Till August 28, 1982, Gurudev stayed in Delhi and remained busy giving practical shape to different administrative plans of the Mission.  At the same time he visited the houses of various devotees in different colonies and blessed them.  Instead of open programmes, he would sit at home with them and solve the innumerable problems they had.

I would also listen to the problems of devotees with interest and pay a lot of attention to the solutions offered by Satguru Baba Ji.  I felt that the problems of devotees were generally related to physical health or social and economic difficulties.  Gurudev would offer the solutions as per the circumstances and the state of mind of the devotees concerned.

In this way, so long as he stayed in Delhi, Gurudev continued to work for the emancipation of humanity.  There was hardly any time left for him to have his meal leisurely.  Anyway, despite such a busy schedule, Baba Ji decided to go on a spiritual tour for four or five days.

The first halt during this tour was at Yamunanagar.  Gurudev reached there at 10.00 a.m. on August 29, 1982.  The hall as well as the compound of the Yamunanagar Satsang Bhawan was filled by devotees to its capacity.  Most of the devotees here had come from villages.  The culture of Haryana was evidently visible.  During his discourse, Gurudev specially stressed the following four points -

• Devotees consider divine order to be perfect. They, therefore, do not get influenced either by happiness or grief.  They lead their lives normally as per the will of God. 

• Spending even a moment without remembering God is considered to be a bad bargain by a devotee; he remembers God with each and every breath.

• Realising the presence of the Formless God, a devotee never indulges in wrong actions.

• Seeing the Formless God dwell in every human being, a devotee treats everyone with love and regard and does not ever discriminate between people on any ground.  There is no question at all of his ever hurting the feelings of others.

This programme continued till about 2.00 p.m.

The moment Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj came out of his room after his evening tea, some prominent persons of the town came to pay their obeisance.  One of them was a well-known Arya Samaj activist while another was a leading social worker.  After bowing at Baba Ji's holy feet, they squatted themselves on the carpet spread there.  Gurudev also seated himself on a chair lying there.  With full sense of reverence, those gentlemen submitted, "Baba Ji, you said today only what is already written in our religious books.  We are very happy that you are propagating the principles of Arya Samaj in the same manner as our sages and seers have been doing it.  If ever you assign any role to play in connection with this holy task of creating a global human family that you have undertaken, we would feel happy to fulfill it with the grace of God." 

Some more God-loving people present there also expressed their desire to seek the blessings of Gurudev Hardev.  Gurudev accepted their greetings and started speaking in his simple and natural manner: "Nirankari Mission is not trying to establish any new religion.  Even otherwise, religion is neither new nor old; because it is always based on Truth.  Like the Truth which is eternal, religion too is eternal.  Therefore, I have not even a word to say, which may be different from those of any past saints or sages.  I am extremely happy to hear your feelings and to know that you wish to extend your services.    Today we certainly need to be ever ready to give our co-operation to spread this message of Eternal Truth."

Saying this, Baba Ji went towards the lawns for a stroll. Vitti Ji (Rev. Mata Sawinder Ji's brother) was accompanying him.  All of a sudden Vitti Ji said to His Holiness, "Baba Ji, the Arya Samaj leaders who met you today seemed quite satisfied after talking to you, but otherwise they keep on laughing at us saying that �we fail to understand you Nirankaris.  You start washing the feet of any Tom, Dick and Harry, you start touching the feet of everyone, you offer your food to whomsoever you come across... ... ... ...."

Vitti Ji might have continued but Gurudev interrupted him and said, "Leave aside what they say.  You speak what you have to say.  I feel you are also having the same doubts yourself in your mind."  Feeling a little embarrassed, Vitti Ji said, "Baba Ji, you are right. I do keep having these doubts in my mind off and on.  I feel that it is right to touch only the Master's feet and offer food and wash only his holy feet."

