Saving This Life

“If one could achieve success without the sanction of the Lord then no medical practitioner would fail to cure a patient. Despite the most advanced treatment of a suffering patient by the most up-to-date medical practitioner, there is death, and even in the most hopeless case, without medical treatment, a patient is cured astonishingly. Therefore the conclusion is that God’s sanction is the immediate cause for all happenings, good or bad.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 1.14.9 Purport)

For all we know, we’ve had only this one life. The memory of the experiences within this life isn’t complete either, as we don’t remember emerging from the womb nor being unable to crawl or walk. These experiences are accepted on the authority of the parents, but nevertheless, once there is conscious thought and the ability to plan the future, the natural inclination is towards protecting the vital force within the body, for maintaining the ability to live. Forgotten in this mindset, however, is the hand of the divine, by whose influence life and death take place. No adjustment in either direction can guarantee a prolonged life or an immediate death. Thus the sanction of the divine master is the primary cause for outcomes, putting Him in a superior and worshipable position.

Typically, the focus is not on bringing about death at a specific time, for we first try our best to save our life or the lives of others. But an infamous king a long time ago saw exactly how difficult it can be to force death. His five-year old son made the mistake of worshiping Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Lord in His manifestation as an opulent and beautiful four-armed figure. Vishnu is the personal aspect of God; from that feature one can stay connected in a mood of worship known as bhakti-yoga, which is devotion. For devotion to be strong, there has to be some sort of attachment to the attributes of the Personality of Godhead; hence requiring the attributes to be attractive.

“Having obtained the mercy of his spiritual master, who reveals to the disciple the injunctions of Vedic scriptures, the devotee should worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead in the particular personal form of the Lord the devotee finds most attractive.”  (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 11.3.48)

In the gradual progression towards bhava, or transcendental ecstasy, the devoted soul finds a non-different expansion of Vishnu they prefer and then dedicates their life to worshiping Him. There are choices available because there are natural tendencies within every person. Some will be automatically attracted to Shri Krishna, who is considered the original personality, the source of even Vishnu Himself. Krishna’s name says that He is all-attractive, and both the mental and physical portraits created from the descriptions found in sacred texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam and Mahabharata support that assertion.

Nevertheless, some devoted souls will be more attracted to Lord Rama and His entourage. Rama is the same Krishna, the same Vishnu, but in a slightly different manifestation and with a series of acts and behavioral traits discussed and documented in the famous Ramayana poem and its derivative literatures. The devotion to any one of these Vishnu forms can occur spontaneously, as it did with Goswami Tulsidas. In his entire life, he had nothing but his devotion to Lord Rama. “Rama” was the first word the famous poet said as a child and it continued to be the word he would repeat up until the time of his death. Nothing could break that devotion, and no other form of Godhead could give the poet the same pleasure, though he never treated any of the other various Vishnu forms as lesser in importance. Though a Rama-bhakta, from Tulsidas you will find heartwarming poetry praising Lord Krishna, Lord Vishnu as Bindu Madhava, and Narasimhadeva as well.

“In the course of traversing the universal creation of Brahma, some fortunate soul may receive the seed of bhakti-lata, the creeper of devotional service. This is all by the grace of guru and Krishna.” (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Madhya 19.151)

Narasimhadeva relates to the five-year old son of that famous king. The boy was named Prahlada, and he had spontaneous devotion to Vishnu from the time of birth. The seed of the creeper of devotional service is planted by the spiritual master, who is sent by Krishna Himself. For Prahlada, the spiritual master was Narada Muni, who strangely enough provided instruction to the boy’s mother while she was pregnant with him. If there is any doubt as to the power of the holy name and its ability to positively affect consciousness, take the example of Prahlada and know for certain that the divine message from the spiritual realm can break through any boundary and influence even those we believe to be lacking a developed consciousness.

Hiranyakashipu took Vishnu to be his number one enemy, someone only purported to be God by the foolish people of the world. Thinking himself to be the master of his fate and the fate of others, the king tried to kill Prahlada in so many ways. Should have been easy work, no? Prahlada was just a boy, so how could he protect himself? During the attacks instigated by his father the devoted soul thought of Vishnu and was thus saved each and every time. Throwing him off a cliff, placing him in a raging fire, feeding him to a pack of snakes, and leaving him at the bottom of the ocean could not kill Prahlada. The boy wasn’t a Houdini-type magician either; Vishnu just protected him every time.

In the end, it would be Hiranyakashipu to lose his life. Though he had so many boons previously granted to him that made him immune to seemingly every type of attack, Vishnu appeared on the scene at just the right time and place and in the perfect form to do away with the king; keeping the boons intact. Thus from that one series of incidents we see that with the divine sanction birth and death take place, and not otherwise. Through patterns we may appear to get a grasp on what can influence birth and death, but even then it is the laws of nature instituted by the Supreme Person which allow the predictable patterns to take effect.

With respect to protecting our own life, the natural inclination is to try our best to seek out top of the line medical treatment. Just read a newspaper or internet news site on any given day. There are always stories on how to prolong your life through eating certain foods or avoiding specific kinds of behavior. But forgotten in this analysis is the divine sanction. If someone could be successful completely without the aid of the heavenly father, then there would be a way to absolutely stop death. Yet we know that this is not possible.

We can look at it another way. There is the push by health experts and well-meaning politicians to get people to seek preventive care. That is, they urge citizens to visit the doctor regularly. And to support that practice, they insist on every person having health insurance, which is either purchased individually or provided by the government through a national health insurance system. The problem is that the underlying assumption is flawed. People that have health insurance die. In fact, it is a one hundred percent success rate in that area. Or flipping it around, there is a one hundred percent failure rate with respect to health insurance saving lives. Even when describing the effectiveness of certain treatments, the analysis is given in terms of a survival rate spanning a certain number of years. You can’t say that any treatment is one hundred percent effective because eventually every patient must die.

Surely you can be healthier if you can pay for your medical treatment when you need it, but the idea that you will automatically die if you don’t have health insurance is ludicrous, as is the idea that doctors are universally correct in their treatment methodologies. If you went to the doctor every single day for your entire life and you did whatever they said, would you live forever? The answer is ‘No’. You could detect cancer at the earliest stages, recognize illnesses and follow the proper treatment, and even keep track of your risk factors, but never will you be able to stop death. The end of life is concomitant with its beginning.

As the sanction from the Supreme Lord is required for either extending or ending life, He naturally becomes the object of appreciation. If the life we have must end anyway, why not spend it worshiping the person who is in control? From that worship followed in the highest mood of devotion you actually gain intelligence about birth and death and how it repeats in a cycle. Just from the proper type of worship you reach a point where the artificial prolonging of life is no longer desired. As the spirit soul is eternal, the devotee asks only to be allowed to continue their devotional efforts in life after life, wherever they may end up. As Narasimhadeva showed with Prahlada, the Supreme Personality of Godhead comes to the rescue of the surrendered souls and grants them that highest benediction of achieving a consciousness that is eternally pure.

In Closing:

So many possessions you have got,

But death to come, like it or not.

 

To extend stay within body you can try,

With healthy routine many days to pass by.

 

But without divine sanction nothing possible,

To thwart His influence is impossible.

 

His son Prahlada Hiranyakashipu tried to kill,

But after so many attempts the boy living still.

 

Then Supreme Lord to king painful death gave,

Not even Brahma’s boons the ruler could save.

 

From that incident most important lesson take,

Follow devotion to God for life fruitful to make.

