Report an issue
Tell us what's wrong and we'll take a look.
Thanks – we got it. We'll review and follow up if needed.
Who was Shirdi Sai Baba? Baba lived all his adult life in Shirdi, a small village in India. To the unknowing, He seemed a simple beggar, dressed in torn clothes, having no need for any material item. Claiming neither the Hindu nor Muslim religion, nor any religion. He lived in an abandoned Mosque with no roof and every day took his food from a few people, making his rounds with his begging bowl, door to door.What really was happening; He was burning the karmas of everyone who came to Him, in the dhuni (Divine Fire) Baba kept burning at all times. Healing and giving guidance on every level. Hundreds of thousands of miracles are attributed to Him in His life and they have multiplied now after His Mahasamadhi. Baba left His physical form in 1918, but his Divine Energy and Intention and Power is always available and at work in the world.The Shri Sai Satcharitra is a discourse based on experiences Baba's devotees had with Him during His life on earth. It is said that Shirdi Sai Baba caused it to be written through Shri Anna Saheb Dabholkar - Hemadpant - by giving inner motivation to him. Baba had clearly told him: "I Myself write my own life. Hearing My stories and teachings will create faith in devotees' hearts and they will easily get self-realization and bliss...." Every chapter is a mixture of philosophy, anecdotes, and teachings. His book is akin to the Vedas for Sai's devotees." To many people, The Divine Truth imparted by this book is even greater than the knowledge contained in the Vedas and the Gita, because all the characters and events in it are real and authentic and have been recorded in detail by many devotees.We have attempted to remain true to N.V. Gunaji's original English translation. While some of the sentence structure and references may be slightly obscure for the Western reader, what is clear is that since the original English translation by N.V. Gunaji was published, that it has in its unaltered state, been a core component of the spread of knowledge and devotion to Shirdi Sai Baba in the English-speaking world. To help the reader with some of the obscure Hindi words and references in the Satcharitra, we have added an extensive Glossary.
Nagesh Vasudev Gunaji
Translated by
Shri N.V. Gunaji was a great scholar who wrote over 28 books on various people and issues. He was very interested in the spiritual teachings of Sai Baba, Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa. He wrote and translated the Bhagwad Gita, the Bhagwat, etc. He has written the life of Sri Paramhans Ramakrishna as well as that of Sri Ramana Maharshi in Marathi and several books on the teaching of Swami Ramtirth. He also translated Booker T. Washington's biography which he called "Atmoddhar". He was born in Belgaum city in Karnataka state in India in July 1873. He did his school education in Belgaum, in Sardar High School and later graduated from Mumbai's Wilson College. He studied in the Government Law College in Mumbai and passed his LLB (Bachelor of Law) examination. Soon after, he returned to Belgaum to become a Lawyer. After practising law for several years Shri N.V. Gunaji also joined the Belgaum Municipality (City Government) as Chief Executive Officer. Throughout his life he was a non-stop reader and translated several books in English or Marathi. Shri Gunaji was also keenly interested in naturopathy and published two books on "Scientific and Efficient Breathing" and "Anti T.B. & Anti Heart Failure". He would treat patients through naturopathy and scientific massage. He was lucky to get a chance to treat Mahatma Gandhi by his scientific massage techniques. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of India's struggle for freedom from the British rule. Shri Gunaji also treated Sri Ramana Maharshi when he visited the spiritual leader in Arunachalam. Shri N.V. Gunaji adapted and translated Shri Hemand Pant Dabholkar's "Sri Sai Satcharita" into English and donated all the earned money to the Sai Sansthan Trust (temple in Shirdi). The book has reached out to thousands of devotees and people over the last forty five years who have read it and have had their faith and Shraddha in Baba reinforced. Many devotees use this book to read it as a 'Saptah'. Shri N.V. Gunaji passed away in 1963, a few months before his ninetieth year.
Why Readwise Books?
Readwise Books is an ebook & audiobook platform that automatically logs how much you and your friends read, making it fun and easy to read more. Learn more →