This lore became part of Sathya Sai's explicitly declared (and controversial) profile as an avatar. Sathya Sai also innovated a mythology of the Shirdi saint, presenting the faqir as an incarnation of Shiva (Rigopoulos 1993:21-27). This situation produced in America an influential theory of a supposed Sai Baba movement. The Puttaparthi guru adopted the name Sai Baba as his own (his real name was Ratnakaram Satyanarayana Raju). They point out that Sathya Sai gained much fame as a result of his reincarnation theme. This claim is dismissed by followers of the Shirdi saint. The latter created the wealthy Puttaparthi ashram in Andhra, and early claimed to be the reincarnation of Shirdi Sai. Newcomers to the subject are sometimes puzzled by the existence of two Sai Babas, meaning the two entities known as Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba (d.2011). In what follows, I will cover some of the relevant topics for consideration. My own book, Sai Baba of Shirdi: A Biographical Investigation (2015), acknowledged both the Hindu and Sufi components of the subject's profile. In India, there are now very numerous Shirdi Sai devotees, and also some Hindu critics who react to the Muslim Sufi features discernible. Many coverages tend to abbreviation in this respect.
Sai baba shirdi full#
The full background data has rarely been assimilated. The diverse Hindu and Muslim aspects of his biography have aroused enthusiasm, speculation, incredulity, and repudiation. Shirdi Sai Baba (d.1918) is distinctive for an inter-religious complexion. Birth Theories are not Conclusive Evidence