Why did Sai Baba insist that food was necessary for devotion?

Sai Baba's teachings, detailed in Chapter 32, emphasize that physical well-being is the foundation for spiritual practice. He believed that without food, the senses become weak and incapable of engaging in devotion. He rhetorically asked how the eyes could see God, the tongue describe His glory, or the ears hear it without the strength provided by food. The text states, 'all senses need strength. Only then can devotion to God happen.' For Baba, the gnawing pain of hunger was so profound that it leads to the realization of 'food as Brahman.' Therefore, he taught that one must first nourish the body to quiet its demands, allowing the mind to achieve the peace required for spiritual realization.