Shirdi has been a major pilgrimage center for devotees from across India in all walks of life. Here is my detailed guide to help you curate your experience of your Shirdi trip. A pilgrimage done with some understanding of the spots and stories of the place can often be a LOT more transformational. So, I hope this guide helps you notch up the impact of your Shirdi yatra.

Firstly,

Why is Shirdi Famous & Who is Sai Baba?

Records suggest that Shirdi was like any other non-descript town until Sai Baba chose to spend his life there. At the age of 16, a young boy was seen in this town. He spent some time there and then left. After that when he arrived again, he was given the name Sai Baba and that name stuck.

Sai Baba was not only a great yogi but one of those spiritual beings who made miracles happen around them in a way that was more prominent than other spiritual advanced folk. Naturally, with time, people from around the country started believing in him devoutly.

And now, Shirdi is known because of this Sai Baba.

However, the way we have very well-known details and books about the lives of other spiritual leaders of India, Sai Baba is comparatively unknown. It is not clear what his original name was, where he came from to Shirdi or who was his Guru? What was his sadhana before enlightenment? When exactly did he get enlightened? And so on…

Sai Baba was Muslim or Hindu?

Moreover, he had a blend of Hindu and Islam in his life. Even today we can see the confluence of these two religions within the Shirdi Temple. And a lot of people wonder whether he was a fakir? Or was he a yogi? There are also some controversy theories also which suggest that he wanted to convert Hindus to Islam.

I did a bit of research around this, mainly it entailed reading the Sai Satcharitra, and these were my findings:

If you do not want to go through this 30 mins long video, then well long story short:

He was following a spiritual path which on the outset did blend Hindu and Islamic elements. But in a spiritual path, one puts aside one’s birth religion and identification with external religions. And rather opt for activities that make sense in that situation.

Many people suggested him to be from the Nath Sampradaya, and that seems OK to me based on some of the hard core sadhana he did as per the Sai Satcharitra. And Nath Sampradaya does seem to have other spiritual leaders which were born Muslim.

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Now, what should you do on your trip to Shirdi?

Shirdi Places to See & Experience

I also went to Shirdi with a similar question. Which places should I go and meditate to experience this place? What are the various Sai Baba “spots” where he spent some time. Well, this information is easy enough to find in Shirdi and I have listed out the usual spots here:

Keep reading or watch my vlog on these spots here:

Main Shirdi Sai Baba Temple:

This is basically the samadhi sthala where Sai Baba’s body has been placed. Entering this temple requires us to go via the “darshan queue”. When I went, the free queue was not a very long but I still preferred to take the paid darshan. If you can afford, then the paid darshan is better because then you can spend time in other spots within the samadhi temple.

How to Get Good Darshan of Sai Baba Samadhi?

Paid Darshan:

Book from the Sai Baba sansthan website: https://online.sai.org.in/#/paidDarshanAvailability

It costs 200 INR. And usually, you need to book a little bit in advance, and you can choose the time slot you prefer (if it is available). They mention taking a print out of the darshan confirmation, however, it is not compulsory. I went with the soft copy only on my mobile.

The mobile has to be deposited at the stall before entering the temple, so I told the mobile locker person about having only a soft copy. So he asked me to write down the confirmation slip number, and take it with me on a piece of paper. This worked just fine.

They have also mentioned depositing the bag. I was told it was not mandatory, and so I carried my bag inside. However, it does get scanned. And for our own convenience of not carrying the whole bag around, it might be better to deposit it.

Paid vs Free Darshan

The paid and free darshan lines merge when making the final entry into the samadhi room. So, this last patch will take about 20-30 minutes minimum for both queues. Apart from this, the main reason I would prefer to take the paid darshan is so that we can spend more time in other spots within the temple complex.

