Udi

Baba at the Dhuni

From the earliest days, Baba would give udi - holy ash from the dhuni - to his visitors. The healing power of Baba's udi is well documented and there are numerous cases of people being healed of pain or sickness by taking Baba's udi both before and since his mahasamadhi.
Baba would sometimes apply udi to his devotees when they arrived, or when they were taking leave of him, and he often gave out handfuls which he scooped up from the dhuni. The Sri Sai Satcharitra tells us that "when Baba was in a good mood" he sometimes used to sing about udi "in a tuneful voice and with great joy": "Sri Ram has come, Oh he has come during his wanderings and he has brought bags full of udi." Udi is still collected from the fire for distribution. Since this is a continuation of Baba's own practice, and the udi comes from the very fire that Baba himself lit and tended, it is considered extremely sacred. Today a small tray of udi is kept for visitors near the steps.
For devotees of Sai Baba there is an emotional attachment to udi as a tangible form of Baba's blessings, a vehicle for Baba's grace and a link to Baba himself. People usually put it on the forehead and/or in the mouth. Sri Babuji also gives Baba's udi as a symbol of Baba's blessing. When a Westerner unfamiliar with the custom once asked him why he did this, Sri Babuji replied that because the udi is from the fire that was lit and touched by Baba, the ashes are a connection to Baba and to his touch - and thus no ordinary ash. Putting the udi on the forehead, says Sri Babuji, "always gives me the experience of the touch of my Beloved and the udi is a symbol of his grace."
Udi is available in small packets from a small booth outside the Samadhi Mandir.