Stories From The Bhagavatham - Narada's Mortal Birth

 

In the previous chapter, we read about the conversation between Rishi Narada and Rishi Vyasa. We read about how Narada suggested to Vyasa that the only way the latter could attain peace is by singing the glories of Lord Narayana.

As Vyasa reflected on this, a brief silence followed that was interrupted only by the gentle ripples that the river Sarawati made in her flow and by the strings of the Veena that Narada plucked every now and then.

“Let me tell you how Narayana saved me from the bondage of Karma.” Narada said all of a sudden. “You may not be aware of the circumstances of my previous birth.”

“Previous birth!?” Vyasa exclaimed in amazement. “But you are the son of Brahma. How could you be subject to a mortal birth??”

“By the previous birth, I mean the previous Kalpa.” Narada said and he recounted the story as stated below.

A woman used to work in an Ashram. Once a group of sages visited the Ashram and planned to stay there for few months. The woman sent her five-year old son to attend to them and assist them in every possible way.

The boy spent his days with the sages and listened to them discussing about the glories of Sriman Narayana. The sages sang His songs, offered prayers to Him and kept chanting His name. The boy, who always stayed in the company of the sages, developed an intense liking for Lord Narayana by continuously listening to His glories and Leelas. He listened to the wisdom and the knowledge that the sages imparted through their discourses and a sense of dispassion for the mundane life came over the boy. He realized that he was not a mere being, but someone much more than that.

When the time came for the Rishis to leave the Ashram, they imparted the ultimate wisdom to the boy.

“Dedicate all your actions to the Lord, keep chanting His name and spread His glories. You will be rid of every illusion and bondage and will reach the most exalted state – that of Oneness with Narayana.”

After the Rishis left, the boy kept doing his duties in a state of dispassion.

An event happened that only paved the way for the boy’s future. His mother died of a snake-bite.

Having no more bondages, the boy left the Ashram. He travelled through many lands and saw many a mountain and stream.

One day, feeling tired and thirsty, the boy settled down near a river. After drinking water to his heart’s fill, he sat beneath a tree in the meditative pose that the sages had taught him and concentrated on Lord Narayana.

For a moment, a very brief moment, the vision came to him. The boy saw in his mind, the immensely glorious form of Lord Narayana. The vision sent him into ecstasy. He started shedding tears of bliss.

And just like that, the vision vanished! The boy tried again and again to meditate but he couldn’t get back the vision, however hard he tried. Feeling miserable and in despair, the boy struggled again, until he heard a voice in the innermost recess of his heart.

“The brief vision I bestowed on you was only to show you that it is quite possible for you to reach Me. Shed all your petty desires, shed your identity and keep your mind focused on Me. You are already very dear to Me, and will always be.”

Then there was silence. The boy had reached enlightenment. From then on, he travelled the earth and chanted the name of Lord Narayana. He lived in a state of detachment and dispassion until the time came to shed his mortal body. The boy became one with Brahman.

When a new Yuga was being created by Lord Brahma, the boy returned as Narada, Lord Brahma’s son. The Devas gave him the Veena named Mahati.

“And with this Veena, I roam all over the world, chanting the name of Lord Narayana. By His grace, I have reached that state where if I just sing, the Lord’s form comes to my mind as if I summoned Him! I am happy because I see Him whenever I wish to.” Narada concluded his story.

“I repeat.” Narada said. “Karma Yoga which you have expounded in the Mahabharata, Gyana Yoga which you have taught in the Upanishads and Karma Kanda which you have taught through the vedas – none of these will grant easily to humankind, the peace and serenity that Bhakti yoga gives. Make your composition a safe raft for the humankind as it struggles through the ocean of pain and despair; recount the glories of the Lord.”

Saying this, Narada took his leave.

Vyasa went into a trance. He was blessed with a wonderful vision – Narayana resting on Ananta, the beginning of the Creation, the Viraatapurusha and the lotus out of which was born Lord Brahma, the birth of worlds and many events happening in several Kalpas. Based on this vision, Vyasa composed the Bhagavatha Purana and taught it to his son Suka who then propagated it in the mortal world for the benefit of humankind.

Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya!