Five Potential Expectations From A Father Like Hiranyakashipu

“In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiranyakashipu was dissatisfied because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.4.19)

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स इत्थं निर्जितककुबेकराड् विषयान् प्रियान् ।
यथोपजोषं भुञ्जानो नातृप्यदजितेन्द्रिय: ॥

sa itthaṁ nirjita-kakub
eka-rāḍ viṣayān priyān
yathopajoṣaṁ bhuñjāno
nātṛpyad ajitendriyaḥ

1. Become learned in statecraft

“This is my son. He will inherit my legacy. He will follow in my footsteps. I could not be more pleased. I want him to be as skilled, if not more so, in the area of statecraft. Let him build the proper instincts for dealing with others. When you are at the top, you have the biggest target on you. If you are going to shoot at the king, you better not miss. The pressure is not easy to handle, but if anyone can do it, it is my son.”

2. Become interested in ruling a kingdom

“There is nothing better than this. Do not listen to the others. They are like the fox who condemns the grapes to be sour in taste. The fox only reaches that conclusion after realizing that the grapes cannot be attained.

“I am at the top of the world, and so I am the person to consult as to the meaning of life. My son should feel the same way. He should have the same interest. That will make me the proudest, I mean, him. He will be so happy in wielding the highest authority.”

3. Be eager to maintain and expand power

“Complacency is for the weak. I am the king, after all. No one can stop me. Why should I curb my appetite? Why should I artificially suppress my thirst for power? I can go to wherever I want. I can take whatever it is I see. Renunciation is for the weak.

“I hope my son will have the same eagerness. If he can expand the empire even further, I will be so proud. He will carry on the name and reputation of the father. This is the proper flow of succession.”

4. Be grateful to the direct suppliers

“We have to be honest for a moment. My son is a fortunate soul, to be born into these circumstances. I hope he never forgets from where he came. I hope he realizes that his father is no ordinary person. I am supplying everything to him. He should be obedient. It would be a shame if he turns into an ungrateful snake, who chooses to bite the hand that feeds him.”

5. Follow in the family business

“This is our business. This is what we do. If I cannot trust my son to carry on the affairs, we are doomed. With everyone else, there is a reason to hold a healthy level of suspicion. At the moment they are obedient, but that is only because of the power I hold. Once they cut me down, everything will change. My son should make sure that does not happen.”

…

For a father like Hiranyakashipu, the above expectations are only natural. For the person of prominence, succession is something to contemplate. Though for the person who is grossly materialistic, who is controlled by the senses instead of the other way around, to contemplate the end is not easy.

As there is always free will, what should happen if the son decides to go in a different direction? What if they have no interest in inheriting the business of the father? What if they have goals in completely the opposite direction? What if they are polite about their choices, but also firm?

That is to say, the son refuses to budge. They are also unafraid to voice their concerns. They can support their decision with logic, reasoning, and arguments presented in a calm and confident manner. They are ready to correct the father, who they see as having gone astray.

This actually happened to Hiranyakashipu, the great Daitya leader described in sacred texts like Bhagavata Purana. The response from Hiranyakashipu was to inflict lethal harm. He could not tolerate hearing from the son. Prahlada had spoken enough.

ब्रह्मबन्धो किमेतत्ते विपक्षं श्रयतासता ।
असारं ग्राहितो बालो मामनाद‍ृत्य दुर्मते ॥

brahma-bandho kim etat te
vipakṣaṁ śrayatāsatā
asāraṁ grāhito bālo
mām anādṛtya durmate

“O unqualified, most heinous son of a brahmana, you have disobeyed my order and taken shelter of the party of my enemies. You have taught this poor boy about devotional service! What is this nonsense?” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.26)

Hiranyakashipu had also exhausted all other means. He tried the deprogramming route. In the first place, he blamed the teachers. The school was not cutting it, you see, and perhaps they had implanted these ideas in his son of renunciation accompanying devotion to Vishnu.

In truth the teachers were not to blame. It was Narada Muni, who had transferred the bhagavata wisdom to Prahlada while the child was still in the womb. This proves that there is life underneath the visual, that any intentional attempt to ending that life is no different than what Hiranyakashipu later tried.

We say that the father only tried because of the end result. Prahlada could not be killed, though the child of only five years of age had no means to protect himself. The link to Vishnu was the saving grace. It was the devotion that created the link in yoga, and so the child became transcendental to the living conditions, which were obstructive.

In Closing:

Conditions turned obstructive,
Father with motives destructive.

Despite first measures corrective,
From teachers’ efforts collective.

Despite statecraft lessons selective,
To turn Prahlada ineffective.

Despite to lethal efforts subjective,
Devotion as if on higher directive.