Sadgurus or Perfect Masters are in reality the seers who have realized the Absolute or have reached the highest realm of spiritual attainment, are present for ever in the whole universe whether in an embodied or in an un-embodied state. They can operate in gross, subtle or mental world. By virtue of their divine powers they touch upon both the animate and the inanimate world. They have been actually chosen to execute the divine mission and for that, free from individual ego work together for the execution of the divine mission.

This is one of the profiles of their spirit of compassion. They are, indeed, the ambassadors of the divine compassion. Due to this compassion for humanity they get embodied in the world to uplift the souls of the fallen and the suffering. They are revered as Sadgurus or Perfect Masters by the scriptures.

 A Perfect Master is at first a Perfect man, a Perfect Satpurush. A ‘Satpurush’ means one who does not suffer any imperfections or limitations that all other creatures of God are subjected to.Only God is perfect and everything else is imperfect. The Sadgurus, evolving life after life, from the state of a normal human soul (Jivatama) reach the state of Divinity (Shivatma). When this state of realization comes to them they are neither the body, nor the mind but are Pure Consciousness. Pain and pleasure, life and death, heat and cold and such other varied attributes of nature perceptible in the phenomenal world do not affect them, for they are in a state of Only God--pure divine consciousness. Their attributes are the same as those of the God.

They are infinite existence, infinite knowledge, infinite power and infinite bliss. This state is known as the seventh stage in the spiritual journey of the souls. At this stage the gross, subtle and mental bodies are totally annihilated.

However, the word Sadguru depicts a personality so vast and universal, that it is beyond comprehension of an ordinary mortal. Only the spiritual seekers get a glimpse as they advance in the path. A Sadguru is one who leads the created to the Creator. Being himself beyond the multiplicism and dualism of nature, they have the power to pull out human beings from the limitations of nature imposed on them.

Some people think that a living Sadguru is necessary for uplifting the soul of an individual to spiritual heights. However, history reveals that even after leaving his body the Sadgurus continue their activity of elevating the lots of his people.

How so ever intellectually one may try to understand or imagine about this state, it is not possible to do so without actually reaching that state.

It is these Souls that come down on earth in human body to evolve the souls of the human beings (Jivatma) to the state of God (Shivatma). When embodied in human form, they remain simultaneously in the state of God and also of man. They do not move around like mendicants and are not bound by any scriptural injunctions. Their actions are universal in nature cutting across religions, nations and all divisions of society. Even animals and birds are not treated differently by them.

The Sadgurus or Perfect Masters are born at different times in different places and different cultural backgrounds. Strangely enough their external situations may be widely variant but their actions in their embodied stages display a common theme and common approach to solve the human problems.

Five Sadgurus are said to operate in the whole world in a particular milieu and one of them is indeed, a Param Sadguru. 51 spiritually realized ‘Siddhas’ both corporeal and non corporeal assist them. Besides this, in this hierarchy there are about 5000 evolved souls stationed in different ladders of spiritual enlightenment. This galaxy of seers is said to be functional or operative for a period of seven hundred years.

These are five Sadgurus guiding the affairs of the universe at any point, even today and at all points of time to come. For example, if an ant were to move on the body of one Sadguru, the other Sadgurus will feel the sensation. Their personalities may seem to be different but their egos are one-the Ego of the Over soul or God. Being in God State whatever they say becomes the command of God for that time, as also for all times to come.

When the Sadguru leaves His body, the same Divine "love aspect" operates through another body, ready for the purpose. Some one may ask as to where does the soul of Sadguru go after he leaves his body. The soul of Sadguru is eternal, all pervading and always remains in the state of Parambramha or the Almighty. All Sadgurus are the same spirit and are within each other as much as they are within God or are in a state of God.

The celebrities (Perfect Masters) found on the banks of the sacred rivers, the Godavari and Narmada in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, are Shri Akkalkot Maharaj (Maharashtra), Hazrat Tajuddin Baba (Nagpur), Shri Gajanan Avadhoot (Shegaon, Maharashtra), Hazrat Babajan and Shri Shankar Maharaj (Pune), Shri Upasani Maharaj (Sakuri, Maharashtra) , Shri Narayan Maharaj (Ked Gaon, Maharashtra) and above all Shri Shirdi Sai Baba (Shirdi, Maharashtra).

Shri Shirdi Sai Baba, flourished  in the later half of the 19th century, would remain as a manifested Param Sadguru, the Supreme Master for the seven centuries. The Sadgurus, transcending all the confines of caste, sect and colour, remain engaged in the spiritual uplift of the humanity and operate in both physical and metaphysical plane. Even animals, birds and other living creatures are treated compassionately by them. The life-style of Sai Baba, his routine functioning etc. reflected that his compassion lay in abundance for the redemption of the people.

Perfect Masters like Sai Baba, play a role, both at micro and a macro levels. At the micro-level, species, who are drawn to Him by His mighty Will like chained birds, as Baba used to say. . At a macro-level, Baba once commented that during 1854 and 1858, he was busy with Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi, thereby, indicating his role in the transitional phase of Indian history .

Whereas, limited human intelligence can perceive the activities at micro-level of the Perfect Masters, it can never perceive their role at the macro-level. History, therefore, is a limited projection of human activities at micro-level. No historian so far has been able to bring about the hidden game of the Perfect Masters behind all the temporal powers on this earth. Baba's activities, visible and non-visible, were extremely intense during the  World War-I period between 1914 and 1918. He left his body on 15thOctober, 1918 when the war had almost ended, completing His mission.

Shri Sainath, the Param Sadguru (Guru of Gurus) of our times, as also Swami Akkalkot Maharaj, Hazrat Tajuddin and other Sadgurus used to go into tantrums throwing objects at their disciples, who again used to strangely benefit spiritually and materially after the committance or such happenings. This goes to prove that whatever they do only benefits and does not harm the disciples. Some of their actions are extremely mysterious, beyond the comprehension of ordinary human logic. For example, they enter into a state of extreme rage without any seeming cause and then suddenly calming down and showering all their blessings as if nothing had happened. Many a times they seem extremely disturbed but would maintain a strange sort of inner calm even in the face of danger to their lives.

The Sadguru in the midst of a swarm of devotees, when expected to become more vocal may suddenly resort to silence or may even leave the place. It has been established that such activity has something to do with the activity of a larger dimension, which needs the immediate attention of the Sadgurus.

Sadgurus are hardly bothered about social appreciation, for they act because they know the ultimate reaction of all the actions. Which, what to speak of the society, the whole world may not be knowing. But the fact remains that whatever they do is ultimately for the benefit of mankind because they are in a state of complete selflessness. Their divine consciousness is so universal that it encompasses all the elements of living and non-living. Many people think the Sadgurus, always being aware about their infinite power,  pretend not to know about it. The truth is that they in a state of pure consciousness not affected by the three mental state of gunas-Tama, Raja and even Satwa (attributes of ignorance).

They are like pure mirrors. When a devotee approaches the Sadguru, a connection is established between the Sadguru and the soul of the devotee.  As the mirror reflects exactly what the person is but does not add anything, we call it only mirror. The Sadguru is thus in the state of Only consciousness. This means 'only existence'. Therefore, whatever we project to the Sadguru, good or bad, will be accepted by him. He being in a state of only consciousness would absorb negative or positive traits of minds and return pure consciousness, as he is nothing but pure consciousness. That is why we must always think of the Sadguru, keep him in mind in every small or big act you do in your life. Each step you take as you walk along life, make him a companion, for he is the only companion who will walk with you in this life and the life beyond. A Perfect Master or Sadguru is as much a living entity without body as with a body in the time continuum.