Why was the Tarkhad son so worried about traveling to Shirdi, even though his mother wanted to go?

The Tarkhad son was deeply devoted to Sai Baba and had a strict daily routine of worship. As detailed in Chapter 9, he would perform daily worship of Sai's photograph after his morning bath and would not eat until he had made a food offering, or 'Naivedya'. His primary worry about going to Shirdi was that this regular, uninterrupted service would cease in his absence. He was concerned about who would perform the worship at home, especially since his father was a follower of the Prarthana Samaj, leading the son to doubt if his father would be willing or able to continue the practice of idol worship, which he considered a great puzzle.