The height of ego!

Mount Vindhyachal was once irked by the comments passed by Narad Muni. Narada praised Mount Meru and told the Vindhyachal that the sun God circled around Mount Meru.The jealous Vidhyachal decided to grow as tall as Mount Meru and started growing in height day by day. The Gods in heaven feared that he may grow piercing the heavens. 

The Gods approached Sage Agasthya. Agasthya was known to be the first Siddhar. Sage Agasthya was well known and is even considered the father of Siddha medicine.On hearing the story of the Gods, the sage decided to help them. He approached the Vindhya Mountain and in order to temper his vanity asked him to stop growing. Agasthya was very short in stature and needed to cross over the mountain in order to reach the south of India. 

The mountain was in mood to relent and stood firm in his decision. The sage too stood firm. Finally the sage requested the mountain to shorten his height till he went across to the other side. The mountain obliged.

After crossing over, Agasthya told the mountain to stay short in height until he returned. After crossing over to south of India, from the north, the sage and his family never crossed the mountain and go to the other side. 

Outwitted, the Vindhyas remain short to this day. Though the Gods were happy that the Vindhyas obeyed the sage, the sage drew attention to the great mountain’s benevolent act.

Seek truth with courage!

Many of us want to know the truth about things that are going on around us. But we will only see the truth that is already present around us, when we have the required humility to seek the truth and the courage to encounter it.

Narad Muni wanted to know the truth about Sadhu Dharshan and what it does to our lives.He went to the abode of Bhagvan Shri Vishnu and asked the Lord, “What, Oh great one, are the advantages of seeking a sadhu’s (holy men) blessings? I feel there is no truth in what I hear about taking blessings from Sadhus and Munis (Men who are at the service of God).

Lord Vishnu told Narada that the answer to this question is with an ant that lived by the banks of the river Sarayu.Narad Muni headed straight in the direction of truth. When he reached the river bank an ant slowly crawled up to the Muni’s feet and died instantly. Narad was absolutely petrified. He took the ant with him to Mahavishnu and demanded an explanation for the happening.

The Lord smiled gently at a troubled Narada and told him that the answer to the whole episode is with the great swan that lives in the Kailas Mountain. Devarishi Narad rushed to Kailas. In the serene backdrop of the holy mountain he saw the great swan or the raj Hans, gliding the waters of the river Mansarovar.

The rishi sat patiently and the Swan, on seeing the Rishi set sail towards him. The Rishi was immersed in meditation and was suddenly woken up by the swan’s beak touching his arms gently. The rishi raised his hands blessing the swan.The raj Hans eased itself on the Rishi’s feet and fell dead. Narad Muni was startled and with a great effort contained his distress as he picked up the limp and lifeless rah Hans. He stormed towards Mahavishnu. As he entered the abode of the Lord, he spoke nothing.

Narad simply placed the dead bird at the Lord’s feet and looked towards Him with controlled indignation.

Mahavishnu’s charm failed to make any impact on the Rishi who stood silently demanding to know the truth. Mahavishnu addressed the Rishi gently, “Rishivar! Please visit the earth once more. There is a child that was born three days ago. This child will tell you the truth that you came in search of!”Narad was aghast. “Oh,God, I have sinned enough. I reached out to an ant in search of truth and look what I have done” said an inconsolable Rishi.

God told the rishi that every sin is His and the rishi was humility personified when he wanted to know the truth. Truth has now come his way and he has to summon up enough courage to face it. The Rishi went to the house that the God had asked him to go to. He saw the innocent face of the three day old baby and dreaded to go anywhere near the baby. He stood there not knowing what to do and surrendered himself in front of the child crying helplessly at the thought of what might happen next. 

Just then he heard a voice that sounded divinely. “Oh, Maharishi, I was the ant that fell dead at your feet. Since I died at the feet of a Mahamuni, I was born again as Raj Hans.

When you raised your hand and blessed me I renounced the Raj Hans form, only to be re born as a human child. Bless me, Oh, devarishi, so that I may be relieved of re-birth and be with the Lord forever!”

Narad Muni simply vanished as he knew the truth. With courage he accepted the truth and found the answer to his question. Goddess Lakshmi asked Mahavishnu why Narada did not return to see the Lord. The Lord replied thus: “His humility brought him to me seeking the truth. His courage has made him accept the truth. He now possesses the knowledge that will make him the ‘Triloka Sanchaari’- a person who has visited the three lokas (Swargaloka, Mrithuloka and the Paathaloka) to find out about the welfare of the people.”

Why Narada remained a bachelor

As is true of any mythological happening, there are many interesting stories behind the bachelorhood of Sage Narada. Let me narrate one such interesting story that perhaps not only explains Narada’s bachelorhood, but also many of the events that followed.

