The Indian Dharma

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the continuation of the “Prahlaada Charithra”, one of the most important sections of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana, wherein the concept of “Ardent Devotion” towards Bhagawan is depicted in the form of Prahlaada’s life incidents. In that way, we are now at a point wherein little Prahlaada is being sent to the “Gurukula”, wherein his teachers are trying to teach him to chant “Om Hiranyaaya Namaha”, as per the stern instruction from his father, Hiranya-Kashibu. To their utter dismay, Prahlaada is not even moved an inch from his ardent devotion towards Bhagawan Narayana. His lips will only chant “Om Namo Naarayana” irrespective of whatever his teachers are teaching him. At one stage, the teachers handed him over to his father, saying that his son is “incorrigible” in nature! However, Hiranya-Kashibu gives them one more chance to “mend his son’s ways”!

But during the second time, the problems started complicating for the teachers. Unlike the first time wherein only Prahlaada was chanting Bhagawan Vishnu’s divine names, this time, even the other Raakshasa kids were also influenced by Prahlaada’s strong defiance! Now almost the whole of the Gurukula is resonating with the divine names of Bhagawan Narayana – Courtesy, little Prahlaada! 😊 In this line, we also witnessed few important messages alongside Prahlaada’s strong defiance – Bhagawan is equal for all living beings in this world. He is easily accessible for His ardent devotees 24*7*365 days in a year! If we follow the right path of “Bhakti”, Bhagawan is going to come to us by knocking our doors! So it is upto us to follow it and make ourselves accessible for Bhagawan to come!

Explaining thus, Prahlaada starts a huge “Upanyaasa”! He starts giving a huge discourse, which stuns the two teachers Chanda and Amarka even more! Firstly, they didn’t understand for a moment, who is the teacher and who is the student here! 😊 Secondly, how come a little boy have so much of in-depth spiritual knowledge and understanding that he is able to influence the whole crowd in a jiffy? As Prahlaada’s audience starts getting bigger and bigger, he even starts doing the “Naama-Sankeerthana” of Bhagawan Vishnu’s divine names! This totally frustrated the teachers, and at one stage, unable to bare the situation any further, Chanda and Amarka drag Prahlaada by his hands and take him to his father! They complain to Hiranya-Kashibu thus, “Oh Hiranya! Look at your son! He is such an incorrigible and a spoilt boy! We tried all possible ways to teach him the ‘right’ lesson, but yet, he is not willing to accept any of our lessons! It’s only a mere waste of time in teaching such students!”

As Hiranya-Kashibu listens from them thus, he thinks and devises a plan as to how to “teach” and “divert” his son’s attention from that of Bhagawan Vishnu. Strategizing thus, Hiranya-Kashibu comes up with few important questions to his son thus, “Oh Prahlaada! Please answer me correctly and honestly here – Who is that person provoking you to chant Vishnu’s name? Under whose influence are you acting this way? Irrespective of whatever your teachers or your father is trying to teach you, why are you in such a defiance mode? Tell me honestly, who is that person behind this heinous act of yours?” Prahlaada replies back thus to his father, “Oh father! Please don’t send me to that school again. I’m not liking what they’re teaching me! They’re teaching me who are friends, who are enemies, etc. But for me, I don’t have any differentiation as such between a friend and an enemy! All people are equal isn’t it? If “Paramatma” Shriman Narayana is dwelling inside the hearts of all people in this world, who can be a friend or an enemy? Aren’t all people the same? Everybody are equal in my eyes, and thus, whatever the teacher teaches me, is totally wrong!”

This answer totally irks Hiranya-Kashibu and his anger is starting to get over him now! He is raging and fuming! As Hiranya-Kashibu boils thus, Prahlaada continues further, “Oh father! These teachers are teaching the same lesson that they had taught me yesterday too!” Hiranya-Kashibu, upon hearing his son’s answers was shocked beyond words! How come he can learn things so quickly within just one day? Don’t we need constant practice for two or three weeks to gain mastery over the subjects? Prahlaada had extremely sharp intellect and this is solely because of his ardent devotion towards Bhagawan! If our mind gets immersed in Bhakti, our brain automatically becomes sharper and whatever is taught to us would be grasped by our mind very easily without any struggle! Prahlaada thus had an extremely sharp intellect that he didn’t like his teachers teaching anything more than once! He was in deep quest for spiritual knowledge and his thirst for learning knew no bounds! This virtually made the teachers Chanda and Amarka look like jokers!

Upon hearing these answers from the little child, Hiranya-Kashibu came to a conclusion thus, “This fellow is not going to mend his ways if we’re going to negotiate with him or talk with him in a nice way! All what is required is some harsh ways and some punishments! So let me start giving him a taste of what his father really is! Let him realize that Hiranya-Kashibu is more powerful than Vishnu!” Thinking thus, Hiranya-Kashibu starts to ponder over what punishment can be given to the little Prahlaada so that he mends his ways! Whatever it might be, the path of Bhakti is not going to be easy from now for Prahlaada. Is he going to still sustain the path of Bhakti, irrespective of the “punishments” that his father is going to met out to him? Let us wait and witness in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed a beautiful section of the “Prahlaada-Charithra” wherein we saw how little Prahlaada stood his ground when it came to chanting of Bhagawan’s divine name “Narayana”! Even though his teachers Chanda and Amarka tried repeatedly to make him forget the “Narayana” Mantra and teach “Om Hiranyaaya Namah”, it did not yield any fruit! Initially when both Chanda and Amarka took him back to his father, Hiranya-Kashibu, Prahlaada beautifully explains that he had learnt the nine different forms of ardent Bhakti towards Bhagawan Vishnu from his teachers! Upon hearing this, Chanda and Amarka were stunned beyond words! They did not teach any of what Prahlaada was saying! It was a blatant lie from Prahlaada! Thus, Hiranya-Kashibu gives both Chanda and Amarka, one more chance to prove their mettle – Else, they would be hanged to death!

