Narada Gets a Vision of Sri Hari

Coming close to Sri Hari also happens only when He wants, only for those whom He wants. That too, not easily.

Narada, in one of the Kalpas, was born to a maid servant. He had the fortune to serve a group of sages observing Chaturmasya Vrata. He had the fortune of listening to the bhajans and keertans of Sri Hari. He also developed interest in them. He kept on serving the sages. Whatever food was left behind after they had their meals, he used to only take that.

Slowly, slowly the inborn vasanas of Narada started going away. His heart started getting purified. Devotion, bhakti, started taking roots in Narada. Day in and day out, he was listening only to the glories of Sri Hari. Slowly, slowly his mind became steady in Bhagawan.

Narada was only five years old, but he had bhakti, he had control over his body and mind. When the sages left after Chaturmasya, they gave him jnanopadesha. Narada was very much attached to his mother, and so was she to him.

One day, a snake bit her and she died. Narada had developed so much maturity by then that he took it as a blessing. Otherwise, he would have spent the prime of his youth in that place only, not getting an opportunity to know what all happened in the world.

Narada became so much of a wanderer that today you will find him in Vaikuntha and tomorrow in Kailasa. But as a young boy until then, he did not have any idea about any place other than where he lived. He did not even know the difference between north and south, east and west, and not even about how to count days or months. So he was released and relieved, and he started wandering.

Once, while wandering about, he became very hungry and thirsty. He found a river. He took bath in it, filled his stomach with the cool water, sat on its banks under a pimpal tree, and started meditating on Sri Hari's lotus feet. Suddenly, tears appeared in his eyes. Goosebumps appeared on his body.

He saw Bhagawan Sri Hari in his heart for the first time. He was in ecstasy. He lost all sense of individuality, he lost all sense of space and time. He merged himself with Sri Hari.

Suddenly, Bhagawan disappeared. This experience was only for a short time. He started longing to see Him again. Narada heard a voice – You won't be seeing me again in this birth. To have permanent vision of me, all your vasanas should go. I have given you a vision of myself because I wanted to plant the seed of longing for me in your heart. I gave you this chance because you have already, at this young age, purified yourself by serving those mahatmas.

Now that this seed is planted in you, you will start making conscious effort to get rid of your vasanas completely. Now this longing and desire to see me again will never leave you. Even when you leave this body of yours and take many more births, the memory of the glance that you saw, of me, will not leave you. Even after pralaya, this memory will not leave you. This memory and the longing to see me again has become permanently stamped in your soul.

And you will keep on working to get rid of your vasanas. And eventually, you will attain permanent residence by my side.

Narada's vasanas kept on leaving him, and he became absolutely pure. All his prarabdha karma exhausted, and he attained sameepya of Sri Hari and stays serving Him. Every time at Kalpanta pralaya, he also gets absorbed back into Parmatma Sri Hari. And when the new Kalpa begins, he reappears as the manasa putra of Brahma.

He roams around in the three worlds, with veena in his hand, ever singing the glories of Sri Hari. When he goes to Vaikuntha or Kailasa, nobody stops him. He has free entry everywhere.

Now, there is one question that can come up in your mind. Even after doing so much, why is Narada still roaming around on earth or heaven or Patala? Why is he taking rebirth? Why is he reborn as Brahma's manasaputra every time a Kalpa begins? Why has he not attained mukti/moksha?

• Why does grace reach some people earlier than others? — Grace arrives when inner obstacles reduce; sincere effort, service, and clean living remove the blocks.

• What does it mean for vasanas to leave? — Old habits and compulsions lose force; cravings weaken; reactions slow; choices align with dharma.

• How do service and simple food purify the mind? — Service thins ego, shared prasad curbs greed, routine discipline steadies attention.

• Why would a brief spiritual vision be withdrawn? — To prevent complacency and to plant a lifelong drive for union.

• How should one handle the loss of a loved one on the path? — Accept, grieve cleanly, convert shock into detachment, return to practice with clarity.

• How can longing for the Divine be cultivated? — Daily remembrance, mantra, kirtan, seva, scripture, satsang, silence, and honest self-audit.

• What does seeing the Divine in the heart indicate? — Focused awareness reveals living presence beyond thought; time and body-sense drop away.

• Why not instant liberation after a vision? — A vision is a spark; liberation demands total exhaustion of conditioning and prarabdha.

• What is sameepya? — Nearness to the Lord where one serves in intimacy without a sense of separation.

• Why would a realized messenger keep roaming worlds? — To teach, carry guidance across realms, and keep the current of devotion flowing.

• What is a Kalpa, and why return after dissolution? — A Kalpa is a cosmic day; when creation restarts, destined roles resume for cosmic work. One Kalpa is 4.32 billion years.

• How to steady the mind like that? — Keep inputs sattvic, follow a routine, reduce idle talk, practice japa and meditation daily.

• What is the role of early teachers? — They lend purity, transmit method, and cut years of trial and error.

• How to know devotion is maturing? — Ego softens, practice stays steady, compassion rises, resilience in loss grows, joy appears without cause.

• Is longing itself grace? — Yes; deep yearning is seeded by grace and sustained by disciplined practice.

• What to do after a powerful inner experience fades? — Do not chase replay; deepen practice, live simply, serve more, guard humility.

• Why does the path often require simplicity and solitude? — Simplicity reduces distraction; solitude resets priorities and sharpens attention.

• How can a child show serious discipline? — Pure company, saintly routines, and repetitive sacred habits build early mastery.

Ramaswamy Sastry and Vighnesh Ghanapaathi