What is the philosophical understanding of death for a great Yogi like Sai Baba? Did he truly die?

According to the teachings in Chapter 43, the concept of death as we know it does not apply to a perfected Yogi like Sai Baba. Death is described as the separation of the body and senses, a natural state for the body. However, for a being like Sai, who is a mass of bliss and the Supreme Brahman, birth and death are false imaginations. His apparent death is likened to a solar eclipse, which is merely a defect of vision, not the sun's extinguishment. He could die at will, and he chose to burn his body in the fire of Yoga, merging into his unmanifest form. Therefore, he did not "die" but transcended the material state.