“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

1. You knew this entire time?

“You are supposedly this all-knowing figure. You possess jnana to the highest degree. It is kind of an improper conception, if you think about it. Jnana is only a concept for people who are vulnerable to illusion. I write down my ten different passwords for my ten different logins precisely because I might forget. If I never forget anything, I do not require a pen and paper. If you are full of knowledge and you can never be in ignorance, then there is no need for education. Jnana and ajnana make a duality that does not apply to you.

“Anyway, you are supposed to be aware of past, present, and future. I believe Bhagavad-gita takes this as a point of emphasis to draw a distinction. You know the three time periods for every living being, but no one knows these as they apply to you.”

वेदाहं समतीतानि
वर्तमानानि चार्जुन
भविष्याणि च भूतानि
मां तु वेद न कश्चन

vedāhaṁ samatītāni
vartamānāni cārjuna
bhaviṣyāṇi ca bhūtāni
māṁ tu veda na kaścana

“O Arjuna, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, I know everything that has happened in the past, all that is happening in the present, and all things that are yet to come. I also know all living entities; but Me no one knows.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.26)

“If you know all of this, why did you not intervene? If you could predict that my responses to my inimical father would trigger a string of the worst abuses ever perpetrated against an innocent child, how could you sit idly by? How could you allow me to continue to speak? Why didn’t you send the goddess of speech, Sarasvati Devi, to intervene? I know she has meddled in affairs before. It is documented throughout Vedic literature.”

2. Did you have your popcorn out?

“You are supposed to be compassionate. You are supposed to be kind. If ever we were to conceive of the nicest person imaginable, you would surpass that vision. You embody every good quality. The Sanskrit word ‘guna’ has that special meaning with you. It refers to your transcendental glories. You are never bound by material qualities. You are above goodness, passion, and ignorance.

“Okay, so what were you doing this entire time, while I was getting tortured? When I was thrown in with the snakes. When I was set on fire. When I took that unwelcome flight from the top of a mountain. You must have been watching. You are the all-pervading witness, after all. Just what were you doing? Did you have your popcorn out? Was this like a night at the movies? Was it only fun and games for you? This is my life we are talking about. This is my childhood. It was stolen from me.”

3. Why did you wait until he struck the pillar?

“Everyone celebrates your avatara of Narasimha. You appeared from the pillar. You proved to the inimical and disbelieving Hiranyakashipu that God exists. You are everywhere, including within the supposedly inanimate. The demons fled, as best they could, upon seeing your dreadful form. You took that form for the suras. You did it for the people of the world, the naras, who are always worshiping you. You are always wishing well to the moving and the nonmoving.

हरिः सुरेशो नरलोकपूजितो हिताय लोकस्य चराचरस्य
कृत्वा विरूपं च पुरात्ममायया हिरण्यकं दुःखकरं नखैश् छिनत्

hariḥ sureśo naralokapūjito hitāya lokasya carācarasya
kṛtvā virūpaṃ ca purātmamāyayā hiraṇyakaṃ duḥkhakaraṃ nakhaiś chinat

“Shri Hari, who is the Lord of the demigods, who is worshiped by the people of the world, for benefiting the moving and nonmoving beings of the world took that dreadful form through His own energy and tore apart Hiranyakashipu, who caused suffering to so many, with His nails.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.43)

“I have a question. Why did you wait until my father struck the pillar? Why didn’t you arrive sooner? Why was that insignificant act so significant? Was it the taunts? Only when he dared you to show yourself did you oblige? Everything has to be about you, doesn’t it? Could there ever be a more self-centered individual?”

4. What good is your association now?

“Wow, I get to see you now. I am so lucky. I am so blessed. I hope you can detect the sarcasm in my voice. No, I am not afraid of your dreadful form. How could I be? What could ever be more terrifying than what I went through? What good is your vision going to do for me now? The ordeal is over. My father is dead. You killed him using just your nails, remember?

5. Now you have made me an even bigger target

“You think that you have blessed me, but have you thought about my future? People will forever associate me with your dreadful vision. They will think that I am the teacher’s pet, that I received preferential treatment, for no justifiable reason. Have you considered my opinion on the matter? Perhaps I don’t want to be a target. Maybe I am sick of standing out just because of my allegiance. From now on, everyone will look at me differently. Thanks a lot!”

…

It is a legitimate question. To raise the question is to be a rational, thinking individual. After all, if there is a person on the other side, the relationship should flow in the way all other relationships do. There should be similarity. There should be familiarity. If we know someone is alive, that they are vibrant, that they are present, we can speak with them. They can answer us. They can respond. There is the potential for a back-and-forth, in what is known as a conversation.

Why not the same with God? Why not something real, that we can feel? Why do we have to settle for chanting holy names, worshiping a statue or picture, and hoping that the experience is occurring in truth? Why can’t we get validation, immediately? Why can’t God show Himself, either in vision or through sound, whenever we insist upon it?

The acharyas of the Vaishnava tradition explain that there is the issue of qualification. We have to show our worthiness, since we are dealing with the most worthy person. We have to show that we take the interaction seriously, as there is nothing more serious than controlling the entire universe. We have to show that we are not taking the Almighty to be something like an exhibit in a travelling carnival. We must realize that He is not a vending machine or a fortune cookie.

In this regard, the hypothetical review from above shows the potential degradation with not properly valuing the association of the Almighty. Prahlada Maharaja, the five-year-old son of the king of Daityas, did not say anything negative to God. He was steady in his devotion. He did not insist on interference. He did not require a vision, though he is well within his rights to request one. He appreciated, from start to finish. He merely asked that the father show some kind of appreciation, to realize that we are all being humbled at every second of our time in the material world. No one is entirely self-made. They can be destroyed in an instant, in the way that Hiranyakashipu was.

Prahlada is so amazing that he embarrassingly acquiesced when pressed to ask for a benediction. In other words, God had to practically compel the child, who was the victim of the worst abuses, to ask for something. Prahlada ended up asking for clemency for his father. This means that there was no lingering resentment. Not towards the earthly father. Not towards the heavenly father. Not towards anyone. It is no wonder, then, that Vishnu made the exception to appear and intervene for someone like Prahlada.

In Closing:

From silence made clear,
No request to interfere.

Or lingering resentment to keep,
Steady when Vishnu finally to meet.

No thought given to complain,
Or past abuses to sustain.

Forgiveness through and through,
Prahlada saint’s image who.

Categories: the five

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, hinduism, poem, poems, poetry, religion