Even a Moment's Holy Company Bears Fruit
Narada and the tradition affirm that even a brief contact with a true lover of God can change the course of a life.
The tradition holds that even a moment's association with the holy is never wasted, for a single spark can kindle a fire that grows for a lifetime. Stories abound of seekers transformed by one meeting, one glance, one word from a saint. This teaching encourages those who cannot live continually among devotees: whatever holy company is available, however brief, should be sought and treasured, for its effect outlasts its duration. The seed, once planted by such contact, continues to grow by grace. Narada's confidence in the power of holy company is so great that he counts no measure of it too small to matter. The smallest touch of true love can awaken what years of effort could not.
A moment's company with the holy is the boat to cross the ocean of becoming.
Shankara's famous verse on satsang — that a moment of holy company becomes a boat across the ocean of samsara — shows that even the great non-dualist philosopher affirmed the transforming power Narada places at the center of the devotional path.
Bhaja Govindam