Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Prahlāda Mahārāja also fought, and even Bhagavān Rāmacandra fought. If the Lord fights, why would His associates not also fight? We fight against those who do not believe in God, and there is no harm in this.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Prahlāda Mahārāja has full faith that Kṛṣṇa is his maintainer and protector, in the past, present, and future. A devotee must be like this. He should not worry, thinking, “Oh, this problem is coming; what should I do?”
There was once a boy. In the beginning of his boyhood he was sent by his father to school, and he began studying with his teachers. Then, some time later, his father called him and he returned home. The boy, Prahlāda, was decorated by his mother, and then he came and sat on the lap of his father. His father began to caress his head, and said, “Oh, good boy, my son, can you tell me what you have studied in your school, and what you especially like?” Prahlāda replied as follows:
tat sādhu manye ’sura-varya dehināṁ
sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt
hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ
vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.5)
[O best of the asuras, king of the demons, as far as I have learned from my spiritual master, any person who has accepted a temporary body and temporary household life is certainly embarrassed by anxiety because of having fallen in a dark well where there is no water but only suffering. One should give up this position and go to the forest [vana]. More clearly, one should go to Vṛndāvana, where only Kṛṣṇa consciousness is prevalent, and should thus take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.]
He replied, “O Father, O best of the demons, I have learned in my school that the house in which we are living is a blind-well.” How so? The following example has been given.
Once there was a king, and he went hunting. By chance he became separated from his soldiers, at which time a tiger began chasing after him and he became frantic to save his life. There was a tall tree, which he could not climb, but then he saw a blind well and a small tree. He held onto two branches of that tree and lowered himself into the well. As soon as he somewhat descended into the well, he saw some black serpents at the bottom, hissing with a desire to immediately bite him.
The king thought, “My God, there are so many cobras. But just outside the well a tiger is roaring loudly.” Now he was in a dilemma regarding what to do. Hanging from the two branches of that tree, he noticed that two rats came out of the blind well, one black and one white, which started to bite the branches on which he was hanging.
And he noticed more. A beehive rested on the branches, and from the beehive some honey dropped in front of him. Seeing the honey, he could not control himself. He forgot that death waited downward, death waited upward in the form of the tiger, and death waited also in the form of the rats cutting the branches he held. Licking the honey, he thought, “How sweet this honey is; how sweet.”
What is the symbolism regarding the black and white rats cutting the branches? What is the tree? The tree may be compared to our lifetime, and the rats symbolize day and night. Days and nights cut down our lifetime: day and night, one week, a fortnight, a month, a year; cutting our lifetime. What does the tiger represent? He is the symbol of death. What are the snakes? They are symbols of the problems in this world. What is the honey which is dropping down in front of the king? It is the happiness of this material world. This is our situation.
What is your age?
Campakalatā dāsī: Forty-seven.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: This means that forty-seven years of your lifetime have already been cut down. Do you know how much longer you will live in this world?
Campakalatā dāsī: I don’t know.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or after one hundred years, you will die. The tiger represents death, and the snake represents the innumerable problems of this world. Have you any problems? Are your daughters married? Do you worry about this?
Campakalatā dāsī: Yes.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: One day you will become old. Perhaps you will not be able to walk at that time, and you will be attacked by many diseases. These are cobras. And what is the honey? Suppose a man and woman coming home from outside [where they were besieged by problems] now see their children. Those children jump onto their laps and say, “What have you brought for me?” By this exchange, the parents forget all their problems.
Prahlāda’s father became very angry by hearing Prahlāda’s words. He retorted, “What bogus thing have you learned?? To go to the forest and do bhajana of Kṛṣṇa???”
Again Prahlāda was sent to school, where his teachers taught him dharma (material religiosity), artha (economic development), kāma (sense gratification), politics, hypocrisy, and other spiritually useless things. Again he went to his father, and his father asked, “What have you learned in your school?” He replied śravaṇam, kīrtanam, vīṣṇu smaraṇam, pāda-sevanam, arcanam, vandanam, dāsyam, sakhyam, ātma-nivedanam. What is the meaning? [Vrajanātha dāsa explains the words of Prahlāda and his father’s unsuccessful attempts to kill him.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Now explain what Prahlāda told his classmates about living for one hundred years?