Narasimha Chaturdashi 2012

“Thereafter Lord Brahma requested Prahlada Maharaja, who was standing very near him: My dear son, Lord Narasimhadeva is extremely angry at your demoniac father. Please go forward and appease the Lord.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.9.3)

As peacefulness and anger are concepts only borne of duality, they are at an equivalent level when associated with true transcendence. The living being is at peace when they think they are in a comfortable situation of life and they are in anger when their pride is hurt or when there is frustration in meeting a desired end. As these are only temporary conditions, to be washed away as quickly as the sand by the next oncoming wave from the ocean, they are not to be overly emphasized within the grander scheme. With the Supreme Lord, whether He is in wonderful peace or extreme anger, the benefit to the affected parties is there all the same. A long time back He was seen by many exalted persons in a terrifying form which had an accompanying angry mood. He looked so fierce that so many powerful personalities, innocent in their own right, dared not approach Him. Yet a young child, who was directly responsible for that form appearing, was brave enough to come forward, not fearing who He knew to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. That incident which took place eons ago is still celebrated to this day on the occasion of Narasimha Chaturdashi.

Why would God ever get angry? Doesn’t that represent a defect to His nature? Anger is not something we strive after. It arises when we lose control of our emotions, so it’s usually not a welcomed feeling. Anger is due to frustration, so if the Supreme Lord exhibits this trait does this mean that He is somehow not able to get His way? Actually, the intense emotions shown by the lord of all creatures is for His own pleasure, and once He is pleased naturally those connected to Him in a bond of affection feel supreme delight as well. This fact reinforces the ultimate truth of achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, which says that the living entities are simultaneously one with and different from God.

God is spirit and so are the living entities. The quality of that spirit is the same, as the subordinate group is an expansion of the superior entity. At the same time, the quantitative aspects are vastly different; hence the distinction between the dominant and the dominated. Since the qualitative aspects are equivalent, there is an inherent link between the two groups. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who kindly revealed achintya-bhedabheda-tattva, says that the link can be revived through loving devotion, which is best awakened and maintained through the regular chanting of the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.

When that link is reestablished, every notable action of the Supreme Lord, whether it is occurring in the present or took place many thousands of years ago, gives so much pleasure to the devotee that they feel like they can’t get enough. Think of a reservoir of water that constantly gets filled with incoming tributaries but at the same time never overflows. This is how Maharishi Valmiki describes the mood of the devotee with respect to hearing of the qualities and pastimes of their beloved Supreme Lord.

The mood of anger shown a long time ago related to the actions of a demoniac king. Named Hiranyakashipu, the ruler actually appeared in a family of demons, thereby following in the ancestral line with his behavior. Birth in a Daitya family was not considered auspicious because of the lack of potential for developing the devotional consciousness within that race. In the Vedic philosophy there are gradations assigned to birth. These are only from the perspective of potential for achieving the ultimate aim of devotion to the lotus feet of Shri Hari, for the living sparks are the same in quality regardless of the form they adopt. The trees that produce no fruits are considered sinful, while those that do are considered pious. Similarly, within the human species if you take birth in a family of transcendentalists, it is considered a boon because of the spiritual environment that you can grow up in, which in turn increases the chances of a fruitful life.

Birth in a family of demons is very unfortunate because not only is spiritual culture lacking, but the tendency is to take to sinful life – stealing, cheating, killing and the like. By following these behaviors the spirit soul actually goes backward in the chain of reincarnation, sort of like travelling in the wrong direction in a race. Hiranyakashipu lived up to his family’s reputation and then some. He developed tremendous powers as a result of asking for boons from those who can grant them. Any ability can be exercised in one of two ways: correctly or incorrectly. The ability itself is not to blame, but rather the person who invokes it incorrectly.

Hiranyakashipu took his boons received from Lord Brahma as an opportunity to take over the world. He defeated so many powerful rulers that no one dared fight him in battle. The world lived in fear of him, and he thought that he was the supreme being. In his mind, there was no God, and if the person who everyone thought was God really were, He would descend to earth and put up a challenge to the king’s authority. The king’s eventual demise was set in motion with the birth of his son Prahlada. Though born in a Daitya family, the young child heard about devotional service while within the womb of his mother. The great servant of Narayana, Narada Muni, instructed the pregnant woman on devotion, and the unborn Prahlada heard and remembered those instructions. Thus he was born a devotee.

Hiranyakashipu hated this trait in his son so much that after a while the boy’s stubbornness became too much to bear. Despite his best efforts, Hiranyakashipu couldn’t convince Prahlada to give up his devotion to Vishnu, which is the name for God that addresses His all-pervasiveness. Vishnu was the king’s enemy, so seeing this devotion in his son was like getting a dagger through the heart. Unable to accept it any longer, Hiranyakashipu ordered his assistants to kill the five-year old boy.

One slight problem though. Prahlada was unbreakable. He was thrown off a cliff, put into a pit of snakes, taken into a raging fire, and dropped to the bottom of an ocean. The successive attempts were only necessary because the previous ones didn’t work. Prahlada couldn’t be harmed because during every attack he thought of his Vishnu in a mood of love. The child had no other protection. He didn’t have fighting ability or strength. No one intervened from the outside due to fear of Hiranyakashipu. Thus it was only Vishnu who saved the boy each time.

The anger from the Supreme Lord came when He had enough of Hiranyakashipu’s attempts. Vishnu took on the form of a half-man/half-lion to respect the boons of safety previously offered to Hiranyakashipu by Lord Brahma. This ferocious and unique form appeared on the scene and quickly killed all of Hiranyakashipu’s guards. Then the demon-king himself would be snatched by Narasimhadeva and placed on His lap, just as Garuda, the king of birds, grabs a snake to eat. Hiranyakashipu would be bifurcated by Narasimhadeva’s nails, thus dying in a most gruesome way.

After the demon king was killed, Narasimhadeva was still seething with rage. Many demigods tried to pacify Him with prayers, but nothing seemed to work. Finally, Lord Brahma asked Prahlada to approach Narasimhadeva. Prahlada was a young boy after all, and Vishnu was there specifically to save him. Thus He couldn’t keep that angry mood when talking to the young, innocent child.

Prahlada did as he was asked, and he wasn’t afraid at all. Rather, he was so delighted to see the Supreme Lord come to his rescue. He knew that the angry mood was for Vishnu’s own pleasure, which in turn pleased those who are devoted to Him. Prahlada then offered a wonderful set of prayers, which pleased Narasimhadeva so much that He offered Prahlada many material benedictions in return. Prahlada only wanted devotion, being afraid of material entanglement. Hearing this pleased Narasimhadeva even more, so He guaranteed Prahlada that he would get conditions auspicious for devotional service despite remaining in material association.

That wonderful event from ancient times is celebrated annually on the occasion of Narasimha Chaturdashi. Though there was tremendous violence involved, since it related to Bhagavan and His protection of the saintly Prahlada, it is as pleasurable to hear about as a more peaceful event. Prahlada knew there was nothing to fear with that ferocious form, as its anger was directed only at the miscreant Hiranyakashipu and his supporters. In this life the real cause of fear is the continuation of a life not devoted to God, one where temporary pleasures are mistakenly taken to be permanent. Know from Prahlada that devotional service is the life’s mission and that it can be adopted by any person, from any place. Whether in an outwardly angry or peaceful mood, the Supreme Lord will accept sincere devotional offerings and be pleased to the heart by them.

