Srimad Bhagavatam – day 22
Narada Maharishi continued,
“With a mind that was filled with happiness, without feelings of envy and pride, recollecting all the glories of the Lord, I began roaming all over the earth, eagerly waiting for the time He had specified.
O Maharishi Vyasa, when I, with an absolutely pure mind and with absolutely no attachments towards this world, had fully fixed my mind upon Lord Krishna and was living thus, God of death arrived like lightening. It enveloped me. I realized that the time for leaving this body had arrived. Just as the Supreme Lord had predicted, when the time to offer service to Him had arrived, this gross body of mine which was composed of the five basic elements, dropped down.
At the end of the Kalpa, when Lord Narayana absorbed (withdrew) the entire creation into Himself and slept in the ocean of dissolution (pralaya samudra), Lord Brahma merged into Him. I entered the womb of Lord Brahma.
The total of 4 yugas (eons) is one Maha-yuga. After a 1000 such Maha-yugas, when Lord Brahma woke up and decided to begin creation afresh, I along with Marichi and other saints was born from His indriyas (senses).
Due to the grace of Supreme Lord Narayana, I could continue my vow called ‘chanting the divine names’, endlessly, without any obstacles, while travelling throughout the three planes. I chanted these divine names within and outside of the three planes without any break.
Playing this Veena given to me by the Lord and singing His divine glories I constantly travel. This singing gives me immense happiness. To my mind which eternally sings his divine names, He at once appears and gives darshan.
Due to extreme attachment towards these materialistic comforts, the hearts of these humans is drowned in suffering. Such people do not enjoy happiness.
Bhava-sindhu-plavo dṛṣṭo hari-caryānu-varṇanam
To such persons, this repeated chanting of divine names acts as a boat that will take them away from this samsara (repeated cycle of births and deaths). This is my experience.
Yamādibhir yoga-pathaiḥ kāma-lobha-hato muhuḥ
Mukunda-sevayā yadvat tathātmāddhā na śāmyati
The amount of peace that the mind, which has been tormented with desire and greed, gets from chanting the names of Mukunda will not be attained from adherence to yogic disciplines such as yama, niyama etc. This is my opinion.
O sinless saint, Maharishi Vyasa! You had asked me to explain about my birth, my actions and my sadhana (spiritual pursuits). In order to ensure that your mind gets peace and happiness, I have narrated all these. I believe that your mind has attained happiness”.
Saying so, the revered saint Maharishi Narada, who was devoid of selfishness, took leave of Maharishi Vyasa, the son of Satyavati. Playing his veena he went away.
Oh, what a wonder! How fortunate is the divine saint Maharishi Narada, who, blissfully holding the Veena in his hand, sings the glories of sarangapaṇi Lord Srihari, with the intent of relieving people from their distresses and afflictions!
With this the sixth chapter of the first canto comes to an end. We now begin the seventh chapter.
In this chapter, the commencement of the Srimad Bhagawatam by Maharishi Vyasa, the killing of the sons of Draupadi by Ashwattama at the time when the birth-story of Parikshit was being told, the hostility that Ashwattama incurred are covered.
Shounaka and other saints wanted to know the deeds of Maharishi Vyasa after the departure of Maharishi Narada. To this Maharishi Suta replied,
“On the western banks of River Saraswati, there is an ashram called Sāmyāprasa. The saints here are endlessly engaged in the Vedic rituals. This is the ashram of Maharishi Vyasa. Maharishi Vyasa, seated in his ashram which was surrounded by berry trees, performed acamana (sipping water, a purificatory ritual) and fixed his mind in total concentration. With a pure mind that was filled with devotion, He had the darshan of the Supreme Lord and of his power of illusion (maya shakti) that takes refuge in Him.
Although the individual being is none other than the Supreme Parabrahma, due to the power of illusion, he considers himself to be an embodiment of trigunas. He suffers in this samsara. Maharishi Vyasa who was an embodiment of knowledge realized that only Srihari’s bhakti yoga possessed the capacity to pull a person out from this meaningless and worthless samsara. In order to dispel the ignorance that had enveloped the people, He began to compose the holy text, Srimad Bhagawatam.
Yasyāṁ vai śrūyamāṇāyāṁ kṛṣṇe parama-pūruṣe
Bhaktir utpadyate puṁsaḥ śoka-moha-bhayāpahā
Maharishi Veda Vyasa composed the Supreme Bhagawata Samhitam, which, by mere listening, creates in the person devotion towards the Supreme Lord and simultaneously dispels grief concerning past events, removes infatuation towards the present events and destroys the fear pertaining to the future events.
Sa saṁhitāṁ bhāgavatīṁ kṛtvānukramya cātma-jam
Śukam adhyāpayām āsa nivṛtti-nirataṁ muniḥ
Om Namo Narayana.