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

Sai Baba taught that physical nourishment was essential for spiritual practice because the body's senses are the instruments of devotion. As explained in Chapter 32, without the strength provided by food, the senses become weak and lose their "capacity for spirituality." The text poetically asks how the eyes can see God, the tongue describe His glory, or the ears hear His praise without the "moistness of food in the belly." Therefore, Baba's logic was that in order to engage in devotion effectively, the physical body must first be cared for, making eating a foundational step before one could hope to realize God.