“’You said that He is indeed everywhere, so why can He not be seen in this pillar? If I do see that Vishnu right now in the middle of the pillar, then I will not kill you. Otherwise, you will be divided into two.’ Having seen (his father) in that way, Prahlada began to meditate on that Supreme Lord.” (Narasimha Purana, 44.10-11)

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त्वयोक्तं स हि सर्वत्र कस्मात् स्तम्भे न दृश्यते
यदि पश्यामि तं विष्णुम् अधुना स्तम्भमध्यगम्

तर्हि त्वां न वधिष्यामि भविष्यसि द्विधान्यथा
प्रह्लादो ऽपि तथा दृष्ट्वा दध्यौ तं परमेश्वरम्

tvayoktaṃ sa hi sarvatra kasmāt stambhe na dṛśyate
yadi paśyāmi taṃ viṣṇum adhunā stambhamadhyagam

tarhi tvāṃ na vadhiṣyāmi bhaviṣyasi dvidhānyathā
prahlādo ‘pi tathā dṛṣṭvā dadhyau taṃ parameśvaram

It is the tried and true retort of the skeptics. It is the crutch they can quickly reach for, lean upon, and use as a verbal weapon in their defense against the believers. You see, if this person above the clouds really existed, if there was evidence of His existence, if He really was the overseer and the permitter, then He would show Himself. Just when, exactly? How about all of the time? At every second of the day. At every moment of doubt. During every time of trouble. As we see in the conclusion to the historical tale of the Daitya king named Hiranyakashipu, sometimes the highest being of all is kind enough to wait until He receives an official invitation. This does not mean He is absent otherwise, a truth emphatically attested to by the son of that king the entire time.

उपद्रष्टानुमन्ता च भर्ता भोक्ता महेश्वर:
परमात्मेति चाप्युक्तो देहेऽस्मिन्पुरुष: पर:

upadraṣṭānumantā ca
bhartā bhoktā maheśvaraḥ
paramātmeti cāpy ukto
dehe ’smin puruṣaḥ paraḥ

“Yet in this body there is another, a transcendental enjoyer who is the Lord, the supreme proprietor, who exists as the overseer and permitter, and who is known as the Supersoul.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 13.23)

It used to be different. When a popular recording artist was preparing to embark on a worldwide promotional tour for their upcoming album, the people who might attend, the potential customers, if you will, had to find out through third party channels. An announcement on the radio. An advertisement placed in the newspaper. Perhaps something in the mail, in the popular magazine dedicated to covering that genre of music. With the advent of social media, artists now make their announcements via a series of posts. It is particularly interesting to run an informal statistical analysis of the responses to such announcements.

For instance, a popular rock band lists their upcoming tour dates in a social media post. Instead of responding with how excited they are, and how they cannot wait to attend a show in their local area, the majority of the comments are complaints. You see, people want the band to visit their city. These cities are not listed in the tour dates. Every single post of this type has the same set of responses. It appears that no matter how much the band tries to explain, these fans will never understand. You see, the band arranges their schedule based on the interest expressed by local promoters. Unless the band is invited to visit a particular city, they will not go. It has nothing to do with random people sharing an interest through comments on a social media post.

The cause to the visible appearances of the Supreme Lord might resemble the above. In this case, we are dealing with the most autonomous individual. No one can compel Him to do anything. He reserves the right to remain hidden. As revealed in a confidential discussion with the bow-warrior named Arjuna, the Supreme Lord is not properly recognized by the less intelligent.

नाहं प्रकाश: सर्वस्य योगमायासमावृत:
मूढोऽयं नाभिजानाति लोको मामजमव्ययम्

nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya
yoga-māyā-samāvṛtaḥ
mūḍho ’yaṁ nābhijānāti
loko mām ajam avyayam

“I am never manifest to the foolish and unintelligent. For them I am covered by My eternal creative potency [yoga-maya]; and so the deluded world knows Me not, who am unborn and infallible.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 7.25)

Hiranyakashipu was a Daitya by birth and by nature. The Daityas are against God. They have their playing field to act upon that inclination. They can go into the depths of that seemingly bottomless pit. Hiranyakashipu himself was advancing in that direction, though not realizing he was travelling backwards. He became more and more powerful, and he foolishly considered himself to be self-made. It was his own son, all of five years of age, who tried to lift him out of the ditch, to remind him that there is a singular source of strength. Every person can attribute their strength to one person, who is known by many names, including Vishnu. This Vishnu is also sarvatra, which means “all-pervading.”

श्री-प्रह्राद उवाच
न केवलं मे भवतश् च राजन्
स वै बलं बलिनां चापरेषाम्
परे ’वरे ’मी स्थिर-जङ्गमा ये
ब्रह्मादयो येन वशं प्रणीताः

śrī-prahrāda uvāca
na kevalaṁ me bhavataś ca rājan
sa vai balaṁ balināṁ cāpareṣām
pare ’vare ’mī sthira-jaṅgamā ye
brahmādayo yena vaśaṁ praṇītāḥ

“Prahlada Maharaja said: My dear King, the source of my strength, of which you are asking, is also the source of yours. Indeed, the original source of all kinds of strength is one. He is not only your strength or mine, but the only strength for everyone. Without Him, no one can get any strength. Whether moving or not moving, superior or inferior, everyone, including Lord Brahma, is controlled by the strength of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.7)

The knowledge is perfect, and so it should have been accepted. Prahlada did not insist on showing anything to Hiranyakashipu. A wise person deliberates on the higher principles kindly shared with them. In this case, you can make a test to see just how strength shows itself. One person tries their best, but cannot excel in sports. Another person barely has to try and they are at the top of the field. The source of strength is the same in each person, but the exhibition of that strength is what differs.

Hiranyakashipu was enraged at hearing praise of Vishnu in his own kingdom. Prahlada should know better. The thing is, he did. That is why he kept at it. Prahlada could not be dissuaded from speaking the truth. Even verbal threats that were later followed through on, in the form of physical violence, did not remove the devotion to Vishnu. At no time did Prahlada command the Supreme Lord to appear, to give visible evidence to the doubters. What would they be able to decipher, anyway? They could not see God in their own strength. They could not see God in the survival of Prahlada, so what was to be gained by a direct vision?

That is, until the father specifically made the request. He finally decided to invite Vishnu to the scene, albeit only sarcastically. You see, if Prahlada was correct, if the young child was telling the truth, then it should be no issue for Vishnu to prove His presence in the nearby pillar. If Hiranyakashipu were to strike that pillar with a powerful sword, then surely Vishnu could emerge. That is indeed what took place, to the surprise of the violent father. Vishnu was kind enough to wait until invited. The proof that Hiranyakashipu had insisted upon ended up being too much to handle.

In Closing:

A sarcastic invitation to make,
But then reality too much to take.

Like regretting the bear to poke,
Could not handle the smoke.

Should have seen the entire time,
In survival of tortured son to find.

And the truth regularly to hear,
But insisted on vision clear.

Categories: chandrahasa

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