The author, Hemadpant, admits he was initially cynical, arrogant, and prone to argumentation. Why would Sai Baba choose someone with such a flawed and critical character to be his official biographer?

Chapter 2 provides insight into this by contrasting the author's past self with Sai Baba's requirements. The author confesses he was 'mischievous, talkative, cynical, and critical,' with a 'logic-driven mind' and was 'prone to argumentation.' This self-description directly mirrors the qualities Sai Baba warned against, stating that a mind for argumentation is filled with ignorance and unfit for self-knowledge. The implication is that the author's transformation, through surrendering his ego and abandoning this argumentative nature as per Baba's guidance, is what qualified him for the task. The process of writing the stories was itself part of his spiritual development from a cynic to a devoted scribe.