Why is 'Bhava' or faith considered so fundamental for a devotee of Sai Baba?

Faith, referred to as 'Bhava', is presented as the absolute cornerstone of the spiritual path in Chapter 48 of the Sai Satcharitra. Its importance is paramount because love, the very essence of devotion, cannot arise without it. The text makes a powerful declaration: 'where there is faith, there is God.' This implies that faith is the condition that makes divine presence accessible. It is described as the womb where love is fully present and is identified as the singular cause for successfully crossing the difficult 'ocean of worldly existence.' Without this deep, internal state of faith, other spiritual practices like listening to and reading scriptures are considered fruitless and ineffective.