“One time, that wicked king of the Daityas saw his son of lotus-like face and beautiful eyes, surrounded by women, having returned from the home of the guru. In his hand, that boy was holding a slate which had the mark of a chakra at the top and the name of Krishna written with great adoration.” (Narasimha Purana, 41.35-36)

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तं पद्मवक्त्रं दैत्येन्द्रः कदाचित् स्त्रीवृतः खलः
बालं गुरुगृहायातं ददर्श स्वायतेक्षणम्
गृहीत्वा तु करे पुत्रं पट्टिका या सुशोभना
मूर्ध्नि चक्राङ्किता पट्टी कृष्णनामाङ्कितादरात्

taṃ padmavaktraṃ daityendraḥ kadācit strīvṛtaḥ khalaḥ
bālaṃ gurugṛhāyātaṃ dadarśa svāyatekṣaṇam
gṛhītvā tu kare putraṃ paṭṭikā yā suśobhanā
mūrdhni cakrāṅkitā paṭṭī kṛṣṇanāmāṅkitādarāt

You inject people from one cultural background into a brand new, but existing culture, and you are sure to get conflicts. The new people cannot understand the ways of the current residents. The current residents are so put off by the new people that they develop prejudices over time. They will refuse to do business with the new people. They make the identification based on a visual, such as skin complexion, a marking on the forehead, or through an audio cue, such as a thick accent that is foreign to the area.

As the dislike grows into hatred over time, likely due to shortcomings in the individual’s personal life, there is an attempt to explain the difference in behavior. One theory is that these new people are bad because they worship so many gods. They fail to understand the single source to the universe. They pray for this thing or that, instead of seeking salvation for the soul. They are not evolved enough to strive for eternal life, which matters most.

The situation on the ground is a little different, though. The “many gods” criticism commonly attached to the culture foreign to the area is actually a sign of advancement rather than regression. Rather than begrudgingly visit a house of worship once a week, dressed in formal and uncomfortable attire, sitting in the pews in fear of vengeful retribution from the man upstairs, there is a way to make worship a way of life. Not only a way of life, but the way of life. The way of life that is steady, fixed, and followed with enthusiasm and bliss. The basic parameters are set forth in a single shloka from Bhagavad-gita.

यत् करोषि यद् अश्नासि
यज् जुहोषि ददासि यत्
यत् तपस्यसि कौन्तेय
तत् कुरुष्व मद्-अर्पणम्

yat karoṣi yad aśnāsi
yaj juhoṣi dadāsi yat
yat tapasyasi kaunteya
tat kuruṣva mad-arpaṇam

“O son of Kunti, all that you do, all that you eat, all that you offer and give away, as well as all austerities that you may perform, should be done as an offering unto Me.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.27)

We can also think of it like taking your work home. You attend a workshop on worship, on religion in the philosophical sense rather than an inherited faith. You learn the first principles of sach-chid-ananda. This says that the living being is sat, or eternal. They are also chit, which is knowledgeable. They are also meant to be in bliss, ananda. Genuine religion is for reinvigorating the individual to once again reach their constitutional position. That position is fixed, but they have merely forgotten. They are vulnerable to illusion, while the person they worship, God, is also sach-chid-ananda, but without any forgetfulness.

The workshop is great. The teachings open the eyes. The experience sparks an interest to hear again. The teacher is kind enough to provide a starter kit. This is to be taken home. The person can live the principles they have just learned. They are not restricted based on the language they speak, the country from which they originate, or the religion they are known to follow within the local region. As the sun universally shines its light, on both saint and sinner alike, so the supreme source of energy, God, is available to everyone.

1. Desire

The starter kit is not difficult to assemble. The first requirement is desire. A person has to want to worship. They must want to proceed further. If they are forced into it, they will likely get nothing out of the process. If forced for long enough of a duration, they might grow resentful of religion altogether. If they have an innocent desire in the beginning, for advancing with the hope of reaching transcendence, the home kit will be of tremendous value to them.

2. Time

As religion in the perfunctory sense requires a sacrifice in the weekly visit to the house of worship, so a person worshiping at home should set aside some time. The best implementation is to maintain the same time each day. This will create a routine. Routine in repetition builds what His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada refers to as “numerical strength.”

3. A place

The living being is the knower within the field. The corresponding Sanskrit words are kshetrajna and kshetra. This is an important distinction since otherwise we tend to identify only with the field. If we don’t notice the separation, we will fall into the trap of trying to configure the best playing field. The problem with that approach is that the field will be destroyed. Everyone is travelling in the same direction: destruction. That is the guaranteed destiny.

श्रीभगवानुवाच
इदं शरीरं कौन्तेय क्षेत्रमित्यभिधीयते
एतद्यो वेत्ति तं प्राहु: क्षेत्रज्ञ इति तद्विद:

śrī-bhagavān uvāca
idaṁ śarīraṁ kaunteya
kṣetram ity abhidhīyate
etad yo vetti taṁ prāhuḥ
kṣetra-jña iti tad-vidaḥ

“The Blessed Lord then said: This body, O son of Kunti, is called the field, and one who knows this body is called the knower of the field.” (Bhagavad-gita, 13.2)

If I identify properly as the knower, then I can search for the best temporary playing field. This is the place upon which to open the home starter kit. As with the time factor, it is ideal to use the same location. Maintain a steady playing field such that it gradually turns transcendental in nature. This is why certain places in the world are known as dhama and tirtha. They are sacred resting places for a reason, based on the abundance of worship that has been steady across centuries, with a large population of saintly people both visiting and residing there.

4. Something with which to write

We have a desire, and we have set aside a location with a steady time during the day. There is plenty of room for innovation, experimentation, and artistic expression. The next part of the starter kit can be something as simple as a pencil, a marker, or a pen. We just need something to use for writing. There are plenty of things to write, such as prayers, glorifications, and remembrances.

5. Something on which to write

Writing into the wind will not do much good. There should be a physical substance as the target for the writing utensil. In the historical example of Prahlada Maharaja, we see that there was a slate. This was used in school. Prahlada held a slate in his hand one time after just returning from school. Prahlada was ready to meet his father, who happened to be the king of the Daityas.

Prahlada had his own home starter kit for devotion, and in that case it appeared that the potential was capped. There was not much room to advance further, based on the conditions. That is because Hiranyakashipu was against devotion. He was against Vishnu. He did not want his son, Prahlada, to worship. There was no encouragement in that direction. There was no instruction on the difference between matter and spirit and the need for separating the individual from the playing field, in the conceptualized sense.

Nevertheless, Prahlada had all of the components for the home starter kit. The father thought the boy had gone mad. Why was there the sign of the chakra drawn on the slate? Why was the name of Krishna written by the son? This was like worshiping a false god. This practice was prohibited in the kingdom. Further defiance of the highest orders would get Prahlada into trouble. He should stop the practice immediately.

Except the home starter kit is sufficient for worshiping and pleasing the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Prahlada did not have a large temple to visit, a celebrated acharya to follow, accompanied by countless disciples, or an elevated seat from which to teach. All he had was the desire to worship and the holy name to write and remember. That combination was enough to not only please Vishnu but to also simultaneously trigger His physical appearance as Narasimha, to overthrow the inimical father and his wicked regime.

In Closing:

“Why these weird people came?
Worshiping false gods without shame.

Source of their problems all,
The worst of sinners to call.”

Truth that field on which to play,
Principles followed in timeless way.

Like Prahlada with starter kit at home,
Sufficient for Narasimha appearance alone.

Categories: prahlada and his slate, the five

Tags: bhakti, dailyprompt, god, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion, yoga