Could you describe the author's personality before he became a devotee, based on his own words?

The author provides a candid self-assessment of his character before his spiritual transformation. In Chapter 2, he describes his initial self as 'mischievous, talkative, cynical, and critical.' He admits to being arrogant about his knowledge, possessing a 'bad intellect and a logic-driven mind.' He was consistently 'proud of his own wisdom' and consequently 'prone to argumentation.' This description paints a picture of an intellectual skeptic who relied on logic and debate, a disposition that Sai Baba's teachings directly challenge. The author confesses he knew nothing of a Satguru's greatness at that time, framing his past self as the exact type of person who, according to Sai, is consumed by ignorance and unfit for self-knowledge.