“Others will also ridicule and scorn saying, ‘This child is an asura but prays to the gods. It is like a cat offering prayers to a mouse or a peacock to a snake.’ This is indeed a bad omen, behavior resembling an enemy, as even after obtaining great wealth and power, an unintelligent person can fall down.” (Hiranyakashipu speaking to Prahlada, Narasimha Purana, 41.59-60)

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अन्येपि त्वां हनिष्यन्ति वदिष्यन्ति जनास्त्विदम्
असुरोयं सुरांस्तौति मार्जार इव मूषकान्
द्वेष्यान् शिखीव फणिनो दुर्निमित्तमिदं ध्रुवम्
लब्ध्वापि महदैश्वर्यं लाघवं यान्त्यबुद्धयः

anyepi tvāṃ haniṣyanti vadiṣyanti janāstvidam
asuroyaṃ surāṃstauti mārjāra iva mūṣakān
dveṣyān śikhīva phaṇino durnimittamidaṃ dhruvam
labdhvāpi mahadaiśvaryaṃ lāghavaṃ yāntyabuddhayaḥ

1. Pay the bills

“This form. That form. Who can actually keep track of everything? It is a headache. Can you try for this upcoming month? I will give you everything. I need to take a break. When is the first bill due, you ask. I think today. Tomorrow is another one. Some of them you can pay online. Others you have to send a check. I know, that is how these companies are. They have not innovated in the past thirty years.”

2. Monitor the software release

“I have vacation time that is set to expire. The rule is that you have to use it or you will lose it. There is no other way. I know this is a big release. Like three different repos will be merged into the main branch. I can try to document everything beforehand, but the real test will be in the nightly builds that occur after the release. You will have to make sure nothing breaks. I have confidence in you.”

3. Take out the trash

“It is freezing outside. We have all those boxes that need to be broken down and tied up. It is really windy, too. I don’t feel like going. Can you take care of it? I appreciate it so much.”

4. Drive the kids to school

“I am away on a trip for work. I will be back next week. Someone needs to take the kids to school. We live outside of the area with bus service. Each of the children is on their own schedule, too. It is a chore, but I know you can handle it.”

5. Manage the kingdom

“I will be away for a few months, visiting my wife’s family. While I am away, you are in charge. Make sure everything continues to run smoothly. If you show up, if you are diligent, then people will respect you. They will be willing to stand up and be counted, should the need for conflict arise.”

…

The above review serves as the foundation for a thought exercise. A way to see into the future, in a hypothetical space, where we are close to meeting the Sanskrit description of satya-sankalpa. Our vows are in truth. They are fulfilled. If we want something to happen, there is a near one-hundred percent success rate.

For this exercise, we consider what life would be like if we knew that we would succeed. If we could have everything imaginable. If there was someone to fill in, to pinch-hit, whenever needed. We would not have to wake up in the morning. Someone would arrive, in a friendly manner, with a smile on their face, ready to greet us. They kindly urge us to wake up, to begin the day.

Just what exactly will we do? What matter will require attention when there is nothing urgent, by very definition of our position? Someone already has that taken care of. They arrange nice clothes for us to wear. They shepherd us across various respectable venues, for meetings with esteemed guests. Everyone is polite. No one is giving us trouble. We do not have to worry about preparing food or taking care of chores. There is someone for everything.

How would life be in that situation? Would we be happy? Would there be a lack of anxiety? Would we finally experience what everyone around us has been chasing after for so long? Would we reach the summit to an existence?

The opinion from the bhagavata perspective is that the conditions do not necessarily correlate to happiness. A lack of responsibility is not really a heightened existence. Neither is an abundance of wealth, fame, strength, or influence. There is a single factor which makes the determination between hellish and heavenly. That factor is known by the Sanskrit word ajitendriyah.

We have the historical example of Hiranyakashipu, who was the leader of the Daitya kingdom. He had everything going for him. He did not have to worry about foreign attack. No one could defeat him in battle. The prowess was already sufficiently demonstrated. No one dared try anything, since they understood that the boons of Lord Brahma were truthful.

Hiranyakashipu could hire someone to do anything for him; everything with one exception: remove the ajitendriyah condition. That condition was so bad that it led to paranoia against an innocent child. Prahlada was all of five years of age. He was directly related to Hiranyakashipu. Prahlada was the son. Let us consider for a moment the shocking nature to the enmity.

A king who had no reason to fear anyone could not stand a specific allegiance shown by Prahlada. The fact that the boy was offering prayers to Vishnu was too much to take. Hiranyakashipu thought it was foolish, in the manner of a cat being afraid of a mouse or a peacock honoring a snake. The children in school would make fun of Prahlada for such allegiance.

But why should the father care? What was the big deal? Why not leave well enough alone? The reason for the disturbance was the ajitendriyah condition. No one can survive it for long. It is the worst kind of torture, like being prodded constantly. Like someone poking me throughout the night so that I cannot sleep. My mind always disturbed such that I can never settle on a coherent thought.

स इत्थं निर्जितककुबेकराड् विषयान् प्रियान्
यथोपजोषं भुञ्जानो नातृप्यदजितेन्द्रिय:

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

“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)

To cure the ajitendriyah condition is real advancement. It is the real benefit of the human birth. The human being has the chance, provided they have proper education and are humble enough to know their limitations. Prahlada was jitendriyah, and through conquering the senses he was superior to his older and more physically capable father. Prahlada was not bothering anyone. He was innocently worshiping Vishnu, and that allegiance protected him against the onslaught of enemies operating off ignorance.

In Closing:

Way too tired today,
Those bills needing to pay.

That trash outside to take,
Please for once helper make.

But not even the best physician,
To cure ajitendriyah condition.

Only selfless devotion through,
Like in son of Daitya who.

Categories: supplicating the inferior, the five

Tags: bhakti, dailyprompt, life, poem, poems, poetry, prahlada, yoga