After the first arati of the day, abhishekam (ritual bathing of the statue with water, milk, curd, ghee etc) is performed. Devotees may sponsor the abhishekam by contacting the Donation Office. Visitors may also donate cloth for Baba, which will be wrapped around the statue. Later, all the cloth that Baba has "worn" is put on sale in the Sansthan shop, just a few metres from the mandir. Many people like to buy cloth that has been sanctified in this way and use it for their altar or some other sacred purpose.

Believing that their work is service to a living Sai Baba, a living god, the priests carry out their duties with tender love and care. One of them related that once when bathing the statue, he inadvertently dropped the water container onto it.

For the next two days he had a severe pain in his knee, went to the doctor, had injections, took painkillers and did everything he could to try to alleviate it. Eventually he prayed to Baba and asked why he had to suffer in this way. That night Baba came to him in a dream and said, "You think you're in pain, but how do you think I felt when you dropped the jar?" Thereafter the priest was careful not to injure Baba in any way, and to respect the statue as if it were the living Baba in a physical body.

The feeling and experience that Baba is still alive and present pervades all the Sansthan facilities and activities of his devotees. As you move around Shirdi, you will see that this sentiment informs life, worship and pilgrimage here and contributes to the mystique and magic of what we call Shirdi.