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Nārada Bhakti Sūtra

Svāmī Tejomayānanda

Talk 1
First of all, I invoke God’s grace, Pūjya Gurudev’s blessings and blessings of Devaṛṣi
Nārad jī to take up this beautiful text called Nārada Bhakti Sūtra.
The first word is Nārada. Nārada’s personality and caritra (character) is very unique.
Whenever we read any story from Rāmāyaṇa, Bhāgavata or Mahābhārata or any other
purāṇa also, the moment Nārad jī appears, the story becomes interesting. There is
always some element of joy, surprise, etc.

The unique aspect of Nārad jī is that he is welcomed everywhere! If he goes to the

heavenly world, Indra and other devatās receive him with great honour. If he goes to
manuṣya loka, different kings also receive him. If he goes to the āśramas of great ṛṣi-
munis like Vālmīki jī or Veda Vyās jī, there also he is received, welcomed. What to say,
even when he goes to Kaṁsa also, or the asuras also, rākṣasas also, wherever he goes;
you will find not such a person who is welcomed everywhere. Because devatās and
asuras, they are against each other, but he is welcomed everywhere.

Nārad jī has got many aspects, we will look at (some of them) quickly. He was in the
gaṁdharva loka, a gaṁdharva also. Because of some mistake of his, he was born here in
this world as a dāsiputra – the son of a maidservant – who was serving many ṛṣis.
He was a very young boy and all the ṛṣis became very fond of him and used to play with
him and whatever they used to eat, they used to give it to him. He was also playing with

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them. But when the cāturmāsya was over, they were going away, they called this boy
and gave him some mantra and said, ‘you chant’, and they went away.

He was with his mother. And one day, his mother was stung by a snake in the forest and
she died. This young boy was not heartbroken or crying. See the satsaṁga prabhāva
(the effect of satsaṁga)! The food that he used to eat and the ṛṣis blessings – he thought
that mother looked after me, that is very good. But now she has gone, now I am free. If
mother is alive, you must serve (her). But if she goes away, he said, now, I can devote
my time to bhagavān.

This story, he himself had told to Veda Vyās jī. It is there in Bhāgavatam.
He was roaming about, and one day, he just sat at one place. And his mind became so
absorbed and, all of a sudden, he had a glimpse of bhagavān’s beautiful form,
bhagavatadarśana! His mind was captivated. But suddenly the vision disappeared. See,
when you get something very precious and before you can enjoy it fully, it goes away,
you become so miserable at that time! What happened? He heard a voice that (said), “I
have given you this darśana to increase, enhance your longing, to intensify your
longing. Your some impurities or sins are still there, they are obstructing. You just go
on doing this (taking the name of the Lord), you will be purified. Then you will have
that complete fullness.” So he continued.

Remember, again I will say, this story Nārad jī himself narrated to Veda Vyāsjī! And
then, when the time came, he left the body and when the next kalpa began, he was born
as devaṛṣi.

It is said, he is a mānasa putra, mind-born son of Brahmā jī. Sanat kumāra and (his
brothers) they are elder brothers to him. And in Chāṁdogya Upaniṣad you will find,
Nārad jī approaching his brothers for ātmajñānam.

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What is that knowledge which Nārad jī did not know? saṁgīta, what to say about
saṁgīta, music! Everything! Ātmajñāni, bhagavatabhakta, well-wisher of all, his
qualities – of saintly qualities. And the most important, he himself went through some
episodes of delusion, coming under moha and all that. And therefore he always had
very sympathetic attitude towards saṁsāric people (worldly people), because he knew
their difficulties. Some person who has gone through that, understands that, then it is
great.

So, he is mānasa putra of brahmājī and earlier a gaṁdharva, then dāsi putra here,
bhagavad bhakta. He has got a free pass to go anywhere. Such a person is called
Nārada!

