Shri Nathji, who had been studiously keeping himself in the background all these years, found himself possessed with a divine wave of intoxication that surged forth and engulfed all who came to him. He was distributing the spiritual wine with the same generosity and extravagance that Shri Babaji Bhagwan was using.
All who beheld the face of Shri Nathji at the time were totally overwhelmed. The Divine Light that radiated from his countenance could have belonged only to God. It was unlike any light ever seen in the world. Alas! That Shri Nathji had had a mirror with him at the time to have seen his own face! The words that flowed out of Shri Nathji engulfed the hearts of his listeners to such an extent that they found themselves lost in a world of divine bliss where even space and time ceased to exist.
Thousands thronged to the house for a glimpse of Shri Babaji Bhagwan and Shri Nathji. It was a rare occasion– the two distributing together! The words that came from Shri Nathji had an unending flow. It was as if they flowed from some perennial source that had no beginning and no end. The feeling of divine intoxication was so all-pervading that it touched the hearts of all – the believers and the unbelievers both, the intellectuals as well as the illiterate, the knowledgeable and the ignorant. No matter who entered into the divine presence of Shri Babaji Bhagwan and Shri Nathji he was swept away by the divine wave. Even those who chanced by casually could not contain themselves.
Shri Babaji Bhagwan on his part was generously pouring forth jugs and goblets of this divine intoxication, in rare moments of spiritual revelation. The atmosphere thrilled with his presence as Shri Nathji recited the words of the poet, Omar Khayyam, in Persian:
Aamad saihare nidaa za maikhaanaye maa
Ki ai rinde kharaabaatiye deevaanaye maaBarkhez ke pur kunem paimaana za mai
Zaan pesh ke pur kunand paimaanaye maa
Early in the morning I heard a voice within the Tavern cry,
O thou sinful seeker, thou who art my lover,
Arise! Let me fill thy cup with wine,
Ere my cup of life be filled!
The state of those affected by this divine atmosphere was indescribable. And yet there were many who did not understand what was transpiring. They were filled with doubts and misgivings and feelings of discord. They attributed the intoxicated state of the people there as being due to the wine in the shop, and raised an outcry that the public was being deluded by a great fraud. The detractors openly began to say that the people who came there were being given ordinary wine to drink and were being intoxicated with the wine, and that a clear proof of this was that the place was a wine merchant’s shop. They called the divine intoxication a hoax. They did not know that it was something for which even the kings and emperors of the world thirsted.
The crowds which had thronged with genuine seekers soon gave place to unruly elements that sought to disturb the peace. The opposition mounted to such an extent that the life of Shri Babaji Bhagwan was in danger and the police had to be called for his security and protection. When the police asked Shri Babaji Bhagwan whether he would like to have the dissenters arrested, Shri Babaji Bhagwan refused and said: “It is not their fault that they have come to create a disturbance! All this is my Will!”
Shri Babaji Bhagwan could have stopped the voices of dissent in a fraction of a moment but for some reason he allowed them to continue till they became so vociferous that his devotees could no longer endure them. Shri Babaji Bhagwan had but to give a signal and they would have risked even their lives to quell the opposition. But Shri Babaji Bhagwan told them that whatever was happening was his leela– his play which would continue for only as long as he willed it.
Shri Babaji Bhagwan had a unique message for them:
“If people go against you when you are on the right path, then do not be perturbed by their jibes and insults. On the contrary be happy that the world is pointing out those faults in you which do not exist in you! Secondly, do not allow hostile thoughts to cross your mind against those who oppose you, because they are your real friends. They are pointing to a fault that you must avoid, and are indirectly cautioning you against a great pitfall that could come your way.”
After some days had passed in this kind of a vitiated atmosphere during which time the devotees of Shri Babaji Bhagwan had learnt the valuable lesson he had been teaching them – of non-violence, tolerance, patience, restraint and acceptance with gratitude of an unwanted situation – Shri Babaji Bhagwan said: “No man shall come to oppose us any longer!”
And verily a miracle occurred. The rioters disappeared. The voices of opposition and dissent fell silent. It was like a cloud that had poured forth its rain and gone.