How did Sai Baba help people when he first arrived in Shirdi, and what did he do instead of giving medicine later on?

When Maharaj first came to Shirdi, he resided in a dilapidated Masjid. He helped people by providing them with medicines, for which he never accepted payment. As Chapter 0 describes, if a patient was not being cared for properly, he would personally go and care for them himself. There are still many people who were treated and cared for by Maharaj. Later in his life, Maharaj stopped giving medicine and instead gave only Udi, or sacred ash, to people. He had given ash before as well, and people found they would benefit from it.