No.20 South Extension Part I, New Delhi

In January 1968, Shri Nathji stayed in a rented accommodation at No.20 South Extension Part I, Housing Society, New Delhi. He was on the ground floor and it was a fairly comfortable place with two bedrooms and a large hall. Pran Nath and Priya Nath took one bedroom each while Shri Nathji began to reside in the big hall. It was there that people came and met him. He preferred this arrangement so that Pran Nath and Priya Nath could lead their independent lives without being disturbed by the visitors who came to see him.

This house belongs to Mr. V. K. Ralli. He now resides at first floor with his wife, Mayavati. He has now sold the ground floor, which Nathji had rented. This ground floor is now converted into a PG for girls by the present owner. HH Shri Mahaprabhuji and HH Pran Nathji and HH Priya Nathji stayed at No. 20 South Extension Part 1 Housing Society at the house of Mayavati Landlady, for all of 1968 and the start of 1969. However the stream of visitors in the crowded area had become so large that it was impossible to get any rest there. HH Shri Mahaprabhuji was recovering from severe bronchitis in the dark unhygienic rooms. In Jan 1969 they shifted to Lodi Hotel and stayed there for about 3 months till  March 1969.

Shri Nathji’s devotee from Delhi, Shri. Charukant Sharma had gone and interacted with Mr. And Mrs. Ralli. When he went to meet them, that time they were busy entertaining one of their guest. Still they were courteous enough to invite him into his house and offered him to sit and have a small conversation. Mr. Ralli has also shared his cell number with Shri Charukant Sharma.

Mr. Ralli still has found memories of Shri Nathji's stay in ground floor of their three storied house. Mr. Ralli still remembers divine aura of our Lord. In his own words, he said about Shri Nathji that "He was a very transparent and pleasant personality".  Mr.  Ralli is a staunch Arya Samaji, so he doesn’t believe in the concepts of Avatars and only saw Shri Nathji as a spiritual personality. He was able to recall sweet sounds of HH Priya Nathji's piano and his interactions with HH Pran Nathji, Mrs. Ralli was recalling her interaction with Dandewali Ji. He was able to recall sweet sounds of Priya Ji's piano and his interactions with Pran Ji, Mrs. Ralli was recalling her interaction with Dandewali Ji (Gagabai Bhatt). Gangabai Bhutt had come at the residence of Shri Nathji at South Extension and expressed her great sorrow at Mateshwari’s going. She narrated how distraught Bhutt Sahib had become at Shri Nathji's going abroad. This was the first time she met Shri Nathji after He returned to India.

Underneath are photographs of the same house, -provided by Shri Charukant Sharma.

Rotary Club of Boston

 There are the photographs of the prestigious 125 years old Boston Park Plaza Hotel, which houses the office of the Rotary Club of Boston. Members of the Club generally meet over lunch at the McCormick and Schmick's Seafood Restaurant or at times at the Melting Pod Restaurant, which are both part of the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. This is also where they meet all guests and invites. The Rotary Club of Boston Office is in the hotel building next their luncheon meeting location. This office is located in one of the suites in the hotel and open by appointment and it is where the Board of Directors meets. Its address is 20 Park Plaza, Suite 633, Boston, MA 02116.

Shri Nathji was given a welcome by the Rotary Club of Boston, over lunch in the same restaurant in the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Here Shri Nathji met the President of the Rotary Club and two other members of the club, a building contractor and an Iranian dentist, settled in America. The building contractor would not leave Shri Nathji that day and took him to his house.

Many Americans still thought that Indians worshiped a plethora of gods and goddesses in idol form as a substitute for God. The very concept of idol worship was difficult for them to understand. At the house of the Iranian dentist, Shri Nathji’s explanations thrilled them. His description of idol-worship was also very convincing, and new:

"An idol merely serves as a reminder of God, the spirit. It is like having a picture of your friend in the house. Each time you look at the picture, you are reminded of your friend.

