On the road one day, a noble bhakta recognized Shri Narayanadasji and, with complete love, fell to the ground in sashtanga pranama. A wicked man standing nearby witnessed this. Something in the spiritual power of that moment struck him. He too fell at Narayanadasji's feet, abandoned his bodily pride, and began serving him with remorse.
Shri Narayanadasji said to him simply: 'Do not worry. Whatever has happened to your body through mine, it is for your good.'
He was a person of supremely rich intellect, standing as the very boundary of Shri Hari bhajana. With firm bhakti-yoga, he maintained his body and strength while immersing his mana in svarupananda. His tongue constantly spoke the name and glory of Shri Lalji. Among jnanis he was preeminent. How far can his greatness be told? It was as though Shri Narayana Himself appeared in person for the sake of the people.
He constantly served the saints with benevolence, and to the jivas of the northern region, Badrikashram, he became the bestower of liberation.
The Guardian of Sandals
Narayandas Ji once noticed that the pilgrims arriving at the temple door for darshana were not truly present before the Lord. Their feet entered the sanctum, but their minds lingered at the threshold, worried about the footwear they had left outside. This small anxiety divided their attention. So he sat down quietly at the door and became the keeper of sandals. He, who was foremost among jnanis and lived in the bliss of divine contemplation, watched over shoes so that others could stand before the Lord with an undivided heart. His own absorption in the divine form never wavered. The outer act was humble; the inner state was unbroken. This is the teaching: true service asks nothing in return and makes itself invisible, so that those being served can find their way into the presence of God.
Bhaktamal, Tika by Priyadas, verse 616
Carrying the Burden Without Complaint
One day a wicked man came who did not recognize Narayandas Ji for what he was. He placed a heavy bundle on the saint's head and made him carry it along the road. Narayandas Ji said nothing. He did not explain his spiritual standing or resist the imposition. In his heart he recognized the divine hand even in this rudeness, seeing the encounter as the will of Hari expressed through an unlikely instrument. When it was over, he was exactly as he had been before: undisturbed, unhurt, with nothing in him that pride could attach itself to. The seeker who aspires to this freedom learns that dignity is not dependent on being recognized. When the inner life is established in the Lord, no outer circumstance can reach it.
Bhaktamal Mool verse 187 and Tika, Priyadas
Forgiveness Is the Mark of the Great
After the man who had burdened him fell at his feet in remorse, Narayandas Ji said simply: do not worry. What happened through my body was for your good. He did not say, I forgive you. He pointed the man's gaze not toward the saint but toward the grace that had arranged this entire meeting. The Bhaktamal adds a doha that captures the spirit of this moment: forgiveness belongs to the great; disturbance belongs to the small. What was diminished in Lord Vishnu when the sage Bhrigu struck him with his foot? The saint takes the insult and does not wound, because there is no wound-able self left. The encounter that began in arrogance ended with the man walking toward bhakti, given direction and instruction by the very one he had wronged.
Bhaktamal doha 620, Tika by Priyadas
Svarupananda: Joy Rooted in True Nature
The Bhaktamal describes Narayandas Ji as one who kept the body strong through the discipline of devoted practice while immersing the mind completely in svarupananda, the bliss of resting in one's true nature as inseparable from the Divine. The outer life continued normally; the inner life was afloat in an ocean of joy that has no edge. His tongue was never idle in aimless talk. When he spoke, it was to sing, to praise, to remember the name and glory of Shri Lalji. He had not rejected the world. He moved through it, served in it, carried burdens in it. But the ground beneath everything he did was this steady inner sweetness, always present, never disturbed. The teaching here is that devotion is not primarily a feeling that comes and goes. It becomes a ground you stand on.
Bhaktamal Tilak commentary on verse 187
The Saint Rains Equally on Every Field
After Narayandas Ji gave the wicked man instruction in the path of bhakti, the Bhaktamal offers an image that stays: as clouds rain equally on the fields of the good and the wicked alike, so the saint extends compassion without discrimination. He did not reserve his grace for those who had already proven themselves worthy of it. The man who had wronged him was precisely the one he turned toward with care and guidance. This indiscriminate giving is what the text calls parahita-rata svabhav, a nature oriented entirely toward the welfare of others. It is not a policy a saint adopts. It is what remains when personal preference has been dissolved by long immersion in the Name. When there is no self to protect, there is also no reason to withhold.
Bhaktamal Mool verse 187, commentary by Priyadas
Hindi text from OCR scan (Khemraj Shrikrishnadas Prakashan, CC0). May contain errors.