He performed the function of a local hakim and treated the sick by application of ashes. The ash was believed to have healing and apotropaic powers. In the mosque, he maintained a sacred fire which is referred to as a dhuni, from which he gave sacred ash ('Udi') to his guests before they left. He was eventually persuaded to take up residence in an old and dilapidated mosque and lived a solitary life there, surviving by begging for alms and receiving itinerant Hindu or Muslim visitors.

His manner was said to be withdrawn and uncommunicative as he undertook long periods of meditation. įor four to five years, Baba lived under a neem tree and often wandered for long periods in the jungle around Shirdi. This dichotomy has given rise to two major theories regarding Baba's background, with the majority of writers supporting the Hindu background over the Islamic, while others combine both the theories (that Sai Baba was first brought up by a fakir and then by a guru). On another occasion, Baba reportedly said that the fakir's wife had left him in the care of a Hindu guru, Venkusa of Selu and that he had stayed with Venkusa for 12 years as his disciple. He had reportedly stated to a close follower, Mahalsapati, that he has been born of Brahmin parents in the village of Pathri and had been entrusted into the care of a fakir in his infancy. Baba was notorious for giving vague, misleading and contradictory replies to questions concerning his parentage and origins, brusquely stating the information was unimportant. Historical researches into genealogies in Shirdi give support to the theory that Baba could have been born with the name Haribhau Bhusari.

Although Sai Baba's origins are unknown, some indications exist that suggest that he was born not far from Shirdi.

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