In what way did Sai Baba's views on fasting and penance differ from more conventional spiritual practices?

Sai Baba's approach to spirituality was quite distinct from conventional practices that often emphasize severe austerities. Chapter 32 explicitly states that "the trouble of fasting and penance - this doesn't work with Sai." While many traditions advocate fasting to purify the body and mind, Baba taught that finding God on a hungry stomach is an impossible notion. His practical advice was that one should first eat a piece of bread to find peace in the soul, as this is the prerequisite for realizing God. He saw excessive fasting as a source of terrible, continuous discomfort, thereby inverting the common spiritual hierarchy that places penance above physical comfort.