Tag: Lord Vishnu

Narada Muni’s search for greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu

Purushottam Nitai Das April 29, 2022
Narada Muni’s search for greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu

Once sage Narada got a question that who is the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu. He thought, “Instead of finding myself let me ask Lord Vishnu.”

Also, in his mind he was thinking that “since I am always chanting the name Narayana on my vina, so my beloved Lord will surely tell that I am his greatest devotee.” But he wanted to hear this directly from the Lord. So, Narada went to Lord Vishnu and prayerfully asked, “My dear Lord, can you please tell me who is your greatest devotee?”

Lord Vishnu reveals the answer

Narada was desperately waiting for the answer.  Lord Vishnu looked at Narada, smiled a little and said, “My dear son, a farmer residing on earth is my best devotee.”

The celestial sage could not believe what he heard, “How can this be possible? On my lips and in my heart, there is always the name of Narayana. What this fortunate farmer is doing that I am not doing? He could not resist himself and blurted out, “Dear Lord, can you please tell me what devotion he performs that you consider him the best?”

Lord Vishnu understood what is going on in Narada’s heart. So, he said, “Instead of me telling you about his devotional activities. Why don’t you go to his house and see for yourself what he is doing?”

Farmer’s devotion

Narada agreed with the Lord. He took the address and immediately flew with a lightning speed and reached the house of the farmer. He wanted to eagerly see the best devotee of Lord Vishnu in the entire creation. Instead of directly going and asking farmer about his activities, he thought because a devotee never likes to hear his glorification so let me hide myself and see his activities.

He saw that the farmer got up early in the morning. As he got up, he folded his palms and chanted the name Narayana.  He then began his morning duties. Till afternoon he was busy in his household work and then he had gone to his farm. In the afternoon, just before taking lunch, he folded his palms and chanted the name Narayana and again he got busy with his work. And in the night just before sleeping, he again chanted the name Narayana.

Narada was perturbed, “The farmer took the name “Narayana” only three times but he takes the name Narayana every moment but the Supreme Lord considered farmer to be his greatest devotee.”

Lord Vishnu explains why farmer’s devotion is best

He immediately went to the abode of Lord Narayana. The Supreme Lord understood why Narada is here.

Before Narada could say anything, Lord said, “Dear Narada, I have a small work for you. Will you please do it?”

Narada said, “You do not have to ask me. Just order me.”

The Lord said, “Can you please bring me a pot of water which is filled up to brim?”

Narada said, “sure, my Lord.” As he was about to leave to fetch water, the Lord said, “But one important thing you have to remember. Make sure that not even a single drop falls down from the pot. If it happens, I will not accept the water.”

Narada nodded his head and left to bring the water. Finally, he brought the pot completely filled with water. Also he had made sure that not even a single drop falls down.

Lord Vishnu appreciated the effort of his dear devotee and thanked him. He then asked, “Now tell me, when you were bringing water for me and making sure that not even a drop falls down then how many times you chanted my name?”

Narada was speechless.   He realized that he did not chant the name of “Narayana” even once while doing this service.

Lord continued, “The farmer was busy whole day but from his busy schedule he found time to take my name. Is it true or not?”

Narada who was feeling embarrassed nodded his head in affirmation.

Lord further said, “so now tell me who is my greatest devotee?”

The celestial sage got answer to his question that who is the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu.

So, 3-minute bhakti is sufficient?

One of my friends told me this story when in college I was trying to convince him to practice Krishna consciousness. When I heard this story, I did not have any answer. Because the story looks so nice.

According to this story there is no need to always chant the name of God. We just need to focus on our work and 3 time in a day – morning, afternoon and evening – we should just chant the names of God.

