What illness was Amir Shakkar suffering from, and what was Sai Baba's prescribed cure?

Amir Shakkar was afflicted with severe rheumatism that caused him great sorrow and physical pain. When he came to Sai Baba and narrated his illness in detail, he prayed for deliverance. As described in Chapter 22, Baba's remedy was not a conventional medicine but a test of faith. He instructed Amir to stay steadily in the Chavadi for a period of nine months. This was a firm command, and Baba's word itself was to be considered the medicine. Despite the hardship this entailed, Amir was to accept this instruction and reside in the difficult conditions of the Chavadi as his path to healing.