The texts mention that a saint should be desireless. Why then did Sai Baba, who saw pebbles and diamonds as equal, ask his devotees for money in the form of Dakshina?

Chapter 14 addresses this very doubt. While it might seem contradictory for a completely fulfilled saint to ask for money, the text suggests there was a deeper purpose. The essence of the practice was not about the money itself, but about teaching spiritual lessons. The primary lesson highlighted is that "under the pretext of Dakshina, Baba was teaching His devotees to choose humility." By making everyone, from the wealthy to the poor, participate in this exchange, He broke down ego and social status. For one to whom gold coins and copper coins were of the same value, the act of asking was a tool for spiritual development rather than a sign of material desire.