Why was Sai Baba so against fasting for spiritual reasons?

Sai Baba strongly advised against fasting, believing it was counterproductive to spiritual growth. As explained in Chapter 32, he himself never fasted and would not allow his devotees to do so either. His core teaching was that the mind of a fasting person is not peaceful, which begs the question, "What spiritual benefit can there be in that?" He believed that God is not attained on an empty stomach and one must first satisfy the soul and provide strength to the senses through food. The text emphasizes that the difficult practices of fasting and penance simply did not work with Sai, who prioritized a devotee's well-being as a prerequisite for devotion.