Message of HH Sri Ganapathy Sachchidananda Swamiji in Bhakti TV Program telecast on May 8, 2020
Compiled by: Jaya Akkanapragada
Narasimha Avatāra Part 4
When Hirańyakaśipu returned from his tapas and found out that Indra had taken his wife away, he was enraged. But Narada Maharśi intercepted him and said that his wife was safe and currently residing at His ashrama. They immediately left for the ashrama, and saw the queen coming out carrying a beautiful baby boy. By then, the baby had been named. Since his name in the previous life was Soma Sharma, in this life the Maharśi named him Prahlāda meaning one who is happy and who makes everyone else happy too.
The king felt very grateful and thanked the Maharśi. With this masterstroke, Narada Maharśi became very well respected and loved by all the demons. Thrilled at the birth of his son, Hirańyakaśipu decided to go on a digvijaya yātra. Since he had already won against all the kings in bhūloka, and also conquered svargalōka, he was now king of all the worlds. He knew that Lord Vishnu would be resting in the milky ocean, so he crossed the Śimśumāra cakra using his yogic powers but could not find Lord Vishnu anywhere. Thinking that the Lord had run away in fear of him, Hirańyakaśipu felt very happy and started celebrating.
Another three sons were born to him and the queen, but Prahlāda was unlike the other children. He did not play with others and could often be seen sitting somewhere thinking deeply about something, feeling very happy within himself. All the knowledge from his previous life and the Narayana mantra siddhi were bearing fruit now. He could clearly see Paramātma’s jyoti shining brightly in every person, animal, bird and tree. Since he could see Paramātma present in everyone, he could not differentiate between good and bad people. He loved everyone equally. After some time passed, he could feel Paramātma’s presence in every atom of even non-living objects. If the breeze caressed him, he thought it to be Sri Hari’s upper cloth. If he heard a whistle somewhere, he thought Sri Hari was playing the flute. When night fell, he thought Sri Hari had let his hair loose. Because of his past life tendencies, he felt immense devotion to his parents.
Hirańyakaśipu loved his children dearly, but he hardly got to spend time with them. Once he decided to see what his children were up to. Prahlāda was five years old at that time, and was very cute to look at, but he showed no interest in anything that was happening around him. The father felt it would be better to start his formal education. At that time, Shukrācārya who was the Guru for all demons was away performing penance. His Pātshāla was being run by two teachers – Chanda and Amarka. Hirańyakaśipu invited them home and honored them, and asked them to impart studies to his son.
In those days, even a king had to entrust his child to the Guru if he wanted the child to learn. All children irrespective of their social standing lived and studied together in the Gurukula. Prahlāda was taught about political studies and how to rule a kingdom. He was very devoted to his teachers, but the more he learnt, the more he was repulsed.
After a few days, Hirańyakaśipu felt like seeing his elder son and see how he was faring in his studies. He worried that the boy was not very bright, and wanted to test how much he had learnt. After spending some time playing with the boy, he asked “Son, of all the subjects that you have studied, what did you find best?”
Prahlāda immediately recited four lines. “Father, because of a sense of I and mine, this world exists. This world is like a mirage. Only Lord Sri Hari’s feet are real and eternal. To attain His feet, one must leave home and perform penance in the forest.” As he said these words, Prahlāda was filled with happiness and started singing praises of the Lord.
Let us listen to one such composition ‘Bhāvamulōna bāhyamulendunu’ sung by the children.
Hearing this small boy chant SriHari and Govinda nāmās infuriated Hirańyakaśipu. He looked at the teachers and asked “Is this what you teach children? Teach them real studies!” He sent the boy away with the teachers.
The teachers were dumbfounded. Where did this boy learn all this? After taking Prahlāda home, they showed a lot of affection and slowly asked him where he learnt about Govinda and Sri Hari. Prahlāda seized the opportunity and commenced his discourse like a great scholar. “With your eyes turned towards the world, do you not understand this God principle? Look at the world, you will understand.” He proceeded with Vedanta treatises and the essence of Bhakti.
The teachers could not understand how the King’s son could speak like this. They taught him everything about ruling a kingdom and political studies again. They literally drilled it into his head this time, and made him repeat everything that was taught. They grilled him with questions to confirm that he had indeed learnt and understood. Once they were satisfied, they took him back to the King. Hirańyakaśipu was beaming with happiness and showered love and affection on the young boy. He then asked his son “You’ve studied so much. Can you tell me the essence of your learnings in a few brief lines?”
Prahlāda spoke exactly four lines “Every object in this world is transient, so the happiness they give is also fleeting. If you are seeking eternal happiness, then bhakti is the only path. When pure devotion is directed towards the Eternal, one will attain ānanda – eternal happiness. SriHari alone is Eternal.” He then proceeded to state the essence of all that he had learnt in his past life and this life.
Hirańyakaśipu was enraged. He blasted Chanda and Amaraka for teaching his son meaningless Vedantic treatises and asked “How dare you incite my own son against me by teaching him to praise my enemy?” The teachers were scared, and kept insisting that they never taught any of this to the boy. Hirańyakaśipu not knowing what to do, thought for some time and asked his son “O you wicked wretch! Who taught you to say these things?”
