The text mentions the 'realization of food as Brahman.' What does this concept mean in the context of Sai Baba's teachings on hunger?

The phrase 'the realization of food as Brahman arises in the mind' is used in Chapter 32 to describe the profound and all-consuming nature of extreme hunger. Baba taught that during a very difficult time of hunger, the need for food becomes so primary that it is elevated to the level of the ultimate reality, or Brahman. This concept highlights his practical, embodied spirituality. He believed that before one can contemplate a formless, transcendent God, one must first address the pressing needs of the body. When one is starving, the senses fail and all skills are forgotten. In that moment, food becomes the most divine and necessary thing, illustrating that spirituality is not separate from our physical existence and its needs.