Story of Narada

If Bhagavat Geeta is life management Bhagavatham is mind management. Mind will play games with us; mind is more powerful than the mortal body. Whatever you feed the mind will reflect in everything around you. To understand this with a good example is a cell phone (thank you Geeta Bhagini); data on each phone is going to be different. Depending on the kind of things we click on, search, and watch the data is collected by the AI. It can change daily, depending again on these factors. These data are enough for one to understand and manipulate the information. Same is with our mind, what you feed you get. Our mind has the solution to all problems it comes up with. There is always an auto suggestion happening in our head, the voice of our own conscience, guided by the Ishwara within. “Why worry if Ishwara is with us,” this thought should come to us naturally. Mind should be constantly engaged keep it flowing, Satsang, Nama Sankeerthanam is much needed for our mind to be in Sama Budhi (equanimity). To see all as the same, with a Dasa bhava (servitude, to have that humility) is the ultimate. The differences in the physical and in the mind should dissolve into the oblivion.

The desire/wanting should be strong. Acharya tells us a small story to talk about how a strong desire is an important factor. The sloka is this

Pippilika cumbathi chandrabimbam

Pippilika (an ant) wanted to kiss the moon and it started on a journey toward the moon. It climbed Bilva tree (Aegle marmelos) to the highest spot and climbed on to the leaf on the top. Just then someone plucked the leaf and offered it on to Shiva and the ant kissed the crescent moon on Shiva’s head. Such a cute story though right!!! Its strongest determination fulfilled its dream destination.

 

STORY OF NARADA

Sanakathi rishis implored for more information from Sutha rishi. They wanted to know during which yuga was this book written, what was the inspiration behind it, who prompted the writing, why did Sukha maharishi learn it even though he was already a Jeevan Mukta and so on.

Sutha Rishi answered their questions: the book was written at about the end of Dvapara yuga after Krishna Bhagwan’s kula (lineage) perished. Place was in Badrinath where Alakananda and Saraswathy river flowed, and on the banks of Saraswathi at a place called Samyaprasham.

Vyasa Deva foresaw that the incoming Kali yuga would be hard on people and many would not even realise there is problem. Mind will be materialistic, with no shraddha, more weakness, dullness, health issues one after the other, feeling lost, no peace and restlessness, anxiety, viveka lost, lesser life span. Every varna will have this issue.

In the article Bhagavatham and Vyasa Deva we saw the reasons why he decided to write the Bhagavatham.

A quick recap as the story continues

Vyasa Deva sat dissatisfied, and Narada Muni enquired about his dissatisfaction and discontent addressing him as the son of the great Parasara who composed the Vishnu Purana. Vyasadeva explained as to how incomplete he felt despite all the scriptures he wrote. Narada Muni consoles him and asks him to start on a new book on Bhagwan. As fish is to water is the mind to Hari and this new book will help not only him but also all the others who read it or listen to it. For all the woes/dukha that people in future would face, this shall be their solace, reading about Bhagwan’s Leela. Narada Muni prompted him to write for those people who were lost and aimless like the canoe caught in the wind.

Narada Muni asks him to go into the essence of Bhagwan, where he alone is the hero, an exclusive Bhagwan only. Though Vyasadeva did talk of Bhagwan in the Mahabharata, there he was just one of the many other characters. Narada Muni asks Vyasadeva not to worry about precisions, miscalculation, mistakes that could happen, because words don’t matter, just the subject was good enough.

Narada assures him that because of his own personal experience, he can vouch for that. Narada recounts his previous birth/janma as a 5-year-old boy. He lived with his mother who used to work in a learned brahmin’s household.

Living there was an experience that gave him a lot of exposure to the world of mantras and Vedas. He woke up to the sound of the vedas, participated in the pooja, had the prasada, did odd jobs like collect flowers etc., and served with love and respect and felt joy within. As luck would have during chathur-masa, auspicious month some sages came to stay with the brahman, and both the mother and son were given the responsibility to serve them and take care of them.

They used to have discussions and tell stories and the 5-year-old was listening intently. The sages were happy at the interest shown by this 5-year-old and so they started use simpler language so that he would understand. The more interested he got the simpler they started to make it. He partook their food as prasadam. Time flew by without either of them realising and it was time for them to leave. He was tempted to go with them, but he had my mother to think about who had no one else. He took their blessings and they initiated him with a mantra

Namo bhagavathe thubhyam Vasudevaya di mahi

Pradhyumnaya aniruddaya namah sankarshanaya cha

He continued his life chanting the mantra. Whatever the bhavam so will be the experience, Narada Muni is always there to help the sajjanas. Narada got ready to leave.

Vyasa Deva stopped him and asked him to finish his story, so Narada Muni continued

Narada Munis explained that as that 5 year old his life had become such that he was chanting the mantra all the time, while doing his chores or doing the work assigned to him. When he got a chance, he started to sit under a tress chanting loudly at first and slowly getting silent. Right about when he thought he could see Bhagwan, his mother called out to him and broke his concentration. Probably she was worried about him as she had not heard or seen him for some time and ended up giving silly instructions.

One night his mother got bitten by a snake when she went into the shed at night and died. He felt that this was Bhagwan giving him an opportunity to break away from this world. Since he didn’t have to answer to anyone he just walked away and found himself in a forest. He went into deep meditation and got a glimpse of Bhagwan. Later, however hard he tried he couldn’t get that experience again. But he heard an inner call saying that he would not attain Bhagwan this birth. Narada was happy because that meant he will achieve it in the next birth and so he awaited his death. There were days he wondered whether death had forgotten about him. He kept chanting till his time came. Finally, it did come and he was born of Brahma along with sages like Marichi.

So, after narrating his story and after blessing Vyasa Deva, Narada Muni left. Vyasa Deva now went into meditation. he started contemplating on the life of Bhagwan and images started appearing and he started translating those images into words.