Passage 8

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In plain words

When his father had him trampled by elephants, he called out, ‘Nārāyaṇa!’ To save him, Nārāyaṇa Himself let the elephants trample Him. For troubling my Swami like this, I must kill Prahlāda,” he said. “And who is the third?” “Mīrā, without ceasing, ‘Giridhārī! Giridhārī!’: remembering Him so, she gave my Swami great pain. All the blows that should have fallen on her fell on my Kṛṣṇa. So I must kill her too,” he said. “Very well, and who is the fourth?” Nārada asked. “There is a fellow called Nārada; holding a tambura in his hand, he goes on without ceasing, ‘Nārāyaṇa! Nārāyaṇa!’ he keeps saying. His is Bhakti for his own sake, not Bhakti for the sake of the Other, filled with Prema. So I must kill him too,” he said.

Hearing his words, Nārada was afraid. He recognised that his own Ahaṅkāra was the cause of this. At once he went to Śrīman Nārāyaṇa and laid the matter before Him: “Swami! Is remembering the Lord's Name without ceasing also a way of troubling God?” he asked. Nārāyaṇa: “You are greatly mistaken, Nārada! It is out of his single-minded Prema for God that he feels this way. He is grieved that devotees leave God without sleep or food and give Him trouble. Regarding God's happiness as one's own happiness, one must give God joy at all times and in every state. One must not cause the least pain, to body or to mind. Such a one alone is a true devotee,” He said. Nārada recognised the truth: “Swami! It was only to crush my Ahaṅkāra that You gave me this task,” he said.

However great the Bhakti in you, you must see that God's mind suffers not the least trouble. If God suffers even a little within Himself, it brings suffering to you. God's happiness is your happiness. Your happiness is God's happiness. You must experience the oneness of these two. You must recognise the truth, “I and God are one,” and experience it. Many devotees today follow only Bhakti for their own sake. Their own happiness is all they want. What concerns God is no concern of theirs. God is the embodiment of Prema. That Prema is in everyone.