What is Nārada? The meaning of the word nāra, nāraṁ dadāti iti nāradaha. nārada, like
jalada – the one who gives waters, like clouds, are called jalada, vārida. da means dadāti,
he who gives. What is nāra ? narasya dharmaha nāraha ucyate. The dharma of nara is
called nāra. Now this narasya dharma word is very vast. Because, that dharma means
righteousness also. He has the knowledge of dharma, adharma, and all that. narasya
dharmaha nāraha taṁ dadāti, he who gives the knowledge of dharma.

Then, dharma is also called saccidānanda svarupa is our svarupa, that you get by
jñānaṁ. jñānaṁ dadāti – the one who gives knowledge.

Then, in bhāgavata, we have bhāgavata dharma. What is bhāgavata dharma ?

yad karma karomi tattadakhilaṁ, bhagavadarpaṇaṁ nārāyaṇāyeti samarpayāmi

All karmas, whatever I do, everything is dedicated to bhagavān. That is bhāgavata

dharma.

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Nāradjī knows sāmānya dharma, viśeṣa dharma, bhāgavata dharma; ātmasvarupa
jñānaṁ dadati. And jñāna gives mokśa and therefore called mokṣaṁ dadāti… the nāra
word goes on and on.

He is so wonderful, he unites the bhaktas with bhagavān. One adjective or epithet of

Nārada jī is called devadarśanaḥ. Nārada jī is called devadarśana. devadarśana means?
We will see what he also says. But one meaning is, the one who has devadarśana,
bhagavāndarśana. He is (therefore) called devadarśana. Another meaning is : to see
Nārad jī means to have devadarśana! He also leads people to have god’s vision.

His sometimes his methods are also peculiar. He showed the way to Vālmīkijī, he
showed the way to Veda Vyāsa jī and he showed the way to Dhruva, Prahlāda,
everybody (so many others). Sometimes we find, a little streak of playfulness, and he
creates some conflict between people also. But in the end, the story ends nicely only.
There is no violence or there is no such kind of thing. So, one name is called
kalahapriya Nāraaha. He is fond of some kalaha, creating some conflict. In marāthi, he
is called kaḷīcā nārada (कळीचा नारद), kaḷīcā means, he will create some kind of
conflict. He will go and tell something there and something here. But the intentions are
always good and everything is fine in the end.

Bhagavān loves him very much. In Rāmāyaṇa we find how Rāma loves him. And kṛṣṇa
loves him. So he is bhagavatpriya. To him bhagavān is very priya. And to bhagavān, he
is very priya.

It is said, that when he was born as devarṣi – some people are rājarṣi, maharṣi,
brahmaṛṣi. He was devarṣi because he was celestial ṛṣi. ṛṣi means the one who knows
ātmatattva, bhagavat tattvam. Therefore he is called Devarṣi Nārada.

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So, Devarṣi Nārada said, that in the new cycle of creation, when he was born, he was
given a vīnā. Somewhere, it is also said that he is the one who invented the vīnā. But he
himself said (in śrimad bhāgavatam) :

दे वद�ां इमां वीणां �रब्र�िवभूिषताम् ।

मू ��िय�ा ह�रकथां गायमान�रा�हम् ॥
devadattāṁ imāṁ vīṇāṁ svarabrahmavibhūṣitām|
mūrcchayitvā harikathāṁ gāyamānaścarāmyaham||1.6.33

This śloka is there in bhāgavatam. Nārad jī is speaking to Veda Vyāsa ṛṣi. He says,
devadattāṁ vīṇāṁ. One meaning is, god only gave him that vīnā, devadatta vīnā. We
can say vīnā’s name was devadatta.

Whatever it may be, he has always got the vīnā. We (always) see Nārad jī carrying the
vīnā, (chanting) nārāyaṇa nārāyaṇa; he is a brahmacāri; nārāyaṇa nārāyaṇa, nārāyaṇa
nārāyaṇa. I read in Mahābhārata, at one place, bhagavān Śṛī Kṛṣṇa called him and said,
“Nārada, give me some advise!” Nārada (exclaimed), “Some advise to you?”

