{"id":1236,"date":"2026-09-20T16:26:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/?page_id=1236"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:26:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T15:26:38","slug":"life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-16-abdul","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-16-abdul\/","title":{"rendered":"Life of Sai Baba \u2014 Volume 3, Chapter 16: Abdul"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.ap-story-page{--ap-ink:#17324d;--ap-muted:#49657e;--ap-teal:#08736e;--ap-line:#dde7ea;--ap-soft:#eef8f6;color:var(--ap-ink);font-family:Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;line-height:1.7}.ap-story-wrap{max-width:1060px;margin:0 auto;padding:8px 0 54px}.ap-story-kicker{color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.78rem;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase}.ap-story-dek{max-width:780px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:1.2rem;margin:.45rem 0 1rem}.ap-story-subtitle{font-size:1.05rem;color:var(--ap-muted);margin:0 0 18px}.ap-story-grid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr) 300px;gap:34px;margin-top:28px}.ap-story-main,.ap-story-card{background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--ap-line);border-radius:12px}.ap-story-main{padding:clamp(22px,4vw,46px);box-shadow:0 12px 28px rgba(16,52,80,.05)}.ap-story-main h2{font-size:1.8rem;margin-top:0}.ap-story-main h3{font-size:1.25rem;margin-top:2rem}.ap-story-main p{margin:0 0 1rem}.ap-story-main p:first-of-type:first-letter{float:left;font-size:4rem;line-height:.8;padding:.1rem .5rem 0 0;color:var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-aside{display:grid;gap:16px}.ap-story-card{padding:20px}.ap-story-card h2{font-size:.8rem;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--ap-teal);margin:0 0 .7rem}.ap-story-card p{margin:.45rem 0}.ap-story-card a{color:var(--ap-teal);font-weight:700}.ap-story-source{background:#fbfcfc}.ap-story-teaching{background:var(--ap-soft);border-left:4px solid var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-tag{display:inline-block;border-radius:999px;padding:4px 10px;margin:4px 4px 0 0;background:#e8f4f2;color:var(--ap-teal);font-size:.82rem}.ap-story-note{border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line);margin-top:24px;padding-top:16px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:.86rem}.ap-story-nav{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;gap:12px;margin-top:24px;padding-top:18px;border-top:1px solid var(--ap-line)}@media(max-width:760px){.ap-story-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}.ap-story-nav{display:grid}}<\/style>\n<section class=\"ap-story-page\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-kicker\">Chapter 16 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 3<\/div>\n<p class=\"ap-story-dek\">Abdul<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-subtitle\">Thirty years beside Baba and decades beside his tomb: Abdul\u2019s life of watchful service and faith.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Sai Baba<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Devotee experience<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Volume 3<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-grid\">\n<article class=\"ap-story-main\">\n<h2>The chapter<\/h2>\n<p>Abdul came to Shirdi around 1890 after Sai Baba appeared in the dream of Fakir Amiruddin of Nanded and instructed him to send Abdul with two mangoes. Baba welcomed the young man as \u201cmy crow\u201d and gave him a life of service. Abdul fed the lamps at the Lendi, Mosque and Chavadi, read the Koran near Baba, and lived close to him even when Baba initially gave him no food.<\/p>\n<p>Abdul recorded Baba\u2019s words in a notebook written in Marathi and Modi script. He regarded that notebook as his Koran: when people came with questions, he opened it in faith and found guidance. When a well at the Sai Mandir produced brackish water, the book directed that it be dug deeper; after two more feet, the water became sweet. In another consultation it correctly foretold the return of Barrister Gadgil\u2019s son from England with his English wife and children.<\/p>\n<p>Abdul maintained the perpetual lamp at the Lendi and was sometimes alone with Baba there. Baba told him to eat little, sleep little, meditate on what he read, and ask, \u201cWho am I?\u201d After Baba\u2019s Mahasamadhi Abdul decorated the tomb, arranged its clothes and flowers, received the first prasad, and continued serving the shrine until his death in 1954.<\/p>\n<p>The chapter presents Abdul\u2019s long fidelity as active devotion: he performed menial and scavenging work without seeking reward, gave udhi to those who needed help, and remained beside his Guru through both the physical life and the afterlife of the Sansthan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-note\"><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> This page is a concise paraphrase for web presentation and does not reproduce the complete chapter. Please consult the original PDF for the full account and wording.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-nav\"><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-15-chote-khan\/\">\u2190 Previous chapter<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-chapter-17-abdul-rahim-rangari\/\">Next chapter \u2192<\/a><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<aside class=\"ap-story-aside\">\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-source\">\n<h2>Referenced source<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Life of Sai Baba<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By <em>Sh. B. V. Narasimha Swami<\/em><br \/>Volume 3, Chapter 16: <em>Abdul<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/life-of-sai-baba-volume-3-16-abdul.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View original chapter PDF \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/life-of-sai-baba-by-sh-b-v-narasimha-swami\/\">View the complete book \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card\">\n<h2>People and places<\/h2>\n<p><strong>People:<\/strong> Sai Baba \u00b7 Devotees<\/p>\n<p><strong>Places:<\/strong> Shirdi<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-teaching\">\n<h2>Related teaching<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Love, compassion and equality<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This account may be read alongside Sai Baba\u2019s teachings on faith, patience, equality, love and compassion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/teachings-and-parables-of-sai-baba\/\">Explore teachings and parables \u2192<\/a><\/section>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 16 \u00b7 Life of Sai Baba \u00b7 Volume 3 Abdul Thirty years beside Baba and decades beside his tomb: Abdul\u2019s life [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1236","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1237,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1236\/revisions\/1237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}