In the Srimad Bhagavatham, we see that a small child prahlada attained bhagavan. We see one who is just 5 years old and the other his father, Hiranyakashipu. This child is so small and tender in age while his father Hiranyakashipu is very powerful, they say older than 70 lakh yugas and all that. Hiranyakashipu, after performing intense tapasya to brahma asked for his death neither from inside, outside, night, day, man, animal, things having life, things without life with so complicated clauses. But with no strength is little prahaladan. Looking at Hiranyakashipu, all the 33 crore devas, Indran, Kuberan, Navagraha devas are shivering before him, but with no support at all is prahaladan.
What is the strength for prahaladan - "Narayana" namam. When Hiranyakashipu asks prahaladan on whose support or strength are you speaking like this, prahaladan replies that "for you to ask this question itself the strength is given from Lord Narayana and only on HIS strength I speak". On the strength of Lord Narayana I speak. When a child is sent to the patashala and comes back to the parents and when the parents are talking lovingly to the child asking, 'what did they teach in the school, what rhymes', then listening to the voice of their child they enjoy it. Similarly Hiranyakashipu, though an asura, also being a father wanted to hear his child speak and there is nothing wrong with that desire. There is a lion, looking at it the deer can be afraid, the cow can be afraid, all the animals in the forest can be afraid but looking at the father lion, the child lion wont be afraid. The Mother lion out of affection for its child lion will lick his head. For the Mother lion it is still its kid. The lion which creates fear in all other animals when it comes to its own child sees with the heart of a mother. Similarly all the 7 worlds bhuvanAdipathi shivered in fear towards Hiranyakashipu but when considering his child he has the vatsalyam. So just like how parents ask their child, Hiranyakashipu calls his son and asks, "ekadA asurarAT putram ankam Aropya pANDava papraccha kathyatAm vatsa manyate sAdhu yat bhavAn".
One day while sitting on the throne, child prahlada comes "ankam Aropya pANDava" and Hiranyakashipu calls him to come to him. When looking at his little child, vatsalyam flows in him so lifting him and placing him on his lap, "papraccha kathyatAm vatsa manyate sAdhu yat bhavAn" - in whatever you have studied, "sAdhu" - meaning what is the good in it. Prahlada would have studied a lot, there is no time for Hiranyakashipu to ask about all that so he says in whatever you have studied, prahlada, please tell me the most good thing you have learnt. Thus asks Hiranyakashipu, gently brushing the curly hairs on little prahlada and making him sit well within his lap, encircling him with his hand. The child looks at his father and thinks if father had asked anything he has learnt he could say easily. But Hiranyakashipu has asked "sAdhu yat bhavAn", tell me one good thing. Like when someone who knows singing comes to us and we ask him, please sing a good song you know. Tell me one good thing you know.
What is the strength for prahaladan - "Narayana" namam. When Hiranyakashipu asks prahaladan on whose support or strength are you speaking like this, prahaladan replies that "for you to ask this question itself the strength is given from Lord Narayana and only on HIS strength I speak". On the strength of Lord Narayana I speak. When a child is sent to the patashala and comes back to the parents and when the parents are talking lovingly to the child asking, 'what did they teach in the school, what rhymes', then listening to the voice of their child they enjoy it. Similarly Hiranyakashipu, though an asura, also being a father wanted to hear his child speak and there is nothing wrong with that desire. There is a lion, looking at it the deer can be afraid, the cow can be afraid, all the animals in the forest can be afraid but looking at the father lion, the child lion wont be afraid. The Mother lion out of affection for its child lion will lick his head. For the Mother lion it is still its kid. The lion which creates fear in all other animals when it comes to its own child sees with the heart of a mother. Similarly all the 7 worlds bhuvanAdipathi shivered in fear towards Hiranyakashipu but when considering his child he has the vatsalyam. So just like how parents ask their child, Hiranyakashipu calls his son and asks, "ekadA asurarAT putram ankam Aropya pANDava papraccha kathyatAm vatsa manyate sAdhu yat bhavAn".
