Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Canto 7: “The Science of God”
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Chapter Five
Prahlāda Mahārāja, the Saintly Son of Hiraṇyakaśipu
SB7.5Summary
Prahlāda Mahārāja did not carry out the orders of his teachers, for he was always engaged in worshiping Lord Viṣṇu. As described in this chapter, Hiraṇyakaśipu tried to kill Prahlāda Mahārāja, even by having a snake bite him and by putting him under the feet of elephants, yet he was unsuccessful.
Hiraṇyakaśipu’s spiritual master, Śukrācārya, had two sons named Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, to whom Prahlāda Mahārāja was entrusted for education. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahlāda in politics, economics and other material activities, he did not care for their instructions. Instead, he continued to be a pure devotee. Prahlāda Mahārāja never liked the idea of discriminating between one’s friends and enemies. Because he was spiritually inclined, he was equal toward everyone.
Once upon a time, Hiraṇyakaśipu inquired from his son what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that a man engrossed in the material consciousness of duality, thinking, “This is mine, and that belongs to my enemy,” should give up his householder life and go to the forest to worship the Supreme Lord.
When Hiraṇyakaśipu heard from his son about devotional service, he decided that this small boy had been polluted by some friend in school. Thus he advised the teachers to take care of the boy so that he would not become a Kṛṣṇa conscious devotee. However, when the teachers inquired from Prahlāda Mahārāja why he was going against their teachings, Prahlāda Mahārāja taught the teachers that the mentality of ownership is false and that he was therefore trying to become an unalloyed devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. The teachers, being very angry at this answer, chastised and threatened the boy with many fearful conditions. They taught him to the best of their ability and then brought him before his father.
Hiraṇyakaśipu affectionately took his son Prahlāda on his lap and then inquired from him what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. As usual, Prahlāda Mahārāja began praising the nine processes of devotional service, such as śravaṇam and kīrtanam. Thus the King of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, being extremely angry, chastised the teachers, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, for having wrongly trained Prahlāda Mahārāja. The so-called teachers informed the King that Prahlāda Mahārāja was automatically a devotee and did not listen to their instructions. When they proved themselves innocent, Hiraṇyakaśipu inquired from Prahlāda where he had learned viṣṇu-bhakti. Prahlāda Mahārāja replied that those who are attached to family life do not develop Kṛṣṇa consciousness, either personally or collectively. Instead, they suffer repeated birth and death in this material world and continue simply chewing the chewed. Prahlāda explained that the duty of every man is to take shelter of a pure devotee and thus become eligible to understand Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Enraged at this answer, Hiraṇyakaśipu threw Prahlāda Mahārāja from his lap. Since Prahlāda was so treacherous that he had become a devotee of Viṣṇu, who had killed his uncle Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyakaśipu asked his assistants to kill him. The assistants of Hiraṇyakaśipu struck Prahlāda with sharp weapons, threw him under the feet of elephants, subjected him to hellish conditions, threw him from the peak of a mountain and tried to kill him in thousands of other ways, but they were unsuccessful. Hiraṇyakaśipu therefore became increasingly afraid of his son Prahlāda Mahārāja and arrested him. The sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu’s spiritual master, Śukrācārya, began teaching Prahlāda in their own way, but Prahlāda Mahārāja did not accept their instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom, Prahlāda Mahārāja began to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in the school, and by his instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became devotees like him.
SB7.5.1 TEXT 1 śrī-nārada uvāca paurohityāya bhagavān vṛtaḥ kāvyaḥ kilāsuraiḥ ṣaṇḍāmarkau sutau tasya daitya-rāja-gṛhāntike SYNONYMS śrī-nāradaḥ uvāca—the great saint Nārada said; paurohityāya—to work as priest; bhagavān—the most powerful; vṛtaḥ—chosen; kāvyaḥ—Śukrācārya; kila—indeed; asuraiḥ—by the demons; ṣaṇḍa-amarkau—Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka; sutau—sons; tasya—of him; daitya-rāja—of the King of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu; gṛha-antike—near the residence.