Vrajanātha dāsa: Prahlāda told his classmates, “If our life is one hundred years, half of the time we waste in sleeping, and another twenty years we waste in studying and going to school to learn some profession to become expert at making money. Then what happens? We get married, and then old age comes, at which time we cannot walk or remember anything. And in the middle, whatever time is left, what are we doing? We are working very hard for a little sense gratification.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Prahlāda said, “If you are giving all your energy to your marriage and to maintaining your family, when will you do bhajana? So, begin from today; otherwise your life will be useless.”
All the boys wanted to follow Prahlāda Mahārāja. They asked him, “What should we do?” Prahlāda replied, “Perform kīrtana. Chant, “Hare Kṛṣṇa Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa Hare Hare, Hare Rāma Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma Hare Hare.”
[Śrīla Gurudeva sings together with his devotees for a while.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Then Prahlāda’s father came.
[Vrajanātha dāsa describes Hiraṇyakaśipu’s challenges, Prahlāda’s replies, and Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s appearance.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Hiraṇyakaśipu could not die in the day or night, inside or outside the house, by any weapon, by any man, any demons, or any demigods.
Vrajanātha dāsa: The day was finished; it was evening, dusk, Nṛsiṁhadeva caught Hiraṇyakaśipu in the doorway, which was not inside or outside, put him on His lap, which was not on the land, in the sea, or in the air, pulled out his intestines with His nails, which were not weapons, and put those intestines around his neck like a garland. This indicates that no matter how many arrangements for protection we make in this world, we must die.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: At that time Nṛsiṁhadeva was very, very angry. Fire emanated from His mane, and He was so furious that He could have destroyed the entire world. Brahmā requested Prahlāda to pacify Him, so Prahlāda approached Him without fear and sat on His lap.
Tears came from Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s eyes and He became calm and quiet. He said, “O Prahlāda, I came late despite the fact that your father was harassing you so greatly. Please take a boon. What do you want?” Prahlāda replied, “I am not a businessman. I do not serve You to receive a boon from You.”
This is why I told you that you are wasting your time.
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ‘bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.30
[Persons who are addicted to household life due to having uncontrolled senses, are entering into hellish life wherein they repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their consciousness cannot turn towards the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa either by their own understanding, by the instructions of others or by the combination of both.]
Madhuvrata dāsa: Matir na kṛṣṇa parataḥ svato vā…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Matir na kṛṣṇe.
[Madhuvrata dāsa continues to utter the verse with Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja’s assistance, and then Acyutānanda dāsa utters the verse with his assistance.]
Acyutānanda dāsa: Uh…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: O Father…
Acyutānanda dāsa: O Father, materialistic people are only chewing that which has been chewed.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Um…I don’t know.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What are they chewing?
Madhuvrata dāsa: The meaning is that one’s father…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Fathers, forefathers, and others.
Madhuvrata dāsa: They’ve gone to college, earned money, gotten married, had children, gotten sick – and then their son does exactly the same.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They are not happy, they become old, and then they leave their bodies without taking anything with them. All materialists are like this.
More?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Because they can’t control their senses they enter the hellish material existence, and no other materialistic person can save them.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Who can help them?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Guru; sad-guru (a self-realized guru).
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Sad-guru; Vaiṣṇava.
You are chewing what your father, your grandfather and grandmother, their forefathers, and all other persons like them have chewed. They marry, children come, and one by one they all become old. They are not happy, and one day they give up this body without being able to take with them anything they have been collecting. You are chewing the same thing they chewed.
They are foolish like dogs. If a dog finds a dry bone and begins chewing it, blood flows from his own teeth as he thinks, “This is very salty and very tasty.” Many other dogs see him relishing the bone, ferociously attack him, and relentlessly bite him until he gives up the bone and with his tail between his legs runs to the side. From there, that dog now watches and sees how the next dog grabs the dry bone, begins to bite it, and is also immediately attacked by all the other dogs.
Everyone in this world is foolish like this,* and a guru who is also foolish cannot help others to become free. Prahlāda indicated to his demoniac father, Hiraṇyakaśipu, “Gurus like Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka are of the same category as you. How, then, can they help you?” Hiraṇyakaśipu replied, “O foolish one, you are calling my gurudeva and me foolish?”
