Photos of shirdi sai baba and his devotees
pictures of devotees of sai baba
abdul baba
Abdul Baba came to Shirdi in around 1890 from a poor family and through a fakir who received instructions in a dream to send him. Baba greeted him with the curious words "My crow has come".
He was a dedicated worker and it was he who cleaned the mosque, washed Baba's clothes and collected water. He swept the streets outside the mosque, lit the lamps in Lendi and obeyed Baba's instructions to the letter.
Baba took care of his welfare, and often had him reading aloud passages from the Koran
Bayajabai Kote Patil
Bayajabai was Tatya's mother and the family had a close association with Baba from the very beginning and Baba saw her as a sister always addressing her as such. On first meeting him she vowed she would not take food until Baba had eaten.
In the early days Baba did not stay in one place but roamed around and so Bayajabai would carry the food in a basket on her head and go in search of him. Only when he had been fed would she be satisfied.
In later years as if to save her the bother of finding him, Baba settled down in the mosque and hers was one of the handful of houses that he went to beg.
Bhagoji Shinde
Bhagoji Shinde suffered from leprosy but this never deterred Baba from keeping him close by. He regularly accompanied Baba on his walk to Lendi gardens carrying a parasol to give him shade.
Once when Baba thrust his hand into the dhuni (the sacred fire) and was badly burnt (thus saving the life of a devotees' baby), Bhagoji was allowed to clean and dress the wound with a bandage.
Even though Baba lived for a further eight years after the incident, Bhagoji would daily continue the ritual of bandaging Baba's arm long after it had healed.
Das Ganu Maharaj
Dasganu was originally in police service and it was during this time that Nana Chandorkar took him to see Sai Baba. From the very first, Baba tried to get Das Ganu to quit the service, but he always found an excuse. It was only after a series of disasters had befallen him that he vowed to give it up.
Baba rarely allowed him into the mosque but rather sent him to the Vittal Temple where he stayed and wrote about the lives of saints and composed kirtans (devotional songs) which he sang with great feeling.
After he finally gave up his work, Baba advised him to settle in Nanded, which he did, and he became well known for beauty of his kirtans which inspired many to seek Baba's darshan
annasaheb dadholkar
Annasaheb Dabholkar is most notably known for being the author of the beloved work The Sri Sai Satcharitra. He lived in Bombay and, although he was not a greatly educated man, he rose to being a magistrate in the Bombay government. He was a poet by heart and long before he began his noted work, which he started in 1922 with Baba's blessings and completed it in 1926. It was Baba who called him Hemadpant after a well known 13th century poet
harisitaram dixit
Kakasaheb Dikshit was a prominent leader of the Indian National Congress, which he served as a Member of the Working Committee. He was a close associate of Phiroj Shah Mehta, known for his moderate views. Dadasaheb Khaparde was another important leader of the Indian National Congress. He was considered to be the "right hand" of Lokamanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak, well known for his extreme political views with in the Congress party. When these two important functionaries of Congress Party came under the influence of Sai Baba, their divergent views got mellowed down and gradually they came to appreciate the need for a common unified approach for getting Independence from British. It was due to the efforts of both these leaders who came to an understanding under the influence of Sai Baba that Indian National Congress finally chalked out the strategy to fight for the total independence of the country
G. S. Khaparde(Dadsaheb Khaparde)
Dadasaheb Khaparde was an influencial advocate of Amraoti in Maharashtra taking an active part in public life as a great orator and member of the Legislative Assembly. He first came to Shirdi in December 1910 and it was Sri Sai Baba who drew him out of that life and onto the spiritual path. In his diary he wrote,“ Sri Sai Baba’s smile was so charming that one could wait a lifetime in Shirdi for a glimpse of that bewitching smile”.He is immortalised in the minds of Sai devotees because of the wonderful diary that he left behind in which he habitually recorded the day's happenings and which have been published as the Shirdi Diary.
Laxmibai Shinde
Laxmibai Shinde was well-to-do woman, who worked in the masjid day and night. Except Bhagat Mhalasapati, Tatya and Laxmibai, none was allowed to step in the Masjid at night
Bhagat Mahalsapati
Mahalsapati was the one who owes the name of Saibaba as we know it today. He uttered 'Ya Sai,' when Baba made His first appearance at the Khandoba temple along with the marriage party of Chandbhai. Saibaba used to call Mahalsapati 'Sonarda,' and later on 'Bhagat' i.e. close disciple
Nanasaheb Chandorkar
Nana Chandorkar was among the most prominent devotees. A Deput Collector by profession, he had the distinction of being one of the very few disciples that Baba directly called to his side.
MadhavRao Deshpande
MadhavRao Deshpande was another of Saibaba's ardent disciples who was quite close of Saibaba.he was told to be very favourite of baba .
Tatya Kote Patil
Tatya Kote Patil occupies a special place in the history of Shirdi and Sai Baba ,and many of his descendants are active in the local community. Sometimes referred to as Baba's "pet" devotee. Tatya had a unique relationship with the saint and was under his wing from the age of about seven. While most devotees were attracted to Baba because of his powers and what he could give them, Tatya related to Baba in a personal and human way.Tatya's parents had been among the very first to recognise Baba, although Baba had the appearance of a fakir and, to many, seemed to be a madman. The moment Baba saw Bayajabai, Tatya's mother, he said, "She has been my sister for the last seven births" For her part, Bayajabai was immediately very drawn to baba, even before his powers or saintliness had been revealed. Having once met him, she would never eat without having first fed Sai. At that time Baba was roaming in the fields and every day Bayajabai would go and search for him, carrying food, baba never forgot this service, and took loving care of her son. Later, when Baba was begging regularly for his food, the Patil's house was one of the five to which he mostly went
