Narada - the trouble-maker?
Do you believe that Narada was a trouble-maker? Do you believe that he was crooked and that he always did things that put people in a difficult situations? We also would have experienced someone calling another person a Narada because they are mischievous. This stems from a misconception that Narada is mischievous, and a trouble-maker and wherever he goes the situation goes from bad to worse.
The Propounder of Bhakti - Love for the Divine
If you see his entire life, he is a Rishi who gave us the philosophy of love for god. His whole life was an embodiment of Love for the Divine, which is Bhakti. Bhakti is a pouring of our hearts and completely losing oneself to something higher. We are devoted to our parents, we are devoted to the nation, and we are devoted to god as these are examples of those parts of our lives that are bigger than us. Narada saw divinity everywhere around him and through him, others were able to reach divinity.
Narada helps a young Dhruva in his Tapas. He protects Kayadhu, Hiranyakashipu’s wife and nurtures Bhakti in Prahlad’s heart when he is still in Kayadhu’s womb. He tricks Kamsa into killing infants and persuades Ravana to get entangled in Bali’s tail. He plays upon the weaknesses of the devotees and makes them suffer more and as a result, the devotee becomes free from all their weaknesses and walks consciously towards their chosen form of Divine.
There is a very famous traditional story of Rishi Ved Vyas in deep remorse and agitation. He was not satisfied even after producing one of the longest and most scholarly Itihasa ever written in human history. It was not just a storyline but brought to everyone’s awareness the important pursuits of life and fundamentally explained the human condition through engaging narratives.
Rishi Narada met Ved Vyasa in such a situation along the banks of Sarasvati and helped him realize that he had been pursuing the path of knowledge without simultaneously focusing on devotion towards the Divine. Narada expounded that Knowledge and Devotion are intertwined deeply and each without the other is dry and sapless. It is after this incident that Vyasa starts his work on the most sought-after Puranas by devotees the world over, the Bhagavatam.
On the occasion of Narada Jayanthi, let us invoke the greatest champion of Love for the Divine, the inventor of one of the sweetest musical instruments, the Vina through which he pursues devotional music that touches devotees life and evokes a sense of joy and ecstasy. May we plunge ourselves into the path of devotion and re-discover INFINITE Love for the Divine within ourselves. May we live this INFINITE Love throughout our lives in all our experiences and engagements.
Shubha Narada Jayanthi!
