Maharaj was giving private audience to his sevadar Surendra Nath, whom he had blessed to be Governor of Punjab during very difficult times there, plus another government official who came with him. He met them in the morning sunshine in the small garden of his “Dubai” kothi (house). To give them privacy, Gurdev Singh and I withdrew to the entrance to that garden from the havan. Then Gurdev had to leave for a few minutes, so he asked me to stand there until he came back. I was left alone wondering what I should do as a guard for the being whom I considered the most important living figure in the world.

However, as soon as Gurdev left, I felt my small body being replaced by an unseen figure who was very, very large and powerful, towering far above the community. I could clearly feel its height and its great power, although I did not know who it was.

When Gurdev returned, I thanked him for the opportunity to learn firsthand that is not we small people who were guarding Maharaj. He told me that long ago another guard had a similar experience. He was standing night watch at Gobind Sadan. When he came back to the tent, he was astonished to discover that it was full of great warriors with finely curled moustaches. When he told this story to Maharaj, he said to him, “Of course it is not you who are standing guard. What can you do? You are only standing there with a stick. These are the great soldiers of Guru Gobind Singh Ji.”