Does Chapter 26 say anything about book knowledge versus actual spiritual experience?

Yes, Chapter 26 makes a clear distinction between intellectual knowledge and direct spiritual experience. The author explicitly prays to Sai Baba to make the knowledge of the Self meaningful through personal experience. He states that without this direct experience, "the exhaustion of speech achieves nothing in spirituality." This highlights the belief that simply talking about or reading philosophical concepts is insufficient. The author therefore asks Baba, through His power and grace, to grant the gift of the natural state of union (Sayujya) so that the knowledge becomes a lived reality.