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The villagers of Shirdi were unaware of the Divine Play taking place as a young, nameless fakir sat under a neem tree on the outskirts of town.  Villagers were surprised to see someone so young practicing such hard penances.  He had no love for perishable things and self-realization was his sole concern.  This saintly boy left Shirdi for four years, his whereabouts unknown.  Then, he returned to Shirdi as part of  a wedding procession.  Upon seeing the fakir, a local Khamdoba priest greeted him, as if divinely inspired, saying “Ya Sai” or “Welcome, Sai.”  He never left Shirdi after that and was now known as Sai Baba.

An older woman from the village felt such immense love for Sai that she took to him as his mother walking miles into the jungle carrying a basket of food to offer Baba.  She often found him under a tree in deep meditation, calm and serene.  She would approach her new son boldly as a mother would and serve the food.  What would seem to be out of compassion for this woman, Baba moved into a dilapidated mosque in the outskirts of the village.  He named this mosque “Dwarkamai.”

Baba’s external appearance was of a simple man, illiterate, moody, and often emphatic – sometimes fiery and abusive and at other times full of compassion and love.  He wore a long shirt and tied a cloth around his head, and twisted it into a flowing plait like manner behind his left ear.  He used a piece of sackcloth for this seat and slept on it with a brick as his pillow.  He begged for alms and shared what he got with everyone around him, even the animals nearby.  Any money received would be handed out to the poor, sick, and needy the very day it was given to him.  He used this simple demeanor and facade as a means to veil his real identity as God Incarnate.

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