King Ambarish was a renowned Vishnu Bhakta. It is even said that a very pleased Vishnu had given the Sudharshana Chakra as a protection to King Ambarish. Many sages and wise men often visited the King. On one such occasion, Sage Narada and sage Parvata visited the King. As they were discussing the various happenings of the universe and each man sharing his wisdom with the other, King Ambarish’s daughter Srimati came in to wash the feet of the sages and offer them something to eat. The two sages were mesmerised by the beauty and grace of Srimati and both of them wanted to marry her.

They expressed their desire to the king who was now in a dilemma. But being the diplomatic and wise person that he was, he called both the sages for a Swayamvar the next day. Both the sages agreed and as they were leaving, Sage Parvata told Narada that victory was his as he looked better than Narada.

Narada’s knee-jerk reaction to this situation reiterates the fact that when it comes to choosing a bride even the wisest of sages is pretty unsure of what a girl looks for in her prospective groom!

Narada ran to Vishnu and told him about the situation...

Narada ran to Vishnu and told him about the situation that he was in. Vishnu smilingly assured Narada that things would go well and that he shouldn't be too worried. With these assuring words from Lord Vishnu on his side, Narada, somewhat calmly, went away.

Exited Narada, entered Parvata! Parvata narrated the episode once again and told Lord Vishnu that even the surest of men cannot be very sure when it comes to marriage! Vishnu eased Parvata’s nerves and told him to relax. He assured Parvata too that things would go well.

The next day both the sages went confidently to the Swayamvar, because they thought Lord Vishnu would know what Srimati was looking for in her husband. The Swayamvar began and the two sages were eagerly waiting for Srimati to garland them. Srimati hesitated and called her father. She told her father that she could not see the two holy men, and instead saw a monkey faced man and a bear faced man sitting there, and in between them stood a very handsome man, smiling gently. She told her father that she wished to garland him and threw the garland, which immediately fell around the neck of the handsome man. The next minute, both Srimati and the stranger disappeared.

The sages then saw their reflection in a mirror and saw the monkey and bear faces. They were angered and in their fury, went straight to meet Lord Vishnu. There, by the side of Lord Vishnu, stood Srimati as his wife. Seeing the two sages, Lord Vishnu could not control his laughter. He then told them that he too did not know what a woman would look for in her future husband, but he knew his wife well! Even as Lord Vishnu said this, Srimati turned into goddess Lakshmi. Lord Vishnu then told the sages that it was a shame on them that they could not identify the Goddess. Both the sages were ashamed of themselves and only Narada could overcome his guilt and face Lord Vishnu. He apologised for his mistake and took an oath never to marry!

They saw their monkey and bear face and were angered!

 “But”, he continued, “Since you have insulted a monkey and a bear by laughing at them, in your next avatar as human being, it is the monkey and the bear that will help you reach your goal” said Narada to Lord Vishnu.

A true sage’s words also come true. In his Rama avatar, Lord Vishnu is ably helped by Hanuman and Jambhavan.

What a wealth of morals this story has for all of us to learn from!

Even Gods are spared when they stray away from the path of humility!

King Ambarish and Sage Dhuruvasa

In the era of Sathya Yuga, there lived a king by the name Ambarish who was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu. Lord Vishnu, was greatly pleased with the King's sincere devotion and granted him  the Sudharshana Chakra, along with other powers.

Lord Indra, the lord of rain was always jealous of King Ambarish. Once King Ambarish undertook a fast which was to begin on the 11^th of every month in the morning and end the next day. He decided to undertake the fast for one year. As this fast was towards Lord Vishnu, seeking His blessings, completion of the fast would make Ambarish a very powerful King. 

Lord Indra’s insecurity knew no bounds.

As the year was nearing completion Indra decided to break Ambarish’s fast somehow or the other. He visited the ashram of Sage Dhuruvasa, who was one among the Saptarishis. On seeing Indra, sage Dhuruvasa was wonder struck. Normally nobody visited him as word about the sage’s anger was known far and wide!

Indra went to the sage with folded hands and bowing in front of the sage and pleasing the sage in every manner possible. The sage was pleased with Indra and asked him the purpose of his visit. Lord Indra told the sage about Ambarish’s fast and how dedicated the King was. The sage was pleased and praised Ambarish. Indra also told the sage that the next day was the last day of his fasting and that it would be a joyous occasion to be in his midst during the occasion. The sage agreed and visited the fasting King the next day.

