॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Srimad Bhagavatam - snippet 6- Thursday, 31 August 2023 - Devarshi Narada, incomparable hero.
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This snippet threatens to get very long as the subject is my hero, Devarshi Narada. Son of Brahma, knower of Brahman, Trikaalajnani (knows the past, present and future), Trilokasanchari (one who travels freely through the three worlds), one who is received with great respect by every god and man, worshipped by Shiva and Sri Krishna, who stirs the plot according to Bhagavan's will, is the spiritual instructor of almost all the great people we know including Vyasa and Valmiki! He also is a supreme musician who sings and plays his unique Veena Mahati.
Sage Narada comes in Srimad Bhagavatam many, many times, in all Skandhas. He is the epitome of Bhakti and also an astute ambassador of Bhagavan. Where to begin and where to end then? I have randomly chosen a few portions!
Sage Narada tells Maharshi Vyasa his own story to illustrate the effect of Bhakti on man. He was only five when one night, his mother, who was a Dasi serving in Rishi ashramas, went out to milk the cow. She was bitten to death by a snake, acting under the force of Destiny. Narada, the small boy that he was, had imbibed great learnings from the Rishis he had served. He considered this passing of his mother (he had no one else) an act of the Divine, and began to do severe Tapas in the forest. Bhagavan, pleased with his devotion, appeared momentarily in his heart and blessed him, telling him through an oracle that he was destined for great things.
https://rsachi.blogspot.com/2022/08/srimad-bhagavatam-30-august-2022.html
“The oracle ended. I felt blessed and lost my anxiety. I carried on, engaged solely in intense spiritual disciplines, until one day, like a stroke of lightning at the height of monsoon, my body dropped dead. I was relieved of this body made of the five elements. I merged in the breath of Brahma at the end of that epoch, just as Sriman Narayana slipped into his Yoga Nidra in the ocean.”
“After a long time, the new epoch was created by Brahma, and I was created as Narada, along with rishis like Marichi and Atri.”
अनुग्रहाद्महाविष्णोः
“By Maha Vishnu’s grace…”
“I started travelling freely in the three worlds, spreading devotion.”
देवदत्तमिमां वीणां स्वरब्रह्मविभूषिताम् । मूर्छयित्वा हरिकथां गायमानश्चराम्यहम् ॥
“I have been given this Veena by the Lord, and it is adorned with “SwaraBrahman= Transcendental Musical Vibrations”. Playing on this Veena, singing the infinite glories of the Lord, I travel the three worlds constantly.”
“Anytime I wish to have the vision of the Lord in my heart, I can do so, all by His grace.
Sage Narada instructs King Yudhisthira about the deep secrets of a Dharmic life. He begins by listing a great set of 30 qualities that everyone should practise for betterment in this world and in the world hereafter.
- Truthfulness
- Compassion
- Austerity
- Cleanliness
- Fortitude (in suffering)
- Discrimination between right and wrong.
- Self-control ( body and senses)
- Non-violence
- Celibacy/continence
- Non-possessiveness
- Self-study
- Simplicity
- Cheerfulness
- Equanimity
- Service of noble souls
- Poise and measured conduct
- Gradual detachment from physical pleasures
- The realisation that egoistic endeavours produce adverse results
- Reticence
- Self-contemplation
- Generosity in feeding and caring for animals and creatures around
- Seeing own self and God in others- humans and animals.
- Seeking the company of holy men.
- Chanting the names of Bhagavan Sri Krishna.
- Singing Bhagavan's glories
- Constant remembrance of the Lord
- Serving the Lord in all acts
- CeremonialWorship
- Considering the Lord as one's friend and beloved
- Surrender to the Lord
After listing these, Sage Narada sets the benchmark for who is indeed a Brahmin. He begins by saying that being a Brahmin is not due to some accidental birth but results from several lives of acquiring good tendencies and godliness reflecting Brahma himself. So how does a Brahmin conduct himself?
शमो दमस्तप: शौचं सन्तोष: क्षान्तिरार्जवम् । ज्ञानं दयाच्युतात्मत्वं सत्यं च ब्रह्मलक्षणम् ॥
T: Self-control of mind and body, cleanliness, cheerfulness, forbearance and forgiveness, transparency, knowledge and wisdom, compassion, considering oneself the servant of the Lord - these symbolise a true Brahmin. Narada emphasises that a Brahmin does not engage in business and menial activities ever.
The story of Puranjana that Sage Narada tells Prachinabarhi to explain the traps and troubles of this Maya-filled existence is a compelling reading. Just some snippets:
"Puranjana is the living entity or Jiva, that transmigrates from body to body, from insect to a human being, as the Karmas dictate. He thus experiences the results of the past Karmas. His friend is Ishwara, the Supreme Being, always available as a friend, but almost never understood or recognised for what He is."
There are two parts of the Panchala kingdom that the ineffectual Puranjana rules. The lower or southern one of pleasures (food, sex and so on). The higher or northern one of acquiring knowledge. The rectum and genital are the lower gates taking one southward. The senses/gates in the upper region help in gathering knowledge.
The two blind associates of Puranjana represent the hands and feet, with no wisdom of their own but acting as directed by the mind.
Those invaders, Bhaya, Prajvaara and Jaraa are all messengers of Death or Yama.
Jiva acting in Sattva reaps the reward of progress to higher worlds, heavens. Acting under Rajas, the Jiva comes back repeatedly to the same level of life of sorrow and so-called happiness. Acting under Tamas drives the Jiva to lower, subhuman forms and births.
Simply put, no change in the type or nature of activity can help except devotion to the Lord. Imagine one is dreaming. Even if he wakes up from a dream, the effect of the dream will linger unless he lifts his consciousness to a higher level. Sometimes, we suffer because we see a tiger in a dream; or sometimes, we mistakenly sight a snake. But actually, there is neither a tiger nor a snake. That is how the mindmap of man is full of subtle projections and delusions making him suffer the consequences. These sufferings cannot be mitigated unless we are awakened from our dream called this mistaken understanding of reality.
Sage Narada comes to witness firsthand the Leela of Bhagavan Sri Krishna play-acting his many roles in this world of Yoga Maya. He enters the city of Dwaraka and visits Bhagavan's many queens' palaces and observes how Bhagavan is performing the role of an ideal householder in each home!
Narada enters one of the sixteen thousand palaces and sees Devi Rukmini personally serving her Lord, Sri Krishna, despite employing countless maids. As soon as Sri Krishna notices Narada, he gets up from his bed, offers obeisances to the sage and seats him on his own seat. Then the Lord bathes Narada’s feet and sprinkles the water on his own head. Such is the exemplary behaviour of Sri Krishna! Such is the exemplary devotee, Devarshi Narada!
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Index - Skandhas I-III
