Maharaj

It was the festival of Guru Purnima, and Baba was away in Vrindavan. We received information that Gopal Swarup Pathak, Vice President of India, was coming to Kainchi to have darshan of the temples. At the appointed time I waited at the ashram gate to receive the vice president, and Haji, the Muslim sentry, was there on duty. Haji was a constable from the police department who also lived at the ashram and had his meals there. We both stood silently for some time. Then suddenly Haji said to me, "Pandit ji, God does not reside in these temples. He is in Baba and we are only his servants." I praised him in my heart for his firm faith in Baba and went on listening to him quietly. He said, "When I saw Baba on Guru Purnima last year, I was startled. The huge physique of Baba appeared to me like the child Krishna. Rubbing my eyes, I looked at him again and again, and every time his child form was before me. A devotee standing by me was also looking at Baba without blinking. I shook him and asked him what he saw. Without looking at me, he gave a short reply, 'The same—whatever you are seeing.' Again I asked, 'The child Krishna?' Gesturing with his head, he nodded in agreement." The memory of seeing the child Krishna stayed with Haji. His enthusiasm while narrating the experience was remarkable.

-Rajida