“What?” Narada’s shrill voice registered shock and disappointment. “I’m not your favourite devotee?”

Vishnu smiled, his eyes glinting mischievously. Here comes a tantrum!

Narada is Angry

“You are definitely one of my favourites, my dear Narada. But there are others who are as good and some even better than you, especially in the human world.”

“But I chant your name day in and out, in every breath I take. How can someone be a bigger devotee than I?” Narada trilled angrily. 

But suddenly he remembered an earlier episode involving Tumburu and himself about who sang the best. That lesson in humility was still fresh. So, he decided to take a step back. 

Controlling his emotions, he asked, “Lord, tell me who your favourite devotee is? I want to be like him.”

Vishnu hid his smile at Narada’s efforts at humility and replied. “Well, there are many men and women who are great devotees. But let me take you to Satyaki, a simple, poor farmer living in a little village along the Ganga.”

A farmer? That too, not a rich one? How can he be better than me?

Narada kept his thoughts to himself. Nodding to his lord, he said, “Can we go right now?”

“Yes, it’s the perfect time. Satyaki would be waking up right this minute to begin his day.”

The Struggle of Work Life Balance

The two of them disapparated and appeared, although invisible to others, in Satyaki’s home, a small but neat and clean hut where he, his wife, Madhavi, and their two children were asleep. 

Satyaki awoke just as they reached his home. He got up, sat on his mattress, closed his eyes for a couple of minutes and chanted, “Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare.”

By this time, Madhavi also got up. She chanted her own mantra, and the two of them went to the banks of the Ganga for their morning bath and ablutions. 

Satyaki went to the men’s section while Madhavi walked towards a more secluded women’s section. Other men from the village were already there, all busy bathing and washing their clothes. They greeted each other and went on with their work, enjoying the gently flowing river, which shimmered like diamonds against the soft light of the rising sun.

One of the men asked Satyaki, “According to the roster, it’s your turn to plough Arjun’s fields, right?”

“Yes, I remember it. I will be there in his fields in the evening.” Satyaki nodded.

A small boy of about 10 years looked up from his cleaning chores and said, “My family is eternally grateful for all the help you are giving us. Since the day my brother, Arjun, got injured, each of you has been taking turns helping us with farm work. My brother told me to thank you all and to tell you that he should be fully recovered in a week’s time.”

Satyaki went to the child, hugged him and said, “What is the use of a community if we can’t help each other in times of need? Tell Arjun not to hasten the recovery process. Let him be fully healed before he returns to farmwork.”

The others in the group nodded in agreement, and there were murmurs of acceptance all around. 

Satyaki finished his bath and took the path to his home. Madhavi had also finished her work and joined her husband to return home. At home, Madhavi hung up the washed clothes to dry and went to the kitchen to begin preparing the day’s meals. 

Satyaki went to wake up his children and get them ready for school. They went to the local school where they learnt basic reading and writing. After two hours of schooling, both of them would sometimes join their father in the fields, and sometimes stay at home, playing with other children of the neighbourhood. 

After a quick breakfast, Satyaki went to the farm. 

Narada and Vishnu followed Satyaki to the fields, where he worked in the scorching heat until noon, when Madhavi brought him lunch. The two children were with her. The four of them sat under the shade of a large banyan tree to eat their simple meal. Before starting, the four of them recited the Hare Rama Shloka thrice in chorus.

Lunchtime lasted nearly an hour. They ate slowly, sharing stories of how their mornings went. The young children discussed everything that had happened at school, including how Arjun’s sons, their best friends, were happier than before, now that their father’s recovery was progressing quickly and well.

After lunch, the children went back home with the empty dishes. Madhavi and Satyaki continued working on the fields. They stopped an hour before their usual time, walked across to Arjuna’s fields, and did some weed-pulling there, ensuring water was flowing through the irrigation pipes without blockages. 

They also ploughed an empty part of the field, getting it ready to sow some vegetable seeds tomorrow. Arjun was there too, helping them with whatever his limited mobility allowed him.

Just before sunset, the couple stopped working and made their way home, where the children had done the prep work for dinner. Soon, they sat down to eat after washing at their well. Before dinner, another three rounds of Hare Rama mantra chanting. 

Dinner was a quieter affair than lunch, with fewer conversations and discussions. A sense of peace and calm prevailed in the house, as if their bodies were telling them it was time to turn in after a hard day’s work. 

Just before lying down to sleep, Satyaki planned the next day’s activities, then chanted the Hare Rama mantra one more time and fell asleep, after making sure Madhavi and the children were asleep too.

