After the partition of India in 1947, which scattered the people of the Punjab to various regions, many people had begun to wonder where Shri Nathji had gone. Little did they know he had isolated himself in the mountains of Mussoorie.
A certain Mr. and Mrs. Bhalla met him on the Mall in Mussoorie during Shri Nathji’s walks in 1976. They stopped him on the road and said:
Are you Shri Bhola Nathji of Lahore? So many years have passed! Nobody knows where you are! Your words keep ringing in our souls, and will keep on ringing there till eternity! We have been frequenting ever so many mahatmas and saints but there has been no one like you! Meeting you today is one of the happiest days of our lives!
And Shri Nathji told them of the Deepak–the little clay lamp–that wanted light.
Do not ask for light, said a voice, it will mean burning in fire!
But if the light that comes from me shows the path to people in the dark, the fire will be like a soothing balm to me. It will bring coolness to my heart, said the Deepak.
It is only through sacrifice, through effacing oneself that one can give spiritual light to others, said Shri Nathji.
By the time he had finished giving his brief sermon to the couple on the crowded Mall, tears had come into their eyes.
I was thinking of the same thing since this morning, said Mrs. Bhalla, you have answered my question!
This brief glimpse was all they were to have of him. They never found Shri Nathji again.