“When you talk through a telephone, it is not the telephone you are talking to, but rather the person on the other end of the line. An idol serves a similar purpose for many. The worship they offer to it is directed towards God. Upon setting eyes on the image they are reminded only of God and no one else. To that extent, the image serves a useful purpose. God, who is everywhere, and in everything, even in the smallest of atoms, can also exist within an idol of stone. He understands the intention of man, regardless of his mode of worship.”

“He can give to a worshipper the fruits of his devotion through any medium He chooses–even through the medium of an idol. The one who answers prayers is God alone. The idol serves as a useful medium for concentration.”

“When man has advanced further spiritually, he can visualise God within himself. God shall then speak to him from within!"

  Shri Nathji gave a beautiful discourse at the house of the building contractor.

Later over dinner, when Shri Nathji was speaking, the President of Rotary Club, who was also there at the house of the building contractor, said that what you say is very similar to our Rotarian principles. 
The next day the Iranian doctor also invited Shri Nathji and Priya Nathji to his home in the US, over dinner and HH Shri Mahaprabhuji began quoting from Rumi repeatedly and the man said he was amazed as Rumi was his favorite poet and he showed us his library of books on Rumi and he also said that his father used to say the same things that HH Shri Mahaprabhuji was saying!!

The Rotary Club Boston was the 7th club formed worldwide, out of more than 32,000 Rotary Clubs, around the world currently. The Club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009. There is a special role for the First 10 and the First 100 clubs within Rotary, and Rotary Boston is proud members of both groups! Formed in 1909, the Rotary Club of Boston was founded only four years after Rotary's first club in Chicago, IL.  A very rare photo of the foundation day of the club in 1909 is given here. They were even formed before there was an organized "National Association of Rotary Clubs." Their members have been instrumental in founding other Rotary Clubs worldwide, including Paris, Glasgow, Melbourne, and Sydney, and their club is very popular with international visitors. They are very selective about their membership and choose the best quality of members, from all walks of life.

This Club was so well known that a stamp of the First Day Cover was issued by United States Postal Service on the 75th anniversary of the Rotary Club of Boston in 1984. On the left is the rare photograph of that stamp.

Harkness Mansion

This is the most recent photograph of the Harkness Mansion at Watch Hill where Shri Nathji stayed for few days during his tour to America. Watch hill in the state of Rhode Island has traditionally been the play ground of American Rich and famous. It also has the famous Ocean House Hotel which is considered one of the finest in America. This hotel is located very close to the Harkness Mansion. This Grand House is beautifully located by the sea and has its own private beach. The entire Watch Hill area is beautiful and luxurious with beautiful mentions and hotels.

Dr. and Mrs. Kean had invited Shri Nathji and Priya Nath to their holiday home on Watch Hill, Rhode Island, Connecticut. Shri Nathji went to Rhode Island along with Priya Nath.

It was a building of tall and assuming proportions. It had a hundred rooms in it, and there was a map in each of the hundred rooms, lest a visitor get lost, and also a telephone for communication in every room. Amongst the guests were the artists of a famous ballet troupe, a Count and Countess from Europe, and other important personages.

Two grand pianos were in the large sitting room. One of the walls overlooking the ocean was made of glass. As Shri Nathji stood on the edge of the cliff on which the mansion was situated, and stared out across the vast stretch of the waters of the ocean, the verse echoed in his mind:

Tere seene men to pinhaan baihare be paayaan rahe

Aur too katre ke peeche shaaki aur naalaan rahe

A sea of voluminous billows is pent up in thy soul

And yet thou criest on the shore for a drop of water

At Dr. Kean's house, Mrs. Kean who later came to be known as Mrs. Rebecca Harkness, received Shri Nathji with great respect and honor. At the dinner table she served Shri Nathji with her own hands, though there were servants attending to the guests. Shri Nathji was given a place at the head of the table as the guest of honor. He was greatly pleased with the lady's humility and gave her his blessings. An Article on Dr. Kean and Rebbeca Kean has already been published in the blog which can be viewed by clicking here.  