Fearing this intensive punishment, Chanda and Amarka take away Prahlaada for one more time, but the output was the same! In fact, the problem got complicated when Prahlaada started pulling other Raakshasa kids too in chanting Bhagawan Narayana’s name! This irked the teachers beyond limits and on the other hand, their fear of being put to death by Hiranya-Kashibu was also gripping them! As this proceeds further, the Raakshasa kids innocently ask Prahlaada thus, “Oh Prahlaada! We are also born in a Raakshasa community like how you are born! Yet, we do not have even an iota of “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan Vishnu till date, unlike you! How is that you are so different from all of us? You’re such a blessed soul, but sadly and unfortunately we are not!”

Upon this, Prahlaada is moved by the children’s innocence and replies thus, “Oh children! Why do you want to cry and worry like this? Bhakti is common for all people in this world, including the Devas, Asuras, etc. Who on earth told you that you are ineligible to practice Bhakti? All of us have the equal rights to be ardent devotees of Bhagawan! So please shed this illusion thought that you are inferior and ineligible for doing Bhakti! If we are born as Raakshasa kids, so be it! Bhagawan never says that we should change our background and come to him! We can still be whatever we are, and still chant Bhagawan’s names and attain Moksha. All what is important is whether we are prepared to exhibit Bhakti from the bottom of our heart. If we’re able to do that, then Bhagawan lovingly receives all of us into His divine abode!”

What an important answer is this from the little child! It has lot of important meanings to it. This is not going to be the end of what Prahlaada is saying. The other Raakshasa children aren’t very convinced yet, just like all of us! 😊 They follow up with Prahlaada with few more questions thus: “Oh Prahlaada! Whatever you’re saying is fine. However, there are still some doubts. We hear that Bhagawan Vishnu is largely inaccessible to anyone including Bhagawan Brahma, Indra, etc. If those people aren’t able to meet Him, how can we? We are such insignificant people that Bhagawan might not even be interested to listen to what we are saying and doing for him!”

Prahlaada replies them back thus, “OH children! Please don’t think that way! Yes, you are right that Indra cannot meet Bhagawan that easily and this is because of his arrogance! Bhagawan is always accessible 24*7 for ardent devotees! All what is important is to call Him fervently from the bottom of our hearts! This will definitely go to Bhagawan’s ears and once that happens, He would come rushing towards us immediately! You can trust my words! Don’t compare Indra with us. If we follow the right procedure, we can be sure of attaining Bhagawan very easily!”

Prahlaada continues further thus, “Oh children! Please understand this – Even a squirrel has gone near Bhagawan and had a deep friendship with Him! Monkeys have done so too! And so have other animals like bears, dogs, etc. too! If animals like these can have direct and easy access to Bhagawan, why not us? We are blessed with the sixth sense called “discrimination” and we are blessed with the power to think and take decisions. We can definitely use our intellect, focus our devotion towards Bhagawan and finally attain Him very easily! This is definitely possible! Thus, Bhagawan is a person who is easily accessible to ardent devotees any time! It is only for those people with arrogance and pride that He is largely inaccessible!”

Thus, from this beautiful answer, the message is loud and clear – All of us are equal under Bhagawan’s eyes! It is only we who should decide whether to let Bhagawan access us or not! If we’re going to encourage our ego and arrogance, Bhagawan is going to ignore us every time! However, if we’re able to get to that level of maturity of shedding the ego completely and focus our attention on devotion, Bhagawan is also prepared to become our slave! He would start following us wherever we are going and will start giving us 100% access to Him whenever we want! So for today, let us realize and understand this important message. We shall wait till tomorrow’s episode to continue this further! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed little Prahlaada being sent to the “Gurukula” (School) for his formal education. Hiranya-Kashibu is of course very careful in selecting the teachers who can teach his little son. After some research, he selects Chanda and Amarka, both who were sons of Sage Shukraachaarya, to impart all the knowledge to little Prahlaada. As these teachers start their assignment, they try and impart “Om Hiranyaaya Namaha”! to Prahlaada. Being a great “Mahaatma”, Prahlaada only chants “Om Narayanaaya Namaha”! Irrespective of whatever tantrums his teachers inflict upon him, Prahlaada is totally unmoved like a rock! He doesn’t pay heed to what his teachers are teaching him! Realizing that Prahlaada is becoming incorrigible day by day, the teachers give up their mission! Thus, they take Prahlaada back to his father and submits them to him by saying that, they have failed in their pursuit of teaching his son!

As Prahlaada comes back, Hiranya-Kashibu calls his son lovingly and makes him sit on his lap. He asks Prahlaada as to what he has learnt in his “Gurukula”, upon which, Prahlaada gives a detailed accord on nine different types of “Bhakti” that his teachers had taught him. He lists them down as follows:

“Shravanam keerthanam vishnohosmaranam paada sevanam!

Archanam vandanam daasyam sakhyam aatma nivedanam!!”

This is a beautiful sloka which lists down the various types of “Bhakti”, which all of us ought to know and understand. Prahlaada starts with “Shravanam”. This means, we should be keen and interested to listen to Bhagawan’s divine names and divine episodes of His various incarnations. The next one is “Keerthanam”. This means, we should be keen and interested to sing in His praise. Third one is “Vishnu-Smaranam”, which means, that we should cultivate the interest of chanting Bhagawan’s divine names and meditate on His divine form. Fourth one is “Paada-Sevanam”. This means, we should be prepared to be of service under His lotus feet all the time. We should offer flower petals to His divine lotus feet. We should prostrate and bow down to His lotus feet. The next one is “Archanam”. This is the continuation of the previous point wherein we should offer our prayers in the form of flowers and petals to His lotus feet. Next, Prahlaada explains “Vandanam”, wherein we should be ready to offer all our efforts of our actions to Bhagawan and bow in front of Him. We should be able to acknowledge the fact that it is Bhagawan who is behind all our success in life. The next one in the list is “Dasyam”. This means that we should always be Bhagawan’s loyal servant, ready to perform whatever action He wants us to perform. Now the penultimate one comes by, which is “Sakhyam”. Here Prahlaada explains that we should be able to see Bhagawan as our best friend, with whom we can share lot many aspects of our life and whatever we go through. Finally, Prahlaada explains the ninth form of Bhakti, which is nothing but  “Aatma-Nivedanam” wherein, we should offer our “Atman” in its full entity towards Bhagawan!