Gurudev said with a smile, "Vitti Ji, I feel that you have still not understood God-knowledge properly, otherwise such feelings can never arise in your mind.  Those who understand God-knowledge do not look at people as high or low.  They do not reject any person as unimportant.  They see the Formless God in everybody and wash everyone's feet in a spontaneous manner.  They feel privileged when they bow at everyone's feet and consider themselves lucky to offer food to everyone."  Bowing his head in acceptance, Vitti Ji said, "Be kind so that we too can see the Formless One dwelling in every being and extend our respect and regards to everyone."

Next day i.e., on August 30, Gurudev addressed the residents of Deoband. It has a mixed population of Hindus and Muslims.  There is a big Institute where students come to study Islam.  Because of the untiring zeal and efforts of Sayed Mazhar Hassan, a devout follower of Baba Ji, a large number of teachers as well as students from this Institute came to attend the congregation that day.

Expressing an unusual joy over such a get-together, Gurudev Hardev said:

You are extremely fortunate because, coming from various castes and communities, you have assembled to listen to the Truth being discussed here.  There is only one Truth. The great spiritual masters of the past named this very Truth as Ishwar, Allah, Waheguru, God and used many other names to describe it.  All the saints, Gurus and prophets who appeared on this earth told us only this that there is only one (Wahid) Truth who is the Creator, Sustainer as well as the Destroyer of the universe.   They never differed from one another.  The food and dress is bound to vary from place to place because of the climate.  Hence, it has never been nor can it be possible that all should have the same diet.  We must rise above such differences which take man away from man.

I observed that everyone's face was reflecting spiritual joy.  All were sitting together like members of one family and enjoying each other's company.  In my heart of hearts I was praying to God Almighty to shower His benevolence on all the people of the world so that everyone may be united with the chord of love after knowing the Eternal Truth and thus convert this earth into heaven.  In the mean time I saw Sayed Sahib taking an extremely old looking teacher of the Institute to Gurudev.  He was telling Gurudev, "Baba Sahib, he is an esteemed professor of the Islamic Institute here and is teaching comparative study of all the religious books of the world.  Baba Ji, he is extremely elated after hearing you and he is keen from the core of his heart that his services may also be utilised in spreading the message of the Mission which, he feels, is repeating the teachings of Islam only."

With a divine smile, Gurudev Hardev stated, "Be the followers of Islam or the Hindus, the Sikhs or Christians, all agree on one point that Ishwar and Allah are not two different entities; God is one and the only one.  If we accept this Truth from the core of our hearts then all the distances which have been created among us by selfish people would disappear in no time."

In a matter of minutes, those desirous of Baba Ji's glimpse, thronged the place.  Everybody was feeling spiritually elated.  Gurudev could not stay there for long as another congregation had been organised in Rurkee the same evening.  After taking his lunch, Baba Ji left for Rurkee.  Inspiring every one to know One, believe One and be one, His Holiness stated there too:

God has gifted man with the ability to think so that he can differentiate between what is good and bad for him, give up evil deeds and embrace good deeds and thus make his life happy and blissful here and hereafter.  Human incarnation is the loftiest.  If man wastes it in useless pursuits then nobody knows as to when will he get this golden opportunity again.  Therefore, it is the prime duty of us all that we should take advantage of this human birth, get united with the Truth, know God Almighty and thus leading a righteous life, liberate ourselves  from the cycle of transmigration.

On August 31, 1982, a huge Sant Samagam had been organised in Saharanpur.  Tuesday is a closed day in that city.  Devotees as well as local residents attended the Samagam in large numbers.  Here also a major part of  the gathering belonged to villages.

