In Delhi, Shri Babaji’s Birthday had been celebrated by Mateshwari at the home of Shri Vaid Raj and Shakuntala.
Pran Nath had distributed the prasaad on the occasion much to the delight of the devotees.
Shri Nathji had always said about Pran Nath: “Ye Bhagwan ke khazaane ki chaabi hain! He is the key to the treasury of God!” It appeared as if Pran Nath was coming into his own. Sri Krishen Khanna had been present on the occasion and had written to Shri Nathji about the beautiful function at Delhi.
It was just as well that Shri Nathji was returning soon. Mateshwari had been disconcerted by the attitude of some devotees during the period of Shri Nathji’s absence, not the least of which was the attitude of Shakuntala and Shri Vaid Rajji.
Mateshwari discovered irreverence in their tone and manner of speech towards her. There was even a time when she found herself standing, while Shakuntala sat on a charpoy and combed her hair, while talking to Mateshwari. There was an occasion when Shri Vaid Raj entered the room of Shri Nathji, wearing a turban like that of Shri Nathji and sat down on his bed, saying to the children: “Do I look like Shri Nathji?”
Shri Vaid Raj always wished that the Divine Love Society founded by Shri Nathji and begun by Shri R.R. Khanna in 1932 be given an institutional shape with members and membership fees like any other society in the world. Shri Nathji had scrupulously avoided these worldly wranglings. Lala Hargopal had often said to Shri Nathji: “There is no need for you to register such a society and get involved in these worldly institutions. I know of the great tensions and conflicts with which they are riddled. The purity of the purpose gets lost and only its worldly structure remains.”
Lord Rama and Lord Krishna had never made any organisations and societies. People worshipped them as God out of devotion, not out of loyalty to any institution.
During the time that Shri Nathji was away at Allahabad, Shri Vaid Raj would frequently harp upon the Divine Love Society and refer to the Standard car of Shri Nathji standing in his home as “Society ki gaari! The Car of the Society!” This was very irksome to Mateshwari. Not only that, but he would frequently use the car himself, as if exacting a price for Shri Nathji’s stay in his house. On such occasions Victor would stop the car midway and say that the car had run out of petrol, thus discouraging Shri Vaid Raj from using the car in the future.
Mateshwari had noticed these changes in the attitude of almost all the devotees. While on the one hand, they would be utterly and completely devoted to Shri Nathji, and genuinely accept him as God in their hearts, yet, on the other hand, their worldly natures would begin to assert themselves after a while.
Mateshwari had seen this happen with R.R. Khanna, the Bhutts, the Kasera brothers, Sukhdev, Ram Lal, Sohni and numerous others.
Mankind was not accustomed to having God in human form live in its midst and often did not know how to react. Very often its primal instincts would overshadow its devotion.
The attitude of Victor had also become irreverent, and even impertinent. After the departure of Shri Nathji to Allahabad he had gone back to his old friends at New Delhi and gleaned off some of his old habits from them. There were even occasions when he would lie in the back seat of the Standard car and flippantly smoke a cigarette while Mateshwari stood outside, talking to him.
When Mateshwari was alone at Lady Harding Road, a mahatma appeared on the scene. He had been brought by Kasturilal. He was a young man who had come for Shri Nathji’s darshan at Delhi and Mussoorie and who used to play with Pran Nath and Priya Nath. He had later declared to the public that Shri Nathji had transferred his powers to him and made him “Chhote Nathji” – the younger Nathji. He claimed that the divine light of Shri Nathji had entered into him and that he and Shri Nathji had in fact become one. People had begun to throng to him to listen to his words–which were the words that Shri Nathji always used. He had grown his hair long and had begun to wear a yellow piece of cloth on his head in the manner that Shri Nathji did.
It was with that yellow cloth on his head that the man came to Lady Harding Road to meet Mateshwari.
He was accosted by Victor who asked him why he was imitating Shri Nathji. When the man told him that he was “Chhote Nathji”, Victor became furious and yanked the piece of cloth off his head and delivered a slap on his face, much to the consternation of Kasturilal. Victor, despite his numerous faults was very loyal to Shri Nathji, and could not bear the slightest insult to him.
Albeit Mateshwari allowed the mahatma to come inside, and he sat before her respectfully on the floor of the drawing room. However, he shut his eyes in imitation of Shri Nathji even as Kasturilal sang the bhajan: “Jagat men aayi Divine Light–the Divine Light has come into the world.”
The man made bold as to quote Shri Nathji as he said: “A blank sheet of paper has no value of its own, but when the Reserve Bank puts its stamp on it, it becomes a note.”
He was referring to the fact that he had been like the blank sheet of paper on whom Shri Nathji had put his stamp and made valuable.
The motives of the man were clear enough, to collect disciples around himself and to acquire name and fame through the use of Shri Nathji’s name.
It was only later that Kasturilal realised his mistake. He knew then that there could never be another like Nathji.
Mateshwari recounted all these episodes to Shri Nathji after he had returned from Allahabad. Shri Nathji did not chide anyone for his behaviour during his absence, but the inexorable law of nemesis took its course. Those who had shown irreverence to Mateshwari were severely punished by the hand of Nature.