Why did Sai Baba believe that eating was a necessary prerequisite for devotion to God?

Sai Baba's philosophy, as detailed in Chapter 32, was that spiritual activities require physical strength, which comes from food. He taught that without the "moistness of food in the belly," the senses become wretched and weak. He posed rhetorical questions: "how can the eyes see God? How can the tongue describe His glory? How can the ears hear it?" if one is weakened by hunger. The text summarizes his view by stating that all senses need strength for devotion to God to even be possible. Therefore, he instructed that one must "first satisfy the soul of the self" by eating, because a peaceful soul and capable senses are essential for realizing God.