The Harkness Mansion used to be an iconic building in the fifties. I was able to get a photo of a very rare postcard which shows the Harkness Mansion by the sea. As can be seen from the aerial photographs this Mansion is beautifully located near the shore line. I have superimposed the map of the Watch Hill area, in one satellite photo so that its exact location can be ascertained.

The photograph on top is an actual Photo of the house taken from the street.

House of Dr. Harry Zeltzer, which Shri Nathji visited.

These are actual photographs of the house 9, Rumford Road, in Lexington, Massachusetts, which was the residence of Shri Nathji’s devotee Dr. Harry Zeltzer in Cambridge, USA.

In America, Shri Nathji’s mission found ultimate fulfilment in Dr. Harry Zeltzer, and his wife, Lois Zeltzer. The husband was of Jewish faith, and the wife was a Catholic. It was an ideal combination for Shri Nathji, because no one had accepted him more readily than the Jews and the Catholics in the West.

Priya Nath had met him at a dinner party, and had told him about Shri Nathji. "Is he here, in America?" Dr. Zeltzer asked. When Priya Nath told him that Shri Nathji was in America, a spark of happiness lit up within him. It was as if he was nearing his goal. He invited Shri Nathji to his house. When the invitation reached Shri Nathji, he said:

"This is the man I was waiting for! My work in America has now ended. I travelled thousands of miles from the East at the calling of thirsty souls, and until I have satiated the thirst of the last of them, I cannot leave. They come to me when the time is ripe for them, and I must wait till that time."

 At Harry Zeltzer’s house, Shri Nathji said: "Harry, you do not know me, but I know

you!"

Similar words had been used by Lord Krishna for Arjuna when he said: "Arjuna, you and I have been born many times. I remember the births while you do not."

Shri Nathji used to say: "A mother can recognise her child, even if the child fails to recognise his mother. The stage of atheism is akin to the ignorance of a child. As time passes, and the child becomes aware of his surroundings, understanding begins to develop and he can call his mother: ‘Mother’!"

Harry Zeltzer and his wife gave a tastefully prepared dinner to Shri Nathji and Priya Nath. After the dinner they asked Shri Nathji to sit in one of the finest chairs they had in their drawing room, which was of Japanese make.

 He thought the chair, which looked like a throne, had been made for Shri Nathji. Shri Nathji looked grand and exotic sitting on the chair, as if he was an Emperor who had come into his own.

 That night Harry and Lois had a strange experience. They could swear they heard Shri Nathji calling out to them. It was his voice and his accent. "Harry!" went the voice, "Lois!" Shri Nathji was miles away in his home at Lowell Street, Cambridge, while the Zeltzers were at 9, Rumford Road, in Lexington, Massachusetts.

 Nawab Istafa Khan had had this unusual experience in Mussoorie in the early 1930's, when he had heard Shri Nathji calling out to him in the middle of the night: "Istafa! Istafa!"

The voice was not from the ordinary plane. It was the voice of the Universal Soul calling out to the individual soul. It was the voice of the Ocean calling out to the drop of water. The next day, Dr. Zeltzer came to see Shri Nathji at Lowell Street in Cambridge. Shri Nathji spoke for five hours at a stretch–the longest he had ever spoken to anyone in America.

He was pouring his divine self into the innermost depths of Zeltzer’s being; he was filling a vacuum in Zeltzer’s life–a vacuum that had existed only for God.

Actual Photographs of the house are taken from the street. Close up aerial photos and Small scale satellite photos are also taken from different angles. As we can see that this areas has thick vegetation and greenery, Also I have superimposed the map of Lexington, in one satellite photo so that its exact location can be ascertained. The house is marked as A in some photos, for the purpose of identification.

