The Sai Baba of Shirdi Sansthan has been the driving force in the lives of millions across the globe. Once touted to be a `fakir’ (poor saint), on a day-to-day basis is becoming `ameer’ (rich) with huge contributions from devotees mainly from devotees residing in India and abroad. In a recent bid the temple sources revealed that 2 devotees of the Lord have donated gold worth Rs 60 Lakhs.

The two ardent devotees were one from Delhi who had given a 1.5 kg gold bell and the other from Mumbai gave a 900 gm gold pot. The ameer Baba now holds a cumulative treasure trove of 280 kilos of gold, in addition to 3000 kilos of silver, besides diamonds worth some Rs 3 Cr say sources. Shirdi Sansthan is one of the two most popular pilgrimage destinations in India after Lord Balaji temple in Tirupati.

About Baba:
Shirdi Sai Baba, also known as Sai Baba of Shirdi, was an Indian guru, yogi and fakir who is regarded by his millions of followers as a saint. Some of his Hindu devotees believe that he was an incarnation of Shiva or Dattatreya, and he was regarded as a sadguru while his Muslim devotees call him as an incarnation of Kabir.

The name 'Sai Baba' is a combination of Persian and Indian origin; Sāī (Sa'ih) is the Persian term for "holy one" or "saint", usually attributed to Islamic ascetics, whereas Bābā is a word meaning "father" used in Indian languages. The appellative thus refers to SaiBaba as being a "holy father" or "saintly father".

Shirdi:
Baba’s birth is a big mystery but he was sighted as a sixteen year old boy accompanying a marriage caravan of Chand Patel to Shirdi. And here he remained till his Samadhi on October 15 in 1918. Shirdi is in the Gopargaon taluk, Ahmed Nagar district of Maharashtra. The pilgrim centre is most visited by Baba’s devotees from across the globe. (With Inputs from Internet- Aarkay)