(Bhagavān said,) “These children of mine, they don’t listen to me. Nobody is listening
to me and they are just… somebody is very proud of his power and keeps showing off
his muscles, somebody (else) thinks he is the most handsome… how to deal with all of
them, can you tell me something?”
Bhagavān Śṛī Kṛṣṇa asking Nārad jī. That is a very interesting episode. Don’t ask me to
continue with that, because our aim is different. But what I want to say is that, this is
what Nārad jī is!

One day, Vasudeva and Devakī met him when he went there and they said, “You please
tell us, who is this Śṛī Kṛṣṇa? All the time we keep on thinking, ‘Our son, our son’, but

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whenever we ask him and we tell him that all the ṛṣi munis are saying that you are
brahmaṇ, he says, ‘everybody is brahmaṇ only!’ He doesn’t tell us anything.”

So then, Nārada jī enlightened Vasudeva and Devakī also. Now, Devarṣi Nārada says,
devadattāṁ imāṁ vīṇāṁ. imāṁ, he showed – this vīṇā. svarabrahmavibhūṣitām. This
vīṇā is not just some ordinary vīṇā. It is adorned, ornamented with svarabrahma. See,
in saṁgīta, we say sa-re-ga-ma-pa-dha-ni. They are called śhadja, riśabha, gāndhāra,
madhyama, dhaivata, niśada. They are called svara. svara means what? svayaṁ rājate –
that which shines by itself. And what shines by itself is brahma only. All these svaras are
brahma svarupa, ityarthaha. Thus, svarabrahmavibhūṣita, this vīnā. So, devadattāṁ
imāṁ. This vīnā, I just carry.

And what (do) I do? mūrcchayitvā, and playing on this vīnā, harikathāṁ gāyan, and
singing harikathā (singing the glories of the Lord), and he says, carāmyaham, I just
roam about, I go anywhere. He is a brahmacāri, no wife or children or anything like
that. He is free. He is here today, and there tomorrow, etc. He goes wherever he wants
to go. But always, nārāyaṇa nārāyaṇa nārāyaṇa. And singing the harikathā.

And then when Vālmīki jī asked:

konvasmin sāṁprataṁ loke guṇavān…, he told the Rāmāyaṇa to him.

Veda Vyāsa jī asked him, “I have written so many things, but still I feel everything is not
complete”. Then Nārad jī said, “because you did not sing glories of bhagavān. Sing
them!” He told him, and then he sang. Gāyamānaścarāmyaham.
And then there is this beautiful śloka which he says:

प्रगायतः �वीया� िण तीथ� पादः िप्रयश्रवाः ।

आ�त इव मे शीघ्रं दश� नं याित चे तिस॥
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pragāyataḥ svavīryāṇi tīrthapādaḥ priyaśravāḥ|
āhūta iva me śīghraṁ darśanaṁ yāti cetasi|| 1.6.34

pragāyataḥ svavīryāṇi, and he says, when I sing bhagavān’s glories, that bhagavān,
tīrthapāda, he is, holy feet and great glory. āhūta iva me śīghraṁ darśanaṁ yāti cetasi,
and when I sing bhagavān’s glories and yaśa and all that, bhagavān just comes to my
mind and I see him immediately in my mind. āhūta iva me śīghraṁ darśanaṁ yāti
cetasi.
That is why he is called devadarśanaḥ!

What a wonderful thing! Carrying that vīnā. This vīnā, the one with Nārad jī is famous
and the other is (that of) Sarasvati devi, same vīnā. Svarabrahma vibhūṣhitām, what a
beautiful phrase that is. I call him and he is there!
It is only because, prema te pragat hoī mai jānā. It is because of that love, that devotion
that he has, then that bhagavān comes.

