Followers believe that this unusual behavior was a way to transform them spiritually e.g. He never kept any money or worldly possessions. He asked for simple offerings (sometimes coins) from people that he, in the very next instant, would give away to other people. Ash has several symbolic meanings in Hinduism and is placed on people's foreheads as a blessing. This ash has, even today, has miraculous healing powers when used on sick people. He kept an eternal fire burning in his temple/home and distributed ash from it to his followers. Unlike other saints with his name, he lived a life of extreme discomfort and self-denial. His ascetism was phenomenal, strictly celibate, he never married or had children. He used no bed to sleep on (he slept on the hard ground) and used a hard stone brick as a pillow. Sai Baba was a mysterious and magnetic personality and never spoke much except with his closest devotees. The most important holy book of the Sai Baba movement is the Shri Sai Satcharita. His followers believe today that Sai Baba has miraculous powers and that he will be ever active and continue to perform miracles from his tomb. His followers were predominantly Hindu and extremely respectful of him. Later, when he was older, others started adding the name Baba (meaning father in many Asian languages) as a reverential title. He received his name Sai (meaning Saint) from the priest of the local temple who did not know how else to address him but knew that someone extremely special had chosen Shirdi as his permanent home. He lived and died in that tiny village as a beggar monk. Nobody knew the teenager's name or his origins. He would not tell anyone anything about himself, but prefered to quietly meditate alone under a tree.

He arrived, out of the blue one day, at the small village of Shirdi in the state of Maharashtra, India when he was about sixteen years old. His most popular dictum is one of tolerance, “Sab Ka Malik Ek” (a Hindi phrase meaning God belongs to everyone). He embraced several Hindu practices and spoke several languages, that drew from many traditions.

An eloquent proponent of religious harmony, and with no home to call his own, Sai Baba lived in a run down Hindu temple (the roof had caved in and he was seeking shelter from the rain. India's most famous saint, Sai Baba of Shirdi or Shirdi Sai Baba (whose real name is unknown till today), is regarded by millions of his followers as a living example of God.

Sai baba shirdi grave