Shirdi: Over Rs 5 crore has been collected as donations at the Sai Baba temple in Shirdi Maharashtra during the three-day Gurupurnima festival. It is learned that around three lakh devotees visited the temple during the festival. The devotees donated a record Rs 5 crore 12 lakh and 408 rupees. The donations also include the foreign exchange of 19 lakh 80 thousand 94 rupees from 12 countries.
Millions of Sai devotees from home and abroad visit Shirdi every year. They also offer alms in abundance out of faith. The management has set up two hospitals to provide high-quality healthcare to the poor. Besides, a Bhakti Nivas has also been constructed for the accommodation of Sai devotees in Shirdi. Fifty thousand devotees are given free food every day.
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The Sai Baba management also caters to the education of the downtrodden children. A place of faith for all religions, Sai Baba's temple in Shirdi, which has gained recognition in India and abroad, organizes interfaith community weddings every year. This social initiative with the facility to get married in just 'Savva Rupee' (Rs 1 and 25 Paise) has become a great support for the boys and girls of poor families from Maharashtra and other states.
The 115th Guru Poornima festival began in the year 1908. Since then, many devotees come to Shirdi especially on Gurupurnima to seek Sai Baba's blessings. Gurupurnima or Vyas Poornima is a one day festival. However, there is a unique tradition of celebrating Guru Poornima festival for 3 days in Shirdi.
