What was the specific reason Dev gave for his inability to recognize Baba as the Sanyasi?

Dev's failure to recognize Baba was due to a specific sequence of events that created a profound delusion in his mind. He reflected on this in chapter 40, explaining that the Sanyasi had first visited him before the invitation for the Udyapan was even sent to Sai. The Sanyasi's initial purpose was to collect funds for cow protection. Because of this prior context, when the same person later appeared asking for a meal, Dev did not connect him to Baba. He admitted that he completely forgot to pay attention to Baba's specific promise that "When I come for the meal, two others will come with me." This pre-existing, mundane reason for the Sanyasi's presence made it impossible for Dev's mind to infer that this was Baba's divine play.