Role of Sadguru in Spiritual Evolution
The subtle power of the Sadguru works in so many ways that it is difficult to explain them all in detail. In short, a Sadguru plays His divine role at different levels, at different places, and at different points of time in the life of the devotee. In the ultimate analysis, it has been found that it is the Guru who attracts the disciples towards Him. For this, He alone chooses the time and method.
The power of attraction of the Guru reaches the devotee in the form of thought waves. The disciple becomes overjoyed and excited and gets attracted towards Him.
As a result, he becomes eager to meet the Sadguru. Due to the newly evoked feeling of purity in his heart, he yearns to come closer to the Guru. Thereafter, a situation gets created which pulls the devotee to the Guru, Sometimes, the Guru also sends a message to the disciple or waits for his arrival. Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to wait anxiously for Shri Vivekananda. Shri Sainath Maharaj also had to wait for the arrival of Nana Saheb Chandorkar.
When such a relationship gets established, the Guru always keeps the devotee in His focus wherever He be. The Guru, Who is ever aware of the past, present, and the future of the disciples, starts to protect him in various ways. The Sadguru does so in order to create a favourable condition, both material and mental, for the spiritual evolution of the disciple. He also protects the disciple from the dangers that he faces.
Nana Saheb was climbing Harischandra hill on a summer day, and was feeling very thirsty. No water was available anywhere. He quietly sat on a huge slab of rock and exclaimed, “If Baba were here he would have surely given me water to slake my thirst”. At that time Baba was forty miles away at Shirdi. Baba spoke out immediately in the presence of devotees, “Nana is very thirsty in the scorching Summer. Should we not give him at least a handful of water?” The devotees present there could not comprehend the meaning of Baba’s words.
Soon after Nana made his exclamation about Baba, he saw a Bhil coming down the hill towards him. Nana accosted him and said, “Hello, I am thirsty. Can I get some water to drink?” The Bhil said, “What! You want water! Under the very slab of rock on which you are seated, there is water.” Nana’s sub-ordinates and friends who were with him immediately set about lifting the slab and Nana moved aside. Lo and behold! There was a palmful of water on that rock, pure and cool, just enough to save a man from fiery thirst. Nana drank the water, quenched his thirst and was able to march higher up and complete his pilgrimage.
(Chapter 2, Part II, Life of Sai Baba by Narasimha Swami, p. 255)
Source: BABA: The Devotees’ Questions by Dr. C B Satpathy