Srimadh Bagawatham - Story of Naradar

Continued From: http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/04/srimadh-bagawatham-about-author.html

Story of Naradar:

Sage Naradar in his previous birth had only his mother. His father had passed away when he was very young and his mother raised him with love. She was a cleaning lady and worked very hard to provide for Sage Naradar. Sage Naradar was just a five year old child. His mother was working in an Ashram where she would clean the floors and the utensils used for cooking and eating by the Bagawathas who often came to the Ashram.

She took her son with her to work. Child Naradar would sit outside on the verandah and spent his time listening to the Bagawathas’ discussions. His mother instructed him to get up with respect whenever the Bagawathas entered or left the Ashram and to offer his obeisance to them. The Bagawathas were impressed by the obedient child and blessed him. He would take the plates after the Bagawathas had eaten to his mother for cleaning. The child would look at the left over morsels with interest as being poor he hadn’t seen such food items. Often he would taste a few left over morsel thus getting the Bagawatha Prasadam.

One day Naradar’s mother was bitten by a snake and she passed away. The child cried for her but after performing the last rites for her with the help of the villagers, he came to the conclusion that this must be a blessing conferred upon him by God. The child felt free that he had no family ties or emotional bonds. He wandered from place to place and spent his time in meditation.

One day the Lord revealed Himself to the child. The Lord said, ‘I have shown you my divine form because at this moment the Bagawathas you had served are thinking about you. Thus I was reminded about you.’  So saying the Lord vanished from view.

As the child searched for the Lord, he heard the Lord’s voice.

‘You won’t be able to see me again in this life time. If you spend your time mediating upon me, in your next life you will get the opportunity to see me whenever you wish to see me. I showed you my divine form so as to increase your thirst to attain me’

Sage Naradar spent the rest of his life per the Lord’s instructions singing his holy names and meditating upon him with constant love and devotion. After the life came to an end, the Sage because of the supreme grace of the Lord took birth as Lord Brahma’s mind born son along with other sages like Marici.

The Lord Himself appeared before Sage Naradar and presented a veena. Per the Lord’s instruction, Sage Naradar travels through the three worlds singing the glories of the Lord and His names.

Each Yuga has a yugam Dharmam. The Dharmam of Krita Yugam was severe penance. The dharmam of Treta Yugam was performing sacrifices and in Dwapara Yugam people performed devotional worship. The dharmam of Kali Yugam is “Hari Nama Sankeerthanam.”

Just chanting the even one name of the Lord with love has the ability to help us cross the ocean of samsara.

‘Bagawatha Sat Sangam, listening to the glories of the Lord and Hari nama Sankeerthanam kindled the desire in me during my past life to reach the Lord. Through Sat Sangam I lost interest in the worldly attachments. Compose the Srimadh Bagawatham to help the people suffering in Samsara so that by reading/listening about the Lord and His activities the people may develop detachment for worldly wealth and strive to reach the Lord’s divine feet,’ said sage Naradar.

Per Sage Naradar’s instruction, Sage Veda Vyasar composed Srimadh Bagawatham to describe the Lord, His activities and the benefit of chanting His divine names.

Continued On:http://thoughtsonsanathanadharma.blogspot.ca/2013/04/srimadh-bagawatham-sage-romaharshana.html

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My dear friend Sharadha Srinivasan has compiled the explanation for each name listed in Sri Vishnu Sahasranama . The files are available for download. Please see file name starting with "nama" in https://sites.google.com/site/vishishtadwaitamforkids/my-forms

Meanings of the Namas are taken from Sri U.Ve Velukkudi Krishnan Swami’s Vishnu Sahasranamam hand book along with English translation from ebook on  Sadagopan.org. The text is compiled specifically for children in the form that children can easily understand.