Explaining thus, Prahlaada lists out the nine different forms of “Bhakti” (Ardent devotion) towards Bhagawan Vishnu and concludes by saying that, it was these nine divine qualities that he had learnt from his teachers in these past few days of education! As little Prahlaada explains all of these, his teachers Chanda and Amarka are standing there in utter disbelief! Hiranya-Kashibu turns towards them with an angry face and asks them, “What is all this mess? Why did you teach him what is not to be taught? Is this the education for which I sent Prahlaada to you?” Upon Hiranya-Kashibu’s angry questioning, the teachers are shaking with fear! They reply back thus, “Oh Hiranya! To be frank and honest with you, this is not what we tried teaching him! All what we taught him was to chant “Om Hiranyaaya Namah!” But whatever he is telling now, was never in our agenda of things!”

Upon hearing thus, Hiranya-Kashibu gives them one more chance! He again sends Prahlaada to their Gurukula and warns them sternly this time! If there’s going to be a mess of the same sort, both Chanda and Amarka are going to be punished under a death sentence!

Fearing thus, Chanda and Amarka take Prahlaada along with them, for a second time and again try to instill the phrase “Om Hiranyaaya Namaha”! Is there going to be a change in Prahlaada’s stance this time? The answer was a “No”! Prahlaada stuck to his position firmly! His lips can never chant anything else other than Bhagawan Vishnu’s divine name “Narayana”! Unlike the first time, the problem only ended up complicating further for both Chanda and Amarka! During the first time, it was only Prahlaada who was chanting the “Narayana” mantra. But now, Prahlaada influences all the Raakshasa children in the Gurukula to chant the divine “Narayana” mantra! Going by Prahlaada’s words, all the other kids also realized the significance of the sacred manthra, and joined him in the same! This further irked both Chanda and Amarka!

As these kids too get engrossed in Bhagawan’s tales and Mantra, they innocently ask Prahlaada with tears in their eyes thus, “Oh Prahlaada! We are also born in a Raakshasa community like how you are born! Yet, we do not have even an iota of “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan Vishnu till date, unlike you! How is that you are so different from all of us? You’re such a blessed soul, but sadly and unfortunately we are not!”

Saying thus, the kids start to weep! They realize that they’ve caught hold of the right person who can install the “Bhakti” in them! Now what is going to be Prahlaada’s reply to these weeping kids? An interesting and an important answer awaits us in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed the greatness of Prahlaada and why was he aptly referred to as one of the greatest “Mahatmas” (Spiritually realized soul) that the world has ever seen. We saw some important and pertinent characteristics as narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya, that Prahlaada was comprised of. It is thus, not only for Prahlaada, but all Mahatmas are embodiments of those characteristics that we had discussed yesterday. Irrespective of whichever “Yuga” they are incarnated in, these characteristics never change. It might perhaps be the fact that normal people like us would undergo substantial changes in terms of culture, way of life, activities, etc. as years and generations pass by. Whereas, Mahatmas transcend all these changes and they are several notches ahead of us. Hence, it is our bound duty to respect Mahatmas and try to learn as much as we can from their teachings. This would aid our spiritual progress much faster. Rather than only depending upon books, literature, etc., if we have an association with a Mahatma, our knowledge gets deeper and thus, our progress becomes much faster and in the right direction as well. Because, if we just keep reading things and trying to understand, we might not be able to grasp the whole content. Rather, if a Mahatma teaches us with simple and practical examples, stories, etc. it becomes much easier for us to relate the subject and learn better. Readers should understand this point very clearly.

Moving on thus, as Hiranya-Kashibu was on a rampage mode, his son Prahlaada was silently defying his father’s anti-Vishnu agenda! As Hiranya-Kashibu goes around destroying all those people who were Bhagawan Vishnu’s devotees, Prahlaada never cared an inch and continued with his spiritual pursuit. As King Parikshit is listening to this story from Sage Shukaachaarya, he asks a question thus: “Oh Sage! How come this Prahlaada was able to manage his devotion towards Bhagawan Vishnu, even though his father was totally against it? Wasn’t it tough for Prahlaada to manage the tantrums that were thrown by his father in this regard? How did he manage all of these and still follow the spiritual path in a steadfast manner?”

As King Parikshit asks these questions thus, Sage Shukaachaarya continues to narrate the Prahlaada-Charithra even further. This would perhaps answer all his questions. Continuing with what Sage Shukaachaarya’s accord thus, as Prahlaada grows up to the age of five or six, his father, Hiranya-Kashibu decides to send him for the formal education. Thus, he selects two good teachers, “Chanda” and “Amarka” from his kingdom and sends Prahlaada for the “Gurukula-Vaasa”. Just like how the Devas have their “Guru” as “Brihaspati”, the Raakshasas too have their own “Guru”. He is none other than Sage Shukraachaarya.. Sage Shukraachaarya had two sons. It were these sons of Sage Shukraachaarya, Chanda and Amarka, whom Hiranya-Kashibu appoints for teaching his son Prahlaada.

As these two “Gurus” start teaching the lessons, they try to make little Prahlaada repeat thus, “Om Hiranyaaya Namaha”. Little Prahlaada watches them chant this! However, while repeating the chant, the child recites, “Om Narayanaaya Namaha”! This was happening in a repetitive fashion and at one stage, the two teachers start having their own doubts! They were not sure whether they are teaching Prahlaada properly or not. Hence, they go in front of a mirror and chant “Om Hiranyaaya Namaha”! 😊 They check for themselves whether they are chanting the right syllables or not! However, they couldn’t find any mistake in what they’re chanting! As the teachers try teaching several times thus, Prahlaada doesn’t seem to change from his stance! His lips are only chanting Bhagawan Narayana’s name and not his father’s name at all! The teachers try to convince him by making him understand, by scaring him with a stick, etc. But nothing seems to work with the little child! Prahlaada stands his ground firmly! He is not going to be moved by any of these gimmicks! He’s a realized soul by birth and such games played by his teachers were just a mere waste of time and energy!