Once the free and paid darshan queues merge, there are 4 lines making entry into the samadhi room – the inner 2 lines can do darshan and then have the option to sit down in this room itself for a few minutes. So, I think it is better to go via the inner lines. The outer two lines can do darshan of the samadhi from the side (we can touch the samadhi stone, so that is also a close-by darshan). But after the samadhi darshan we have to walk out of the room through side doors. When we step out of the samadhi building we are right in front of the famous Neem tree.

Note: this temple visit is not only about visiting the samadhi spot, though maybe that is the most important one. There are other locations to experience in the temple complex, so keep at least another 1 or 2 hours in hand.

The other spots inside the temple are,

Gurusthanam, Famous Neem Tree in Shirdi

When asked who his Guru was, Sai Baba often referred to the Neem tree found outside the samadhi building. It has been cordoned off with a grill and there is a temple outside it. Devotees are trying to get any fallen leaf from this tree with sticks. While the pujari at the temple shrine collects all the fallen leaves and I am told will give it out after the evening aarti.

This was also the tree where the young 16 year old Sai Baba was seen for the first time in Shirdi. Later excavations seem to have found a pir baba tomb below the Neem tree. Another account suggested there was a dark passage way going underground here…

Lendi Baug

This is a garden space with temple shrines and lamps. Sai Baba is said to have hung about here very often. This is a nice place to sit in. You can also do meditation or yoga practice. It is sad that to enter the Lendi Baug, one still needs to go via the main Samadhi entrance and darshan line, because that becomes a big to-do.

The temple shrines here include Datta temple and others. There are also some meditation spaces and study spaces. I was curious what kind of sadhana the Sai devotees do. But I didn’t find anyone I could ask. I spent time reading a small book about Sai Baba in Lendi Baug, because until then I had no idea about this person at all.

There are also a few muslim devotee samadhis in the temple.

Dwarkamai

Sai Baba stayed in a dilapidated mosque when he was in Shirdi. He named it Dwarkamai. Usually, there will be a line when you want to visit. But the line is much smaller than the samadhi temple. Which is very surprising for me. If you go later around 9pm at night, the line is even shorter.

There is a dhuni and other interesting stuff to see here. The ash of this dhuni is considered miraculous.

Chavadi

Right next to the Dwarkamai is the Chavadi. Sai baba used to sleep here in Chavadi on alternate nights. The Chavadi has two sections – one for men and other for women. You can sit and meditate here for a while. The Dwarkamai Dhuni ash is also kept here for devotees to take.

Khandoba Temple

This is another temple further down the main highway road from the samadhi temple. The crowd is significantly less here. So, one can sit and meditate well. The typical culture in this region is to have wooden idols in temples. I found it a bit unusual, as usually I have seen metal or stone idols. This temple also has an akhand diya and a small muddy path. On certain days, this muddy patch is filled with burning coals and men can walk on it as a bhakti sadhana.

These are the usual spots that are recommended. Beyond these there are other lesser known spots. There are samadhi spots for some of his devotees like Shama. There are some temples which Sai Baba recommended to consecrate and such. And then there are (a few) spots outside of Shirdi which Sai Baba frequented. I will cover these in a separate blog.

Live Darshan

It is possible to get live darshan of Samadhi shrine from many places in Shirdi. The Dwarka mai has a TV screen inside and there is a larger screen outside also. Behind the Dwarkamai, there is another stage area where temple cultural performances are often held – here also there is a screen where live darshan of the samadhi is possible.

In case, you visit with very little time or for whatever reason entry into the main temple is not feasible, then you can definitely take the live darshan on screen at these places.

How Should You Spend Your Time in Shirdi?

Covering each and every “spot” as if checking off a to-do list is not necessarily the right way to do a pilgrimage. Because a pilgrimage is more an inner experience than an outer journey. Thus, I would suggest the following,

Be aware of your inner situation. Are you getting any feeling or vibe when you are there? Are you gravitating towards a particular place or towards any activity? Then go with that flow, because this would be the start of your personal pilgrimage that is specific to you.

