Shri Nathji was dressed in a shining achkan made of thin, shining, light brown silk. It had been made from a cloth presented by Mata Tara Devi and Shri Nathji always called it “Tara Devi’s achkan”. He was wearing a light orange turban. On his face there were the German made sunglasses, which he had worn over the years, and which covered his eyes completely and gave him a mysterious but delightful look. He kept these dark green glasses on his face throughout his visit to Nagpur in the days that followed.
Even as Tara Buty sat in the Servants’ Compartment in the train, she had a vision of Shri Nathji’s real divine form. She saw him as God Incarnate, Lord Vishnu, Lord Rama, Lord Krishna and Lord Shankar. Her heart and soul thrilled with a hitherto unfelt sensation and she could hardly contain herself. Tears streamed from her eyes as she came before Shri Nathji and bowed before him in the train.
This vision was to convert her, forever, to Shri Nathji. She had met Shri Nathji in 1949 at Nagpur, but the meeting had not opened the gates of her soul. As she said, Hame tab akal naheen thhee! I had no insight at that time!
Shri Nathji was Master of his own will. He could reveal his divine form to anyone in any place that he chose.
If the battlefield of Kurukshetra was where Lord Krishna revealed his divine form to Arjuna, the railway compartment was the place Shri Nathji chose to reveal himself to Tara Buty.
It was a revelation that came to her late in life, but it was a revelation that was to remain with her till the last moments of her life.
She was a spiritual preceptor in her own right, revered as such by hundreds. Her ego had come in the way of recognition in the past. Now, with her ego out of the way, Shri Nathji stood before her, revealed.
The crowds at Nagpur station lost themselves in an uncontrollable frenzy of devotion. All semblance to order was lost as they surged towards Shri Nathji. Garland upon garland fell upon Shri Nathji’s neck. A wheel-chair carried him over the bridges, the crowds renting the air with wild, joyous cries of: Bhola Nath Bhagwan ki Jai!
Shri Nathji, who for many years had concealed his inner light, now turned the switch on. His face and form altered. The brilliance of a Light Divine spread in all directions. Those around him began to experience the nearness of God.
It was hardly believable that this was the same person who had only a day before lain quietly in his room, involving himself only in the very mundane affairs of daily existence at Delhi.
Shri Bhutt had often said:
Prabhuji, when you venture forth on a mission of Lok Kalyaan–to give salvation to mankind–you become a different person altogether! Your countenance changes, an unsurpassable divine glow comes on your face.”
And Shri Nathji had said:
Bhutt Sahib! When a warrior is at home, he rests in the quiet domesticity of a home life. His wife nags him, his children jump all over him. But when he is in the battlefield his countenance is at once altered. He becomes brave and powerful. When I am out on a mission of Lok Kalyaan, for the salvation of the world, I must appear in the form suited to it!
Even as the sounds of joyous welcome and the music of the accompanying bands subsided, Shri Nathji’s voice rang out in an effulgence of words and feelings, carrying with them a direct touch of the divine, raising the listeners to hitherto inexperienced heights of Divine Bliss. It was Shri Nathji’s verse coming true:
Nigaahe naaz se uski hazaaron masto bekhud hain
Nashe ki ek duniyaa hai muhabbat chashme jaanaa ki
The Glory of His Grace has made thousands forget themselves
It is a world of intoxication that comes from the eyes of the Beloved.
Once again the intoxication of a wave Divine filled the hearts of Shri Nathji’s listeners; once again, the dormant light of God burst forth with blinding power, and the living presence of God made its presence felt.
Thousands of men, women and children flooded the Buty residence. Day turned into night and night into day, but all those who were around Shri Nathji were unaware of the passage of time.
Yahaan melaa dekho bhaaee
Nath kaa melaa
Come and watch this festival, O brothers!
The festival of Nath!
sang Tara Buty, as her eyes filled with tears and her heart perceived Shri Nathji’s divine form.
The Goddess of Learning-Saraswati resides on your tongue, she said to Shri Nathji, Aapki jeebha par to Saraswati kaa nivaas hai!
Shri Nathji spoke in a strong, vibrant tone, like he had never spoken before. It was not the voice of a 71 year old person; it was the voice of a youth. Shri Nathji’s countenance had undergone a change, the signs of age disappeared from his face.
Many saw in him the forms of Lord Vishnu, Rama, Krishna, Shankar and were swept away by waves of an uncontrollable indefinable bliss. People were convinced that the voice they were listening to was that of the Avatar.
Shri Nathji spoke for hours on end, from morning till night, and people continued to pour in from distant places in Maharashtra. Many were poor, old and infirm. It was for these that Shri Nathji had come down to Maharashtra, for they could never have reached Shri Nathji in his far-away abode in the North.
Shri Nathji had often said:
“People ask me how can God be inside the hearts of so many people at the same time? My answer is that there is but one Sun but it is contained in so many eyes all over the world.”
People continued to pour in even when a curfew order was on in the city. Men, women and children arrived in long queues for a glimpse of Shri Nathji–braving the riot-torn atmosphere of the city where an agitation for food was going on.
Satyuga, or the Age of Truth has dawned!
Shri Nathji declared very openly. This was the first time he had made such an open pronouncement before people with such power. Several newspapers of the city carried these words of Shri Nathji in bold headings.
Shri Nathji said:
It is three-o-clock in the morning. The mother has a watch and knows the time. She knows that a new morning has begun. But her child sees only darkness around him and thinks it is night, still. Similarly, the Age of Truth has begun. Only those who know of it can tell you. Others still see the darkness of the old age around them!
When someone pointed to the atmosphere of agitation and violence then prevailing, Shri Nathji said:
These are remnants of the old age. They are going. Think of a pot lying on fire. While it is on the fire it contains the heat of the fire within it, and the fire beneath it. But take it away from the fire, and it will begin to cool, but slowly. Although the fire is no longer beneath it, the heat must remain within it for some time more. But it is a heat that is going.
Pain and suffering are blessings in disguise, carried a newspaper heading, quoting Shri Nathji.
A dreadful dream awakens a person. In a like manner, the sufferings of life awaken one to a new life! said Shri Nathji.
Speaking of saints and mahatmas who led luxurious lives, Shri Nathji said: If their minds are unattached to the luxury around them, then it does not matter whether holy men live in their midst.
Shri Nathji frequently cited Raja Janak, the father of Sita Maharani, wife of Rama, who was a king outwardly, and a saint within.
Shri Nathji continued:
But if holy men become attached to their luxuries, and make them an end in life, they fall from their spiritual attainments. It is no great achievement for holy men to amass wealth and construct ashrams or buildings. There are Birlas and Dalmias in our country, millionaires, who can do better!