Getting fed up with Prahlaada thus, the two teachers take him to his father and say thus, “Oh Hiranya! We tried our best to impart the mantra “Om Hiranyaaya Namah”, however, your son is least interested in learning it. Instead, he is steadfast in chanting something that we don’t want him to chant. We tried different ways to mend him, but nothing worked! Hence, we are helpless at this stage and we’re giving your son back to you. You find some alternative ways to mend his ways!” Saying thus, the two teachers hand over Prahlaada to his father Hiranya-Kashibu and take leave!

As little Prahlaada comes to his father, he makes the child sit on his lap and tries to lovingly teach the phrase “Om Hiranyaaya Namah”. To his utter irritation, Prahlaada repeats it by chanting “Om Narayanaaya Namah!” He further asks Prahlaada thus, “Oh child! You’ve been in the Gurukula all these days, isn’t it? What did you learn there? Can you please explain to your father?” Prahlaada politely replies back to his father thus, “Oh father! Yes! I had learnt a lot from my teachers! Thank you for sending me to such wonderful teachers. I had learnt nine types of Bhakti (Devotion) from them! Let me explain them to you one by one!”

Now what are these nine types of Bhakti that Prahlaada is going to explain? Let us wait till the next episode to find out! An interesting and an important accord awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 😊

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Hiranya-Kashibu getting into his full rampaging mode, after he had obtained a hefty list of boons from Bhagawan Bramha! Carried away by the boons that he had just obtained, Hiranya-Kashibu directs all his forces towards Bhagawan Vishnu’s devotees, so as to take vengeance against Him for killing his brother, Hiranyaaksha. It should be remembered by readers here that Hiranyaaksha was the Raakshasa who was killed by Bhagawan Varaaha. It is only because of this, Hiranya-Kashibu is fuming with anger and is doing whatever it takes to destroy the person who had killed his brother! Thus, Hiranya-Kashibu goes house after house, forest after forest, town after town, etc. killing all those people who chanted the sacred name of Narayana. His main aim was to make Bhagawan Vishnu’s devotion unpopular and thus, establish his supremacy in the world!

As Hiranya-Kashibu goes about his business thus, he directs himself now towards the Devas, headed by Indra. A bitter war breaks out and finally Indra is unable to give a tough fight against Hiranya-Kashibu and thus finally succumbs! Hiranya-Kashibu finally captures Indra and imprisons him and his colleagues too! However on the other hand, as Hiranya-Kashibu goes thus on the rampage, his son was still an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu! Being a small child, Prahlaada was involved in chanting Bhagawan’s divine name “Narayana” almost 24*7.

Sage Shukaachaarya explains the significance of this young child very beautifully here. He lists out different characteristics of how a child should be!

The first characteristic is “Brahmanyaha” – A person who has the desire to learn and understand what the “Brahman” is. The second is “Sheela-sampannaha”. This means, a person who views everyone on the same and equal plane. There is no question of who is superior or inferior in front of Bhagawan, isn’t it? All of us are Bhagawan’s own children. Can a father distinguish amongst his children as to who is superior or inferior? Thus, an ardent devotee should have this maturity to treat everybody equally, irrespective of their financial stature, educational stature, intelligence, etc. This is where all of us get into problems with other people. Our ego goes up and down primarily because we start differentiating ourselves from others, based on these four characteristics. Suppose for instance, we would have been highly educated until a PhD degree and if someone who has bare minimal education trying to advise us on some important aspect in life, what would we do? We would immediately ask that person back, “Oh! Who are you to advise me? You’re not even educated as what I am. Given this difference, how do you feel that you know better than what I do?” This is where our ego comes into play! If we’re having this ego, we would never be able to see people on the equal plane. Thus, the point here is that, as an ardent devotee, we should be devoid of ego and if this happens, we would automatically be able to see all people as Bhagawan’s own divine children.

In fact, this was the gross difference between the son and the father, in Prahlaada’s case! This is why I’m stressing upon this particular point a lot. On one hand, the father, Hiranya-Kashibu was on a rampage mode because of his ego that he is the most supreme element in this whole world, and none can stop him! Whereas on the other hand, we witness his son Prahlaada on the exact opposite end of the spectrum wherein he is able to view all living beings on the same plane, due to the lack of this element called “ego”! Moreover, Prahlaada was a “Satyavaan”, which means, he only talks the truth and nothing else. Also, he had complete control over his senses. He was also an epitome in the characteristic of “Priya-Sukruthamaha”, which means, he had the intention that all living beings in this world should be happy and contended. Sage Shukaachaarya continues further and explains that Prahlaada was a live example of another important quality called “Dheena-Vatsalaha”. This means, he is an embodiment of mercy and if he sees any living being in distress or any sort of suffering, he would run towards them immediately and offer some help.

More than all of these, Sage Shukaachaarya explains Prahlaada’s ardent devotion towards Bhagawan. He explains that little Prahlaada doesn’t play with toys or whatever. His only focus is on Bhagawan Narayana. Thinking of Bhagawan all the time in his mind and heart, Prahlaada would dance in bliss, sing in bliss and would close his eyes and meditate on Bhagawan’s divine form. Sometimes as his devotion goes overboard, Prahlaada would suddenly burst out laughing, as if he is sitting with Bhagawan next to him and sharing a joke. At some other times, Prahlaada would burst out crying, as if he is yearning for Bhagawan’s divine vision. At times, he would even roll on the floor, jump with joy and do some crazy activities, which common people like us cannot infer! All these are the signature characteristics of a realized soul or a “Mahatma”! We shall witness a similar pattern of all these characteristics in any “Mahatma” or a “Sadguru” at any point in time. We might think that these people are “mad” and “crazy” in nature. But the ultimate truth is that, they are beyond all these worldly affairs and are totally immersed into Bhagawan’s thoughts. “Mahatmas” are totally in bliss and are experiencing the divinity of Bhagawan! Hence, instead of making fun of such people, we should make it a point to respect “Mahatmas” and should try and learn as much as we can from these great people.

