Like this Narada went on for a few days, but all the while he was feeling miserable. Something was killing him inwardly. On the one hand, he was feeling very haughty and proud that he had discovered that he could live without Vishnu. On the other hand, his aspiration-heart was crying and dying for Vishnu’s presence and Vishnu’s Light.
Finally he went to Lord Shiva for advice. Lord Shiva said, “You fool, how can you live without Vishnu?”
Narada said, “I know I cannot. That’s why I have come to you. Vishnu was my all once upon a time. Now he does not care for me; therefore, I have stopped caring for him. But I need him badly. Alas, I don’t feel his presence inside my heart. I don’t see him anywhere in my consciousness or in my aspiration-cry.”
Shiva said, “I feel sorry for you. Now you have to develop devotion. There is nothing as important and meaningful in the spiritual life as devotion. If you develop and increase your devotion, then you are bound to feel Vishnu’s presence inside your heart, just as you did before.”
“How can I develop devotion?” Narada asked.
Shiva answered, “Mix with the people who have failed in life. Mix with the people who are full of sorrow. Mix with the people who feel that they cannot exist even for a second without Vishnu. Mix with the people who feel that, without God, they are helpless but, with God, they are everything and have everything.”
Narada said, “Alas, there was a time when people used to come to me to increase their own devotion because I was all devotion to my Lord Vishnu. Now is this my fate? I have to go to other people and mix with them to develop devotion. What irony!”
Lord Shiva said, “One has to aspire consciously and constantly to make progress. In your case, you were satisfied with what you had. You did not care for further progress. I tell you, in the spiritual world if you do not make continuous progress, then ignorance is bound to pull you down. There is no fixed resting place. Every moment you are going either forward or going backward.
“If you are conscious and constant in your prayer and meditation, then you will always make progress and, while making progress, you are bound to feel Vishnu’s presence. So make progress every day, every hour, every minute. Then you are bound to feel Vishnu’s presence in yourself and your presence in Vishnu. You will not only feel him but also see him as your Compassion-Lord, Illumination-Lord and Fulfilment-Lord.”
Narada said, “My Lord, I shall.”
Shiva said, “And you can!”
GIM 23. 9 January 1979↩
From:Sri Chinmoy,Great Indian meals: divinely delicious and supremely nourishing, part 2, Agni Press, 1979
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/gim_2