॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
Tuesday, 17 January 2023 VII.06 - Prahlada astonishes his classmates with high spiritual wisdom and instruction for correcting their lives and says he has received this wisdom from Sage Narada.
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Bhakta Prahlada's words in this chapter have wisdom and insight into life and liberation as much as the Bhaja Govindam stotra of Adi Shankara. That the boy speaks such words to his classmates when he is only five years of age is truly remarkable.
Every great man states that all that he shares have been given to him by the grace of Bhagavan and Guru. Anyone who blows his trumpet without acknowledging his Guru is a charlatan.
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कौमारा आचरेत्प्राज्ञो धर्मान्भागवतानिह । दुर्लभं मानुषं जन्म तदद्यप्यध्रुवमर्थदम् ॥
T: "Dear boys, a wise man leads the life of a Bhagavata or devotee. This birth as a human is indeed rare, and also short-lived. It should be therefore best utilised." Thus began Prahlada when the boys were free from the classes and sat around him. He went on to speak the highest wisdom about the pitfalls of a materialist life.
"Man is destined to live for a hundred years in this body at the most. But the irony of it is that he spends half of it asleep. Also, the first twenty years are spent in childhood without wisdom and another twenty in infirm old age when no spiritual practice is possible. Even the rest of his years are spent in getting and spending and taking care of attachments in the family."
को न्वर्थतृष्णां विसृजेत्प्राणेभ्योऽपि य ईप्सितः। यं क्रीणात्यसुभिः प्रेष्ठैस्तस्करः सेवको वणिक् ॥
T:" Who can give up this worldly greed? Don't we see thieves, traders, servants, and in fact everyone, risking their very lives in this rat race to fulfil their material greed!?"
"One thinks it is a good life, with great attachment to wife and children, as long as one is busy doing what is considered the right thing to do in terms of Dharma, Artha and Kama. But none of these liberates us ever from the bondage of suffering and death. These are inevitable in our materialistic existence."
Prahlada demonstrates in many shlokas his intimate understanding of each type of attachment - to a dear wife who gives so many pleasurable moments, to children (he mentions specifically boys and girls) for all their sweet charm and company, and so on. Then he describes the pull of money. One's attachment to money is excessive. No wonder this type of existence is predicated on the firm attitude of "Ours and theirs" in terms of what to fight for and whom to hate. Is there a worse and more soul-darkening bond? Prahlada makes it clear that the highest proof of our dark existence is this attitude of "loving what is ours" and 'hating what belongs to others". As we saw before, this attitude is apparently the hallmark of an Asuric mind.
ततो विदूरात्परिहृत्य दैत्या दैत्येषु सङ्गं विषयात्मकेषु ।
उपेत नारायणमादिदेवं स मुक्तसङ्गैरिषितोऽपवर्गः॥
T: "Therefore, dear Asura boys, give up this Asuric, materialistic way of life, and seek the feet of Bhagavan Narayana. He is the Primordial Ishwara. He will grant you liberation from this existence, and He is the go-to person for all spiritually-minded people who practise detachment!"
Prahlada explains that Ishwara or Bhagavan has created this universe, filled it up with Jivas and everything else through His Maya, and He lives in everyone and everything. Once someone realizes Him and sees Bhagavan everywhere, he achieves true liberation and loves all. There is no more Asuric attachment, no more "Mine and Theirs" type of love-hate.
श्रुतमेतन्मया पूर्वं ज्ञानं विज्ञानसंयुतम् । धर्मं भागवतं शुद्धं नारदाद्देवदर्शनात् ॥
T: "Dear friends, this understanding and spiritual wisdom have been heard and received by me from the great Sage Narada some time ago. Sage Narada is one who has seen Bhagavan and lives in His consciousness always!"
It is the turn of the Daitya boys to wonder how Prahlada could ever have contacted a great sage since Prahlada has been confined from the time of his birth to his mother's palace and whatever company he ever had was the company of Daityas alone. And then, the only teachers they have had so far are the sons of Shukracharya, viz. Shanda and Amarka.
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॥ ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय ॥
