Who did the devotees remember Baba promising he would appear as again?

Amid their feelings of sorrow and repentance, the devotees found hope in a specific promise from Sai Baba. As recounted in Chapter 43, Maharaj had told his followers before he left that he would "appear again" as "an eight-year-old child." This statement from a saint gave them full confidence that he would return. The text even compares this promised return to the Krishna avatar, noting that Baba's reappearance would be for the salvation of his poor devotees, which served as a great comfort to them.