Justice M. N. Shukla

Justice M. N. Shukla remained a real devotee of Shri Nathji for many years since the days of his youth when he was just a lawyer and came to HH Shri Mahaprabhuji in Mussoorie for his lectures there. He had said:

"Shri Nathji is the greatest speaker of his time - nay, the greatest speaker of all times!"

He would say that people would come out of the lecture halls saying:

"Kamaal! Kamaal!"

And HH would say to him:

"Do you know what Kamaal means? It means "Come All"! And who can be "All" except God!"

Shukla would say:

"He was the handsomest person - so divinely handsome and so glorious!"

He had been fortunate to have the darshan of HH Mahamateshwari as well at Savitri Nivas.

He also said: "His books are ambrosia from heaven. His books alone can give salvation to mankind."

"Whenever I come before him I break out into tears. I cannot withhold myself -- it is a catharsis!"

"How fortunate are those who live (with him) in this paradise and how unfortunate those who get merely a glimpse of it!"

When he became Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court he came personally to thank HH Shri Mahaprabhuji at Delhi. He had kept his Delhi address in his handbag-- but could not find the slip of paper on which it was written! He searched everywhere in the bag and also in his baggage but it was nowhere to be found!"

Tears came into his eyes as he thought he may not be able to get his darshan after all.

The verse of HH echoed in his mind:

"Maanaa ke teri deed ke kaabil naheen hoon main

Too mera shauk dekh meraa intazaar dekh"

Granted that I am not worthy to catch a glimpse of Thee,
But look thou upon my craving and my yearning for Thee!

 And even as tears came into his eyes, he suddenly saw the slip of paper miraculously lying on top of all the papers in his bag!!

He used to speak of the Mrityu Ka Rahasya as the greatest book ever written on the subject and would call his Muslim friends and read out the Urdu and Persian verses in it to them and they would go into raptures. He would tell HH Priya Nathji that the English translation made by me was so beautiful that it did not sound like a translation but was rather like the original. He once went to a religious conference in Monrovia (Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado,) and took the "First Rays of Dawn" with him as a spiritual handbook for every question and as a presence of HH Shri Mahaprabhuji with him.

Justice Mahesh Narain Shukla became a judge of the High Court in 1969 and went on to become the Chief Justice on November 29, 1983, a post he held till his retirement on October 5, 1985. He was also known to be a well known writer and stage anchor. He wrote many well acclaimed articles like those on Pt. Motilal Nehru (Father of Jawaharlal Nehru)  and Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru (after whom  the Sapru Hall in Delhi is named, where Shri Nathji held several of his functions.) These article can be read by clicking on those names.

Justice Shukla's daughter Ranjana, presently  teaches Ancient History at the Allahabad University. She has formerly been the Chairperson of Uttar Pradesh Women's Commission and is married to former MLA and senior BSP leader Ashok Kumar Bajpai.

Former Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court Justice Mahesh Narain Shukla passed away in Allahabad on the afternoon of Tuesday, 29^th December 2010 after prolonged illness. He  was 87 years of age. He had been suffering from respiratory problems for some time and was admitted to the hospital a week back following deterioration of his health.