In Closing:

In a rage after killing Prahlada’s father,

Thus no one dared Narasimhadeva to bother.

 

“Dear Prahlada, so that the Lord’s anger can be eased,

Please approach Him, with your prayers He’ll be pleased.”

 

Brahma these instructions to young boy gave,

Because knew Narasimha came for Prahlada to save.

 

From prayers supreme favor of God did earn,

Received material benedictions in return.

 

But to Prahlada material life a great fear,

Away from lotus feet of God it would steer.

 

Narasimha explained and dispelled any doubts,

Prahlada, never divine love to live without.

Narasimha Chaturdashi 2011

“’Call our family guru immediately to come and touch the child’s head with his hands.’ Hearing this, the rishi came, and taking some kusha grass to drive away evil spirits, he recited the Narasimha mantra, on hearing which even fear becomes afraid.” (Gitavali, 1.12.3)

begi boli kulagura, cuau māthe hātha amīke |

sunata ā’i ṛṣi kuśa hare narasiṃha mantra paḍhe, jo

sumirata bhaya bhīke ||

Mother Kausalya was worried. Her first son, her beloved Raghunandanda, the jewel of the Raghu race, was on this particular day unsteady in His behavior. He was crying and couldn’t be pacified by any means. Kausalya tried to feed Him milk, but that wasn’t working. A good mother is expert in caring for her beloved child, knowing the proper course of action in many different situations. Since this was no ordinary young boy, the fears of Mother Kausalya increased even more. She tried every remedy she knew, such as worshiping the demigods, the forefathers and the rulers of the different planets, and even giving in charity ghee that was equal in weight to the child; but nothing seemed to work. Finally, she called for the family priest to come and touch her son’s head. Hearing of the situation, the rishi quickly arrived on the scene and recited the Narasimha mantra to the child as a way to give Him protection. On the occasion of Narasimha Chaturdashi, we remember and honor the Person addressed in that mantra. His guarantee of protection always applies to the devotees and especially to those who find themselves in helpless conditions, where they seemingly have no recourse but to suffer the wrath inflicted upon them by the wicked.

This particular incident involving Mother Kausalya and her beloved son Rama occurred many thousands of years ago, and the events pertaining to Lord Narasimhadeva, the divine figure whom the mantra chanted by the priest was named after, took place even many millions of years before that. A long time ago, a famous ruler named Hiranyakashipu was wreaking havoc throughout the world. For a king to be considered powerful and well-respected, his authority and capability to rule must extend across a large region. Even the ordinary individual is the king, or ishvara, of his body, but this kind of control is not very much celebrated or noted. However, if a materially driven individual can put a large subsection of the earth under his control, he will feel like he has real power, that he is really something special.

Hiranyakashipu, through worshiping the self-create, the progenitor of all life on earth, Lord Brahma, received amazing boons that gave him terrific powers. The king at first had asked for immortality, but since even Lord Brahma must take birth and thus eventually die, he is incapable of granting eternal life within the same form of body to anyone. The soul, the essence of life and the basis of individuality, actually lives forever. Never was there a time that the soul did not exist nor will there be a time in the future that it ceases to be. What does go through changes, though, is the outer covering the soul adopts. When someone wants immortality, it is the non-perishability of this covering that they seek. But since the soul is covered by matter, which is an inferior energy, an embodied living being cannot remain in the same state without changing at some point in time.

To get around the inability to receive blanket immortality, Hiranyakashipu figured he would just ask for every other type of boon to cover himself. This behavior is similar to trying to get every grade of protection on your automobile to prevent it from being damaged in a collision or accident. Permanently avoiding accidents on the road is impossible, as the behavior of other drivers is wholly unpredictable. What a car owner can do is try to lower the chances of collision and also the severity of them. Therefore a driver will take many precautions like buying a car that is highly crash resistant, that has enhanced braking systems, and that can safely protect the passengers inside even after impact with another vehicle.

“Grant me that I not die within any residence or outside any residence, during the daytime or at night, nor on the ground or in the sky. Grant me that my death not be brought by any being other than those created by you, nor by any weapon, nor by any human being or animal.” (Hiranyakashipu praying to Lord Brahma, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.3.36)

The name Hiranyakashipu means a soft bed or cushion made of gold. The demoniac king wanted to protect his comfortable lifestyle at all costs, and he figured the best way to do that would be to become unbeatable in battle. Therefore he asked Lord Brahma that no living being, large or small, be able to kill him. In addition, he asked that he could not be killed on land or in the sky, in the daytime or at night, nor by any weapon. The demon figured he had every angle covered, but of course no one can outwit the Supreme Lord. When Hiranyakashipu’s evil influence would become too strong, as would indeed happen, Vishnu Himself, the Personality of Godhead who has four hands and remains eternally situated in the spiritual sky of Vaikuntha, would come down to earth and show the king just how worthless his boons were.

But first things first; Hiranyakashipu had to enjoy his new powers. He used them to terrorize the world. He was so feared that the demigods, the celestials in charge of different departments of the material creation, descended to earth and took on disguises to keep from being recognized by the king. Hiranyakashipu thought he had everything, for the world was under his control and even the celestials, his greatest enemies, were afraid of him. But as any good ruler will do, he thought about his successor and how his strong arm of control could continue through future generations. Hiranyakashipu wanted his example to be passed down to his children, especially to his first born son, Prahlada.

Though born in the demon race which descended from the womb of Diti, Prahlada took on devotional characteristics from his very birth. While in the womb of his mother, Prahlada heard the instructions offered by Narada Muni, the wonderful saint ant devotee of Lord Vishnu. Narada’s teachings actually sealed Hiranyakashipu’s perilous fate, and they also saved the demigods in the process. For distributing His mercy, the Supreme Lord makes no distinctions on caste, gender or outward features. If He sees that someone is devoted to Him, He becomes their protector forever. With Prahlada’s birth came an internal attack to Hiranyakashipu’s reign of terror, as the demoniac forces are never any match for the power of divine love.

Born with the divine consciousness, Prahlada worshiped Lord Vishnu without deviation. Even when sent to school to learn about material affairs and how to rule over a kingdom, he still kept Vishnu and devotion to Him at the forefront of his consciousness. When Hiranyakashipu learned that his son was worshiping his greatest enemy, the object of worship for the demigods, Shri Vishnu, he became incensed. First he tried to get his teachers to change course, but they pled innocent, as they had not taught Prahlada any of the information he was reciting about Vishnu and devotional service, or bhakti-yoga.

Faced with a dilemma, Hiranyakashipu thought it too risky to turn the reigns of the kingdom over to a Vishnu sympathizer. Rather than send his small child elsewhere to continue his devotional efforts, Hiranyakashipu decided that the boy had to be done away with. Simple enough, no? After all, Hiranyakashipu was a powerful king who was feared across the world, so killing a five year old helpless boy should have been a piece of cake. But the demon could not understand that the level of devotion in his son was unmatched, and that simply remembering the Supreme Lord by chanting His names is enough to gain protection from all dangers.

“Daityas, as truly as Vishnu is present in your weapons and in my body, so truly shall those weapons fail to harm me.” (Prahlada Maharaja speaking to Hiranyakashipu’s attendants, Vishnu Purana)

Hiranyakashipu first had the palace guards attack Prahlada with deadly weapons. But since weapons are empowered by Vishnu, they can never do harm to one who is always protected by Him. Then other methods were attempted, such as throwing Prahlada off of a cliff, putting him in a pit of snakes, dropping him to the surface of the ocean and piling rocks on top of him, and placing him in a raging fire. But none of these attempts were successful. Astonished, Hiranyakashipu finally asked his child wherefrom he was getting his powers. After all, Hiranyakashipu had to perform great austerities and please Lord Brahma to get his strength, so the young boy must have done something similar.

