Five Things I Am No Longer Strong Enough To Do

“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)

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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

1. Pull myself up

“Oh my goodness, that was the most embarrassing day of my life. Well, at least one of them, from what I can remember of high school. It was one of those fitness tests, supposedly tied to the President of the United States. This particular day was counting pull ups. I knew I couldn’t do even one. I tried to hide when the teacher called me. They eventually found me. Of course, I couldn’t even reach the bar. They brought out a chair to help me up. Once they let go, holding onto the bar I could not even move. Not one inch. Everyone laughed.

“Well, that served as motivation later on in life. I started strength training, reaching the point where I could eventually do many pull-ups. Alas, that was a long time ago. It has been many years. I doubt I have the strength to match my previous high.”

2. Run for miles

“Don’t ask me how, but I could do it. Every day, for an entire summer, in the blazing heat, I would run for four miles straight. I lost so much weight. It was incredible. Today, I can barely do one lap. I get tired easily. My joints ache the next day. It is not worth it, anymore.”

3. Play sports under the blazing sun

“Just what is it about that sunshine that makes you so fatigued? I used to be able to tolerate it. It was almost a badge of honor. Where others wilted, I thrived. Well, not anymore. Those days are long gone. I am lucky if I make it beyond a few minutes. I would rather wait until the evening, when the sun is about to set.”

4. Carry heavy equipment

“Not this year, my friend. I know you expected me to install all of your window air-conditioning units. I just cannot do it. My back will give out on me. My heart likely cannot handle the weight, either. I know that it was no sweat for me in the past, but today is different. You should think about a central cooling unit, such that you won’t have to keep repeating this exercise every year.”

5. Stay up all night

“You want to know if I watched the end of the game. Are you kidding me? I checked out after the second period. I just cannot do it anymore. I have to fall asleep on time. It is a big deal. There are steps I need to follow. I cannot afford any disruptions. Sleep is more important than any kind of nighttime enjoyment.”

…

Hiranyakashipu considered the proposal preposterous. It was prima facie absurd. What sane and rational person would ever subscribe to the theory? Just how is difference equivalent to oneness? How is vishesha the same as samanya? Distinction is the very opposite of abstract or singular. This idea from Prahlada was crazy.

The child, who was only five years old and happened to be the son of Hiranyakashipu, claimed that the source of strength is the same in everyone. The father happened to be the leader of the Daitya community. That leadership was significant, at the time. Being the king of the Daityas meant wielding the greatest authority. Hiranyakashipu could frighten others simply by a look. He commanded respect, knowing he was safe from outside intervention and interference. He was safe because of boons received directly from Lord Brahma, who is the creator.

नान्तर्बहिर्दिवा नक्तमन्यस्मादपि चायुधै:
न भूमौ नाम्बरे मृत्युर्न नरैर्न मृगैरपि

nāntar bahir divā naktam
anyasmād api cāyudhaiḥ
na bhūmau nāmbare mṛtyur
na narair na mṛgair api

“Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.” (Hiranyakashipu praying to Lord Brahma, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.3.36)

There is the saying, “You snooze, you lose.” While you were sleeping in, I was out in the field, making a name for myself. I did the difficult work to win the favor of Brahma. I decided to carry through on austerity and penance, tapasya. It was all me. Any of you people could have done the same, but you were not capable. This means that I am the strongest. My strength is different from yours. This was the mindset of Hiranyakashipu.

But as we see from the above review, even strength at the individual level, isolated to one person, is not fixed. I started out with little strength. When I first picked up a racket to learn a game like tennis, I needed one that I could hold. It had to be smaller in size. This was to allow me to swing it properly. As I grew older, my strength increased. I could play with an adult racket. In a few years, I will barely be able to move around the court. My strength will vanish.

This must mean that the source of strength is from some other place. I require sanction from a higher authority. I am not entirely self-made. Bhagavad-gita references this truth through the concept of the doer. The living entity thinks they are the doer. This is when they are under the influence of the false ego, ahankara. Every result to action, which is indeed a choice, is due to the forces of nature.

प्रकृतेः क्रियमाणानि
गुणैः कर्माणि सर्वशः
अहङ्कार-विमूढात्मा
कर्ताहम् इति मन्यते

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni
guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ
ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā
kartāham iti manyate

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 3.27)

This is the point Prahlada was trying to get across to his father. Nature sanctions and delivers the results, but there is an individual above that nature. That individual also happens to be the source of strength. Prahlada was benefitting from that same source. Hiranyakashipu had a temporary benefit, but even that strength was not enough to eliminate Prahlada. The father should realize where this strength was coming from, before it was too late. Because too much exploitation triggered by false pride might soon catch the attention of the source of that strength, who could easily bypass the boons of protections offered by Brahma.

In Closing:

Thinking nature could trick,
But should alter approach quick.

Otherwise sanctioning the one,
In personal form to come.

And all that exploitation to see,
Not happy or peaceful to be.

The strength varying the entire time,
Soon defeat from Narahari to find.