________________
A Retrospection
Indrabhuti Gautam, came to the Lord After doing homage he said, 'Sire 'The Lord's present do I witness vividly. I propose to follow the Lord in future as does an ever-following shadow However, my Lord, some part of the past has slipped out of my fingers 1 regret not to have accompanied the Lord during his spiritual pursuits in the past Pray, let me know something of it If it be not inconvenient to the Lord, let me be thy confidante in respect of the practical experiences of those days, sir.'
The Lord acceded to the request and said, 'Gautam, these are the days of rivalries between the Brahmins and the Ksatriyas I wish it goes once for all As soon as I had been intitiated l endeavoured to bring about a reconciliation of the two castes I took my first meal at a Brahmin's place 1 It was the first experiment of its kind
The endeavour culminated in taking you into the fold Gautam, I am surrounded by Brahmins The ultimate reconciliation seems to be not far off now'
'My Lord! Your kind steps to draw the two great castes nearer helped immensely. We were granted kind refuge by your grace. I presume my Lord, various other people must have been benefitted by your mighty efforts Pray, let me know.'
1. 'Awashyakchurni I pt. p 27