🚩 There is no single road to god — the scriptures name nine forms of bhakti, called navvidha bhakti. Sai Baba pointed to exactly these nine, in the most direct way possible, in his final hour: the nine coins he pressed into Lakshmibai Shinde’s hand as his last prasad. This is that story, and the nine forms of devotion in full. (Sources: Shri Sai Satcharitra, Chapters 21 and 42.)
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यात्रा गाइड
पैदल दूरी, दर्शन का समय, कहाँ रुकें, कैसे पहुँचें — हर यात्रा सवाल का जवाब।
Lakshmibai Shinde served Baba tirelessly. One evening Baba told her, “Lakshmi, I am very hungry.” She ran home, made a fresh roti and subji with her own hands, and placed it before Baba. Baba took the roti and gave it straight to a dog. Lakshmibai was stunned. “Baba, I made this with my own hands for you — and you gave it to the dog?”
"Arey — that dog's hunger has been quieted, and that is my hunger quieted. Whoever feeds the hungry, feeds me."
— Sai Baba, to Lakshmibai Shinde
It was this seva-bhaav — this quiet, no-questions-asked service — that moved Baba the most. On the day of his Mahasamadhi, in his final hour, Baba reached into his pocket and gave Lakshmibai first ₹5, then ₹4 — nine coins in all. These nine coins were the symbol of navvidha bhakti — the nine forms of devotion.
Take any one of the nine to heart and Baba’s grace follows. Bhakti asks no wealth of you, no learning — only shraddha and saburi. One devotee reaches Baba through kirtan, another through seva, another through total surrender. Through Lakshmibai, Baba taught the same thing he had taught in his eleven promises: bhakti is not for show — it is a matter of the heart.
Many devotees also read the nine coins as a symbol of total surrender — that when we place our senses, our mind and our ahamkar at Baba’s feet, only then is bhakti complete. In his final moments Baba left this priceless teaching pressed into a devotee’s palm — nine small metal disks carrying every form of devotion ever named.
Lakshmibai kept those nine coins her whole life. A small shrine near her house in Shirdi still holds them behind glass — a quiet witness to the same devotion that Baba himself lived through his final days at Dwarkamai.
If you want to start with one form today: read a chapter of the Sai Satcharitra parayan in the morning (shravan + smaran), or offer a small home puja before you begin your day (how to do Sai Baba puja at home). Both are entry doors to the same nine forms — no elaborate setup, no expense, only bhaav.
Many devotees carry these nine forms in their hearts and come to Shirdi. If you are planning too, stay within walking distance of the temple — TripSaffron has verified hotels in Shirdi with real photos, real distance to the mandir and free cancellation.
Booking: tripsaffron.com/search?city=shirdi
Which of the nine forms sits closest to your heart? Om Sai Ram. 🚩
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