Immediately after Shri Nathji had seen Pran Nath off to London from New Delhi, Shri Nathji had a severe attack of food poisoning in Ranjit Hotel where he was staying. His temperature rose to incredibly high limits and he lost consciousness. Priya Nath, who was alone with him at the time, was greatly alarmed. No doctor was available on the phone. Priya Nath telephoned two affluent devotees, Shri Sant Ram Grover and Shri R.L.Tuli, of Delhi, but both expressed their helplessness.
Today is Sunday, said Mr.Grover, no doctor will agree to come. And I am busy, I have to attend a meeting.
I know of no doctor who can come at this time, said Shri Tuli, I seldom fall ill, and rarely need doctors. Yogic exercises keep me fit.
Priya Nath was tragically disappointed at the callous attitude of these devotees. It suddenly occurred to him to telephone a Seventh Day Adventist Church in Delhi. An American preacher answered the phone. Priya Nath did not know him, but explained the situation to him and asked him whether he knew of any doctor who attended to foreigners. The preacher told him of a certain Dr. Mathur in Daryaganj, and also promised to phone the doctor himself.
It was a dreadful moment for Priya Nath. He had just lost his mother. His brother had returned to England.
And here he was, alone, with Shri Nathji lying unconscious before him. Had Shri Nathji’s work in life finished?
There was a time when Shri Babaji Maharaj had taken upon himself a very serious illness. At that time, seeing the grief of Shri Nathji, he had miraculously cured himself and said: All right, if you want me to keep my body for a longer period, I shall do so!
Priya Nath had forsaken everything in life to serve his father, and to be with him. The world appeared a barren place without Shri Nathji.
Priya Nath resolved there and then, that if Shri Nathji left the world, he would do so, too. No sooner had this thought come to him when Shri Nathji opened his eyes.
As Shri Nathji was to say later:
Priyaji brought me back.
The doctor arrived, as also Mr. Tuli with his wife. There is nothing wrong with him! the Tulis said as Shri Nathji began speaking to them from his bed. The doctor examined Shri Nathji and prescribed medicines. He was one of the fortunate few in the world who had the privilege of touching the body of the avatar. Shri Nathji blessed him.
I am sure your excellent physical condition is due to the regular hours you must have kept all your life, the doctor said.
Shri Nathji laughed. His only regularity in life had been the irregularity of all his personal habits. He would seldom eat lunch before four or five in the evening, have dinner late in the nights at eleven or twelve or even later, sleep by three or four in the morning and wake up late. Shri Nathji’s health stemmed from the spiritual food he gave to the world.
For as long as even one person in the world has need of me, Shri Nathji used to say, I will not leave my body.
Priya Nath did not know about the rest of the world, but he certainly had need of Shri Nathji. His love for Shri Nathji was not purely that of a son for his father. He knew of the divinity of Shri Nathji, and was anxious that the physical form of the avatar remain in the world for as long as was possible–for once gone, the personality never returned. Rama left the world and never returned as Rama. He came as Krishna. And Krishna left the world and never returned as Krishna. He came as Shri Nathji.
In the room where Shri Nathji had been staying at the hotel, there was a strange caricature, a drawing, which had appeared on the wall close to his door. The drawing was that of a dreadful, horrible looking monster. Priya Nath was so struck with it that he even pointed it out to Shri Durga Das Khosla who was present, and who agreed, and said it was due to the water drying up on the wall leaving a mark.
However Priya Nath instinctively knew that it was the mark of the devil, Satan, the asuri bal, which had been after Shri Nathji for years to blow out his divine light.