Prahlāda replied by telling his father the next verse.
na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
te ‘pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.31
[Persons who are strongly entrapped by the consciousness of enjoying material life, and who have therefore accepted as their leader or guru a similar blind man attached to external sense objects, cannot understand that the goal of life is to give up this material life and engage in the service of Lord Viṣṇu. As blind men guided by another blind man miss the right path and fall into a ditch, materially attached men led by another materially attached man are bound by the ropes of fruitive labour, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Persons who want to enjoy this external material world, and take as a guru someone who also wants to enjoy this material world, cannot understand that the goal of their life is to engage in service to Śrī Viṣṇu. Just as someone blind follows another blind man, misses the path, and falls into a ditch, in the same way, someone who wants to enjoy this material world and accepts as guru someone who also does so, is tied by the ropes of this material existence.
Vrajanātha dāsa: He falls into a blind ditch.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of urudāmni baddhāḥ?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Very strong material ropes.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is that?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Material existence.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: “I will be happy;” “I will collect money;” “I will go to the heavenly planets.” What are these convictions? They are the illusory māyā.
What is the meaning of svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ?
Madhuvrata dāsa: They can never understand that the ultimate goal of life is to go back to Godhead, to Viṣṇu. In the same way that a blind person may follow another blind person, thus missing the correct path and falling into a ditch…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of ‘falling into a ditch’?
Madhuvrata dāsa: It refers to birth and death.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Miseries; the endless pain of birth and death. Very good.
Madhuvrata dāsa: Most people think they are having a very nice time in the cycle of birth and death.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They don’t know what is bhakti, who is Viṣṇu, who is Kṛṣṇa, who is the Supreme God. They know that there is God, but they have no attachment for Kṛṣṇa and do nothing for Him.
naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ
niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.32)
[Unless they smear upon their bodies the dust of the lotus feet of a Vaiṣṇava completely freed from material contamination, persons very much inclined toward materialistic life cannot be attached to the lotus feet of the Lord, who is glorified for His uncommon activities. Only by becoming Kṛṣṇa conscious and taking shelter at the lotus feet of the Lord in this way can one be freed from material contamination.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of this śloka?
Acyutānanda dāsa: “When one smears his body with the foot-dust of the devotees of the Lord, who are free of material contamination and from attachment to material objects, only then can one come to the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: After that:
kaumāra ācaret prājño
dharmān bhāgavatān iha
durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.6.1)
[Prahlāda Mahārāja said: One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life – in other words, from the tender age of childhood – to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection.]
tat-prayāso na kartavyo
yata āyur-vyayaḥ param
na tathā vindate kṣemaṁ
mukunda-caraṇāmbujam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.6.4)
[Endeavours merely for sense gratification or material happiness through economic development are not to be performed, for they result only in a loss of time and energy, with no actual profit. If one’s endeavours are directed toward Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one can surely attain the spiritual platform of self-realization. There is no such benefit from engaging oneself in economic development.]
And after that:
guru-śuśrūṣayā bhaktyā
sarva-labdhārpaṇena ca
saṅgena sādhu-bhaktānām
īśvarārādhanena ca
śraddhayā tat-kathāyāṁ ca
kīrtanair guṇa-karmaṇām
tat-pādāmburuha-dhyānāt
tal-liṅgekṣārhaṇādibhiḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.7.30–31)
[One must accept the bona fide spiritual master and render service unto him with great devotion and faith. Whatever one has in one’s possession should be offered to the spiritual master, and in the association of saintly persons and devotees one should worship the Lord, hear the glories of the Lord with faith, glorify the transcendental qualities and activities of the Lord, always meditate on the Lord’s lotus feet, and worship the Deity of the Lord strictly according to the injunctions of the śāstra and guru.]
kaumāra ācaret prājño
dharmān bhāgavatān iha
durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.1
[Śrī Prahlāda said: One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life – in other words, from the tender age of childhood – to practice the activities of devotional service and giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful and beneficial because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give a person complete perfection.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: [To Acyutānanda dāsa] Can you explain?
Acyutānanda dāsa: “Human life is very rare. One who is intelligent should perform devotional service to Lord Hari, because even a small amount of devotional service gives one a great amount of benefit.”
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: And what about the next important verse? Can you explain the verse beginning guruśuśrūṣayā?
