History of Shirdi Sai Baba Temple – Rajkot

Om Sai Ram,

In this post I am presenting history of Sai Baba temple of Rajkot (Saurashtra Region of Gujarat). I came across this write up in the Dwarkamai magazine and it so touched that I translated for you all.

Shri Girjashankar Maharaj, priest of Annapurna Mandir suffered from liver disease in the year 1999. The reports showed attack of jaundice and it was very severe. The statement of the doctors was that it was a typical type of jaundice with no cure. The condition of Shri Girjashankar Maharaj was very serious. The doctors were hesitating for treatment due to diabetics. The hair on his head and of beard also turned yellow. After reviewing all the reports when the doctors asked to leave everything to God on Wednesday, Shri Girjashankar Maharaj’s son Shri Dattprasad feared about the future. After spending the whole night in fear and tension, next day i.e. Thursday at 7:40 AM while doing worship to God, bhajan of Shirdi Sai Baba came to Dattprasad’s ears. It was described in the bhajan that Sai Baba cures diseases and removes unhappiness. Then and there only he made a vow to Sai Baba that if his father gets well perfectly they would go to Shirdi with tears in his eyes. Shri Girjashankar Maharaj started showing signs of recovery from the very next day. He recovered completely within six months. In the year 2001, they went to Shirdi to fulfill the vow and returned to Rajkot within 33 hours only. After this the whole family’s Shraddha and Astha of Sai Baba increased two fold.

In the year 2006, Shri Girjashankar Maharaj started lighting 11 lamps in morning and evening from the first day of Diwali and started praying to Sai Baba that, “We could come only once to Your Shirdi Dham for Your Darshan in our life, now we cant come to place, but cant You come to our place? Due to these silent prayers and 11 lamps lighted in Sai Baba’s name, Sai Baba gave an order to His devotee Sandhya Ridani and thus on February 1st, an idol of Sai Baba was installed admist band and music with full devotion in the meditation hall of Annapurna Mandir. For the welfare of His devotees of Rajkot and the whole world, Sai Baba came in the form of an idol. After the idol was installed devotees experienced a divine happiness, which was incomparable and unexplainable. Every Thursday between 5-7, Sai Baba bhajans and mantra are sung and devotees participate in group Arti of Sai Baba and thus get His blessings in this way.

It is a request to Sai devotees that whenever they get a chance to go to Rajkot, they must go to Annapurna Mandir for darshan of Sai Baba and get His prasad with blessings at the below address:
Shri Girjashankar Maharaj,
Shri Annapurna Mandir,
Vinay Society Lane No. 2,
Behind Malviya College,
Gondal Road

Source : Translated from Gujarati Magazine “Dwarkamai”

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