Shri Saibaba Sansthan,Shirdi                                                                         Shri Saileela Main Page

SAI  MOORTI

This year’s Shree Sai Baba’s Punyatithi day is important one more point of view. In 1918, the Samadhi of Shree Sai Baba was erected in the present Samadhi Mandir and a photo of Shree Sai Baba was placed behind the Samadhi; but the devotees and the management of the Shirdi Sansthan decided to install a marble statue to replace the photo. Hence the Italian marble, donated by one of the devotees, was brought and the famous sculptor and Sai devotee, Sri Balaji Talim, from Mumbai, undertook the task of chiselling a statue out of that marble slab. Sri Talim thought that if Shree Sai Baba gives him a darshan while making this statue, the statue will be of worth and the devotees will also have the feelings.

And sure enough he got the darshan of Shree Sai Baba in his studio while on the job. With ceaseless effort and great care Sri Talim completed the work and the statue was transported from Mumbai to Shirdi. From Khandoba temple to the Samadhi Mandir, it was brought in procession, accompanied by music of various sort. On the 2nd October i.e. on the Vijayadashami day in 1954, this statue was unveiled at the auspicious hands of Swami Sai Sharananand (Shri Wamanbhai Prangovind Patel, Solicitor from Ahmedabad). For performing the religious ceremony at that time, many learned brahmins from Mumbai, Pune and Thane were specially called to Shirdi. Hence this year’s Punyatithi is adding this importance of being the Golden Jubilee of the installation of the statue. Thus this year’s Punyatithi has twofold importance and hence it is no wonder if it attractes unforeseen crowed to Shirdi.    

SAI  AARATI

The common belief is that God is Absolute and Unmanifest – not to be found in His creation on this earth.

Thousands of years ago, the Gita removed this dualism between the Manifest and the Unmanifest; and stated that what is Manifest is a Manifestation of God

and derived from Him. Lord Krishna taught that God fills the universe, all creatures good and bad; and their thoughts and actions are expressions of the Divine and His energy. The cosmos is the embodiment of God. Lord Krishna, therefore, advocated the pursuit of the Lord, in and through His manifested creation.

Goswami Tulsidas in his Ramcharit Manas has beautifully reconciled this controversial aspect of metaphysics by expounding that ‘Brahman’ (the Absolute) is basically ‘Nirguna’ (Unmanifest) but becomes ‘Saguna’ (Manifest) for the sake of the devotees.