Narada Was An Immortal Spirit

Iron, when it comes in contact with dust, will gather rust. When it comes in contact with fire, it will get rid of rust. Thus, company with others will result in different consequences, which depend on the type of company. This word of Sai is a statement of truth.

Pavitratma-svarupa:

The moving and non-moving contents of creation are of four different categories, described as para, pashyanti, madhyama, and vaikhari. If we carefully look at the detailed meaning of these types, we find that the first three are unmanifested and are present in a latent form. The fourth aspect, which relates to birth, death, and the changing features of life and living things in creation, relates to only a quarter of the contents of creation. The other three parts are connected with immortality. While those features connected with immortality really occupy three parts of the total, we give a great deal of importance to whatever relates to our daily life. It is in this context that our ancient rishis have taught us that, “Vishvam Vishnuh.” This implies that the entire creation is only a manifestation of Vishnu.

Narada was an individual who fully realized this lesson. Narada was the son of a servant woman, who was working in a house where the Vedas were being continuously recited. In order to celebrate a certain function, the householder of the house where Narada’s mother was working invited a large number of rishis. The occasion was the celebration of the four sacred months during the rainy season. During this period, all actions and thoughts were to be sacred. During those four months, while the celebrations were going on, Narada was given the task of attending to the needs of the guests in that house. At that time, Narada was six years old. Sitting with the rishis, he was concentrating with single-minded devotion on the Vedas that were being recited. He was accepting the orders of the rishis without any question and putting them into practice. He used to eat the food that was left by them on their plates, accepting it as prasadam. Once in a way, the mother used to look at him and feel sorry for him and the manner in which he was gathering his food every day.

After the four months’ celebrations were completed, the rishis were preparing to depart for their own homes. Narada was not willing to stay behind and desired to go with them. However, as Narada was still very young and was looked after affectionately by his mother, they did not think it right to take him along with them, but instead, they taught him various sacred aspects of the Lord. They taught him a twelve-lettered mantra, namely, “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya,” “Om Namo Bhagavate Pradyumnaya,” “Om Namo Bhagavate Aniruddhaya,” “Om Namo Bhagavate Sankarshanaya,” which the six-year-old Narada was reciting with concentration. They also taught him that the entire creation was indeed transient and was only an image, in that it was the projection of Lord Vishnu. They also advised him that desires are bondages.

Just as wanting to get something is a desire, wanting to get rid of something is also a desire. The ego relating to the concept of ‘I’ is as much an ego as feeling the absence of ‘I’. Where there is a feeling of ‘I’, God cannot exist and where God is present, a feeling of ‘I’ cannot be talked of. These two are mutually contradictory and exclusive words. They taught Narada that he should not allow any confusing thoughts to arise in him, but that he should develop the thought only of divinity and nothing else.

From that day, Narada was concentrating on the thought of God and deriving happiness. While he was carrying on his life in this manner, one day, when his mother went to a cow-shed in the twilight early morning hours, she was bitten by a dark cobra and she died instantly. Narada was present and saw with his own eyes the struggle, which his mother had to go through at the time of her death. This was the first test for Narada. He looked upon the event as one of the leelas of the Lord and did not feel dejected at the death of his mother. He pretended as if he was happy. The owner of the house came and asked him why he was happy. To this, Narada said, “All these days, my mother was constantly thinking and worrying about me and I am happy that this has now come to an end, and that there will no longer be this attachment.” He was thus happy because the mother will no longer have the problem of worrying about him and she will no longer suffer, because of this attachment. If the mother was alive, she would be concerned and agitated about Narada. Narada was happy that this link was broken.

The very next day, Narada left for a long, northern sojourn and was travelling through thick and fearsome forests. He was constantly hearing the roar of wild animals and at that time, he was only seven years old. At all times and at all places, he was chanting the name of Hari. He was not giving any thought to his food or his rest. He was only asking himself when the day, on which he could have his vision of the Lord, would come. His body was growing weak. His skin was growing rough and tough. His voice became weak and in that condition, he heard some kind of a heavenly voice address to him the question, “For what purpose are you struggling like this? Do you want to see Me?” It further went on to say, “Those who want to have a vision of Me, must give up all desires. The desire to have My vision may be a sacred desire, but to travel in such places for securing My vision is a desire, which should not be there. Further, you are struggling with the desire that you should have the Lord’s vision. So long as you have this ego of I, you will not have the vision of the Lord. There is the sacred saying that the whole world is the abode of Vishnu. You are forgetting this truth. You do not have to travel long distances to have the divine visions. You have not yet completely cleansed your mind.”

Narada quickly understood that he was taking a path, which was the wrong one and felt that he should take the correct path. Although he was quite young, his knowledge at that time was quite profound. God will never look at things, like age, scholarship, richness, sex, or community. He will only recognise the agitation and depth of yearning in the mind.

In our epics, the stories of several great people have been told and those stories amply bear out this truth. To what reputed family did Valmiki belong? In what well-known village was Narada born? What was the wealth, which Kuchela had? What was Dhruva’s age? What was Sabari’s age? What was the discriminating power, which Vidura had? What was the knowledge, which Hanuman had? When we look at these instances, we will come to the conclusion that age, wealth, sex, reputation, and strength are not the determining features for securing the grace of the Lord.

