DEVARISHI NARADA:MOST ADORABLE RISHI

ARVIND K PANDEY

The primary task of Rishi's is to remove spiritual bankruptcy from our lives. Surely, no one does it better than Devarishi Narada. He is the most adorable Rishi of the Devas and their only lifeline in times of crisis. He speaks up on the behalf of both Devas and human beings whenever situation demands so. In other words, he is the P.R.O. of Lord of all Lords. In modern times ,when problems have become our sole possession, his wisdom could certainly show as the right way. In fact, he is champion of devotion and this is why lord Vishnu has provided him such an exalted status. Being advocate of Vishnu's leela,one can always find him singing his glories with simultaneous chanting of Narayana, Narayana....... This particular image of his carrying a veena in his hand has glued in our memories. The way he tacitly acknowledges the serious issues and comes out with its solutions, often fairly acceptable to all, has made him cynosure of all the eyes. No wonder why Asuras always maintain a safe distance from him, being fully aware of the fact his advices have always sabotaged their interest and existence as well. But a deep student of spirituality knows well that what appears to be in bad taste often becomes source of elevation if that is triggered by some elevated soul. After all, Rishis like Narada are always in league with pious intentions.

The life-sketch of Devarishi Narada is full of hilarious incidents. In Vishnu Sahasranama, Lord Vishnu has been stated as ‘ Maargah’ . Narada Muni is the one who unfolds this path to deserving seekers. He knows for sure that highest which is beyond human intellect can only be reached through some form and that is Lord Vishnu, who is both way and the Goal. He is the ultimate destination of human beings who wish to realize the Highest. It is true that students of highest laws are often wrapped in peculiar mindset. This transcends bogus considerations but human beings, after all human beings have limited beliefs, often find it shocking. Just look at this. When his mother passed away, he didn’t pay heed to normal ideas, which hover us during such times. On the contrary, we find him in happy mood so evident when he says" Now I am free to pursue desire of my interests". Pushed to its extreme, the remarks of Narada reveal this bare truth that bondage of all sorts act as obstacle in attainment of the Supreme.

God is always eager to save his bhaktas from the harshness of life weaved by drama of the Maya This happens through divine grace which descend on us to break the shackles of ignorance. The spiritual horizon of an individual gets in touch with ‘Isvaranugraha' in dramatic ways, whose real meaning does not immediately get revealed. Under spell of Lord's Maya Narada was to eager to marry Mohini without being aware of its consequence. He requested Lord to provide him a charming face so that the opportunity does not go in vain. It was not before Mohini’s grand gesture to choose Lord as his husband the realization that Lord has played foul become fully known to Narada. Obviously, Narada failed to reckon with this reality. Lord remained mute spectator to his anger even as Narada kept on shattering all limits of decency. The culmination of his anger resulted in his curse whereby Lord was to suffer the same agony which he had to bear today. Lord didn’t think twice in accepting it gracefully. However, Lord has the last laugh when he decided to project the truth. And all of a sudden everything vanished, leaving Lord and the Narada amid scenario bereft of flashy background, which till few minutes ago dazzled the eyes of Narada.It was now too late for Narada to claim innocence. On the one hand,it allowed Lord to descend on Earth as Avatar and ,on the other, it enlarged the vision of Narada,allowing him to acknowledge that perfect souls should be not aware of anything other than Lord, his own higher self.

Lord is the spin doctor of glitz and glamour, which pervades the world, leaving the owner of worldly possession high and dry. The emotional content of another incident ,which proved eye-opener for Narada could also prove handy for the seekers. Once Narada was overwhelmed with the desire to know the nature of Maya. Sometimes dangers choose men while on few occasions men come to choose them! Similar was the wish of Narada.He didn’t realize what it could it lead to. Within a flash Narada found himself in the front of a beautiful damsel’s house. Being bewitched by her beauty ,Narada chose her as his counter-part.Life was moving with its own pace in a calm fashion .Nobody knows what lies next. A rush of great storm toppled Narada’s well-established family life.He was weeping for his wife and children when Lord folded back its Mayavi world.Narada was in tears for having to bear separation for lord not for few minutes but his ‘innocent wish’ has caused many Yugas to evapourate within few moments. It’s abundantly clear that there is danger of downfall of man if he decides to run against the interests of lord. “All love other than that for Lord is in one sense unlawful; to love any creature as a creature ,and not as the divinity embodied in it is unlawful.

