Sai Baba always carried a small stick — its name and meaning are known to very few. 🚩
Look at any old photo of Baba — there’s a small stick in his hand or beside him. It is called the Satka. More than a stick, it was part of who Baba was.
🪔 What the Satka was
The Satka was a small staff Baba kept with him at all times — sometimes in his hand, sometimes tucked under his arm. Even seated in Dwarkamai, it stayed by his side.
🔥 The dhuni and the satka
There’s a famous incident. One day in Dwarkamai the flames of the dhuni rose suddenly, higher and higher. Devotees stepped back, afraid the fire would spread. Baba struck the ground with his satka and commanded the flames to settle.
With each strike, the fire dropped. Within moments the dhuni was calm again — back to its steady, eternal burn.
One strike of the satka. One command. The flames bowed.
— Dwarkamai, c. late 1800s
🙏 The satka, even today
Baba’s satka is preserved at Shirdi to this day. Every Thursday night, when the palki leaves the Samadhi Mandir for the Chavadi, the satka travels alongside Baba’s portrait and silver padukas — a hundred-year-old tradition.
When you visit Shirdi and look at the old photos, study the satka carefully. It was a silent companion through Baba’s entire life in Shirdi.