Given that saints are expected to be desireless, how can Baba's practice of asking for Dakshina be reconciled with the ideal of renunciation?

This apparent paradox is explored within Chapter 14. The text first questions why a detached saint, who spurns worldly things and has supernatural powers at his command, would need money, stating that if a Fakir retains greed, it is a form of worshipping money. However, Baba's actions were a teaching. By asking for Dakshina at the start of worship as an "offering to Brahman," He was not accumulating wealth for Himself but guiding devotees. Chapter 14 explains that from wealth comes religious merit, and from merit, knowledge. His acceptance of Dakshina was a mechanism to turn the devotee's mind from worldly desires toward the highest spiritual goal, thus demonstrating that the act was for the devotee's welfare, not His own.