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

The incident involving Pundalikrao's lost coconut served as a pretext for a deeper spiritual lesson about overcoming ego. As explained in Chapter 51, the loss of the coconut was merely an excuse for Sai Baba to offer advice and clear Pundalikrao's distressed mind. The core teaching, or the essence of the story, is that the more one can achieve a non-egoistic state, the more authority they gain on the spiritual path. This freedom from pride and guilt ultimately helps a devotee to easily cross the metaphorical ocean of existence.