Prasada
What you are given, and what it means
Udi, prasadam and teertha. All of it is free. Nothing at this temple is sold to devotees, and anyone telling you otherwise does not speak for the temple.
Received at the temple
Three things
Udi
Sacred ash from the dhuni
Whenever the temple is open
Udi is ash taken from the dhuni, the fire that burns continuously in the temple. Baba gave it to everyone who came to him. It is applied to the forehead, and many devotees keep a little at home. It is given free — never ask to buy it, and be wary of anyone outside the temple selling it.
Prasadam
The shared meal
Thursdays and special occasions
The cooked meal, served after Madhyan Aarti on Thursdays and special occasions. It is free to every visitor, with no separate queue, no ticket, and no distinction of any kind in who is served.
Teertha
Consecrated water
After each aarti
Offered at the sanctum after aarti. Received in the right palm.
Udi
Ash from a fire that has never gone out
Udi is ash taken from the dhuni — the fire Baba lit at Shirdi and kept burning for the rest of his life. He gave it to everyone who came to him, for every kind of trouble, and it remains the thing devotees most often carry home from a Sai temple.
It is applied to the forehead, and many devotees keep a little at home. There is no correct quantity and no ritual required to receive it.
Udi is never sold
It is given free inside the temple. People sometimes sell packets of “udi” outside temples to visitors who do not know this. They have no connection to the temple. Never pay for udi, and never pay for prasadam or darshan.