Sai Baba Vrat Vidhiसाईं बाबा व्रत विधि

The Sai Baba Nav Guruvar Vrat is a vow of nine Thursdays kept in the name of Shirdi Sai Baba. Its method is simple and needs no priest, no special muhurat and no costly items: a clean place, a picture of Baba, a lamp, flowers, a little prasad, the vrat katha and a sincere heart. The steps below follow the popular vrat booklet tradition. Customs vary between families and regions, so where your elders follow a different way, follow theirs.

Before the first Thursday, gather the items listed on the puja samagri page and read the vrat niyam so you know the rules of the day.

Who can keep the vrat and when to begin

Anyone can keep the Sai vrat: men, women and children, of any faith or caste. The booklet tradition says it can be begun on any Thursday, simply by taking the name of Sai Baba. No particular tithi, month or astrological date is needed. Thursday (Guruvar) is the guru's day, and it is the day most associated with Sai worship.

The sankalp on the first Thursday

On the first Thursday, after your bath, sit before Baba's picture and take a sankalp (resolve). Hold a little water, a few grains of rice and a flower in the right hand, say your name, and say in your own words that you will keep the Sai Baba vrat for nine Thursdays. You may name a wish for which you keep it, or keep it simply out of devotion. Then let the water, rice and flower fall on a plate or at the foot of the picture. On the following Thursdays it is enough to remember the sankalp at the start of the puja.

Fasting during the day

According to the vrat booklet, the fast can be kept on fruit, on liquids such as milk, tea or juice, or by eating one meal in the day, either in the morning or in the evening. The booklet also says that one should not stay completely hungry. Many devotees keep the food sattvic on vrat days, without meat, alcohol, and in many homes onion and garlic.

Pregnant women, the sick, the elderly and people on medication should take a doctor's advice and may keep a lighter vow, such as eating normally and simply doing the puja with devotion. This is not medical advice; if you feel unwell, consult a doctor.

Preparing the place of worship

1. Bathe and dress: Bathe and wear clean clothes. Many devotees prefer yellow on Thursdays, though any clean clothes will do.
2. Clean the place: Clean the puja corner or the spot where you will set up the chowki.
3. Spread a yellow cloth: Place a low wooden stool (chowki) or choose a clean raised place, and spread a yellow cloth on it.
4. Place Baba's picture: Place a photo or small murti of Sai Baba on the cloth.
5. Clean the picture: Wipe the photo gently with clean water and then dry it with a clean cloth.

The Thursday puja, step by step

The puja can be done in the morning or the evening. Choose the time that suits your household and try to keep the same time each Thursday.

1. Apply tilak: Apply chandan (sandal paste) or kumkum as a tilak on Baba's picture.
2. Offer flowers: Offer yellow flowers or a garland. If yellow flowers are not available, any fresh flowers may be offered.
3. Light incense and the lamp: Light agarbatti or dhoop and a ghee lamp. Sit quietly for a moment and bring Baba to mind.
4. Offer prasad: Offer whatever you can: any sweet, fruits, khichdi or a simple homemade dish. Baba is remembered for sharing food with everyone, and devotees believe he looks at the love behind the offering, not its cost.
5. Read the katha: Read or listen to the Sai Baba vrat katha with attention. You can read it in Hindi or in English. Family members may sit and listen.
6. Chant Baba's name: Chant "ॐ साईं राम" or "ॐ श्री साईं नाथाय नमः" for a while, for example 11 or 108 times. More chants are on the mantra page.
7. Do the aarti: Perform Sai Baba's aarti with the lamp. The popular aarti "आरती साईबाबा, सौख्यदातारा जीवा" is given on the aarti page.
8. Pray: With folded hands, pray in your own words for the wellbeing of your family and of all beings, and for the wish in your sankalp, leaving the result to Baba with shraddha and saburi (faith and patience).
9. Distribute prasad: Share the prasad with the family and, if you can, with neighbours or anyone in need.

Optional practices on vrat Thursdays

• Visit a Sai temple on the Thursday if possible, and offer flowers or simply sit for darshan.
• Read a chapter of the Shri Sai Satcharitra, the Sai Chalisa or the Sai Bavani.
• Feed a hungry person, or give food to animals and birds.
• Apply a little udi on the forehead if you have it.

If a Thursday is missed

If you cannot keep the vrat on a Thursday, because of travel or illness, or, as common practice holds for women, during menstruation, that Thursday is not counted. Simply continue on the next Thursday until nine Thursdays are complete. A missed Thursday for a genuine reason is not considered a break in the vow. Customs vary between families.

The ninth Thursday and udyapan

On the ninth Thursday the vrat is closed with the udyapan. The puja is done as usual with prasad. In addition, the booklet tradition asks the devotee to feed five poor people (or to give food according to one's capacity) and to give copies of the Sai Baba vrat katha book to five, eleven or twenty-one people, such as relatives and neighbours, so that the vrat spreads. The full method is on the udyapan vidhi page.

Frequently asked questions