“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness. By all the Vedas am I to be known; indeed I am the compiler of Vedanta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 15.15)

Prahlada replied that the source of his strength was the same as that for everyone else, including Hiranyakashipu. Lord Vishnu, as the all-pervading Supersoul, is situated within everyone’s heart, and from Him come remembrance, forgetfulness and strength. Aside from angering him, this statement also amused Hiranyakashipu. How could Vishnu be everywhere, especially in a form that wasn’t visible? Hiranyakashipu could only see gross matter, thus he had no knowledge of the power of spirit, especially that belonging to the origin of all matter and spirit, God. He then jokingly asked Prahlada if Vishnu was in the column standing next to him. Prahlada had stated that the Lord was indeed in everything, and Hiranyakashipu did not like to hear this. He was prepared to kill his son, but before that he wanted to prove that Vishnu was powerless and certainly not in the column. The king then got up and started banging at the adjacent pillar with his fist.

“Being obsessed with anger, Hiranyakashipu, who was very great in bodily strength, thus chastised his exalted devotee-son Prahlada with harsh words. Cursing him again and again, Hiranyakashipu took up his sword, got up from his royal throne, and with great anger struck his fist against the column.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.14)

Little did the demon know that Prahlada was right. As soon as he started punching the column, a terrific figure emerged. It was large and looked like the combination of a man and a lion. This wasn’t Vishnu in His original form, but it was the Supreme Lord nonetheless. The scene was so terrible and awe-inspiring that no one could understand what was going on. Thinking that maybe Vishnu had come to kill him in this form of a strange creature, Hiranyakashipu started to attack. But the demon’s powers were insignificant compared to the strength of the form of Vishnu known as Narasimhadeva. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, after fighting for a while, finally took the king on His lap and bifurcated him. After Hiranyakashipu was killed, many of the palace soldiers tried to attack Narasimhadeva, but they too were easily killed.

In this way, through his simple and pure devotion to God, Prahlada was saved from all dangers and eventually put on the throne personally by the Supreme Lord. Hiranyakashipu, fear personified, was no match for the most fearful form of Vishnu, Narasimhadeva. Prahlada Maharaja then offered wonderful prayers to his beloved Vishnu, who now stood before him in a wonderful form. Hiranyakashipu’s boons all worked as advertised, as Vishnu had not violated any of Brahma’s promises. The demon was killed at dusk, so he didn’t die during the day or at night. Since he was killed on Narasimhadeva’s lap, the demon did not die on land or on water. Narasimhadeva’s nails were what killed him, so Hiranyakashipu did not succumb to any weapons.

Prahlada was very touched by Vishnu’s personal protection, so he continued his devotion for the rest of his life. In fact, the young child authored a wonderful set of prayers known as the Narasimha-kavacha-stotram, which protects anyone who recites it from danger. There are also other nice prayers calling out to Narasimhadeva found in the Narasimha Purana. Devotees around the world chant and sing these mantras on a daily basis even today. From the time of Hiranyakashipu’s slaying, parents following Vedic traditions have protected their young children from evil spirits and the influences of the demoniac by reciting the Narasimha mantra, which immediately calls out to the wonderful figure that protected Prahlada from the wicked forces of his father.

On that wonderful day many millions of years later, the guru of the Raghu dynasty, Vashishta, was called in by Mother Kausalya to protect her child. It was a peculiar day, as the young Rama was crying and not accepting milk. Obviously something must have been wrong; so who better to protect her son than Lord Narasimhadeva. When the guru came to see young Rama, he first took a piece of kusha grass to ward off evil spirits, and then he read the Narasimha mantra. As soon as the child heard this wonderful formula, He giggled slightly, which caused the guru’s hair to stand on end. You see this was no ordinary child. Rama was the very same Narasimhadeva, Lord Vishnu, appearing on earth in the form of a prince destined to slay the wicked king ruling Lanka at the time, Ravana.

Former United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt famously coined the phrase, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”, during his first inaugural address in 1932. The country was suffering tremendously from the pangs of the Great Depression, so everyone was uncertain about the future. By stating that the only thing worth fearing was the emotion of fear itself, the president hoped to bring some calm and confidence to the citizens of the country. This phrase has since been invoked quite regularly as a rallying cry for those who find themselves in difficult situations and need upliftment.

But some four hundred years prior, Goswami Tulsidas authored an even better phrase, one that references the Supreme Person and His ability to remove anyone’s fears. In fact, one of Vishnu’s many names is Hari, which means one who removes distresses. When describing the events of that particular day in the kingdom of Ayodhya, Tulsidas says that the guru Vashishta came to protect Rama by reciting the Narasimha mantra, which is so powerful that it even makes fear afraid. Saying that the Narasimha mantra instills fear into fear is a wonderful way to describe the awesome power of the Supreme Lord. Hiranyakashipu was the most feared person on the planet during his time, but he was still no match for Narasimhadeva. Witnessing the gruesome killing of the evil Daitya king who had terrorized the innocent, including his son Prahlada, fear personified learned a great lesson. Fear runs away whenever the name of Narasimhadeva is recited even once.

Lord Rama, as a young child, couldn’t help but giggle after He heard the guru recite this glorious mantra. Narasimhadeva’s name is so wonderful that even Shri Rama loves to hear it. God takes great joy and delight in seeing His devotees try to protect Him and offer Him service. The name is non-different from the Lord, so anyone who has the good fortune of reciting the name of the Person who saved Prahlada Maharaja will be able to receive the same protections. On Narasimha Chaturdashi, we remember the savior addressed in that wonderful mantra so kindly recited to the young Shri Rama. May we never forget Narasimhadeva, and may He always protect us as we continue our service to Him.

Narasimha Prayer

namas te narasiṁhāya

prahlādāhlāda-dāyine

hiraṇyakaśipor vakṣaḥ-

śilā-ṭaṅka-nakhālaye

ito nṛsiṁhaḥ parato nṛsiṁho

yato yato yāmi tato nṛsiṁhaḥ

bahir nṛsiṁho hṛdaye nṛsiṁho

nṛsiṁham ādiṁ śaraṇaṁ prapadye

tava kara-kamala-vare nakham adbhuta-śṛṅgaṁ

dalita-hiraṇyakaśipu-tanu-bhṛṅgam

keśava dhṛta-narahari-rūpa jaya jagadīśa hare

jaya jagadīśa hare, jaya jagadīśa hare

The King of the Jungle

“Anyone who prays unto Me and takes shelter from Me becomes My ward, and I protect him always from all sorts of calamities.” (Lord Narasimhadeva, Narasimha Purana)

The lion is the king of the jungle. Of all the animals living in the wilderness, the lion is best at protecting itself and its family members. Other animals live in fear of the lion and thus offer respects to it through their behavior. In a similar manner, God offers complete protection to all His devotees. Since the Lord is all-powerful, it is not surprising to see that one of His eternally existing forms is that of a half-man/half-lion, Narasimhadeva. The beauty of Lord Narasimhadeva lies in the fact that He offers mankind the simplest formula for protection in life. Take shelter of this transcendental lion and all your fears will go away. The Lord will take charge of your protection and ensure that no one else will be able to harm you.

