Circa 1858, a simple, poor man arrived at Shirdi, a small village in Maharashtra, and through his relentless work, became one of India’s most prominent saints. At a time when caste and religion led to clashes and oppression, this saint, revered by devotees as an incarnation of God, strived to unify people and spread humanity. His work created such profound impact that thousands within the state and the country began flocking to Shirdi just to catch a glimpse of him. Even a century after his demise, Sai Baba’s legacy and teachings remain timeless in India and abroad, which reflects in 8500 temples built in his name in 47 countries.

Questions about his origins, birthplace and powers remain unanswered for generations. While his real name is unknown, ‘Sai’ stands for ‘a holy person’ in Persian, and ‘Baba’ for a fatherly figure in Hinduism. His early years are a mystery. He reportedly told Mahalsapati, a close follower, that he was born of Deshastha Brahmin parents in the village of Pathri and had been entrusted to the care of a fakir as an infant. Baba also told some followers that the fakir’s wife had left him in the care of a Hindu guru, Venkusa of Selu, whom he stayed with for 12 years as his disciple.

MX Player’s new show ‘Sabka Sai’ pays a tribute to Sai Baba’s unique legacy. It is a biographical attempt to chronicle his journey from an adopted infant to becoming ‘Shirdi Sai Baba’ against the backdrop of historical events like the Indian freedom struggle and epidemics like the plague. Take a look at the recently launched trailer below:

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Sai Baba’s thoughts were ahead of his time, and initially, the villagers at Shirdi condemned his progressive teachings as seen in the trailer as well. But, by the turn of the century Sai Baba had a considerable following of Hindus and Muslims, both attracted by his simplicity, accessibility and even miracles. Dressed in a signature knee-length Kafni, a Langot, and a knotted head-cloth, he lived in an abandoned mosque, where he kept a fire burning daily- a common Sufi practice. Yet, he named that mosque Dvarakamai, a Hindu name, and knew extensively about the Puranas and the Bhagavadgita. He encouraged Muslims to study the Qur’an and Hindus the Ramayana and the Gita. He viewed religion as a means of unification of people, and promoted love, simplicity, patience, forgiveness and helping the needy without any discrimination. His thoughts on widow remarriage, acceptance of inter-religious marriages and mingling with lower castes were resisted by various communities from time to time. Yet, he continued working tirelessly to create reform until his demise in 1918. Sai Baba’s core spiritual philosophy is anchored in ‘Shraddha aur Saburi’ (Faith and Patience) and the popular epigram ‘Sabka Malik Ek’ (All paths lead to one truth).

Talking about the trailer of the series, the Shirdi born director Ajit Bhairavkar says, “In this series, we have tried to portray Sai Baba more human as compared to the God he is now worshipped as, along with the real-life challenges he faced. His progressive thoughts, his compassion for all mankind and his lesser-known stories is what we’ve tried to bring alive in this narrative. The show also tries to decode the phenomenon of his huge following from people of all faiths.”

Featuring Raj Arjun in the titular role, the 10-episode mythology series is directed by Ajit Bhairavkar and stars Gulki Joshi, Mohammad Samad, Aakash Sinha, Manoj Kolhatkar, Rohit Phalke, Asheesh Kapur, Devika Daftardar amongst others in pivotal roles. Dubbed in Tamil and Telugu as well, Sabka Sai will stream for free, starting 26th August on MX Player.