One day, sage Narada went to Lord Vishnu and asked him who his favourite devotee was. He had thought that the Lord would say his name. But the Lord said that there was a farmer on earth who was his favourite devotee. Sage Narada was upset and decided to test the farmer. He went to the farmer and started observing him secretly. He noticed that the farmer chanted the name of the Lord only three times a day–once after waking up in the morning, next before starting his labour in the field and finally before sleeping at night. He was surprised and told this to Vishnu and asked the reason for the farmer being his favourite devotee. Before answering his question, Lord Vishnu gave the sage a vessel filled with water. He asked him to go round the world holding the vessel and no drop of water should fall off the vessel. Following the Lord’s orders, sage Narada completed the assigned work and returned to the Lord. Vishnu then asked the sage how many times he chanted the Lord’s name during his work. He was ashamed as he had not remembered the Lord even once during his work. He realised his mistake and felt sorry for his silly behaviour.
THE FAVOURITE DEVOTEE