TRANSLATION The great saint Nārada Muni said: The demons, headed by Hiraṇyakaśipu, accepted Śukrācārya as their priest for ritualistic ceremonies. Śukrācārya’s two sons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, lived near Hiraṇyakaśipu’s palace. PURPORT The beginning of the life story of Prahlāda is recounted as follows. Śukrācārya became the priest of the atheists, especially Hiraṇyakaśipu, and thus his two sons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, resided near Hiraṇyakaśipu’s residence. Śukrācārya should not have become the priest of Hiraṇyakaśipu because Hiraṇyakaśipu and his followers were all atheists. A brāhmaṇa should become the priest of a person interested in the advancement of spiritual culture. The very name Śukrācārya, however, indicates a person interested in obtaining benefits for his sons and descendants, regardless of how the money comes. A real brāhmaṇa would not become a priest for atheistic men.
SB7.5.2 TEXT 2 tau rājñā prāpitaṁ bālaṁ prahlādaṁ naya-kovidam pāṭhayām āsatuḥ pāṭhyān anyāṁś cāsura-bālakān SYNONYMS tau—those two (Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka); rājñā—by the King; prāpitam—sent; bālam—the boy; prahlādam—named Prahlāda; naya-kovidam—who was aware of moral principles; pāṭhayām āsatuḥ—instructed; pāṭhyān—books of material knowledge; anyān—other; ca—also; asura-bālakān—sons of the asuras.
TRANSLATION Prahlāda Mahārāja was already educated in devotional life, but when his father sent him to those two sons of Śukrācārya to be educated, they accepted him at their school along with the other sons of the asuras. SB7.5.3 TEXT 3 yat tatra guruṇā proktaṁ śuśruve ’nupapāṭha ca na sādhu manasā mene sva-parāsad-grahāśrayam SYNONYMS yat—which; tatra—there (in the school); guruṇā—by the teachers; proktam—instructed; śuśruve—heard; anupapāṭha—recited; ca—and; na—not; sādhu—good; manasā—by the mind; mene—considered; sva—of one’s own; para—and of others; asat-graha—by the bad philosophy; āśrayam—which was supported.
TRANSLATION Prahlāda certainly heard and recited the topics of politics and economics taught by the teachers, but he understood that political philosophy involves considering someone a friend and someone else an enemy, and thus he did not like it. PURPORT Politics involves accepting one group of men as enemies and another group as friends. Everything in politics is based on this philosophy, and the entire world, especially at the present, is engrossed in it. The public is concerned with friendly countries and friendly groups or enemy countries and enemy groups, but as stated in Bhagavad-gītā, a learned person does not make distinctions between enemies and friends. Devotees, especially, do not create friends and enemies. A devotee sees that every living being is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa (mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ [15.7]). Therefore a devotee treats friends and enemies equally by trying to educate them both in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course, atheistic men do not follow the instructions of pure devotees, but instead consider a devotee their enemy. A devotee, however, never creates a situation of friendship and enmity. Although Prahlāda Mahārāja was obliged to hear the instructions of Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, he did not like the philosophy of friends and enemies, which forms the basis of politics. He was not interested in this philosophy.
SB7.5.4 TEXT 4 ekadāsura-rāṭ putram aṅkam āropya pāṇḍava papraccha kathyatāṁ vatsa manyate sādhu yad bhavān SYNONYMS ekadā—once upon a time; asura-rāṭ—the Emperor of the asuras; putram—his son; aṅkam—on the lap; āropya—placing; pāṇḍava—O Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira; papraccha—inquired; kathyatām—let it be told; vatsa—my dear son; manyate—considers; sādhu—the best; yat—that which; bhavān—your good self.
TRANSLATION My dear King Yudhiṣṭhira, once upon a time the King of the demons, Hiraṇyakaśipu, took his son Prahlāda on his lap and very affectionately inquired: My dear son, please let me know what you think is the best of all the subjects you have studied from your teachers. PURPORT Hiraṇyakaśipu did not ask his young son anything that would be very difficult for him to answer; instead, he gave the boy a chance to speak plainly about whatever he thought might be best. Prahlāda Mahārāja, of course, being a perfect devotee, knew everything and could say what the best part of life is. In the Vedas it is said, yasmin vijñāte samam evaṁ vijñātaṁ bhavati: if one properly understands God, he can understand any subject matter very nicely. Sometimes we have to challenge big scientists and philosophers, but by the grace of Kṛṣṇa we emerge successful. It is impossible, practically speaking, for ordinary men to challenge scientists or philosophers concerning genuine knowledge, but a devotee can challenge them because the best of everything is known to a devotee by the grace of Kṛṣṇa. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (10.11):
teṣām evānukampārtham Kṛṣṇa, who is situated in the core of everyone’s heart as the Supersoul, dissipates all the ignorance from the heart of a devotee. As a special favor, He enlightens the devotee with all knowledge by putting before him the torch of light. Prahlāda Mahārāja, therefore, knew the best of knowledge, and when his father inquired from him, Prahlāda gave him that knowledge. Prahlāda Mahārāja was able to solve the most difficult parts of problems because of his advanced Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore he replied as follows.
