When There Is No One To Impress

By krishnasmercy on December 18, 2025 • ( 0 )

“Prahlada Maharaja said: O Supreme Lord, because You are so merciful to the fallen souls, I ask You for only one benediction. I know that my father, at the time of his death, had already been purified by Your glance upon him, but because of his ignorance of Your beautiful power and supremacy, he was unnecessarily angry at You, falsely thinking that You were the killer of his brother. Thus he directly blasphemed Your Lordship, the spiritual master of all living beings, and committed heavily sinful activities directed against me, Your devotee. I wish that he be excused for these sinful activities.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.10.15-17)

Download as podcast episode (right click and save)

श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच
वरं वरय एतत्ते वरदेशान्महेश्वर
यदनिन्दत्पिता मे त्वामविद्वांस्तेज ऐश्वरम्
विद्धामर्षाशय: साक्षात्सर्वलोकगुरुं प्रभुम्
भ्रातृहेति मृषाद‍ृष्टिस्त्वद्भ‍क्ते मयि चाघवान्
तस्मात्पिता मे पूयेत दुरन्ताद् दुस्तरादघात्
पूतस्तेऽपाङ्गसंद‍ृष्टस्तदा कृपणवत्सल

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
varaṁ varaya etat te
varadeśān maheśvara
yad anindat pitā me
tvām avidvāṁs teja aiśvaram

viddhāmarṣāśayaḥ sākṣāt
sarva-loka-guruṁ prabhum
bhrātṛ-heti mṛṣā-dṛṣṭis
tvad-bhakte mayi cāghavān

tasmāt pitā me pūyeta
durantād dustarād aghāt
pūtas te ’pāṅga-saṁdṛṣṭas
tadā kṛpaṇa-vatsala

“Alright, I am going to do what I do best. Complain. I am sure that I am guilty of what I am about to describe, it is just that I cannot remember any such instances at the moment. Let me preface by saying I wish I did not notice these things. Perhaps it is easier to go through life aloof to the behavior of others, ignoring this flaw and that. I cannot help it. I have the power of perception. Blame me all you want, but I think you will understand what I am about to describe.

“Let’s say you have a situation where you are in distress. You require assistance. In the absence of an absolute requirement, you at least could use some help. Someone getting up, breaking out of their comfortable position, to lift a finger would do so much for you. There would be immense appreciation on the other side. You would never forget the kind gesture.

“What happens is that the person whose assistance you require has no interest. They do not mind if you are in distress. Perhaps not entirely malicious, they are apathetic. They do not care one way or the other. That is, of course, until a third party enters the scene. In the case of a married couple, it might be the mother-in-law. The wife has been demanding this thing and that. She does nothing around the house. Her greatest expertise is yelling and screaming for no reason. But if word ever got back to the husband’s mother, she would be embarrassed. Therefore, in front of that woman she puts on a different face. She gets in the kitchen. She prohibits the husband from doing what she otherwise demands from him on a daily basis.

“I see the same thing play out in the workplace. You ask someone from a different team to give some guidance on a particular project you are working on. No response. Nothing. That is, until you get their manager involved. Then this person jumps to the scene. They even turn their camera on during online meetings. Similar case with a friend, who wants to impress their neighbors or the people within the community. The opinion of these other people is more important than actually helping someone who is supposed to be their friend.

“I wish I didn’t pick up on these things, but what can I do? I believe it is a horrible characteristic, to only do good when someone important is watching. I think true character is when you know you won’t get any credit. When you know there is no one to reward your behavior. Then, how will you act?”

In the examples above we have people considered important in an isolated situation, but consider the most important person of all. He is already the witness to everything. One of His features is Paramatma, which has the characteristic of antaryami. God witnesses everything because He is simultaneously everywhere. This presence is fixed. He is everywhere all of the time, sarvatra and sarvada.

Now, consider a situation where you have impressed this witness. You know for sure that He likes you. He approves of your behavior. How are you aware? Well, He has just appeared from out of nowhere. He was always there, but someone important to you did not believe. This person actually mocked your calm and rational explanation of the all-pervasiveness of Divinity. They thought you had lost your mind, that you were an enemy, in fact. They decided to strike a nearby pillar, to get their point across.

That move happened to cross a line. Out of the pillar emerged the amazing and awe-inspiring vision of Narasimha. This is the same person you had been talking about. You want the antagonist to understand. There was no reason to hold enmity. This Narasimha is actually peaceful most of the time. He has no envy towards anyone. He is wishing well to every living being.

समो ऽहं सर्व-भूतेषु
न मे द्वेष्यो ऽस्ति न प्रियः
ये भजन्ति तु मां भक्त्या
मयि ते तेषु चाप्य् अहम्

samo ‘haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu
na me dveṣyo ‘sti na priyaḥ
ye bhajanti tu māṁ bhaktyā
mayi te teṣu cāpy aham

“I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all. But whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me, and I am also a friend to him.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.29)

If Narasimha arrived on the scene and attacked the antagonist, would that not elevate your stature? If the antagonist finally received the punishment they deserved, delivered personally by the highest being of all, how could you not feel a little sense of validation? How could your ego not be inflated, as your fortitude and perseverance in the devotional path is now confirmed to be the correct decision?

We do not have to imagine, as these exact events played out for the five-year old boy named Prahlada. The antagonist happened to be his own father. By the appearance of Vishnu as Narasimha, we can safely say that Prahlada had impressed the highest authority figure. Narasimha even requested Prahlada to take a benediction.

At this point, there is no one left to impress. There is no person whose opinion matters more than the half-man/half-lion standing before Prahlada. What did the boy do? He asked for pardon. He asked for forgiveness for the slain father. What was the crime? Hiranyakashipu had enmity towards God. Because of this stance, the father committed great offenses against his own son, who was a devotee. Prahlada was not necessarily asking for forgiveness against the offenses made against himself. Rather, he inherently understood the reason for Narasimha’s appearance. Vishnu took it as a great offense that Prahlada was being tortured. That Hiranyakashipu attempted to kill Prahlada in so many ways, for the crime of devotion to Vishnu, could not be excused.

Except Prahlada asked for clemency. The father was no longer around. The father could not reward the son for such an amazing display of kindness. Vishnu had already rewarded Prahlada by appearing from the pillar. This means that the character of Prahlada is too great to possibly fathom. We can only try to remember, day after day, and follow in his footsteps of perseverance, assuredness, and compassion.