“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

“I love hearing the story of Prahlada Maharaja. I cannot get enough of it, in fact. The original shlokas from Bhagavata Purana, which is also known as Shrimad Bhagavatam, are like valuable treasures. The explanations provided by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, to bridge the significant gap in culture due to the extensive passage of time, are always eye-opening. No matter how many times I pass over the same material, I always learn something new.

“I have such an affinity that I sometimes venture out into other source material. If I get only one nugget or two, it feels like I have found gold. In this regard, there is the reveal from Narasimha Purana about Prahlada holding a slate. You can always find alternate translations to the Sanskrit, by choosing a different definition for a specific word. In this case, you might speculate that the word paṭṭī refers to a headband of sorts, and that the mark of the chakra is there, along with the name of Krishna. The translation of ‘slate’ or ‘tablet’ makes more sense to me, especially given the context. Prahlada is returning from school. He is about to meet his father, who is the king. Hiranyakashipu will want to hear what Prahlada has learned.

“Before they even got to the hearing part, the father could see. The chakra was drawn on the tablet. The name of Krishna was written. There is the Sanskrit word adarat. This means that the decorations were not casual or playful; they were done with great adoration. Prahlada was basically worshiping through this slate. For some reason, I strongly relate to that. It brings me back to my childhood. We had television, for sure, but not many. Perhaps one or two in the home. No cable service. This led to something I will call appreciation through limited connection.

“If I had something like a toy, I really appreciated it. A compact disc of the latest release from a recording artist. A VHS tape of a popular film. A book of any sort. We held on to these things as treasures. That explains why the individuals on the other side are so much respected to this day. These people were the original content creators. The content they created meant so much to us. We had nothing else.

“Now think about how it is today. We are always connected. The connection is so easy that we take it for granted. We are desperate to find ways to disconnect, in fact. I want to know how to recreate the experiences of the past. I think it is better to be connected to something important, through realizing limitations. If I had only a physical slate upon which to write, I would feel this amazing relationship to it. Isn’t that the goal of bhakti-yoga, to create relationships? How do we do that when everything is so easy? How do we bring significance when everything has become trivial, due to an overabundance? Do you get what I am saying?”

Every recommendation from the spiritual master is for facilitating such a connection. Even if we think otherwise, there is always the higher objective to move closer towards something better. For instance, if we receive the advice to wake up early in the morning, to chant the holy names on a set of japa beads, the purpose is to create a connection. We have a dependency on something higher; on the highest concept, in fact. We are dependent, taking shelter of sound: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare.

But it indeed has become too easy. We can have a machine repeat the sounds for us. We can have those sounds playing on repeat, throughout the day. It is a kind of nityotsava taking place in the virtual space. Everything is already done for us. We have nothing left to do. A chatbot writes our prayers for us, after being steered in the right direction through carefully considered inputs, which are known as prompts. The body-spirit combination can turn into a dormant machine, one that rightfully belongs in a museum to be showcased, but never utilized.

ईश्वरः सर्व-भूतानां
हृद्-देशे ऽर्जुन तिष्ठति
भ्रामयन् सर्व-भूतानि
यन्त्रारूढानि मायया

īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ
hṛd-deśe ‘rjuna tiṣṭhati
bhrāmayan sarva-bhūtāni
yantrārūḍhāni māyayā

“The Supreme Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, O Arjuna, and is directing the wanderings of all living entities, who are seated as on a machine, made of the material energy.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.61)

Content arriving in abundance and with little effort from the other side should not diminish its value. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is already universally available. He expands Himself as Supersoul, or Paramatma. This feature of God is within every single living being. Good or bad, high or low, male or female, respected citizen or hardened criminal – everyone has access to God.

Those who appreciate, who cherish, who choose to connect, who make that conscious association the highest priority in their life, benefit the most. Those who ignore, who dismiss the idea as a fairytale or something out of mythology, benefit the least. They choose to go on their own, to see how they fare with the illusory energy of maya. At the beginning and end of that association is kāla, which is all-devouring time. In a spoiler-alert that should never be necessary, know that kāla always wins.

If we are having a difficult time maintaining that connection, in considering spiritual life special in the face of an overabundance of information, we can at least remember. We can remember how the bow-warrior Arjuna could have had his good friend and cousin take care of everything. We can remember how that guide advised Arjuna to proceed in working according to duty and staying detached from the outcomes. We can remember Prahlada and his slate, in how just seeing devotion to Vishnu triggered an eruption of unwarranted and despicable violence from his own father. Just like Sanjaya remembered what he relayed about what he saw on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, we too can remember the Supreme Lord and take delight.

तच्च‍ संस्मृत्य संस्मृत्य रूपमत्यद्भुतं हरे:
विस्मयो मे महान्‍राजन्हृष्यामि च पुन: पुन:

tac ca saṁsmṛtya saṁsmṛtya
rūpam aty-adbhutaṁ hareḥ
vismayo me mahān rājan
hṛṣyāmi ca punaḥ punaḥ

“O King, when I remember the wonderful form of Lord Krishna, I am struck with even greater wonder, and I rejoice again and again.” (Sanjaya, Bhagavad-gita, 18.77)

In Closing:

Most wonderful to behold,
Repeatedly delight to unfold.

If even a single name to write,
With adoration a beautiful sight.

Though machines at the ready,
From my own devotion steady.

Though available to one and all,
In full dependence to recall.

Categories: prahlada and his slate, questions

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