to the temple. The hotel was newly built. So the rooms were well maintained. The room service was a bit sad compared to other place. But i guess they have just started. So these issues can crop up due to lack of trained staff. We ordered some food via room service. It was very sad. Not recommended!!! There are places like Rajdhani and other little hotels which may serve better food than what we ate. Anyways, the aim was not eating. It was to go and see Baba and pay our respects.
Temple timings- Sai temple at Shirdi opens for devotees at 5.15 a.m. (0515 hrs) with Kakad Aarti and remains open till the end of Shej aarti at 11.15 pm.
Baba's darshan- We went for darshan (worship) during the afternoon times. Around 3 pm is an ideal time to stand in the line. The queue is very very long. So it's preferable to go to the temple as early as possible. We didn't have any intention of buying flowers and the pooja thali as offerings. I had some money that i needed to put in the hundi. (offering box). The queues are considerably well organised. There are vendors within the temple who serve water and some snacks that you can purchase. It's a good thing as kids are kept busy because of this. The temple interiors are constantly cleaned by the staff but it's really very difficult to keep it spic and span as there are lakhs of people who visit the temple in a single day and the flowers and other offerings do get dropped on the floor, along with other stuff like plastic wrappings and paper etc.Once the queue reaches the interior, there is chaos. People push and jostle each other to get to the main sanctum where Baba's idol and Samadhi are housed. My sister and me allowed most of those who were in a hurry to reach the sanctum to go ahead as we were tired of getting pushed here and there. At some point of time, I got very angry and decided that i had enough of this crowd. So i ensured that I didn't get pushed. I yelled at a guy who was trying to ask us to hurry. I don't get this. The aim is to reach near the idol, pray and move. So what is this hurry all about? It's not like baba is going anywhere. I just can't understand our queue culture. To be frank, we don't have one. When you have millions of people, I guess it's difficult to think of anyone else but one's own well being. Seriously...people have to learn to be more patient while visiting crowded places.
Inner Sanctum- We reached the inner sanctum. To be honest, I put the money in the hundi, made a quick prayer to baba and moved on. I was very tired by then and wanted to get out of the temple as soon as possible. I told baba that there are others who had bigger problems to share with him which explains as to why they were pushing and jostling to get ahead. I am pretty contented in life apart from a problem or two here. So why take too much of baba's time? After this, we went to stand in another queue to buy some prasad. That was a totally disorganised queue. My brother in law got into an argument with a woman who broke the queue. There was only one man manning the prasad window. Considering the crowds, i think that the temple staff need to think of adding more folks to do the distribution tasks.
Sometimes, I think that the best option is to pray at your home. At least, there's peace and quiet and your mind is calm while you say your prayers. But then again, it's the selfish desire to see Baba at his abode which keeps you going despite all the inconveniences.
Shopping- After all the pious tasks, it was time to do our own little shopping. Me and my sister can't do without it. You get pretty bangles in the shops that surround the temple. You will have to pay double the price for the same bangle in Mumbai. There is a Rajasthani place in the shopping mall adjacent to the temple where you can get good bedsheets, saris and dress materials, wall hangings and jewellery. LOL! Well...people like us is what Shirdi requires as we buy stuff from these towns and the economy does well. That's the justification for shopping!!!
Once done, it was time for dinner at Rajdhani. The Thali (food plate) has umpteen number of vegetable curries and snacks that are traditionally made. It's not recommended for those who don't have an appetite as most of the food may go waste. If you are not open to tasting a different cuisine, it's preferable to eat at a different place.
Next day, we packed up and got ready to leave for Mumbai. Lunch was at Nasik. We stopped at 'Mainland China'. The buffet was awesome. We reached Mumbai by 6 pm.
It's back to routine life again but with fond memories of having visited Baba in 2012. Awaiting his summons to visit him again in 2013 :)
Happy moments... Praise God
Difficult moments... Seek God
Quiet moments... Worship God
Painful moments... Trust God
Every moment... Thank God
Difficult moments... Seek God
Quiet moments... Worship God
Painful moments... Trust God
Every moment... Thank God
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