There was something in Shri Nathji’s personality that not only charmed everyone but also filled them with a spontaneous awe and respect for him. Indeed no one in the world could ever remain haughty or offensive before Shri Nathji.
Mateshwari would often say:
“When proud people come before Shri Nathji for the first time, they sit at first with faces hard like granite, their arms crossed across their chests and their backs held straight with pride; moments later as their pride melts, their arms are un-crossed and their backs bent, and finally you see them with their faces wrapped in respectful smiles, their hands folded together and their heads bowed before Shri Nathji! Such is the effect of Shri Nathji’s magic personality on people.”
Indeed no one in the world could be proud or haughty before Shri Nathji. There was something in his personality that commanded respect as well as love. The person was forced into respectful submission by something within his own soul. Which was not to say that there was anything in the demeanour of Shri Nathji that could be even vaguely called pride. He was the humblest person upon earth and always bent forward himself while meeting people so as not to evince the slightest sign of pride.
Shri Nathji also met the Headmaster of the School, Shri O.B. Craven, who was also a proud and haughty man. The moment Shri Nathji and Mateshwari entered his office, he stood up with spontaneous respect and offered them chairs.
It is human nature to give respect to someone more powerful than oneself. Respect is given to higher officers, the rich and the wealthy, people in position and power, only after this recognition sets in. However, here was Shri Nathji standing before people with no appellations attached to him, no symbols of power and status associated with him, no outward manifestations of wealth, and yet people were forced to be respectful to him.
This was yet another proof of the innate divinity of Shri Nathji, which was not openly manifested before all. Even a little ray of this divine light within him was enough to force people into respectful submission before him.
This spontaneous respect that was given Shri Nathji was manifested in all the places which he visited. If he went into a shop, the shopkeeper would leave all other customers and come to attend to Shri Nathji and offer him a chair to sit upon, while he brought the wares displayed in his shop before him. If Shri Nathji went to a cinema hall with his family, the manager would come rushing forth to offer the best seats to Shri Nathji and would himself guide Shri Nathji to the seats in hall.
If Shri Nathji entered a restaurant, the waiters as well as the manager there would crowd around Shri Nathji and bow respectfully before him, taking his order with great respect and reverence. Later, when Shri Nathji would reward the waiters with handsome tips they would vie with each other to come and hold the door open as he went out patting the waiters on their backs.
As Shri Nathji walked on the Mall Road, the rickshaw pullers there would call out to him and then rush towards him with their rickshaws saying: “Sethji! Maharaja Sahib! Swamiji! Richskaw!” Shri Nathji would invariably take their rickshaws even when he didn’t need them. This was just to give them business and his generous tips, as also his love. He would be greatly concerned each time the coolies pulled the rickshaw up the slope of his house. He would be concerned about the strain on their hearts and would recall a story of a rickshaw puller who had died while pulling a rickshaw. Shri Nathji’s heart would break when he saw the plight of the poor collies wearing torn and bedraggled clothes. At the end of the ride not only would Shri Nathji give them tips-baksheesh-that were almost as large as the fare itself, but he would also pat each of the coolies on their backs for their effort, and speak to them with love and concern, enquiring after their homes and welfare. By the time the coolies left, they had tears in their eyes. Little did they know that the passenger they had carried was God.
If Shri Nathji went to an office, there would be a stir in the office as the lower staff rushed about to bring a chair for Shri Nathji, or to usher him into their officer’s chambers. The officer there would invariably stand up and offer a chair to Shri Nathji and listen to everything that he had to say with great respect, and always agree to whatever Shri Nathji had to tell him. There was never an instance when any office or officer refused Shri Nathji anything.
Shri Nathji could accomplish the most impossible of things in Government offices through the magic power of his personality alone. He never had to call any influential persons to intercede on his behalf; he was the most influential man in existence himself. The lower staff as well as the officers were only too glad to do his work. Some invisible power gripped their hearts and souls and told them that they were serving God upon earth, although this was never revealed by Shri Nathji himself.