“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)

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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

“Have you noticed this pattern within religious circles? I tend to notice these things, and it is often to my detriment. What I mean to say is that people are not necessarily interested in hearing my commentary. They would rather I keep quiet and go along. Don’t make waves. Stop questioning existing practices. Just stay in line, show up, make some perfunctory acknowledgments, and you are all set. You will be saved. You are good to go.

“That’s just the thing. What if I know that I am saved? Not that I am putting myself on an elevated status, but consider from the hypothetical perspective. What if I know for sure that God likes me? I am not so busy keeping an eye on others. In these religious circles, there is constant surveillance. See that woman over there? She was a former drug addict. Better be careful opening any pill bottles near her, if you get my drift. See that man over there? He cheated on his wife last year. He is a sinner. We are trying to set him straight, but that was a major affair, no pun intended. The entire congregation came down on him, hard.

“What if I am not interested in these petty violations? That is how I characterize them, anyway. Petty! If we are all sinners, then why are we so quick to find fault with people within our own community? What if we are a good person? What if we know that we are in the good graces of the Almighty? Just how would we act? Just how would we behave? What kinds of things would we ask for? Do you see where I am going with this? Do you ever ponder these issues? I am only asking you, because, well, you know what would happen if the people around me learned I had some thoughts of my own. To be independently thoughtful these days is the worst crime.”

To begin a thorough and deliberate case study, we would have to establish parameters to satisfy the conditions. In other words, we need to know for certain that God is happy. Everyone has to acknowledge that the person in question is good, that they are protected, that they are held in the highest regard by the person whose opinion matters most.

In this respect, what if we said that a person was saved directly by God appearing within a manifest form? Since He acts in front of people, the deeds are described as prakata-lila. What if we said that God appeared as something like a combination of an animal and a human? A man and a lion, but not quite either one. He appeared this way to remain within the parameters of protection previously gifted to a particular character. What if we said that God appeared as this half-man/half-lion, thereafter known and worshiped as Narasimha, specifically to protect an innocent five-year old boy?

These conditions would appear to satisfy the requirement of a pious individual. The role for our dramatic production has been filled, so to speak. Prahlada is the person in question. Narasimha appeared from a pillar of all places. It was almost spontaneous. There was still an external trigger. The leader of the Daityas known as Hiranyakashipu had struck the pillar. This was in a mocking tone, in rhetorically asking Prahlada if the all-pervading Supreme Lord indeed existed everywhere. There is the saying, “Ask stupid questions, get stupid answers.” In this case, the answer was not necessarily stupid. It was extraordinary. Vishnu can make the impossible happen. He appeared from the pillar after it was struck. Vishnu was watching the entire time. He had witnessed the treachery of Hiranyakashipu, who was a father. Vishnu took note of the many attempts made on the life of that innocent child, whose only crime was to worship Vishnu, vocally and without shame.

We have now satisfied the conditions. We can move on to studying the behavior. Prahlada was so much loved by Vishnu that the amazing Narasimha appeared in order to finally do away with the wicked Hiranyakashipu. This happened to be Prahlada’s own father. Narasimha tore Hiranyakashipu apart; literally, using nails, with blood spilling everywhere. While the fight was going down, Prahlada can be seen off to the side, offering a garland of welcome to Narasimha. Prahlada was not afraid of the scene. Prahlada understood what was happening.

If you have already reached heaven, what do you do next? If you already know that God loves you, what is there left to be done? Narasimha was so pleased that he even directly asked Prahlada to take a benediction. Anything that the child wanted. Prahlada asked for pardon. Prahlada offered forgiveness to the departed. There were no points left to be gained. There was no one who needed to be impressed. Prahlada understood that Hiranyakashipu had committed the grievous offense of harassing an innocent devotee of Vishnu. This was the reason for the appearance of Narasimha. Prahlada asks that the father not be punished further for this offense.

In addition to highlighting the extraordinarily saintly qualities in Prahlada, the request also shows a high level of understanding. If God already likes you, what else do you need for yourself? As bad as Hiranyakashipu was, there was nothing lost in the process. The devotion remained steady. The devotion continued. It thrived, in fact. Narasimha gave physical shape to the promise offered in Bhagavad-gita, where Arjuna is advised to declare the imperishable nature to devotion.

क्षिप्रं भवति धर्मात्मा
शश्वच्-छान्तिं निगच्छति
कौन्तेय प्रतिजानीहि
न मे भक्तः प्रणश्यति

kṣipraṁ bhavati dharmātmā
śaśvac-chāntiṁ nigacchati
kaunteya pratijānīhi
na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati

“He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti, declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 9.31)

In Closing:

Most beloved are you,
Nothing left to do.

Not desperate to impress,
For benediction to address.

If given that task,
What exactly to ask?

Prahlada pardon for father departed,
Who worst hostilities had started.

Categories: questions

Tags: bhakti, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, prahlada, yoga