As devotees we chant 16 rounds of Hare Krishna Mahamantra daily which takes around 2 hours. Then we do mangal arati, Narasimha arati, Tulasi Arati, chant Siksastakam prayers and read or hear Srimad Bhagavatam for an hour a day. So, we spend almost 5 hours in the morning in prayers and during the day too we are supposed to always be conscious of Krishna and if we have any extra time then we should utilize it in practicing and propagating Krishna Consciousness. 

But if we follow the footsteps of the farmer then it means that in a day, we have to chant the name of Krishna just 3 times which will at max take 3 minutes. So, 3 minutes of chanting will make us too the greatest devotee of Krishna!

What is the truth of this story?

I asked this question to devotees. They heard it but did not have the answer. However, one senior devotee told me that story is very interesting, but can you please tell that this story is from which scriptures. Does it appear in any of the four Vedas or 18 puranas or in Ramayana and in any other literature written by Vaisnava acharyas.

I had no answer because I had forgotten to ask the reference from my friend. Later I read about this story at many places and by other persons too but no one has given me reference of this story.

So, now the question is if this story is not mentioned in any of the scriptures then can we not say that this story is false? Here the question to Lord Vishnu is who is his greatest devotee. This is not an ordinary question. Answer to this question is so important for our spiritual life. So, if such an important story is not mentioned in any of the scriptures and by any great Vaisnava acharyas, so it seems that this story is not authentic.

I do not claim that I know all the scriptures, so if you know the source of this story then please do let me know in the comment section.

Also, this story of farmer is not in line with the teachings of the scriptures and the sages.

Examples of great devotee of Lord from scriptures

In Bhagavad Gita, Krishna himself explicates the activities of his pure devotees.

Krishna says, “Always chanting My glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me, these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.” Bhagavad Gita 9.14

Krishna is saying that his pure devotees always chant his glories. 

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Siksastakam Verse 3 says

“One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.”

Again Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is saying to constantly chant the holy name, the Hare Krishna Mahamantra.

In Ramayana we see that the monkey warriors while constructing the mammoth bridge, Ram Setu, were not just writing the name of Lord Rama on the stones but were constantly chanting the names of Lord Rama while doing their work.

Srimad Bhagavatam tells the story of Ambarish Maharaj who was an emperor and a great devotee of the Supreme Lord. As a ruler of the world, he was extremely busy but still he was constantly engaged in practicing devotion to God.

Great devotees of Lord work hard but also

So, from the examples given in the scriptures and by analysing the life of the pure devotees of Lord we can say that they were always engaged in chanting and singing the glories of the Lord. And they did their work very seriously too. It was not that they were lazy and gave up their duties but while doing their duty they always chanted the name of the Lord.

Once a person had a query that why Krishna is so much concerned about Arjuna. Krishna said that it is because Arjuna always keeps on calling his name. To prove that he took the person to Arjuna’s bedside. Although Arjuna was sleeping at that time but with each breath, he was calling the name of Krishna.

In Vrindavana also we see that Mother Yashoda and other gopis while churning the butter keeps in singing the songs which glorifies Lord Krishna.

And if we see the life of sage Narada, we find that still he constantly chants the name of Narayana on his vina. I think that if the farmer story was true then Narada would have stopped constantly chanting the names of Narayana.

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The Unique Position of Lord Shiva

Purushottam Nitai Das February 20, 2020

Lord Shiva has a very unique and significant position in the cosmic manifestation. In fact Lord Shiva is the most powerful, second only to Lord Vishnu. Shiva is an expansion of Lord Krishna.

Revealed scriptures explain that Krishna has 64 qualities. 

Lord Brahma posses 78% of these qualities and Lord Shiva possesses 84% of these qualities.

Since living entities are also like Brahma so they also possess 78% of these qualities but in a lesser extent.

None of them possess all 100%. 

