How Do You Get To The Goal?

Excerpts from Gurudev’s discourse on the Narada Bhakti Sutras

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One needs to go to a saint. One such saint was Narada. In ancient times, Narada was known to be a troublemaker. The name ‘Narada’ means, he is here and there - he plays on both sides. He is with one party and he is with the other party also. He says something to this party; something to the other but in the end bridges both parties. Even today in India, if someone is playing up both sides, one says,“Oh, you are like Narada!”

You are here, you are there, and you are everywhere. But, Narada always ends up doing good for both parties. That is the skill of Narada – implying that two parties, which appear to be completely opposite are both comfortable with Narada. And he somehow brings them together.

In the Puranas there are ample stories about Narada and his acts of mischief. ‘Narada’, the word itself means “the one who joins the centre to the circumference, the one who is the spoke of a wheel.”