Shri Nathji narrated an experience of God Realisation which he had during those early days with Shri Babaji Bhagwan at Amritsar. The experience, as narrated in his own words, has been taken from his book, “Zahoore Haqueeqat”– “The Manifestation of Reality”.
Shri Nathji was God Incarnate, and therefore did not have any need for any such experience. However those were the days when he had veiled himself completely, and allowed all Glory to go to Shri Babaji Bhagwan alone. The experience was written by him to serve as a guiding light to all genuine seekers after truth, so that people would know of the taste of God Realisation.
In Shri Nathji’s words, as translated into English from the original Urdu:
Many years ago I found within myself a glowing flame of Divine Love which remained kindled even in the midst of the attractions of the world, and which was so filled with Divine Beauty that the entire Universe appeared to derive its attraction from a little spark of it. The desire grew within me that such a Divine Source of Beauty had to be seen.
People say that He is everywhere, but when we look at the world around us we find only the material objects of the world, He is nowhere to be found. What a strange phenomenon is this:
Behijaabi ye ke har zarre men jalvaa aashkaar Aur pardaa ye ke soorat aaj tak dekhi naheen
He is so unveiled that every atom reveals His Light,
And yet He is so veiled that no one has seen His face!
Look around yourselves! Everywhere there is the world and the thoughts associated with it. There is the sky, the earth, the stars, the sun and the moon etc. And everything appears to assert its own existence and to say ‘I exist’ while saying, ‘He is nowhere’.
But the question will arise: if their assertion of their own existence is correct then from where has such an existence come about?
Hence we are inevitably led to accept the fact that there is some Hidden Source of Beauty, from where all the beautiful objects of the world have come, and for which the heart of man is ever restless.
He has hidden Himself, for He knew that if the world saw Him it would lose itself in an intoxication of Divine Bliss.
Guftam Shaahaa dar pardaahaa khudraa chiraa daari nihaan
Guftaa ki gar beroon shavam seesad to choon Majnoon kunam
I asked: ‘O King! Why hast Thou hidden Thyself behind a veil?’
And He said: ‘If I came out, all would become lovers like Majnoon!
He, for whom the heart is restless, must exist. We must therefore make an effort to see Him. The agony of this feeling rent my heart and I ran to the feet of Shri Babaji Bhagwan and began to weep.
I said to Shri Babaji Bhagwan: “O Divine Father! Extinguish this fire within me which threatens to burn my very existence! Give me but a glimpse of God-Rama. The entire world comes to Thee with difficult problems which thou can solve, willst thou not solve my difficulty?”
I was filled with such an intense feeling of separation from God that I had become the very picture of restlessness. Sometimes I would even say: “O Lord! If you do not exist, then come and tell me that Thou art not!” Then again I would laugh at my own words, and say: “If He comes Himself to tell me that He does not exist, would not His very coming prove to me that He exists!”
Shri Babaji Bhagwan was very pleased with my query, but said: “Why are you interested in getting a glimpse of God? This is the time of your childhood, go and enjoy yourself!”
However I persisted: “Huzoor, Divine Master! Please do not turn me away from my quest! Please extinguish this fire within me!”
Shri Babaji Bhagwan said: “All right, then! I shall give you some instructions. Follow them and you shall get to see God of yourself!”
However I was much too restless to follow any spiritual discipline at the time and cried: “O Babaji! Please do not prolong my anguish anymore! Have mercy on me!”
I also said to him: “Huzoor! Thou art my Father. Thou did not leave any wealth of the world for me, now willst thou keep me bereft of this spiritual wealth as well?”
Shri Babaji Bhagwan was greatly moved by these words, and said: “All right then. Go and sit inside your room and you shall get what you want!”
I obeyed his order and went and sat inside my room all alone. I waited with great expectancy for God to reveal Himself to me, and wondered what kind of a face He would assume.
But instead of any Face appearing before me, the world around me began to vanish, and I found myself in a state which was impossible to describe in words.
I do know, however, that what appeared before me, instead, was a world of indescribable bliss, a world where there was no diversity and where sorrows did not exist even in name.
I was lifted up to an unimaginable height, and then dropped, all of sudden. How and why did this happen? I cannot explain it, but I do know that as soon as the state had gone I said:
Kadhe balabam bood va shikasti Rabbi
The cup neared my lips, but Thou broke it, O God!
It was with a feeling of separation within me that I went to Shri Babaji Bhagwan and said to him: “Bhagwan! Why did you take away the treasure from me just when it appeared within my reach?”
And he said to me: “Beta–son! Leave Him to His mysteries! What need have you to pursue them!”
As Shri Nathji had sat alone in the room, waiting for God to appear, he discovered that the world around him appeared to be transforming itself into a world of bliss and divine intoxication that was too powerful for words. The world of matter around him turned into a spiritual world where there was only peace and happiness, the likes of which was never seen upon earth. It was Shri Nathji experiencing the God within him, the experience of Shri Nathji entering within his own Self. However, in all his humility, Shri Nathji attributed this feeling to the Divine Grace of Shri Babaji Bhagwan, which had made him experience God.
Shri Nathji entered into this exercise only so that he may explain to people what the experience of God Realization was. In this state the outside world of matter did not vanish, rather it took on a form that was inexpressibly beautiful and filled with bliss that was not of this world, and in which all the cares and worries of the world had ceased to exist. The world of matter turned into a spiritual world.
In the Hindu Vedas it had been written that God was Sat-Chit-Anand, meaning thereby that He was Sat–Truth, He was Chit–Consciousness, and He was Anand–Bliss. Man experienced Sat and Chit i.e. Truth and Consciousness in the world around him, but did not experience Anand – a never-ending bliss. This bliss, according to Shri Nathji, could only be experienced in God. In a state of God-Realisation, the attributes of the world remained as before, i.e. Sat and Chit remained as before, but Anand, a unique Bliss, was added to them, which showed to man that the real state of the world around him was that of Absolute Happiness when God revealed Himself to man. Real Anand lay only in God. Having found Him the world became beautiful and ceased to have a face of apparent sorrow and suffering. God did not appear before man as a separate Being, rather the world around him converted to God. If only man could understand the significance of this, he would learn to seek God within the world rather than outside of it. If man were to see God in every phase of the world he would learn to love the world and all who dwell in it.