NOTES ON THE GREAT SAGE NARADA IN VEDIC TRADITION

Traditional aspects

Ayurvedic tradition says about the great sage Narada that it is a direct emanation of the infinite consciousness of Brahma, the appearance of God (Brahman) as the Creator of the Universe. The Sage Narada is a manifestation of the specific way in which the universal divine Consciousness manifests itself ina close connection with the universe of life of the embodied human being, in order to-makes deep knowledge of divine origin accessible.

The Sage Narada is part of the goddess tradition (Divya-Pratna), even though traditional Vedic texts mention that he was manifested as a sage, as a human being with exceptional spiritual endowments. This is why, traditionally, the sage Narada (Narada-Muni) is famous in India mainly because of his profound vision and clear understanding of the spiritual aspects of the traditional Vedic writings.

Vedic name

In the Vedic writings we find a number of similar names attributed to this great sage, namely Narad, Narada-Muni, Narad-Muni, Narada-Muni, Narad-Rishi, Devnarad-Rishi, Devrishi-Narad.

About the wise Narada it is stated that his being is in close correspondence with the sphere of consciousness of the Great God Vishnu and that through the being of the great sage Narada, the Great God Vishnu pours out its divine goodwill and makes possible the spiritual awakening of human beings to the perception of the existence of the mystical divine realm.

When Indian worshippers refer to the great sage Narada they often use, as a form of respectful and devotional expression, the deva-rishi, an expression which means "the sage who is invested with a consciousness of a godlike nature (deva)".

 Vedic vision

Vedic writings state that a substantial portion of the verses that make up Rig-See was composed by the wise Naradawho recorded in writing the inspiration full of divine wisdom which wasmanifested itself in those times of the formulation and writing of the Vedic writings.

According to Hindu mythology the sage Narada manifests itself in what we might humanly call "the rest of time", i.e. when it is not embodied ina human form, as a celestial being, inspiring the arts and eloquence, being manifested as a representative being for the fascinating manifestation of music (gandharva).

Writings attributed to the sage Narada

In Indian tradition it is described that the sage is attributed Narada more writings. There is the quoted writing entitled Narada-Purana, which contains an excerpt that could be considered a music book. Also cited is the work Narada-Samhita.

Inone of the works attributed to this great sage records that the sage Narada gives people detailed and plastic visions of the future, including the future we now live as the present. The Sage Narada is the one who prophesied in the past about what life would be like in the age traditionally called Kali-yuga.

The teachings of the wise Narada

According to the teachings of the great sage Narada nothing that exists can continue to exist if the being slips into a false inertial comfort zone (tamas) in the sphere of its consciousness. Moreover, the teachings of the sage Narada correspond entirely with the spiritual message of the Great Avatar Krishnawhich states that souls (jiva) have a great, essential need to act and that it is always necessary to do so inan integrated divine way.  

To express this great divine truth the wise man Narada s-has manifested herself as an exemplary being in both the art of dance and the art of music. The Sage Narada had a very deep knowledge of rhythms, of harmonious sequences of sounds and intervals, and is known and described in his writings as a living presence almost throughout the structure of the epic Ramayana and also in Mahabharata.