How did people from different social and religious backgrounds react to Sai Baba's unconventional ways?

People's reactions to Sai Baba were often a mixture of amazement and eventual reverence that transcended their initial biases. Chapter 7 states that people were 'amazed in their hearts' by his paradoxical nature. Despite his unconventional practices, even the most orthodox individuals were humbled in his presence. The best of Brahmins, who are traditionally strict about ritual purity, would come and worship him. Agnihotris, keepers of the sacred fire, would prostrate before him, abandoning their pride. The text suggests that those who came to 'see the proof' of his nature would end up behaving in the same humbled way, becoming 'silent and humble upon seeing Him.' This indicates that his spiritual power and egoless state were so profound that they dissolved distinctions of caste and religion for those who came into his company.