Why did Sai Baba believe that hunger and fasting were obstacles to spiritual devotion?

Sai Baba viewed hunger as a significant impediment to spiritual practice because it weakens the very faculties required for devotion. As explained in Chapter 32, when a person is overcome with hunger, the senses become powerless. The text poses rhetorical questions, asking how the eyes can see God, how the tongue can describe His glory, or how the ears can hear it without the strength that food provides. In summary, Baba taught that all senses need strength to function, and if they become weak from lack of food, they lose their capacity for spirituality, making devotion impossible.