Shri Nathji said:
I am ever-free from the bondage of the world, I have no desire for salvation. And, yet, I am in bondage and shall remain in bondage till the last of the souls has been set free.
Shri Nathji was the pilot of the ship that carried people across the ocean of life and death. The ship would touch shore; people would get off, but not he. His task was not yet over. He would return to the other shore to carry across others waiting. He would remain in the ship, over the turbulent waters, crossing and re-crossing the ocean until the last man was across.
People came to Shri Nathji with various degrees of faith desiring various things–spiritual as well as material. Some sought relief from sickness, others sought relief from financial or mental worries, yet others desired children or success in life. The aura of divinity around Shri Nathji was such that all who came to him got what they wanted. The incurably sick were miraculously cured, the grieved and sorrowful received instantaneous peace of mind, barren parents conceived, hopeless failures succeeded in their careers. These were all miracles. And yet they occurred spontaneously, and their occurrence was not attended to by any fanfare. Shri Nathji would seldom refer to them or attach any great importance to them.
Shri Nathji said: One of the greatest miracles that occurs here is that miracles occur every moment and nobody is even made conscious of them.
Genuine seekers after truth came to him, too, but those who desired the world were many and numerous. Shri Nathji was not against people desiring things of the material world. He was like a benevolent mother that fed the child its milk and also gave it toys to play with.
Shri Nathji was particularly fond of the quotation from the Bible:
But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.
He summed up spiritual life in a material world as follows:
Deedaye zaahir men mere ye jahaan bastaa rahe
Deedaye baatin men lekin kuch sivaa tere na ho.
Let the world remain before my eyes to see,
But within me let there be none else but Thee!
Shri Nathji’s modesty and humility was such that he shunned publicity and propaganda. Had he allowed this, the mere appearance of his divinely beautiful portrait in the newspapers would have caused a flood of humanity towards him. The face was such that it gave evidence of itself without a word being said. It was a beauty that belonged to another world. It was a face that only the avatar could have possessed.
But because there was no publicity and no propaganda, Shri Nathji’s personality remained secluded from the general public view. This was in contrast to all other spiritual missions and societies that centred around personalities, where the widest possible publicity and propaganda were used as a means to propagate their message. Shri Nathji was carrying his message alone.
It makes no difference to me, said Shri Nathji, whether multitudes come to me or only one man. Even if there be no one, I will sit all alone and observe the reflection of my face in a mirror.
Shri Nathji was an ocean of contentment; the entire world belonged to him, and was reflected within the mirror of His Soul.
Yet there were many of his devotees who had ardently wished that publicity be given. A valuable gem was being hidden from the world. But it was Shri Nathji’s wish that he remain unknown to a large part of the world. Only genuine seekers after truth found him. Even then, Shri Nathji’s fame travelled far and wide. Truth could not be hidden for long.
It is not you who have come to me, Shri Nathji would often say to people who had come to see him, it is I who have called you here. I went out first in the form of my thoughts and feelings, and entered your mind. From thence sprang the desire that brought you here.
A Mahatma from the hermitages at Rishikesh visited Shri Nathji and said: It is decreed that you have not to make any effort to spread your message. Those who will be instrumental in doing so shall come to you of themselves as and when the time is ripe.
And that was exactly what happened. Genuine seekers after truth, souls that were thirsty since ages, sought out Shri Nathji and found him and were blessed in this Union.