THE GLORY OF SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM

In the state of Kerala in India there lived a Saint by name Poondanam. He was a great devotee of Lord Guruvayurappa. Every morning he would wake up early to worship the Lord and was ever in remembrance of the Lord. The Holy Text Srimad Bhagavatam is verily Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Guruvayurappa is extremely pleased by the reading of this Holy Text and for this reason Poondanam used to read this Holy Text. He had several children and due to family circumstances he could not read Srimad Bhagavatam inside his home in peace. There were two huge plantain trees in his garden. He would sit under the plantain trees, place Srimad Bhagavatam on a wooden surface in front of him, offer Tulasi to Bhagavatam, prostrate to it with reverence and then commence the 'parayana; (reading). This was his daily routine.

One day, Poondanam was reading the third Canto of Srimad Bhagavatam with great relish. Vaikunta (the abode of Lord Vishnu) has been described vividly in this. The desire to see Vaikunta is roused in anyone who reads these descriptions. The desire to see Vaikunta took strong hold of Poondanam. He deeply yearned, "These descriptions about Vaikunta are indeed fascinating. I yearn to see Sri Vaikunta. Will I be blessed with the darshan of that Holy place?" He wept bitterly and prayed to the Lord. Will the Lord set aside the prayers of his dear and true devotees? Never! Moved by the heart-felt, sincere prayers of Poondanam, the Lord blessed him with the vision of Vaikunta.

Poondanam saw that all those who were present in Vaikunta had four arms, held Conch and Disc (shankha and chakra) and were decked with floral wreaths. All of them, clad in yellow silk, were extremely handsome. Called the 'Vishnu parshadas' (messengers of Lord Vishnu), these messengers of Lord Vishnu had an appearance similar to Lord Vishnu. The hairs on the body of Poondanam stood on their end. Two 'Vishnu parshadas' approached Poondanam and fell at his feet. Poondanam was taken aback! He was astounded. He thought, "They are 'Vishnu parshadas' and live in the proximity of the Lord. I am an ordinary man and have had the vision of Vaikunta purely by the grace of Lord Guruvayyrappa. This being the case, why are they prostrating to me?"
At that moment, the two of them spoke,"Revered sir! By your grace we have attained this Vaikunta and have become 'Vishnu parshadas'".
Amazed by their words Poondanam asked them," Who are you two? What have I done? I do not even know you two."
The 'Vishnu parshadas' explained, "Were you not reading Srimad Bhagavatam under two plantain trees every day? We are those very same plantain trees. We have attained Vaikunta as a result of listening to your reading daily. Not only that, we have also been blessed to be 'Vishnu parshadas' (the messengers of Lord Vishnu). You are the sole reason for this." Saying so, they prostrated Poondanam again.

Poondanam came out of 'bhava samadhi' (spiritual trance). Even when out of 'bhava samadhi' he could remember every thing about Vaikunta including his conversation with the 'Vishnu parshadas'. He went to the spot where stood the two plantain trees under which he used to read the Holy Text daily. But, lo! Those two plantain trees were found in an uprooted condition! Those two souls had reached a high state. Merely by listening to Srimad Bhagavatam, they had been blessed not only with Vaikunta but had also become 'Vishnu parshadas'.