This goes to the very beginning of SSB's career. He claimed at first to be the reincarnation of a deceased master, Sai Baba of Shirdi.

Recent and careful research has established that Sai Baba of Shirdi was Muslim, spoke the Urdu dialect used in the Deccan, performed the devotions of a Muslim, cooked meat and rice to distribute to the poor on festival days, something a Hindu would never do.

However, the old master understood principles of popular Hinduism and at the time he lived, Hindus and Muslims were about equivalently represented in the population of Shirdi and the surrounding area. When Hindus came for guidance, Shirdi would use material from the Bagavad Gita to illustrate points for them, suiting his pedagogical methods to the needs of his students.

THis did not mean he was Hindu, only that he was a fine teacher who could understand which teaching methods and texts best suited the comprehension of a particular student or group. When Shirdi Sai Baba died, he was buried in a traditional Sufi tomb shrine.

In later years, the population of Shirdi became majority Hindu and as the years passed, a gradual process took place in which Shirdi was reimaged as a Hindu Guru--and being dead, he could not object. His tomb was gradually decorated as a Hindu shrine and a marble statue of the master was installed--something no Muslim would ever have permitted.

It was during this time, when Satya Sai Baba, a speaker of Telugu, a quite different langague than Deccani Urdu, and a Hindu, created for himself a legitimation narrative, claiming to be the reincarnation of the deceased Sufi ecumenical teacher, Shirdi Sai Baba.

A writer, former member of quite a different group has written a commentary that applies to Satya Sai Baba's strategy:

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Another thing to watch out for is the "reincarnated dead guru technique." Occasionally pseudo gurus desirous of creating legitimacy for themselves will imply that they are the reincarnation of a past Saint. They argue, "You accepted him, so why not accept me, too?"

A few years back someone was claiming to be the reincarnation of Huzar Baba Sawan Singh. I don't believe the claim is genuine since their teachings are dramatically different from Sawan Singh's and the Sant tradition on a number of fundamental points.

(Just as Shirdi Sai Baba in being a Muslim Sufi and one who lived a poor and simple life, giving charity and instruction and freely accessible was utterly different in belief and deportment from Sai Baba and his gaudy lifestyle and greed for sensual and financial gratification-Corboy)

(The writer resumes)

Does the master have a multiple personality disorder? Would a Perfect Master need to argue with himself?

In any event, in the classic Sant Mat tradition self-proclaimed gurus aren't recognized as legitimate. One cannot simply become a Master by self-proclamation, declaring oneself to be the supreme master of the Western Spiral Arm of the Milky Way.

In this Path there's one Master at a time serving as the Spiritual Head of a specific Community or Mission. When the current Living Master is about to leave the body, they will usually recognize and apoint the new Master.

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