Sai Baba of Shirdi Baba enjoyed listening to mawlid and qawwali accompanied with the tabla and sarangi twice daily. Sai Baba interpreted the religious texts of both Islam and Hinduism. He explained the meaning of the Hindu scriptures in the spirit of Advaita Vedanta. His philosophy also had numerous elements of bhakti. The three main Hindu spiritual paths — Bhakti Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Karma Yoga — influenced his teachings. Sai Baba encouraged charity and stressed the importance of sharing. He said The Shirdi Sai Baba movement began in the 19th century, while he was living in Shirdi. A local Khandoba priest, Mhalsapati Nagre,
Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj (24 April 1924 - 21 April 2017) was a disciple of Bhakti Dayita Madhava Goswami Maharaj and an acharya and initiating spiritual master (Sri Guru) in the Gaudiya Math following the philosophy of the Bhakti marg, specifically of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Gaudiya Vaishnava theology. He was the President Acharya of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, headquartered at Kolkata, West Bengal, India and having more than 22 branches in India. He was president of WVA (World Vaishnava Association) and founder of GOKUL( Global organization for KrishnaChaitnaya's Universal Love). He has written extensively in Bengali,