If Sai Baba was truly writing the story himself, why did he need an author at all? It seems more likely the author, Hemadpant, was just using this idea of being a 'pretext' to lend more authority to his own writing.

The text from Chapter 2 directly addresses this concept by quoting Sai Baba's words. Baba explains the dynamic by stating, "He is merely a pretext; I myself shall write my own story!" The condition for this divine intervention was the author's complete self-surrender: "He should dissolve his ego and surrender it at my feet." According to the narrative, this is not a claim invented by the author for authority, but a spiritual process. Once the author's ego is dissolved, Baba states, "Then I myself shall enter with 'I-ness' and write with my own hand." The author is presented as an instrument made pure through surrender, allowing a divine story to be told through him.