“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

“Listen, I was always under the impression that according to Vedic culture, which is based on shastra, which is rooted in the origin of all, the individual is solely responsible for their fate. Granted, other people can assist in correcting that individual, in guiding them, in showing them the way, but the line between liberation and rebirth ultimately comes down to choice. It is like we are children playing in the sandbox. Our parents take us home at the end of the day. That is the equivalent to death. The rebirth is where we want to play in the same sandbox again.

“It is not until we show the white towel of surrender that we have a chance. We get to go somewhere else. Outside of the analogy, in real life, our consciousness is what indicates our choice. Our consciousness is like the curtain being pulled back, revealing our option written down on a piece of paper or white cardboard. To that end, spiritual life becomes simple and straightforward. Work in such a way that our consciousness gets fixed. Make it so that at the time of death the card reads the option of liberation, to the spiritual land of Vaikuntha. There, we no longer compete with the Almighty. There is oneness in terms of interest. We become part of the complete picture, wherein the one wearing the precious kaustubha gem interacts with the individuals who love Him.”

“Vasudeva saw that wonderful child born as a baby with four hands, holding conchshell, club, disc, and lotus flower, decorated with the mark of Shrivatsa, wearing the jeweled necklace of kaustubha stone, dressed in yellow silk, appearing dazzling like a bright blackish cloud, wearing a helmet bedecked with the vaidurya stone, valuable bracelets, earrings and similar other ornaments all over His body and an abundance of hair on His head.” (Krishna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Volume 1, Chapter 3)

“That is fine and good. I believe I have everything correct, but feel free to point out any deficiencies or errors. I think this is one of the reasons Vedic culture, sanatana-dharma, genuine Hinduism, bhakti-yoga, or whatever you want to call it is so special. It makes the most sense. We should not necessarily be afraid of God. Religion should not be the equivalent of meeting with a parole board officer, where we get treated like a hardened criminal punished into correcting their ways. We should be able to experience the life in liberation prior to the end of the material life experience. The temple environment, in jubilant worship of the wonderfully decorated archa-vigraha, is as close to liberation as I will feel in this world. In that sense, this religion, if you want to call it that, aligns with our natural tendencies.

“I apologize for having gone on longer than I should have. I want to now transition to the setting of the avatara of Vishnu known as Narasimha. Moments after His unexpected and brilliant appearance from the pillar, there was a request. Narasimha instigated the exchange. He practically insisted that the five-year old prince named Prahlada take a benediction. Amazingly, Prahlada’s first instinct was to think of his slain father. That father happened to be the perpetrator of wicked deeds and the reason for Narasimha’s appearance in the first place.

“Prahlada asked for pardon. He asked that the father be forgiven for his offenses. Listen, that is a wonderful display of compassion. No one is going to argue with that. The thing is, I thought liberation was determined at the individual level. How can Prahlada influence that decision? How can Prahlada ask Narasimha to change the consciousness of Hiranyakashipu? Do you see what I am saying? Does this mean that others might be able to liberate me, through their work? Does that not give me license to be a horrible person, since I know someone else will have my back?”

To understand the perspective of Prahlada, consider the following hypothetical situation. You are an employee at a large corporation. Aside from the steadiness of the profits, year after year, there is almost the seasonal expectation of shift in personnel. You see, the department heads like to shake things up every now and then. They mix up the teams. Just when you begin to get comfortable with the people seated around you, there is an abrupt shift.

In this case, you move to a new team. You sit there quietly, at your desk that you now call home due to the recent mandate for every person to return to the office. Granted, there is not much collaboration needed. Most of the work is done on the computer. You try to stay to yourself. It is not in your nature to talk much, to gossip, or to waste time. Not that you begrudge others for indulging these tendencies, as every person has their own nature.

A problem quickly develops. This one person on your new team does not like you. It is becoming clear, based on their words, their interference, and their general demeanor. They appear to get angrier and angrier by the day. They yell at you for no justifiable reason. Your other colleagues confide in you that this person is a little crazy, that the slightest agitation sets them off. You are not sure what to do, since you would rather avoid confrontation. If you are going to sit at a desk for eight hours a day, at least let the time pass in peace.

One day, this person loses it. After screaming profanities in your face, hurling abuses about the way you look and your dietary restrictions, they reach for an object from their desk. They are ready to physically strike you. Fortunately, one of the colleagues witnessing the event intervenes. They prevent any further harm. Word gets around. This incident is impossible to ignore. Eventually, the offending employee is let go. They are no longer with the company. They had been there for many years.

In this case, you would be justified for being happy. It is only natural to feel relief that the issue has finally reached a peaceful resolution. But in your case, you cannot help but feel responsible. The person fired has a family to support. There are issues at home, as well. You understand that losing a job is not going to help matters. This person will probably drink more and might end up being abusive to their family members. You feel bad because you know that you were the reason for the offenses. You did not do anything wrong. You were not intentionally instigating a conflict, but it cannot be denied that for some reason your presence triggered the meltdown.

The case of Prahlada is similar. He understood that because he was a devotee of Vishnu, staunch and unashamed, the father named Hiranyakashipu felt the need to attack. It was because of the attacks against a devotee, the heinous crimes of attempted murder, that Vishnu thought it necessary to appear as Narasimha. In this respect, Prahlada felt he was somewhat responsible for the disaster that ensued. If Vishnu was kind enough to appear for Prahlada and protect him, then perhaps Vishnu would be kind enough to liberate the now slain perpetrator.

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)

Fortunately for everyone involved, the liberation was already accounted for. Hiranyakashipu thought of Vishnu at the time of death. His consciousness was clear. His consciousness was pure, though the link was not in the typical way. Even someone inimical of God, but fixed in thought, can receive the highest boon of liberation. Since Prahlada was the son of that wicked king, not only Hiranyakashipu, but many previous generations would be simultaneously liberated.

In Closing:

Because in family line instated,
Past generations liberated.

By shining example one,
Highest destination won.

Prahlada asking even still,
After father’s blood to spill.

That pardon for offenses received,
Since due to his presence believed.

Categories: questions

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