85) THE MEANS OF VISHNU REALIZATION

Once, Sage Agastya narrated the following tale to King Bhadrashva— One day, Narada went to Lord Vishnu and asked about the means by which a devotee could realize him. Lord Vishnu replied–Those who worship me by chanting the mantras of either ‘Purushasukta’ or ‘Vaidik Samhita’ can  certainly realize  me.  Those  who perform  oblation  according  to  the  rituals  of

‘Pancharatra’ can also have my divine glimpse. But, the rituals of Pancharatra yagya can be performed only by the brahmins. All the rest of the castes can realize me by devotion, chanting my name and making pilgrimage to holy places. “Sage Agastya while giving discourse to king Bhadrashwa also predicted that sinners would outnumber the virtuous ones in Kali Yuga and said–“People would abandon their respective ‘dharmas’ and the caste system would become extinct.”

Leave a Reply