Sai Baba of Shirdi, also known as Shirdi Sai Baba, was an Indian spiritual master who is regarded by his devotees as a saint and a fakir. He is revered by both his Hindu and Muslim devotees during, as well as after his lifetime.
According to accounts from his life, he preached the importance of realization of the self and criticized love towards perishable things. His teachings concentrate on a moral code of love, forgiveness, helping others, charity, contentment, inner peace and devotion to the God and guru. He stressed the importance of surrender to the true Satguru, who, having trod the path to divine consciousness, will lead the disciple through the jungle of spiritual training.
Sai Baba also condemned distinction based on religion or caste. It remains unclear if he was a Muslim or a Hindu. This, however, was of no consequence to Sai Baba.His teachings combined elements of Hinduism and Islam: he gave the Hindu name Dwarakamayi to the mosque in which he lived,practised both Hindu and Muslim rituals, taught using words and figures that drew from both traditions and took samadhi in Shirdi. One of his well-known epigrams, Allah Malik (God is King) and Sabka Malik Ek (Everyone's Master is One) (Special Cover on the epigrams) , is associated with both Hinduism and Islam. He is also known to have said Look to me, and I shall look to you and Allah tera bhala karega. He was said to be an incarnation of Dattatreya.
In August 1918, Shirdi Sai Baba told some of his devotees that he would soon be "leaving his mortal body" (dying).Towards the end of September, he had high fever and stopped eating.As his condition deteriorated, he asked his disciples to recite holy texts to him and continued to meet visitors. On 15 October 1918, he breathed his last. The day coincided with the Hindu calendar date that year for Vijayadashami.His remains were interred at "Buti Wada" in Shirdi, after which it became a place of worship known today as Shree Samadhi Mandir or Shirdi Sai Baba Temple.
