Shri Nathji had always been famed for his irrefutable logic, which was present in all his writings and sermons. It was as if he were the perfection of knowledge itself, as if he was Absolute Knowledge. Indeed, the greatest intellectuals of the day, which included lawyers and judges and scientists and professors were drawn to him as much by his divine love and his divine personality, as by the sheer force of his astounding logic that left no room for doubt. It was a common sight to see lecture halls packed with intellectuals nodding their heads, lost in divine bliss. Shri Nathji reached out to the hearts as well as the heads of people.“I seek an entry into your heart, but when I find the heart blocked by your intellect, I enter your brain first and then dig a tunnel into your heart!”Indeed only Shri Nathji had the capacity to capture the heads and the hearts of all, for He was Absolute Knowledge and Absolute Love.
Search for Eternal Happiness Shri Nathji would say:“The search for eternal happiness in man is the greatest proof of the existence of God. When man cannot find a lasting happiness in the things of the world, he turns to something that is beyond the world–and that is the start of a spiritual awakening in him, that is the start of religion itself.”Shri Nathji postulated that if a group of persons were left alone in an isolated forest for thousands of years they would evolve a religion of their own to give them peace and solace. Indeed, the experience of man showed that no happiness in the world was permanent. If he took a fresh flower from its stalk, it would soon wither away. All loved ones departed sooner or later. Young age turned into old age and old age gave place to death. The world was a picture of separation, pain and sorrow. “Khile iss men khushi kaa phool kyonkar“How canst a flower of happiness bloom here And also:“Khandaye gul benamak fariyaade bulbul be asarThe smiles of the flower are tasteless, the wailings of the nightingale without effect,Vaaye naakaami, falak ne taak kar torraa usseIndeed Shri Nathji had often said:“Insaan iss duniyaan men rotaa aataa hai aur rotaa jaataa hai!“When man comes into this world he comes with tears in his eyes, and when he leaves the world he does so again with tears!”The Child and the Mahatma Shri Nathji had written this small story in his book, “Vaaye naakaami, mataaye kaarvaan jaataa rahaa“Alas, O misfortune! The treasure of the caravan was gone,
Sorrows Awaken Man The sorrows of the world become so real and so piercing that they awaken man to seek a solution to them. All the advances of science and religion are directed at removing the sorrows of man. They help in a large way, but man must find his way through them himself. The sorrows of the world led Buddha to seek Nirvana, and from Gautam Buddha he became Bhagwan Buddha. In a like manner it is the sorrows of the world that lead man to seek God. THE FACT THAT THERE IS NO LASTING HAPPINESS IN THE WORLD AND THE FACT THAT THE QUEST FOR HAPPINESS CANNOT BE GIVEN UP, IS THE GREATEST PROOF OF THE EXISTENCE OF GOD.Worldly persons, scientists, yogis and mahatmas, all are in the quest of happiness, a happiness that never ends. Indirectly all of them are searching for God in their own ways.Knowledge not EnoughThirst does not come to man through book knowledge, hunger does not come from learning, the moth does not love the flame because it has been trained to do so. Love does not come to man through intellectual knowledge alone. There is the perennial attraction between the magnet and the iron, which has been put there by Nature since time immemorial. “Gumrahi khud manzile maksood ki hai raihnumaa“Losing thy way is in itself the greatest gain,When intense desire fills the heart of man to reach that Source of Everlasting Happiness– God– then God, in all His Mercy and Grace shows man the way to reach Him:“Kripaa kar Bhagwan jisse aap apnaate hain“Those whom the Lord wishes to make his ownAnd the moment God appears before man, all his worries, sorrows and sufferings cease, and there is nothing but God and God alone.“Bas ik nigaah par tthaiharaa hai faisalaa dil kaa “One glance only, and the heart finds fulfilment”“Deedaye hil huaa jo vaa, khub gayaa husne dilrubaaa“The eyes of the heart opened and beauty didst penetrate withinThere was Shri Nathji’s verse on intense desire leading man to God, the intensity of his love for God taking the shape of a prayer that brought him to God:“Jazbe bulbul men asar, hoti kafas men aatish“If the love of the Nightingale was intense, its cage would have caught fire,FaithShri Nathji explained three kinds of faith. The first kind was that which one acquired from knowledge, learning about something. For example suppose you have never seen or drunk water before. Someone tells you that there is such a thing as water. You also read about water in books. The faith that there is such a thing as water comes to you in the form of knowledge. You also read that it can satiate your thirst. However such a faith exists in words only, either written or spoken. There are some who may be so touched by this faith alone that they would be led to believe. There was Shri Nathji’s Persian Verse on this theme:“Na tanhaa ishq ke az deedaar khezad“Love is acquired not only through sight,Someone speaks to you of the beauty of God and you believe what he says, and you find that the love of God has entered your heart as well.Intensity of DesireThink of yourself as sleeping inside a quilt on a cold winter night. You wake up and have a slight thirst for water. However, the thirst is mild. You feel that it will be too much trouble to get out of the quilt and go to the kitchen in the cold, and so you go to sleep again. NoorjahaanThe way to meet God is the way which the Lord may like best at any particular time. “Flew away!” said the enraged Jehangir, “how did it happen?