What was Anandnath Maharaj's opinion of Sai Baba when he visited Shirdi?

Anandnath Maharaj, a disciple of the famous Swami of Akkalkot, held Sai Baba in extremely high regard, even before Baba was widely famous. As recounted in Chapter 0, when devotees from Shirdi met Anandnath Maharaj in Savargaon, he spontaneously decided to travel with them back to Shirdi. Upon arriving, his words about Sai Baba were, 'This is a diamond. You don't know its true value. Even if he is on a dunghill, he is a direct diamond; keep this in mind.' This assessment stood in stark contrast to the local villagers' view at the time, who, as Chapter 0 notes, generally considered Baba to be an ordinary or mad Fakir. Anandnath Maharaj recognized Baba's spiritual greatness immediately.