Citing the example of the spirit of faith amongst the people coming from villages here, Gurudev inspired everyone to imbibe the same.  Explaining faith and devotion in detail, Gurudev said:

Faith is the ladder which helps us to climb to our respective destinations successfully.  Devoid of faith, our steps always stagger and we cannot move forward towards our destination.  Faith also plays an important role in keeping us stationed at our destination just as it helps us before we reach it.  Many times, people with evil tendencies try to exploit our faith.  Therefore, it is very essential for the devotees to be always alert.  If a devotee is careless even a little bit, then such people may succeed not only in exploiting one in terms of wealth but honour also.  It is only because of the blind faith of the devotees that so many people are misusing them for the satisfaction of their own selfish interests day in and day out.  Such evil doers do not remember that they too would die one day.  At that time nobody will be able to salvage them from the noose of their own misdeeds.

After blessing all the God-loving people, Gurudev reached Neelokheri.  The congregation here marked the inauguration of the new Satsang Bhawan.  Here also the atmosphere was charged with enthusiasm.  Addressing the gathering His Holiness said:

We should not keep the light of God-knowledge limited to our own selves.  Rather we must show the path to others and wish for the welfare of all.  These Bhawans have been constructed with the same bricks and cement as any other building.  But they are important because devotees sit here and express their noble feelings, which help a man to become a true human being.  These Bhawans are for everyone.   Only the voice of Truth should be raised from here.  Only the Almighty Formless should be glorified here.  It would not be correct to sit here and discuss worldly matters.  Everybody already understands these things.  Now the need is that all of us should determine in our hearts that we would put these feelings into practice and thus make our lives happy.  We may also take this message of Truth to the people of the world and make their lives happy too.

Thereafter, His Holiness left for the Satsang Bhawan, Karnal to rest for the night.  Devotees had thronged that place also to have Baba Ji's holy glimpse.  This is the town where our 60 to 62 Mahapurushas were kept in jail for 15-16 months.  They were found not guilty later on.  Whereas people generally came to seek Baba Ji's blessings, some of them wanted to clarify their doubts about the Mission also.  Gurudev started talking with them as soon as he got some time to attend to them.  A well-known lawyer from the city started speaking in his own style and said, "Baba Ji, the judgement in the court case has proved that you people are innocent in all respects. The case was only thrust upon you.  But your followers are being attacked and killed here and there even now.  Can you tell us the reason for that?"

On hearing this query, others present there also became attentive for a while and looked forward to Gurudev's reply.  In his natural manner, His Holiness stated, "Generally, wherever I go, I am being asked the same question.  And everywhere I am giving the same reply that it would be better to pose this question to those who are indulging in such deeds and thus harming true religion.  From our side, we are trying even today to remove the misconceptions that such people are carrying about us.  You are educated young people.  You can appreciate that we have not been revengeful.  This is the only co-operation that we could give in this matter and you have seen that there has been no retaliation from our side during the course of these two or two and a half years."

The lawyer as well as the rest of the devotees were appealing to Baba Ji again and again that by his blessings and by the spread of the True religion, he may liberate man from such violent tendencies so that our country which is known for the respect it holds for religion, may realise the meaning of true religion and glorify the same in the world.

Next day, Gurudev Hardev reached Kaithal.  In the congregation there, a large number of Hindu as well as Sikh people were present.  Addressing the gathering, Gurudev stated:

The whole creation is the offspring of One Supreme Father.  If the children love each other, hail each other, then the parents feel very happy.  But by fighting amongst themselves they cannot earn the blessings of their parents.  Therefore, if we truly believe in the oneness of the Supreme Father and the oneness of His children (Ek Pita Ekas Ke Ham Barak), then in order to earn the benevolence of God we should not only wish well of everyone by sharing everyone's weal and woe but also endeavour to do good to others.

Gurudev also gave his approval for the expansion of the Satsang Bhawan in Kaithal.

