It was very difficult to part from Shri Nathji. Shri Nathji used to narrate how R.R. Khanna had gone to jump from the top of a cliff when he was leaving his house; how Sweetie Chopra at Allahabad had laid down before his car and stopped him from leaving; how the hardened Air Force Officer Sukhdev had felt that his soul had flown away when Shri Nathji left; how crowds of people would come to railway stations in tears whenever he departed from any place.
Indeed there were hundreds and thousands of people in the Punjab, in Allahabad, and in Lucknow, Kanpur and Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, who had run weeping after the trains each time that Shri Nathji left.
There was Shri Nathji reciting his famous Persian Verse:
Khud makun begaanagi baare choon medaani
Ke charkh aashanaayaa raa za yak deegar judaayi mi dihad
Seek not to separate from each other so soon,
For surely the rotation of the skies shall bring about separation one day!
Shri Nathji said:
“I have made everything very simple for you. Pilgrimages to holy places entail many difficulties. There are even many pilgrims who die on the way through accidents and the snow. But they consider death to be blessed because it comes to them on the path of God.
“Do not think you are going of your own accord. Think that it is I who am sending you to attend to your worldly duties in life. How wonderful do one’s worldly duties become if they are taken to be an order of God.
“And yet you must bear in mind that I shall be physically far from you when you go away.
“There was a devotee from Akola who came to see me at Mussoorie. When he was parting he said to me: ‘Prabhuji! I am taking you with myself! You are always with me!’
And I said to him: ‘If I am always with you, always, then of what use is my body? Perhaps I should hide it!’
“The devotee was taken aback and said: ‘No, no Prabhuji! Don’t say that! You are not with me!’
“And I said: ‘If I am not with you then of what use am I?’
“The devotee was confused. And so I gave him the final answer:
‘I am with you in the form of my blessings, but I am not with you in my human form, so that the desire for darshan may remain!’
Aarzooye deede jaanaa hamko laayi bazm men
Bazm se ham aarzooye deede jaanaa le chale
It was the desire to see Thee that brought me to Thee,
And leaving–I carry this desire away with me!
“Yes the time has come for you to go back to your worldly duties which are allotted to you by God, as part of His scheme. But remember that if ever your services are required directly by God you must be ever prepared to come and not hesitate! It will be your good fortune to serve Him. And when you do God’s work, He will do all your works for you!”
“Whenever your mind wavers and you cannot decide whether to do your own work or that of God then give a spontaneous preference to God’s work. Remember that He will do your work for you in a far better way than you could have done.
Masnushya mazdoori deth hai,
Kyon raakhe Bhagwan
When man pays for services rendered
Why would God not recompense
“Obedience to the Lord’s Will is one of the highest of spiritual stages. Here sits Chaman Lal Magoo. There was a time when I had asked him to take the first train out of Allahabad to his office. He obeyed me explicitly and sat in the first train that he could find, even though he knew it did not stop at his office. But the miraculous happened, and the train stopped there!
“When I was travelling to Akola by car with Shri Ram Lal, the car developed engine trouble and began to stop along the way. Every time it would stop, Ram Lal would say: ‘Shri Bhola Nathji Bhagwan ki Jai!’ And the car would begin to move. It was a miracle of his faith. I told him: ‘The car is moving on the strength of the same Name which is sustaining the entire Universe!’
“How easy is the path I have shown you! Just one pranaam–one prostration. The saints and sages have to undergo numerous austerities and physical torments to reach God. Even if one were to aspire to become a comb one would have to endure the pain of the carving and cutting.
“It matters little that your numbers are small. Only jewellers can recognise a diamond. If even blacksmiths were to call a stone a diamond, it would probably not be a diamond at all! Your souls have given you an inner recognition.
“A lottery is won by very few. If everyone were to win a lottery then it would not be a lottery.
“Recognise God in all His forms. Recognise Him when He listens to your prayers and recognise Him when He does not listen to your prayers. Have faith in Him in both these stages.
“It is easy to have faith in God when you are living in happiness, but real Faith is that which endures the storms of life.
