“’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 seems that the debate will rage on. With no end in sight, inherited through a steadiness extending back thousands of years into the past, each side claims they are correct. At least there is civil discussion on the matter. At least there is little to no reliance on blind faith. There is no dogmatic insistence, at least when attempting to convince someone of the proper conclusion, siddhanta. Just for today, rather than present an endless list of references from shastra, which is scripture, we can focus on a single historical account to see how the dvaita and advaita sides of Vedanta philosophy are not really at odds.

Interestingly, the central figures to this story are Daityas. They get their name from a woman named Diti. She has a sister named Aditi. The Daityas are descendants of Diti, while the Adityas are from Aditi. Besides a difference in racial identification, there is a divergence in behavioral tendencies. The Daityas are a kind of asura. The Adityas are the suras. As we see, sura is the pivot point. It is the root word. The asuras are merely the opposite of the suras.

We can think in terms of good and bad. The pious against the impious. The suras tend to align with goodness, honor, integrity, kindness, and decency. The asuras are merely the opposite. At the foundation is the relationship with the highest being of all, who is like the god of the gods. The suras try their best to align with the Supreme Person. The asuras are against both the suras and the person that the suras worship. In the course of history, Hiranyakashipu is the best of the Daityas. He has the most power. He has the best opportunity to act on the Daitya inclination, in going against the suras.

Interestingly, Hiranyakashipu has a son who has the opposite inclination. If Hiranyakashipu is the best of the Daityas, then Prahlada is the best of those devoted to the one worshiped by the suras. This makes for the perfect story, as there is conflict from the very beginning. It doesn’t look like the story will go anywhere, since Prahlada is only five years of age. Hiranyakashipu is already in the seat of power. If there is a struggle, just what will Prahlada be able to do? How will his cause ever be advanced? Just what resources does he have at his disposal?

For the majority of the story, we could say that the source of the conflict is the recognition, or lack thereof, of the advaita principle. This says that there is nonduality, in terms of the relationship between the living beings and the complete whole. In other words, every person is kind of like God. You could say they are God, since they have a link to Him. They are part of His energy that is Brahman. Indeed, Vishnu Purana offers the depiction of an original fire, from which countless sparks emanate. God is like the original fire and the individual living beings are like the sparks from that fire.

एक-देश-स्थितस्याग्नेर्
ज्योत्स्ना विस्तारिणी यथा
परस्य ब्रह्मणः शक्तिस्
तथेदम् अखिलं जगत्

eka-deśa-sthitasyāgner
jyotsnā vistāriṇī yathā
parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis
tathedam akhilaṁ jagat

“Everything that is manifested within this cosmic world is but the energy of the Supreme Lord. As fire emanating from one place diffuses its illumination and heat all around, so the Lord, although situated in one place in the spiritual world, manifests His different energies everywhere. Indeed, the whole cosmic creation is composed of different manifestations of His energy.” (Vishnu Purana, 1.22.52)

Hiranyakashipu refuses to acknowledge anyone but himself. If there is a source of strength, it is the individual. This explains why Hiranyakashipu values his position so much. He has found a way to exhibit the greatest strength. This means that others are weak. They could not summon up strength at a comparable level. Every person lives or dies of their own accord. Do not be upset with Hiranyakashipu for finding a way to game the system. People should not be envious that he has managed to thrive where others have wilted away.

Though there was no confusion on Prahlada’s part, the outsider can say that the majority of the child’s presentation was the advaita kind of Vedanta. Prahlada spoke of a source of strength. He spoke of oneness, in that every person share something in common. You see, the source of strength is the same in everyone. Hiranyakashipu should at least acknowledge this reality.

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 human life should not be wasted on interactions with maya, which is illusion. The living being should realize their position as Brahman. They should take advantage of the opportunity as soon as they can. They should understand that so much of the typical life experience gets wasted on behavior that is ultimately not profitable, such as sleep and play.

मुग्धस्य बाल्ये कैशोरे
क्रीडतो याति विंशतिः
जरया ग्रस्त-देहस्य
यात्य् अकल्पस्य विंशतिः

mugdhasya bālye kaiśore
krīḍato yāti viṁśatiḥ
jarayā grasta-dehasya
yāty akalpasya viṁśatiḥ

“In the tender age of childhood, when everyone is bewildered, one passes ten years. Similarly, in boyhood, engaged in sporting and playing, one passes another ten years. In this way, twenty years are wasted. Similarly, in old age, when one is an invalid, unable to perform even material activities, one passes another twenty years wastefully.” (Prahlada Maharaja, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.6.7)

Hiranyakashipu tolerated Prahlada for a little while, but soon that patience ran out. Hiranyakashipu ordered the execution of his own son. The crime was speaking such words, which identified an individual, but thus far only relied on the theoretical understanding. In other words, even the advaita presentation was prohibited in that kingdom. There was to be no mention of Divinity, impersonal or otherwise.

Amazingly, Prahlada survived each death sentence. Every time the royal attendants administered some lethal arrangement, Prahlada survived. It is like he was proving the oneness of which he spoke. He was backing up the words with action. He merged into the Absolute, became one with Divinity, and thus could not be harmed by weapons, by fire, by heavy animals, by gravity, or even by the ocean.

विष्णुः शस्त्रेषु युष्मासु मयि चासौ यथा स्थितः
दैतेयास् तेन सत्येन मा क्रामन्त्व् आयुधानि वः

viṣṇuḥ śastreṣu yuṣmāsu mayi cāsau yathā sthitaḥ
daiteyās tena satyena mā krāmantv āyudhāni vaḥ

“O Daityas, just as Vishnu is in those weapons and also situated in me, so by that truth your weapons will not be able to overcome me.”  (Prahlada Maharaja, Vishnu Purana, 1.17.33)

Hiranyakashipu was frustrated beyond belief. He finally insisted on some empirical evidence. More than a survival against all odds. More than a theory or a concept, insisting that there is some oneness with an energy that no one could see. Prahlada had to produce a person. Since Prahlada insisted that such a person was sarvatra, or all-pervading, the evidence had to emerge from wherever Hiranyakashipu decided. The leader of the Daityas hastily chose a nearby pillar. Yes, if after striking the pillar with the powerful sword known as Chandrahasa, someone did not amazingly appear, then Prahlada would be proven a fraud.

Alas, there was indeed a dvaita side to the presentation of the child. The father accidentally invited visible evidence of that duality. That dvaita side indeed manifested from the pillar, after it was struck. The combination of dvaita and advaita was there the entire time, but only Prahlada could see it. The dvaita which manifested was the distinction that no one except Prahlada was ready to see. The duality, in the distinction between the living beings and the Supreme Brahman, was clear. There was Hiranyakashipu and there was Narasimha. There was a powerful Daitya and there was the most powerful being of all. There was the worshiper in Prahlada and there was the object of worship in that amazing half-man/half-lion avatara of Vishnu.

In Closing:

Truth there the entire time,
In steady survival to find.

In small child persecuted through,
Despite son of powerful king who.

Where father continuously losing,
Principle of advaita proving.

Accidentally the duality to call,
Narasimha shown above it all.

Categories: chandrahasa

Tags: advaita, dailyprompt, hare krishna, poem, poems, poetry, vedanta