"I am conscious of my dependence on God."

"Words are cheap! Life has shielded you thus far! What a plight
if you were forced to look to the Invisible Hand for your food and
shelter! You would soon be begging on the streets!"

"Never! I would not put faith in passers-by rather than God! He can
devise for His devotee a thousand resources besides the begging-bowl!"

"More rhetoric! Suppose I suggest that your vaunted philosophy be
put to a test in this tangible world?"


"I would agree! Do you confine God to a speculative world?"

"We shall see; today you shall have opportunity either to enlarge
or to confirm my own views!" Ananta paused for a dramatic moment;
then spoke slowly and seriously.

"I propose that I send you and your fellow disciple Jitendra this
morning to the near-by city of Brindaban. You must not take a
single rupee; you must not beg, either for food or money; you must
not reveal your predicament to anyone; you must not go without your
meals; and you must not be stranded in Brindaban. If you return
to my bungalow here before twelve o'clock tonight, without having
broken any rule of the test, I shall be the most astonished man in
Agra!"

"I accept the challenge." No hesitation was in my words or in
my heart. Grateful memories flashed of the Instant Beneficence: