Prahlada Questioned by His Father

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Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5 Narada Rsi said: Sukracarya was the guru of the demons. He had the power to heal even the most terrible wounds and to rise someone from death. The demons are very much attracted by such power and facility. They were therefore very happy to have him as their guru. Sukracarya had two sons named Sanda and Amarka, and they lived in the palace of Hiranyakasipu. Hiranyakasipu sent Prahlada to study in their gurukula where other sons of demons also studied. Sanda and Amarka taught the boys in that school things like debate, politics, and economics. They taught the children that anyone who helps you is your friend and anyone who is against you is your enemy. But Prahlada Maharaja’s conception was that if anyone had love for Bhagavan Sri Hari—that person is my friend. After some days, Hiranyakasipu took Prahlada on His lap and asked what he had learned in school. Prahlada Maharaja replied: tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.5 Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: 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. “This opulent palace is full of blind people who will all mislead you. Leave this association and go to the forest to serve and do bhajana Hari. In this lies your freedom from suffering. Hiranyakasipu was infuriated to hear Prahlada Maharaja’s words. “Who has taught you to have affection for my sworn enemy!” he roared. “Was it these sons of Sukracarya?” He cast a fierce look at Sanda and Amarka who trembled in fear. “Who has polluted his mind so far as to make him fearless to speak like this in my presence? There must be a spy among us.” He then addressed all his associates, “Listen, all of you must be extra vigilant from now on. A spy of Visnu has definitely come and taught my son these things. Be sure to find and destroy that spy and protect my son.” Hiranyakasipu’s voice suddenly became softer. He said to Prahlada, “My dear son, please tell me, from where have you collected this idea of worshiping Visnu. You are the future of our kingdom. Has this conception come from your own mind or did it come from someone else?” Sanda and Amarka added, “Yes, Prahlada, speak. Tell us who is the spy and the king will punish him.” Then they hurriedly promised Hiranyakasipu over and over again that it was not them who taught these things to Prahlada. They promised to very carefully continue his education and erase all thoughts of Visnu from His mind. When brought back to the Gurukula and again questioned by his bogus teachers about the identity of the spy who taught him about bhakti to Visnu, Prahlada Maharaja said, “O sons of Sukracarya, who else is fit to be called spies but yourselves. Everything you say is a lie; therefore, you are Maya-devi’s spies. You are saying that devotion to Sri Hari is wrong, but these are words of cheaters. You cheat yourself and others. We are all part and parcels of God. He is our only true friend.” Prahlada Maharaja continued to repeat what he had learned from his Guru. “You are saying that God is merely someone whom I adore,” he said, “but He is the affectionate family member of all. As Paramatma is with everyone at all times. You try to forcibly teach me mundane and sinful subject matters, but why should I follow your view, which is blind to the Supreme Lord Visnu? I cannot follow your instructions.” Prahlada Maharaja thus fearlessly spoke to Sanda and Amarka, like a surgeon operating on a patient without bothering to utilize anesthesia. “Everything you say is cheating,” he repeated. “I will not follow you; I will follow God.” “A touchstone placed against iron will turn that iron to gold, but the touchstone will never become iron. Similarly, you cannot divert me from the bhakti taught to me by my spiritual master. In reality, it is you, who are so attached to material life, who should be worried about losing that attachment and becoming attracted to Sri Hari. Cakradhari is present everywhere. You simply are blind to this. He has given me this knowledge.” Angered, the bogus gurus, Sanda and Amarka, said, “What is this? This follower of Visnu is coming to teach us about His Lord’s glories?” One cried, “Bring me my stick! I will beat this boy,” while the other continued to express disapproval to Prahlada. Tamasi people are like this. They erupt in frustration, when you preach to them about bhakti to Bhagavan. “Look,” Sanda and Amarka said, “if you do not become obedient to us then we will punish you. Alas, in a forest of sandal you are the tree from which a handle to the axe that will destroy the whole forest is to be made! We cannot understand why you have affection for the enemy of our people.” They threatened him in many ways, but why would Prahlada fear them? Anyone who is near to God is fearless. When they saw that threatening him was not effective they tried softness, strictness, sweetness, and harshness—they tried everything. Some time later, when Sanda and Amarka felt they had made good progress in ‘properly educating’ Prahlada Maharaja, they brought him from their asrama to Hiranyakasipu. Seeing his five year-old son, affectionately bathed and dressed by his mother, standing before him, Hiranyakasipu was filled with joy. He embraced Prahlada and thought, “Ah, my sweet son cools me more than a mountain stream!” He was always burning in the presence of his carefully collected and kept anarthas, so naturally Prahlada’s presence and darsana was soothing to him. Hiranyakasipu took Prahlada in his lap and smelt his head. With tears in his eyes he asked, “O my lovely son, I am so happy with you. You are now learned and