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19. Gautam's Guardian
It has been nearly twenty-five years since I joined the sangh.
During this time thousands of men and women have listened to Bhagwan's samosarans. People from all walks of life came. Some decided to get ordained and devote full-time to sadhana as monks or nuns, whereas others chose to remain with their families and follow Mahavir's advice to the best of their ability.
Many who attended samosarans for the first time had absolutely no understanding of sadhana or Reality. I was glad to be able to guide them and watched hundreds surprisingly reaching their goal of liberation few years later. I admired such people with awe and reverence. After groping in the darkness of superstitious practices, they received a ray of light from Mahavir, and in no time they were able to reach the luminescent state of kevalgyan (absolute knowledge).
Those who were able to free their soul with such a short sadhana must certainly have carried a very light load of past karma. While I was happy for them, I, the very first disciple of Bhagwan Mahavir, his most devoted Ganadhar Gautam, anxiously wondered when I would reach that coveted state.
Since joining Mahavir's sangh I have earnestly carried out my sadhana. I have served my Bhagwan with devotion and love, and have received answers from him to thousands of questions, except for one.
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