Following in the Footsteps of Nārada Muni to Attain Eternal Bliss
Among all the great devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the great sage Nārada Muni holds a unique and exalted position. Endowed with a spiritual body, he travels freely throughout the material and spiritual universes, constantly playing his vīṇā and vibrating the holy names of the Lord. For the members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, Nārada Muni is not just a historical or mythological figure; he is the practical archetype of the perfect preacher. Śrīla Prabhupāda repeatedly urges his followers to emulate Nārada Muni's unparalleled compassion, his absolute dedication to kīrtana, and his tireless traveling to deliver fallen souls. This article explores Nārada Muni's role as a supreme authority, his expansive preaching mission, his method of constant glorification, and the eternal bliss that awaits those who faithfully follow in his footsteps.
The Original Spiritual Master and Authority
Nārada Muni is one of the twelve mahājanas—the supreme authorities on the science of devotional service. More importantly for the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, he is the direct spiritual master of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the compiler of all Vedic literature. Therefore, to be connected to the authentic disciplic succession means one must accept and follow the standard set by Nārada Muni. One does not need to invent new religious systems; spiritual perfection is achieved simply by accepting the authority of the predecessors.
- Narada Muni is our original guru because he is the spiritual master of Vyasadeva. Vyasadeva is the spiritual master of our disciplic succession; therefore we should follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni and become pure Vaisnavas.
- One must follow in the footsteps of great authorities like Brahma, Siva, Narada, Manu, the Kumaras, Kapila, Prahlada, Bhisma, Sukadeva Gosvami, Yamaraja, Janaka, and Bali Maharaja.
- Vyasadeva himself was the disciple of Naradaji, and therefore it was natural to be anxious to hear what Narada did after initiation from the spiritual masters. He wanted to follow in Narada's footsteps in order to attain to the same perfect stage of life.
- Kunti is authority. How she has become authority? Because she has followed the authorities - Brahma, Narada, Svayambhu. Those who are strictly following the statements of the authorities, they are also authority.
The Duty of Traveling and Preaching
Nārada Muni is famous for never staying in one place for long. He traverses the universes specifically to bring conditioned souls back to Godhead. Śrīla Prabhupāda establishes that this is the exact duty of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Rather than remaining secluded in solitary meditation, modern Vaiṣṇavas must travel from city to city, facing all inconveniences, to distribute the supreme knowledge of the Bhagavad-gītā to an illusioned humanity.
- It is the duty of all saintly persons to follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni and travel all over the world to every country and village just to instruct illusioned persons about the goal of life and to save them from the entanglement of karma-bandha.
- The Bhagavad-gita is Krsna’s instructions; therefore the duty of every Vaisnava is to travel and preach the Bhagavad-gita, either in his country or a foreign country. This is the test of sparsa-mani, following in the footsteps of Narada Muni.
- Following in the footsteps of Narada Muni, this Krsna consciousness movement is rendering service to humanity by giving everyone a chance to come in contact with Krsna.
- His (Narada Muni's) mission is to get them back home, back to Godhead. That is the mission of all genuine devotees of the Lord following the footsteps of that great sage.
Glorifying the Lord Through Kīrtana
The primary method Nārada Muni employs to awaken dormant God consciousness in others is the chanting of transcendental sound vibrations. He is the master of musical glorification. Following his example, the devotees of the Lord must dedicate their time to saṅkīrtana—the congregational chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This process of musical and vocal glorification is not a mundane activity; it is completely transcendental and purifies both the chanter and the listener.
- A pure devotee of the Lord follows in the footsteps of the great devotees like Narada and Prahlada and engages his whole time in glorifying the Lord by the process of kirtana. Such a preaching process is transcendental to all material qualities.
- The members of this disciplic succession - the members of the Krsna consciousness movement - should follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni by chanting the transcendental vibration Hare Krsna.
- Following in the footsteps of Srila Narada Muni, a self-realized soul in the material world should also properly use the sound meters, namely Sa, R, Ga, Ma, etc., in the service of the Lord by constantly singing the glories of the Lord.
- Our preachers who are preaching Krsna consciousness all over the world should follow in the footsteps of Narada Muni and become purified by following the four principles and chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. This will make them fit to become Vaisnavas.
Attaining Pure Devotion and Eternal Bliss
The result of dedicating one's life to the mission of Nārada Muni is the attainment of the highest spiritual perfection. Pure devotional service means acting without any personal desire for sense gratification. Because Nārada Muni acts solely for the pleasure of the Supreme Lord, he is situated in a state of eternal knowledge and bliss. Śrīla Prabhupāda guarantees that anyone who strictly follows this path will achieve the exact same transcendental realization.
- Anyone who follows in the footsteps of Narada Muni is certainly a pure devotee.
- Those who are munayah, saintly persons following in the footsteps of Narada Muni, simply engage in the transcendental loving service of the Lord without any personal desire for sense gratification. Anyabhilasita-sunyam jnana-karmady-anavrtam - BRS 1.1.11.
- The concrete example is Narada Himself, who attained this stage of eternal knowledge and eternal bliss. And the ways and means are open to all, provided one agrees to follow in the footsteps of Sri Narada Muni.
- This is stated from personal experience by such an authority as Sri Narada Muni. And we can have the same experience also if we begin to follow in the footsteps of the great sage, the dearmost devotee of the Lord.
Conclusion
The life and character of Nārada Muni serve as the ultimate blueprint for the pure Vaiṣṇava preacher. By refusing to settle into a comfortable, solitary practice of spirituality, Nārada Muni demonstrates that the highest expression of love for God is the compassionate distribution of that love to others. Members of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement are specifically called to take up this mantle. By accepting the authority of the disciplic succession, traveling widely to preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā, and constantly vibrating the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, a sincere devotee follows the perfect footsteps of Nārada Muni directly into the eternal, blissful realm of the spiritual world.
Dive Deeper into Śrīla Prabhupāda's Vani
Śrīla Prabhupāda lives within his instructions. This article is a summary of the profound truths found in the Vaniquotes category Following in the Footsteps of Narada. We invite you to visit this link to study the complete compilation and experience Śrīla Prabhupāda's teachings in their direct, verbatim form.