SB7.5.5 TEXT 5 śrī-prahlāda uvāca tat sādhu manye ’sura-varya dehināṁ sadā samudvigna-dhiyām asad-grahāt hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham andha-kūpaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta SYNONYMS śrī-prahlādaḥ uvāca—Prahlāda Mahārāja replied; tat—that; sādhu—very good, or the best part of life; manye—I think; asura-varya—O King of the asuras; dehinām—of persons who have accepted the material body; sadā—always; samudvigna—full of anxieties; dhiyām—whose intelligence; asat-grahāt—because of accepting the temporary body or bodily relations as real (thinking “I am this body, and everything belonging to this body is mine”); hitvā—giving up; ātma-pātam—the place where spiritual culture or self-realization is stopped; gṛham—the bodily concept of life, or household life; andha-kūpam—which is nothing but a blind well (where there is no water but one nonetheless searches for water); vanam—to the forest; gataḥ—going; yat—which; harim—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; āśrayeta—may take shelter of.
TRANSLATION 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. PURPORT Hiraṇyakaśipu thought that Prahlāda, being nothing but a small boy with no actual experience, might reply with something pleasing but nothing practical. Prahlāda Mahārāja, however, being an exalted devotee, had acquired all the qualities of education.
yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā “One who has unflinching devotional faith in Kṛṣṇa consistently manifests all the good qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the demigods. However, he who has no devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead has no good qualifications because he is engaged by mental concoction in material existence, which is the external feature of the Lord.” (Bhāg. 5.18.12) So-called educated philosophers and scientists who are simply on the mental platform cannot distinguish between what is actually sat, eternal, and what is asat, temporary. The Vedic injunction is asato mā jyotir gama: everyone should give up the platform of temporary existence and approach the eternal platform. The soul is eternal, and topics concerning the eternal soul are actually knowledge. Elsewhere it is said, apaśyatām ātma-tattvaṁ gṛheṣu gṛha-medhinām: [SB 2.1.2] those who are attached to the bodily conception of life and who thus stick to life as a gṛhastha, or householder, on the platform of material sense enjoyment, cannot see the welfare of the eternal soul. Prahlāda Mahārāja confirmed this by saying that if one wants success in life, he should immediately understand from the right sources what his self-interest is and how he should mold his life in spiritual consciousness. One should understand himself to be part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa and thus completely take shelter of His lotus feet for guaranteed spiritual success. Everyone in the material world is in the bodily conception, struggling hard for existence, life after life. Prahlāda Mahārāja therefore recommended that to stop this material condition of repeated birth and death, one should go to the forest (vana).
In the varṇāśrama system, one first becomes a brahmacārī, then a gṛhastha, a vānaprastha and finally a sannyāsī. Going to the forest means accepting vānaprastha life, which is between gṛhastha life and sannyāsa. As confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (3.8.9), varṇāśramācāravatā puruṣeṇa paraḥ pumān viṣṇur ārādhyate: by accepting the institution of varṇa and āśrama, one can very easily elevate himself to the platform of worshiping Viṣṇu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Otherwise, if one remains in the bodily conception, one must rot within this material world, and his life will be a failure. Society must have divisions of brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, vaiśya and śūdra, and for spiritual advancement one must gradually develop as a brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsī. Prahlāda Mahārāja recommended that his father accept vānaprastha life because as a gṛhastha he was becoming increasingly demoniac due to bodily attachment. Prahlāda recommended to his father that accepting vānaprastha life would be better than going deeper and deeper into gṛham andha-kūpam, the blind well of life as a gṛhastha. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement we therefore invite all the elderly persons of the world to come to Vṛndāvana and stay there in retired life, making advancement in spiritual consciousness, Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
SB7.5.6 TEXT 6 śrī-nārada uvāca śrutvā putra-giro daityaḥ para-pakṣa-samāhitāḥ jahāsa buddhir bālānāṁ bhidyate para-buddhibhiḥ SYNONYMS śrī-nāradaḥ uvāca—Nārada Muni said; śrutvā—hearing; putra-giraḥ—the instructive words of his son; daityaḥ—Hiraṇyakaśipu; para-pakṣa—on the side of the enemy; samāhitāḥ—full of faith; jahāsa—laughed; buddhiḥ—the intelligence; bālānām—of small boys; bhidyate—is polluted; para-buddhibhiḥ—by instructions from the enemy’s camp.