Srila Prabhupada explains, “The living being can never possess attributes like Shiva, Vishnu or Lord Krishna. A living being can become godly by developing the seventy-eight-percent transcendental attributes in fullness, but he can never become a God like Shiva, Vishnu or Krishna. He can become a Brahma in due course: – Srimad Bhagavatam 1.3.28 purport”

Lord Shiva has connection with the material nature but Lord Vishnu (or Lord Krishna) is transcendental to material nature. The position of Lord Shiva is very beautiful explained in Brahma – Samhita (Verse 45), “Just as milk is transformed into curd by the action of acids, but yet the effect curd is neither same as, nor different from, its cause, viz., milk, so I adore the primeval Lord Govinda of whom the state of Shambhu is a transformation for the performance of the work of destruction.”

The scriptures like Srimad – Bhagavatam, Brahma – samhita, Padma – Purana etc. explains the position of Lord Shiva in this universe.

  • Srimad – Bhagavatam (S.B) (12.13.16) states vaisnavanam yatha sambhu i.e.Lord Shiva is the best of the Vaishnavas, the devotee of Lord Krishna.
  • S.B (6.3.20) informs us that Lord Shiva is one of the 12 Mahajanas, the authorities on Vaisnava philosophy.
  • In S.B 4.24.76, Lord Shiva states that if anyone reads his Rudra Geeta prayer then he will invoke the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krishna.
  • Lord Shiva tells his wife that he drank hala hala, the poison which came out during the churning of the ocean, to please Lord Vishnu.(S.B. 8.7.40)
  • In Padma Purana Shiva tells his wife Sati,”sri rama rama rameti rame rame manorame sahasra namah tat tulyam rama nama varanane.” Lord Shiva clearly speaks here that he relishes chanting the names of Lord Rama.
  • Lord Shiva got bewildered when he saw the female form of Lord Vishnu, Mohini Murti. Lord Shiva later reveals that he is unable to completely understand the illusory energy of Lord Krishna. This is stated in S.B. (8.12.10).
  • When Krishna displayed his Universal form then Arjuna said: “My dear Lord Krishna, I see assembled in Your body, all the demigods and various other living entities. I see Brahma sitting on the lotus flower, as well as Lord Shiva and all the sages and divine serpents.” Bhagavad-gita (11.15).
  •  During Lord Krishna’s pastimes in Vrindavan, Lord Shiva wanted to participate in the rasa – lila dance along with the cowherd damsels and he desired to become a gopi.

(Reference: Self – Manager by H.G. Radheshyam Das, President Iskcon Pune)

Braham Samhita (verse 10) clearly establishes that Lord Shiva derives his power from Lord Vishnu,

“The person embodying the material causal principle, viz., the great lord of this mundane world [Maheshvara] Shambhu, in the form of the male generating organ, is joined to his female consort, the limited energy [Maya] as the efficient causal principle. The Lord of the world Maha-Vishnu is manifest in him by His subjective portion in the form of His glance.”

Lord Shiva is neither an avatara nor avesha and is also not in between them. Lord Shiva is the greatest demigod, even greater than Lord Brahma. He is the spiritual master of the entire universe. He has his own spiritual line (sampradaya) called the Rudra – sampradaya.

At present this sampradaya is represented by Vishnusvami-sampradaya, or the Vallabha-sampradaya.

Published in Dandavats

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Right intention attracts Krishna’s attention

Purushottam Nitai Das September 16, 2014
More than our endeavour it is our intention which pleases Krishna. If the motive is not divine then Krishna is not interested in our life.

Hiranyakashipu, the infamous emperor, performed severe austerities that have no parallels in the world. Standing on a toe, tolerating heat and cold, forgetting food and water, he meditated. Not for minutes or hours or days or weeks or months but for years. His flesh got eaten by ants but still he was unmoved. His aim was to please Brahma, the first being, the most important being and the most powerful being. The demigods enjoying in their heavenly houses, filled with flower bearing trees and aromas of dancing apsaras, got alarmed and disturbed by Hiranyakashipu’s extraordinary penance.