One day while sitting on the throne, child prahlada comes "ankam Aropya pANDava" and Hiranyakashipu calls him to come to him. When looking at his little child, vatsalyam flows in him so lifting him and placing him on his lap, "papraccha kathyatAm vatsa manyate sAdhu yat bhavAn" - in whatever you have studied, "sAdhu" - meaning what is the good in it. Prahlada would have studied a lot, there is no time for Hiranyakashipu to ask about all that so he says in whatever you have studied, prahlada, please tell me the most good thing you have learnt. Thus asks Hiranyakashipu, gently brushing the curly hairs on little prahlada and making him sit well within his lap, encircling him with his hand. The child looks at his father and thinks if father had asked anything he has learnt he could say easily. But Hiranyakashipu has asked "sAdhu yat bhavAn", tell me one good thing. Like when someone who knows singing comes to us and we ask him, please sing a good song you know. Tell me one good thing you know.
"vatsa manyate sAdhu yat bhavAn" - whatever you think is good that you have learnt, tell me that. So prahlada wonders about his father asking him the most good thing. Sitting on the lap of his father, with his little hands folded looking at the face of his father prahlada says, "tat sAdhu manye asuravarya dehinAm sadA samudvigna dhiyAm asat grahAt hitvA AtmapAtam gRuham andhakUpam vanam gato yat harim ASrayet". "tat sAdhu manye asuravarya" - you asked me which is the most good thing I have learnt, o asuravarya (the greatest of the asuras), "dehinAm sadA samudvigna dhiyAm asat grahAt" - for the humans with this body, there is one thing which troubles most, what is that? "asat grahAt" - this body is always thinking its "ME", so that should be rid of. "hitvA AtmapAtam gRuham andhakUpam" - this "ME" thought, being responsible for one's downfall increases with home, wife and children and associated happiness and miseries, profits and losses, sadness and affections, fears so this child says, "AtmapAtam gRuham andhakUpam" - describing this samsara as "andhakUpam" as a dry well where there is no water and will be with lots of green slush and poisonous worms. All around this dry well there will be lots of trees, lots of mud will have slipped into this well. In case one has fallen into this well, by and large it will be greatly difficult for one to even come up alive. "AtmapAtam gRuham andhakUpam vanam gatah" - father, what I have learnt is that I wish to go to the forest and being alone there "hari ASrayet" - perform the bhajan of Narayana. Surrender to Lord Hari.
Later prahlada is going to say "Smaranam Keerthanam vishnOsmaranam pAdasEvanam archanam vandanam dAsyam sakyam atmanivEdanam", that is why he says now "harim ASrayet". what is "hari ashrayam" - say for example, you go to a doctor and see him for getting relief from pain. But the pain has not gone which means it is just not enough going to the doctor but you need to get the medicine that has been advised for you and you have to consume the medication exactly as per the prescription. so what is "harim ASrayet" - you need to perform the shravanam of hari always. Who ever is telling about the bhagavath gunam, an Acharya, who performs the discourse with utmost dedication and devotion, go and listen to such a mahan. Perform a lot of namakeerthanam - "Keerthanam".
"Smaranam Keerthanam vishnOsmaranam..." - all the 9 forms of bhakthi is going to be told by prahlada later, he is now laying the route to that. He says "gRuham andhakUpam" - samsaram - let us not think that we are going to fall into a new dry well, we are already in the dry well. When the mother is going to leave her child to go out, she instructs the child not to inside a certain room. That room is dark and when entered he may be afraid. When something like this is told not to be done, the child gets the interest to perform exactly that and taking a torch light he enters the dark room and finds the darkness with a light, likewise this forsaken dry well is not something that we are going to fall into, we are right there now already. What is the means of coming out of this dry well? That is why we need the acharyan. The acharyan is outside this well, Guru comes and sees one inside and feels pity for this person. Why because, this person, when he gets a profit he jumps about, suddenly he encounters a loss and his business fails and due to this loss he suffers. He suffers on account of his children, also suffers due to loss of health or onset of a disease. No relatives are taking care of him and he suffers. Seeing all this, the acharyan feels pity for this person drowned in the well filled with happiness and sorrow as well as with the fever of the samsara and hoping to give him a solution comes over to him. The Acharyan advises him that he will try to lift him up from the well and asks him whether he wishes to come out. What this means is - whether he will come to srivaikuntam, will be like to be taken to mukthi. Because the person is so used to making fun of everyone and does not beleive anyone and suspects, he does not immediately accept this offer.
