What did Sai Baba mean by his teaching, 'First satisfy the soul of the self'?

When Sai Baba advised to "First satisfy the soul of the self," he was referring to the essential need to address physical hunger before attempting spiritual endeavors. As Chapter 32 elaborates, he believed that when one is overcome with hunger, the mind cannot be peaceful, and all other skills are forgotten. At such a difficult time, the realization of food itself as a form of Brahman (the ultimate reality) arises. Therefore, this teaching is a practical instruction: nourish the body first. Only when the senses are strengthened by food can devotion happen and the soul find the peace required to realize God.