Sai Baba first arrived in the village of Shirdi in the 19th century, which had a small population of around 200 dwellings and poor soil. He initially sought shelter at the local Khandoba temple but was denied permission. The village headman later invited Sai Baba to take up residence in an empty mosque. Sai Baba led a solitary life there, often roaming the village and forest while muttering to himself. Villagers saw him as a holy madman but he gradually gained followers as he shared his food with others and displayed acts of kindness. Sai Baba experienced a near-death experience in 1886 where his breathing and pulse stopped for three days before returning to life, increasing his fame and visitors to Shir

1. The Works of Sai Baba at Shirdi
Shirdi village was located in the Ahmednagar district, and prior to canal irrigation, had poor soil; it was
in the nineteenth century a famine stricken area with dry land. The population at the time of Sai Baba
was engaged in farming and agricultural activities.There were few shops in the village, and a small
population resident in about two hundred dwellings, a tightly packed village.
It is said that when he first arrived in Shirdi, Sai Baba roamed the village and sought to stay at the
Khandoba temple; Mhalsapathi (who was later to become an ardent devotee) thought he was a fakir
and denied him permission. All of us like to go to shirdi to visit Sai Baba. Best is organized by Sri
Sairam Subhayatra. It is possibly the shirdi flight packages from chennai same Mhalsapathi who
later invited Sai Baba to take up residence in the masjid, thought to be the most fitting place for a fakir.
The wife of the village 'manager' called a patil was very taken by Sai Baba and brought him food daily.
She often had to roam around the forest to find him. Sai Baba himself continued to roam and later
roamed the byways of Shirdi, often muttering to himself. Villagers took no notice of him and thought
him a holy mad-man, a pagal. Soon, Sai Baba got in the habit of visiting four or five houses daily,
begging his food there. He would gather solid foods in his begging bag, and reportedly had the habit of
sharing his food with the poor, along with birds, dogs, insects and so forth. Often, he would only eat
after leaving his dish outside the masjid at the disposal of anyone who wanted food.
Sai Baba, at the masjid, seems to have led a solitary life. He was frugal in his speech, and usually only
spoke if he was questioned. One Madhavroa Desphande, a teacher in a primary school of the village,
recalled how he could hear Sai speaking at night inside the masjid in many languages: Hindi, English,
and others unknown to him.
An early Samadhi
Some sources give accounts of Sai Baba leaving the body for three days in 1886. The Police Officers
conducted an inquest and wanted the corpse to be buried. Our gives comfort feel, safe and happy
journey. Mhalsapathi declined to take action, as he had been instructed to wait for three days.
In 1886, Baba made an attempt to cross the border line. On a full moon day, Baba suffered from a
severe attack of asthma. To get rid of it, Baba decided to take his prana up high and to go into samadhi.
He said to Mhalaspati: "Protect my body shirdi flight packages from chennai for three days. If I
return, it will be all right; if I do not, bury my body in that open land (pointing to it) and fix two flags
there as a mark." Saying so, Baba fell down at about 10 PM. His breathing stopped, as well as his pulse.
It seemed as if his prana had left his body. All the villagers came there and wanted to hold an inquest
and bury the body in the place pointed out by Baba. But Mhalaspati prevented that. With Baba's body
in his lap he sat full three days guarding it. After three days had passed, Baba showed signs of life at 3
AM. His breathing commenced, the abdomen began to move. His eyes opened ands stretching his
limbs, Baba returnd to consciousness (life) again.
Increasing visitors and the future
Sai Baba began to get an increasing number of visitors after 1890. His fame began to spread and his
darbars (sessions in the masjid) began to absorb more of his time. Sri Sairam Subhayatra offers you Sai
Baba made one prediction about what would happen in the village of Shirdi in the future:
Long before Chandorkar and others arrived, i.e., in the last century, Baba spoke of the future of Shirdi.
Baba told Bhagat and others who shirdi flight packages from chennai were with him at the chavadi:
"In this place (Shirdi) there will be huge storeyed buildings rising. Big fairs will be held, and big men,
Subhedars, and others will be coming. My Brahmins will gather and elephants, horses and Shankar
Nana (an auspicious leader) will also come. Guns will be fired. People hearing this began to smile.
They thought: "What! All this for some worthless nook of an insignificant hamlet?" But some decades
later, every one of Baba's statements came true.
There are numerous episodes in which Baba is said to allow or inspire marriage plans. He advised most
of this devotees to lead a normal family life, discouraging "mystical flights" and condemning ascetic
excesses. Indeed, very few were the persons whom he encouraged to take to the path of renunciation.