Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Satsang When was the regular custom of performing Sej arati commenced?

When was the regular custom of performing Sej arati commenced?

The exact date/month in which the regular custom of performing
aratis commenced is not clear. Sri Sai Satcharitra Chapter 4 states

that the Night (Sej) arati commenced on December 10th 1910. In
the same book in Chapter 37 it is stated that from December 10th
1909 devotees began to offer regular worship to Baba in the
Chavadi! In the said context in Chapter 4 it is also recorded that
two more incidents took place on that day, i.e. on December 10th
1910. One is Sri G.S. Khaparde permission from Baba to leave
Shirdi and the other was the laying of the foundation stone of
Dixit Wada.
But according to the Diary of Sri G.S. Khaparde, the actual

permission to leave Shirdi was granted to him on December 12th
1910. On his first visit to Shirdi, Sri Khaparde stayed for about
eight days, i.e. from December 5th 1910 to December 12th 1910.
There is no mention of any arati ~ in any of the entries made on
those days in his Diary ~ whether Morning, Midday, or Night
~ or anything about the foundation laying ceremony of the

Dixit Wada! Sri Khaparde who did not elide to note down even
seemingly insignificant happenings, would not have passed
over recording such an important event as the commencement
of Sej Arati ~ if it took place on December 10th 1910(Sri Khaparde
who keenly referred to the Chavadi procession held on 6th and 8th,
did not even mention anything about it on 10th, as if nothing worthy

of mention occurred on that day!). On the authority of Sri Sai
Satcharitra, (but with a slight modification of the date by a margin
of two days) if the commencement of Sej Arati was to coincide with
the leave-taking or departure of Sri G.S. Khaparde, then it should
be on December 12th 1910(Sri Khaparde left Shirdi on that day by
evening, he could not have recorded the event).
(Source: Arati Saibaba)

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