How did Sai Baba connect the act of eating with the ability to practice devotion to God?

Sai Baba taught that there is a direct and essential connection between eating and one's ability to practice devotion. According to Chapter 32, he believed that all the senses require strength to function, and this strength comes from food. Without the "moistness of food in the belly," the senses become wretched and weak. He posed rhetorical questions like, "how can the eyes see God? How can the tongue describe His glory? How can the ears hear it?" if one is weak from hunger. Therefore, devotion to God is only possible when the body is adequately nourished. The text states that one should first eat a piece of bread before attempting to realize God, as this is how the soul finds peace. Baba's philosophy was that "food as Brahman" is a realization that comes from hunger.