King Ambarish was pleasantly surprised and invited the sage to break the fast along with him. The sage told Ambarish that he would join him after a bath. The chosen hour to break the fast was fast approaching, but the sage had not returned. The King’s men urged him to break his fast by drinking water as keeping time was most important. The King was thrown into a situation which all of us face in our day-today- life. Such situations are known as ‘Dharmasangadam’. When the values that you uphold are at logger heads with each other, you do not know which one to uphold and which one to let go. 

He did not know whether to please Lord Vishnu by keeping up his time or to uphold the word given to his ‘athithi’ or guest. He decided that he would take the mid path by drinking water which should be enough to please Lord Vishnu, yet not offend his guest as he had only promised to eat with him.

The sage appeared just as the king was drinking water...

Though the King thought that he had cleverly circumvented the problem on hand, the sage who appeared as the King was drinking water was overcome by anger and in no time his anger turned into rage and the sage plucked a hair from his head which took the form of a demon. 

King Ambarish knew that since he had done no wrong, his devotion would save him from any danger. Faith in God and trust in oneself are the two weapons required to face any situation.  King Ambarish’s trust in himself and his steadfast faith in Lord Vishnu brought forth the Sudharshana Chakra which promptly beheaded the demon. It then turned towards the sage who started running for his dear life. The sage went to Lord Brahma, the creator, who could not help him. Then the sage ran to Lord Shiva, who also expressed his inability to help the sage. Finally the sage went to Lord Vishnu. Vishnu, unfortunately could do little in the situation, as the Chakra was at the service of King Ambarish. The sage went to King Ambarish who prayed to Lord Vishnu and the Chakra immediately fell to the ground as did the anger of the sage!

The King and the sage broke the fast as agreed and the sage was extremely happy to be with the King at an auspicious occasion. While the sage blessed the King he also realised that the place for him was his ashram. He was duty bound to bless the people who came to his ashram seeking his advice and blessings.

Time is elastic!

 

 One day a man went to a Guruji and told him he was always short of time and that he did not find time for anything that he wanted to do. The Guruji told him that time is what it is for everyone. Then he began telling a story.

One day the Narada was chatting with Lord Vishnu and as usual, in a teasing tone asked Lord Vishnu what was needed to be a great Bhakta or devotee.

Lord Vishnu told him that the thinking about God amidst the daily chores makes a great Bhakta. “Then”, said Narada laughingly, “I am your greatest Bhakta!”

It was now the turn of Lord Vishnu to laugh. Narada asked Lord why he was laughing. Lord Vishnu then pointed towards Bhooloka or the earth and told Narada to keep following the actions of a farmer who had just woken up. Narada was now very curious. The farmer woke up very early in the morning, had his bath, did his pujas for about 5 minutes and went to the field. He tilled his field all through the morning and then ate the lunch that he had brought. He slept peacefully under a tree and then woke up around 3 p.m. He watered the plants and removed the weeds from around the field. 

He then sprayed pesticide, manured the field and washed himself up. Then, he got ready to go home. After one look to check if he had missed something, he set off on foot homewards.

As he passed through the temple he got flowers for his wife and for the puja the next day. He went home, played with his children ate his food and went off to sleep.

Now, Lord Vishnu handed over a completely filled cup of oil to Narada. He asked Narada to take 3 circles around the Lord himself. Lord Vishnu was now in a very mischievous mood. As Narada started walking, the lord told him that not a drop of oil should spill and he must complete the three circles within a minute. Narada took careful steps one after the other and went around the Lord. He completed one tensed round and prepared for the next. Lord Vishnu cautioned Narada that one small oil drop on the floor and Narada would not pass his test. Narada became doubly careful. This time he took smaller steps and ensured that the oil in the cup was intact.

Before the Lord could say something the third time, Narada intervened and said, “I know, Lord, not a drop of oil on the floor and I must complete three rounds in a minute, right?” Vishnu gave a charming smile laden with mischief and kindness at the same time. He felt sorry for Narada.

Once Narada finished his third round he put the cup down and sighed with relief. “Now tell me lord, am I not the greatest Bhakta?” he asked triumphantly.

“No” said Lord Vishnu. “You took three rounds around me and how many times did you think of me?” asked the Lord.

Narada objected at once. If a person has been given a tough task and asked to complete within a minute, where is the time to think about God?

Lord Vishnu told Narada, that the farmer had to reach the field early and finish his tasks and return home before sunset. To complete every single task in the field he only had measured time and yet with all the constraints that Narada complained about, the farmer took time to pray to God and to buy flowers for offering Him the next day. 

Lord Vishnu concluded by saying, in life you never get free time, you have to free time to do what you have to do. "Time", said Lord Vishnu, "is elastic".

When the Guruji completed the story, the man was only waiting to thank the Guruji as he knew what he had to do.