Prahlāda did not get scared or retaliate. With great respect, he bowed to his father and said “Father, do you think those who keep losing battles to their senses can teach about the Eternal principle? And even if one were available to teach, would a student gain bhakti from such teaching? Bhagavān is glowing like a lamp in the heart of every being. The impurities of our minds are clouding that light. If we surrender at the Satpuruśā’s feet, the impurities in us will melt away and we will be able to see the light in our own hearts. That is the path to true Bhakti.”
The words spoken by this little boy were beyond his years. Hearing these words, Hirańyakaśipu was so enraged he pushed the child off his lap onto the floor. He then declared “This boy is a sinner. He is singing praises of the one who murdered his own uncle. How can such a Sri Hari be Bhagavān? It seems this boy can see Sri Hari. Let us see how he protects this boy now. If a part of the body becomes decayed and starts rotting, it must be cut off to keep the rest of the body healthy. This boy is like a diseased limb in my body. Take him away and kill him. Come back and report to me once you have killed him.”
The demon servants took the boy away and stabbed him with spears. By now, Prahlāda was very used to seeing Sri Hari in every being, so even though he saw the demons pick up spears he was not afraid. Because he was unafraid, he did not cry out for help to be protected. Sri Hari’s divine leelās continued in this strange manner. Even though the demons pierced his body, the boy remained unaffected and unharmed. He just kept happily singing the Lord’s name.
SriHari was in a fix. If such a staunch devotee could be tortured by such wicked beings, how would it reflect on Him? Would it not be a great insult if He did not come to the rescue of this devotee? There was a lot that this boy had to accomplish in the future, so He had to protect him. Therefore, even though Prahlāda did not cry out for help, SriHari placed a protective shield – rakśa kavacham around the boy.
When the demons tried to attack the boy with spears, the spears would break. The demons became furious and started using knives and maces which also met with the same fate. Prahlāda observed all these weapons and saw only Sri Hari in all of them. Since he did not see himself as an individual, the question of developing pride did not arise. He also did not feel any hatred towards those who were torturing him. Not only that, it did not occur to him to be grateful to the Lord for protecting him.
The servants went back and reported to the king that they were unable to kill the boy. When the king ordered them to kill the boy by any means possible, the servants resorted to all sorts of tactics. They had him dropped from great heights, stomped by elephants, bitten by poisonous snakes, buried him in holes, fed him poison, drowned him in water, threw him into flames, hid him in the snow and even starved him – but nothing worked. Hirańyakaśipu even had a special ritual – mārańa hōma performed, but to no avail.
The boy not only remained unharmed but also did not develop any feelings of hatred towards his captors. He never once asked them why they were torturing him like this. He just continued chanting the Lord’s name. Seeing this, Hirańyakaśipu lost his nerve. The thought that this boy would be the end of him arose in his mind. As he saw his palace getting destroyed like this, the king felt very embarrassed. He no longer commanded any respect among his subjects. He could no longer face Chanda-Amarka whom he had insulted so much.
The teachers consoled him and said “O King, when children become stubborn, the elders should not become stubborn too. Children who are difficult when they are young, grow up to be alright. This is not like a war with your enemy. You must not think you have lost this battle. Our father Śukrācārya will be back soon. Once he is back, this matter can be easily resolved. In the meantime, we will keep this boy with us. Please give us this opportunity.” The king said “Okay, teach him so that he develops interest in material pursuits” and sent them away.
When Prahlāda would hear the teachers preaching about kāma and artha, he would feel very sorry for them. During playtime, he would spend time imparting knowledge to his fellow classmates. Typically, demon children will have no interest in tatvabōdha, but because Prahlāda was able to deftly answer all their questions, the other children soon became Sri Hari’s devotees. Normally such knowledge is beyond the reach of everyone. But Prahlāda made it accessible and easy to grasp. One day, his classmates got suspicious and asked him how he had come to know so much. Prahlāda then confessed that while in the womb he would listen to Narada Maharśi’s discourses. But he refrained from telling them about his past life.
Soon the teachers noticed a marked change in the other children. Realizing that Prahlāda was the cause for all this, they decided to send him back to his father. When Hirańyakaśipu heard the news, it was the last straw. He decided to summon the boy and scold and insult him to get the truth out of him.
When Prahlāda arrived, the king scolded the boy for several hours in front of the assembled gathering. The smile on Prahlāda’s face never once faded. He just stood there respectfully with folded hands in spite of all the harsh words. The father eventually got tired and his jaws started hurting. Realizing that his plan had failed miserably, he said “You are a sinner. Do you think I will let you destroy me and my entire family right before my eyes? I myself shall kill you. if I so much as glare at my subjects, they get scared. How dare you heckle me like this! With whose backing are you behaving like this?”
In all the hours that Hirańyakaśipu had spoken, there were only abuses but no questions. Now finally he had asked a question to which Prahlāda replied “Father, the One who has created these three worlds, who is maintaining them and who will finally dissolve them – that Paramātma is my succour. Father, at least now give up this hatred. You say you want to win over the three worlds. The real enemy is your mind (manas). Winning against the mind is the greatest victory.”
Hearing these words, the real demon in Hirańyakaśipu emerged.
Jaya Guru Datta. Sri Guru Datta.