Sai Baba Temple, Singapore

History and background of the Shirdi Sai temple at Singapore:

The foundation stone to the pious Sai movement in Singapore was laid one Saturday evening in 2005 by a small group of friends who came together to sing Sai Bhajans: they approached the Vadapatra Kaliamman temple for permission to conduct a bhajan session. The temple agreed to their request thinking it would be a just a one-off event, and the first session of Sai bhajans happened on 19 November 2005 at the temple’s multipurpose hall.

Soon thereafter, a virtual group was formed on Yahoo, and a message was posted announcing the intention to conduct Sai Bhajans on a regular basis on Saturday evenings at the same venue. This was the modest beginning to the Sai temple in Singapore, which today sees as many as 500 devotees every week.

It is the infinite grace of Shri Sai that has blessed this modest worship center (it is not a formal temple by Singapore government’s definition, nevertheless a place of absolute bliss) with an uninterrupted flow of bhajans, aaratis, pujas and annadaan (donation of food) ever since, with ever-swelling stream of ardent devotees, seekers and philanthropists thronging the temple.

The beautiful tree of serene activity that we see today has grown from the humble seeds planted by the selfless group of friends in 2005. During the early days, the agenda for bhajan sessions was quite short: the Saturday session at 6.30 pm with Dhup Aarati, followed by singing bhajans for about an hour. At about 8pm the prasad would be distributed and thereafter the gathering would disperse. During 2006 this group conducted special prayer sessions on four occasions – Rama Navami, Guru Poornima, Deepavali and Sai Mahasamadhi (last day of Dasara).

The tradition continued in coming years, and from 2007 Guru Poornima celebrations the practice of doing the Shej Aarati in addition to the Dhup Aarati, began. Also around this time, the Thursday bhajan sessions were started, in response to a growing number of devotees who wanted to honor the hoary tradition of honoring the Guru on Thursdays.

However the lack of a dedicated space for conducting the bhajan sessions was an impediment: often the group had to make do with alternate makeshift venues for the sessions during festival seasons or other special events at the temple (when the bhajan hall would be used by the temple for other purposes such as lodging visitors etc.) But for want of a suitable alternative the practice continued, thanks to the balancing skills and indubitable enthusiasm of the devotees.

When the intention for doing a pious action is strong the entire universe comes to help, and takes the action to its logical conclusion. The issue of a dedicated venue was also solved through the miraculous intervention of a philanthropist, which is yet another example of the unique way of Shri Sai in bestowing his grace on his devotees.

As per Singapore’s laws any temple or spiritual center requires to obtain a formal permit for conducting any activity in the public domain. And since there are already quite a few temples, the Singapore government restricts the issue of such permits for creation of more temples in the island: therefore it was impossible for the Sai worship center to get a new venue for its sessions.

The philanthropist is a major industrialist who recently moved to Singapore from India, and was looking to build a Saibaba temple. After some deliberation he decided to take the multipurpose hall on the 3rd level of an adjunct building in the temple premises, on a long lease. Since this place belonged to an existing temple it did not require any new permits. The interiors of the hall were quickly renovated to create a magnificent temple within a few weeks; a marble idol of Shri Sai Baba was procured from India and was formally installed at the temple on 5th February 2008.

Since then the Sai Baba temple conducts pujas and aaratis in full accordance with the traditions laid out by the Shirdi Sai Sansthan. The temple employs a fulltime pundit who is well qualified in the Hindu scriptures and puja procedure, and has been doing full justice to the faith and love bestowed upon him by devotees thronging the temple ever since.

Another unique feature of the Sai Baba temple is – the management and routine operation of the temple is completely in the hands of an informal team of volunteers. This team is neither defined nor bestowed with any formal authority: devotees are free to take up any activity and serve. The temple performs several pujas on a routine basis, but collects no fee for any of these: all are welcome to participate in the pujas, and while they are not required to pay, any articles/money they would donate voluntarily towards the purpose is accepted. Thus the team overseeing the temple affairs remains constantly changing, with new volunteers replacing earlier incumbents who either relocate out of Singapore or move on to welcome the new devotees.

The Baba temple is a home to several families now, and has fostered a loving bond among them that will continue for several years to come. Grateful thanks to Sai for his infinite love in accepting our devotion and creating this beautiful oasis of bliss in our midst.

Sai Temple Mission and Vision:

Our Mission is to celebrate the life and teachings of Baba in Singapore, in order to help
people in their spiritual quest.

Our Vision is to create a vibrant community of Sai Bhakts (devotees) in Singapore who
spread Baba’s message of love, kindness, unity and make a meaningful contribution to the
welfare of society.

Devotees will be encouraged to read the holy book ‘Shri Sai Satcharita’ as the main spiritual
text. We also accept ‘Precious Gems from Sai Satcharita’ as a supporting book to the main
text.

Temple Address:

Shirdi Sai Worship Centre
3rd Floor Function Hall
Sri Vadapathira Kaliamman Temple
555 Serangoon Road
Singapore 218174
Tel: 62985053 Fax: 62972994

Website:Shirdi Sai Baba Singapore Temple.

Opening hours: 0700am – 1230pm
0530pm – 0900pm

Daily Schedule

7am Temple Opens, Kakad (Sunrise) Aarti.

7.30am Mangal snaan of Shri Sai Baba (Holy Bath), Archana.

12 noon Madhyan (Mid-day) Aarti.

12.30pm Temple Closes.

5.30pm Temple Opens.

6.30pm Dhoop (Sunset) Aarti.

7pm Bhajan Sandhya.

8.30pm Shej (Night) Aarti.

9pm Temple Closes.

Special programs:

Tuesday:

10am – 11.45am
7pm – 8pm:Satsang : Sundara Kanda Chapter from Ramayana

Thursday:
11am – 11.45am :Satsang : Interpretation of Aarti, Sai Satcaritra.

5.30pm:Vishnu Sahasranamam, Sai Astotram

7 pm – 7.30pm:Satsang : Interpretation of Aarti, Sai Satcaritha

7.30pm – 8.15pm:Bhajan Sandhya /Palki Procession (last Thursday of the month)

Saturday:

5.30pm:Vishnu Sahasranamam, Sai Astotram

7pm – 7.30pm:Satsang : Interpretation of Aarti, Sai Satcaritha

7.30pm – 8.15pm:Bhajan Sandhya

Poornima:

7pm – 8pm:Satyanarayana Puja

Last Thursday of every month

7:30 – 8:15pm:Palki Procession

Baba’s Dress Measurement for offering:

Head Kafni (orange cotton cloth):1.25metres

Inside white cloth :2.5meters

Top cloth ( Any colour & design as per your hearts wish):2.5meters

Shawl (neck l):2meters

Cloth ( to cover the stool for Baba’s Padukas) :1 meters

Towels
1. Bath towel
2. Face towel

Note:
All materials 1-5 must be 40 inches in width
Offering should not be in black colour
Please get the edges of materials sewed
Book a date for the offering with Panditji

All the above materials must be handed over to Panditji 3 days before the offering date.