TRANSLATION Nārada Muni continued: When Prahlāda Mahārāja spoke about the path of self-realization in devotional service, thus being faithful to the camp of his father’s enemies, Hiraṇyakaśipu, the King of the demons, heard Prahlāda’s words and he laughingly said, “Thus is the intelligence of children spoiled by the words of the enemy.” PURPORT Hiraṇyakaśipu, being a demon, would always consider Lord Viṣṇu and His devotees to be his enemies. Therefore the word para-pakṣa (“on the side of the enemy”) is used here. Hiraṇyakaśipu never agreed with the words of Viṣṇu, or Kṛṣṇa. Rather, he was angered by the intelligence of a Vaiṣṇava. Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Kṛṣṇa, says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja [Bg. 18.66]—“Give up all other duties and surrender unto Me”—but demons like Hiraṇyakaśipu never agree to do this. Therefore Kṛṣṇa says:
na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ “Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.” (Bg. 7.15) The asura-bhāva, the atheistic nature, is directly represented by Hiraṇyakaśipu. Such persons, being mūḍha and narādhama—fools and rascals, the lowest of men—would never accept Viṣṇu as the Supreme and surrender to Him. Hiraṇyakaśipu naturally became increasingly angry that his son Prahlāda was being influenced by the camp of the enemies. He therefore asked that saintly persons like Nārada not be allowed within the residential quarters of his son, for otherwise Prahlāda would be further spoiled by Vaiṣṇava instructions.
SB7.5.7 TEXT 7 samyag vidhāryatāṁ bālo guru-gehe dvi-jātibhiḥ viṣṇu-pakṣaiḥ praticchannair na bhidyetāsya dhīr yathā SYNONYMS samyak—completely; vidhāryatām—let him be protected; bālaḥ—this boy of tender age; guru-gehe—in the guru-kula, the place where children are sent to be instructed by the guru; dvi-jātibhiḥ—by brāhmaṇas; viṣṇu-pakṣaiḥ—who are on the side of Viṣṇu; praticchannaiḥ—disguised in different dresses; na bhidyeta—may not be influenced; asya—of him; dhīḥ—the intelligence; yathā—so that.
TRANSLATION Hiraṇyakaśipu advised his assistants: My dear demons, give complete protection to this boy at the guru-kula where he is instructed, so that his intelligence will not be further influenced by Vaiṣṇavas who may go there in disguise. PURPORT In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, the tactic of dressing oneself like an ordinary karmī is necessary because everyone in the demoniac kingdom is against the Vaiṣṇava teachings. Kṛṣṇa consciousness is not at all to the liking of the demons of the present age. As soon as they see a Vaiṣṇava dressed in saffron garments with beads on his neck and tilaka on his forehead, they are immediately irritated. They criticize the Vaiṣṇavas by sarcastically saying Hare Kṛṣṇa, and some people also chant Hare Kṛṣṇa sincerely. In either case, since Hare Kṛṣṇa is absolute, whether one chants it jokingly or sincerely, it will have its effect. The Vaiṣṇavas are pleased when the demons chant Hare Kṛṣṇa because this shows that the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is taking ground. The greater demons, like Hiraṇyakaśipu, are always prepared to chastise the Vaiṣṇavas, and they try to make arrangements so that Vaiṣṇavas will not come to sell their books and preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Thus what was done by Hiraṇyakaśipu long, long ago is still being done. That is the way of materialistic life. Demons or materialists do not at all like the advancement of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and they try to hinder it in many ways. Yet the preachers of Kṛṣṇa consciousness must go forward—in their Vaiṣṇava dress or any other dress—for the purpose of preaching. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita says that if an honest person deals with a great cheater, it is necessary for him to become a cheater also, not for the purpose of cheating but to make his preaching successful.
