“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

“When progressing beyond the beginning stages of systematic bhakti-yoga study and practice, you find this persistent theme of spontaneous or pure devotion. The Sanskrit word is bhāva. We hear it all the time; at least that is the word I tend to notice. As I understand it, bhāva is like an overwhelming sensation. It is this outpouring of love and affection. The visible signs might be the hair standing on end, dancing ecstatically, rolling on the floor, fainting, and the like. In bhāva, the love overcomes you.

“We are trying to reach that stage. We want bhāva for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. We want to love Him. We want to feel ecstasy in the connection with Him. This feeling far surpasses anything with which we have experience. Better than taking drugs. Superior to the buzz from intoxication. More relaxing than sleep and more exhilarating than soaring through the air. I believe Sita Devi even made reference to this one time; the association of her husband Rama would be preferable to perfection in yoga and the siddhi of travelling through the air.

प्रासादाग्रैर्विमानैर्वा वैहायसगतेन वा
सर्वावस्थागता भर्तुः पादच्छाया विशिष्यते

prāsādāgrairvimānairvā vaihāyasagatena vā
sarvāvasthāgatā bhartuḥ pādacchāyā viśiṣyate

“Whether it be residence on top of a palace, traveling on airplanes, or flying through the sky (via yogic powers), in all circumstances the shade of the husband’s feet is by far superior.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Ayodhya Kand, 27.9)

“How do you teach someone to be spontaneous, though? That is my confusion. We are stuck in a mechanical state; at least in the beginning. We repeat a mantra, with the assistance of a string of beads. We complete a single round, saying the mantra one time on each of the one hundred and eight beads. As we progress further along, we complete more and more rounds. This is like our vow.

“At the same time, I see some parents instituting the chanting routine as a sort of punishment. If their child should act up, the chosen atonement is to chant one round of japa. How is anyone going to find spontaneous devotion that way? Do you not see the contradiction? We are following something against our will, with reluctance, to one day reach a point of attachment?

“Consider also that if everything is based on outward symptoms, can’t the expert actor simply pretend to be in bhāva? Can’t they fake their way to a higher status by dancing extravagantly, by making a public show of their supposed devotion? They basically game the system that way.”

A person has to start somewhere. If it has been many lifetimes spent in illusion, in spinning on the wheel of suffering, the samsara-chakra, then it will be difficult to break the habit of affiliation with the material nature. There must be some corrective measures to implement in a systematic way; at least in the beginning. This initial phase is known by the technical term of “vaidhi-bhakti.” The devotion is based on ritual or rule, vidhi.

“Rupa Gosvami defines the first part of devotional practice, or vaidhi-bhakti, as follows: ‘When there is no attachment or no spontaneous loving service to the Lord, and one is engaged in the service of the Lord simply out of obedience to the order of the spiritual master or in pursuance of the scriptures, such obligatory service is called vaidhi-bhakti.’” (The Nectar of Devotion, Ch 2)

The chanting of the holy names should never be a form of punishment. If someone is following out of obligation, out of instruction received from the spiritual master, they should still understand that they are moving closer to something better. Their chanting is always for the mood of upasana, whether they are aware or not: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

The example of Prahlada Maharaja perfectly illustrates spontaneous devotion. We have the very same act, of association with the holy name. We have contact with the spiritual master, in hearing from Narada Muni. Though Prahlada was the youngest possible disciple, in residing safely within the womb of his mother, the sound vibration from the saintly person made an impact, nonetheless. Prahlada understood that it was beneficial for him to associate with Vishnu, who is the personal form of God.

अनन्य-ममता विष्णौ
ममता प्रेम-सङ्गता
भक्तिर् इत्य् उच्यते भीष्म-
प्रह्लादोद्धव-नारदैः

ananya-mamatā viṣṇau
mamatā prema-saṅgatā
bhaktir ity ucyate bhīṣma-
prahlādoddhava-nāradaiḥ

“When one is firmly convinced that Vishnu is the only object of love and worship and that there is no one else-not even a demigod-worthy of receiving devotional service, one feels intimacy in his love relationship with God, and this is approved by such personalities as Bhishma, Prahlada, Uddhava and Narada.” (Narada-pancharatra)

We see that one time Prahlada was exposed, in a sense, by his chalkboard. There was the sign of the chakra. There was the name of Krishna, written with great adoration. These markings were not related to the lesson taught in school. This was not something to practice. Prahlada was not being punished for misbehavior. He was not “chanting his rounds,” so to speak. Rather, in the way that a child has causeless affection for their friends and family, Prahlada took great joy in writing the name of Krishna. He was pleased in seeing the chakra, which is associated with Vishnu.

This devotion was spontaneous, but not accidental. The devotion was strongly rooted. The devotion was so fixed that no one could move it. Despite the greatest force applied, both physically and emotionally, the inimical father could not turn things around. The father could not prevent Prahlada from worshiping, as the link to Vishnu is what defined the boy’s very existence.

In Closing:

Very existence defining,
Not as punishment confining.

Or for sinful behavior to atone,
Followed by volition his own.

That name writing on slate,
Chakra preference to state.

Despite father’s many tricks,
In spontaneous devotion fixed.

Categories: prahlada and his slate, questions

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