Why were the onlookers, including Shama, so surprised by Sai Baba's interaction with the two visitors from Goa?

The surprise stemmed from what appeared to be an inexplicable act of partiality by Sai Baba. As narrated in Chapter 36, when two gentlemen from Goa came for darshan, Baba accepted a specific amount of Dakshina (fifteen rupees) from one, but then flatly rejected a larger, voluntary offering (thirty-five rupees) from the other. This differential treatment was puzzling. For observers like Madhavrao (Shama), it was difficult to reconcile this behavior with the expected equanimity of a great saint. The chapter explains that this sense of confusion and surprise is what led Shama to question Baba directly, seeking to understand the deeper reason behind his actions.