How did Sai Baba's views on food and fasting contrast with the typical spiritual practices of his time?

Sai Baba's perspective on food stood in stark contrast to the common spiritual practices involving austerity and fasting. While Chapter 32 notes that all kinds of people, including yogis, renouncers, and those undertaking vows and austerities, came to Shirdi for his darshan, Baba's own philosophy was quite different. He taught that one should 'first tie bread to the waist' before contemplating spirituality. Chapter 32 makes it clear that 'the trouble of fasting and penance - this doesn't work with Sai.' He dismissed the idea of finding God on a hungry stomach as something that doesn't happen 'even in imagination,' positioning his practical, body-affirming approach as a distinct alternative to the ascetic traditions.