Acyutānanda dāsa: “One should approach the guru, worship him, offer all of one’s material possessions unto him, stay in his residence, in his association, and worship Lord Hari.”
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why from the age of five? Will we not do so in old age?
Acyutānanda dāsa: No.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why not?
Acytānanda dāsa: Because… uh…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We will all die. It may be that some die in the womb of their mother, some will die after ten years, and some after twenty years. There is no certainty when death will come.
So, it is better to begin devotional activities from one’s young age.
Why should we not simply collect money to marry with a very beautiful lady, and have many sons and daughters of good character? Why not do all of this?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Because we have to leave all of these things when we die.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Should we not try to enjoy this world with our children, wives, and all other friends and relatives?
Acyutānanda dāsa: No.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Why not?
Acyutānanda dāsa: Because it doesn’t make a person happy.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They do not give happiness. Rather, they are like enemies. They take all of our attachment, which should have been given to Kṛṣṇa. In the form of father, mother, son, daughter, and especially wife or husband, they are like dacoits.
Prahlāda Mahārāja is saying that if your age duration is one hundred years, then fifty years goes in sleeping, twenty to twenty-five years for learning to be expert in making money, and from eighty to one hundred years old we are too old to do anything. Then, the remaining ten years goes to marrying, having daughters and sons, and supporting them. So, when will you do bhajana? It is better to perform bhajana from the beginning of your life.
How to begin? First accept a guru and render service to him with a sense of an intimate relationship (viśrambheṇa), and then perform all your activities only for the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa.
[Madhuvrata dāsa, Vrajanātha dāsa, and Vṛndā-devī dāsī recite the verse.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Oh, very good, very good! Vṛndā is better than Vrajanātha. [To Vṛndā-devī dāsī] He made mistakes, but you made no mistakes.
[Vṛndā-devī then explains the verse.]
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Very good. [Taking the part of a materialist and challenging Vṛndā-devī dāsī] We will practice bhakti-yoga in old age. We should enjoy the world. Why should we learn bhakti from the beginning? Why perform bhakti from childhood?
Vṛndā-devī dāsī: Because an old dog cannot learn new tricks.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Very good, thank you all.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the mood of Prahlāda Mahārāja?
Śrīpāda Bhāgavata Mahārāja: He sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere, in everyone, and in everything, and they are totally surrendered to Kṛṣṇa.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He sees all living entities and every aspect of creation in Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This is an example of an uttama-bhāgavata.
Umā-śaṅkara dāsa: To practice and receive your blessings, you should again bless me.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If you try, Kṛṣṇa will see this and think, “He is trying hard.” His mercy will then come to you:
sva-mātuḥ svinna-gātrāyā
visrasta-kabara-srajaḥ
dṛṣṭvā pariśramaṁ kṛṣṇaḥ
kṛpayāsīt sva-bandhane
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.9.18)
[Śrī Kṛṣṇa saw that His mother’s body had become drenched with perspiration. The garlands woven into her braid had fallen out, and she had become utterly exhausted. Seeing His mother’s fatigue, little Śrī Kṛṣṇa compassionately allowed Himself to be bound.]
Mother Yaśodā determined, “I must bind Kṛṣṇa,” and she ‘practiced,’ or laboured, to do this. Then, as soon as Kṛṣṇa saw her sweating and very restless to bind Him, He was at once bound by His own mercy.
When Nārāyaṇa saw Dhruva not eating or breathing, standing on one foot like a statue, He considered, “My devotee is performing such difficult austerities.” At that time He came within Dhruva’s vision.
Prahlāda’s father tried to kill him by various means, but Prahlāda did not pray to Kṛṣṇa to save him. Still, Kṛṣṇa, who always looks after His bhaktas, came at once and killed Prahlāda’s father.
Kṛṣṇa-kānta dāsa: When Nṛsiṁha Bhagavān appeared to Prahlāda Mahārāja, was it His first appearance in this world?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Nṛsiṁha Bhagavān was always present in Vaikuṇṭha, but He appeared in this world for the first time to Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Kṛṣṇa-kānta dāsa: I heard that in Prahlāda Mahārāja’s previous life, he had relations with a prostitute and later on slept in a Nṛsiṁhadeva mandira (temple) in the forest. So, was Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva’s mandira in existence before He appeared to Prahlāda Mahārāja?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: That may have been in another kalpa.