How can God be a half-man/half-lion? The real question should be how could He not be a half-man/half-lion? There is only one God, the Almighty creator who is the father of all mankind. Instead of just worshiping an impersonal spirit or an old man who lives somewhere up in the sky, the Vedas tell us that we should take to worshiping God in His original form or one of His innumerable expansions. Veda means knowledge, so when applied to the arena of spirituality, this wisdom is intended to provide the king of all knowledge, that pertaining to the soul and its relationship with the Supreme Lord. Vedic information states that God’s original form is that of Lord Shri Krishna, who is more accurately described as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since God is the representation of all that is good in this world, He naturally will be the most attractive person, possessing every auspicious feature known to man. God is the most beautiful and the most attractive, thus He is the only person truly worthy of the name Krishna.

Krishna is a Sanskrit word that can mean blackish. In this respect, many great historical personalities have been named Krishna. God’s literary incarnation, Vyasadeva, was also known as Krishna because of His bodily complexion. Draupadi, the wife of the famous Pandava brothers, was also commonly referred to as Krishna for the same reason. But when we take the word Krishna to mean the most attractive, someone who captures the hearts and minds of all living entities, then it can only apply to the Supreme Absolute Truth, the creator who has a body full of bliss and knowledge. Though Krishna is the most attractive, He doesn’t limit Himself to only one form. Rather, He takes innumerable expansions which reside on various spiritual planets. These expansions inherit the property of eternality, thus they are no different from God Himself.

One of Krishna’s most well-known expansions is Lord Narayana, who is commonly referred to as Vishnu. Those who may have a basic understanding of what is today known as Hinduism understand the concept of the three rulers of creation: Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesha. In this context, Vishnu is known as the maintainer, while Brahma is taken as the creator, and Mahesha [Shiva] as the destroyer. Of the three, only Vishnu is a direct expansion of the original form of Godhead, thus He is worshipable as the Supreme Lord. Vishnu is known as Narayana because He is the source of all naras, or men.

Original Vedic wisdom was passed down in the Sanskrit language. The Sanskrit script is known as Devanagari, which means the language of the demigods. This language is quite beautiful and apropo when describing God’s glories. All the names for God that are given in the great Vedic texts have specific meanings. The forms of Godhead weren’t just created on a whim, for there is intelligence behind them. Lord Narayana’s expansions which appear on earth are known as avataras. An avatara is one who descends, meaning that the term refers to an incarnation of God which comes down from the spiritual world. Though it may seem that an avatara appears and disappears, thus going through birth and death, the avatara has an eternal body and form. This means that an avatara is the same as God in that respect; undying and unborn.

Narayana’s avataras are famous for the activities They perform and the unique forms which They assume. Lord Narasimhadeva is one of Narayana’s most celebrated incarnations. The most authoritative Vedic text, the Shrimad Bhagavatam, gives us the list of God’s primary incarnations. This book also tells us that the complete list of incarnations is impossible to compile, therefore only the most famous avataras are known to mankind. The word Narasimha has meaning behind it. Nara means “man” and simha means “lion”, thus Narasimhadeva is the half-man/half-lion form of the Lord.

Why would God appear in this strange form? There are many reasons, all of which combine and join forces to cause the Lord’s appearance at just the right time and place. According to Vedic information, the world we live in goes through cycles of creation and destruction. The time period of creation is known as a kalpa. The Lord’s avataras appear on earth in each kalpa, so we can’t really say that someone like Lord Narasimhadeva appeared only in the past. According to the timeline of this current creation, Narasimhadeva appeared on earth many millions of years ago, however, He will surely appear again in a future creation. One of the causes for His unique form was the Lord’s desire to keep Lord Brahma’s boons intact. God is the original proprietor of everything, but to allow the living entities to pursue their material objectives, the Lord deputes elevated living entities to dole out rewards. The seekers of material perfections worship the demigods and are duly rewarded, even though none of these gifts can be bestowed without Krishna’s mercy.

Lord Brahma, being the self-create and thus the oldest person in the world, is one of the more famous demigods. He is well-respected even by the demon class. One famous demon named Hiranyakashipu pleased Lord Brahma enough to the point where he was granted several extraordinary boons. The first thing Hiranyakashipu asked from Brahma was immortality. Since Lord Brahma himself is not immortal, this was not something he could give out. To try to get around this fact, Hiranyakashipu then asked for several other boons which gave him immunity from the attacks of human beings, celestials, weapons, air, land, sea, day, night, etc. Hiranyakashipu thought he had all his bases covered, feeling that he had essentially tricked Brahma into giving him immortality anyway.

The first question one may ask is why would Lord Krishna sanction such rewards for a demon like this? The answer is that when the Lord gives authority to the demigods, this authority must be absolute. Basically, God can’t say that someone is capable of doing something and then take that power away based on the nature of the activities. In this respect, Lord Brahma is given absolute authority to hand out whatever boons he feels his devotees are worthy of, up to the point of mukti, or liberation. The Lord has so much love and respect for Lord Brahma that He doesn’t want to make him appear to be a liar.

So does this mean that everyone should take to worshiping Brahma in lieu of Krishna? Just because the demigods can hand out great material rewards, it doesn’t mean that they are the highest authority figures. With the case of Hiranyakashipu, Narayana found a way to thwart the demon’s reign of terror by coming to earth in the form of a half-man/half-lion. This form was beautiful because it showed respect to Lord Brahma, while at the same time giving protection to Hiranyakashipu’s son Prahlada. Prahlada was a great devotee of Vishnu, and he prayed regularly to Him for protection from the attacks of his demon father. Narasimhadeva finally came to earth and killed Hiranyakashipu, while keeping all of Lord Brahma’s boons intact. The demon wasn’t killed by a human being, celestial, animal, ordinary weapon, on land, at sea, during the day, or at night.

The appearance and activities of Lord Narasimhadeva are documented in many Vedic texts, including several Puranas. This specific form of God is celebrated throughout the world along with Prahlada. More importantly, however, is the promise that Lord Narasimhadeva offers His devotees. He asks sincere souls to simply surrender unto Him and thus be guaranteed of full protection. Normally when we hear of such a thing, it seems like a pipe dream, an empty promise. After all, life is full of trouble and misery. Death is always lurking around the corner in the form of oil spills, diseases, natural disasters, criminals, etc. Surrendering unto God seems like too simplistic a formula, something that won’t work.

“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reaction. Do not fear.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 18.66)

In addition to the aforementioned circumstances, it was also to dispel these doubts that Narasimhadeva chose to appear on earth. His protection is not a fairy tale, for Prahlada Maharaja can attest to its validity. As we all know, there are so many dharmas, or religious systems, that are out there. Lord Narasimhadeva’s prescription represents the simplest dharma, the easiest religious system to follow. All we have to do is surrender and have everything taken care of for us. Why would anyone choose any other avenue towards salvation?

Narasimha Chaturdashi

“Lord Shiva said: The end of the millennium is the time for Your anger. Now that this insignificant demon Hiranyakashipu has been killed, O my Lord, who are naturally affectionate to Your devotee, kindly protect his son Prahlada Maharaja, who is standing nearby as Your fully surrendered devotee.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.41)

There is one cause which is responsible for all causes. Each of us has a vital force inside us, but there is one vital force that is the source of all energy. This single dominating force is known as ishvara parama, or the Supreme Controller, and everything rests upon Him. Just as the laws of gravity operate on all objects without any prejudice, this dominating force applies to every living entity. Though most of us refer to this supreme divine entity as God, the Vedas give us much more descriptive names for the Supreme Absolute Truth. This Supreme Lord, who possesses innumerable transcendental qualities, kindly appears in front of our eyes from time to time in various shapes. One such famous appearance occurred many millions of years ago. Narasimha-chaturdashi marks the anniversary of when God came to earth in the form of a half-man/half-lion to kill the demon Hiranyakashipu. Since God’s form was a mixture of a lion (simha) and a man (nara), this specific avatara is known as Narasimhadeva, and He holds a special place in the hearts of devotees around the world.

