“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

“Listen, I think I have reached my breaking point. I was totally on the other side, just a few short years ago. I was one of those who had company patriotism, as they call it. I really respected the people at the top. I know the difficulties they face. The pressure of maintaining the bottom line. If the company has a good quarter, with record profits, that establishes a new baseline. The same quarter in the next year better be just as good, at a minimum. The expectation is for growth, so that the shareholders will feel comfortable.

“At the same time, I do not like being lied to. What occurred over the last five years can only be described as a farce. Overnight, we had to shift our office location. This was to keep us safe. We had no say in the matter. We had to transform our bedrooms into makeshift offices. We had to completely change the way we worked, on a given day. Most of us got used to it, over time. Some of us grew to enjoy it. For the first time in our adult lives, we were happy in our chosen occupation.

“Of course, they can never leave well enough alone. Gradually, the mood shifted. They pushed everyone to take this experimental medication. No questions allowed. No risk-benefit analysis, even by the leaders of insurance companies. No grace extended to those who might be hesitant. No logic or reasoning for the absurd protocols put in place at the offices.

“And, of course, they wanted everyone back in those offices. The same companies who said they valued the safety of the employees now were trying to return back to the ‘normal.’ What sent me over the edge is the recent announcement of fulltime return to office. Five days a week. Fine, but for some people the transition is not easy. It is like they have to relocate to a new place, which might be hours from where they live.

“Then, the CEO sends out an email asking everyone to keep an eye on their heart health. He is saddened by the recent epidemic of heart attacks. He makes no mention of that experimental medication, which the manufacturer’s own data showed could damage the heart. From young to old, healthy to sick, no one was spared. So in order to help the employees with their heart issues, the company now imposes the stress-inducing directive of a fulltime return to the office.

“You cannot make this stuff up. I have no respect for such people anymore. The thing is, that makes me an outcaste. No one else is really bothered. They go along. They like to be invited to the company picnics. They drop their children off at the schools run by the same lack of logic and reasoning. These employees get to participate in society. That is why they went along the entire time, in fact. Who wants to be an outsider? Who wants to be the weird one, to point out obvious flaws in the people in power? Who wants to be isolated and alone?

“What is the solution, then? I don’t feel like giving in. I don’t want to go along with something that I know is not right. I am not talking just about the corporations, either. It is like the entire society has this implicit agreement. Keep doing what everyone else is doing, in order to host parties, go on vacations, snap photographs, and enjoy, as if nothing is wrong. How can I do that when I know exactly what is wrong? If shastra has taught me something else, to prioritize a different standard of living, how can I go back to the inferior?”

क्रीडन्ती राजहंसेन पद्मषण्डेषु नित्यदा
हंसी सा तृणषण्डस्थं कथं पश्येत मद्गुकम्

krīḍantī rājahaṃsena padmaṣaṇḍeṣu nityadā
haṃsī sā tṛṇaṣaṇḍasthaṃ kathaṃ paśyeta madgukam

“How can that female swan who is accustomed to sporting with the king of swans amidst lotus flowers ever cast her eyes on a water-crow that stays amidst bunches of grass?” (Sita Devi speaking to Ravana, Valmiki Ramayana, Aranya Kand, 56.20)

This is the subtle pressure applied by the illusory energy known as maya. If you only forget who you are, a spirit soul transcendental to the changes around you. If you only agree to forget that this human life is precious and that the accompanying potential for intelligence should be used for the highest purpose of all. If you only keep quiet about what you know. If you only realize that your silence buys confidence into the scheme. If you only agree to do what is popular, at all times.

Then, of course, you can participate. Your ignorance earns tickets of admission to the various attractions in this amusement park known as the material world. Most importantly, you will have friends. Others will not make fun of you. You will fit in. There is no question of peer pressure when you face no resistance. You don’t want to be the target of ire, of ridicule, of mockery. How will you survive if others should develop an entire comedy routine dedicated to your odd behavior? They will take joy at your expense.

The ideal example for support in this regard is Prahlada Maharaja, the five-year old son of the Daitya leader named Hiranyakashipu. Prahlada showed an inclination different from the prevailing culture. They took it as an offense. It was like Prahlada was mocking the teachers. He was trying to tear apart the entire educational fabric. He was destroying the very foundation, in boldly stating that Vishnu was the source of strength in everyone and that the most important teaching relates to bhakti-yoga, which is devotional service.

Upon learning the nature of the son, the father did not turn inimical; at least not at first. He was surprised. He did not like what he was hearing. He tried to persuade the son using the same tactics as the modern day leaders. The other children in school would make fun of Prahlada. You see, Prahlada was a Daitya by birth. Everyone knows that the Daityas are opposed to the suras. Vishnu always favors the suras. He is like the deva of the devas. Why would a Daitya ever consider praising Vishnu?

The children would think Prahlada had gone mad. The adults would not be pleased, either. Why would Prahlada want to isolate himself? He was the beloved son of the most important person in the community. Prahlada should be the topmost student, showing the most hatred for Vishnu. That was expected of him, as the trait would be inherited from his father, who was the most antagonistic towards the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

We have trouble going against the latest nonsense at work, in our small pocket of society, but what if you chose something out of intelligence that makes you completely ostracized? Not a soul around to help. Not a person in whom to confide. Not anyone to share your grief. No one to understand the sadness of being betrayed by your own father, for whom you hold no enmity.

Prahlada stood tall. Prahlada held firm. If Vishnu were his only friend, that was sufficient. In our struggles endured today, we can take strength from the same Prahlada. Though we may not be in the special circumstances to survive the onslaught of vicious attacks from powerful rulers, our decision to worship Shri Hari is still correct, as He is the lone reality in this world of illusion.

In Closing:

With this nonsense done,
Total farce has become.

The CEO and leader too,
Intent on torture who.

Everyone else going along,
Dancing to repeating song.

Like when Prahlada to stray,
Strained but still the proper way.

Categories: questions, supplicating the inferior

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