If Sai is all-powerful, why was his portrait covered up and hidden away in Mirikar's house for so long? Why not just appear directly?

The provided text in Chapter 51 frames the discovery of the covered portrait as a divinely timed event, not an oversight. The narrative poses this exact question rhetorically: "Why should this Shirdi portrait come here at this time? Why should it have been here so long and remained covered at this place?" The implication is that Sai orchestrates events according to a divine plan. The portrait was revealed at the precise moment Kakasaheb Dixit, who longed for Baba's darshan, was present. The chapter suggests this was not a random occurrence but that the "capable Sai acted to fulfill" Dixit's heartfelt desire, making it seem "as if He had come to Mirikar's house on this pretext."