It was the third week of January 1949. Shri Nathji had barely been at the house of Raj Vaid Sudhanwa when Shyam Lal Kasera arrived from Hathras and prayed to Shri Nathji to grace their home at Hathras and to celebrate the birthday of Shri Babaji Maharaj there on the 21st of January 1948.
Shyam Lal had always served as the perfect attendant of Shri Nathji from his days at Shadi Bhavan. He, alone, amongst the Kasera brothers had the privilege of living with Shri Nathji for long periods of time. His brothers, Devki Nandan, Ganni Lal and Gopal, who had a devotion in Shri Nathji to equal that of Shyam Lal, had remained immersed in their business chores most of the time and could not be with Shri Nathji physically. It was only during the years 1940-1942 that Devki Nandan and his family had the privilege of living with Shri Nathji at Dehra Dun, Lahore, Allahabad, and Naini Tal.
After the passing away of Devki Nandan Kasera, in August 1948, the remaining brothers had become lax in their faith and promises to Shri Nathji. They had betrayed their Master by not paying the monthly instalments for the Standard car, which they had promised to give.
On December 1, 1948, Shyam Lal Kasera had sent the demand notice of the Instalment Company to Shri Nathji at Mussoorie expressing their inability to pay. It was a great setback for Shri Nathji and especially for Mateshwari who had to meet the daily household expenses. The reason the Kasera brothers gave for their inability to pay was their bankruptcy, which came about because of wrong business deals and litigation in various courts of the land from Jaipur to Bihar.
Shyam Lal Kasera had written to Shri Nathji:
“Thou hadst given us Thy Precious Blessings by telegram at the start of our business: ‘Blessings Flourish’, but, alas, the moment we began flourishing, we began to forget Thee, and, as a consequence, troubles began to surround us. Even then it was Thy Divine Grace that saved us or else it may have been our destiny to perish. Our sins are too numerous to recount. We can only beg for forgiveness from Thee and say in all humility before Thee:
“Abhee tak bhee gunaah apne sataayenge hamen
Aur tere saamne hee yoon mitaayenge hamen
Our sins fill us with anguish even now,
And make us perish before Thee”
Kinkar (A particle)
Shyam Lal”
Shri Nathji had always said that genuine repentance brought forth the grace of God. He would frequently narrate the feelings of a genuinely repentant devotee in the verses below:
Meri bandgi se mere jurm afzoon
Tere kaihar se teri raihmat zyaadaa
My transgressions are greater than my worship,
But Thy Mercy is greater than Thy wrath
Daava karenge ham teri maishar ke roobaroo
Hamne gunaah keeye hain teri raihmat ke zor par
We shall come before Thee and say in assertion
We have sinned on the strength of Thy Mercy
And it was thus that Shri Nathji forgave the Kasera brothers for their transgressions.
Phir uske shaane kareeme ke haasale dekhe
Gunehgaar ye kaih de ke gunehgaar hoon main
Behold then the Glory of his Mercy
Let the sinner but say, “I have sinned”
Shri Nathji agreed to go to the home of the Kasera brothers at Hathras, and the third week of January 1948 saw Shri Nathji and Mateshwari in the back seat of the Standard car, while Pran Nath and Priya Nath sat on the front seat.
Shyam Lal Kasera sat at the feet of his Lord and Master, Shri Nathj. It was a cramped and uncomfortable position, but it had become a privileged position for Shyam Lal, somewhat like the privileged position of Hanuman at the feet of Lord Rama.