Who was the sannyasi Vijayananda, and what led him to Shirdi?

The sannyasi featured in the main story of Chapter 31 is named Vijayananda, and he hailed from Madras. His original and determined goal was to undertake a pilgrimage to Mansarovar. However, as the narrative in Chapter 31 recounts, his journey took an important detour. While on his way, he heard about the great fame of Sai Baba of Shirdi. This sparked an "intense longing for darshan" within him. Consequently, he decided to interrupt his pilgrimage to Mansarovar and came searching for Shirdi to have the darshan of the renowned saint, Sai Maharaj.