So for today, let us ponder over these important points of Sage Shukaachaarya and let us try and imbibe few of them atleast, in our daily lives! We shall wait till the next episode to continue with the Prahlaada-Charithra further. Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

We are at a very auspicious stage of the Shrimad Bhaagawatha Puraana, wherein, one of the most prominent persons in our Sanaathana Dharma is taking birth, so as to send out a clear message to all of us that we can reach Bhagawan’s feet through ardent devotion towards Him. This person is none other than Prahlaada himself! Thus, in the previous episode, we had witnessed how Prahlaada was born and what were the background events that took place prior to his birth. We witnessed Sage Naarada intervening Indra’s pursuit to kill Prahlaada while he was in his mother’s womb itself. As this is done, Sage Naarada takes Kayaathu to his ashram and narrates all of Bhagawan’s tales to her and her child inside her womb. Although Kayaathu dozes off in the middle of every story due to her extreme tiredness, this child is wide awake and is listening to each and every word of Sage Naarada very carefully. As the ten-month period gets over, Kayaathu delivers a male child and is named “Prahlaada”.

Now let us move on with the “Charitra” of Prahlaada further. Sage Sukhaachaarya explains thus:

“Bhobho dhaanava daiteyaaha vimoordhah thrayaksha sambhava!

Sa pathnair gaadithah kshudraihi braataade dhaiyithah sukrth!!”

Now as Prahlaada takes birth, this was the time when his father, Hiranya-Kashibu returns back from the forest with all the boons given by Bhagawan Brahma. He is now double happy that his boons were fulfilled, as well as he has been blessed with a baby boy! Unable to control his happiness in one hand and greed on the other, Hiranya-Kashibu unleashes all sorts of tantrums everywhere around! He calls upon all the “Raakshasa forces” to convene in his palace for an important “strategic meeting” 😊 and thus instructs all of them to start destroying places wherein the Vedas were being chanted. He instructs his forces to also destroy people who are conducting any forms of spiritual practices anywhere in this world. He calls upon his forces to take on those specially who were involved in devotion towards Bhagawan Narayana. In literal sense, Hiranya-Kashibu gets more and more obsessed with the name “Narayana” itself, and he destroys anybody who even chants the sacred name by mistake!

All these behavioral traits might be very familiar to us in today’s world – The reason being, these traits are popularly exhibited today by several anti-Sanaathana Dharma forces in various parts of our Bhaarata Desha! Till few years ago, these forces were acting under a shadow wherein it was not obviously seen by people, but today, these forces are gaining lot of power to deliberately perform acts that are an insult to our great Sanaathana Dharma. However, just like how Bhagawan Vishnu incarnated to protect this world from being clutched away by the Adharmic forces, let us hope that Bhagawan would soon do the same thing now as well! We should always keep in mind that our Sanaathana Dharma is not destroyable by any force in this world. If we’ve withstood innumerable invasions from various parts of the world successfully so far, it is only the power of our Sanaathana Dharma. Given this proven track record, we may have no doubts in our minds that our Sanaathana Dharma can never be broken apart by any force. It is just that these forces are wasting their time in trying to break the unbreakable!

Now moving on thus, Hiranya-Kashibu unleashes all sorts of actions to destroy all the spiritual activities that were being performed in the name of Bhagawan Vishnu. He takes on all of them and tries to take vengeance on that Bhagawan Vishnu who had killed his brother Hiranyaksha. He also instructs his people to kill all cows. He instructs people to destroy all the “Yagnyas” and any sort of spiritual offerings! All these tantrums are unleashed because of the confidence obtained from his boons that Bhagawan Brahma has given him! He is now virtually unstoppable by anybody in this world! As Hiranya-Kashibu goes on a rampage mode thus, all the Devas started shaking with fear and ask each other thus, “Oh no! Is there nobody in this world who can stop him from his Adharma?” As the Devas were fearing thus, Hiranya-Kashibu knocks at their doors as well, inviting them to wage a war against him! Hiranya-Kashibu directly takes on Indra, because he was worshipping Bhagawan Narayana! He wins over Indra and the Devas, capture them and imprisons them too! Hiranya-Kashibu’s vengeance now knows no bounds at all!

As he was on such a rampage mode thus, in the meanwhile, Prahlaada is also growing up. In contrast to what is father was, Prahlaada was an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu right from the time he was born! Just as Sage Naarada had outlined in the past, Prahlaada grows up as an epitome of “Bhakti” towards Bhagawan Narayana! Sage Sukhaachaarya narrates the important characteristics of Prahlaada in detail. This is going to be an important point for all of us to note down carefully. We shall wait till the next episode to witness this important point! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode we had witnessed an interesting accord wherein Indra tries to kill Hiranya-Kashibu’s baby in his wife’s womb itself. The primary agenda behind Indra’s action is that, since Hiranya-Kashibu was a Raakshasa and is about to cause widespread destruction to the world after he obtains the boons from Bhagawan Brahma, the child that is going to be born to a Raakshasa would also be another Raakshasa. Thus, to save the subsequent generations of people in this world, Indra thinks that he should finish off this child in it’s mother’s womb itself and should never let it be born at all! Hence, Indra rushes to the place where Kayaathu was staying, kidnaps her to his Indra-Lokha and tries to abortion her! It is at this time, Sage Naarada appears from nowhere and blasts Indra left, right and center! By doing so, Sage Naarada makes Indra realize that this child which is about to take birth, is no ordinary child as he thinks it to be! He is going to be one of the greatest devotees of Bhagawan Vishnu and is going to preach various important messages to the world. If Indra is going to kill this ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu, he is only going to accumulate a heinous sin of doing such an act and moreover, he is going to make himself a victim of Bhagawan Vishnu’s anger!

As Sage Naarada continues with his accord, he takes away Kayaathu with him and starts narrating all the important aspects of Bhagawan Vishnu. As Sage Naarada is narrating thus, this baby is listening carefully to each and every word of what Sage Naarada was saying, from being inside the womb itself! It is to be remembered that the baby is yet to take birth. This is the reason why this baby was later appreciated as “Garbha-Shreeman”, which means, this person was an ardent devotee with extensive spiritual knowledge, even while being inside the womb!