SB7.5.8 TEXT 8 gṛham ānītam āhūya prahrādaṁ daitya-yājakāḥ praśasya ślakṣṇayā vācā samapṛcchanta sāmabhiḥ SYNONYMS gṛham—to the place of the teachers (Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka); ānītam—brought; āhūya—calling; prahrādam—Prahlāda; daitya-yājakāḥ—the priests of the demon Hiraṇyakaśipu; praśasya—by pacifying; ślakṣṇayā—with a very mild; vācā—voice; samapṛcchanta—they questioned; sāmabhiḥ—by very agreeable words.
TRANSLATION When Hiraṇyakaśipu’s servants brought the boy Prahlāda back to the guru-kula [the place where the brāhmaṇas taught the boys], the priests of the demons, Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, pacified him. With very mild voices and affectionate words, they inquired from him as follows. PURPORT Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, the priests of the demons, were eager to know from Prahlāda Mahārāja who the Vaiṣṇavas were that came to instruct him in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Their purpose was to discover the names of these Vaiṣṇavas. In the beginning they did not threaten the boy because when threatened he might not identify the real culprits. Therefore they very mildly and peacefully inquired as follows.
SB7.5.9 TEXT 9 vatsa prahrāda bhadraṁ te satyaṁ kathaya mā mṛṣā bālān ati kutas tubhyam eṣa buddhi-viparyayaḥ SYNONYMS vatsa—O dear son; prahrāda—Prahlāda; bhadram te—all blessings and good fortune unto you; satyam—the truth; kathaya—speak; mā—do not; mṛṣā—a lie; bālān ati—passing over the other demon boys; kutaḥ—from where; tubhyam—unto you; eṣaḥ—this; buddhi—of the intelligence; viparyayaḥ—pollution.
TRANSLATION Dear son Prahlāda, all peace and good fortune unto you. Kindly do not speak lies; just reply with the truth. These boys you see are not like you, for they do not speak in a deviant way. How have you learned these instructions? How has your intelligence been spoiled in this way? PURPORT Prahlāda Mahārāja was still a boy, and therefore his teachers thought that if they pacified the little boy he would immediately speak the truth, revealing the secret of how the Vaiṣṇavas came there to teach him lessons in devotional service. It was surprising, of course, that in the same school the other boys of the Daityas were not polluted; only Prahlāda Mahārāja was supposedly polluted by the instructions of the Vaiṣṇavas. The main duty of the teachers was to inquire who those Vaiṣṇavas were that came to teach Prahlāda and spoil his intelligence.
SB7.5.10 TEXT 10 buddhi-bhedaḥ para-kṛta utāho te svato ’bhavat bhaṇyatāṁ śrotu-kāmānāṁ gurūṇāṁ kula-nandana SYNONYMS buddhi-bhedaḥ—pollution of the intelligence; para-kṛtaḥ—done by the enemies; utāho—or; te—of you; svataḥ—by yourself; abhavat—was; bhaṇyatām—let it be told; śrotu-kāmānām—to us, who are very eager to hear about it; gurūṇām—all your teachers; kula-nandana—O best of your family.
TRANSLATION O best of your family, has this pollution of your intelligence been brought about by you or by the enemies? We are all your teachers and are very eager to hear about this. Please tell us the truth. PURPORT Prahlāda Mahārāja’s teachers were astonished that a small boy could speak such exalted Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Therefore they inquired about the Vaiṣṇavas who stealthily taught it to him, in order that these Vaiṣṇavas might be arrested and killed in the presence of Prahlāda’s father, Hiraṇyakaśipu.
SB7.5.11 TEXT 11 śrī-prahrāda uvāca paraḥ svaś cety asad-grāhaḥ puṁsāṁ yan-māyayā kṛtaḥ vimohita-dhiyāṁ dṛṣṭas tasmai bhagavate namaḥ SYNONYMS śrī-prahrādaḥ uvāca—Prahlāda Mahārāja replied; paraḥ—an enemy; svaḥ—a kinsman or friend; ca—also; iti—thus; asat-grāhaḥ—material conception of life; puṁsām—of persons; yat—of whom; māyayā—by the external energy; kṛtaḥ—created; vimohita—bewildered; dhiyām—of those whose intelligence; dṛṣṭaḥ—practically experienced; tasmai—unto Him; bhagavate—the Supreme Personality of Godhead; namaḥ—my respectful obeisances.
