It seems contradictory to pick a cynical, critical, and argumentative person like Hemadpant to write a spiritual text. Why would Baba choose someone so ill-suited for the task?

The choice of Hemadpant, despite his initially cynical nature, serves to illustrate a core teaching of Sai Baba's. As explained in Chapter 2, Baba declared, "He is merely a pretext; I myself shall write my own story!" The condition for this divine assistance was that the author must "dissolve his ego and surrender it at my feet." By choosing someone who was "talkative, cynical, and critical," Baba demonstrated the transformative power of surrender and grace. The text states, "When the ego is dissolved, no trace of it remains. Then I myself shall enter with 'I-ness' and write with my own hand." Therefore, Hemadpant's initial character wasn't a disqualifier but rather the perfect canvas to show that anyone, through surrender, can become a vehicle for divine work.