As days progress, it is time now for Kayaathu to deliver the baby. As the baby is born, it is named “Prahlaada”. We might have known something about this Prahlaadha in the past as well. Now let us witness the life events of Prahlaadha in a great detail. In fact, this “Prahlaada-Charitra” is an important one for us, which is an epitome of “Bhakti” (Ardent devotion towards Bhagawan) at all times. Irrespective of whatever challenges that might come through our lives, the important question that arises here is that, are we able to walk the path of “Bhakti” by ignoring all challenges, or are we going to get carried away by each and every challenge and forget Bhagawan in the way? Thus, this “Prahlaada-Charitra” gives us excellent answers for this important question. Now let us go into the main story. So far we’ve witnessed the background behind the birth of Prahlaada and now let us witness what did this Prahlaada go through in his life and how did Bhagawan save him from whatever he went through.

“Dhamaghosha sutah paapa aarabhya kala bhaashanaath!

Sampratyamaharshih govinde danta vaktrascha durmathihi!!

Keetah preshah sthruthaaruddah kudyaayaam tam anusmaran!

Kaamaad dveshaadh bhayaath snehaath yathaa bhaktiyeshware manaha!!”

As Prahlaada’s story is being narrated by Sage Sukhaachaarya to King Parikshit thus, he also adds one more accord mid-way, which is also important for us to understand. There are different ways through which we can attain Bhagawan – Either through desire, or through love, or through friendship, or through ardent devotion, or by being a slave for Bhagawan, or by showing anger and frustration towards Bhagawan, or by scolding Bhagawan left right and center! We might immediately ask here, how can we attain Bhagawan by scolding? Sishupala was one of the greatest examples of this variety! He had left no bad words used, to scold Bhagawan Krishna and yet he attained Moksha at the end! 😊 But how is that possible? We should remember one fact here – Whenever Sishupala wanted to scold Bhagawan Krishna, he was constantly thinking about Him, isn’t it? He did not think of anything else or anybody else. Sishupaala was extremely focused in what he wanted to achieve! Whereas if we consider our cases, if we’ve to think about Bhagawan, we can’t even think of Him continuously for five minutes together! 😊 We get disturbed with so many unwanted thoughts and our mind keeps wavering here and there without any control! This was not the case with Sishupaala.

In fact, as I had mentioned couple of episodes ago, Raakshasas have much more focus as compared to Devas and people like us! This is the reason why Raakshasas were able to obtain whatever boons they wanted to have, and here we are, aimlessly wandering without doing anything! This is the gross difference – Because of the extreme focus of what they want to achieve, the Raakshasas are steadfast in their approach and try hook or crook to achieve whatever they want! Of course, I’m not saying that we should adopt this method in our lives for all the wrong reasons, however, who is stopping us from adopting this steadfast focus for all the good things? Who is going to stop us if we’re ardently praying for Bhakti or Devotion? This is where we are missing out. We need to somehow plug this loophole so that, our spiritual progress is taken care of!

This is exactly what Sage Naarada and Sage Sukhaachaarya are trying to say here. If we talk of the ways and means of attaining Bhagawan’s feet, there are different ways and there are people who have succeeded in all these ways to attain Moksha. For instance, the Gopikas had the desire to be amidst Bhagawan Krishna’s presence every time, and with that, all of them attained Moksha. Lakshmana was Bhagawan Rama’s slave and he was in service to his brother, right from the moment he was born till his last moment. This Prahlada whom we are talking about now, is an excellent example of attaining Bhagawan through ardent devotion. Similarly, there are people who have walked the path and demonstrated to us in their own ways, as to how to attain Bhagawan’s feet.

Hence for today, let us understand and appreciate this important point and we shall wait till the next episode to move deeper into Prahlada’s “Charitra”. An interesting accord awaits us! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The previous episode witnessed an important discussion wherein we answered the question on why do the Raakshasas attain so many boons from Bhagawan Bramha and is it fair on his part too, to grant all what these Raakshasas ask for. Even after knowing very well that the Raakshasas are going to use these boons to destroy the world (just like how some people are doing today), why is Bhagawan Brahma granting them whatever they ask for? We witnessed interesting but important answers for these questions, wherein the crux of the discussion was that, the rule book is the same for all people. Those who follow the rules, would get benefitted and those who don’t, do not get any benefit. It’s as simple as that! Unfortunately the fact of the matter is that, the Raakshasas are steadfast in what they want to achieve, and thus they obtain it as well. However, it is always found to be wanting on the side of the people who are good and kind-hearted.

Moving on further, as Hiranya-Kashibu obtains all the boons from Bhagawan Brahma, he returns back to his kingdom victorious! Eventually as he entered his palace, he had another sweet news awaiting him! His wife by name Kayaathu was carrying and was about to deliver a baby! This added to his happiness and both Kayathu and Hiranya-Kashibu were eagerly waiting for the baby to be born. It is to be remembered meanwhile that this Hiranya-Kashibu was the biggest enemy to all the Devas, including Indra. Since Indra knew what was conspiring, he started thinking thus, “Oh! Anyway, this Hiranya-Kashibu is a Raakshasa and is torturing all of us mercilessly. Now that he is expecting a child, this child will also eventually turn out to be a Raakshasa. Hence, to save the world’s future generations atleast, we should destroy this child even as it is in it’s mother’s womb. By this, we shall prevent the birth of one more new Raakshasa in this world!” Having this thought thus, Indra comes down to the world, kidnaps Kayathu and takes her along with him, before Hiranya-Kashibu comes back from the forest after the penance. Readers should understand that this Indra’s kidnapping of Kayathu is happening while Hiranya-Kashibu was in deep penance. He doesn’t even know what was happening to his wife at this point in time.

However, it was Sage Naarada who stops Indra from proceeding further. Sage Naarada stops Indra mid-way and scolds him left, right and center! Sage Naarada says thus, “Oh Indra! Do you know what kind of a grave mistake you are about to commit? You’re trying to punish a pregnant woman and her new child, for no fault of theirs! Just because her husband is a Raakshasa, how is it fair to punish anybody other than him? If you have the guts, go and wage a war with Hiranya-Kashibu, win over him and do the needful, rather than punishing someone else. Moreover, do you even know what is the significance of the baby which is going to be born from her womb? You’ll not understand it even if I explain to you properly. Hence, stop this atrocity and hand over this woman to me. I shall take care of her until Hiranya-Kashibu returns back!”