TRANSLATION Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose external energy has created the distinctions of “my friend” and “my enemy” by deluding the intelligence of men. Indeed, I am now actually experiencing this, although I have previously heard of it from authoritative sources. PURPORT As stated in Bhagavad-gītā (5.18):
vidyā-vinaya-sampanne “The humble sage, by virtue of true knowledge, sees with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog and a dog-eater [outcaste].” paṇḍitāḥ, those who are actually learned—the equipoised, advanced devotees who have full knowledge of everything—do not see any living entity as an enemy or friend. Instead, with broader vision, they see that everyone is part of Kṛṣṇa, as confirmed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ [Cc. Madhya 20.108]). Every living entity, being part of the Supreme Lord, is meant to serve the Lord, just as every part of the body is meant to serve the whole body.
As servants of the Supreme Lord, all living entities are one, but a Vaiṣṇava, because of his natural humility, addresses every other living entity as prabhu. A Vaiṣṇava sees other servants to be so advanced that he has much to learn from them. Thus he accepts all other devotees of the Lord as prabhus, masters. Although everyone is a servant of the Lord, one Vaiṣṇava servant, because of humility, sees another servant as his master. Understanding of the master begins from understanding of the spiritual master.
yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo “By the mercy of the spiritual master one receives the benediction of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master, one cannot make any advancement.”
sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair “The spiritual master is to be honored as much as the Supreme Lord because he is the most confidential servitor of the Lord. This is acknowledged in all revealed scriptures and followed by all authorities. Therefore I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master, who is a bona fide representative of Śrī Hari [Kṛṣṇa].” The spiritual master, the servant of God, is engaged in the most confidential service of the Lord, namely delivering all the conditioned souls from the clutches of māyā, in which one thinks, “This person is my enemy, and that one is my friend.” Actually the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the friend of all living entities, and all living entities are eternal servants of the Supreme Lord. Oneness is possible through this understanding, not through artificially thinking that every one of us is God or equal to God. The true understanding is that God is the supreme master and that all of us are servants of the Supreme Lord and are therefore on the same platform. This had already been taught to Prahlāda Mahārāja by his spiritual master, Nārada, but Prahlāda was nonetheless surprised by how a bewildered soul thinks one person his enemy and another his friend.
As long as one adheres to the philosophy of duality, thinking one person a friend and another an enemy, he should be understood to be in the clutches of māyā. The Māyāvādī philosopher who thinks that all living entities are God and are therefore one is also mistaken. No one is equal to God. The servant cannot be equal to the master. According to the Vaiṣṇava philosophy, the master is one, and the servants are also one, but the distinction between the master and servant must continue even in the liberated stage. In the conditioned stage we think that some living beings are our friends whereas others are enemies, and thus we are in duality. In the liberated stage, however, the conception is that God is the master and that all living entities, being servants of God, are one.
SB7.5.12 TEXT 12 sa yadānuvrataḥ puṁsāṁ paśu-buddhir vibhidyate anya eṣa tathānyo ’ham iti bheda-gatāsatī SYNONYMS saḥ—that Supreme Personality of Godhead; yadā—when; anuvrataḥ—favorable or pleased; puṁsām—of the conditioned souls; paśu-buddhiḥ—the animalistic conception of life (“I am the Supreme, and everyone is God”); vibhidyate—is destroyed; anyaḥ—another; eṣaḥ—this; tathā—as well as; anyaḥ—another; aham—I; iti—thus; bheda—distinction; gata—having; asatī—which is disastrous.
TRANSLATION When the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased with the living entity because of his devotional service, one becomes a paṇḍita and does not make distinctions between enemies, friends and himself. Intelligently, he then thinks, “Every one of us is an eternal servant of God, and therefore we are not different from one another.” PURPORT When Prahlāda Mahārāja’s teachers and demoniac father asked him how his intelligence had been polluted, Prahlāda Mahārāja said, “As far as I am concerned, my intelligence has not been polluted. Rather, by the grace of my spiritual master and by the grace of my Lord, Kṛṣṇa, I have now learned that no one is my enemy and no one is my friend. We are all actually eternal servants of Kṛṣṇa, but under the influence of the external energy we think that we are separately situated from the Supreme Personality of Godhead as friends and enemies of one another. This mistaken idea has now been corrected, and therefore, unlike ordinary human beings, I no longer think that I am God and that others are my friends and enemies. Now I am rightly thinking that everyone is an eternal servant of God and that our duty is to serve the supreme master, for then we shall stand on the platform of oneness as servants.”
