“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

“This is a criticism you hear sometimes about missionaries. I am not necessarily accusing you of falling into that category, but the tendencies within this world cannot be denied. You have these people of certain faiths who go on a mission to convert others. Rather than stay where they are, they travel to foreign countries. They are known to then go into the rural areas or perhaps places where the people are of humble means.

“The criticism is that the missionaries exploit the weak and the poor. They can work their magic better in those places. They have a higher conversion rate since the people of the area do not have much going for them. You can promise the world to the poor and they are not really in a position to decline. After all, what has the status quo gotten them? What has the religion of the area done for them? Why not try something new? At least that new path brings hope. There is encouragement. You get to make the missionaries happy by agreeing to be converted.

“Is that how religion should operate, though? Why only the poor? Do not other people require help? What if someone has it made? What if they are well to do? What if they find success in life? Are we to presume that there is nothing religion can do for them?”

The bhagavata perspective draws the lines of distinction based more on desire than economic status. The different desires fall into buckets or categories for easier analysis. There are the karmis. They work hard to improve their lot in life. The improvement usually relates to economics. In other words, they are trying to move up the ladder, in what is known as upward mobility. From poverty to wealth. From destitution to abundance.

Another category is the jnanis. Their corresponding desire is merging into transcendence. They want to stop work in the sense of accumulating future results to a temporary body. They are distinct from the karmis in that regard. They still want something, and so there is still desire.

Another category is the yogis, particularly in the context of mysticism. They are after siddhis, or perfections. They follow yoga in a mechanical way to reach a specific destination. They are neither jnanis nor karmis.

The bhagavata perspective says that no matter what a person desires or does not desire, they should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Worshiping Him begins with knowing Him. Knowing Him begins with hearing about Him. This means that the person full of desires, the person without any desires, the person wishing to merge into the stateless existence of Brahman, and even the person who has everything available to them already should hear about God.

अकाम: सर्वकामो वा मोक्षकाम उदारधी:
तीव्रेण भक्तियोगेन यजेत पुरुषं परम्

akāmaḥ sarva-kāmo vā
mokṣa-kāma udāra-dhīḥ
tīvreṇa bhakti-yogena
yajeta puruṣaṁ param

“A person who has broader intelligence, whether he be full of all material desire, without any material desire, or desiring liberation, must by all means worship the supreme whole, the Personality of Godhead.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 2.3.10)

To offer validity to the recommendation, we have the historical example of Prahlada Maharaja. We could say that he was an accidental preacher or someone who inadvertently took to the role. That was not his intention, as Prahlada was following dharma in the true meaning of the term. He was worshiping out of his inherent characteristic. He was not necessarily following to reach some future state, to advance along a path, or to impress others.

Because dharma is what defined him, Prahlada naturally spoke about his devotion to God. He naturally showed signs of devotion, such as in drawing the chakra on a slate and writing the name of Krishna in a reverential manner. These were anathema to the father, who happened to be ruling over the kingdom. To translate the situation to the modern day, Prahlada meeting the father would be like a missionary trying to convert the most powerful man in the world.

There were subtleties and nuances adding color to the exchange. Prahlada was the beloved son. Prahlada was only five years of age. Prahlada was not looking for candidates to convert. He was not after leads to import into a CRM, to feed an automated outreach campaign. He would speak to child and adult alike, giving the same message of the meaning of life. He would reveal the most important teaching to the father, when asked, irrespective of what the teachers had spoken about in school.

The message from Prahlada went to the most powerful person. That person of prominence should realize that their position will not last forever. Despite the boons of protection received from Brahma, the creator, Hiranyakashipu was still vulnerable to destruction. One percent mortality is enough to qualify as mortality. Moreover, the strength that the leader of the Daityas relied upon was actually sourced in the Supreme Lord. Acknowledgment of this reality would be beneficial, while denial of the same would lead to destruction.

श्री-प्रह्राद उवाच
न केवलं मे भवतश् च राजन्
स वै बलं बलिनां चापरेषाम्
परे ’वरे ’मी स्थिर-जङ्गमा ये
ब्रह्मादयो येन वशं प्रणीताः

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
na kevalaṁ me bhavataś ca rājan
sa vai balaṁ balināṁ cāpareṣām
pare ’vare ’mī sthira-jaṅgamā ye
brahmādayo yena vaśaṁ praṇītāḥ

“Prahlada Maharaja said: My dear King, the source of my strength, of which you are asking, is also the source of yours. Indeed, the original source of all kinds of strength is one. He is not only your strength or mine, but the only strength for everyone. Without Him, no one can get any strength. Whether moving or not moving, superior or inferior, everyone, including Lord Brahma, is controlled by the strength of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.7)

In Closing:

Not on savior campaign making,
Or role of missionary taking.

Simply the truth to speak,
To student and father each.

Because dharma inherent inside,
Devotion in everyone to reside.

Hiranya lost and terrible to behave,
Prahlada kindly with wisdom to save.

Categories: prahlada and his slate, questions

Tags: dailyprompt, life, missionaries, poem, poems, poetry, poverty, religion