In the evening when Gurudev reached Jind, the residents of the town not only got a chance to get his holy glimpse but also to listen to his holy words. Gurudev was very happy to see their devout feelings.  Inspiring people to know the true religion, Gurudev said:

The practice of certain rites and rituals is not Dharma or religion.  To realize the Eternal Truth is the real Dharma.  God the Supreme Truth is above all impurity and animosity and is immutable.  If we want to become truly religious, then we have to practically adopt such divine qualities in our every-day life.  Till the time we do not imbibe such divine virtues as love, compassion, kindness and affection in our lives, we cannot be called truly religious.  Religion gives life, never takes it; it gives happiness, never sadness; it uplifts those who have fallen, it never causes anyone fall.  In other words, true religion unites us with the Supreme Truth and thus bestows divinity to our thought, action and speech.

From Jind, Gurudev was to go straight to Rohtak.  But at the request of the representatives of the Sangat of Hansi, Gurudev agreed to accompany them and see their Satsang Bhawan under construction.  As a result he could reach Rohtak only at 10.00 p.m. Here some saints who were present at the place where Baba Ji was to take his dinner and halt for the night, joined him while he was strolling on the roof.  Gurudev was listening to the feelings of these devotees quite lovingly.  Among them was a leading devotee of the Mission and a senior officer of Haryana Judiciary, Shri Nagpal Ji who commanded a lot of respect in the social circles of Rohtak.  He appealed to Gurudev saying, "Baba Ji, devotion to God is very difficult for a person living a householder's life.  This visible material world (Maya) on one side and the Almighty Formless One beyond all attributes on the other, seem to be poles apart.  We do not know how to synchronize the two.  Like this, there is a statement in which Bible says that a man cannot please two masters at the same time.  Kindly bless us so that we can stay truly devoted to the Creator even while living in His creation i.e., a materialistic world.  We may not face the consequences which generally a man faces when he puts his one foot in one boat and the other in another.  Such people only drown one day.  We are also trying to please the material world as well as its Creator at the same time.  We may not go astray from our destination."

Gurudev smiled and stated, "You are present here and so are your children.  If someone wants, he can serve your children and thus please you and earn your blessings. At the same time, he can serve you and thus make a place for himself in your children's hearts also.  It is not necessary that in order to serve you, that person must ignore your children or for that matter when one pays attention to your children, he must ignore you.  Truly speaking, he can earn your blessings only by pleasing you as well as your children at the same time.  Exactly, this is the way we should understand the creation and the Creator.  Yes, if time comes when one has to choose between the two, then the preference should be given to the Creator of the creation because creation cannot create the Creator whereas the Creator can create anything anytime."

Suddenly Gurudev saw his watch.  Everybody realized that they had taken quite a lot of time.  So Gurudev took leave of them all and went to his room to take rest.

Next day, i.e., on September 2, 1982, the congregation was held between 9.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m.  As the congregation was held at the Sant Nirankari Bhawan, majority of the audience consisted of our own devotees.  General public did not turn up in large numbers.  Addressing the devotees, Gurudev said:

Most of you who have assembled to enjoy the bliss of congregation here, are spiritually enlightened Mahapurushas.  I have nothing different to say from the feelings of the saints that you have heard till now.  I value such lofty feelings and want that such feelings should spread in the whole world so that the world can heave a sigh of relief.  To provide steadfastness to God-knowledge that you have received with the benevolence of the saints, Satsang (congregation), Sewa (selfless service) and Simran (God-remembrance) are extremely essential.  The meaning of Satsang is to be in the company (Sang) of Truth (Sat).  Truth is God.  So, remembering Truth every moment is the real meaning of Satsang.  But this kind of remembrance is attained only in the company of Mahapurushas - the Men of Truth (Satyapurush) who remain immersed in the ecstasy of Divine Name day and night.  Their company hues us too with Divine Name.  Therefore, the fundamental objective of Satsang is to seek the company of such saints. By serving these men of Truth we can really serve the Formless One.   The Formless Almighty has neither a form nor does He need anything.  There is no method to serve the Formless directly.  That is why saints and sages have said that we can fulfill our duty of serving God by serving these men of Truth.  When we live in the constant presence of this Formless One, then the same becomes our Simran (God-remembrance).  Because of this constant realization of the presence of the Formless One we get saved from the onslaught of evils.  Those who forget God, get caught in the malady of lust, anger, greed, etc.  and there can be no expectation of devotion from such people.

