Can you describe the events leading up to and immediately following Sai Baba's passing as detailed in Chapter 44?

Certainly. According to the account in Chapter 44, Sai Baba, knowing his end was approaching, arranged for a Brahmin to read the Ramayana to him. He listened with focused contemplation for fourteen continuous days and nights. The text states that as these two weeks concluded, the day of Vijayadashami arrived, and Baba attained the state of bodilessness, or passed away. Immediately following this event, his devotees began their final services; Laxman-mama performed worship, and Bapusaheb Jog conducted the Aarti with a lamp. Chapter 44 further narrates that for the next twenty-six hours, a period of intense deliberation began between the Hindu and Muslim communities regarding how and where to perform the final rites for Baba's body.