H.H. SHRI BHOLANATHJI BHAGWAN
The 20th century saw the dawn of a new era with the coming of a great Being in its midst, whose advent had been predicted in the Hindu scriptures since ages–the Kalki Avatar.
It had been written in the ancient scriptures that after the Advent of Lord Rama in the Tretaa Yuga and the Advent of Lord Krishna in the Dwaapar Yuga there would come the Kalki Avatar in the Kaliyuga.
Mankind was passing through the age of darkness- the Kaliyuga, in the 20th century, when this Being came down upon the earth on the 23rd of June, 1902 A.D. as a little babe born in the hills of Abottabad which was then in District Peshawar, Punjab, India. He was named Bhola Nathji.
As time progressed, people began to have an inner recognition of this Being. The first to recognise His divinity was His own Father, Shri Devi Das Mehta, who was a millionaire landowner of Dinanagar in Batala, in the plains of Punjab. Shri Devi Das was an intensely spiritual person who used His wealth for the welfare of mankind, and ultimately gave it all away to the poor and needy. He had vowed to dedicate His life for the sake of the suffering humanity at a very young age, when He had become seriously ill, and had been cured miraculously through God’s Grace.
There was something in the child born to Devi Das at Abottabad, which attracted the attention of all mortals. The most striking thing about the babe was its strong, unparalleled beauty, and a divine aura and radiance that accompanied this beauty. It appeared as if God Himself had come down in His Infinite Beauty and Purity.
The babe brought peace to all those who came in His presence. People experienced God in Him. And as He grew up, His powers began to astonish everyone. At a very young age, words flowed out of the mouth of this child which contained the Vedas, Upanishads, the Bible, the Koran, the Geeta, the Granth Sahib, and, indeed, the knowledge of all religions emanating from this child. Even saints and sages marvelled at His profound knowledge–which appeared to come from within him as if it were part of His existence and mission in life.
There was a sign in His right eye –an orange sign. Saints and sages that saw this sign called it the sign of the Avatar. It was a sign, which no other mortal was to have upon this planet earth.
Shri Devi Das Mehta, who himself was known as a great saint due to his own sacrifice and spiritual attainment, named the child: Bhola Nathji or simply, Shri Nathji. It was a name that was to become legend.
In later days, Shri Devi Das Mehta, or Shri Babaji Maharaj, as he was then known, heard a voice calling to him from the Heavens–a voice that dictated a prophecy to him, which he set down on paper immediately on the 18th of May 1926, when Shri Bhola Nathji was about 24 years old.
The Voice proclaimed that Bhola Nathji or Shri Nathji, as He was lovingly called, was God Incarnate in human form and had come to serve the world as Ghulam Rue’ Zameen– the Servant of the Earth, and those who believed in him would secure salvation in life as well as in death.
As time progressed, people of all religious faiths–and even atheists–flocked to Shri Nathji to be near him and to listen to His words, which appeared to come from another plane altogether. The voice itself brought infinite peace to the soul. His fame began to spread far and wide, and people from all walks of life, which included many intellectuals, scientists, judges and lawyers, saints and sages, as well as the common folk, came to accept Shri Nathji as God Incarnate upon earth. An aura of Divine
Love surrounded him, which flooded the hearts of all, giving them Infinite Peace.
Miracles began happening all around him though He discounted miracles and said these were of no importance, and were a delusion on the spiritual path. But all who came to him found their troubles disappearing. Either they were relieved of their sufferings or given the strength to bear them.
What overwhelmed everyone was the force of His infinite Love, which was so overpowering that it touched even atheists.
And it was his voice:
“I have no mission except Love in this world,
My mission is Love and my work is Love.”
As Shri Nathji had become a young adult His beauty had reached astonishing heights. Such unfathomable perfection was not possible in a human face. The Face of Shri Nathji was of the type that Tulsidas and Ved Vyas had envisioned in the scriptures when they described Lord Rama and Lord Krishna.
His humility had become legend. Far from calling himself an avatar or incarnation of God, Shri Nathji referred to himself as
“Ghulam Rue’ Zameen,” which was Persian for “The Servant of the Earth”.
He would often say: “Water is that which satiates your thirst. Call it by any name that you like. If I can quench the spiritual thirst within you then I am everything for you, otherwise I am nothing.”
About religions, Shri Bhola Nathji used to say:
“All the religions are but different paths leading to the same goal. All have one Father and all are His children; in this thought alone all religious differences can cease to exist. I see in every religion my own religion and my own religion in every other religion.”
Very soon Shri Nathji became the personification of Bliss, Peace, and Boundless Beauty and Perfection, which was altogether divine in origin. People who came to him obtained peace of mind without a word being spoken.
Many people saw the vision of the Divine in Him. These were the fortunate few to whom He revealed His inner self, and who worshipped him as God Incarnate upon earth. Amongst these were atheists and intellectuals, saints and sages. Chief Justice Bhutt of Madhya Pradesh was to remain His staunchest follower right up to the last moments of his life.
Shri Nathji did not give any ‘guru mantra’ nor did He prescribe the life of the ashrams. He lived as any common man would have lived, in a home, with His family, like any other man with a family. His mode of living distinguished him at once from a sadhu, ascetic, mahatma or saint. His life was like the lives of other avatars. One can recall how Lord Rama and Lord Krishna spent their lives in the affairs of their heritage and kingdoms and were married and had children