On Deepaavali, the festival of lights, Shri Nathji’s divine light was shining more brilliantly than all the lamps of the world put together. Shri Nathji spoke in a voice like thunder to the gathering assembled at his home:
Tamsomaa jyotir gam
O Lord, lead me from darkness to Light!
Shri Nathji said:
The individual human souls are like these little deepaks-lamps of clay that are burning the night long, ever flickering in the storms of the dark night, burning with the light of God and waiting for the Sun. The darkness all around is the darkness of ignorance and evil.
“I wish to see the three lamps of Love, Faith and Service burn within you.
“God is ‘Nowhere’ must now become God is ‘Now Here’ through His Grace.
“There is no peace in the world. The absence of peace and the incessant quest for peace are the strongest proofs of the existence of God, in whom alone lies the fulfilment of this quest.
“The particles of dust fly only to come down and settle upon the earth, which is the essence of their existence; the flames of all the lamps in the world soar upwards towards the source of light – the Sun; the human soul is going towards its final goal and ultimate destination, which is God.
“A hungry child cannot enjoy his toys. Only a child who has been fed can play with his toys. Therefore the mother calls the child to herself and feeds him, and then leaves him to go and play with the toys again. Herein lies the essence of action and inaction.
“Man is the child, and God, the mother, and the worldly objects, the toys. All of spirituality can be explained in this simple example. God wishes to give you Himself in the form of Peace, and then to give you the objects of the world, which you can enjoy once you have peace within yourself.
“I can go on speaking for hours, days, months, years and thousands of years. Priya Nathji has already made over one hundred and twenty tapes of my lectures at Akola. Priya Nathji is a Harvard Scholar, as you know, and he is keen to see that not a single word is missed. He knows that I carry a special message for the world which is a part of myself.
“This life is like a journey in a train. What is the consolation if you travel by first class but have no peace within you? A person travelling in the third class who is at peace shall have a better journey. There is no peace in the world without God.
“The mind is constantly restless and in this state it cannot enjoy the world. It must seek to go towards the Source of Peace, like the moth goes towards the flame of light.
“You believe in yourself when you can see yourself in the light, and you also believe in your own self when you are sitting in darkness and cannot see yourself! This is having faith under all circumstances.
“Remember, you must always believe in God. When He answers your prayers you must believe in Him, and when He does not answer your prayers you must also believe in Him. Your own Faith shall bring your answer.
“Love is the greatest unifying force in the world. There is One Power in the Universe in the midst of this apparent diversity. Let us perceive Him in this apparent diversity. Let Love fill the entire world in this thought of Him. God is Love. Even if we cannot prove the existence of God we can prove the existence of Love.
“Service of humanity is the giving of one’s own self, like the burning of the Sun that gives out light. Even though life be surrounded by difficulties, try to help someone. Your service will be the greater when done in adverse circumstances. Let no storm blow out this deepak of Prema Bhakti–Love and Devotion.
“If you can prostrate before stone images, moortis, icons and symbols, why can you not prostrate before a Living Being in whom you see God? It is your own Faith that rewards you.
“This life is like a train journey, and death is your home.
“Today my voice is vibrating all over the world.
“Everything that happens in the world is according to the Will of God. When a leaf shakes we say that it is the wind that has shaken it. But the wind was moved by the forces of Nature, and the forces of Nature are merely obeying the laws of their Creator. Therefore when the leaf stirred it was in obedience to the Will of God.
“My deepaks are all of you. You have come with truth in your hearts, seeking truth.
“Whenever you prostrate before me I lose the joy of seeing your faces! But I see them after you have raised yourselves, and I find that they shine with extraordinary brilliance from the light of Faith enshrined in your prostration.
“The Emperor has come! The begging bowls of all the beggars shall be filled! Shri Priya Nathji, who is sitting here beside me today, left his lucrative job in America. He is sharing in my work. He is sitting beside me in the boat which I am piloting, and in which all of you are with me. It is a boat that will take you across the Bhavsaagar – the ocean of life and death.
“Chief Justice Ganesh Prasad Bhutt who remained devoted to me all his life, used to say this:
Before I met you, my life was like that of others, floating on the ocean of life. When the waters were calm I was at peace, but when the sea was rough I was filled with fear. But after meeting you a strange thing has happened. No matter whether the waters of the ocean are calm or rough, I always remain at peace!
“Whenever agreeable things come my way, I accept them with thanks, and whenever disagreeable things come my way, I accept them as a measure of your Will, and remain happy in them!
“This life is full of sorrows and disappointments. Whenever you laugh too much, tears come into your eyes. These are to remind you of the misery in the world, and to tell you that this world is not your home, and that you must leave it one day!
“I am your servant. Whatever you can do for yourself, you must do, but when your efforts fail, then let me do your work for you.
Aapko hansaana meraa kaam hai
Aap ke aansoo ponchhnaa meraa kaam hai
My work is to make you happy,
My work is to wipe away your tears.
“Remember the four things that I always say:
LIVE PEACEFULLY,
LEAVE PEACEFULLY,
LIVE FOREVER PEACEFULLY
AND THEN NEVER COME BACK.
“If you cannot light this deepak of faith and devotion, then I shall do it for you.
“If storms come to extinguish this light, I shall stand before them!
Satya ke leeye jeenaa hai,
Satya ke leeye marnaa hai
Vo marnaa hee jeevan hai
We have to live for the sake of Truth
We have to die for the sake of Truth
And in this Death, there is Life.
“There are two type of leaves. The first is a green leaf, which is attached to a tree. Ask of it where it shall be tomorrow and it shall say it will remain on the tree. But there is the dry leaf, which has fallen off the branch of the tree and lies on the ground. Ask of it where it shall be tomorrow and it shall say: ‘I do not know. Ask the wind! I shall go whither it shall take me!’ I am like the dry leaf whose programs are determined by the wishes of the devotees.
“My work shall remain incomplete for as long as the work of even one man is unfinished.
“I have left the whole world and come here. I have come here so that you may become mine, and I may become yours!