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Many years passed and Gautam practiced what Mahavira told him faithfully, albeit he grew in doubt. Mahavira sensed that Gautam still had work to do to gain final enlightenment even after so many years by his side. Mahavira decided to put Gautam to one final, crucial test before he left his body. So he said to Gautamwho was unaware of this crucial time in Mahavira's life: "Gautam, in Nirvada, 16 miles from here, there is a Brahmin, by the name of Diva HARMA. He is a great scholar and a friend of yours from childhood. He is waiting for you and he can gain enlightenment from you. Go to him".
Without hesitating, Gautam left the side of Lord Mahavira, never suspecting that it would be the last time he would see Mahavira in his body. And just as Mahavira had said, when Gautam found his childhood friend, the energy from their meeting gave the scholar instant enlightenment.
Later, Gautam heard that Lord Mahavira had left his body and this world while he was away and he became very upset: "How could he do this to me? How could he tell me to leave his side at such a crucial time? Didn't Lord Mahavira know how much I loved him and wanted to become enlightened by him?"
And just as Gautam was sinking into an abysmal ocean of despair, he began to see how attached he had been to Lord Mahavira's every word, gesture, and breath.
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