From Rohtak, His Holiness returned to Delhi.  Addressing a mammoth congregation here on Thursday evening, he said:

Saints, you were listening to the words of Mahapurushas.  Everyone spoke about the lofty feelings that arise in the heart of a Gurmukh - the spiritually enlightened devotee.  During the last few days, I also had the privilege of meeting Mahapurushas who have such lofty feelings.  There were Mahapurushas who were outwardly wearing soiled clothes yet their love and fortitude provided a lot of strength to the mind.

Describing such devotees as a source of inspiration, Gurudev stated:

Saints have aligned themselves with this Formless One and they do not sit back thinking that they have realized God, finished their cycle of birth and death and salvaged their soul from transmigration, but they practise it in their daily life.  They realize that their soul is immortal, yet they also realize that they have to lead an unselfish life in this world too.

Gurudev continued and pointed out further:

Saints know that if someone harms a person, the sufferer may be blessing him, praying for mercy for him and not entertaining any feeling of hatred towards him in return, even then this Formless One who is omnipresent and omniscient does the justice.  If, even after knowing God, man does not realize His constant presence, does not keep his heart united with Him, his downfall is certain and he may face suffering and pain.  Therefore, devotees always have this feeling, this faith and belief that the Formless Almighty is watching each and every action of theirs.  No doubt, they get saved from evil deeds.

Referring to his tour and narrating his experience, Gurudev said:

I had a chance to visit a few places where the Mahapurushas did not possess worldly wealth, and they toil hard the whole day.  But they too spent their own money and came to attend the congregation with full enthusiasm and made offerings also quite generously.  The life of devotees who have such faith, such feelings, is always full of peace.  They do not fear anything, nor do they get affected by ups and downs.

Giving an example, Gurudev said:

The water in a pond is always still and calm.  But we find that the waves in a river rise and disappear within a matter of moments. In the same manner, the one who stays united with this Formless One, loves Him, remembers Him and remains conscious of His presence all the time so much so that he realizes that what he speaks or looks at is in His presence, such a person does not ever waver, he does not ever do any wrong deed, does not show disrespect to anybody.  When a devotee attains such a state, he receives all kinds of happiness.  A devotee contemplates this Formless One all the time and every moment while performing any action.  Wherever he lives, he knows and believes that this Formless One is ever present with him.  That is why his life starts moving towards greatness.

After going through the above lines, we come to the conclusion very easily that after the realization of God, one must attend the company of saints, offer selfless service, live in the constant presence of the Formless One, avoid evils and pursue virtues.  By doing all this with full sense of responsibility, faith and devotion only can we deserve to be called spiritually enlightened in true sense. Only then do we find happiness of all kinds.  His Holiness Baba Hardev Singh Ji Maharaj, however, does not weigh this happiness or bliss with material wealth or name and fame.  On this, he has very simple, straightforward and clear words to ordain.  He says:

Actually, the test of a devotee does not lie in material wealth.  If we think that someone who has been attending congregation for so many years and has attained God-knowledge too, must have become a millionaire, it will be a mistake on our part.  The real test of a devotee lies in his way of thinking - his attitude.  In a devotee's life, it is his way of thinking that is important.  His life remains unaltered in all circumstances.  He does not disrespect others.  He does not hurt the feelings of others.  He does not lead his life like the rest of the people of the world.  A worldly man first speaks and then considers whether this has hurt the feelings of others.  If man can control the feelings that arise in his heart, then he does not make any mistake.  If a devotee�s thinking and his behaviour are like that of a worldly person, then he too undergoes the same suffering which is the share of a worldly man.  To save man from this kind of suffering only, the saints have always advised him to be equi-poised, submit to the will of God and remain humble while leading this life.