Enhance inner awareness by meditating or sitting quietly with eyes closed in many places

I think it is very important for your outer pilgrimage to become a personal inner journey. And this will only happen if you have an inner experience building up. This is why it is recommended to do some sadhana for some time before you go on the outward pilgrimage. So that when you are in energetically powerful spaces, you are receptive to it.

Maybe reading the Sai Satcharitra could be a starting activity a few days before you go on your pilgrimage. Or you could listen to Sai Bhajans.

When to Plan Your Shirdi Trip?

Weather: The summer months are most likely hot in Shirdi. Rainfall seems to be moderate for India (which means heavy for many western countries). Thus, April and May could be skipped. But other than that, I feel any of the months should be ok. Obviously, winter months would be a lot more pleasant with cooler winds. I was wearing a light jacket on my visit to Shirdi at the end of January.

Festivals: There are many festivals and special days relevant to Shirdi, these include Ram Navami, Guru Purnima and Vijayadashmi (Dussera). Sai Baba took samadhi on 15th October, so around those days there would be many festivities.

Weekly Procession: Every Thursday there is a procession with a palanquin. When Sai Baba was alive, he was taken in a palanquin from Dwarkamai to Chavadi. It feels a bit strange to me because the two buildings are only a few steps apart. So, why so much fanfare?

Anyway, this procession is still done every Thursday.

You can also plan to spend any of your special days in Shirdi on pilgrimage. For example, your birthday or someone’s death anniversary etc…

Attending the Shirdi Aarti

There are 4 types of aarti’s in the Samadhi temple. Starting from Kakad Aarti in the morning 5:15 AM, Madhyan Aarti 12 PM, Dhoop Aarti 6.30 PM, Shej Aarti 10 PM. You can attend them in the mandir itself. They are also live screened on different screens in the Dwarkamai area.

You can book an aarti pass on the website. The Kakad Aarti costs 600 per person. While the other 3 aartis cost 400 per person.

Free entry would also be possible. But I don’t know the exact procedure. I guess you need to stand in queue about an hour or more in advance and then be able to be inside for the aarti? If you want a free entry for the aarti, best you consult the local staff of the temple there.

Beware of touts simply trying to “help” you and in return they expect you to buy their stuff. If you anyway want to buy something it is fine, but when you don’t plan to buy anything, it becomes unnecessary pressure. Moreover, these people are not listening to us. They simply pass down the most rote advice possible – not realizing that for each sadhaka their personal journey MUST be unique as per their inclinations.

Traveling to Shirdi Info

Transport:

Shirdi is a major pilgrimage city in India, so you can try to get direct transportation to the Shirdi International airport for flight or railway station for train travel. Especially, during festival times, special trains and buses might be started by different operators that take you directly to Shirdi. If this is not the case,

Shirdi is close to 3 major cities – Nashik, Aurangabad and Ahmednagar. You could take a flight or train or bus to any of these and then take connecting transport to Shirdi.

In case you want to drive, like I did (read my solo driving blog here), the roads are good. The newly made Samriddhi Expressway from Nashik to Aurangabad is a great stretch. It has an exit on Kopargaon, which you can take for Shirdi.

Stay:

There are numerous hotels for all budgets situated right next to the main temple area. Thus, you can take your pick. You can search on booking.com or any online platform of your choice and take your pick. I stayed in Alaukik link here . It has some really good reviews, and my overall experience was good too. It is located very well and has a private parking area.

Sai Sansthan also has some guesthouses and dorms. You can check the website to book those as well. https://online.sai.org.in/#/reopenAccomAvailability

Food:

There are way too many restaurants in the region. Rather than lack of food, you might get paralysed with the sheer choice of foods 😀 I guess it is a good problem to have. Would recommend the tandoori aloo parathas in the Punjabi Dhabba restaurants.

Prasadalaya, is a bhojnalaya run by the Sai Sansthan. It is recommended to visit there at least once during your stay. I haven’t visited that yet, so can’t give my comments on that.

Have you been to Shirdi? Do you have any recommendations or stories to share? Do so below in comments!