They went running to Brahma and without delay explained the situation. Brahma immediately came to the place where the determination personified Hiranyakashipu, brother of Hiranyaksha, was lacerating himself. Hiranyakashipu was angry with Lord Vishnu because he had killed his brother, Hiranyaksha who was a ruthless monster.  In fact Hiranyakashipu wanted to defeat Lord Vishnu; he in fact fancied killing him forgetting the fact that Lord Vishnu, an expansion of Krishna neither takes birth nor he dies. He exists eternally.

But since Hiranyakashipu’s intelligence was clouded with arrogance and hatred so he had decided to perform penance to gain benediction from Brahma for an immortal life.  So, when he saw Brahma standing in front of him, he was delighted and immediately placed his list of demands. He wanted to be supremely powerful in the entire universe (off course he could have not surpassed the supremacy of Lord Vishnu, Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma).  He also wanted to become immortal and wanted to rule the land, water, sky and all living and non-living beings. His wishes were granted. Since his motive was impious so his actions too were impious. He soon started torturing and troubling all and created a society of atheists who despised God and killed and maimed the holy men.

But the evil demon got defeated by a small 5 year old boy, Prahlad.  Prahlad did not do intense meditation and neither his body got eaten by ants.  His process was pretty simple which anyone and everyone can do. He chanted Lord Vishnu’s name and asked everyone to chant his names. Since Prahlad loved God so he loved all. Hiranyakashipu hated all because he hated God. Prahlad even loved his father, Hiranyakashipu, who was trying to kill him. This is the characteristic of a genuine lover of God; he hates sin and not the sinner. The world will immediately become a better place if everyone genuinely and selflessly starts loving God. Hiranyakashipu finally paid price for all his actions and his body was ripped apart by Lord Narasimhadeva, an expansion of Lord Krishna.

Lord Narasimhadeva was pleased by Prahlad’s selfless devotion. His heart was pure and he always wanted to serve others. Prahlad’s devotion gives us an important lesson. To please Krishna we need to have right motive and simple heart. Krishna does not like duplicity. And for a genuine devotee he is ready to do anything and everything. Our externals do not please Krishna because he also resides in our heart (Gita 15.15, 18.61) and knows what our heart cries for. In devotion, if we have right intention, like Prahlad, then it will surely attract Krishna’s attention.

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Spiritual Desire Will Take Us to Spiritual World

Purushottam Nitai Das June 7, 2014
Published in ISKCON NEWS.
http://iskconnews.org/spiritual-desire-will-take-us-to-spiritual-world,4447/

                                                     Photo Credits: www.iskcondesiretree.net

Sun without sunshine, sweet without sweetness and fire without light is unimaginable; similarly a soul without desire is unthinkable. As a soul we are pleasure seekers – ananda mayo bhyasat – and can never ever be desireless. We were originally the residents of the spiritual world but when we developed yearning to become God and enjoy like God then we were sent to this material world to satisfy our non-spiritual desires. Here in this world we fervently search for ways to satisfy our countless cravings. We hopelessly hope that once all our yearnings will get materialized then we would feel deep satisfaction. Unfortunately it never happens.

Insatiable material desires torture us

Our desires are endless, the moment one gets fulfilled, immediately the other pops up. Many a times our yearnings are not for our basic needs, but it is because of social pressure or a longing to prove our worth to others. My car should be bigger than that of my neighbours, my smartphone should be the best, my television set should make people go crazy and so on. Advertisements of today are also tailor made to titillate our egos. Ads like “Neighbors envy owners pride” or “Designed for envy” try to entice people to go after material things. Many think that with age material greed subside. But in reality it doesn’t happen. With age the form of the desires changes but not the yearnings.  Many people are so much obsessed with worldly things that they are ready to go extra mile to achieve it. In fact they become the follower of Carvaka Muni, the atheist philosopher, who famously (infamously) said.

His philosophy was, “Beg, borrow and steal but enjoy all the pleasures of this world to your heart’s content because once you die everything will be finished and you will not be held accountable for anything.” 

