After his thirteen-day stay with Istafa Khan on his first visit to Lucknow in 1929, Shri Nathji was brought by Khanna to his home in the city at No. 1 Rai Prag Narain Road. The entire Khanna family served Shri Nathji heart and soul. They felt themselves blessed beyond measure. God had come into their home.
Vo aayen hamaare ghar men ye hamaari kismat hai
Kabhi ham unko kabhi apne ghar ko dekhte hain
He has come into our home, it is our good fortune,
We look at him, and at our home, in turns, in disbelief!
After Khanna had met Shri Nathji at Mussoorie for the first time in August 1929 and had gone to Lucknow, he had written to Shri Nathji from there and had said to Shri Nathji:
Huzoor, I heard a voice in my meditation telling me that I had been made your bodyguard for life. Was the voice that of God or my own?
If the relationship endures, said Shri Nathji, the voice was that of God. If it does not, then it must have been your own!”
Shri Nathji’s actual historic words were:
Khannaji agar nibh gayi to Bhagwan ki aavaaz thhee.
“Aur naheen nibhee to aapkee thhee!
At the house of Khanna, he and his family members performed an Arti of Shri Nathji, thus paying him worshipful homage as God upon earth. All his family members, without exception, began to have great faith in Shri Nathji.
There was Khanna’s wife, Gyan Devi, also known as Jaano, and his daughters, Kamla and Minnie, and sons, Gopalkrishna and Bimalkrishna, all of whom became greatly devoted to Shri Nathji. Khanna’s wife began referring to Shri Nathji as Ramji – Lord Rama. In later days Shri Nathji would lovingly call the two boys, “Karnail Sahib” and “Jernail Sahib” meaning thereby “Colonel “and “General”.
Once the eight year old Bimalkrishna gave a flower to Shri Nathji and Shri Nathji said to him: “It may have been better to have left the flower on its stalk. It will fade away now.”
And Bimalkrishna said to Shri Nathji:
“O Nathji! The flower will not fade away now even for ten years or more, because it is in your hands. If you so wish, the flower can remain fresh forever!”
At another time the young man said to Shri Nathji:
“O Nathji! Where have you hidden your mukat-the crown of Lord Krishna!” And Shri Nathji said to him:
“How do you know that I am Lord Krishna?”
And Bimalkrishna replied: “You have entered within my heart and told me!”
It was a reply that would have astonished the most learned of theologians. Indeed it was the heart of man that gave him a recognition of God.
Bimalkrishna’s elder brother, Gopalkrishna was but eleven years old, and had a faith equal to that of his brother in Shri Nathji. Once when Shri Nathji said to him:
“Would you like to become a Raja-a king?”
Gopalkrishna said: “What will I gain from becoming a king?”
And Shri Nathji said: “All the comforts of the world will be yours!”
And Gopalkrishna said:
“No, I do not seek the comforts of the world. All I want is to remain always at your feet!”
Shri Nathji said to him: “What will you get from me? I have nothing with me, whereas your father has a great worldly status and everything that you need in life!”
Gopalkrishna at once replied: “Nathji! Don’t say that! Everything that my father owns, has been given by you! I ask you only to keep me in your feet!”
Even the parents of the boys, Ram Rattan Khanna and his wife, were amazed to see the sudden devotion that their children had acquired in Shri Nathji. It was not something that came from any teaching or instructions; it was a feeling that came from within their hearts and souls. Shri Nathji had always said:
“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God! The children accept me from their hearts.”
Shri Nathji had given very little thought to his health over the years. During the earlier years he had been immersed in serving Shri Babaji Maharaj in very difficult circumstances, and later, had immersed himself in giving peace to the multitudes everywhere.
As a consequence, his health had begun to suffer. Shri Nathji was very lean during these days and wore a simple light brown achkan and chooridars along with an orange turban. He often wore wooden sandals inside the house. He never took food in time, and often missed his meals altogether, and seldom observed the simple rules of health, like going out for a walk or exercising. In fact he did not take care of his body at all, despite the fact that it was the most precious body in the whole world.
The tender care that the Khanna family took of him brought him back to good health again at Lucknow. It was a service for which Khanna would be rewarded richly in the years to come, not only spiritually but materially as well.