An old brahmin is walking the roads of the earth.
From one holy place to the next. Across mountains. Through forests. From ashram to ashram. An old man. Nobody special.
Some people welcome him and feed him. Some bow to him. Some laugh at him. Some don't even look up.
Not one of them knows… that this old man is Lord Vishnu himself.
Why had the Lord of Vaikuntha come down to earth in disguise?
The Freed Man Asks How to Live
Vasishtha is still telling King Janaka the story of the sage Angirasa and the man freed from the wooden pillar. Yesterday, Angirasa taught him who he really is. Today, the man has a new question.
He fell at Angirasa's feet. "Swami, you are my father. My brother. My guru. I was a dry piece of wood. Where was a sinner like me… and where is this holy month, these great sages, the presence of the Lord? Your words broke my mountain of sins like a thunderbolt."
"You said, 'Do good deeds.' Then teach me. Which deeds? How are they done? When? And what do they bring?"
Angirasa answered him.
"People who don't know better think this body is the self. But you have heard the truth. Until that truth is firm in you, do the duties that are given to you, and offer them to God. That purifies the mind. And a pure mind sees the truth."
"And every good deed begins with a bath. A good deed done without bathing first is like a wood-apple swallowed whole by an elephant. It goes in… and comes out exactly as it was. Nothing is gained."
"So bathe before sunrise. Every day, if you can. And if not every day, then at least in three months of the year: Karthika, Magha and Vaishakha. Whoever bathes at dawn in these three months reaches Vaikuntha."
No Month Like Karthika
Then Angirasa said this.
"There is no scripture like the Veda. No river like the Ganga and the Godavari. No friend like dharma. No god like Hari. And no month… like Karthika."
"Do good deeds in Karthika, understanding why you do them, and the fruit is like a crore of sacrifices. And good deeds done in Chaturmasya bear fruit that never ends."
The man stopped him. "Chaturmasya? What is that? Who kept it first? How? And what does it bring?"
"Chaturmasya means four months," said Angirasa. "The four months when Lord Vishnu sleeps. He lies down on the Ekadashi of the bright half of Ashadha. And he wakes on the Ekadashi of the bright half of Karthika. And how it began… listen."
Narada's Report and the Old Brahmin
And now, inside Vasishtha's story, Angirasa tells a story of his own.
Long ago, in the very first age, the Krita Yuga, Lord Vishnu sat on his throne in Vaikuntha, with Goddess Lakshmi beside him. Garuda and the heavenly beings stood around him, serving.
The sage Narada arrived, and bowed.
Vishnu smiled, as if he knew nothing at all. "Narada. You travel everywhere. Tell me, how is the world? Are the sages keeping their dharma? Are people doing their duties?"
Narada sighed.
"Lord, many people have left the path of the Vedas. Even some sages have given up their rites and chase worldly pleasures. People eat food they should not eat. They begin vows and drop them halfway. They speak ill of others."
"Some are still good. Humble. On the right path. But the rest… Lord, please find a way to set them right."
Vishnu heard him. And he decided to see for himself.
With Lakshmi, on Garuda, he came down to earth. And there he took the form of an old brahmin. Alone, he walked from holy place to holy place, over mountains, through forests, into ashrams. Testing.
And people showed who they were.
Some welcomed the old man and fed him. Some bowed to him.
Some laughed at him. Some ignored him. "What is this old man to us?"
Some were too proud to notice. Some were so lost in desire that they never even lifted their eyes. Some had given up their rites. Some ate on days meant for fasting.
But some were keeping their vows faithfully, keeping the Ekadashi fast. And some sat quietly, searching within for the truth.
Notice something. Narada had told the Lord what people were like. And the Lord went to see for himself. Not as a king. Not in glory. As an old man nobody needed to impress. Because that is when people show who they really are.
The Lord Revealed at Naimisha
Vishnu thought, "How can I set the fallen ones back on the path?" And he went to the forest of Naimisha, where many sages lived.
There, he let the disguise fall.
The old man was gone. In his place stood the Lord in his full form. Conch, discus, mace and lotus in his four hands. The Kaustubha jewel on his chest. Lakshmi at his side. His devotees around him. Shining like a crore suns.
The sages of Naimisha came running. Leading them was the eldest of them all, a sage named Jnanasiddha, with his disciples and his sons. They fell at the Lord's feet. And Jnanasiddha began to sing his praise.
What This Chapter Asks of Us
So tomorrow, take your bath before sunrise. And if you can, keep the habit beyond Karthika too, in Magha and in Vaishakha. That is what this chapter asks.
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