Sage Narada and a cup of oil.

As we all know sage Narada  is an ardent  devotee of  Lord Vishnu . He keeps chanting "Narayana! Narayana! " all through  the day.  wherever he is  and during  all times the name   Narayana will be on his tongue.

He believed  that he is the greatest devotee of Lord Vishnu and there is no one else who keeps thinking  Narayana  as he does.He  wanted to get that confirmed  from none other than Lord Vishnu himself.

So he started his journey towards Vaikund, the abode of Lord Vishnu with the words Narayana  on his tongue.On reaching Vaikund  He  bowed before  lord Vishnu and received his blessings.

Then when Lord Vishnu asked  the purpose of his visit, Narada  replied that he needed some clarification.
Vishnu  asked  " About  what Narada? "

Narada  replied ,"  I need to know as to who is your  ardent  devotee?"
Needless  to say, Narada was expecting  his name from Lord Vishnu.

Now, Vishnu asked Narada  to go to a hamlet  and meet Thirumalai, the farmer  residing in that village.
Also He  told " I  consider   Thirumalai   as my ardent devotee."

Narada was surprised at this  and was eager to see this  devotee .And he reached the Hamlet mentioned by Vishnu  and went and knocked at the  farmer's hut.It was almost night, when Narada reached the farmer's hut.
Out came the farmer  and  welcomed sage Narada . The farmer offered Narada  food to eat  and asked him to sleep on the best bed which he could offer.
Narda was  keenly observing the farmer as to how many times the farmer is mentioning Narayana..

The farmer  before going to sleep , uttered 'Narayana!,Narayana" and went to sleep.
Next day the farmer got up early in the morning  , brushed his teeth, took bath , then he looked at the photo  of Vishnu and uttered. "Narayana" . Then he started  his daily work. Narada was watching him the whole day to take note of the number of times  the farmer utters Narayana.

The whole day during his work time, he never bothered to pray or utter Narayana. Again later in the night  before going to sleep he again prayed.

Taking note of all this Narada returned to Vaikund and asked Vishnu," The  farmer prayed only twice in a day  and still he is considered as an ardent devotee by you. Idon't understand this ."

For this Vishnu  gave Narada a cup filled with oil to the brim  and asked Narada to go around Vaikund ,without spilling even a drop of oil.Narada readily took the cup of oil and with great care he walked  around  the abode of Vishnu. He focussed only on the cup of oil.Without uttering a word he finished the given job and gave back the cup of oil to the Lord.

Now Vishnu  asked  Narada ," How many times did you utter my name when you were focussing on the cup  of oil?"
Narad said, "How is it that you expect me to  uttter your name, when I have to focus on the cup of oil?"

For this Vishnu answered ," When you have to focus on the simple cup of oil, you never prayed.
But the farmer with all his worries, duties and the hardwork , he never forgot to pray and utter my name  twice a day. Is there any devotee greater than him? "

Sage Narada was dumbfounded.He realised that Duty  is God . He  also  understood that  devotees, amidst  all work are  also  sincere  in their devotion to God.



image courtesy--google