But scriptures clearly explain that as souls we are eternal and whatever actions we perform in our life we are answerable for those. So we have to be always extra cautious whenever we pursue any cravings.  In fact even though some of our wishes may get fulfilled but still it never satisfies us. And the wishes which remain unfulfilled torture us every moment and make us go crazy. In order to lead a peaceful life it is imperative for us to get rid of our insatiable desires right now. Even Krishna asks us do the same in Bhagavad Gita 2.70. And he does not specify any age limit for this.

Bhagavad Gita 2.70: “A person who is not disturbed by the incessant flow of desires – that enter like rivers into the ocean, which is ever being filled but is always still – can alone achieve peace, and not the man who strives to satisfy such desires.”

We will be able to overcome the cravings for worldly possessions only by the mercy of the Lord. Just like a touchstone which converts an iron into gold, the Supreme God will spiritualize all our ignoble desires. How this happens have been beautifully explained in Srimad Bhagavatam through the story of Dhruva.

Lord purifies Dhruva’s desires

When Dhruva was humiliated by his step mother and neglected by his father then he was devastated. To his dismay he discovered that none in this world were capable enough to help him to get out of this deplorable situation. His mother too was saddened by Dhruva’s plight but she was also helpless.  She then advised Dhruva to seek shelter of Lord Vishnu, the creator of this world. Lord Vishnu being the Supreme Lord could have only fulfilled his desires. Dhruva’s heart was burning with insult, he wanted to get his honour back, he wanted the kingdom and he wanted to become glorious. Although he was just 5 years old but still he courageously took up the challenge to please the Lord. He left the comforts of the palace and went to the forest where he started performing severe austerities to attract the attention of the Lord. In spite of many difficulties and obstacles he remained completely focussed and continued mediating on the Lord for six months. His single minded determination attracted the mercy of the Lord and He personally appeared before him. Lord Vishnu’s effulgent transcendental form immediately attracted Dhruva’s heart. As the sun rises the darkness dissipates. Similarly as the Lord appeared directly before Dhruva all his ignorance immediately disappeared. The material motives which had initially inspired him to worship the Lord no longer looked attractive to him. In fact he felt ashamed of it standing in front of the Lord. The impurities of his heart had completely got cleansed.

In a prayerful mood Dhruva expressed his feelings to the Lord, “Persons who worship You simply for the sense gratification of this bag of skin are certainly influenced by Your illusory energy. In spite of having You, who are like a desire tree and are the cause of liberation from birth and death, foolish persons, such as me, desire benedictions from You for sense gratification, which is available even for those who live in hellish conditions.” SB 4.9.9

We are also having tons of material desires and we are obsessed about it. We even believe that once these get fulfilled then we will experience unlimited happiness.  But it is never going to happen. A fish is happy only when it is in the water. If we put the fish in a golden jar thinking that the glitz of gold will satisfy it then it wouldn’t happen. In fact the fish will die there for want of water. Our hunger of heart can be satisfied only when Krishna’s love blossoms in it and not by things of this world. By nature we are spiritual beings and our heart will get satisfied only when our desires are spiritualized.

Dhruva’s heart which was burning because of insult got soothed when he saw the Lord standing in front of him. Similarly our starving heart will experience contentment and fulfilment only when it is filled with Krishna’s mercy.

