There was also a letter from the Maharaja of Panna, written from his State in which he conveyed his esteemed regards and hearty congratulations to Shri Nathji for his birthday.
Shri Nathji had been pleased by the Maharaja, when, in Shadi Bhavan in 1946, the man had lifted Shri Nathji’s armchair and placed it where Shri Nathji wanted, on his birthday function. Shri Nathji had never forgotten that gesture of the Maharaja and had later accepted the invitation extended by him to a party at Rajpipla House in 1950, where he had been shown a diamond worth one crore. The diamond had been found in the mines of Panna State.
Shri Nathji had said on the occasion: “This diamond which is worth one crore–why is it so expensive? Can it satiate your hunger? No. Can it satiate your thirst? No. Would you buy anything with it? No. Then why is it so valuable?”
The Maharaja has said: “Because it glitters beautifully. Ye chamaktaa bahut hai!”
And Shri Nathji had said: “And yet it is the light that glitters in it. If the light were to go out, it would cease to glitter. What would its value be then? Nothing. And even if there were light, but no eyes, what would be its value? Nothing. And if there were eyes but no consciousness behind them, what would be the value of the diamond? Nothing. And that which gives rise to life and consciousness is God alone! What would be the value of the diamond if there were no God? Nothing. It is, therefore, only the glory of God, which you are beholding in the diamond, which gives the diamond its worth. Bereft of that, this diamond is worth nothing. How much better it would be if man could see that diamond, God, which gives a worth to all the things of the world!”
The Worth of Man
Man knows that his worth is nothing without the Grace of God. Shri Nathji expressed this in the Urdu Verse below, as the words of a penitent man:
Bahaaye kesh mi daanam ba-neeme jau nami arzad
Agar Maulaa karam saazad bahaaye be-bahaa kardard
I know my worth, it is not even that of half a mustard seed,
But if The Lord showers His Grace I shall become priceless