What was the spiritual lesson behind the incident with Pundalikrao's coconut?

The incident involving Pundalikrao and the coconut was not about the physical object but served as a profound spiritual lesson from Sai Baba. As explained in Chapter 51, the loss of the coconut was merely an excuse for Baba to provide advice that would soothe Pundalikrao's distressed mind. The core teaching, or the 'essence of this story,' is that one's authority on the spiritual path increases as their ego decreases. The text states that by becoming more non-egoistic, a person can more easily cross the 'ocean of existence.' Therefore, the entire event was a divine play to free Pundalikrao's mind from pride and guilt.