In bhāgavatam, the stories, the purāṇas, always Sūta jī tells all the ṛṣis of Naimiśāraṇya.
So Sūta jī was reporting and telling all these stories there. This śloka what I said is what
Nārad jī said to Veda Vyāsa jī.

Afterwards, Sūta jī said a most beautiful śloka. He says :

अहो दे विष�ध��ोऽयं य�ीित� शा��ध�नः ।

गाय�ा�ि�दं तन्�ा रमय�ातुरं जगत्॥
aho devarṣirdhanyo'yaṁ yatkīrtiṁ śārṅgadhanvanaḥ|
gāyanmādhyannidaṁ tantryā ramayatyāturaṁ jagat|| 1.7.39

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aho devarṣihi dhanyaha ayaṁ! Blessed indeed is this Devarṣi Nārad jī, most fortunate!
Because when somebody becomes dear to bhagavān, what more do we want? Bhagavān
loves him and then parasparapriyatā is there. dhanyo'yaṁ, why is it blessedness?
Because, yatkīrtiṁ śārṅgadhanvanaḥ gāyan, singing śārṅgada bhagavan’s kīrti,
mādhyan, when he sings, he himself goes on revelling in it. Enjoying, and ramayati, and
he delights others also. tantryā, on this vīnā, he goes on singing. saṁgītapriya,
saṁgītajña, rasajña, everything. aho, aho devarṣirdhanyo'yaṁ!!! Singing bhagavān’s
glory, he revels in that and also delights the world.

And how is the world? āturaṁ, it means the world is going through so many
difficulties, distress, stress, sorrow. There never was a time when the world was not
going through difficulties. But this time, all over corona has a very special kind of, very
peculiar kind of problem it has created. People are going through many stressful
moments also. The idea is that if you listen to bhagavān’s glories, even if there are some
sorrows, difficulties, distress; your mind will become calm and quiet. And when it is
filled with remembrance of god, then…

We saw in Rāmāyaṇa, how when Sītā jī was grieving, at that time Hanumān jī came
there on the aśoka tree, and he started singing Rāmāyaṇa. What happened
immediately? rāma hi guṇa baranai lāgā, sunata hi sītā kara dukha bhāgā. When he
started singing Rāmacaritra, and she started listening to that, her mind became calm
and quiet. This is very beautifully (said in the rāmacaritamānasa).

So if you are going through distress, don’t go on thinking about distress. Go on

thinking of bhagavān! When anybody writes to me, I say just chant hari śaraṇam. Keep
on singing & chanting. That is the best medicine. Of course, in the worldly plane
whatever medicine you have to take, you go on taking that. But remember, vaidyo

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nārāyano hariḥ. Bhagavān is the supreme doctor. Remember him! You sing, hari
śaraṇam.

So now, very little about Nārad jī, I have just said. Because Nārad jī, only then we can
say nārada bhakti sūtra. These sūtras are attributed to Nārad jī. It is an independent one
and it is not found somewhere else. May be he was speaking and someone else noted
down. We don’t know how it is, but Nārad jī is the right spokesperson, teacher, of the
path of devotion for bhakti sūtras.

Today I spoke about Nārad jī. And then we will try to understand briefly what is the
meaning of a sūtra. Sūtras are a special kind of literature in saṁskrita language. And of
course, bhakti. The whole text is of bhakti!

As far as ṛṣi pranīta bhakti sūtras are there, there are two (that) are known. One is
Nārada Bhakti Sūtra and second is Śāṇḍilya Bhakti Sūtra. But only Nārada Bhakti Sūtra
is very popular, famous, and it is also easy to understand. Śāṇḍilya Bhakti Sūtra’s style
also is a little different. But that is a ṛṣi pranīta, Śāṇḍilya. But Śāṇḍilya’s opinion also is
given here in Nārada Bhakti Sūtra, you will find.

We again invoke god’s grace, Gurudev’s blessings and Nārad jī’s blessings, to keep us
on this path of this bhakti, devotion.

Om namo nārāyaṇaya…

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