Great postšš¼
Yes indeed the Khandoba temple in Shirdi is very famous..
Would like to enlist the story of Khandoba related to Sai Baba over here...
It is said that around the year 1854 , a young yogi was found sitting under a neem tree engrossed in deep meditation in the forest on the outskirts of shirdi ,a small village in the Kopergaon district of Ahmedabad , Maharashtra. Despite his tender age of 16 years , his face radiated a divine glow , thus enchanting the villagers.The yogi would be always found meditating under that tree without caring for day or night , braving even the harshest of weather conditions... The native villagers were stunned witnessing the severe penance the ascetic was undertaking at such a young age... The yogi prohibited any contact with anyone, neither would he visit anyone's place , nor would he eat anything and would fearlessly roam about in the nights...
During a festival in Shirdi , Khandoba entered a devotee's body who at once went into a trance.. The villagers , intrigued by the unique ways of the yogi , at once questioned the Lord about his parentage and qualifications..Khandoba then led them to the neem tree and pointing at a spot asked them to dig it.. On digging at earmarked spot, few bricks were found covering the entrance to a 'gomukhi' (cow face shaped) cave , wherein tiger skin , 'kamandal' and four burning diyas ( just imagine diyas burning underground without any supply of air or oil ) were found.. Khandoba further said that the yogi had performed penance over there for 12 years ( a 16 year old had performed penance for 12 years!!! )...
Saying so , Khandoba disappeared and the devotee regained self consciousness...
Calling it His Guru's samadhi , the yogi dismissed the matter.. This area is famous as Gurusthan in Shirdi...
Another unique feature of this place is that the leaves of the neem tree are SWEET (yes indeed!!)..
Continuing with the story of Khandoba, as mentioned earlier the yogi was christened 'sai' by mahalsapaty , the village priest in the Khandoba temple while being welcomed with the words 'Ya Sai'..
Sorry for the long post.. Got a little excited..
If anyone wishes I can give more details about Sai Baba , who is often called as Bholenath or Shiv avtar due to his granting whatever is demanded just like Lord Shiva ( I donot wish to stir any contoversies nor am I claiming anything , just a popular belief among devotees that Sai Baba is just like Shivjee)..
Edited by saishyama - 11 years ago