Spiritual pill to cure material desire

Although Dhruva’s initial motives were non- spiritual but he took the spiritual path to achieve it and so he subsequently achieved the Lord. Likewise we may be having many impurities in our heart but still we should take up the process of Krishna consciousness as Krishna can only transform our consciousness. Initially the devotional path may not excite us because we have been away from Krishna’s abode for millions of years and so we have forgotten all about the spiritual bliss. But still we have to resolutely practice devotional life as per the rules and regulations given in the sacred Vedic books for our own salvation. A patient may not like the treatment meted out to him in the hospital but still he continues with the medication because he knows that to get healthy he need to undergo through  the process. Being spiritually sick we also have to continue taking the spiritual pill as this is only going to solve all our problems of life.  In this age of Kaliyuga, the age of downfall, chanting the holy names of the Lord like the Hare Krishna Mahamantra is the authorized medicine which simultaneously helps us to develop love of God and also cleanses our hearts of all impurities of lust, great, pride, anger, envy, illusion and false ego. This process has been recommended by none other than Lord Chaitanya – ceto darpana  marjanam. Along with chanting we also should hear about the wonderful pastimes of Lord Krishna, about His unlimited glorious and His merciful disposition. Srimad Bhagavatam 1.2.17 expounds the benefit of hearing, “Sri Krishna, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramatma [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”

The spiritual process isn’t troublesome but is indeed very delightful. As we start developing spiritual taste our heart starts experiencing deep fulfilment.  Things of this world no longer bother us and neither attracts us. We start understanding the futility of material desires and material pleasures and we develop intense longing for Krishna.  

Desire to serve the Lord brings divine joy

When Lord fulfilled Dhruva’s material wish by granting him the benediction to rule the earthly planet for 36000 years then instead of becoming happy Dhruva became morose. He was afraid that worldly possessions would deprive him of love of God. However Lord assured him that he would never forget Him. Dhruva had understood the worth of spiritual life and he expressed his gratitude in these solemn words, “I came into this forest just looking for pieces of broken glass, but instead I have found a great jewel in You, my dear Lord, and now I am completely satisfied and don’t want anything.”

As souls we are pleasure seeking and pleasure is there where Krishna is. Searching for pleasure in this world is like running after a mirage in the desert to quench thirst. The illusion of happiness which this world creates baffles us and binds us in this world. Our innate longing to lord over the world always gets thwarted. But once we come under the shelter of Lord then we develop a thorough understanding of our inner self and our relationship with the Supreme.  A sincere and serious devotee of the Lord wants nothing from the Lord but just fervently try to always serve the Lord because he experiences unlimited happiness in doing so. “O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.” Sri Siksastakam, Verse 4.

Lord will send flying chariot from the spiritual world for us

Lord had also promised Dhruva that after ruling for 36,000 years he will become the ruler of the Pole Star, the planet which exists for eternity. And Lord indeed sent the chariot from the spiritual world to take Dhruva to the glowing planet. While embarking on his spiritual journey the death personified appeared in front of him and Dhruva put his feet on death thus conquering the unconquerable death. He then sat on the magnificent chariot to go to the supreme destination. All the renowned sages and the celestial beings had come to witness this spectacular event.  They were showering flowers on him and singing songs extolling the glories of the Supreme Lord and His dear devotee Dhruva.

Dhruva’s life demonstrates that how Lord mercifully transforms the lives of those who seek His shelter. We should also try to follow the footsteps of Dhruva and try our best to please the Lord with our devotional endeavour. In all situations and circumstances we should worship Lord with great faith and determination giving up all our hankering for non-spiritual pleasures. Our efforts and right intentions will attract the mercy of the all – attractive Lord. He has assured us that He personally takes interest in delivering His unalloyed devotees from this miserable world. “Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I will deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.” Bhagavad Gita 18.66. Devotees of the Lord live happily in this world and become eligible to achieve supreme destination after leaving this world. Scriptures explain that the spiritual world is surrounded with millions of desire fulfilling purpose trees which fulfills all the wishes of the soul. Of course in God’s kingdom a soul just wants to serve the Lord and nothing else. There is supreme satisfaction and inexplicable joy in doing so. If we are willing to forgo our non-spiritual longings and are ready to serve the Lord lovingly then we too will become eligible to go back to the spiritual world. Krishna will in fact send a flying chariot to take us back to His kingdom. Are we ready for it?

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