Saying thus, Sage Naarada takes away Kayaathu to his ashram and nurtures the pregnant woman with all the care that he could give. As Sage Naarada keeps her in his ashram, he narrates all stories of Bhagawan Vishnu to her and this baby is also listening to all of these stories from the womb itself. Although Kayaathu is falling asleep occasionally dur to her tiredness of bearing the pregnancy, this baby inside the womb is widely awake, listening to every word that Sage Naarada is uttering! Because of this, the to-be-born baby has another significant name called “Garbha-Shreeman”. This is such a unique ability isn’t it? In the womb, normally the baby might not even be fully grown. Even then if this baby has the capability to listen and appreciate Sage Naarada’s stories, how fortunate was this baby and how much blessed was this baby to obtain all this information and that too from none other than Sage Naarada himself?

As this baby listens more and more to Sage Naarada’s words, the devotion (Bhakti), knowledge (Gnyaana) and will-power / persistence (Vairaagya) starts growing automatically. This baby is thus fully transformed into an ardent devotee of Bhagawan Vishnu even before it takes birth! Now who is this “special baby” that I’m talking about? Who is it that Sage Naarada himself is giving so much of importance? Why is he doing this? An interesting next episode awaits us tomorrow! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed Jaya and Vijaya taking birth in this world as two Raakshasa brothers. Jaya took birth as Hiranyaksha and Vijaya took birth as Hiranya-Kashibu. We’ve already witnessed that Bhagawan Varaha had killed Hiranyaksha and with this, his brother Hiranya-Kashibu is angered and is waiting to take vengeance against Bhagawan Vishnu who conspired and killed his brother. Accordingly, Hiranya-Kashibu sets out for a deep and an intense penance towards Bhagawan Brahma. Eventually, Bhagawan Brahma gets impressed with the intensity of Hiranya-Kashibu and thus appears in front of him. Pleased with Hiranya’s dedication, Bhagawan Brahma gave him the opportunity to ask for a boon. Accordingly, Hiranya-Kashibu comes up with a huge list of boons! 😊 We’ve witnessed this huge list yesterday and with this list, he seemingly becomes invincible, wherein even Bhagawan Brahma starts shaking with fear! As Hiranya-Kashibu finally finishes his long list, he concludes it by asking thus, “Oh Bhagawan Brahma! Grant me the boon that I would never be killed by any living being which is created by you!” Hearing this, Bhagawan Brahma heaved a huge sigh of relief! He knew the loophole that was evident in what Hiranya-Kashibu had asked! If there’s nobody of Bhagawan Brahma’s creation who can kill Hiranya-Kashibu, there might be someone who hasn’t been created by Bhagawan Brahma! He’s none other than Bhagawan Narayana Himself! At that moment itself, Bhagawan Brahma realized that this Hiranya-Kashibu is destined to be put an end by none other than Bhagawan Vishnu only!

We had finished the previous episode with an important and an interesting question – Why is that, the Raakshasas are always being granted with innumerable number of boons by Bhagawan Brahma? In every instance in the Sanaathana Dharma scriptures we would see a clear pattern emerging thus – If there’s a Raakshasa, he would do penance towards Bhagawan Brahma, obtain boon after boon, do all sorts of atrocities possible in this world and finally Bhagawan Vishnu has to break his head and come and kill the Raakshasa, so as to save the world! This can be seen in Hiranyaksha, Hiranya-Kashibu, Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Kamsa, Sishupaala, etc. The list goes on and on! Why is this happening like a trend? Why is Bhagawan Brahma granting boons to those people who do not deserve to have them in their possession? Isn’t it unfair on Him to do so? Let us witness the answers to these questions now.

To begin with, we should understand one point very clearly here – It is the rule of nature and Bhagawan that if any person follows the due procedure in doing intense penance, he / she would be destined to obtain the benefits assigned to it. Even in today’s world, we have the “Phala-Stuthi” at the end of every important sloka. For instance, if we consider Vishnu Sahasranama or the Lalitha Sahasranama, at the end of both these verses, we would have this “Phala-Stuthi”. This section explains the various benefits that a person would obtain if he / she chants this sloka. This “Phala-Stuthi” is a rule and it is thus applicable to all people in the world, irrespective of whether the person is good or bad in nature. The only difference here is that, for people who are wicked, the “Vairaagya” or the “Will-power” to achieve the benefits is very high, whereas, for people who are good in nature, generally lack this will power! We can witness this trend in almost all cases of Raakshasas in the Sanaathana Dharma – Right from Hiranyaksha to Sishupala, everybody had that dedication to obtain something in the form of boons! As per the law thus, if someone follows the procedure with the required “Vairaagya”, Bhagawan Brahma cannot deny the benefits to that person. Just because a person might be bad, it would be unfair if Bhagawan Brahma denies it. This is the reason why all the Raakshasas obtain all possible boons from Bhagawan Brahma and eventually involve in all sorts of atrocities to push their personal agenda.

Just like how the Raakshasas were steadfast in their approach towards boons, in today’s world too, we find the same characteristic, isn’t it? Those people with a divisive agenda or those people whose only aim is to destroy the world by any ways or means are always united and steadfast in their approach, and fight for their so-called “basic rights”! We’ve witnessed this characteristic even few days ago when the Indian government took a bold step forward to deny few basic rights for that particular destructive community of people. We witnessed their destructive and divisive agenda coming to the forefront with all the violence that erupted in various parts of the country! Hence, the point here is that, just like how the Raakshasas had that dedication towards penance, so as to obtain boons, why can’t we do it as well? We should look at it in this way only, rather than saying that Bhagawan Brahma only gives boons to Raakshasas! The rules are the same for both good and bad people. If bad people are able to follow the rules correctly and obtain whatever they wanted, why can’t good people too follow the same rule and obtain whatever we want? Did Bhagawan deny good people anything at any stage? No, isn’t it? Hence, it is upto us to make up our mind and follow the rules of the game, if we’ve to obtain whatever we want from Bhagawan. We should always remember that Bhagawan is an embodiment of love and compassion. It is upto us to reach out to Bhagawan in the stipulated way. Just like how only the crying child would get milk, we should also make sure that we “cry” for the good things from Bhagawan!

