If Baba left his body in Shirdi, how can he still be present? What is his state now?

Chapter 43 addresses this by explaining that Sai Baba's presence is not confined to his physical body. The text states that he has become one with Brahman and, in his true form, fills the entire moving and non-moving world. To believe he was only the three and a half cubits of his physical body is considered improper. Just as other great saints like Gyaneshwar and Tukaram remained a spiritual force in their respective places, Sai remains the same in Shirdi and everywhere else. Chapter 43 assures us that he transcended the material state to merge into the unmanifest, where he enjoys his true self and always keeps his devotees awake and protected.