“When Lord Narasimhadeva saw the small boy Prahlada Maharaja prostrated at the soles of His lotus feet, He became most ecstatic in affection toward His devotee. Raising Prahlada, the Lord placed His lotus hand upon the boy’s head because His hand is always ready to create fearlessness in all of His devotees.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.9.5)

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स्वपादमूले पतितं तमर्भकं
विलोक्य देव: कृपया परिप्लुत:
उत्थाप्य तच्छीर्ष्ण्यदधात्कराम्बुजं
कालाहिवित्रस्तधियां कृताभयम्

sva-pāda-mūle patitaṁ tam arbhakaṁ
vilokya devaḥ kṛpayā pariplutaḥ
utthāpya tac-chīrṣṇy adadhāt karāmbujaṁ
kālāhi-vitrasta-dhiyāṁ kṛtābhayam

“As we get older, our interests shift. Our worldview changes, and so certain issues or causes might become more important to us. For instance, in the past we never gave much attention to the medical treatment administered by force against children. Once we become a parent, we have to make choices in this area. We then study the issue, hearing from the proponents and detractors, and then reach our own conclusion. If we think that an entire establishment happens to be cheating, to be lying about the safety of their products, we feel compelled to fight back. This is a cause we decide to take up.

“Along those lines, I have been paying more and more attention to the way medicine in general operates. I have heard people complaining about the reliance on pills. There is a pill for every ill, as they say. As soon as there is any problem, try some kind of medical intervention. Instead of looking at the root of the problem, which might involve diet, exercise, or climatic conditions, just try the latest medication. If that doesn’t work, try even more medication. Double it up!

“It is like a worldview where health is bought instead of earned. Healing treatments are purchased instead of practiced. This criticism appeals to me. I know that many of my own ailments went away after I made certain lifestyle changes. Perhaps the impact wasn’t as swift, but at least I am not taking pills for the rest of my life. I solved the problem on my own, after carefully examining the situation.

“This leads me to the subject of bhakti-yoga. The promise here is to heal the condition known as transmigration of the soul. All our problems begin with birth, is the premise. If we stop rebirth, we stop our problems. If thinking in terms of categories, there are four primary points of distress: eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. That last distress is equivalent with fearing. Every animal-like living being has fear, to some degree.

“In aligning with the viewpoint described earlier, there is not supposed to be some magic pill that removes the condition of rebirth. Bhakti-yoga is a way of life. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada translates that Sanskrit term as ‘Krishna consciousness.’ We are trying to change consciousness, which involves changing our activities, our objectives, and the way we respond to events.

“That is fine and good, but then how do you explain what happened with Prahlada Maharaja? It is said that Narasimha, who is an amazing avatara of the Supreme Lord, touched Prahlada on the head. This immediately removed any fear in the son of the Daitya king. Prahlada was only five years of age. Is this not an instance of administering medicine? The fearlessness was essentially prescribed and administered directly by the greatest healing practitioner.

“If fear can be removed by the touch of Vishnu, why is the same touch not available to everyone else? Why not simply go around and touch every living being on the head? Then their fear would go away. Do you see what I am saying?”

There is always a scientific mechanism to the transformation. If the acharya recommends consciousness of Krishna as a way out of the dreaded condition of rebirth, it is not that the release occurs by itself. There is healing which takes place. There is someone or something in the background who ensures that the purified consciousness results in a purified future, which is free of anxieties. The physical travel also awaits, in leaving the land of birth and death and reaching the akshara place, which is also known as Vaikuntha.

यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम्
स सर्वविद्भ‍जति मां सर्वभावेन भारत

yo mām evam asammūḍho
jānāti puruṣottamam
sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ
sarva-bhāvena bhārata

“Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is to be understood as the knower of everything, and he therefore engages himself in full devotional service, O son of Bharata.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.19)

It may appear that Prahlada Maharaja was saved through a touch, but there were actions that qualified him for that interaction. He had the proper consciousness. He was fixed in his vow, dridha-vrata, to always think of Vishnu. His consciousness remained despite facing the greatest interference. Hiranyakashipu, his own father, was against Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu tried every which way to move Prahlada away from devotional service. Those attempts failed. Prahlada was already liberated, prior to the interaction with Narasimha. The release of fear and contamination was but a formality, waiting to occur.

स तत्करस्पर्शधुताखिलाशुभ:
सपद्यभिव्यक्तपरात्मदर्शन:
तत्पादपद्मं हृदि निर्वृतो दधौ
हृष्यत्तनु: क्लिन्नहृदश्रुलोचन:

sa tat-kara-sparśa-dhutākhilāśubhaḥ
sapady abhivyakta-parātma-darśanaḥ
tat-pāda-padmaṁ hṛdi nirvṛto dadhau
hṛṣyat-tanuḥ klinna-hṛd-aśru-locanaḥ

“By the touch of Lord Narasimhadeva’s hand on Prahlada Maharaja’s head, Prahlada was completely freed of all material contaminations and desires, as if he had been thoroughly cleansed. Therefore he at once became transcendentally situated, and all the symptoms of ecstasy became manifest in his body. His heart filled with love, and his eyes with tears, and thus he was able to completely capture the lotus feet of the Lord within the core of his heart.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.9.6)

Krishna consciousness can thus be considered from both angles of vision. It is like a medicine which is both acquired and earned. It is prescribed and practiced. Prahlada did not change his devotion after meeting God. His life of devotion was fixed prior to the meeting and it remained constant moving forward. This means that those who choose the medicine of Krishna consciousness and practice the principles on a regular basis, in experiencing the magic of the momentum, will maintain their devotion no matter what is going on around them.

In Closing:

In face of trouble all around,
Safe on solid ground.

That liberated already,
Through devotion steady.

Then formality a touch on the head,
From Narasimha otherwise to dread.

By demigods and demons alike,
But for Prahlada most auspicious sight.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, life, medicine, poem, poems, poetry, prescriptions