Shri Nathji often spoke of Alexander. He occasionally used to say -
“When Alexander the Great left this world, he did so with empty hands. Who then can take anything from here?”
Some very interesting stories, using Sikander, Alexander the Great, need mention here, as narrated frequently by Shri Nathji.
Nectar of Eternal Life
The first was about the nectar of Eternal Life, the fountain of immortality-aabe hayaat. Sikander found a khizr, a guide, who showed him to such a place. Sikander had but to drink of this nectar, and death would never come to him. Around the fountain, Sikander saw hundreds of people in great agony. He asked them why they were wailing and crying.
And they said: "We wish to die! We have partaken of this nectar and become immortal. But we have not been able to free ourselves of disease, fear, worry, and human suffering. We pray for death to enable us to escape the agony of the world, but it doesn't come to us! We have spent years trying to find a way to die! We have returned here in the hope that we shall find some way. For we can neither live nor die!”
Sikander was disgusted. He gave the quest for immortal life. It was not enough to find a guide who could lead one to the nectar of Eternal Life. Where was the guide who knew of eternal life without suffering–where there would be Bliss, Contentment and Peace! Unfortunately for Sikander, he did not succeed in finding such a guide-a raihbare kaamil, a Perfect Guru.
The Slave of a Slave
The second story was of Sikander and the Mahatma. Sikander had just returned from a triumphant victory. Thouands of people saluted him and bowed before him. As his procession passed by a Mahatma sitting beneath a tree, Sikander was filled with rage. The Mahatma had neither stood up as a sign of respect, nor had he bowed his head before Sikander. Not being content with the humble salutations of thousands, Sikander desired more–one more, the salutation of the Mahatma. He lost the happiness of a thousand cheering for the sake of one cheer that did not go up for him.
Sikander: Mahatma! Bow before me!
Mahatma: Why should I bow before you, Sikander! You are the slave of my slave!
Sikander lept down from his horse, sword in hand, and came towards the Mahatma, in a fit of rage.
Sikander: Either prove what you say, or else die!
Mahatma: All right, I will prove it, not out of fear, but at your request. Firstly, it is you who have shown me respect by getting off your horse and standing before me. Secondly, your sword cannot kill me.
Sikander: Prove that I am the slave of your slave!
Mahatma: You have just gained victory over one country–is that enough? Or do you desire more?
Sikander: No, I have many more countries to conquer.
Mahatma: Do you desire fame?
Sikander: Yes.
Mahatma: A long life? Good health? Youth? Happiness? A kingdom that is the most powerful in the world? Do you have a desire for all these things?
Sikander: Yes.
Mahatma: But I do not. All these desires are under my control. Desire is my slave. And you are the slave of Desire. Therefore, you, Sikander, are the slave of my slave!
Sikander was astonished.
Sikander: You say my sword cannot kill you?
Mahatma: No. It cannot. The sword is dead. By itself, it cannot move to kill me. It is in your hand, but your hand is in the hand of God! If it be the will of God that I live, your hand cannot move to kill me!
Mere zakhm seene pe kar sake,
Hoon hawaa se jab main lateeftar,
Na ye taabo taakate tegh hai,
Na ye teer hee kee majaal hai
Wounds cannot come to my heart
For I am finer than the air,
The power of the sword cannot reach me
Nor the arrows dare !
Acording to Shri Nathji, the incident was a powerful one in Sikander's life. Some years later, when Sikander fell ill and was on his deathbed he said:
"My father gave me a body which must go to Death, but I met an enlightened soul once in my life, whose words are the only solace I will carry with me to the next world.
“Now that I am about to leave the world and death is approaching, I am beginning to forget everything that I possess, my wealth, my kingdoms, my power and status; I am forgetting even the faces of my kith and kin. Yet for some strange reason the face of the holy man, is now appearing before me.
“I see coming before me the enveloping darkness of Death. In this darkness his blessings are the only light that I have with me!”
Hands of Alexander
Alexander the Great then made a strange request to his family and ministers:
"When you take my funeral procession through the streets, let my hands hang by the side of my body, so that the world might look upon them, know that these hands–the hands of Alexander the Great that sought to possess the whole world–are today going away empty."
Shri Nathji would frequently add in his sermons:
“And if Alexander the Great left empty- handed, what can anyone hope to take from this world?”
Diamonds as Food
Shri Nathji would narrate the story of the Powerful King seeking to invade his neighbour's kingdom. His neighbour, being a smaller king, had the good sense to surrender without bloodshed.
"We have lost," he said, "and you have won without a battle. Everything here is at your disposal! Be our guests!”
And that night he gave a banquet for the conquering forces. Tables were laid out for the Powerful King and his ministers that contained eatables of every shape and variety. The "eatables" were however, replicas made of precious stones and diamonds. The artists had made them with such perfection that no one could distinguish them from the real eatables.
When the powerful king set about to eat, he discovered the anomaly.
"What kind of a joke is this?" he said angrily, "How do you expect me to eat these stones!”
"Is it not your food?" said the smaller king.
"My food is bread, just like that of other man!" said the powerful king.
"Is that so?" said the smaller king, "and were you not getting bread in your own kingdom? If so, then there was no need to take over mine! Surely, this wealth must be your real food, for the sake of which you are ready to shed the blood of thousands of innocent men!”
The powerful king was so taken aback by these words that he got up from the table in remorse, shook the hands of the other king, and left his kingdom.
Shri Nathji would say:
"Insaan ke shikman seri az yak naan ast
Vaz hirso havas shaamo saihar naalaan ast
Man, who can fill his stomach with bread alone,
Weeps day and night in the midst of greed and desire
Dar baihare wajoodash bingar toofaan ast
Aakhir choon hubaab yak nafas maihmaan ast
A storm exists within the Ocean of Existence,
Like the bubble, it is but a guest for a moment !"
Shri Nathji's parables and stories were so powerful and so convincing, and their impact so moving that his listeners would either burst into tears or break out into loud sounds of acclamation: "Wah!Wah! Wonderful! Wonderful!”
Shri Nathji could explain in a few simple sentences some of the greatest spiritual philosophies of the world.
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Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great and Sikander in Persian and Hindi was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.
Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.
Seeking to reach the "ends of the world and the Great Outer Sea", he invaded India in 326 BC, and defeated king Porus on the banks of the Beas river, but was eventually forced to turn back at the demand of his troops. Alexander died in Babylon in 323 BC, without executing a series of planned campaigns that would have begun with an invasion of Arabia. In the years following his death, a series of civil wars tore his empire apart, resulting in several states ruled by the Diadochi, Alexander's surviving generals and heirs.
Alexander's legacy includes the cultural diffusion his conquests engendered. He founded some twenty cities that bore his name, most notably Alexandria in Egypt. Alexander's settlement of Greek colonists and the resulting spread of Greek culture in the east resulted in a new Hellenistic civilization, aspects of which were still evident in the traditions of the Byzantine Empire in the mid-15th century. Alexander became legendary as a classical hero in the mold of Achilles, and he features prominently in the history and myth of Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became the measure against which military leaders compared themselves, and military academies throughout the world still teach his tactics.
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