“Shri Hari, who is the Lord of the demigods, who is worshiped by the people of the world, for benefiting the moving and nonmoving beings of the world took that dreadful form through His own energy and tore apart Hiranyakashipu, who caused suffering to so many, with His nails.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.43)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

हरिः सुरेशो नरलोकपूजितो हिताय लोकस्य चराचरस्य
कृत्वा विरूपं च पुरात्ममायया हिरण्यकं दुःखकरं नखैश् छिनत्

hariḥ sureśo naralokapūjito hitāya lokasya carācarasya
kṛtvā virūpaṃ ca purātmamāyayā hiraṇyakaṃ duḥkhakaraṃ nakhaiś chinat

“I think we have a contradiction of sorts, as it relates to Prahlada Maharaja and perhaps Vaishnavas, in general. I first heard of this line of opinion from His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. It says that no one in this world is actually happy. Those who think they are happy are only kidding themselves. The answers they offer to pollsters, to researchers, to those conducting opinion surveys, tend to land on the positive side. The people are more or less happy. Perhaps in a given area there is an issue with their leaders, but the population doesn’t consider life to be this miserable and horrible experience.

“Except that it is, according to the authority of the Vaishnava. They have a pretty good justification, I think. They say that what we consider to be happiness is more like relief. Consider the person who gains release from prison. Maybe they were falsely accused, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of those cases of mistaken identity. It happens more often than you would think.

“They gain release, after the clerical error gets corrected. They find the right person. The judge finally hears their case. The expert lawyer is able to work their magic. The person being released feels incredibly happy. They suddenly appreciate the sun. They enjoy food. They no longer take freedom for granted. They want to associate with friends and family as much as possible.

“The whole life experience is like that, except we are fooled by the illusory energy known as maya. We can safely say that no person experiences happiness in the true sense. They may have sukha, in the manner that the seasons change, going from unpleasant weather to bright, sunny skies, but they are really after ananda. That ananda is only available in spiritual life. That ananda is part of the very makeup of the individual. Ananda is part of who they are, but it has become foreign to them.

“I was surprised to later find the same line of instruction from Prahlada Maharaja. In Vishnu Purana, I believe he makes a comparison to an elderly person being happy that their limbs work. They should be sad that they are in such a condition, but just see how they fool themselves into finding happiness from something everyone else takes for granted.

“The plea is to look for something better. Find a way out of the misery. Snap out of the madness and find the light of transcendence. Escape from birth and death. Reach the imperishable land, akshara, that is Vaikuntha.

“That is well and good. I am not arguing the merits. The issue is that Prahlada himself never asks for such elevation. He has the rare opportunity to meet directly with the proprietor of the akshara place. Vishnu appears on the scene for Prahlada. Vishnu is a well-wisher to everyone, including moving and nonmoving beings. Vishnu is worshiped by the demigods, but He still arrives to deal specifically with Hiranyakashipu, who is the Daitya leader torturing Prahlada. In the aftermath, Prahlada can ask for any boon. His first priority appears to be the welfare of his father. Prahlada does not ask for immediate removal from the material world. I want to know why. If this place has only false happiness, why not try to escape? Why not practice what you preach?”

One aspect to consider is time. Known as kāla in Sanskrit, it is one of the five principal topics covered in Bhagavad-gita. Time is like the servant of the Supreme Lord. Time works at His direction. He is synonymous with time. Everyone meets with God, everywhere and always, since they are always influenced by time.

अहम् आत्मा गुडाकेश
सर्व-भूताशय-स्थितः
अहम् आदिश् च मध्यं च
भूतानाम् अन्त एव च

aham ātmā guḍākeśa
sarva-bhūtāśaya-sthitaḥ
aham ādiś ca madhyaṁ ca
bhūtānām anta eva ca

“I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all creatures. I am the beginning, the middle and the end of all beings.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 10.20)

Prahlada did not have to ask for liberation since time would factor everything in. In other words, there would be relief from the material situation at the appropriate time. This is the same way that Hiranyakashipu was dealt with. If only isolating our study to a specific scene, like taking a screenshot of the circumstance, we would see that Hiranyakashipu was in the superior position. He was winning. He was the quintessential bad guy. How can good things happen to bad people?

The reality is that time was simply waiting for Hiranyakashipu. It was a special case, as the controller of time showed Himself in the amazing vision of a half-man/half-lion. It was Narasimha. It was the results to heinous crimes committed against an innocent five-year old child. It was time making the greatest impact, leveraging all of the particulars of the situation.

As far as the depiction of happiness and the reality that it is only relief, Prahlada was teaching other students in school. He was not the officially recognized teacher. He was kind of like the rebellious kid telling everyone else that the teachers aren’t focused on the right topics. There is a more important subject to cover. Rather than chase after the temporary, go for the permanent.

For someone already realized in the self, a tattva-darshi, they can stay anywhere and be in the same liberated state. Whether they are in heaven, hell, or the earthly realm, their connection in yoga to Vishnu keeps them above. The formal kind of liberation is already achieved; it is simply a matter of time.

नारायण-पराः सर्वे
न कुतश्चन बिभ्यति
स्वर्गापवर्ग-नरकेष्व्
अपि तुल्यार्थ-दर्शिनः

nārāyaṇa-parāḥ sarve
na kutaścana bibhyati
svargāpavarga-narakeṣv
api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ

“Devotees solely engaged in the devotional service of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, never fear any condition of life. For them the heavenly planets, liberation and the hellish planets are all the same, for such devotees are interested only in the service of the Lord.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 6.17.28)

In Closing:

In that important time,
With question to find.

That anything the child could ask,
Narasimha to accomplish the task.

But Prahlada focused on liberation,
For father of vengeful determination.

Because in devotion transcendence presiding,
Above whether here or in heaven residing.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, liberation, life, narasimha, poem, poems, poetry