THE MEETING WITH DATTAJI

It was at this time that something memorable and inspiring happened. It will be appropriate to mention it here.

One of my subordinates was a Muslim officer. In October 1954 he me to me and said, “Tomorrow is a holiday. I would like to request for your car and driver to bring my pir (Muslim holy man) from the station”.

I wanted more information about his pir. He informed me that the pir would be coming from Muzaffarpur and he is known amongst people as Datta Rajendra Shah.

He told me that Datta had been one of the famous advocates of Monghyr.

One day while he was arguing a case in the court, he declared that the call from the Almighty had come and he was giving up his profession and going.

Thus he left the court in the midst of the arguments. He distributed his gown, expensive clothes and money on the way, purchased a dhoti of fine muslin and a blanket from a shop and went to the Muzaffarpur to his guru, where he started living. He broke off all his relations with his family and friends in order to live in complete seclusion.

As I also belonged to Muzaffarpur District, I had heard about him but had not seen him. My talk with my subordinate officer aroused my curiosity and I said, “I shall myself come with my car and bring him”.

Next day I went to Barauni and found that a large number of people had gathered there. They had all come to welcome the saint. I also met amongst them one of my old college mates who was SDO Monghyr at that time. When his train whistled in, my friend pointed to a first class compartment and told that the the saint was in there. The platform was crowded with people who had come to welcome him. I stood on one side of the platform. When the crowd dispersed, my subordinate officer called me inside the compartment and introduced me to his Guru. I saw him in a while muslin dhoti, half of which he had wrapped around his waist and the other half was covering his upper body. There was a black blanket and a stick on one side of him. There was also bottle of wine and a glass nearby which his followers were taking care of. Despite this evidence of his drinking alcohol, there was a spiritual glow on his face. I touched his feet. People helped him to get down from the train, and he came and sat in the car, I brought him from there to Begusarai and when I was about to return home, he said, “Are you going?” I told him that I was going to, take my bath and do my sadhana. He asked me to return after I finished my work. That evening in my meditation I had some experience of Islamic nature. When I went to meet him in the evening, I took my seat in the second row, just in front of him. Those in charge of arrangements were insisting on my taking a seat in the front row; but I did not agree, as I was not familiar with the ways and discipline of that gathering. There was a group of musicians to his right that was singing ‘qawali’ (Islamic devotional music). From time to time his men were handing him cups full of wine. Although in the second row, I was quite close to him, yet there was no smell of liquor.After some time Datta began to sway forwards and backwards in his seat. When he swayed forwards he came very close to me. While swaying like this, he once came close to me and said, “Nagina, guru alone takes one to God”. After some time in another similar swing he said, “Ho! Guru is God Himself”. That evening he did not tell me anything else, but again and again my hair was standing on end. Next day I went to him again during the noontime. The room was full of people and there was a big crowd in front of the door also. Even so I stood near the door. He looked at me and asked when I had come. I replied that I had just arrived. He called me in and asked me to be seated. Meanwhile his food arrived. He took his meal and afterwards betel-nut was served on a plate. He ate one betel and was handing one to each person as his ‘prasad’. I decided in my mind that I wouldn’t accept the betel. I wished that he might not give me one. Ultimately it happened as I desired. He gave one betel each to everyone except me. I was feeling attracted towards him. I was a new recruit in the field of sadhana, even so, mentally I placed Baba in Dattaji’s figure. As I did this Dattaji laughed aloud and looked at me and said; “Nagina you are wondering as to what I am?” He called me near and said in Arabic, “ba isma ba mosamba”. I did not follow the meaning of these words to I began to look at his face. A gentleman was asked to explain the meaning to me. He told me that the meaning of this expression is that ‘qualities follow the name’. I was silent. During that visit he did many miraculous things for several people, such as curing the daughter-in-law of a devotee by sending her a glass of water from which he had drunk. He also revived the fevered, uinconscious daughter of a destitute follower by anointing her teeth with his own saliva.Then he departed. He was to go next day by the morning train and I had to take him to the station. When I reached the station with him the train was late. He squatted on the floor of the platform. Many people had come to see him off. People surrounded him and there also he gave many miscellaneous blessings to his followers. When the train arrived he called me and asked me why I had not requested for anything from him while others had done so. DATTAJI’S PROPHECY I said, “You know best. I do not know what to ask for”. He immediately said, “On the seventeenth day from today I shall send you the Mukhtare Ahamad”. I did not understand this Urdu expression. Meanwhile everybody got busy in making arrangements for his sitting in the train. When the train steamed off some people came and embraced me. I did not know understand the significance and asked one gentleman, “Why are people embracing me?”He said, “Did you not follow, what Dattaji has said to you? Dattaji has said that on the seventeenth day from today he will send to you the representative of God. This is a great thing. Be careful on the seventeenth day, lest it may happen that He might come and go away and only thereafter you will understand that it was He. That kind of mistake will be great”. On the seventeenth day after bidding farewell to Dattaji, I suddenly received a letter from Shri Manan Prasadji, the deputy superintendent at Monghyr and also a disciple of Baba, summoning me to meet with Asthanaji at once in Monghyr. I lost no time in complying and by late afternoon was in Monghyr. That evening, having finished the work, I went to Jamalpur, which was not too far away, and reached Baba’s residence in time to accompany Him on His field walk. As we approached the tiger’s grave, I told Baba everything about my experiences with Dattaji, concluding with the question, “what did he mean when he said, ‘On the seventeenth day I will send you the Mukhtare Ahamad’?” Baba listened to everything and said, “You will automatically understand all this after some time”. That entire day I did not meet anyone in Muslim dress or anyone who had an Islamic appearance. I went home to Begusarai. A week later, official business took me to Muzzafarpur. I went to see Dattaji and told him, “I did not meet the Mukhtare Ahamad on the seventeenth day, although you said I would”. Dattaji looked at me . “Did you meet your guru on that day?” “Yes” A long silence ensued as if Dattaji were searching for the proper words. At last he asked, “What have you understood of your guru? Is he just an ordinary guru? He is some phenomenon totally different. He is much more powerful than any of the saints who have reached perfection in the past”. At last I realised that I had indeed met the Mukhtare Ahamad on the seventeenth day, although, just as I had been warned, I had failed to recognise Him ! Later I also came to understand what it meant for Dattaji to ‘send’ the Mukhtare Ahamad. It did not mean that Dattaji had the power of command over the Mukhtare Ahamad, or that Baba was subordinate to him. Rather, the laws of the mystic world would bind Baba, as a higher authority, to grant the wishes of those who have attained a very high degree of spiritual development. Regardless of whether they were Margiis or other disciples of Baba, even regardless of whether He approved of their requests He would comply with them, although He may subsequently scold or punish them for inappropriate requests. And so it had been He who had, on the seventeenth day, fulfilled Dattaji’s prophecy.