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One day a lady was leaving after a few days’ stay in the Ashram. After prostrating before Maharaj Ji, she asked for prasāda to be taken home for peace and welfare of her family which was passing through a crisis.

Throughout the day, during satsangs, Maharaj Ji, through his words, interactions and bhāva, was distributing as ‘prasāda’ manifest lessons of love, humility, renunciation and equal-vision. It was for us seekers to pick up these treasures and enrich ourselves.

One day a lady was leaving after a few days’ stay in the Ashram. After prostrating before Maharaj Ji, she asked for prasāda to be taken home for peace and welfare of her family which was passing through a crisis. Maharaj Ji generally used to give a few pieces of makhana (a kind of popcorn) or sugar-candy as prasāda.

To this lady, though she had stretched out her hands, he gave nothing. Instead, he gazed at her compassionately and said: “All these days, I have already given you prasāda; imbibe that and go home.” The lady, failing to understand the deeper meaning of prasāda, insisted: “No Maharaj, you have not given prasāda for my family.”

With a loving smile, Maharaj Ji said,

प्रसादे सर्वदु:खानां हानिरस्योपजायते ।
“prasāde sarva-du:khānāṃ hānir-asyopajāyate” (Bhagavad Gira 2.65)

“In the state of blessedness, all his afflictions get destroyed.”

and then added:

प्रसाद तो मैने दे दिया है, लेकिन आप लेते नहीं ।
Prasād to maine de diyā hai, lekin āp lete nahin.

“Prasāda I have already given you, but you are not receiving it!”

The lady somehow seemed to be missing the message; she still insisted on the material eatables. Maharaj Ji at last gave her some sugar-candy saying, as if to himself:

प्रसाद तो देते रहते हैं, मगर कोई लेता नहीं ।
Prasād to dete rahate hain, magar koi letā nahin.

“Prasāda is always being given but no one receives it!”

The lady left. Maharaj Ji continued in his enchanting voice:

एक महात्मा का दर्शन बाहर का दर्शन नहीं है । महात्मा का अन्तः करण देखना चाहिए , उनके भाव और गुण ग्रहण करने चाहिए ।
Ek Mahātma ka darshan bāhar kā darshan nahin hai । Mahātma ka antah karan dekhnā chahiye, unke bhāv aur guṇ grahaṇ karne cāhiye ।

“Seeing a Mahatma is not just seeing with the eyes. One should try to understand the mind and heart of the Mahatma and imbibe his thinking and qualities.”

– From the book-“In the Company of My Lord”