Based on the provided accounts, what is the connection between Sai Baba and the Lord of Pandhari?

The provided text from Chapter 4 illustrates a profound and multifaceted connection between Sai Baba and the Lord of Pandhari, Vitthal. Devotees explicitly identified Baba with the deity, saying, "This is the living Lord of Pandhari." Baba himself fostered this connection. He encouraged Name-weeks and promised Das Ganu that Vitthal would appear in Shirdi, stating that one need not go elsewhere. He validated Kakasaheb Dixit's private meditation vision of Vitthal and then arranged for a physical picture of that exact vision to appear. Furthermore, in the case of Bhagwantrao Kshirsagar, Baba equated the neglect of a Vitthal idol with keeping himself hungry, thereby showing an inseparable identity between himself and Vitthal.