SHRI NATHJI & THE VISION OF THE TALL ENGLISHMAN
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From the memoirs of HH Shri Bhola Nathji (1902-1992) a Great Spiritual Luminary of His time.
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The year was 1936. Shri Nathji was sitting and having his morning tea with his devotee, R.R. Khanna, the Registrar of the Lucknow University, in the town of Mussoorie in the Himalayas.
They saw a tall Englishman come down a slope leading towards their residence.
Shri Nathji said to Khanna: "That tall Englishman! He is looking for me!"
Khanna said: "But Nathji! There are many houses here, how can you say he is looking for you?"
Shri Nathji said: "Khannaji! Would I not know of those who are looking for me?"
The Englishman came and stopped at the Cottage and came inside. Then, without saying a word, he kept on looking at Shri Nathji with amazement, almost speechless. Finally he introduced himself:
"Pardon me! My name is Hazelwright! I am a Senior Manager in The Heinz Tomato Company and was sent from London to Bombay.
"My heart had always been on the search for peace. I was restless until I began seeing a certain Being in my dreams. Every night the dream would repeat itself. I was startled. But all I know is that I felt ineffable peace whenever I saw that Being in my dreams. That Being was you, Nathji!"
Shri Nathji said: "Hazelwright! Do you have faith in a dream?"
Hazelwright: "In this dream, yes! If I see someone in a dream who I know before, then it is not surprising, but if I see someone in a dream first and then see him in the outside world later, then I would not call it a dream! I can feel that same peace as I stand before you!"
Shri Nathji said: "Hazelwright! Then it was not a dream, it was a call from God!"
Hazelwright explained. He had gone from Bombay to Kohmurri, a Hill Station in the Himalayas, -- and had seen Shri Nathji's portrait in a General Merchant's Shop, Mehra & Sons, and had procured the name and address of Shri Nathji from him.
Hazelwright became greatly devoted to Shri Nathji and would not leave him for a day. Time came when he had to go back to Bombay. He persuaded Shri Nathji to come with him for a few days. And Shri Nathji, who never said "no" to anyone, agreed and went with him.
In Bombay, Hazelwright entered the Hotel lobby where he was staying, carrying Shri Nathji's suitcase on his shoulder.
His friends said to him: "Is he a Maharaja? Whose suitcase are you carrying?"
Hazelwright said: "If he were a Maharaja, then I am no coolie! But yes, he is a Maharaja-- the Maharaja of my heart!"
Hazelwright served Shri Nathji with great diligence and devotion and one day took him to Juhu Beach in Bombay for rest and recreation.
While Shri Nathji rested on the beach, Hazelwright dived into the waters for a swim and seemed to disappear. Then suddenly he came swimming back to the beach with the tide, and caught Shri Nathji's feet!
Shri Nathji laughed: "O Hazelwright! You almost frightened me! I thought it was some creature from the sea!"
Hazelwright: "Nothing can frighten you Nathji! I just wanted to remind you that I have caught your feet in this ocean of life and death and want you to take me across!"
Finally the day came when Hazelwright had to part from his Master and return back to London. It was the saddest say in his life.
He wrote from his ship to Shri Nathji:
"O Nathji! I shall be forever grateful for the inner peace you have granted me! My heart was like a jungle full of wild beasts, but ever since you have entered into it, it has become a haven of Peace!"
As the events of life would have it, Hazelwright could not return to India again.
But he remained alive for years afterwards in HH Shri Nathji's sermons, whenever Shri Nathji spoke about the "tall Englishman" who had seen him in a vision in his dreams in London and then found him miraculously in India.
==================================================
From the memoirs of HH Shri Bhola Nathji (1902-1992) a Great Spiritual Luminary of His time.
===================================================
The year was 1936. Shri Nathji was sitting and having his morning tea with his devotee, R.R. Khanna, the Registrar of the Lucknow University, in the town of Mussoorie in the Himalayas.
They saw a tall Englishman come down a slope leading towards their residence.
Shri Nathji said to Khanna: "That tall Englishman! He is looking for me!"
Khanna said: "But Nathji! There are many houses here, how can you say he is looking for you?"
Shri Nathji said: "Khannaji! Would I not know of those who are looking for me?"
The Englishman came and stopped at the Cottage and came inside. Then, without saying a word, he kept on looking at Shri Nathji with amazement, almost speechless. Finally he introduced himself:
"Pardon me! My name is Hazelwright! I am a Senior Manager in The Heinz Tomato Company and was sent from London to Bombay.
"My heart had always been on the search for peace. I was restless until I began seeing a certain Being in my dreams. Every night the dream would repeat itself. I was startled. But all I know is that I felt ineffable peace whenever I saw that Being in my dreams. That Being was you, Nathji!"
Shri Nathji said: "Hazelwright! Do you have faith in a dream?"
Hazelwright: "In this dream, yes! If I see someone in a dream who I know before, then it is not surprising, but if I see someone in a dream first and then see him in the outside world later, then I would not call it a dream! I can feel that same peace as I stand before you!"
Shri Nathji said: "Hazelwright! Then it was not a dream, it was a call from God!"
Hazelwright explained. He had gone from Bombay to Kohmurri, a Hill Station in the Himalayas, -- and had seen Shri Nathji's portrait in a General Merchant's Shop, Mehra & Sons, and had procured the name and address of Shri Nathji from him.
Hazelwright became greatly devoted to Shri Nathji and would not leave him for a day. Time came when he had to go back to Bombay. He persuaded Shri Nathji to come with him for a few days. And Shri Nathji, who never said "no" to anyone, agreed and went with him.
In Bombay, Hazelwright entered the Hotel lobby where he was staying, carrying Shri Nathji's suitcase on his shoulder.
His friends said to him: "Is he a Maharaja? Whose suitcase are you carrying?"
Hazelwright said: "If he were a Maharaja, then I am no coolie! But yes, he is a Maharaja-- the Maharaja of my heart!"
Hazelwright served Shri Nathji with great diligence and devotion and one day took him to Juhu Beach in Bombay for rest and recreation.
While Shri Nathji rested on the beach, Hazelwright dived into the waters for a swim and seemed to disappear. Then suddenly he came swimming back to the beach with the tide, and caught Shri Nathji's feet!
Shri Nathji laughed: "O Hazelwright! You almost frightened me! I thought it was some creature from the sea!"
Hazelwright: "Nothing can frighten you Nathji! I just wanted to remind you that I have caught your feet in this ocean of life and death and want you to take me across!"
Finally the day came when Hazelwright had to part from his Master and return back to London. It was the saddest say in his life.
He wrote from his ship to Shri Nathji:
"O Nathji! I shall be forever grateful for the inner peace you have granted me! My heart was like a jungle full of wild beasts, but ever since you have entered into it, it has become a haven of Peace!"
As the events of life would have it, Hazelwright could not return to India again.
But he remained alive for years afterwards in HH Shri Nathji's sermons, whenever Shri Nathji spoke about the "tall Englishman" who had seen him in a vision in his dreams in London and then found him miraculously in India.
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