Sai Baba Puja Samagriसाईं बाबा पूजा सामग्री

The puja samagri for the Sai Baba Nav Guruvar Vrat is short and simple. Sai Baba lived as a fakir in an old mosque in Shirdi and asked devotees for faith and patience rather than costly offerings, and the vrat booklet follows the same spirit. Most of what you need is already in an ordinary home. Use this checklist before your first Thursday, then follow the vrat vidhi for the steps of the puja.

Items vary a little between families. Where a substitute is common, it is mentioned below. If something is missing, do the puja with what you have: devotees believe Baba looks at the heart, not the plate.

Quick checklist

For the altar

• A low wooden stool (chowki) or any clean raised place
• A yellow cloth to spread on it (yellow is the colour commonly linked with Thursday, the guru's day)
• A photo or small murti of Shirdi Sai Baba
• A small bowl of clean water and a soft clean cloth to wipe the picture
• An asan (mat) to sit on

For the worship

• Chandan (sandal paste) or kumkum for the tilak
• Yellow flowers, such as marigold, or a garland; any fresh flowers if yellow ones are not available
• Agarbatti (incense sticks) or dhoop, with a holder
• A diya with ghee and a cotton wick, and a matchbox
• A puja thali (plate) to hold the items
• A little rice and a flower for the sankalp on the first Thursday

For the prasad

The booklet tradition leaves the prasad open: offer whatever you can. Common choices are:

• Any sweet, such as laddoo, pedha, barfi or mishri
• Fruits, especially bananas
• Khichdi or a simple homemade dish
• Sugar or jaggery with roasted chana, if nothing else is at hand

After the aarti the prasad is shared with the family and, where possible, with neighbours or someone in need. Baba is remembered in the Satcharitra for cooking and sharing food with all who came, so sharing the prasad is very much in his spirit.

Books and texts

• The Sai Baba vrat katha booklet, or the katha on this site in Hindi or English
• The text of Sai Baba's aarti (printed in most booklets)
• Optional: the Sai Chalisa, the Sai Bavani or a copy of the Shri Sai Satcharitra
• Optional: a mala (rosary) for chanting Baba's name

Optional items

• Udi, if you have it from Shirdi or a Sai temple, to apply on the forehead after the puja
• A bell for the aarti
• Grain or food for birds and animals, and food to give to anyone in need

Extra items for the udyapan

On the ninth Thursday, the vrat is closed with the udyapan. Along with the usual items, keep ready:

• Food for five poor people, or food grains or a meal to give according to your capacity
• Copies of the Sai Baba vrat katha booklet to give to five, eleven or twenty-one people
• Prasad to distribute with the books

The full method is on the udyapan vidhi page.

Preparing in advance

It helps to keep the cloth, picture, lamp and booklet together in one place so that each Thursday's puja can begin without searching. Buy fresh flowers and prepare the prasad on the day itself. If you are travelling, a small picture, the booklet and a lamp or even a candle are enough for a short puja wherever you are.