After listening to the divine voice, Narada went and sat under a tree. So’ham, which is giving out and taking in of the breath, is an aspect of God. Although Narada had no complete knowledge of the Vedas, he regarded the taking in of breath as the aspect of Sama-veda and the giving out of breath as that of Rig-veda. In this manner, while he was practising what was prescribed in the Vedas, he came to the end of his life. The breathing stopped and he joined the eternal.

Narada then acquired a new life form. Our puranas tell us that Narada uses a tambura and moves about in the universe, singing the glory of the Lord. This is only symbolic and we should regard Narada, taking the spinal column as representing his veena, the nerves or the nadis as strings of this veena, and the breathing in and breathing out as the Hari nama-smarana (remembering the name of the Lord), and the new form of Narada is pictured as continuously uttering the names of Govinda and Narayana and moving all over the space.

Narada does not signify an ordinary human form. We should regard the continuous breathing and breathing out of our life system as the celestial form of Narada. The word nara means water and it connotes prajnana. As the entire water of a river goes and merges in the sea, all the rays of prajnana that emanate from Narada, go and merge in the ultimate form of Brahman. Prajnana comes from Brahman and since these rays merge into Brahman, it has been said, “Prajnanam Brahma,” in the Maha-vakya. Narada was establishing the truth that this aspect of Brahman should always be present in our spinal column in the form of Omkara. This is the natural sound and is not something, which you get by producing an artificial sound.

We should regard Narada as one, who is eternal and present at all times, producing celestial music. In each kalpa, a yuga called the Dvapara-yuga comes again and again. The other three yugas, Treta-yuga, Krita-yuga, and Kali-yuga, also come again and again in a cyclic manner. We should not regard Bhagavatam as something, which happened in the Dvapara-yuga which has just gone by. Vyasa should not be interpreted as just one individual, who existed in one Dvapara-yuga. Any individual, who can explain in detail the significance of the Bhagavatam, should indeed be regarded as a Vyasa and in every kalpa, at the end of the Dvapara-yuga, there will be a Vyasa.

The story of the Bhagavatam must be regarded as having happened in the very first kalpa and in the first Dvapara-yuga. This has been taught by Brahma to Narada and then, by Narada to Vyasa. In that manner, in each kalpa and in each Dvapara-yuga, the incidents have been co-ordinated and preached. It is not right to think that Bhagavatam is something, which happened in a particular yuga about five thousand years ago.

Similarly, Krishna is not someone, who was existing in the Dvapara-yuga that has just gone by. In the Maha-yuga, Treta-yuga, and in all other yugas too, the aspects of Krishna existed. Indeed, that individual, who can satisfy your yearning pertaining to the divine, can be called Krishna. Such a view of Krishna leads us to the concept, which will remove the darkness in our minds and bring us enlightenment. The word Krishna can be elaborated by saying, “Krishiti iti Krishnah.” He will plough the field of our heart and sow good seeds in the form of good thoughts. You can also think of an aspect of Krishna as the one, which gives you happiness. Thus, “Karshati iti Krishnah, Krishi ti iti Krishnah, Kushati iti Krishnah,” are three different aspects of Krishna. These are three different forms of sat (existence, is-ness), chit (consciousness, awareness), and ananda and these are present in all the yugas. Because of our approach being generally very narrow, we are thinking in a narrow manner that Krishna is an individual and that He was the son of Devaki and Vasudeva. Similarly, it is not necessary to think that Rama belongs to the Treta-yuga alone and that He is the son of Dasharatha and Kausalya. Our puranas have taught us that what gives us Rama or attraction and bliss, is the aspect of Rama. We should not think that the avatar of Rama, or of Krishna are confined to the Dvapara-yuga or the Treta-yuga. They come always in all the yugas and help humanity.

After this Kali-yuga, there will be another Maha-yuga and the Dvapara-yuga and Treta-yuga will repeat themselves, and the aspects of Rama and Krishna will come again. This is the manner, in which events and situations will come in a cyclical form. If we have Tuesday, which comes to us today, the same Tuesday will again come on the eighth day from now. It is not right to think that that is a different or a new Tuesday. The same Tuesday is coming again. What we call the rainy season now will come again after a year. It is not an entirely different season. The same season is coming again. When we talk of today as the time of vasanta, it will come again after sometime and all these aspects repeat themselves after sometime.

However, the youth of a man that has gone by and the water that has flown down a river cannot come back again. It is therefore important that we make an effort to make use of our youth in the proper way. You should make good use of the opportunity that has come your way. Narada is the form of sat, chit, and ananda and by thinking of the sacred aspects of Bhagavatam as told by Narada, we can get peace of mind. The three aspects of Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheshwara are merged together in this sacred Bhagavatam and we must make an effort to understand this. Whatever Narada has said or done, he had done for the good of the world. We generally think that Narada is one who simply creates trouble. This is not correct. Whatever Narada had done, it was for helping the human beings. In this way, he has been teaching people that so long as there is ego, one cannot think of approaching God. There are several sacred incidents in Bhagavatam and the most important one is Draupadi’s equal-mindedness. There are other aspects too, like Kunti’s adoration of the Lord, Bhishma’s sacred teaching, etc. and we will discuss such sacred aspects, starting tomorrow.