Sage Narada had a peculiar
question in his mind once: What is the
benefit of having darshan of great people (Satpurusha)?
He posed this question to Lord Vishnu. Vishnu suggested to Narada that
even a puppy can answer this question. Narada approached a puppy and
asked the question. Just as Narada was completing the question, the
puppy rolled over and died.
Narada was puzzled. He approached Vishnu again and informed him of the
incident.
Vishnu then suggested that Narada should ask a just-born baby calf. When
Narada posed the question to a baby calf, the calf fell dead
immediately. This time Narada got alarmed and concerned.
Upon hearing about this incident, Vishnu suggested to Narada to try one
last time with a just-born human baby. Narada couldn't refuse his
Grandpa's suggestion and approached a baby boy. Just as Narada was
completing the question, the baby died.
This time Narada was visibly unnerved and returned to Vishnu seeking an
explanation for all these events.
Vishnu explained: "Narada, you are a Satpurusha. When the puppy had
your
darshan, it was able to cleanse its sins and got promoted to the next
level of birth as a calf. When the calf had your darshan, it advanced to
be born as a human. When the baby had your darshan, it was able to
eliminate ALL its sins and merged into Me. That is the benefit of having
darshan of Satpurusha."
Sage Narada then realized the merit of the method Vishnu chose to make
him answer his question through his own experience.
