Lendi Baug Shirdi

In Baba’s time, Lendi was an area if wasteland between 2 small streams, the Lendi Baug Shirdi and the Sira. Baba used this place for his natural calls. He would leave Dwarakamai for Lendi at 9:00 AM with some of his devotees. Except Abdul Baba no one is allowed inside with Baba. Apart from this purpose, Baba seemed to enjoy going to the place several times a day. This is the place where Baba used to spend his time alone.

Lendi is significant as the place is visited by Baba every day. The place contains some tombs and idols and most importantly, the continuous lamp lit by Baba and placed between the 2 trees he planted. The place was bought by a Bombay devotee M. W. Pradhan before Baba’s Maha Samadhi. Lendi is renovated and the previously paved and tree-lined area turned into lawns with waterfall and flower beds.

Baba always follows the same routine whenever he went to Lendi from the mosque. Fakirs sometimes stick to a routine as a practice, to reduce the opportunity for personal preference and hence development of the ego. Baba had no need to practice any but seemed to maintain the routine anyway. Perhaps we will never know the reason why Baba sticks to the routine.

Turning right out of the Mosque, Baba would stop at the Balaji Pilaji Gurav lived. A small shrine enclosing a pair of Padukas now marks the spot where he would stand. Baba sometimes also used to stand at the place where Vittal temple is now placed. At the bottom of the lane we turn right and a small temple is found within a few metres and is the oldest temple in Shirdi dedicated to Sri Kanifnath. The feature of the Naths is the maintenance of Dhuni. Baba everyday used to pass over the temple. From the Kanifnath Temple turning right along the main road and make our way to Lendi. Again on the right it would have been the virtually empty. Arriving Lendi devotees may stop for some time and remember that this is the place where Baba used to as his devotees to wait before Baba entering in to the Garden alone.

Nanda Deep:

Nanda Deep is the main feature of Lendi Garden, the continuous burning of the lamp between 2 trees (Neem and Bodhi tree) that are planted by Baba. As the trees planted by baba and the lamp that he lit, the area serves as a place to worship including Pradakshina. Baba instructed Abdul Baba later the responsibility to see that the lamp keeps on burning.

The lamp was sunk in to a small pit and protected from the wind by small zinc sheets and later some pieces of cloth making a kind of tent with the lamp in the centre at the time of Baba, but now lamp as we see today is built by the Sansthan and the area has been well maintained.

Nanda Deep was a place where baba liked to sit in observation. Abdul’s duty is to keep 2 buckets of water by the lamp. Baba after sitting there used to throw the water in all the 4 directions around the lamp. This is done by the baba because he seemed to be blessing devotees in each direction and neutralize the evils that may threaten them.

A few feet from Nanda Deep is the temple of Dattatreya built in 1976.

The Well:

The well is given a nick-name “Bukhi” by Baba which is little beyond Nanda Deep and slightly left is the Well. The interesting thing about the well is Baba with some of his devotees dug and from this well baba got his drinking water.

Further Information about Shirdi Sai Baba Darshan Package