Demons think of everyone as a friend or enemy, but Vaiṣṇavas say that since everyone is a servant of the Lord, everyone is on the same platform. Therefore a Vaiṣṇava treats other living entities neither as friends nor as enemies, but instead tries to spread Kṛṣṇa consciousness, teaching everyone that we are all one as servants of the Supreme Lord but are uselessly wasting our valuable lives by creating nations, communities and other groups of friends and enemies. Everyone should come to the platform of Kṛṣṇa consciousness and thus feel oneness as a servant of the Lord. Although there are 8,400,000 species of life, a Vaiṣṇava feels this oneness. The Īśopaniṣad advises, ekatvam anupaśyataḥ. A devotee should see the Supreme Personality of Godhead to be situated in everyone’s heart and should also see every living entity as an eternal servant of the Lord. This vision is called ekatvam, oneness. Although there is a relationship of master and servant, both master and servant are one because of their spiritual identity. This is also ekatvam. Thus the conception of ekatvam for the Vaiṣṇava is different from that of the Māyāvādī.
Hiraṇyakaśipu asked Prahlāda Mahārāja how he had become antagonistic to his family. When a family member is killed by an enemy, all the members of the family would naturally be inimical to the murderer, but Hiraṇyakaśipu saw that Prahlāda had become friendly with the murderer. Therefore he asked, “Who has created this kind of intelligence in you? Have you developed this consciousness by yourself? Since you are a small boy, someone must have induced you to think this way.” Prahlāda Mahārāja wanted to reply that an attitude favorable toward Viṣṇu can develop only when the Lord is favorable (sa yadānuvrataḥ). As stated in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa is the friend of everyone (suhṛdaṁ sama-bhūtānāṁ jñātvā māṁ śāntim ṛcchati). The Lord is never an enemy to any of the millions of living entities, but is always a friend to everyone. This is true understanding. If one thinks that the Lord is an enemy, his intelligence is paśu-buddhi, the intelligence of an animal. He falsely thinks, “I am different from my enemy, and my enemy is different from me. The enemy has done this, and therefore my duty is to kill him.” This misconception is described in this verse as bheda-gatāsatī. The actual fact is that everyone is a servant of the Lord, as confirmed in Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya—kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’ [Cc. Madhya 20.108]). As servants of the Lord, we are one, and there can be no questions of enmity or friendship. If one actually understands that every one of us is a servant of the Lord, where is the question of enemy or friend?
Everyone should be friendly for the service of the Lord. Everyone should praise another’s service to the Lord and not be proud of his own service. This is the way of Vaiṣṇava thinking, Vaikuṇṭha thinking. There may be rivalries and apparent competition between servants in performing service, but in the Vaikuṇṭha planets the service of another servant is appreciated, not condemned. This is Vaikuṇṭha competition. There is no question of enmity between servants. Everyone should be allowed to render service to the Lord to the best of his ability, and everyone should appreciate the service of others. Such are the activities of Vaikuṇṭha. Since everyone is a servant, everyone is on the same platform and is allowed to serve the Lord according to his ability. As confirmed in Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), sarvasya cāhaṁ hṛdi sanniviṣṭo mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca: the Lord is situated in everyone’s heart, giving dictation according to the attitude of the servant. However, the Lord gives different dictation to the nondevotees and devotees. The nondevotees challenge the authority of the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Lord dictates in such a way that the nondevotees forget the Lord’s service, life after life, and are punished by the laws of nature. But when a devotee very sincerely wants to render service to the Lord, the Lord dictates in a different way. As the Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (10.10):
teṣāṁ satata-yuktānāṁ “To those who are constantly devoted and worship Me with love, I give the understanding by which they can come to Me.” Everyone is actually a servant, not an enemy or friend, and everyone is working under different directions from the Lord, who directs each living entity according to his mentality.
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