“Hai reet aashikon ki tan man nisaar karnaa
Ronaa sitam utthaanaa aur unko pyaar karnaa
It is in the nature of lovers to sacrifice their body and mind,
To weep and to suffer, and yet to go on loving Him
“No matter how many saints and sages come into this world, they can never take you across the Bhavsaagar. It is only He, who has created the Bhavsaagar, who can take you across it. If anyone else could do it, it would belittle God.
“If He wishes to keep you in want it is only because He wishes to give you Himself first!
“The Grace of God finds an excuse to give. When Bhutt Sahib came to Allahabad and caught Param Pujya Shri Priya Nathji in his lap, Mahamateshwari was pleased and said: ‘Bhutt Sahib aaj aap ko Chief Justice kar diyaa hai! Bhutt Sahib you have been made a Chief Justice today!” And that was exactly what happened within a few months.
“This was an auspicious occasion. It was like the Spring which brings before you the trees as well as their fruit, in contrast to the Autumn which brings you only the trees but no fruit!
“Ham gadaye maikadaa bhee kyaa harees
Bhar liye jholi men tukrre jaam ke
How greedy are we, the beggars of Thy Tavern,
We gather together even the broken pieces of Thy cups
“I recall the time when I was very young and at Lahore. A devotee Ram Gopal Mehra was going to Europe. He did not want to leave me alone, but I persuaded him to go. While leaving, he took out a blank cheque and asked me to use it. I returned the cheque to him but I was pleased with his bhaavna, his devotion. I said to him: ‘Even your bank is a small part of my bank which contains all the banks of the world!’
“He said to me: ‘O Nathji! I am going to the West where there are many temptations. I am afraid I may spoil the treasure you have placed in me!’ While he was in Europe he fell ill and had to have an operation. He prayed to me and had his operation successfully.
“He returned after a few months and said to me: ‘Though I did not fall physically to the temptations of the West, but I must admit that I fell many times in my mind. To that extent I spoiled the treasure you had placed in me! O Nathji! Beat me with this stick!’
“And he presented a stick to me, which he had bought in Europe. I said to him: ‘Ram Gopalji! You want me to punish you with this stick! But if you desire to be beaten and I fulfil your desire would that be a punishment or a reward? Your punishment lies in this that your desire should not be fulfilled, which means that you should not be beaten!’
“He, then, unfolded an umbrella from the stick and said: ‘Huzoor! Your protecting umbrella was over me all the time. It never let me fall!’”
Shri Nathji told this amusing episode to his devotees to make them laugh even as they were preparing to leave. However he added:
“The time for departure is drawing close. The function is at an end. The moments we spent together were valuable. The reward of these moments is also valuable and will remain with you always!”
“Learn to please God in any way that you can. And the easiest way is through your prostration.
“There was a very learned Pandit, a scholar of the Vedas and Shastras at Akola, who at first had even refused to come and see me. But when he was finally persuaded to come to me he was a changed man. The effect upon him was electrifying. He wrote a letter to me in which he said:
‘Your Absolute Beauty can belong only to God. It is a Face that remains with me all the time–no matter where I am and what I am doing, whether I am awake or asleep, eating, drinking sleeping or walking! I have not to make any conscious effort to meditate upon Thee! My entire life has become a meditation upon Thee. When I left your place I picked up the particles of dust at the doorstep–it is a treasure which is the envy of angels, devis and devtaas!’
“You have not to do anything for yourselves now. I have taken upon myself your responsibility. You are like the guests of the bridegroom – the baaraatis. You have not to give up the world, but rather to enjoy it as God’s gift.
“But never let your faith lessen in any way. If Love is not enough to keep you on the right path then use your wisdom which may help you. Imperfect reason is unreliable, but perfect reason will not come in your way. Let perfect wisdom guide you when you faith is inadequate:
Ishq gar raihbar naheen to akl se kaam lo
Shamaa ko roshan karo jab tak andheri raat ho
If Love be not your guide then use your wisdom,
For as long as there is the night, keep your lamps aglow
“Priya Nathji was filled with ineffable joy all these days due to your presence here. I need your good wishes. When Lord Rama broke the Dhanusha, all the people assembled there had wanted him to break it, therefore, it was with their good wishes taken together that he was able to break the bow.
“I have before me this moment the enormous task of reaching out to the whole world with my heart– and all of you are with me! Wherever you may be, your good wishes shall remain with me, and my blessings shall remain with you.”