What is the meaning behind the analogy of the River Bhagirathi (Ganges) used in Chapter 47?

The analogy of the River Bhagirathi, or Ganges, in Chapter 47 serves to illustrate the supreme purifying power of saints like Sai Baba. The chapter explains that while the Ganges washes the feet of the world and purifies others, she herself becomes soiled with their accumulated impurities. To wash away her own sins, the river desires the dust from the feet of saints, knowing there is no other deliverance for her. This metaphor beautifully conveys the idea that saints possess a spiritual purity so immense that even a sacred entity like the Ganges seeks their grace for its own purification, as described in Chapter 47.