Mirror ! Mirror ! on the wall, who is the greatest of all ?
Once, long ago, Garuda and Indra had some disagreement. Having become excessively proud of his strength, in the very presence of Lord Vishnu, Garuda exclaimed, “Oh ! My misfortune is due to my own fault ! Even though I am the most powerful being in the universe, I voluntary became the servant of another (i.e. Lord Vishnu) ! Indra, I can understand that you are not taking me seriously because I act as the carrier of your younger brother, Lord Vishnu.”
Turning to Lord Vishnu, Garuda said, ” My dear brother (both being sons of Kashyapa and two daughters of Daksha), you are certainly more powerful than Indra, but, since I am able to effortlessly carry you with just one of my feathers, you should truthfully judge which of us is actually superior in prowess.”
To provoke the proud Garuda even more, Lord Vishnu replied,” You weakling! Why do you unnecessarily consider yourself to be so strong ? It is I alone who carries both your weight and mine. Let us find out if you can bear the weight of my right arm ! “
After saying this, Lord Vishnu rested His right arm on Garuda’s shoulder. Immediately the giant bird fell to the ground, almost bereft of consciousness. Gasping for breath, his feathers falling off, and his limbs without strength, Garuda helplessly bowed down before Lord Vishnu. With a feeble voice, he prayed, “ O Supreme Lord, it is you alone who is the unlimitedly powerful Lord of all creatures. How foolish I was for ignorantly misunderstanding your Supreme position ! Please forgive me for my impudence and let me once again engage in your devotional service, without false pride.”
Actually, it was only by the mercy of Lord Vishnu that Garuda had not been killed. The Lord became pleased by Garuda’s sincere surrender. While smiling magnanimously, He warned son of Vinaata to never act with such pride.
Thus, it becomes clear from this story that it is due to God alone that we are able to do everything. If Parmatma gets out of Atma, our sthul sharira (physical body) would not be able to move, our buddhi (intelligence) would not be able to make convictions, our mind would not be able to generate thoughts and our chitta (consciousness) would not be able to focus on a matter. High self-esteem is very essential to perform heroic acts, but we should always be conscious of the fact that if Parmatma Shri Krishna Purushottam Narayan leaves our body, we would become as good as dead. Hence, along with a high self-esteem we should be humble at the same time.
In this context, we should remember what Lord Kapila (an incarnation of Lord Krishna) said to His mother Devhuti :
Mad-bhayaad-vaati vaatoyam suryas-tapati mad bhayat /
Varshatendro dahatyagnir-mrutyusch-charati mad-bhayaat //
(Shrimad Bhagwatam Puraana : 3.25.42)
It is by fear of me that the wind (Vayu) blows, Surya (i.e the sun) shines, Indra, (i.e the clouds) rains, Agni (i.e. the fire) burns, and death (Yama) devours (the living) .
Thus, due to our temporary success or adulation/fame, we should never get puffed up, thinking that “ I am the greatest of all “ or else, God will cause our downfall and our condition will become like that of Garuda.
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