The series of misconceptions which ordinary souls have about souls residing on higher plane of consciousness is irritating. We often enter into falsification regarding their motives, which sadly what Narada has to refute for umpteen times. Unfortunately, a soul which ignores parameters laid down by the world ,merely created to serves whimsical ends, often becomes the target of minds who wear their absurdity as status. Let us not forget that what determines the worth of an act is not is form but the motive that propels it. It is more likely to produce something worthwhile when a soul like Narada jumps in. When Parvatiji was lost in deep meditation, the Saptarishis decided to probe her soul. Using every trick of the book they made several attempts to weaken the convictions of Parvatiji. But their attempts produced little, owing to Mother’s sincerity towards her perceptions. This proves beyond doubt that so long men/women are firmly rooted in their cherished ideals, the turns and twists of external agents holds no significance. Much against the wishes of external agents, it further reinforces their ideas. Mother Parvati reacted in the similar fashion. Seeing that it’s virtually impossible to create inroads into Parvati’s mind they said, “

“Narada Sikh Jo Sunahi Nar Nari

Avasi Hohi Taji Bhavnu Bhikahri

Man Kapti Tan Sajjan Cenha

Aapu Saris Sabhi Chah Keena”

In nutshell, it explicitly conveys the diametrically opposite persona of Shri Narada. As per the sentiments expressed in the above couplet people have been advised to keep souls like Narada at bay. Those seeking solace in company of men like Narada are bound to emerge as losers in the battle of life. Why? Because these souls maintain a huge gap between theory and practice. However, a rare soul is not influenced by emotions bordering on superficiality. Since mother Parvati was a refined soul she easily discarded the views thrust upon her by the Saptarishis. Much against the perception of these Risihis, she stunned them by proclaiming that ‘even if Lord Shiva tells me to ignore Narada’s advice I am not going to do so.’ Disbelief seemed to be out of place for Parvatiji. Infact all divine souls have great faith in words of Mahatamas. This episode hints at one’s ability to live in light of one’s experiences. You must look down on percepts which are by- product of deep meditation. Swami Premananda of Ramkrishna Mission conveys the same message when he says that ‘Ideal of all yoga-of all religion and philosophy-is to make the mind single, the heart single, the purpose single. In this singleness lies the whole secrete of realization.’ He says further that ‘when the inner and outer blend, when our thoughts and our acts are the reproduction of one and the same ideals, then we know that we are living in accord with the Highest …..........He has not given man a divided mind. It is we who divide ourselves through our complex desires ,our self-will and ambition”.

In Bhagavata we find Narada engaged in so many thought provoking conversations. In one of such dialogues with an old lady on the banks of Yamuna ,Narada discloses advantages of constant chanting of Lords name. It is believed that intense remembrance of Lord in form of Japa enables a jeeva to attain the highest with ease and that too without adhering to practices prescribed in the Shrutis. This old lady, who represented Bhakti, was perturbed over the loss of vitality of his two sons namely Gnana and Vairagya. The lady didn’t hesitate at all in asking why the Lord allowed Kaliyuga to maintain its influence? According to her, this opened death-traps for virtuous souls. Narada came up with unique reply: “When Lord Krishna returned to his abode the Kaliyuga got a chance to step in. However, King Parikshta expressed unhappiness over its rise. When Kaliyuga surrendered at his feet, the king after a thoughtful consideration spared it from dissolution in toto.” He did so because he had an eye on its rare respect. This age allowed the seekers to establish communion with Lord with least deviation.’ Mere Sankritana i.e. chanting Lords name in the company of like- minded souls is enough to provide access to most sought after destination-the supreme abode of lord Vishnu. In other ages it is seemingly impossible to attain this owing to lack of required qualification even though the souls aiming at it are virtuous by all regards. Considering the facts that it provided the space to ordinary souls absolve of their sins in such an easy way, the Kaliyuga was allowed to carry on its business

Narada has penned Bhakti Sutras, popularly known as Narada Bhakti Sutras, to help souls to rediscover through path of devotion .Let me state it clearly has Jnana and Bhakti do not run against each other .They are inter-dependent on each other. .However, bhakti being attributed to emotional quotient has a larger appeal among the masses. Keeping this thing in mind, Narada did the right thing to carve a standard path for the seekers with a developed heart. In the very beginning Bhakti Sutras provides the readers the most appropriate definition of devotion of devotion (bhakti) by terming it “Param prema rupa’----That (devotion) is indeed of the nature of supreme love (directed towards) for God. In other words, ‘Ananya perema’is the result of loving Lord with total sincerity. Anyway, true love is absent in beings whose hearts and minds are preoccupied with materialistic aspirations. As we move further we anticipate bold proclamations in Narada Sutras. It goes on to advice ardent devotees of Lord to shun Vedas if one wishes to gain a pure unbroken flow of devotion. Discarding Vedas does not mean disrespect or Upanishadic ideals but simply termination of ego centric ideas in intellectual enquiry or form of worship to avoid emergence of ‘I’ factor. Finally, the Narada Bhakti Sutras insist seekers to invoke Lord with least doubt in mind about the outcome of such affection. Lord rightly observes that, “Though I am not averse to idea of granting liberation but I do think twice before granting unconditional love (read pure love).” Without doubt it could be stated that he who has faith in scriptures and wisdom of saints like Narada alone comes to across the Maya. One, therefore, should always remember this advice of Narada : Pursue and cultivate love alone………. And, sooner or later, you will surely be at gateway of Krishna’s abode.

Writer's Address:
Arvind K. Pandey
H. No.- 36 B/8/178, Bhavapur,
Allahabad -211016
U.P., India.
Telephone No.- 0532-2617458