The birthday celebrations of Shri Babaji Bhagwan, which were to have been held at the most prestigious hall in Nagpur, Dhanwate Rang Mandir, had to be cancelled because of the onslaught by the powers of darkness. However a small function was still held at home in the presence of the devotees who had assembled there, some of whom had come from Akola and Amravati and adjoining areas.
Shri Nathji’s Light Divine continued to shine as powerfully as before, in fact even more powerfully, now that he was surrounded by
the forces of evil. This was Shri Nathji’s magnificence. Whenever he was in the midst of physical travails, his divine power outshone itself, and he gave peace and happiness to an increasingly large number of people. In the midst of worldly turmoil Shri Nathji’s divine radiance had become all the more powerful. No matter what the suffering that came upon him, he continued to shine with a beaming smile for the humanity around him and to remain a beacon of light for them.
Anyone else in his place would have been shattered by the force of events and been so occupied with alleviating his own problems that he would have had no time left to attend to the miseries of the world. But here was Shri Nathji, not caring for himself, carrying on the battle against the forces of evil, and at the same time having the same–or greater concern, for the humanity around him, removing their sufferings and sorrows and filling them with peace and happiness. This had always been so during Shri Nathji’s entire life. It was as if he existed only for the sake of others.
Shri Nathji had said to his devotees:
You must recognise me in any form that I assume. When Lord Rama wandered in the jungles, alone and forlorn without wealth or status, searching for his beloved Sita, calling out to the trees and leaves around him with plaintive cries of ‘Site! Site!’ his devotees did not lose faith in him. They knew that this was all part of his manushya leela-his play as a human upon earth. When Christ was crucified, his devotees did not lose faith in him because they knew this was all according to his Divine Plan.
“When an ordinary minister in the government falls ill, the people know that it is just his body that is ill–his ministerial powers remain as strong as ever. Therefore even when I appear before you as ill or frail and weak, my inner divine power remains unchanged.”
Shri Nathji would also say:
“It is not enough for a devotee to say that ‘all this is Prabhuji’s leela’. He must also ask himself ‘What is my part in this leela?” And then act upon it.
“Hanuman knew that whatever was transpiring before him was the leela of Lord Rama. However, he asked for his part in the leela, and then acted upon it with great earnestness as if Lord Rama was really in need of his help.”