Learn Ideal Worship - Growing Popularity of Shirdi
Tuesday, January 26`2010
By Manoj R Nair

Mumbai : Last year, the shrine of Sai Baba at Shirdi attracted 2.5 crore devotees.
A decade ago, their numbers were just a tenth of the present figure.
This year, the shrine expects the number of pilgrims to cross the 3 crore  mark.

The Saint is believed to have died in 1918, and considering that till the sixties, his devotees were largely locals, the growth in
the shrine’s popularity is astonishing. His followers are now found in every state, especially in Andhra Pradesh. Indian migrants
have carried the Sai Baba cult abroad too. In places where Indians from different states and religions set up their associations
and worship centres, Sai Baba devotees break these walls.

Jayant Sasane, a member of the State Legislative Assembly (MLA) and chairperson of the Temple trust said that when he visited a
shrine in Melbourne last year, over a thousand devotees brought different regional Indian cuisines to be distributed as prasad.
The Shri Sai Baba Sansthan Trust – the organisation that manages the temple – is holding a meeting in March in the temple town,
where followers of the saint from all over the world will congregate for prayers.

There are nearly 800 Sai Baba temples affiliated to the Shirdi trust in Maharashtra. This number, of course, does not include small shrines
dedicated to the saint. According to the trust, there are at least 500 such roadside temples in Mumbai alone.
In Andhra Pradesh, which perhaps has the largest number of devotees, there are an estimated 3,000 temples, besides hundreds of shrines in Delhi.

The ever-expanding number of followers has prompted the Shirdi Temple administration to start a course to train Priests in Sai Baba worship.
In the last one year, nearly 300 people have been trained. The Saint’s followers are known to be zealous guardians of his legacy.
A few years ago, they took the followers of Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh-based godman Sathya Sai Baba to a local court
for claiming he was an incarnation of the Shirdi Saint.

Sasane said he got the idea of training priests after discovering that most shrines were careless about worship rules.
“For instance, the Kakad or morning prayers are to be held before sunrise. I observed that some shrines do the prayers in the afternoon.
Also, the Shrines are supposed to be closed for visitors after the evening prayers.
However, many temples allow devotees to worship after this prayer.
The course is expected to standardize worship procedures,” said Sasane.

The two-week course teaches participants the rudiments of the four daily prayers. They also get a short lesson in the history of the saint,
including the reading of the Sai Charitra – a book on his life written in 13 languages. You need not be a priest to attend the programme.
All followers of the saint can participate in the free course.

The saint’s life history is largely derived from legends and stories passed on by his original followers to their descendants.
It is believed that the miracle-maker was a wandering fakir, who came to Shirdi as a member of a wedding party.
He stayed on and acquired a local following.
Even his followers agree that his origins are unknown, and for this reason, the Shirdi shrine never commemorates his birthday.

The idea of training priests, however, has its sceptics. Dr Pyarelal Tiwari, a cardiologist at Bombay Hospital and a trustee of the
Shri Sai Baba Sansthan said he did not see the need for such a course. “Though I respect the Shrine's Chairman’s idea, I do not know
what you could possibly learn in a 15-day course. There are other ways to standardise worship at all temples,” said Tiwari.

Source - http://www.mumbaimirror.com/article/46/201001262010012714101525189e14d8e/Learn-ideal-worship.html




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" gOd Rules,
Or
Rules fOr gOd !!! "
Rules & RegulatiOn's Only makes a
Pure Hearts DevOtion turn intO a Ritualistic wOrship....rOhit beHaL