“Like this!” said Nooro with fright, releasing the other pigeon into the sky. Far from punishing her for her folly, the emperor was so taken up by her innocence that he fell in love with her and made her his Queen, Noor Jahaan!Purity of the HeartPurity of the heart is essential before one can reach God. Shri Nathji would frequently say: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”“He who has not given up the ways of vice, He whose mind is not at rest,Shri Nathji had written in ““You must do unto others what you would have them do to you.” You must be merciful and kind and generous to others if you expect God to be merciful, kind and generous to you.The Mahatma and the KingShri Nathji had spoken of the mahatma who discovered that he had gone to hell after death. He was shocked and also bitter. He said to God: “What sins had I committed to be sent to hell? I had no shortcomings in me!” And God said to him: “Reflect again on your entire life and try to see whether there was any shortcoming!” The mahatma reflected for a while and then said: “O Lord, there was no shortcoming at all! “Yehi to kami thhee jo too kaih rahaa hai ke koyi kami naheen thhee.“This was the greatest shortcoming in you, that you say you had no shortcomings! Pride had filled you and made you feel superior to your fellow beings!”Indeed pride brought with it the veil of the ego, which shut off the Grace of God.“Hatt pare! Ham to raihmat kaa bahaanaa dhoondte hain!“Stop it! I merely seek an excuse to grant my mercy!”Indeed the humility of the king had brought him close to God. In his humility, he had considered himself to be the worst sinner in the world, and his ego had completely dissolved into nothingness.
The Drop and the Ocean A drop of water wished to secure the ocean to itself. It sat by the side of the ocean and began to gather as many drops of water from the ocean as it could. A sage passed by and saw what the drop was doing, and it said to the drop:“Samundar men katraa fanaa ho gayaaThe drop of water perished in the Ocean,Indeed the efforts of man, howsoever good intentioned may or may not succeed. No one can, with his own little strength, hope to secure the Infinite. Far better, therefore, if man deliver himself to God, surrender before Him, become like a zero coming before One – and be made into Ten!Everything a ZeroShri Nathji would say:“The entire Universe and everything in it is a zero when seen separate from God! “Shiv is God, and Zero and TenShri Nathji explained the simplest way of reaching God–and that was to become like a zero, to place one’s helplessness before Him, and to deliver oneself to Him in abject surrender. When shall “I” be free?And there was his verse in his famous four page pamphlet: “A Message of Peace”:“Kar tark khudee kee aadat ko aur katre se dariyaa ban jaaRenounce all thought of my and mineAt the start of the pamphlet, Shri Nathji had written in Persian:“Raihnaa vardaane muhabbat raa payaam az maa rasaan“Convey through me to those who walk on the path of LoveIndeed, the ego of man was something within him, which made him think that it was he who was doing everything. “I can do this, I can do that!–that is ego!” “Death is a willing surrender for the devotees of God, but it becomes a forced surrender for the arrogant and the proud! In both the cases, there is a prostration. But the one who is forced into it gets hurt on falling!“Pranaam to donon kaa ho jaataa hai, magar jo zabardasti giraayaa jaayegaa usse chot lagegi!”How much better, therefore, that before sorrow and suffering and death come to vanquish ego, man surrenders his ego before God and takes refuge in Him.Veil and EvilThe ego of man inevitably leads to EVIL. When you read EVIL backwards, it becomes VEIL. Thus Evil is a Veil between man and God.Father and SonShri Nathji also told the story of the father and son walking through an exhibition. The father asked the son: “Son, shall I hold your hand or will you hold mine?” “Father, you better hold my hand, – because if I hold yours, I will be tempted to leave it again!”As they walked further through the exhibition, the son saw another attractive shop and made as if to run away. Even as he tugged at his father’s hand, the father said:“Betaa, jhatke kyon maartaa hai! Mujhe bhee saatth le chal, main saari dukaan le doongaa!“Son, why are you seeking to run away? Take me along with yourself, and I will buy you the whole shop!”There was Shri Nathji’s verse on behalf of a devotee: “Too agar meraa bane saaraa jahaan meraa hai phir, “If only Thou willst become mine, the entire world will be mine,As also another verse on behalf of a devotee:“Tujh se maangoo tujhee ko to sabhee kuchh mil jaaye“If I ask Thee for Thyself, then indeed everything is mine,Thus it is that those who deliver themselves up to God and ask Him to hold their hands are set free of the worries of life.