Chapter 12 begins to tell a story about a visitor to Shirdi. Who was this person and what does the text say about why he was able to visit?

The story introduced in Chapter 12 concerns a man named Mule, who was a ritualistic and orthodox Agnihotri (keeper of the sacred fire) from the holy city of Nashik. The chapter makes it very clear that his arrival in Shirdi was not a mere accident but a result of his accumulated past merits. The text emphatically states that without such merit in one's possession, a person cannot stay in Shirdi for even a single moment. It also hints that his original purpose for the visit was different from the eventual, fortunate outcome of gaining the benefit of Shirdi.