Like for example, some parents will not worry about a son who is going to cinemas, drinking, smoking, going wrong ways but if he goes often to the temple then they will worry about the son. For the good things they may worry. Likewise, this person will not beleive the acharya and ask archarya, "first you are asking me to come to vaikuntam, have you ever been there?, do you have mukthi?" Tha acharya will answer, "everyone will have interest in their lives, so, without me going to moksha will I ask you to come? I have found the way to mukthi, having attained that, it is certain for me i know. But I can lift people like you from this samsara, 10s or 100s or more and therefore I am asking you". The person replies, 'No, no the reason I asked is if by trying to lift me up from the well, by chance you may fall into it and then we both need to suffer". The Acharya says, "No. dont worry about that". Then the person asks how the acharya is going to actually lift him up. What is the method. So the acharya must give him something to take hold and then only he can be lifted up isnt it. The Acharya says "I will let down a rope, catch hold of the rope tightly. The rope is qualified and of very good quality stamped and tested for quality with the ISI standard. This rope can therefore be gauranteed for its durability". But the person still admonishes, "how swami can I beleive this rope? Say while you are lifting me up midway if the rope breaks, I will fall and break my head and die, whereas atleast now I am alive. So I will neither be in "iham" or "param" then". He asks the acharya that having listened to a method to obtain moksha and performing tapam, dhyanam, holding the breath, listening to everyone and this and that, in the end I will neither get moksha, but with the net result of having pain in the body and going into mental depression. To this the acharya says, "exactly for that reason I am saying, observe the trademark on this rope, the trademark is "lakshminAtha samArambAm" - this path is not set by me, the path is proven and shown by all these mahans. The answer to the question you posed as to whether I have attained the path to mukthi, yes it is true, when my acharya has the path to mukthi, I certainly have it as well, likewise my acharya has certainty of mukthi based on his acharya" - such an avichinnamAna parampara it is.
If a guru has moksham, the disciple who has surrendered to him certainly has. For the guru having moksham, it is based upon the guru he has surrendered himself to. That is why this parampara has to come down from Sri Narayana himself. "nadayAmuna madhyamam asmath Acharya paryantAm vandE gurum paramparAm" this is what is certain and to be believed. The person now says, yes he has got belief in the guru as well as the route the guru has shown, bhakthi prappathi but asks "why are you coming to me and wanting to lift me up, there are so many saying I will teach you dhyanam, yogam for a set sum of rupees and teach me this or that. Why then are you coming to me without needing anything what is the use of me to you? Once having lifted me up, you may ask money for having lifted me? or having lifted me up, will you ask me to be at your command or tell 10 people that I was in the well and it is you who lifted me up and you may be filled with pride at this". The Guru says, "I will not do any of these three things you mentioned". So what is the profit?, "just the "atma labhAm" of having lifted the drowned person in samsara. This is the only profit."
Such is the drowned well of samsara called "andhakUpam", with the pain of which we are dwelling in at the moment. From above the call of the guru is what our mahans in the sampradayam are constantly telling us about always. Thinking of our welfare and well-being they are showing this bhakthi prappathi. Just be as you are, say Narayana thats enough is what they have shown. Even for this one is not coming, not believing the perumal who has to be believed rather believing someone who should not be believed what can then be said of his durbhagyam then.
Subham
Read more translations of the other episodes at: http://aranganinarumai.blogspot.com/
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