endowed with qualities now. Please tell me, what is the best thing you have learned you’re your guru.” śrī-prahlāda uvāca śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ sakhyam ātma-nivedanam iti puṁsārpitā viṣṇau bhaktiś cen nava-lakṣaṇā kriyeta bhagavaty addhā tan manye 'dhītam uttamam Srimad-Bhagavatam 7.5.23-24 Prahlāda Mahārāja said: Hearing and chanting about the transcendental holy name, form, qualities, paraphernalia, and pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu, remembering them, serving the lotus feet of the Lord, offering the Lord respectful worship with sixteen types of paraphernalia, offering prayers to the Lord, becoming His servant, considering the Lord one's best friend, and surrendering everything unto Him (in other words, serving Him with the body, mind and words)—these nine processes are accepted as pure devotional service. One who has dedicated his life to the service of Kṛṣṇa through these nine methods should be understood to be the most learned person, for he has acquired complete knowledge. “For Visnu’s pleasure these limbs of bhakti should be carried out. He who engages one in such a way is a true spiritual master, or guru.” On hearing these words, Hiranyakasipu was filled with rage. He bit his trembling lips and then shouted at Sanda and Amarka, “O unqualified sons of a brahmana, I will punish you! What do you think you are doing teaching my son Krsna-bhakti? You are against me! You are followers of my satru, my enemy! I was thinking that today I would be giving you daksina, but now I will give you my wrath!” Sanda and Amarka replied in great fear, “Prahlada did not learn this from us. This is very unnatural. You would be incorrect to think that any sane asura dare have the courage to go against you.” Somehow, they diverted Hiranyakasipu’s anger from themselves and back fully to Prahlada. Hiranyakasipu said, “Prahlada! You are ruining the integrity of our dynasty!” If you have not learned this nonsense from your teachers then from where have you learned it?” śrī-prahrāda uvāca matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā mitho 'bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kṛṣṇa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both. Prahlada said, “These two, who you call my teachers, certainly did not teach me about krsna-bhakti. They are completely absorbed in family life and devoid of intelligence. Their minds are like deep and dark dry wells and they simply repeatedly chew what has already been chewed, life after life. They have been trying to enjoy the material objects of this world for lifetimes but have never found real satisfaction. Despite this, not a drop of intelligence has awakened within them. I have not learned anything from them. How can they, who have uncontrolled senses teach me?” na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ Srimad-Bhagavatam 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 return home, back to Godhead, 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 labor, which are made of very strong cords, and they continue again and again in materialistic life, suffering the threefold miseries. How could these visayis know Visnu’s glories? They follow only karma-kanda and are servants of illusion. These demon acaryas have no idea of the imports of sastra. They are blind, and if I were to accept anything from them, I would become similarly blind. Therefore, I did not learn anything from them. naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekaṁ niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat Srimad-Bhagavatam.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 can one be freed from material contamination. “These so-called gurus do not respect the dust from the feet of Vaisnavas by smearing it on their bodies. How could their intelligence be called pure? How could they possibly purify others? They cannot see what is good and what is bad—what is right and what is wrong. How can they follow sravanam and kirtanam or teach someone else to do so? They are caught up in material duties to their blood-relations.” Prahlada Maharaja’s words made Hiranyakasipu completely blind in the fire of his anger. He threw him from his lap and screamed orders to his men, “This foolish boy dares sit in my lap and tell me to do sravana and kirtana of Visnu, the killer of my brother! He is calling me blind? Has he gone mad? Does he have no fear for his life? O raksasas, quickly take him away and kill him! Chop him into pieces and feed him to the crows.” Blood appeared in the livid eyes of Hiranyakasipu. Only moments before, tears of so-called affection had been falling from those eyes. Just see the way of wicked persons. One moment they are saying, “O my dearest! O my sweetest!” then, the next moment, blood oozes from their face in their anger and frustration with you. First, they say that they are your humble servants, then, if you do not follow their selfish plans, they erupt like volcanoes. Such proud demonic persons are like cobras. When a cobra is angry its body becomes puffed up and its hoods open. They feel very cool and smooth on the outside but they are most dangerous in reality. Hiranyakasipu went on, “This Prahlada has relation with the killer of Hiranyaksa. He is a traitor to his own family and kin. On top of this, he is instructing us to also follow Visnu! He is only a boy, but he is a threat to us all. If a limb of the body is afflicted by a poison or infectious disease, it must be amputated for the sake of the rest of the body’s health. We must destroy Prahlada now before he spreads his poison and makes others into followers of Visnu!” Click to Support and for Audio, Video Access [CC by NDNC Bhaktabandhav]