When the Lord comes to earth to enact pastimes, it is a significant occasion. This is because God doesn’t choose to personally appear before us all the time. Most of the good and bad results of our actions are distributed by the demigods, elevated living entities who are given extraordinary powers by God Himself. Karma relates to fruitive activity, or any action taken which further develops the material body, or the outer covering of the soul. In this regard, nothing can really be good or bad as it relates to karma. We may take something to be beneficial to us, but to someone else, the same result can be deemed harmful. Thus the Supreme Lord doesn’t take a personal interest in karma-phalam, or the results of fruitive activity.

Most of us can understand how karma works. You perform a good deed and you will be duly rewarded. You perform a sinful act and you will be punished in the future. It’s interesting to see just how these results manifest. For example, the severity of the negative consequences that come about is commensurate with the severity of the crime committed. Though most followers of the Vedic tradition are vegetarians, there are still some who engage in meat eating. For such people, who are in the mode of ignorance, the Vedas provide a system whereby meat eating is sanctioned with the hopes of allowing the ignorant to further progress in spiritual understanding. When an animal is killed in one of these sanctioned sacrifices, the mantra recited within the ear of the animal goes something like this, “I’m killing you now so that I can eat your meat. You now have sanction to kill me in the same manner in a future life.” Hence, we see the concept of an eye for an eye. What goes around comes around.

For extraordinary cases, God Himself intervenes. These cases don’t involve karma, for as we already mentioned, the demigods take care of distributing the results of fruitive activity. What other type of work is there? Since karma relates to actions which lead to the development of the material body, there is another higher discipline which leads to the development of the spiritual body. The soul is pure, unchangeable, and unbreakable, thus it can never really develop. It can evolve, however, in the sense of where it chooses to reside. We are currently in a conditioned state, meaning our soul is covered by a material dress. This dress is composed of matter, an inferior energy, and thus it constantly goes through changes. We can get a spiritual body, though, if we choose to. In order to develop a permanent spiritual body, we must take up a discipline which is above karma.

Bhakti yoga, or the linking of the soul with God through works of love and devotion, is commonly referred to as devotional service. How does this activity differ from karma? On the surface, the specific actions may not look all that different, but the mindset of the performer is where the discrepancy lies. For example, we may walk around all day singing our favorite songs in our head, but the purpose of this activity is to provide pleasure to our mind and senses. Another person can be singing, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”, and have a completely different mindset. Krishna is the original name for God, the same God that all of us worship. Rama is also one of His names, and Hare refers to His energy in the form of His pleasure potency expansions. Thus chanting Hare Krishna is our way of asking God to always allow us to serve Him in an uninterrupted and unmotivated manner. Hence we see there is a gulf of difference between ordinary singing and singing God’s names.

Devotional service actually consists of nine distinct processes, which have been outlined by the great devotee Prahlada Maharaja. Many many moons ago, there was a devotee born in a family of demons. The Vedas give us the lineage of the first few generations of mankind and also of other important species. There was a race of demons known as Daityas, so named because they were born from a woman named Diti. The Daityas inherited demonic qualities at the time of birth, and thus they were enemies of the devotees. Prahlada Maharaja, though taking birth as the son of a Daitya, had the qualities of a devotee. At the time, a great demon by the name of Hiranyakashipu, the eldest son of Diti, was terrorizing the world. He was well acquainted with the principles of dharma, artha, and kama. Yet he was still a demon, meaning he only wanted religiosity, economic development, and sense gratification for his own pleasure. This shows that there are varying degrees of dharma, or religiosity, and that not all dharmas are the same.

Prahlada, though a son of Hiranyakashipu, was a devotee of Lord Krishna from the time of his birth. This is because while he was still in the womb of his mother, Prahlada heard spiritual topics relating to Lord Krishna from the venerable Narada Muni. Thus the boy, though genetically predisposed to demoniac qualities, was born a devotee. As any good father would do, Hiranyakashipu sent his son Prahlada to school to get a good education. Hiranyakashipu was a king, so naturally he wanted Prahlada to succeed him on the throne one day. In order to be a good king, one must be well educated on matters pertaining to politics, religion, diplomacy, war, and economics. Prahlada, however, had no interest in these topics. He listened attentively to his teachers, but the boy still kept his mind always fixed on the lotus feet of the Supreme Lord.

One day when Prahlada came home from school, Hiranyakashipu affectionately took him on his lap and asked his beloved son what he had learned. To his surprise, Hiranyakashipu heard all about the greatness of Lord Vishnu from Prahlada. Hiranyakashipu viewed Lord Vishnu, who is the same as Lord Krishna, as his devout enemy. Hiranyakashipu wanted to rule the world after all, so he viewed anyone more powerful than himself as an impediment to reaching that goal. Now, to hear his son extolling the virtues of his enemy was too much for the demon to bear. Immediately Hiranyakashipu chastised Prahlada’s teachers and asked them who had taught his son these things.

The teachers were taken aback, for they hadn’t taught Prahlada anything about Lord Vishnu. This one fact illustrates the difference between a brahmana and a Vaishnava. A brahmana is a priest who is supposed to know Brahman, or the all-pervading impersonal effulgence which contains all things matter and spirit. But just because someone knows Brahman, it doesn’t mean that they know Krishna. Though technically there is no difference between Brahman and God, one who remains stuck on the Brahman platform has an inferior angle of vision compared to someone who knows and loves Krishna. That is because Krishna is God’s original form as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes, including Brahman.

Though repeatedly urged by his father to give up this devotion, Prahlada wouldn’t budge. Thus Hiranyakashipu decided to have his son killed. He ordered his ministers to kill Prahlada, but the boy seemed to be indestructible. The demon’s attendants tried all sorts of different ways to get rid of the young child. The boy was thrown in a pit of fire, hurled off the top of a mountain, thrown in the water, etc. So many different torture methods were tried by the demons, but Prahlada was saved every time just by thinking of Krishna. Finally relenting, Hiranyakashipu allowed Prahlada to go back to school. “If he stays in school, maybe these teachers can finally get through to him.” During recess, Prahlada would instruct his fellow classmates on the glories of Lord Vishnu. As a five year old boy, Prahlada was acting as an exemplary spiritual master, giving his classmates the education they were missing out on. Since Prahlada was a Vaishnava, or devotee of Vishnu, he automatically acquired all the knowledge and qualities possessed by a brahmana.

Finally Hiranyakashipu had enough. According to the demon’s estimation, no one was able to kill his son, nor was he getting the proper education. Hiranyakashipu decided it was time to personally kill his son. Before going through with the act, Hiranyakashipu threatened Prahlada. Seeing that his son wasn’t afraid in the least bit, Hiranyakashipu wanted to know what the source of Prahlada’s strength was. After all, Hiranyakashipu’s powers came as a result of performing great austerities and receiving benedictions from the demigods. He knew that Prahlada had not gone through such trials and tribulations and thus his power remained a mystery to the demon. Prahlada responded by telling his father that the source of every person’s strength is the same: God. The Supreme Lord gives each of us the power to act; He is the original purusha responsible for each person’s controlling power.

