The statue and tomb of Sri Sai Baba

[Guest guest]

responding! Baba repeatedly assured devotees that he would never cease to answer

their call, and that his mission is “to give blessings”. The pull of the tomb

above, which the idol sits, is powerful and intense and is drawing seekers to

Shirdi in numbers that increase by the week. Here, devotees address their

heartfelt prayers, beg for help, give thanks and offerings for prayers answered

and wishes fulfilled, sign their devotion, and pay humble obeisance to their

beloved deity. For them, the idol does not merely represent God, it is God; and

the opportunity to prostrate before it and make oblations may be fulfillment of

a lifetime’s ambition. The statue, which has become such a famous and

well-loved image of Baba, was not installed until 1954, thirty-six years after

his mahasamadhi, and there is an intriguing story behind it. Some white marble

arrived from Italy at the Bombay docks, but nobody seemed to know anything

about it who it was for, or why it had

come. In the absence of a claimant, the dockyard auctioned it and the purchaser

offered it to the Shirdi Sansthan (temple authorities). Impressed by the

quality of the marble, they wanted to use it for an idol of Baba and gave the

commission to a sculpture from Bombay, Balaji Vasant Talim. However, the latter

had only one black and white photo of Baba as his model, and was struggling to

get the likeness. One night Baba came to him in a dream, remarked on his

difficulties and then showed him his face from various angles, encouraging

Thalim to study it thoroughly and remember it well. This gave Thalim the filip

he needed and after that the work flowed easily and the result exceeded all

expectations. The statue was installed on 7 October 1954, on Vijayadasami day.

As the main object of adoration in Shirdi, the idol is accorded all due

honours. Out of their love for Baba Devotees wish to provide every comfort and

respect they can. Accordingly, Baba is given a hot water bath

in morning, offered breakfast, lunch and dinner, has his clothes changed four

times a day before each arati and is adorned with a silver or gold crown for

the arati worship. At night a mosquito net is hung and the tomb is spread with

a special white cloth, of plain cotton, of the kind that Baba’s kafni was made.

Each morning at five o’clock, Baba is woken up, the mosquitop net is removed,

and incense is offered ( this ritual in known as bupali ). A glass of water is

kept by his side.After the first arati of the day, an abhishek (ritual bathing

of the idol with water, milk curd, ghee etc) is performed. Devotees may sponsor

the abhishek by contacting the Sansthan. Visitors may also donate cloth for

Baba, which will be wrapped around the statue. Later all the cloth that Baba

has “worn” is put on sale in the Sansthan shop, a few minutes walk from the

mandir. Many people like to buy cloth that has been sanctified in this way and

use it for their altar or some other sacred

purpose.The feeling and experience that Baba is still alive and present pervades

all the Sansthan facilities and activities of his devotees. As you move around

Shirdi, you will see that this sentiment informs life, worship and pilgrimage

here and contributes to the mystique and magic of what we call Shirdi.

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