This week, we’re talking about me! We’ll do a story featuring me! So let’s dive right in.
Our story came up out of a fireside chat I had at Vishnu’s home. Vishnu in case you don’t know is the Preserver of the Universe. Along with Shiva the Destroyer, and Brahma the creator who also happens to be my dad.
Between the three of them, they’ve done a pretty good job of creating, maintaining, and destroying the universe several times. There’s nothing wrong about that either. It’s no different from people doing spring cleaning in their homes.
The other thing you need to know is that I’ve always been a huge fan of Vishnu’s. I used to say one of his nicknames “Narayana” pretty much every time I opened my mouth.
I know you’re probably wondering why I’ve never said Narayana once in the close to 70 episodes we’ve done in these podcasts. Listen on and you’ll know why I stopped.
So one day, I was going around all over the universe, talking to a goddess here, a god there. You know, just doing my job.
When I got to Vishnu’s home, I had the usual warm welcome, tasty food, bottomless drinks. Even if some of that was really Maya or illusion(for a much more impactful example of Maya, see Episode 0 – Rock Star).
So anyway, I was talking to him about how well known he was all over the world.
I added that his biggest devotee probably deserved most of the credit for it.
“I don’t see how” replied Vishnu.
“Seriously? How can you not see it? I sing your praises everywhere I go. Every time I am speaking to anyone else, I end every sentence with your name. You can’t buy that kind of publicity! Narayana, Narayana!”
“Oh, we’re talking about you now?” said Vishnu. “I thought we were talking about my biggest devotee”
I should have been upset by that, but somehow it’s impossible to be mad at Vishnu. He’s just that awesome!
“Alright, let’s play this game,” I said, “tell me Narayan, who is your actual biggest devotee”.
Vishnu quickly pulled up a holographic projection of a person in a little village somewhere on Earth. It was a cobbler who was mending shoes.
Now I pulled up the Cobbler’s file out my…. mind palace. You already know if you’ve been listening to this podcast that I have knowledge of everything in the Universe. I keep all that stored in my mind palace.
I looked over the file in my mind. “Hmm, not much on this guy. His name is Bhakt Mochi. He’s 29 years old. Studied in Kendriya Vidyalaya all the way through high school. Clean record throughout. There was one incident where the teacher blamed him for chewing gum during class, but I can see clearly the teacher was mistaken. After school, Bhakt went to the IISM – Indian Institute of Shoe Mending. Since then he’s married and had two kids. Does a 9-to-5 job, works alternate Saturdays. His record is completely clean. Not so much as a speeding ticket.
He’s a model citizen, but frankly, he’s boring! And what has he ever done for you?
He’s mentioned your name like once during the whole day. I probably say your name a thousand times. Seriously, Narayan, this is your biggest devotee?”
“Yeah!” said Vishnu and stayed silent.
“But, you have to explain why. I just don’t get it. All those years I spent building up your fanbase. Don’t they mean anything?”
He completely ignored my question “First I want you to do something” he said.
“Here’s a glass of water”
“Wait, is this the same glass of water I brought you from the fridge back in our pilot – Episode 0?”
“Nope. That glass of water was not absolutely full. It was quite full, but not to the very top. This one on the other hand is completely full.
What I want you to do, Narada is to take this glass and go around the world. Once. But you can’t spill a single drop!”
“I’ve circled the world many times, so I’m not worried about that,” I said. “But the glass is full. Can’t I use a lid or something?”
“No,” said Vishnu leaving me no wiggle room here.
“Okay, fine. Narayana, Narayana” I said. “It’s hard but not impossible. I’ll still do it without a lid. I just don’t get the point of this though” I grumbled as I started to put on my shoes, and mask and gloves.
“Wait a minute. Am I going along the equator? Or the Tropic of Cancer? And I know I shouldn’t just teleport. But can I teleport across Oceans at least? It’s not possible to swim across the ocean. I mean I could do it by myself, but then all that seawater is going to mix with this water in the glass, and you aren’t even letting me use a lid”
“Fine,” said Vishnu. “Teleport across water bodies, walk across land. And between the Equator and Tropic of Cancer, I don’t really care. Do whichever’s easier”
That was a good deal for me. The Equator is about 40,000kms, but only about 8500 of that was on land. Only 11 countries that it passed through. And the climate would stay constant throughout. On my route were safari opportunities, the amazon rainforest, and wonderful island resorts in Indonesia, and the national parks of Congo. This could have been a perfect holiday.
Except for the glass of water that I could absolutely not spill a single drop of. I started off from Indonesia, quickly covered the South American and African portions of the Equator, and was back with Vishnu in no time. All the while I hadn’t taken my eyes off of the glass. I had been very very careful. I’d made sure I didn’t trip on any rocks. I shielded the glass from the wind.
And I had done it. Not one drop had been spilled. My one regret had been that I didn’t stop and take in all the sights and sounds of the wonderful places I’d been in. I think my Dad really outdid himself when he created the Amazon. But I could always go back.
“I’m back,” I told Vishnu and I had a big smile on my face. Naturally, I was very proud of how I’d executed this. Flawless even if I say so myself.
“You did it indeed! Well done” said Vishnu. “Now, my dear self-proclaimed no. 1 fan of mine, please tell me – how many times did you say my name?”
I was stumped into silence.
“I see,” said Vishnu after a pause. “How many times did you think of me?”
“I…” I started to say, but I couldn’t finish. He was right of course. I hadn’t even thought of Vishnu once. I was intently focused on not spilling a single drop.
Vishnu continued “Well, then there’s your answer. You say my name thousands of times more than Bhakt Mochi, but that’s no indicator of devotion. He’s doing the task I assigned him, and during the time he managed to say Narayan once or twice. But you didn’t even think of me when I asked you to do something.”
Vishnu had a point. I kinda felt a bit sheepish at this point, but it’s all water under the bridge now.
Simply saying the word Narayan doesn’t mean much as Vishnu demonstrated. So I’ve stopped forcing it into every conversation now. But nothing has changed. I can feel my faith in Vishnu. And that’s what matters.
That’s all for now
Some notes on the show
We’ve seen a similar setup with me asking Vishnu something, and where he answered with a demonstration. That was in our pilot – “Episode 0 – Rock Star” where he demonstrated Maya or the power of illusion.
The name of the Cobbler – Bhakt Mochi is not his real name. I’ve changed it here. Bhakt means Devotee in Hindi, and Mochi is the word for Cobbler.
That’s all for this week.
Next Time
In the next episode, we’ll do a folk tale from South India. It’s about a Tiger who loves human cooking more than cooking humans. And he can magically transform into a human shape, and talk and behave like a normal person. Makes you wonder if he’s really a Human in a Tiger body rather than a Tiger in a Human body.