Hiranyakashipu was getting sick of hearing about Vishnu. He jokingly asked his son that if this Vishnu person was everywhere, was he in the column that was next to them? Hiranyakashipu then punched the column with his hand out of anger. To the surprise of the demon, a huge sound resulted. A terrific form, never before seen, immediately came out of the column. This being resembled a man and a lion, and its arms were spread in all directions. This form, which was Lord Krishna’s Narasimhadeva avatara, went on the rampage, killing Hiranyakashipu’s associates. Then Narasimhadeva snatched Hiranyakashipu and started punishing the demon. After Hiranyakashipu wailed and moaned, Narasimhadeva let him go. The demigods, who were watching from above, then became afraid since the demon was able to get away. If Narasimhadeva couldn’t kill the demon, then who could? Not to worry though, as Krishna was just toying with Hiranyakashipu. Finally, Narasimhadeva took the demon on His lap and bifurcated him with His claws. Hiranyakashipu was dead, and Prahlada was now safe.

“As a snake captures a mouse or Garuda captures a very venomous snake, Lord Narasimhadeva captured Hiranyakashipu, who could not be pierced even by the thunderbolt of King Indra. As Hiranyakashipu moved his limbs here, there and all around, very much afflicted at being captured, Lord Narasimhadeva placed the demon on His lap, supporting him with His thighs, and in the doorway of the assembly hall the Lord very easily tore the demon to pieces with the nails of His hand.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam, 7.8.29)

The lessons we can take away from this incident are too many to count. That is the greatness of God, for we can discuss His activities from now until the end of time and still never run out of points of interest to ponder over. From the descriptions of this incident found in the Shrimad Bhagavatam, one can’t help but notice the gruesome manner in which Hiranyakashipu was killed. There are several animated movies that have been made about Prahlada’s life. These movies are obviously intended for all audiences, thus the violence is kept to a minimum. But if we were to accurately portray Hiranyakashipu’s killing in cinema, the movie would be too gruesome for even an R rating. This shows just how merciless the Supreme Lord can be if He gets angry.

God is actually quite nice. Though He is neutral towards all living entities, He takes a special interest in the lives of the devotees. In a nutshell, He takes care of His friends. At the same time, those who do harm to His friends will be punished in the worst possible way. Hiranyakashipu tried to kill his son in so many awful ways, so the Lord returned the favor by showing him just how painful death could be. The circumstances of Hiranyakashipu’s death were no accident either. Many years prior, the demon had pleased Lord Brahma by performing great austerities. Of course the primary concern for any demon is immortality, so that was the first thing Hiranyakashipu asked from Lord Brahma. Brahma could not grant this wish. Not even Brahma is immortal so how could he grant such a benediction to someone else? Not being satisfied with this, Hiranyakashipu asked for other benedictions that would make him immune from so many different forms of attack. He couldn’t be killed at night or in the day, neither in the sky nor on land, nor by any weapon, etc. Being granted so many boons by Brahma, Hiranyakashipu thought he had tricked the great-father into granting him immortality anyway. Hiranyakashipu thought he had all his bases covered, and that there was no way anyone could kill him.

God, however, is smarter than everyone else. The Supreme Lord never likes to make Brahma look like a liar, so He made sure to keep all of Hiranyakashipu’s boons intact. Thus the Lord appeared as a half man/half-lion, killing Hiranyakashipu on his lap, using his nails. Thus no human being or entity (living or nonliving) caused his death, nor did the demon die on sea or on land, nor by any weapon. After this incident, Prahlada Maharaja offered some wonderful prayers to pacify the Supreme Lord. The great devotee was then handed the reins of the kingdom.

This incident has been celebrated ever since that time by the devotees of Lord Vishnu. Krishna’s most recent incarnation to appear on earth, Lord Chaitanya, was especially fond of the Narasimha avatara. When He would visit the temple of Lord Jagannatha, Lord Chaitanya would pass the deity of Lord Narasimhadeva while climbing up the steps toward the temple. Lord Chaitanya would offer obeissances to Lord Narasimhadeva by reciting specific prayers found in the Narasimha Purana. These prayers are now sung daily in Vaishnava temples around the world.

“Lord Narasimhadeva is here, and He is also there on the opposite side. Wherever I go, there I see Lord Narasimhadeva. He is outside and within My heart. Therefore I take shelter of Lord Narasimhadeva, the original Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (Narasimha Purana)

Narasimhadeva holds a special place in the hearts of devotees due to His causeless mercy and His ability to provide unflinching protection against the attacks of enemies. There is another famous set of prayers, known as the Narasimha-kavacha-stotram, found in the Brahmanda Purana, which was spoken by Prahlada Maharaja. Those who pray to Lord Narasimhadeva regularly, reciting these prayers with great faith and devotion, will be protected from all the demoniac elements of this world. May Lord Narasimhadeva always protect us and may we always follow in the footsteps of the great Bhakta Prahlada.

Blanket For The Soul

“…He is as radiant as the autumn moon. His left side is embraced by mother Lakshmidevi, and His form is the shelter of all opulences, both material and spiritual.” (Sri Nrsimha-kavaca-stotram)

The summer season is nice but pretty soon winter will return, bringing along its many pains and discomforts. One of the good things about winter is that it affords us the opportunity to really appreciate sleep, for we tend to sleep longer each night during the winter as opposed to the other seasons. Since we are so cold at night, our blankets provide us the comfort and warmth that we need to fall asleep fast.

It is such an enjoyable feeling to wrap ourselves in our blanket and fall asleep, knowing that we are fully protected from the cold. Since we tend to sleep longer in the winter, waking up is harder to do in the mornings because it means removing ourselves from the protection provided by our blanket. When we sleep, our mind is transferred from our gross material body to our subtle body, represented by the dreaming state. When we dream, we imagine that we really are in different surroundings and we completely forget that we actually are lying in our beds asleep.

“…this body will change. Tatha dehantara-praptih. And we have to change that body after death according to my mental condition because we have got two bodies, the subtle body and the gross body. This gross body is finished; it is no more working. Just like at night the gross body does not work. We are thinking, ‘I am sleeping.’ Sleeping means the body is so much tired, it is no more working. But your another body, which is made of mind, intelligence, and ego—subtle body—that is working. Everyone has got this experience. The subtle body takes you to another place or another condition.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Lecture, 750615SB.HON)

Along with our nice mattress and pillows, our blankets are what allow us to comfortably enter into this sleeping state, for without it the effects of the bitter cold would be augmented. The warmth of the blanket is so nice that many of us try to artificially create a cold atmosphere even in the summer through the use of air conditioners and mechanical fans, in order that they may enjoy the benefits of our blanket.

Similar to the winter, this material world is constantly providing a chill to the living entities. According to the Vedas, we are not this body, but we are actually spirit souls, aham brahmasmi. Our natural constitutional position is that of bliss and knowledge, but due to our contact with material nature, we are forced to suffer the fourfold miseries of birth, death, old age, and disease. We are always trying to adjust our material condition so that we can try to feel some sort of happiness, making plan after plan, but our efforts eventually fail. No material plan can give us true peace of mind, thus we are left to suffer. The only way for us to get out of this misery is to elevate our consciousness to a platform where we are always thinking about God.

Just as the blanket provides us protection while we sleep, the Vedas provide us protection from the ignorance brought upon by maya, God’s illusory energy that pervades the material world. The Vedas are the ancient scriptures of India originating from God Himself, passed down from time immemorial through the parampara system.