Gurudev�s sharp insight did not fail to observe that it is not possible for a God-realised person to find honour and respect in the society instantly.  He will have to go a long way with goodwill at heart, before he can create an impression of his selfless service and sacrifice, on the hearts of others.  Only then will the people come forward to listen to what he says, understand it and follow it.  The following words of Baba Ji elucidate the same: 

Even in the past, the saints and seers were not readily accepted by the world.  It has never happened that the world agreed to whatever the saints said and that the saints could live in peace and calm.  On the contrary, the world always created obstacles in their path at every step.  Even materialistically their condition was never very happy.  If they had food during day-time, then probably there was nothing for them to eat at night.  Still they never lost hope because such saints, after knowing God, concentrate on Him only.  Therefore, all the attributes which are there in the Formless One start reflecting in their lives too.

Gurudev Hardev is well aware of human tendency that we may try to shirk our responsibilities on some pretext or the other.  That is why he had to say:

We find people in the world saying that they cannot ever think of striving to become like such devotees of God.  They feel that as compared to these saints, they are too weak; they make so many mistakes.  However, if we carry on thinking like this, then we will never think of trying to correct our faults.  On the other hand, if we determine that we have to lead our lives like those saints and seers, become as large-hearted as they were, become as tolerant as they were, then only we can improve our lives.  When we imbibe such feelings, only then we will be able to lead a life of true devotees.   Let us pray to the Almighty Nirankar to be kind, so that such virtues start reflecting in every Mahapurusha�s life. Every one may have lofty feelings so that everyone is able to attain happiness in life. May everyone's heart be firm and mind peaceful because only then can these devotees prove to be useful for the welfare of the world and succeed in uniting the people of the world with God.  May God shower His benevolence so that every saint�s words and deeds are such as behove a devotee.

Trying to alert and caution us - the disciples, Gurudev stated once as under:

It should not happen like this that we persuade the world to attain God-knowledge, claim that we have already realized God and become saints, but when comes our practical life, our actions come to light, even those who have some goodwill for us may distance from us.  Therefore, every saint has to realize that this is the path of Truth and this is not an ordinary path.  Several devotees have already sacrificed their lives because they wanted to tread this path and even the Master (Guru) sacrificed his life.  These sacrifices have not been made for something trivial but for the lofty principles of Truth.  Saints, we too should have such a life that the world should acknowledge that we are the disciples of our Master in true sense.  And if we are required to sacrifice our lives, then let the world say that it was for some lofty cause, some lofty principle.

Gurudev Hardev stayed in Delhi for about two weeks.  During this period, he addressed several congregations in different colonies where he delivered discourses on devotion, faith and other spiritual topics.  Keeping his promise, His Holiness consecrated the houses of several devotees with his holy feet and blessed the families.  Those were the days when many devotees of the Mission had to sacrifice their lives.  Once in a while, a situation arose when some youth would flare up under the pressure of vindictive feelings and sometimes it seemed as if they would succeed in cracking the dam of forbearance.  But the teachings of Gurudev Hardev based on human love would always pacify their agitated minds just as the boiling milk settles down with the sprinkling of a little water.  During the private meetings as also in his discourses during the congregations organised at different Bhawans in Delhi, Gurudev would constantly stress upon one thing:

Saints always maintain their peace.  No provocation from the world whatsoever can succeed in making them violent.  Devotees are linked with the Formless One, who is static, peaceful and immutable.  Therefore, it is simply not possible for anyone to agitate their minds in any way.

On September 18, Gurudev proceeded once again on a spiritual tour.  His first halt was at Mandi Gobindgarh.  After leaving Delhi at 6.00 p.m., His Holiness arrived here at 10.45 p.m.  But even at this late hour, devotees were standing on the roadside to welcome Baba Ji.  After paying obeisance and receiving Baba Ji's blessings, all of them went back to their respective homes..

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