Priya Nath would not forget the great sacrifice that Shri Nathji and Mateshwari made for his sake that winter so that he could study in peace and pass with flying colours. They knew that he had long been coming first in all his classes and that it was necessary for him to maintain that image and to come first in his class even in the Inter-Science. Priya Nath did not like Science at all and had taken up the subject only because his brother, Pran Nath, had been interested in it.
He forced himself to study subjects that he did not basically like. He would much rather have been studying History or English Literature, which attracted him. He was too emotional a person to be a scientist. Mateshwari had often said about Priya Nath:
“Priya dee Nature bilkul Maharaj naal mildee hai! Priya’s nature has taken after that of Shri Nathji!”
Many a time Shri Nathji and Mateshwari would discuss matters of importance with Priya Nath in their bedroom, and take advice from him, saying:
“Priyaji barre wise hain! Priyaji is very wise!”
Priya Nath was fascinated by Shri Nathji’s books: “A Message of Love” and “Rays of Light” and often perused through them, his heart thrilling with delight that it was Shri Nathji who was the author. He would especially love the parable of the man on a journey who had a thug for his companion in the book, “A Message of Love”.
A private tutor had been engaged in Mathematics for Priya Nath by Shri Nathji, a certain Shri Gupta, who was a genius in his subject but who was also eccentric and called himself the “God of Mathematics!” He would sit with Priya Nath in the dining room of the house where the piano was located, and emphasise the important questions that could be asked in the examination.
The tutor had been late on several occasions, and Mateshwari had once chided him. He took her admonition to heart, and later gloated over the fact that Mateshwari was ill. Shri Nathji was very right when he said:
“Priyaji, no person in the world likes to have his faults pointed out. Just point out a person’s mistakes and he will become your enemy!”
“Priyaji, duniyaan men koyi aadmi apni galti ko sunn ne ke liye tayyaar naheen! Zaraa see kissee ki galti nikaalo to vo dushman ban jaataa hai!”
There were times when, unknown to the tutor, Shri Nathji would stand unseen, outside the dining room door, to keep a vigil to protect Priya Nath from any perverse tendencies of the man.
Indeed, Shri Nathji had such a great love and concern for the boys that he would never let them go out alone, but always send a servant to accompany them. Although this was irksome to Pran Nath and Priya Nath and they often protested against it, yet Shri Nathji would never shirk from his duties as a protective father.
Shri Nathji would give the example of Shri Babaji Maharaj during the early days when Shri Nathji was a youth, and would say to Pran Nath and Priya Nath:
“Babaji was very concerned about me; he would never let me go out alone. He would insist that servants or devotees accompany me!
“Babaji meraa bahut khyaal rakhte thee. Vo mujhe kabhee akelaa naheen jaane dete thhe. Hameshaan naukaron yaa bhakton ko saathh bhej dete thhe!”
Priya Nath had discovered that whenever he studied any chapter or section of his subject very intensely, that very subject came up in the examination. It was Shri Nathji’s miracle.
Every morning when he would go to the examination hall, there would be Shri Nathji standing at the top of the stairs waiting to bless him, and Shri Nathji would always pat him on his head and say with great affection even as he embraced him:
“First-first-first first! May you come first! May you come first!”
And that was what always happened! Of course, Priya Nath had to study very hard and did not leave everything to Shri Nathji’s miracles. He was like Arjuna, who had to fight hard against his foes, even though he had Lord Krishna with him.