The tradition of worship and aarti for Sai Baba evolved gradually, as he was initially resistant to being worshipped. According to Chapter 0, the very first worship was accepted from Mhalasapati. When Sitaram Dengle later attempted to worship him, Baba was initially angry but eventually allowed it. A key turning point came when Baba peacefully permitted Nanasaheb Chandorkar's son, Mahadev, to perform worship, which subsequently opened the door for all devotees. However, Baba still did not allow aarti to be performed for some time. The honor of conducting the first aarti eventually went to Tatyasaheb Noolkar. Following this, Radhakrishna-Aai was responsible for starting the regular Shej-Aarti and Kakad-Aarti, cementing these rituals in Shirdi.
How did the practice of worshipping and performing aarti for Sai Baba evolve, considering his initial reluctance?
📖 Chapter 0