After his return to Amritsar, Shri Babaji Maharaj left his children in the care of his uncle and went to the city of Lahore. There was no apparent worldly reason for this journey to Lahore except that it was at the behest of the Divine Will.
Those were the days when Shri Babaji Maharaj had given up all desires within himself and was being guided solely by the Divine Will. God was manifesting Himself through the personality of Shri Babaji Maharaj.
Shri Nathji beautifully described this state in his biography of Shri Babaji Maharaj: Zahoore Haqueeqat–The Manifestation of Reality–in which he wrote the following words:
A beautiful flower with colour and fragrance appears to give this very important message to the world: “O Thou, who look upon my colour and fragrance and my beauty, have you ever cared to look upon Him who gave me these qualities? Do not allow yourself to be totally engrossed in me, for I shall wither away and fall soon enough, and the heart which you have given to my colour and fragrance shall suffer a severe fall. Alas! If only thou had seen Him who gave me this beauty and had given thy heart to him instead of to me!”
All the things of the world are perishable, and therefore the happiness that resides in them is also perishable. How can we derive everlasting happiness from perishable objects? How much better it would be if we could give up our hearts to Rama – God– who alone is imperishable.
Everywhere in the world, that, which is the source of attraction is Beauty, and that, which becomes the force of attraction, is Love. The moth is attracted by the beauty of the flame, the nightingale is attracted by the beauty of the rose. It is the Divine Beauty of God in both that takes on the form of physical beauty, and it is the Divine Attraction in both that takes on the form of Love. It is the Divine Beauty of God that is beckoning us through all the objects of the world. And we must see God in them and develop a Love for God. However we fail to perceive God in them and instead give our hearts to their perishable names and forms. And when these perishable names and forms decay and die before our eyes, we are heart-broken. The heart then cries out plaintively: “O God!” It cries out for the very God for whom it was meant in the first place.
How much better it would have been if we had seen God in all the objects of the world and given our hearts only to Him, who is imperishable, eternal and everlasting. The happiness derived from such an association would have been everlasting.
The power that attracts man from behind the veil of the Universe is that of God alone. All of creation is directly or indirectly revealing that Great Reality. Some seek the Reality in the objects of the world, whilst others seek it in spiritual pursuits like meditation, yoga, prayers etc. The source of attraction is Everlasting Happiness or Eternal Bliss and the force of attraction is Love. There are some mirrors in the world which do not reveal Reality to its full extent, whilst there are other mirrors in which reality stands fully revealed.
Shri Babaji Maharaj was a flower of the divine creation that revealed God manifestly and openly and captured the hearts of the beholders, to take them directly to God. But not everyone in the world was fortunate enough to recognise the divinity in Him. Lord Rama revealed Himself to some, but did not reveal himself to others like Ravana; Lord Krishna was loved by Radheji, the Gopis, Arjuna, and Draupadi, but did not disclose himself to Kansa; Lord Christ was recognized by a few but persecuted by others.
These great souls have never desired anything from anyone. Even salvation and heaven have no meaning for them. If the world has no need for them, then what need could they have for the world?
If the people of the world, who are filled with hundreds of shortcomings, do not care for such personalities, then why should these personalities, who have no shortcomings within themselves, care for the people of the world? When the people of the world are so obsessed by their strife-torn worldly objects that they do not have any time to look at these personalities, then why should these personalities who have a fountain of bliss within them, care to look at the people of the world? Yet it is not in the nature of such personalities to give tit-for tat.
They are more concerned for those who do not believe in them and are going on the wrong path. They see in them a part of their own selves. They know that these persons shall have to inevitably suffer the consequences of their wrong actions and are anxious to bring them to the right path, and, therefore, endure whatever insults they may heap upon them. This is just like a mother who endures the kicks of her child in order to save the child from the consequences of his wrong actions. Whenever any persons opposed Shri Babaji Maharaj his countenance lit up with a divine radiance more powerfully than ever. Shri Babaji Maharaj often quoted this Persian verse:
Man am kuni za ishqe vai ai mufteeye zamaan
Maazoordaar mat ki too uraa na deedayi
You prevent me from loving Him, O you who would dictate to the world!
But if only you had seen Him, you would never have looked elsewhere yourself!
Shri Babaji Maharaj would often say:
“ The objects of the world are like medicines which are necessary for various ailments. You must not give your heart to them more than that! You need food to satiate your hunger, you need water to satiate your thirst, you need tablets to relieve you of your headache etc. In a like manner all the objects of the world are meant to satisfy the basic needs of your life and must be used as medicines for these needs. However when you begin using these objects as a means to happiness and luxury, and give your hearts to them as the goal of your life, you invariably invite heartbreaks and sorrow.”
Such personalities, who look upon the objects of the world as mere medicines to satisfy the basic needs of life, can never be tempted by the glitter of materialism. They can never humble themselves before anyone for the sake of worldly gain. As a matter of fact they have no need for anyone in the world. It is the world that must have a need for them.