How did the infighting among devotees supposedly cause Sai Baba to leave them?

Devotees came to believe their own negative actions caused Sai Baba to become distant. As detailed in Chapter 43, they felt immense repentance for fighting amongst themselves, realizing they had ignored his teaching, "It is not good to harass anyone ; that gives me pain." They concluded that by harassing one another, they had effectively "lost Sainath." This self-reflection led them to feel that their petty quarrels had pained Baba so much that he suddenly left for his own abode, leaving them to lament what they saw as their terrible karma and profound loss.