Getting To Know God
Page 109 of 176

Earth in these impure places. Nothing is impossible to God, and although He took the form of a boar, his devotees continue to worship Him, for He always remains sublime.

The next Avatar appeared in the era of the wise and empowered was Devarsi Narada, great sage among celestial beings, sons of Brahma. He gathered at that time the statements of the Vedas, the original scriptures, “the true gospel,” which relate to the service of devotion and invite the man to engage in the only acts resulting in no consequence or material consequence.

The great sage Narada, a manifestation of God by Him endowed with powers, spreads the service of devotion throughout the universe, and all the great devotees of the Lord, on various planets, in various living species, are his disciples. Among them, there is even Srila Vyasadeva, who compiled Srimad-Bhagavatam. Narada is the author of the Narada-pancaratra, a collection of Vedic teachings more particularly oriented towards the devotional service, and capable of guiding the materialists (beings who act for an interested purpose) towards the liberation from the chains of karma. If the conditioned souls are above all seduced by the action concerned, it is because they want to enjoy life by tasting the fruits of their hard work. Thus the universe is filled with beings, within all species, who act in order to enjoy the fruit of their deeds.

Interested action involves the development of all kinds of projects in order to increase one's material assets. But the laws of nature want every action, good or bad, to be followed by a reaction, or corresponding consequence, which connects its author. The result of good deeds takes the form of material prosperity, always relative, while that of bad deeds is manifested by material suffering, also relative. But any material condition, whether made of relative happiness or suffering, ultimately leads only to misfortune. Foolish materialists have no knowledge of the way forward to attain eternal and absolute happiness, beyond any material condition. The sage Narada addresses these unfortunate materialists, and tells them how to grasp the reality of happiness. It teaches men with acute materialism how their present occupations can be oriented to lead them towards the path of spiritual emancipation. To the patient who suffers from the intestines for having absorbed too much milk-rich food, the doctor will prescribe curd, that is to say, milk, but in a different form. The cause of evil and its remedy may therefore be of the same nature; but the doctor, like Narada, must be perfectly competent. And the remedy that Narada proposes, the Bhagavad-gita also prescribes; we must serve the Lord by offering Him the fruits of His labors. Thus, can we reach the path of liberation.

The great sage Devarsi Narada says: “Since then, by the grace of Visnu, the Almighty, I travel everywhere, without knowing limits, both from the spiritual world and through the three divisions of the material universe. This insignificant grace is due to my constant absorption into the service of love which the Lord confers upon me.”

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