A spiritual journey often starts easy but becomes difficult. Based on the text, what is the purpose of these hardships and how should a devotee respond when doubts arise?

As detailed in Chapter 29, it is common for the spiritual path to feel sweet at first, only to later present significant difficulties, which can cause doubts to sprout in the mind. One might wonder, 'Why does Sai bring these obstacles?' The text advises that this is the precise moment to 'hold on firmly to faith.' These trials are not punishments but are themselves tests designed to make faith firm. Sai himself creates these obstacles for a specific purpose: to ensure that the remembrance of him occurs, which in turn leads to the calming of those same difficulties. The proper response is to face calamities directly while remembering Sai constantly.