The glory of great people lies in their way of life. The divine virtues of Swami, described by Shriji Maharaj, were observed in his life on many occasions.
It was 1812 CE (Samvat 1868). There was a light shower of rain on that dark night in Gadhada. The sky was covered with clouds and was illuminated with intermittent thunderbolts. All the sadhus had retired to sleep after enjoying the spiritual discourses and darshan of Maharaj.
At that time Gunatitanand Swami was standing half-drenched under the eaves of a room, trying to save himself from the rain, while waiting to have a glimpse of Maharaj. Meanwhile, Muktanand Swami came out of his room for some reason and saw somebody standing there. So he enquired, “Who’s there?”
Swami humbly replied, “It is I, Nirgunanand. I am waiting for a glimpse of Maharaj when he returns after his discourse at the darbar.”
Muktanand Swami was surprised when he saw Swami’s desire for Maharaj’s darshan. He thought to himself, “Oh! Look at his deep faith. He cares neither for his body nor for sleep. Although he sees Maharaj’s murti constantly in his heart, he craves so much for Maharaj’s personal darshan.” With this thought Muktanand Swami returned to his room.
But Swami stood there till late in the night, half-drenched and shivering. When Maharaj returned after delivering discourses, Swami had a glimpse of him in the light of a thunderbolt. Thereafter, he went to the outskirts of Gadhada and slept under the shade of a tree by the banks of the river Ghela, since at that time there was no mandir in Gadhada. So, Maharaj and the senior sadhus slept in the darbar and the other sadhus slept either on the riverbank or on the wooden platforms of shops in the village.