15 Lowell St Cambridge, MA

These are actual photographs of 15, Lowell Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. which was the residence of Shri Nathji in Cambridge, USA. After one month of Shri Nathji's arrival in America, Priya Nath and Shri Nathji left the house of Anne Forbes and shifted here. 
Shri Nathji and HH Priya Nathji were staying on the First floor of this house. Looking from the road, from the front of the house, their bedroom was the room to the left, whose windows are shown, and the kitchen was on the right. Miss church the land lady lived on the ground floor. Some other tenants lived on the first floor. Even after so many years, this house still looks exactly the same as it did during the time Shri Nathji resided there. This apartment at 15, Lowell Street consisted of a large room, which had been partitioned by a curtain into a bedroom and a sitting room. The adjoining kitchen and bathroom were large and comfortable. Shri Nathji enjoyed soaking himself in the hot water of the bath-tub for long periods of time and would ever afterwards recall the material comforts of the small flat which HH Priya Nath had rented for his sake. This was the same house, where the Negro who was working here, had a Vision, in which Shri Nathji came to him and said " Johnny I have come to say Goodbye." on the night prior to their departure from the house.  
The apartment was owned by an old lady, a certain Miss Church, a Christian Scientist by faith. Shri Nathji’s spiritual light was on at the time he entered the new house. Miss Church was drawn towards him, and brought flowers to his room every morning. She had some searching questions in her mind, but even before she could ask Shri Nathji, he began speaking to her, all by himself. He chose the subject of Death. Miss Church was startled. She found Shri Nathji answering all the questions she had in her mind. Later, she was to say to Shri Nathji: "Your teachings make you sound just like a Christian Scientist!" To each, Shri Nathji was his own.

The exact postal address of this house is -

15 Lowell St Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

To honor the privacy of the present occupants of the house there identity has not been intruded and revealed by me in this article.

Actual Photographs of the house are taken from the street. Close up aerial photos and Small scale satellite photos are also taken from different angles. Also I have superimposed the map of Cambridge, in one satellite photo so that its exact location can be ascertained. The house is marked as A in some photos, for the purpose of identification. 

The Delhi Photo Company

One of Shri Nathji’s Photographers, The Delhi Photo Company at Janpath, Connaught Place, in New Delhi has shut shop about two year back. It used to be an old landmark of CP. What used to be Delhi Photo Company was now a restaurant specializing in Mediterranean cuisine. Fresc Co opened on September 22 2010. Its complete address is 78, C P, Janpath, Delhi - 110001.

The photographs of Shri Nathji and HH Priya Nathji was taken in this studio in 1981. It was the first Indian-owned shop in Janpath when it opened in 1937. It specialized in portrait photography. Its founder dies 27 years later; the son, the Germany-returned photography graduate, takes over; then grandson, Mr. Shankar took over. He continued the legacy till 2010. Infact it was the last of the old photography studios to shut shop in CP. Many like the Rangoon Studio in Janpath and Shimla Studio in the Regal building, had shut shop long back . Now with the changing times, everyone with a digicam is a wannabe photographer. Photo prints can be taken with color printers at home itself and with automatic digital cameras, anyone can become an instant photographer. So there is no demand for professional photographers these days.

In old times, Delhi Photo Company clicked portraits of Maharajas and Nawabs. It was the first official photographer of the President of India, as well as of Tribhuwan Shah, the King of Nepal. .Alas, times change and today people prefer passport size pictures than 16″*20″ portraits. The Delhi Photo Company was doing that till 2010 in adaptation to the changing times and in its struggle to survive, it even stated selling t-shirts printed with tacky pictures and tackier slogans. It also sold Yoga DVDs and classical music albums. It shut shop when it was difficult for it to substantially sustain itself. These are photos below, we can see the new restaurant. As we see the name of the Studio is still written is small letters in the corner, perhaps to give it a heritage effect and a feel of Nostalgia. Also one photo of the old board of the company when it closed down, before it was converted into a restaurant. Also photo of the old letter box of the Studio which used to be there.