“The Blessed Lord said: I instructed this imperishable science of yoga to the sun-god, Vivasvan, and Vivasvan instructed it to Manu, the father of mankind, and Manu in turn instructed it to Ikshvaku.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita, 4.1)

Since they contain perfect knowledge, the Vedas are the best form of protection for the soul. In the Puranas, there are many different kavachas listed, each specific to a particular form of God or one of His associates. A kavacha is a shield given in the form of a mantra. One who recites a specific kavacha with faith and reverence will enjoy the protection that it affords. One of the more famous kavachas is the “Sri Nrsimha-kavaca-stotram”.  Found in the Brahmanda Puranana, it is recited daily by many Vaishnavas.

“I shall now recite the Narasimha-kavacha, formerly spoken by Prahlada Maharaja. It is most pious, vanquishes all kinds of impediments, and provides one all protection.”

Lord Narasimha Deva is the half-man half-lion incarnation of Krishna that specifically came to earth to give protection to His five year old devotee Prahlada, who was being harassed by his atheistic father Hiranyakashipu. Lord Narasimha Deva removes all fears from His devotees who sincerely seek out His protection.

In this age, the easiest way to receive God’s protection is to constantly chant His holy names,

“Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”

This method may seem simplistic, but it is very effective. There is no difference between God and His name. By chanting, we are directly connecting with God, and we are asking Him to allow us to love Him. In this way, we are transporting our souls from the material world to the spiritual world.

Appreciating the benefits of our blanket requires us to be in a position where we really need it. This position is naturally provided to us by Mother Nature in the form of winter. In a similar fashion, for us to truly appreciate chanting the names of God, we must be in a position of discomfort and frustration. Luckily for us, this situation is also naturally provided to us in this current age of Kali. According to the Vedas, the time period we are currently in is known as the age of quarrel and hypocrisy. Observing society, we can see that the Vedas are correct on this point. So chanting is very effective in this age, as stated by Lord Chaitanya, and it is the best way to connect with God. Doing so will give us the ultimate comfort…that of going back home, back to Godhead.

God is Nice

“No one is envied by Me, neither am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all; yet whoever renders service unto Me in devotion is a friend, is in Me; and I am a friend to him.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita 9.29)

We often see God depicted as being very vengeful and someone we should fear. Many of us have passed by the people on the street who sternly warn us to surrender to God or suffer eternal damnation in hell. Natural disasters are viewed by many as God’s way of getting revenge on us for our sins. Because of this, many modern organized religions survive by instilling fear in their members. They say that we should fear God and surrender unto Him if we want to be absolved of our sins.

In actuality, God is our dearmost well-wishing friend. Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead according to the Vedic tradition, tells us in the Bhagavad-gita that He is actually neutral to everyone in this material world. This material world was created out of the desire of the spiritual souls to lord over nature. We wanted to pretend to be God, so He granted our wish by allowing us to come to this universe. Due to the influence of maya, Krishna’s illusory energy, we are all identifying with our bodies and thinking that we are the doer of our activities. We think that the results that we achieve are all due to our own efforts. Deluding ourselves in this way, we spend our lives going further and further away from God.

“The bewildered spirit soul, under the influence of the three modes of material nature, thinks himself to be the doer of activities, which are in actuality carried out by nature.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita 3.27)

According to the laws of material nature, the living entity is constantly going through the cycle of birth, death, old age, and disease. Due to our work and desires, we accept new bodies after we are finished with our current one. This is the law of karma. We enjoy happiness or suffer through misery due to the karma accumulated in this life and in previous ones. Each individual has their own desires and wants, and the material world is the playing field where the desires of all living entities collide head on with each other. The world stock markets are a good example of this principle in action on a very small scale. On any given day, millions of traders compete with each other to make money through the buying and selling of stocks. Traders all have different temperaments, personalities, and levels of intelligence. Each person has their own goals that they set out to achieve. The trading floor is the arena where all these goals and desires collide and because of this, we see that some people are very successful, while others lose millions and become bankrupt.

These collisions exist in the material world on a much greater level through the three qualities of nature: goodness, passion, and ignorance. Every living entity possesses these qualities in some varying combination. Since not everyone possesses these qualities at the same levels, we see variegations in the species, to the point of 1,400,000 different varieties. Everyone is competing with each other to satisfy their desires, so naturally there will be collisions of varying magnitudes. As a result, from time to time we see horrific tragedies, such as mass murders, terrorist attacks, school shootings, etc. Lord Krishna is not to blame for this, for He is not directly involved with the day to day affairs of the material world.

“As there are constitutional laws in the material world stating that the king can do no wrong, or that the king is not subject to the state laws, similarly the Lord, although He is the creator of this material world, is not affected by the activities of the material world. He creates and remains aloof from the creation, whereas the living entities are entangled in the fruitive results of material activities because of their propensity for lording it over material resources.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Bg 4.14 Purport)

Through His energies, this material world was created and through His deputies, the demigods, material affairs are managed. The demigods handle all issues of fairness with regards to karma. God personally has no stake in our material fortunes.

Lord Krishna makes an exception however when it comes to His devotees. Krishna is very partial towards His devotees and He will do anything to protect them and make them happy. Examples of this affection can be found throughout the historical incidents documented in the great Vedic literatures. In the Treta Yuga, Krishna incarnated as Lord Rama specifically to save His devotees who were being harassed by the demon Ravana. In a previous time, there was a young a boy by the name of Prahlada who was a great devotee of the Lord. Though he was born into the family of the Daityas, who are atheistic by nature, Prahlada was a completely surrendered soul from his very birth. His atheistic father, Hiranyakashipu, very much disliked his son’s devotion to God. He tried to kill Prahlada through various means, but Prahlada miraculously survived each and every attack. It was actually no miracle, for the boy simply thought of Lord Krishna during each attack, which is the best way to guarantee one’s safety. The Lord always protects His devotees no matter what. Even if they are put into difficult or painful situations, He guarantees that they will return to His abode after quitting their present bodies.

“Anyone who quits his body, at the end of life, remembering Me, attains immediately to My nature; and there is no doubt of this.” (Lord Krishna, Bhagavad-gita 8.5)

Finally, the Lord had enough of Hiranyakashipu’s deplorable behavior, so He personally incarnated as Narasimha Deva to kill him. This also represents the reverse side of the Lord’s favoritism. As kind as He is to His devotees, He is equally unkind to the enemies of His devotees. He will dole out the most severe punishment to the miscreants who dare harm His bhaktas.

This material world is a cause of constant fear. We have so many possessions and relationships that are all destined to end. We try very hard to defend and hold on to these ties, knowing that one day we won’t have them. In the spiritual world, such fear doesn’t exist. Our relationship with Krishna is eternal, and realizing that relationship means never having to be afraid again. God is not someone that we need to fear. If we learn to love Him, then He will reciprocate times ten. The best way to love God is through the process of bhakti yoga, or devotional service. If we constantly engage ourselves in hearing stories about the Lord, offering Him prayers, and chanting His name, then He will surely notice us. God resides in all of us through His Paramatma, or Supersoul, expansion. By practicing devotional service, we slowly move our consciousness from the material to the spiritual platform, where we can dovetail it with the Supreme Consciousness. Let us all become devotees of Krishna, not out of fear, but out of love for Him and His causeless mercy. He will always love us and never let us down, so we have nothing to fear.