Can you explain the events that immediately preceded Sai Baba's Mahasamadhi as described in Chapter 44?

Certainly. Chapter 44 provides a detailed and chronological account of Sai Baba's final days. The text explicitly states that, knowing His end was near, Baba arranged to have the Ramayana read to Him by a Brahmin. This wasn't a casual listening; He engaged in this with focused contemplation for fourteen continuous days and nights. The chapter emphasizes that precisely as these two weeks of listening to the Ramayana concluded, the auspicious day of Vijayadashami arrived, which was the day Baba attained His bodiless state, or Mahasamadhi. This act of deep contemplation on a sacred text right before His passing is a key event highlighted in this section.