Kṛṣṇa-kānta dāsa: In another kalpa, this same pastime takes place in the same way; so how is it that Prahlāda Mahārāja appears later than Nṛsiṁha Bhagavān. How can this be?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Just as Rāmacandra comes again and again, so do Prahlāda and Nṛsiṁha. Likewise, Lord Jagannātha’s temple is always present, even in Satya-yuga.
Kṛṣṇa-kānta dāsa: So, in every kalpa the Lord’s pastimes are going on; they go on eternally. Are the same pastimes performed in every kalpa, or do they differ?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: There may be some variety.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I have heard everything you said. You said that you believe in karma. In that regard it is also important for you to know the meaning of tat te ’nukampām. Karma applies to general people, yet we see that those who have accepted a pure, bonafide guru and chant the holy name also have some suffering.
Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was beaten in twenty-two market places, although he had no karma. Draupadī had no karma, but she was attempted to be made naked in public. Sītā-devī and Rāmacandra had no karma to cause them to have to be banished to the forest for fourteen years. Although Prahlāda Mahārāja committed no offenses and had no karma, his father gave him poison and tried to kill him by fire and so many other means. This was not Prahlāda’s karma, rather it was the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Through His personal example and the examples of His personal associates, Śrī Kṛṣṇa wants to teach the world that in order to do bhajana one must be as tolerant as they are.
You may try to reconcile in this way. Understand that it is the mercy of Kṛṣṇa that someone has beaten you or that you have been put into any difficulty. Knowing this, you can return to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Peacefully chant Kṛṣṇa’s name, read books…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We remain humble by remembering the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
(Śrī Śikṣāṣṭaka, Verse 3)
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige, and ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
You can remember the history and character of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja; remember how tolerant he was. Also remember Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who remained humble although beaten in twenty-two marketplaces.
Aniruddha dāsa: The school administrators do not like anyone to speak about devotion during class.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Sometimes she can inject devotional topics. She can say, “We are not the body; we are souls. We should try to realize this. One day you will be old and forced to give up this body. We should try to believe in God.”
Today is Nṛsiṁha-caturdaśī. Be tolerant and humble, just like Prahlāda Mahārāja – especially when suffering comes. Be like Prahlāda. Although his father tried to kill him, he never opposed him in retaliation.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It is stated in the Vedas: “The symptoms of a sādhu, or saint, are that he is tolerant, merciful, and friendly to all living entities. He has no enemies, he is peaceful, he abides by the scriptures, and all his characteristics are sublime.”
The sādhu is tolerant, without being disturbed. For example, Lord Jesus Christ was tolerant. Even when he was being crucified, he prayed to God, “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Another example is the child-saint Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Prahlāda’s demonic father tried to torture him in many ways: by hurling him off a cliff, at the feet of a wild elephant, into a fire, and in a pit of snakes; but Prahlāda was never disturbed. His father forced him to drink poison, and he drank it, but he was not at all disturbed.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Prahlāda Mahārāja was tortured by his father [Hiraṇyakaśipu], yet he never felt he had a problem. Rather, he stood on the head of all problems.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Do you know Prahlāda Mahārāja? He remained very tolerant even though his father tried to kill him. At least your father is not saying that he will kill you. It is better to wait and tolerate their behaviour, but don’t be derailed. Be very strong like Prahlāda Mahārāja – more so than Prahlāda. Of course you cannot be more tolerant than he was; yet, try.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: No. We should tolerate this, as Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura was tolerant. Prahlāda Mahārāja was given poison, put in a fire, and tortured in many other ways; but he never thought, “I will take revenge against my father.” This is not Vaiṣṇava etiquette.
Śrīpāda Padmanābha Mahārāja: What if that devotee is thinking, “Somebody is coming to kill me!”? But his body belongs to Gurudeva.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You are not Prahlāda or Sītā-devī. You should try to escape, to save your life.
Līlānātha dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, in some classes you say that we should be like Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja, and in other classes you say that Prahlāda Mahārāja cannot even touch the lotus feet of Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī. How do we harmonize this?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: You must know all established philosophical truths, and then reconcile. This is very easy to understand, but you are not able to reconcile.
What is the aim and object of your life? What kind of bhakti do you aspire for?