Narada is Baffled by Satyaki’s Simplicity

Vishnu and Narada returned to Vaikuntha. Narada was baffled. “Satyaki chanted your name four times in the entire day. The rest of the time he was so busy with other things that he didn’t even think about you, my dear Lord.”

“What other things, Narada?”

“Laughing and playing with his family, his work at the farm, helping other people in his community, eating, sleeping, and everything else but chanting your name. And look at me. All I do is chant your name and sing your praises, Narayana. And yet, you think people like Satyaki are your biggest devotees? That’s unfair, right?”

Vishnu’s smile reached his ears. This is exactly what he expected to hear. 

“Can you refocus on the list of things Satyaki was busy with the entire day, one by one this time, and in order of the time spent?”

“Ok, here goes. The most time he spent was working on his fields. Almost eight hours of the day,” replied Narada.

“Indeed. And why does he need to work?”

“Well, it’s his job to provide for his family.”

“Correct, and according to you, is he doing that well?”

“Aah, I can’t fault him with that now, can I? He works really hard. And he loves his family. They are his first priority. In fact, at lunch time, his younger child wanted more food. And he gave a portion of his already small meal, and that too happily, as if seeing his children’s stomachs filled satiated his own hunger.”

“Absolutely! So, he does a great job of providing for his family through his work just as Madhavi works hard in the house while also sharing her husband’s farm work.”

Narada nodded vigorously. He continued, “Next, he spent quality time with his family before lunch and a long time in the evening before and after dinner.”

“And what did you notice during those times?”

“That the entire place rang with joyous laughter. The regaling of old and new stories, finding happiness in little things of life, remembering his and Madhavi’s dead parents and talking about how much they loved their family. He helped his children with schoolwork while Madhavi finished cleaning and cooking. He even helped Madhavi clean up after their dinner.”

“What does that tell you, Narada?”

“That he is a great father and a wonderful husband.”

“Correct. What else did he spend time on?”

“Helping a member of his community, Arjun, who was temporarily disabled.”

“What does that tell you about him?”

“That he cares for his community too, and is always ready to give a helping hand. In fact, the community followed a roster for such matters, taking turns to help people in need. Like an insurance policy. You give when others need, and you are likely to get when you need.”

“I can’t fault your observation skills, my dear Narada. And yet you don’t understand why I think Satyaki is one of my favourite devotees.”

“Of course I cannot understand. He hardly chants your name! He is so busy with other stuff.”

“But he is busy with his duties and responsibilities. That comes first for him. Yes, even above chanting my name. Because he is a householder and takes the duties of a grahastha very seriously, working very hard to maintain work life balance. You’ll perhaps never understand how hard he tries to balance work (to provide for the physical needs of his family) and living a good, happy life (to provide for the emotional and spiritual needs of his family). He is a master balancer.”

Narada stayed quiet, imbibing the lessons Satyaki’s life was teaching him. He stared unseeing into the horizon even as Vishnu continued, “By the way, you witnessed a relatively ordinary day in his life. Quite often, he has to deal with other issues, illnesses, the grief of death, the pain of material and emotional losses, old age that brings lesser energy while not always reducing his responsibilities to provide for people dependent on him.”

“And those are just his regular problems, perhaps, a wee bit under his control. Sometimes, he has to deal with issues that are unequivocally beyond his control, like droughts, natural disasters, cruel rulers, mad rulers, wars, and so much more. Regardless of all that, Satyaki and people like him never lose an opportunity to offer prayers to me for strength, courage, and, most importantly, gratitude. He never forgets me, and he strives to balance between working and living, even when he seems lost in the chaos of human life. And that’s what I find most appealing about people like Satyaki. He is, unconditionally, my most favourite kind of devotee.”

Narada’s eyes glistened with tears as he listened to the struggles of human beings. “Forgive me, my lord. Each time I allow my ego to cross a boundary, you and your devotees pull me back from total self-annihilation. Thank you for this wonderful life lesson.”

Vishnu laughed merrily and said, “Come, let us go and check out one more person like Satyaki, struggling to maintain sanity in a chaotic world but never forgetting to be grateful.”

Author’s Note:

There are many stories in our folklore involving Narada and lessons in humility. This story is one such. I have taken the creative liberty to tweak it a bit to fit the problem of work-life balance that human beings have been trying to keep since time immemorial. I have replaced the desk to farm. 

This post is a part of ‘Beyond the Desk Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali Desai and Sukaina Majeed under Every Conversation Matters blog hop series

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