Vyasa's Unrest and Narad's Advice

For the good of the people, the sage Ved Vyasa divided the Vedas into four, composed the Puranas and wrote the great Mahabharat. Yet one day, sitting in his ashram on the bank of the Saraswati river, he felt his heart was not full. After doing so much, why did something still feel incomplete?

Just then the divine sage Narad arrived, playing his veena. Vyasa shared what was on his mind. Narad smiled and said: you have written much about dharma, duty and knowledge, but you have not openly sung of the Lord's leelas and His qualities. A work that does not praise Hari cannot give the soul real contentment.

Then Narad told the story of his own previous life. He had been the son of a maidservant. As a child he served some saints who stayed in his village for the rainy season, ate their leftover prasad with their permission, and heard stories of the Lord from them. Through this satsang the seed of devotion was planted in his heart.

After his mother passed away, the boy went into the forest and began to meditate. For a moment the Lord appeared in his heart, then vanished. A divine voice said: in this life you will not see Me again, but this glimpse will make your love grow. In the next age he was born as Narad, a son of Brahma.

Hearing Narad, Vyasa sat in meditation and composed the Shrimad Bhagwat, a book filled with the stories of the Lord. He taught it to his son Shukdev, who would later recite it to King Parikshit.