Sai Baba accepted Dakshina but considered wealth a calamity. How can these two seemingly contradictory attitudes be reconciled?

The texts in Chapter 36 provide a nuanced understanding that reconciles Sai Baba's acceptance of Dakshina with his view of wealth as a calamity. One story illustrates that what appeared to be Dakshina was actually the "repayment of a debt" from a devotee's forgotten vow to Lord Datta. Sai used this as a pretext to remind the devotee of his promise. Furthermore, while Sai accepted offerings, he often distributed the wealth that came as Dakshina but, importantly, "never gave a single penny to those troubled by calamity (who were only looking for money)." He actively discouraged his devotees, like Mhalasapati, from becoming attached to money, stating, "Money does not delude my devotees." Thus, his acceptance of money was not for accumulation but as a spiritual tool for teaching, debt-settling, and redistribution, while always warning against its power to delude.