“Although Prahlada is only five years old, even at this young age he has given up his affectionate relationship with his father and mother. Therefore, he is certainly untrustworthy. Indeed, it is not at all believable that he will behave well toward Vishnu.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.5.36)

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विष्णोर् वा साध्व् असौ किं नु
करिष्यत्य् असमञ्जसः
सौहृदं दुस्त्यजं पित्रोर्
अहाद् यः पञ्च-हायनः

viṣṇor vā sādhv asau kiṁ nu
kariṣyaty asamañjasaḥ
sauhṛdaṁ dustyajaṁ pitror
ahād yaḥ pañca-hāyanaḥ

“Let me ask you something. If your kid does something that is not reserved for kids, how do you feel about it? More specifically, if it looks like they are copying the adults, do you get upset? If your kid one day grabbed a razor from the bathroom mirror kit and put on some shaving cream, you might become alarmed. It is a sharp object, after all. There is danger. If they use bad words, employing foul language they picked up from a grownup, it might not be the best thing. Stealing the car keys and sitting behind the wheel, ready to back out of the driveway – you might start to worry.

“At the same time, it is kind of nice to see what they find interesting. They are obviously watching you. They are trying to imitate. I believe His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada even says that this is the best way to pass on Krishna consciousness to the next generation. Just let the young ones observe you in your sadhana. If they see that you always chant the holy names, they might want to try the same, without even knowing about religion, dharma, or bhakti-yoga.

“If they see you worshiping the deity, in reciting prayers, in offering food in the mode of goodness, sattva-guna, you create this impression that remains with them for a long time. They might even one day feel nostalgic when in a temple-like setting. They look back fondly at their childhood years, when they were loved and protected, when they were in the company of their beloved parents.

“I bring this up to show the contrast in the reaction from Hiranyakashipu. I am being honest with you. If my kid came home from school one day and started rattling off principles of the science of self-realization, I would be suspicious for only one reason. I would think they are playing a prank on me. I might suspect someone putting them up to it. You know how kids are quick to memorize things. Maybe they are reading off a script that they retained within memory. Perhaps there is someone speaking to them through an earpiece, with hidden cameras capturing my alarmed response.

“Once I get beyond the disbelief, I would feel amazing. It is so endearing to see a child excel in something that even only the smallest percentage of adults attempt to study. Isn’t it something like out of many thousands of men, only one will succeed? Krishna covers this in His discussion with Arjuna.”

मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु
कश्चिद् यतति सिद्धये
यतताम् अपि सिद्धानां
कश्चिन् मां वेत्ति तत्त्वतः

manuṣyāṇāṁ sahasreṣu
kaścid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ
kaścin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ

“Out of many thousands among men, one may endeavor for perfection, and of those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.3)

“Why was Hiranyakashipu so upset, then? Why didn’t he view the behavior as endearing? Prahlada was only five years of age. Who gets mad at a five year old for talking? As long as they are not saying bad words, there is no harm. At least Prahlada was showing a heightened sense of priority and responsibility. His exhibited level of intelligence was not normal.”

That’s just the thing. The name of Vishnu was a bad word in the community. Vishnu was the enemy, though Vishnu has no enemies. Hiranyakashipu, as the leader of the Daityas, actually had nothing to worry about. He was safe from outside attacks. The latest round of layoffs from the multinational corporation could not affect him. The latest job numbers, the tariff battles, or the rate of growth of the economy could not make a dent on his lifestyle. That is because Hiranyakashipu was at the top. No one was above him. No one would even attempt to overthrow him.

At the same time, he was miserable. He was suffering from a disease, a condition identified as ajitendriyah. It was like being prodded by urges from morning until night. Though you have everything going for you, you cannot sit still. You always need something else. In this diseased state, you falsely assume that everything came together randomly or, even worse, through your own effort. You fall into the trap of thinking there is no God and so there is a vacancy that you can potentially occupy.

स इत्थं निर्जितककुबेकराड् विषयान् प्रियान्
यथोपजोषं भुञ्जानो नातृप्यदजितेन्द्रिय:

sa itthaṁ nirjita-kakub
eka-rāḍ viṣayān priyān
yathopajoṣaṁ bhuñjāno
nātṛpyad ajitendriyaḥ

“In spite of achieving the power to control in all directions and in spite of enjoying all types of dear sense gratification as much as possible, Hiranyakashipu was dissatisfied because instead of controlling his senses he remained their servant.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.4.19)

In this diseased state, Hiranyakashipu took Vishnu to be an enemy. In that light, the innocence in Prahlada looks different. The boy is essentially saying a bad word. The child is showing allegiance to the enemy of the state. Hiranyakashipu forgave for as long as he could, but what tolerance did he really have? If your senses control you, there is no chance of thinking clearly.

The father was suspicious. Children do imitate. Children do follow the adults. Therefore, which adult was poisoning the well? Who was Prahlada imitating? Maybe the teachers. Maybe there was an infiltrator sneaky enough to go undetected. The problem was that Prahlada refused the order to desist. His devotion to Vishnu was innocent and pure. That devotion was later tested. It withstood the worst kinds of abuses, reaching the extreme of triggering a response from Vishnu Himself, in the amazing appearance of the avatara named Narasimha.

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)

In Closing:

All from son wise and innocent too,
Prahlada repeating what he knew.

Normally towards father to endear,
But senses Hiranyakashipu to steer.

Though world from fear shivering,
Abuses from leader triggering.

Appearance of Vishnu as man,
Simultaneously as lion to stand.

Categories: questions

Tags: dailyprompt, hare krishna, narasimha, poem, poems, poetry, prahlada