Līlānātha dāsa: We should have no material desires.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Can you answer the specific question?
Līlānātha dāsa: My goal is to attain prema-bhakti.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What kind of prema?
Līlānātha dāsa: I want rādhā-dāsya prema.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: What is the meaning of rādhā-dāsya?
Līlānātha dāsa: Rādhā-dāsya means following the moods of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and what you are preaching to us.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: A clear way to express this is that your goal is the service of Śrīmatī Rādhikā under the guidance of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja cannot give this type of bhakti because he does not have it.
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: He is a jñānī-bhakta.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He teaches us tolerance, and how to properly honour others. For example:
tṛṇād api sunīcena
taror api sahiṣṇunā
amāninā mānadena
kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ
(Śrī Śikṣāṣṭakam, Verse 3)
One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honour, yet is always prepared to give all respect to others, can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.
We can follow him in this way, but regarding upāsanā-tattva, the established truths regarding our worshipable Deity, we must look to the most elevated example of worship, namely Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Vrajanātha dāsa: We cannot progress unless we become like Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes. In the preliminary stage of advancement one must follow the example of Prahlāda Mahārāja.
Devotee: Śrīla Gurudeva, I have a question. In previous yugas, there were great bhaktas such as Prahlāda Mahārāja, who never knew of Kṛṣṇa in Vraja. Can they, or do they, receive kṛṣṇa-prema?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Prahlāda Mahārāja said:
matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho ‘bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.5.30)
Materialistic persons are simply mulling over that which has already been mulled and chewing that which has already been chewed. Because their senses are not controlled they are proceeding towards the dreadful hell of this material existence, repeatedly trying to enjoy that which has already been consumed. The intelligence of such materially attached persons can neither be turned towards Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa by their own endeavour, by the instruction of others, or by the association of similar materialistic persons.
These are the words of Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja, which he had heard from Nārada Muni while still in the womb of his mother. It may be said that he is a worshiper of Nṛsiṁhadeva, but we can know that in a deeper sense he is a worshiper of Kṛṣṇa. It was Kṛṣṇa who came to save him, in the form of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva. If any problem comes to us, although we are worshipers of Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Rādhikā, He may come in the form of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva when He wants to save us.
Īśa dāsa: I asked you this question in Houston, and you explained that Prahlāda knew about Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa, but his worshipable Deity was Viṣṇu.
Vrajanātha dāsa: This is because a promise made by Brahmā must come true. In order to keep Brahmā’s promise, Kṛṣṇa had to appear in His half-man–half-lion form.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Yes, He had to come in that form. He came in that form for a special reason.
Devotee: What about the ṛṣis and other mystics in previous yugas who never knew of Kṛṣṇa?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: They will not attain kṛṣṇa-prema. They will perform tapasya (austerities) and yajñas (fire sacrifices), and they will go to heaven. But ṛṣis like Nārada attain kṛṣṇa-prema.
Kamala-kānta dāsa: Śrīla Gurudeva, who is the worshipable Deity of Prahlāda Mahārāja?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: We have already discussed that.
Kamala-kānta dāsa: Yes, but some say it is Paramātmā, some say Kṛṣṇa…
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: If you believe what they are telling you and not my words, that is all right. I have said that Kṛṣṇa is his worshipful Deity. I quoted his verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: Prahlāda Mahārāja did not mention Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva in that verse.
Dhruva dāsa: Then why did Prahlāda not get vraja-bhakti?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Vraja-bhakti is very rare. Whoever follows Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu will have vraja-bhakti, otherwise it is not possible.
Dhruva dāsa: But Prahlāda Mahārāja heard from Nārada Muni.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: I think that Nārada Muni may have heard from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Without the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, it is very difficult to attain the highest goal.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Jñāna-bhakti does not refer to the cultivation of the impersonal knowledge of the Māyāvādī. That statement refers to jñānī-bhaktas like Prahlāda. Śrī Prahlāda sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere, and he sees all living beings in Kṛṣṇa. He was a pure devotee, in a much higher stage than those at the stage of śaraṇāgati.
