all. They who perform sacrifices in honour of and
adore the Pitris, the deities, the preceptor or other reverend senior
guests arrived at the house, kine, superior Brahmanas, the goddess Earth,
and their mothers, in thought, word, and deed, are said to adore and
sacrifice unto Vishnu himself. Pervading the bodies of all existent
creatures, the illustrious Lord is the Soul of all things. Unmoved by
happiness or misery, His attitude towards all is equal. Endued with
greatness, and of great soul, Narayana has been said to be the soul of
all things in the universe."'"

SECTION CCCXLVII

"Vaisampayana said, 'Having heard these words of Nara and Narayana, the
Rishi Narada became filled with devotion towards the Supreme Being.
Indeed, with his whole soul he devoted himself to Narayana. Having
resided for a full thousand years in the retreat of Nara and Narayana,
having beheld the immutable Hari, and heard the excellent discourse
having Narayana for its topic, the celestial Rishi repaired to his own
retreat on the breast of Himavat. Those foremost of ascetics viz., Nara
and Narayana, however continued to reside in their delightful retreat of
Vadari, engaged in the practice of the severest austerities. Thou art
born in the race of the Pandavas. Thou art of immeasurable energy. O
perpetuator of the race of the Pandavas, having listened to this
discourse on Narayana from the beginning, thou hast certainly been
cleansed of all thy sins and thy soul has been sanctified. His is neither
this world nor the world hereafter, O best of kings, who hates instead of
loving and reverencing the immutable Hari. The ancestors of that person
who hates Narayana, who is the foremost of deities, and is otherwise
called Hari, sink into hell for eternity. O tiger among men, Vishnu is
the soul of all beings. How, then, can Vishnu be hated, for in hating him
one would hate one's own self. He who is our preceptor, viz., the Rishi
Vyasa, the son of Gandhavati, has himself recited this discourse unto us
on the glory of Narayana, that glory which is the highest and which is
immutable. I heard it from him and have recited it to thee exactly as I
heard it, O sinless one. This cult, with its mysteries and its abstract
of details, was obtained by Narada, O king, from that Lord of the
universe, viz., Narayana himself. Even such are the particulars of this
great cult. I have, before this, O foremost of kings, explained it to
thee in the Hari-Gita, with a bri