Ripped Apart While Relaxing

“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)

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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

Can you really blame someone in that position? After all, isn’t fearing one of the four basic tendencies of the animals? His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada repeatedly encourages rising above eating, sleeping, mating, and defending. It is that last piece, defense, which feels ignored if not satisfactorily meeting certain demands. The end for one notable historical figure shows that even with sufficient accumulation, with the highest quality, leaving arrears far in the distance within the virtual accounting system, the most gruesome end can take place.

The name of that character says everything. He is Hiranyakashipu. The literal translation refers to gold and a soft cushion. These are the two pursuits for the rational human being devoid of knowledge of the science of self-realization. In other words, when we do not know who we are, why we are here, to where we will go in the future, and why we are suffering, we tend to be drawn towards expensive things, accumulation, and a soft resting place, inactivity.

Consider the following hypothetical situation. I have been working hard recently. There was a launch for a computer application that required months of preparation. The release did not go smoothly. There were many issues. The problems occurred at the worst possible times, such as in the middle of the night. Somehow, I got through it. I survived. I am exhausted, for sure, but also relieved.

I am ready to now relax. I set aside an entire day to doing nothing. Literally, attempting to remove every trace of identifiable activity. No driving anywhere. No visit to the supermarket. No paying bills. No fixing issues around the house. I will simply lie in bed. I will relax. I have the best mattress, after all. The price tag told me so. So did the many reviews online, about how people felt like they were dreaming the night away. They were transported to a different realm. Those in the know understand this to be the travels of the individual, in temporarily escaping the gross body and taking shelter of the subtle body.

“Foolish people deny the existence of the soul, but it is a fact that when we sleep we forget the identity of the material body and when we awake we forget the identity of the subtle body. In other words, while sleeping we forget the activities of the gross body, and when active in the gross body we forget the activities of sleeping.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 4.29.71 Purport)

I am a rational person. I like to conduct these isolated experiments every now and then, based on introducing changes, which are variables, while certain controls remain in place. In this situation, the analysis is easy. Compare how I feel after a day of doing nothing, spent lying on a soft cushion, against a day after intense labor, working in the office. There is no question. There is no need to deliberate further. Upon completing an objective review, I can say that I feel awful after the day of sleeping. I am depressed. I am sad. I question the meaning to action itself. I never had doubts before. I was vibrant. I felt alive. After sleeping for so long and doing nothing, I feel a void, like something is missing.

Imagine if you could repeat the same day, over and over. Nothing to worry over. Not a care in the world, if thinking clearly. This was the factual situation for Hiranyakashipu. He had gold in the sense of a valuable kingdom. He had the cushion in the sense of protection against rivals. No one could topple him. Hiranyakashipu could not be dethroned. These protections were promised by someone of his word, by someone who is respected, by someone who has the authority to give out truthful benedictions. Lord Brahma blessed Hiranyakashipu such that the pursuits of gold and comfort, in both the physical and symbolic senses, would be well accounted for.

In a single verse, Narasimha Purana describes the conclusion for Hiranyakashipu. That leader of the Daityas was resting alright. He was placed on the lap of a strange figure, one never seen before by the world. It was a lion, but not quite. It was a human, but not fully. The name of the Purana gives it away. This was Narasimha, the special avatara of Vishnu who targeted Hiranyakashipu. There was cause. The search warrant was valid. Narasimha was justified in creating this scene.

This is because the gold and cushions were never enough for Hiranyakashipu. They are always never enough, in fact. The living being is spirit soul, after all. They are after spiritual happiness. This joy was in the appropriately named Prahlada, who was the five-year old son of Hiranyakashipu. Prahlada tried his best to teach his father. He wanted the father to turn away from chewing the chewed. He wanted his father to at least acknowledge God and work towards the goal of connecting with God.

श्रीप्रह्राद उवाच
मतिर्न कृष्णे परत: स्वतो वा
मिथोऽभिपद्येत गृहव्रतानाम्
अदान्तगोभिर्विशतां तमिस्रं
पुन: पुनश्चर्वितचर्वणानाम्

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām

“Prahlada Maharaja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Krishna are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.30)

We can be relaxing with the highest recorded bank balance in history, but everything can be torn apart in an instant. Because of his irrational persecution of his own son, who was innocent, Hiranyakashipu faced the dreaded fate of the meeting with Narasimha. The same Prahlada, who was only interested in devotional service, can be seen off to the side, offering a garland of welcome to his protector, who happens to be the strength of everyone indeed.

In Closing:

Which rather to take?
Gold and soft cushion to make.

Or joy into every situation bring,
Where glories of the infinite to sing.

Hiranyakashipu on the firmest standing,
Thought superior authority commanding.

But on lap of Narasimha landing,
While son peacefully garland handing.