Rādhā-kānta dāsa: We were studying in Rūpa-śikṣā that generally the worshipful Deity of the devotee in śānta-rasa is either Paramātmā or the impersonal feature of God. But yesterday, when you were speaking about Prahlāda Mahārāja, you said that his worshipful Deity is Kṛṣṇa. But Prahlāda Mahārāja is a jñānī-bhakta situated in śānta-rati.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He is situated in dāsya-rasa, not śānta-rasa. Śānta-bhaktas are exemplified by the four Kumāras.
Rādhā-kānta dāsa: But sometimes we say that jñānī-bhaktas do not engage in service.
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: He offers prayers. He also tells hari-kathā to his classmates. For example, he told them:
kaumāra ācaret prājño
dharmān bhāgavatān iha
durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam
(Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.1)
One who is sufficiently intelligent should use the human form of body from the very beginning of life – in other words, from the tender age of childhood – to practice the activities of devotional service, giving up all other engagements. The human body is most rarely achieved, and although temporary like other bodies, it is meaningful because in human life one can perform devotional service. Even a slight amount of sincere devotional service can give one complete perfection.
He engages in śravaṇam (hearing about the Lord), kīrtanam (chanting the Lord’s glories), and also smaraṇam (remembering the Lord). In this way he is dāsa, a servant.
Śrīpāda Mādhava Mahārāja: He is in the category of aiśvarya-dāsya. Hanumān is in śuddha-dāsya (pure servitorship), and Prahlāda is in aiśvarya-miśra-dāsya (servitorship mixed with awe and reverence).
Rādhā-kānta dāsa: His eternal position in the spiritual world is serving in Vaikuṇṭha?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: It has not been written, but we can say that. When he was in the womb of his mother, Nārada Muni told him so much hari-kathā and trained him in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. So we can also say that he is sādhana-siddha.
Kṛpārāma dāsa: I have one question. In one limb of śaraṇāgati (surrender to Kṛṣṇa)** we should think that Kṛṣṇa is always maintaining us, but when we think of Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana, He is only thinking of how to meet with the gopīs. How can we reconcile this?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Kṛṣṇa is everywhere. He will save those who are surrendered.
Vrajanātha dāsa: But which Kṛṣṇa? Vrajendra-nandana Kṛṣṇa?
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja: Whoever is the devotee’s worshipful Deity.
If one claims to be totally surrendered to Kṛṣṇa, but when any problem comes he takes shelter of others, it means he has not really taken shelter of Kṛṣṇa.
We are not really surrendered. It will take time to develop that kind of surrender. Draupadī was surrendered; she called and Kṛṣṇa came. Prahlāda Mahārāja was also surrendered.
* “We are like this. Our fathers and forefathers have tried to take the juice of material enjoyment from this world, tasting only dry bone. If you ask your grandfathers, who are eighty, ninety, or a hundred years old, if they are happy with their life’s accomplishments, they will all say, ‘No.’ When you ask, ‘Why not?’ they will reply, ‘I am now old. I can no longer enjoy the taste of wonderful food because I cannot digest anything I eat. I am going to die. I am not happy.’ Ironically, their children consider, ‘Doing what we have seen our fathers and grandfathers do, we will now be very happy’ ” (Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Mahārāja).
** “There are six symptoms of śaraṇāgati (self-surrender). The first two are ānukūlyasya-saṅkalpa and prātikālyasya-varjanam: ‘I will only do that which is favourable for unalloyed bhakti, and I will reject all that is unfavourable.’ This is called saṅkalpa or pratijñā, a solemn vow. The third symptom is rakṣiṣyatīti viśvāso, faith in Bhagavān as one’s protector: ‘Bhagavān is my only protector. I can derive absolutely no benefit from jñāna, yoga, and other such practices.’ This is an expression of trust (viśvāsa). The fourth symptom is goptṛtve varaṇam, deliberate acceptance of Bhagavān as one’s maintainer: ‘I cannot obtain anything, or even maintain myself, by my own endeavour. I will serve Bhagavān as far as I am able, and He will take care of me.’ This is what is meant by dependence (nirabharatā). The fifth symptom is ātma-nikṣepa, absence of independent mood. ‘Who am I? I am His. My duty is to fulfil His desire.’ This is submission of the self (ātma-nivedana). The sixth symptom is kārpaṇye, meekness: ‘I am wretched, insignificant, and spiritually destitute.’ This is what is meant by humility (kārpaṇya or dainya)” (Hari-bhakti-vilāsa 11.676).
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