Beyond the Horizon
By Pradeep Kumar
The term communication was derived from French word communs, means commonness and communication industry comprises of mass media components – print, publishing, news, photography, electronic, cinema, broadcasting (radio and television), digital media and advertising.
The development of early writing and paper enabling longer-distance communication systems, like mail, including Persian Empire (Chapar Khaneh & Angarium) and Roman Empire, could be interpreted as early forms of media. Writers like Howard Rheingold have framed early forms of human communication as early forms of media, like Lascaux Cave paintings and early writing. Another framing of the history of media starts with Chauvet Cave paintings and continues with other ways to carry human communication beyond the short range of voice: smoke signals, trials markers and sculpture.
The term media in its modern application relating to communication channels was first used by Canadian communications theorist Marshall McLuhan in Counterblast (1954): “The media are not toys; they should not be in the hands of Mother Goose and Peter Pan executives. They can be entrusted only to new artists because they are art forms.”
By the mid-1960s, the term had spread to general use in North America and the United Kingdom. The phrase “mass media” was, according to H L Mencken, used as early as 1923 in the United States. The term “medium” (singular form of “media”) is defined as “one of the means or channels of general communication, information, or entertainment in society, as newspapers, radio, or television.”
Though James Augustus Hickey is credited with publishing first English language weekly – Hicky’s Bengal Gazette or Original Calcutta General Advertiser – from British India capital Calcutta (now Kolkata) on 29.01.1780, but Raja Ram Monohar Rai published Bengali weekly – Sambad Kaumudi – from Kolkata on 04.12. 1821 and became father of India’s vernacular media. However, Devarshi Narada Muni was the first divine journalist of the universe.
Devarshi Narada Muni, considered by common man, according to the Puranas, as symbol of bickering and discord, which is completely untrue because his main purpose was to ensure call of every devotee reaches the god, according to Adhyatma.
Devarshi Narada Muni, the supreme devotee of Lord Vishnu and psyche son of creator of the universe Brahma, having the blessing of being immortal, capable of appearing anywhere in all ages in all three world (lokas) with the grace of Lord Vishnu, is the sage (Devarshi) of the gods and sages who used to exchange information across three worlds as a journalist, besides being a traveling musician and storyteller. However, before attaining this stage, Narada is also reported to have had many births. The name Narada appears in many mythical legends of HInduism, as an earlier birth of Sariputa in Jataka tales of Buddhism, medieval Buddhist scholars and in Jainism.
He is also referred to as Rishiraja (king of all sages) and gifted with the boon of knowledge of the past, present and the future. Narad Muni used to carry news and enlightening wisdom. He appears in a number of Hindu texts, notably the Mahabharata, telling Yudhishtira the story of Prahlada and the Ramayana as well as in the Puranas. Once God decided that it was time for Him to descend upon earth to set matters right, a number of lesser deities such as Narada accompanied him to enjoy a close view of epochal events.
He is considered to be first messenger of the universe, who used to exchange information while travelling from one world to another. He is believed to be a mythical character as a slugger (idolatry) and strife with his main purpose of bringing every devotee’s call to God.
He has been playing the role of an active and meaningful correspondent, while traveling from one world to another, compiling and communicating. Through dialogue, he does not break but connects being the first ancestor of journalism. Along with being the sage of the gods, he is the correspondent of the universe as the first divine journalist. He has been considered the divine emissary of the gods and the leading seeker of communication.
In the universe, all the gods and goddesses, gandharvas, sages and even demons highly respected sage Narada. Narada, the benevolent Devarshi of the people, used to grieve himself after seeing various creatures on earth, and it is mentioned in a mythological story. According to the legend, once Devarshi Narada Muni went to Baikuthadham and pleaded with Lord Vishnu that he is very sad to see the people on earth unhappy because it is good not for those who follow the path of religion but those who do wrong.
According to the Puranas, Brahmaji asked Narada muni to participate in the works of creation and marry, but he did not obey his father Brahma and he continued in devotion to Vishnu. Then, in anger, Brahmaji cursed Devarshi Narada to remain unmarried for a lifetime.
In some scriptures, Narada Muni is also considered an incarnation of Trikaldarshi and Vishnu. According to Srimad Bhagavadpuran, Lord Vishnu has taken the third incarnation as Devarshi Narada in the universe. In some places, he is also described as a disciple of Jupiter. According to religious Puranas, Brahma himself taught music to Devarshi Narada, who was proficient in many arts and disciplines, and Lord Vishnu had taught him various forms of Maya.
Devarshi Narada had inspired Maharishi Valmiki to compose the Ramayana for which he is respected in all ages, times, genres, and classes and remembered as a poet, meritorious ethicist and an influential orator with knowledge of the news of all the worlds.
It is believed that Devarshi Narada was born on the day of Pratipada of Krishna paksha of Jyestha month. That is why Narada Jayanti is celebrated every year on this day. On this day, after worshiping Lord Vishnu and Goddess Lakshmi, Devarshi Narada is worshiped. On this day one should recite the Gita and Durgasaptashti. Narada, praising Lord Vishnu with the melodious sound of his veena and chanting Narayana-Narayana forever, is considered the Guru of Maharshi Vyasa, Maharishi Valmiki and Mahakavi Shukdev.
Texts named after Narada include Narada Purana and Naradasmrti (pre 6th century CE text), the latter called the “juridical text par excellence” and representing the only Dharmasastra text that deals solely with juridical matters while ignoring those of righteous conduct and penance.
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