Why did Sai Baba ask for Dakshina from his devotees, and what was the underlying lesson?

The practice of asking for Dakshina, or an offering, was a key teaching method for Sai Baba. As explained in Chapter 14, a primary purpose was to instill humility in His followers. The text highlights this by describing how Baba would command even a great millionaire to go to a poor person's house and beg for the offering. The essence of this, as the source clarifies, was that under the pretext of Dakshina, Baba was teaching His devotees to choose humility. The text from Chapter 14 further explores this by questioning why a desireless saint would need money, concluding that for one to whom pebbles and diamonds are of the same value, the act was not about material gain but about spiritual growth for the devotee.