Thereafter, at the invitation of Queen Kushalkuvarba of Dharampur, Maharaj proceeded towards Dharampur in the company of Muktanand Swami and other sadhus and devotees. On the way Devanand Swami fell ill at Surat. He suffered from a bout of dysentery and was forced to stay behind. Now the problem arose as to who would stay behind to nurse him, since nobody was prepared to forego the benefit of travelling with Maharaj.
On such occasions, Maharaj always looked to Swami. So Maharaj said, “Where is our Nirgunanand? Call him. He will abide by my orders.”
Swami stayed behind according to the wish of Maharaj, and Maharaj left for Dharampur. As per his nature, Swami nursed Devanand Swami affectionately. Devanand Swami soon recovered and he was pleased with the services of Swami and said, “You have served me very well. I am very pleased and I wish to give you this dagli which has been sanctified by Maharaj; and I also wish to teach you music.”
But Swami was detached and disinterested in anything except earning the pleasure of Maharaj, and therefore he politely declined the offer and said, “I have served you to please Maharaj. Moreover, I may not be able to properly preserve Maharaj’s dagli, so it is better that it remains with you. Also, it would not be convenient for me to abandon my meditation on Maharaj in the morning in order to pursue learning music.” In this way Swami politely convinced Devanand Swami and went to Maharaj at Dharampur.
Once Maharaj arrived at Sanjaya after celebrating the festival of Chaitra Punam at Vartal. Here, he ordered Swami to form a group of sadhus and travel for the spread of Satsang in the surrounding villages. But Swami remained silent. Then Maharaj himself formed a group of four sadhus for Swami. At that time sadhus used to travel alone because there was no rule for a companion sadhu. But Swami always moved with a companion sadhu.