“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

“You have to admit that it is getting tougher by the day. Especially considering what the world recently endured, carrying across several years. It was the only thing going on. You could not avoid talking about it. Imagine having different opinions on it. That simply was not tolerated. Unless the local area showed a reading of a brand new metric called ‘case positivity rate’ below an arbitrarily defined number, you were not allowed to leave your house. If you dared to protest the nonsense, you were called every name in the book. You might lose your job. You might get banned from any future gatherings with your so-called friends.

“That is what I am here to talk about: friendship. They say that you shouldn’t stop being friends with someone over petty differences, such as politics, sports, or health treatment. You heard me correctly. Even health is now a hot-button issue. Heaven forbid that I decide to take it easy with the poison injections for my children or that I don’t go along with the chosen experts for once in my life. This was never an issue when I was growing up. I never cared what medications other people were taking. They never cared what I was taking. These are my choices, are they not? If I have no choice, then I have no life.

“Anyway, today, if you dare to say one nice thing about a politician opponents absolutely loathe, you might get assaulted. I never cared how people voted. I get it that sometimes you like someone and sometimes you don’t. At the end of the day, time still proceeds. It moves things forward. That person you hate will one day be out of office. They will one day be gone from this world. Then what will you do? Who will be your object of worship, then?

“Speaking of worship, consider religion for a moment. To me, that shouldn’t be the cause of tension, either. It is the same God, after all. If every person today feels satisfaction from eating, pain from separation, and warmth from the sun, how, then, is the person responsible for everything some sort of petty miser, who allows entry into his kingdom based only on specific rules or certain names being spoken? It makes no sense.

“At the same time, even in your supposedly universally accepting culture of bhakti-yoga, there is the recommendation to avoid the non-devotees. The Sanskrit is asat-tyaga. The corresponding recommendation, the anchor, if you will, is sat-sanga. Stay with sat, which refers to the truth or that which is eternal. Avoid the temporary and those interested only in the temporary enjoyments of the senses.

“Goswami Tulsidas even says that past experiences can be purified through such avoidance. There may be many past births that we now consider to be wasted. We can make up for everything by chanting the holy names and giving up bad association. How is that helpful, though? How is it healthy to give up friendship over religious differences?”

बिगरी जनम अनेक की सुधरै अबहीं आजु
होहि राम को नाम जपु तुलसी तजि कुसमाजु

bigarī janama aneka kī sudharai abahīṃ āju
hohi rāma ko nāma japu tulasī taji kusamāju

“The many past births you spoiled can be rectified right now, today, if you start chanting Shri Rama’s holy name and renounce bad association, says Tulsi.” (Dohavali, 22)

To assist in our understanding, we consider the case of you and your friend. You have been practicing Krishna consciousness for some time now. You would never call yourself advanced or proclaim to be at an expert level, but you are putting in a genuine effort. It is a noble try. It is the primary focus of each day, at least when setting priorities. Your friend, meanwhile, is someone you have known for a long time. You always wish them well, despite any arguments that may occur. On one particular day, you meet up with your friend. After the exchange of pleasantries in the initial greeting, they offer the following:

“What have I been up to, you ask. Well, I just purchased this amazing new grill. I cannot wait to use it. There is plenty of room in the backyard. We plan on hosting several parties next summer. You should definitely come over. Take this as your formal notice, I mean invitation. Oh, and I also finally set my lineup for fantasy football. We are in the weekly pool, as well. We have to pick the winners of each game, in alignment with the point spread. I insist that you join. I know that you think it violates some principle you are trying to follow, but you need to live a little. It makes watching the games a lot more fun.”

Your friend then proceeds to ask the dreaded question. They want to know how you are doing. What have you been up to, they ask. Now, this is something like coming upon a fork in the road. Do you tell the truth or do you find an answer that will cause the least resistance? As you are unusually chipper on this particular day, you decide to go with the truth:

“What has been new with me? Well, let me tell you about an experience on the highways yesterday, while returning home from work. There was a huge traffic jam. At one point, we were totally stopped, stuck in one place for several minutes. I was not bothered by it. I noticed the sky. The horizon this time of year is breathtaking. The color of the clouds was particularly wonderful. As if it was about to pour rain, but not quite. It gave me a sense of what megha-varna means. This is the Sanskrit to describe the complexion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Suddenly, it felt as if I appreciated the entire world. The cloud that was the Almighty was watching over everyone, ready to nourish us. We have missed Him for too long. He was right there, for everyone to see. I felt an appreciation similar to that once expressed by the gopis of Vrindavana, when they were contemplating the origins of the flute held in the lotus-like hands of Shri Krishna.”

गोप्यः किम् आचरद् अयं कुशलं स्म वेणुर्
दामोदराधर-सुधाम् अपि गोपिकानाम्
भुङ्क्ते स्वयं यद् अवशिष्ट-रसं ह्रदिन्यो
हृष्यत्-त्वचो ’श्रु मुमुचुस् तरवो यथार्यः

gopyaḥ kim ācarad ayaṁ kuśalaṁ sma veṇur
dāmodarādhara-sudhām api gopikānām
bhuṅkte svayaṁ yad avaśiṣṭa-rasaṁ hradinyo
hṛṣyat-tvaco ’śru mumucus taravo yathāryaḥ

“My dear gopis, what auspicious activities must the flute have performed to enjoy the nectar of Krishna’s lips independently and leave only a taste for the gopis for whom that nectar is actually meant. The forefathers of the flute, the bamboo trees, shed tears of pleasure. His mother, the river, on whose bank the bamboo was born, feels jubilation, and therefore her blooming lotus flowers are standing like hair on her body.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.21.9)

Though the above depicts a brief exchange, it is but a sampling of many potential moments of incompatibility. What could your friend possibly say in response? How on earth will the two of you ever share the same interests, again? You are not really keen on what they are thinking about. They do not even understand what you are saying. In most instances, the person on the other side will get offended. They will think that you are trying to outrank them, in attempting to prove how you are more religious than they are. Meanwhile, you are simply reporting what happened to you. You are honest in sharing your feelings.

Speaking of being honest, there is the historical example of Prahlada Maharaja. Though only five years old, he was not ashamed to share his interest of worship of Vishnu. He did not mind that the father went the other way, that Hiranyakashipu hated Vishnu. Prahlada continued to speak the truth. He shared with his father what he thought was the most important instruction. Never mind that such instruction was technically learned from a different teacher, long before enrolling in school. Never mind that your typical five-year old has other interests. Prahlada was innocent in his expression in this informal version of show-and-tell.

The tell came first, and the show came later. The show was not specifically called upon. The show happened because Hiranyakashipu decided to end the friendship. The difference in viewpoint over Vishnu, who is wishing well to everyone, could not be tolerated. The show occurred because Hiranyakashipu attempted to kill Prahlada, his own son, over the difference in priority for the human birth. Since Hiranyakashipu decided to so egregiously cross the line of decency, in torturing an innocent child, Vishnu decided to eventually show himself. Prahlada, who did not specifically avoid asat, but was a party to the whole affair, then proved his amazing kindness by asking for forgiveness for the slain father. This means that Prahlada never considered the relationship broken. He remained a well-wishing friend the entire time.

In Closing:

A friend the entire time,
Differences not to mind.

That father of contrary persuasion,
To remove Vishnu from the equation.

Prahlada the truth to command,
After every attack to stand.

Even when Narasimha proving to live,
Still the son asking to forgive.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, friendship, hare krishna, life, poem, poems, poetry