Based on Chapter 28, what is the connection between a person's past karma, meeting a saint, and achieving spiritual liberation?

Chapter 28 explains that attaining the company of a saint is a direct consequence of positive accumulated karma from numerous past lives. When this karma ripens, it creates the opportunity to meet a Guru like Sai Baba. This meeting is a pivotal event that ignites the "fire of discrimination" within the devotee. According to the chapter, this association helps one become detached from worldly enjoyments, destroys the remaining accumulated karma, and dispels the "darkness born of delusion." Ultimately, this sacred company is what makes a person's life successful by leading them away from the cycle of birth and death.