THE STATUE THAT SPOKE
It is said that there are stranger things in heaven and on earth than are dreamt of in the philosophies of men! Here is one such example in the real life story below.
(Memoirs of HH Shri Bhola Nathji, (1902-1992) great spiritual luminary of his time and my father.)
The year was 1950. HH Shri Bhola Nathji was in New Delhi. There was a famous lady sculptress in the city who had made the statues of the Prime Minister and the President.
A devotee of HH Shri Bhola Nathji, Justice G.P. Bhatt, asked the lady to make a statue of the handsomest personality of the time, HH Shri Bhola Nathji.
The lady came to the home of HH Shri Bhola Nathji and was absolutely spell bound by his charm and his handsomeness. She agreed to make his statue for a fee.
However HH Shri Bhola Nathji had set a condition on her sculpting, that she would not touch his face for the measurements as she sculpted. The sculptress reluctantly agreed.
She began to sculpt the statue while keeping her distance, and tried to get the features as best as she possibly could. Several sittings were required.
By this time a strange kind of reverence and respect kept on rising within her heart for HH Shri Nathji, it was almost as if she were sculpting the Face of God. She began to refer to him as "Bhagwad Swaroop Bhola Nathji" which translated means,
"The Likeness of God- Shri Bhola Nathji"
She was trying to give the statue a serious expression, but a smile kept on forcing itself on the face despite her efforts to the contrary. When she told Shri Nathji about this, he laughed and said:
"Then let him make the statue who is sitting inside your heart and doing the sculpting!"
On the day the statue was complete she took it to her home for coloring. And later she brought it back to the house of Shri Nathji in a taxi -- accompanied by a band, which played a rhythm of joy.
Shri Nathji asked her: "Please let us know your fee for the beautiful sculpting you have done!"
She said: "The statue has become my life! There is only one fee that I ask of Thee, please eat a meal cooked by my hands!"
Sadly it was a wish that HH Shri Nathji could not fulfil as he was leaving New Delhi.
The statue was brought to HH Shri Nathji's home at Mussoorie by Shri Nathji's sister in law Veeran Devi and kept there in the drawing room. She covered it with a white sheet lest dust gather on it.
One day when she came inside the drawing room she was startled by a loud voice that rang out in the room:
"Veeran Deviji! For how long are you going to keep me covered in this sheet! It is suffocating!"
Veeran Devi was astonished beyond measure! It was as if the statue was alive!!
She took the sheet off in a state of panic.
Later she narrated the incident to HH Shri Nathji and his family when they arrived at the house. Shri Nathji smiled and said:
"Now there are two 'Naths' - this statue and I!"
All who saw the statue in later days in the fullness of its colors were astonished at the resemblance between the statue and HH Shri Nathji.
It lies there to this day, long after HH Shri Nathji's leaving the physical world.
ATTACHED IS A PICTURE OF HH SHRI NATHJI AND HIS STATUE IN 1950 IN NEW DELHI.
It is said that there are stranger things in heaven and on earth than are dreamt of in the philosophies of men! Here is one such example in the real life story below.
(Memoirs of HH Shri Bhola Nathji, (1902-1992) great spiritual luminary of his time and my father.)
The year was 1950. HH Shri Bhola Nathji was in New Delhi. There was a famous lady sculptress in the city who had made the statues of the Prime Minister and the President.
A devotee of HH Shri Bhola Nathji, Justice G.P. Bhatt, asked the lady to make a statue of the handsomest personality of the time, HH Shri Bhola Nathji.
The lady came to the home of HH Shri Bhola Nathji and was absolutely spell bound by his charm and his handsomeness. She agreed to make his statue for a fee.
However HH Shri Bhola Nathji had set a condition on her sculpting, that she would not touch his face for the measurements as she sculpted. The sculptress reluctantly agreed.
She began to sculpt the statue while keeping her distance, and tried to get the features as best as she possibly could. Several sittings were required.
By this time a strange kind of reverence and respect kept on rising within her heart for HH Shri Nathji, it was almost as if she were sculpting the Face of God. She began to refer to him as "Bhagwad Swaroop Bhola Nathji" which translated means,
"The Likeness of God- Shri Bhola Nathji"
She was trying to give the statue a serious expression, but a smile kept on forcing itself on the face despite her efforts to the contrary. When she told Shri Nathji about this, he laughed and said:
"Then let him make the statue who is sitting inside your heart and doing the sculpting!"
On the day the statue was complete she took it to her home for coloring. And later she brought it back to the house of Shri Nathji in a taxi -- accompanied by a band, which played a rhythm of joy.
Shri Nathji asked her: "Please let us know your fee for the beautiful sculpting you have done!"
She said: "The statue has become my life! There is only one fee that I ask of Thee, please eat a meal cooked by my hands!"
Sadly it was a wish that HH Shri Nathji could not fulfil as he was leaving New Delhi.
The statue was brought to HH Shri Nathji's home at Mussoorie by Shri Nathji's sister in law Veeran Devi and kept there in the drawing room. She covered it with a white sheet lest dust gather on it.
One day when she came inside the drawing room she was startled by a loud voice that rang out in the room:
"Veeran Deviji! For how long are you going to keep me covered in this sheet! It is suffocating!"
Veeran Devi was astonished beyond measure! It was as if the statue was alive!!
She took the sheet off in a state of panic.
Later she narrated the incident to HH Shri Nathji and his family when they arrived at the house. Shri Nathji smiled and said:
"Now there are two 'Naths' - this statue and I!"
All who saw the statue in later days in the fullness of its colors were astonished at the resemblance between the statue and HH Shri Nathji.
It lies there to this day, long after HH Shri Nathji's leaving the physical world.
ATTACHED IS A PICTURE OF HH SHRI NATHJI AND HIS STATUE IN 1950 IN NEW DELHI.
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