Describe the feelings of the devotees after Sai Baba left his body and the specific promise he made to them about his return.

After Baba's passing, his devotees felt immense pain and repentance, believing their internal fighting and harassment of one another had caused him to leave. As Chapter 43 explains, they felt that the "friend Sai who was right here is distant" and that they had "lost Sainath" through their actions. Amidst this sorrow, they held onto a promise Maharaj had made before he left. He told his devotees, "As an eight-year-old child, I will appear again." This word from a saint gave them full confidence that he would return, with the text comparing this promise to the divine appearance of Lord Krishna.