Vyasa and Narada Are Like Man and God

If a person’s desires are fulfilled, his devotion to God strengthens. If his desires are not fulfilled, his devotion weakens and he even neglects God altogether.

Pavitraatma-svaroopas:

Vyasa wrote the sacred Bhagavatam, which is often referred to as the fifth Veda. Vyasa was a great individual, who could overcome all human weaknesses like anger, greed, and lust, and so, he could write this great text. Today, you will learn some facts about Vyasa. He was given to yogic practice in life and one day, he was sitting on the banks of a river and was in a very depressed mood. He was thinking about time, which was fleeting away and was feeling that his lifespan was melting away, like a block of ice, without any worthwhile achievement. He was trying to understand how he should lead his life. Although he had studied and understood all the Vedas and puranas, he was worried that his writings and teachings were not giving peace and happiness to the people in the world. He realised that all his knowledge should have been used to give peace and prosperity to the world and he felt unhappy that it was being utilised for this purpose. At that moment, Narada entered the scene. Narada was the son of Saraswati and Vyasa was sitting on the banks of River Saraswati and thinking of these problems. Saraswati signifies the form of the latent, unspoken word. This Saraswati is like the traditional river, which is believed to be flowing in an unmanifested form. Narada, as an individual, was representing Saraswati. There is an inseparable connection between the manifested and the unmanifested aspect of Saraswati. Ordinarily, in the mind of a human being, thought processes are generated and he then speaks out. The words that we hear are the manifested words representing the unmanifested Saraswati. The stream of thoughts that arises in his mind are given the shape and form of the spoken word. Bhagavatam has been proclaiming the inseparable connection between the manifested and the unmanifested forms.

The two aspects, namely the manifested and the unmanifested, are closely related, like the object and its image. Narada taught Vyasa that all the texts and scriptures, which do not contain a praise of the leelas of the Lord, are hollow and have no life in them. They will not attract people at all. Acquaintance with all the books and the scholarship that one might possess, are meant for attracting the world, but they will not be able to attract and purify your own mind. If what one writes can give him purity of thought and liberation from worldly attachments, that can be regarded as a proper text. Sweetness is a natural quality of sugar, but if we just have a knowledge of this fact, we will not know that sugar is indeed sweet. This experience relates only to the palette and your tongue alone can identify the sweetness of sugar. The sweetness of sugar is not known to sugar itself. It is only when there is an individual, who through his palette has experienced the sweetness of sugar, can the sweetness of sugar be realised. As in the analogy, the ananda or bliss associated with God will be known only to the individual, who seeks such ananda and bliss. It is the devotee, who seeks and enjoys the experience of ananda and not God. Narada told Vyasa that he had only written about such happiness, but he had not experienced it. Narada then told Vyasa that from that day, he would have the capacity to sing the glory of God and advised that Vyasa should do this and derive bliss and joy.

Singing of a bhajan is usually associated with singing with a rhythm. In reality, if we can give a form to what is contained in Sama-veda, that itself can be described as bhajan. All types of tunes have their origin in Sama-veda. Narada also told Vyasa that if such a sacred song is sung with proper feeling and devotion, then the significance of the song will also be clear. The sacredness of divine nature that is present in each individual, can be experienced in the form of a song.

There is a small example for this. When two individuals are talking with each other, one individual enters the other in the form of sound. This concept of an individual entering another in the form of sound, is not clearly understood today. When you are face to face with God and think of His name and glory, the form of God will enter you. It is in this context that the shastras and puranas advise you to spend all your time in the thought of God and in singing His glory. We are therefore told that God is present in all living things and that all living things in their turn, are present in the divine. If several people gather and sing the glory of God in a congregation, then prajnana or knowledge of God will come to everyone in the gathering. The sacred work of Vyasa was such that it demonstrated the unity amidst all the diversities in creation. Narada used the word ambhoja in the present context and that means ‘a thing which is born in water’. Not only man, but all living things are born from water. All trees and everything else is born from water. Even if we have a small seed, it can sprout only if it is in contact with water. If there is no water, even this seed will perish. In this context, Narada said that the human body must be regarded as a lotus. All texts and writings in relation to God will consist of a lotus, implying that such a text is a lotus coming out of a lake. The state of our mind is compared to a lake, which contains two swans represented by the aspects of So'ham. This sound of So'ham proclaims, “I am That,” and demonstrates the oneness of all creation. The swan always symbolises purity in our tradition and when we compare this aspect to that of So'ham, we wish to bring out the purity in all creation. This implies that in the manasasarovar or the mind of man, which is like a lake, the identity between man and God should be promoted.

