{"id":882,"date":"2026-09-18T18:50:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T17:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/?page_id=882"},"modified":"2026-09-18T19:00:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T18:00:34","slug":"shama-sai-babas-beloved-companion","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/shama-sai-babas-beloved-companion\/","title":{"rendered":"Shama: Sai Baba&#8217;s Beloved Companion"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.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,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,\"Segoe 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:760px;color:var(--ap-muted);font-size:1.2rem;margin:.45rem 0 1rem}.ap-story-grid{display:grid;grid-template-columns:minmax(0,1fr) 300px;gap:34px;align-items:start;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-teaching{background:var(--ap-soft);border-left:4px solid var(--ap-teal)}.ap-story-source{background:#fbfcfc}.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}@media(max-width:760px){.ap-story-grid{grid-template-columns:1fr}}\n<\/style>\n<section class=\"ap-story-page\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-wrap\">\n<div class=\"ap-story-kicker\">Chapter 3 \u00b7 Shirdi Che Sai Baba<\/div>\n<p class=\"ap-story-dek\">Madhavrao Deshpande\u2014lovingly called Shama by Sai Baba\u2014became one of Baba&#8217;s closest companions. Their friendship shows how devotion can be intimate, fearless, and full of trust.<\/p>\n<p>  <span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Devotion<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Friendship with the Guru<\/span><span class=\"ap-story-tag\">Shama<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"ap-story-grid\">\n<article class=\"ap-story-main\">\n<h2>The chapter<\/h2>\n<p>Madhavrao Balwant Deshpande was a teacher at the Marathi school near Dwarkamai. He often visited Sai Baba, helped prepare Baba&#8217;s chillum, and gradually came closer to Him. In time, Madhavrao left his other work and devoted himself to serving Baba and the devotees who came for darshan.<\/p>\n<p>Baba called him \u201cShama,\u201d a name expressing affection and closeness. The chapter presents their relationship as a rare friendship between a devotee and the divine. Baba sent Shama as His representative to important family occasions, and He once told Kakasaheb Dixit that keeping Shama&#8217;s company was as good as being in Baba&#8217;s company.<\/p>\n<p>One account describes Balasaheb Mirikar travelling with Shama after Baba instructed him to do so. During the night, while they were staying at a temple in Chitali, a snake crawled over Mirikar&#8217;s body. He woke in time and the people present killed the snake. The family account remembers Shama&#8217;s presence as part of the protection that accompanied Mirikar on the journey.<\/p>\n<p>Shama&#8217;s devotion was not silent or distant. He spoke to Baba with the directness of a beloved friend, questioned Him when an answer seemed confusing, and expected Baba to explain Himself. Baba received this boldness with patience and affection. Their exchanges reveal a relationship in which reverence and intimacy could exist together.<\/p>\n<h3>What Shama&#8217;s example invites us to reflect on<\/h3>\n<p>Can our spiritual life become honest enough for us to ask difficult questions while remaining rooted in love? Shama&#8217;s example suggests that closeness to the Guru is not performed through ceremony alone; it is also shown through service, trust, courage, and a heart that keeps returning to Baba.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-story-note\"><strong>Editorial note:<\/strong> This page paraphrases Chapter 3 for web presentation. The complete chapter remains available in the linked source PDF.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n<aside class=\"ap-story-aside\">\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-teaching\">\n<h2>Teaching illustrated<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Love, Devotion, and Trust<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Shama&#8217;s friendship with Baba shows how sincere service can grow into fearless, intimate devotion.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/sai-babas-teachings\/\">Explore Sai Baba&#8217;s teachings \u2192<\/a><\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card ap-story-source\">\n<h2>Referenced source<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Shirdi Che Sai Baba<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By Dr. Keshav Bhagwant Gavankar<\/p>\n<p>Part 1 \u00b7 Chapter 3: <em>Shama<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/part-1-chapter-3-shama.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">View the literature page \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"ap-story-card\">\n<h2>Continue exploring<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/teachings-and-parables-of-sai-baba\/\">Browse teachings and parables<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/shirdi-che-sai-baba-by-dr-keshav-bhagwant-gavankar\/\">Read more from Shirdi Che Sai Baba<\/a><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/aside><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chapter 3 \u00b7 Shirdi Che Sai Baba Madhavrao Deshpande\u2014lovingly called Shama by Sai Baba\u2014became one of Baba&#8217;s closest companions. Their friendship shows [&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-882","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/882","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=882"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":885,"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/882\/revisions\/885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/akshayapeeth.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}