Thus having said this, moving on with Hiranya-Kashibu’s narrative, he had by now obtained all the boons from Bhagawan Brahma and returns back to his kingdom. By the time he comes back, his wife had a “good news” for him that she was pregnant. Hiranya-Kashibu is double happy now! He had obtained all the requisite boons and also he’s going to get a baby! Is this happiness going to sustain for him in the long run? What is going to happen next? Let’s wait for the next episode to find out! Stay tuned! 😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the previous episode, we had witnessed commencement of yet another major event that Sage Shukaachaarya is explaining to King Parikshit – Advent of Bhagawan’s incarnation – Bhagawan Narasimha. As we get into the major event, we had been witnessing the background narrative that had been described at length in the text. We witnessed a brief about Jaya and Vijaya, who were security guards outside of Bhagawan Vishnu’s divine abode, Vaikunta and how they tried stopping Sages Sanaka and Sanatkumara from meeting Bhagawan Vishnu. Also we witnessed that Sages Sanaka and Sanatkumaara became angry when they were stopped even after repeated requests and finally cursed both Jaya and Vijaya that they would be born in the world as Raakshasas thrice in three upcoming “Yugas”. Each of their Raakshasa births would culminate with Bhagawan Vishnu Himself killing them and sending them back to Vaikunta!

Eventually, Jaya and Vijaya were shocked beyond words! How can they become enemies to their most beloved Bhagawan? They didn’t know what to do as they broke down into tears! As they approach Bhagawan Vishnu for a solution, Bhagawan also says that He cannot do away with the curse just like that and if things have to happen this way, there is no other option! Thus, Jaya and Vijaya had to undergo the curse fully and they eventually start taking births in the world. The first pair was Hiranyaaksha and Hiranya-Kashibu. The second pair was Ravana and Kumbhakarna. The third pair was Sishupala and Dandravakta. We’ve already witnessed how Hiranyaksha was killed by Bhagawan in the form of “Varaaha Moorthi”. Now it is time for Hiranya-Kashbu ‘s story. This Hiranya-Kashibu was also born alongside Hiranyaksha. In fact, in all the three birth cycles, this Jaya and Vijaya took birth as Raakshasas as brothers together. We can witness the same in Ravana and Kumbhakarna and Sishupala and Dandravakta too.

Now it’s time for Hiranya-Kashibu to take center-stage. Since his elder brother, Hiranyaksha was brutally killed by Bhagawan Varaaha, Hiranya-Kashibu was raging in anger to take revenge on Bhagawan. Hiranya-Kashibu was steadfast in his decision that he would somehow take revenge and show who he is to Bhagawan Narayana! Thus, he went into a forest, concealed himself for so many years and entered into a deep penance! When I mention “so many years”, it is not one or two or ten or twenty! It is almost one crore years! 😊 Thus, Hiranya-Kashibu entered into an extremely severe penance towards Bhagawan Bramha! At one stage, there was nothing left in Hiranya-Kashibu’s body, except his skin and mere bag of bones! Moved by the intensity of his penance, Bhagawan Bramha was moved and thus appears in person before Hiranya-Kashibu.

As Bhagawan Bramha appears, he asks thus, “Oh Hiranya-Kashibu! I’m moved by the intensity of your deep penance! You’ve made me extremely happy with the way you’ve performed the penance. You may feel free to ask me anything that you want! I shall grant you whatever boon you ask for!” As Bhagawan Bramha asks thus, Hiranya-Kashibu feels that his sole purpose of doing the penance had been fulfilled! He sees this as an opportunity to ask for a “smart boon” wherein he would become extremely invincible in nature and nobody could kill him! Having this thought thus, Hiranya-Kashibu starts asking for the boon thus, “Oh Bhagawan Bramha! Now that you’ve given me an opportunity to ask you for a boon, here you go! I should not meet death in any of the following places and forms – I shall not be killed inside or outside the house. I shall not be killed during any time of the day or the night. I shall not be killed on the earth’s surface. I shall not be killed in the “Aakaasha” (Sky). I shall not be killed by any of the Devas or Asuras. I shall not be killed with a weapon that has power and life in it. Rather, I should not be killed by a weapon that is lifeless and powerless!”

Hiranya-Kashibu is continuing further and further like this! Upon seeing this, Bhagawan Bramha started realizing that he is slowly closing all the possible doors through which death might occur for a person! In fact, at one point, even Bhagawan Bramha started shaking with fear! He thinks within himself thus, “Oh my God! Looking at the way this fellow is asking for a boon, I think I shouldn’t even have committed myself to grant a boon in the first place! If he continues like this, there would be nobody in this world who can stop this guy! The world would face an imminent danger of getting extinct under him! We should somehow stop him from going any further!”

As Bhagawan Brahma thinks thus within himself, Hiranya-Kashibu uttered the last of his wishes thus, “Oh Bhagawan Bramha! I should not be killed by anybody whom you had created!” Upon listening this from Hiranya-Kashibu, Bhagawan Bramha heaved a huge sigh of relief! Why did he do that? It is because, there is one person who was not created by Bhagawan Brahma and in fact, Bhagawan Brahma was himself created by this one person! He is none other than Bhagawan Vishnu Himself! Immediately Bhagawan Brahma understood the ploy here – It is only Bhagawan Vishnu who can stop this guy and nobody else!

Thus, as Hiranya-Kashibu finishes his lengthy accord, Bhagawan Brahma replies back, “Oh Hiranya-Kashibu! Here you go! I hereby grant all of the boons that you had asked me for! From this moment, all what you’ve asked me would come true!” We might have a doubt here – Hiranya-Kashibu was a wicked person by nature. Given this fact, why does Bhagawan Brahma grant this many number of boons as and how he asks? Isn’t it unfair on Bhagawan’s part in offering all what wicked people ask for? An interesting answer awaits us in the next episode! Stay tuned! 😊