In the story of Deo, what is the meaning behind Baba's metaphor of the 'rag' and the 'golden-bordered shawl'?

The metaphor of the 'rag' and the 'golden-bordered shawl' is a key teaching from Sai Baba found in Chapter 41. The 'rag' represents the inferior or secondary spiritual knowledge Deo was seeking when he privately asked another devotee, Balkram, about his meditation practices. Baba was displeased because He, as the Guru, was present and ready to bestow the highest wisdom, which is symbolized by the 'beautiful golden-bordered shawl [Shela].' Baba's rhetorical question, "Why do you go to steal rags?" powerfully illustrates that a devotee should seek supreme truth directly from the master, rather than settling for incomplete information from other sources.