srimadbhagavatham-skandha1 chapter5

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chapter-5-`The unrest of Vyasa and The advice of Narada

Narada is well known to appear whenever and whereever someone needed enlightenment.When Narada asked Vyasa about his being unhappy Vyasa disclosed the nature of his grief and entreated the celestial sage to diagnose the cause of his mental unrest. Narada replied that Even though Vyasa had composed the Mahabharatha which consists all dharma and arTHa it did not describe the exploits of the Lord Hari and the work which is rich in linguistic skills but does not speak about the Lord is like ' vAyasam theerTham' , a ditch for crows in which 'hamsA na niramanthi,' the swans will not relish. The swans refered to here are the paramahamsas, those with the knowledge of Brahman.On the other hand even a work is full of mistakes will be able to dispell the sins of the reader if it is adorned with the glorious names of the Lord, 'nAmnAni ananthasyayaSonkithAni.' That alone will the sadhus hear, sing and accept, srNvanthi, gAyanthi grhNanthi sAdhavah.'

Therefore Narada instructed Vyasa to go into samAdhi meditating on the leelas of Hari and proclaim them to the world.Vyasa was praised by Narada as being qualified for the task as he is amOghadhrk, one having infallible purpose,SuchiSravah,of pure fame, sathyarathi, has love for truth and DHrthavratah, of firm resolve. He is fortunate because the work will release all who resort to it from bondage.The reason for the unrest of Vyasa was due to the fact that the Mahabharatha dealt only with pravrtthi marga (pursuing dharma, artha and kama only) and said nothing on Nivrtthimarga, means of attainment of Mokha.It was a narration of kAmya karma, desire motivated activities which lead people to disaster like a boat agitated by strong winds.

Then Narada started telling Vyasa about himself. He was the son of a maidservant, who was engaged in serving the yogis in his previous birth. As a boy he was disciplined and was dedicated to their setrvice.Pleased with him they gave him the instruction on the knowledge which they acquired from the Lord Himself, out of mercy. He became purified in mind by that and experienced the whole world as the manifestation of the Maya of the Lord and felt that he did not have a separate existence apart from the Lord. Devotion rose in his mind after quelling rajas and thamas and when the sages left the place they imparted the highest knowledge as they thought that he was a fit disciple.

The glory of karma blended with bhakthi is described by Narada. Karma combined with bhakthi is capable of removing the three kinds of suffering, namely, through past karma, from doings of others and from one's own actions. When a disease is caused by some disagreeing object it will not stop giving trouble by mere treatment but only on removing it.All actions result in bondage only and the worship and service to the Lord alone has the power to remove the result of bad karma. The jnana coupled with bhakthi does only that.

In the next chapter Narada continues his story.