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Re: Has anyone seen Lord Narayana?

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psrinivasan99 • February 15, 2002 


> From: Rohit Iyer 
> Subject: Has anyone seen Lord Narayana?

> Dear friends I am becoming more and more devoted to
> Lord Narayana.

You are indeed very fortunate. My salutations to you.

> I want to know if anyone has seen the
> supreme lord? 

I am sure your delightful question will elicit a large number of 
equally delightful answers from the learned and scholarly members of 
this group. adiyen would like to share what little I know with my 
very limited knowledge.

Yes, countless trillions of nitya and muktha jivatmas have seen and 
are seeing Bhagavan Narayana perpetually. The Veda says 'tad vishnoh 
paramam padam sadaa pashyanthi surayah' - the Seers always see the 
Supreme Pada of Vishnu. Given here is a very partial list of the 
fortunate ones who have seen the Lord. The list is somewhat 
chronologically ordered:

1) Lord Brahma
2) Lord Siva
3) The Sanakadhi Rishis, namely, Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana and 
Sanatkumara
4) The 12 Rishi sons of Brahma, namely, Vasishta, Atri, Angiras, 
Pulastya, Pulaha etc.
5) The Prajapathis such as Kasyapa, Kardama, Daksha etc.
6) Swayambhuva Manu and Satarupa, the first human beings in this 
Kalpa.
7) The Bhakti-oriented Maharishis such as Narada, Sandilya etc.
8) The Bhagavathothamas such as Prahlada, Dhruva etc.
9) The Asuras such as Hiranyakasipu, Hiranyaksha, etc.
10) The fortunate ones who lived with the Avatharas such as 
Vasudeva, Devaki, Dasaratha, Kousalya, Nanda, Yashoda, etc.
11) The bhaktas who served the Avatharas such as Guha, Sugriva, 
Vibeeshana, Hanuman, Arjuna, Uddhava, Daruka, Kuchela, Akrura, 
Vidura, Bhishma etc.
12) Parasara, Vyasa's father, who gave us the Puranarathna - 
Vishnupurana
13) Vyasa who gave us the Vedas, the Brahma Sutra, the Satvika 
Puranas such as Bhagavatha Purana, the Mahabharatha with the 2 gems, 
the Bhagavad Gita and the Vishnu Sahasranama
14) Vyasa's son, Sukabrahma, who narrated the Bhagavatha Purana
15) The 12 Alvars such as Nammalvar, Periyalvar, Andal etc. who 
constitute our very breath
16) The great Acharyas of our sampradaya such as Sri Natha Muni, Sri 
Yamuna Muni, Sri Kanchipurna, Sri Ramanuja, Sri Kuresha, Sri Vedanta 
Desika, Sri Manavala Mamuni etc.
17) The Acharyas and Vishnu-bhaktas of other sampradayas said to 
have directly seen the Lord such as 
  Sri Sankara, Sri Padmapadha etc. (Advaita)
  Sri Madhva, Sri Vyasaraya, Sri Raghavendra etc. (Dvaita)
  Sri Nimbarka etc. (Dvaitadvaita)
  Sri Vishnuswami, Sri Vallabha etc. (Suddhadvaita)
  Sri Chaitanya etc. (Achintya Bheda-bheda)
18) The Vittaladasas such as Thukaram, Namadeva, Ghora Khumba, Choka 
Mela, Janabai, Chakkubai etc. who served Rukmini and Krishna at 
Pandaripuram.
19) The Ramadasas such as Bhadrachala Ramadas, Samartha Ramadas and 
the recent Thyagaraja Swami.
20) And countless billions of other unsung souls.

> I would like to know what this
> experience is like.

Enlightened sages such as Sri Ramanuja spend their whole lifetimes 
teaching us, ignorant ones, what this experience is like. Like 
children who prattle their parents' speech, adiyen can only prattle 
the sacred utterances of those Narayana-Lovers as the answer to your 
question - 'Unsurpassable Bliss', 'Supreme Endless Love', 'Soul-
melting', 'Unsatiating Nectar', 'The Peace that passeth 
understanding', 'Unending Happiness', 'The Supreme State of 
Vishnu', 'The True Nature' etc. adiyen begs the pardon of vaishnavas 
for trying to describe this state, being wholly unqualified to even 
talk of this Blessed State.

> Also I have heard that as one progresses on the
> spiritual path one can have visions of the other
> Lokas, Devas etc. Has anyone had this vision?

Several of the abovesaid mahatmas have had such visions. But they 
mention that on seeing Sriman Narayana, there is nothing else in the 
totality of existence that is worth seeing. Besides on seeing 
Narayana, the totality of existence is seen since Narayana is the 
Self of the totality of existence.

> If anyone has had this experience please let me know
> what it was like.

adiyen would humbly beg you to approach an Acharyan who would kindly 
lead you to that Consummate Experience.

> Thanks,
> rohit

dasan,
P.Srinivasan




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