Because of such sacred teachings from Narada, there was a divine feeling in Vyasa, which enabled him to write the sacred text of the Bhagavatam. Because Narada removed all the doubts from the mind of Vyasa, Narada was taken as Guru and that day has since been referred to as Guru poornima. As the role of the Guru is to remove ignorance from the dark minds, it is also referred to as the coming of poornima or brightness. The Vedas have compared the mind to the moon and the eye to the sun. What we see directly and readily is the moon, or the reflection of our own mind. With the help of a Guru, the mind can be cleansed and the spots and blemishes removed, and so, this day is to be referred to as Guru poornima.

Divyaatma-svaroopas:

We generally use the word ‘heart’ to signify the physical heart and the life force that is responsible for all action, but this is not so. The heart should not be interpreted as something, which is localised at one spot in the body. The totality of the life force in a human being is to be referred to as the heart. If we talk of America, does it mean that my heart has travelled as far as America? In total reality, the life force in you can be compared to the heart. This has been called maha-prajñanam (totality of life force in a human being) and has been demonstrated to us as the form of Brahma. In one of the Maha-vakyas (divine axioms), “Prajñanam Brahma (constant integrated awareness),” Prajñana has in fact been identified with Brahma. Narada took the position of a Guru and used Vyasa to explain the function of a Guru and in this context, this day is also referred to as ‘Vyasa Poornima.’

Today, there is also another event of exceptional significance. From the authority we can get from the Vedas, we believe that buddhi (intellect) is superior to all other sensory organs. Compared with buddhi, the atma is in a higher position. Buddhi and atma are so close to each other, that buddhi gets its illumination from the atma. The mind is in a higher position than the sensory organs. Buddhi is in a higher position than the mind. The effulgence of atma falls directly on the buddhi and therefore, if we follow the dictates of our buddhi, we can control our sensory organs. In this context, this day is also described as ‘Buddha Jayanti.’ Thus, ‘Guru Poornima,’ ‘Buddha Jayanti,’ and ‘Vyasa Poornima’ are like the confluence of the three sacred rivers. It is in this context that in the purusha-suktam, it has been said that we must bring these three aspects together and offer it to Lord Shiva. Because of these sacred teachings of Narada, Vyasa undertook a pledge that from that day, he would write the story of Krishna and His divine leelas. He was occasionally asking Krishna, “Are You not satisfied with the excellent scholarship that I have achieved and the manner in which I am praising You?” Vyasa asked such questions, because he was still proud of his scholarship and his achievements. The arrogance of his intellectual achievement was responsible for this ego. The ego that has its origin in anything else can be removed, but if the ego is acquired because of one’s scholarship, it cannot be easily removed. Education and scholarship should enable you to get rid of your ego, but if the same education and scholarship generate the ego in you, how can this be removed? The ego that one gets by thinking that he is a very learned person, is the biggest obstacle in the way of his getting divine enlightenment. However, this has a welcome aspect, because only when such obstacles arise can man attempt to remove his faults.

Out of happiness, we will never get happiness. It is only out of troubles that we get happiness. Even if you want to make good ornaments from gold, you will have to put it into fire and subject it to a high temperature. In a similar manner, God creates several difficulties for people and subjects them to many tests, before letting them realise His sacred and divine aspects. This is particularly so with people, who suffer from an intellectual ego.

We have to note here that Vyasa wrote the Bhagavatam and all the puranas, but he never put any of the things, about which he wrote, into practice. He attained great efficiency in communicating his ideas to others, but he did not attempt to put them into practice. Vyasa, who recognised this fault in himself, prayed thus to Krishna, “Can we find out Your divine nature, O Krishna? You are smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. How can we describe Your greatness?” He further wrote, “It is said that You reside in the hearts of all the eighty-four lakhs (8,400,000) of jivas in creation, without being separated from them.” Here, we should notice that while he pronounces his knowledge about some aspects of God, he also expresses his doubts in other aspects. At this stage, Narada told Vyasa that there should never be a doubt in one’s mind about any aspect of the divine.

It is not without reason that I have spent so much time telling you about Vyasa today. It is only when you have confidence in the speaker that you will have confidence in what he says. Only when you understand the thinking on the part of those who wrote the Bhagavatam and on the part of those who figure in the text of the Bhagavatam, can you understand the sacred text itself. It is in this context that I have given you the full life story of Vyasa and of Narada. Vyasa and Narada are like man and God. Vyasa is asking the questions and Narada is answering them. If we understand this relationship between Vyasa and Narada, we can appreciate the inner meaning of the Bhagavatam. Tomorrow, we shall hear about the life story of Narada and from then on, we shall learn about the leelas of Krishna.