Asking Nārada - Inquiries for Supreme Liberation
In the Vedic tradition, the progress of one's spiritual life is heavily dependent upon the quality of the person one approaches for knowledge. Nārada Muni, the great space-traveling sage and pure devotee of the Lord, is recognized as the supreme authority in devotional service. Śrīla Prabhupāda's purports beautifully illustrate how personalities from all walks of life—from humble laborers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself—benefit immensely by asking Nārada for his transcendental association and guidance.
The Test of True Faith
Śrīla Prabhupāda frequently shares a beloved story to demonstrate the true qualification for spiritual liberation. On his way to Vaikuṇṭha, Nārada Muni was approached by a proud brāhmaṇa and a humble cobbler. Both of them asked the sage to inquire from Lord Nārāyaṇa about when they would achieve salvation. The Lord's cryptic response ultimately exposed the academic arrogance of the brāhmaṇa and the pure, unquestioning faith of the cobbler.
- There is a story of Narada Muni, who was once asked by a brahmana: "Oh, you are going to meet the Lord? Will you please ask Him when I'm going to get my salvation?" "All right," Narada agreed. - I shall ask Him.
- As Narada proceeded, he met a cobbler who was sitting under a tree mending shoes, and the cobbler similarly asked Narada, - Oh, you are going to see God? Will you please inquire of Him when my salvation will come.
- Narayana said. - When they (the brahmana and the cobbler) ask you (Narada) what I am doing in My abode, tell them that I am threading the eye of a needle with an elephant.
- Narada then left and went on to the cobbler, who asked him, "Oh, you have seen the Lord? Tell me, what was He doing?" "He was threading an elephant through the eye of a needle," Narada replied.
Royal Inquiries for Liberation
Kings and royal householders are constantly burdened by administrative duties and family attachments. Śrīla Prabhupāda emphasizes that highly intelligent monarchs, such as King Prācīnabarhiṣat and Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira, understood the extreme danger of this material entanglement. Recognizing Nārada Muni as the best spiritual master, they humbly asked him how to escape the complicated web of fruitive activities and attain supreme liberation.
- King Pracinabarhisat found the best spiritual master, Narada Muni, and he therefore asked him about that knowledge by which one can get out of the entanglement of karma-bandha-phansa, fruitive activities. This is the actual business of human life.
- King Pracinabarhisat frankly asked Narada Muni how he could get out of this karma-bandha-phansa, entanglement in fruitive activities. This is actually the stage of knowledge indicated in the first verse of Vedanta-sutra: athato brahma jijnasa.
- Maharaja Yudhisthira thought that because he was a grhastha there was no hope of his being liberated, and therefore he asked Narada Muni how he could get out of material entanglement.
- The discourse concerning Lord Nrsimhadeva and Prahlada Maharaja began when Maharaja Yudhisthira asked Narada how Sisupala had merged into the body of Krsna.
Delivering the Sinful and the Frustrated
Nārada Muni's mercy knows no bounds; he is just as eager to deliver the most wretched sinner as he is to guide the most exalted scholar. Śrīla Prabhupāda highlights the dramatic history of the cruel hunter, who surrendered his weapons and asked Nārada how to be saved from his immense sins. Similarly, when the great sage Vyāsadeva felt completely frustrated despite compiling all the Vedas, he immediately asked his spiritual master, Nārada, to reveal the root cause of his dissatisfaction.
- With gentle behavior, he (the hunter) asked Narada: My dear sir, why have you come here while I am hunting? Have you strayed from the general path? Because you have come here, all the animals in my traps have fled.
- Atonement may be carried out very nicely, but it will not help a person if he continues committing sins. Therefore the hunter first admitted his sinful activity before the saintly person Narada and then asked how he could be saved.
- I therefore (Vyasadeva) question you (Narada Muni) about the root cause of my dissatisfaction, for you are a man of unlimited knowledge due to your being the offspring of one (Brahma) who is self-born (without mundane father and mother).
- Dhruva Maharaja regretted that he had rejected the advice of Narada Muni and was adamant in asking him for something perishable, namely revenge against his stepmother for her insult, and possession of the kingdom of his father (King Uttanapada).
The Inquiries of the Supreme Lord
The supreme position of Nārada Muni is unequivocally established by the fact that even Lord Kṛṣṇa and His eternal associates treat him with the utmost reverence. Śrīla Prabhupāda explains that Vasudeva asked Nārada about pure devotional service, despite having the Supreme Lord as his own son. Furthermore, when Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself asked what He could do for His beloved devotee, Nārada simply asked for the eternal benediction of never forgetting the Lord's lotus feet.
- In Srimad-Bhagavatam (SB 11.2.28), Vasudeva, the father of Krsna, asks Narada Muni about the welfare of all living entities, and in reply Narada Muni quotes a passage from Maharaja Nimi's discussion with the nine sages.
- Narada said, "There is no need for Vasudeva to ask us for instruction when Lord Krsna is personally present, because His knowledge is never second in any circumstance.
- Narada said, "My Lord (Krsna), You have very kindly asked what You can do for me. I simply request that I may not forget Your lotus feet at any time. I do not care where I may be, but I pray that I constantly be allowed to remember Your lotus feet.
- Narada spoke as follows: "By Your (Krsna's) grace, however, I have seen many times the action of Your inconceivable potency and therefore when You ask me for the news of the Pandavas, which is not at all unknown to You, I am not surprised at Your inquiry.
Conclusion
In conclusion, asking Nārada Muni for spiritual instruction is the ultimate standard of submissive inquiry. Śrīla Prabhupāda teaches us that whether one is a humble cobbler, a powerful king, a frustrated scholar, or even the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing the part of a human, interacting with this great space-traveling sage brings about the highest transcendental realizations. By following the example of these great personalities and submissively hearing the message carried by Nārada, any conditioned soul can successfully cross over the ocean of material nescience.
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