Upasani Baba

Kashinath Govind Upasani was born in 1870 in Satana, Nashik district. He was a scholar of Sanskrit and Ayurveda, and from a young age sought God through hard austerities. These practices left him with a serious breathing problem, and in 1911 a friend took him to Shirdi in search of a cure.

Baba saw great spiritual promise in him. He told Upasani to stay in Shirdi for four years and live quietly at the Khandoba temple. Upasani endured hunger, loneliness and inner struggle, while Baba guided him closely and made him do humble service. Baba once said that whoever served Upasani served Baba himself. During this time Upasani had deep spiritual experiences.

In 1914 Upasani left Shirdi, and in 1917 he settled at Sakori, a village near Shirdi, where he built an ashram. He became widely known as Upasani Maharaj, and the Kanya Kumari Sthan at Sakori, an ashram of women ascetics, continues his work today. He passed away in 1941.