Thank you for bringing your kids to
Sunday Gopala Class.
I offer my respectful obeisances
unto all the Vaisanava devotees of the Lord. They can fulfill the desires of
everyone, just like desire trees, and they are full of compassion for the fallen
souls.
In this endeavor there is no loss
or diminution, and a little advancement on this path can protect one from the
most dangerous type of fear.
(Note: Please refer to the old
posts for all the previously taught slokas and their translations.)
STORY TIME: We heard the story of Lord Narasimha Dev, who came to protect his dear devotee Prahlad.
Hiranyakashipu was the king of the demons and he wanted to be immortal and more powerful than Lord Vishnu. So, he went to Mandara Hill to meditate upon Lord Brahma to get powers and to become immortal.
Meanwhile, the demigods used the oppurtunity to kill the demons. Lord Indra, King of Heavens took pregnant Kayadhu, wife of Hiranyakashipu to kill the child in her womb. Sage Narada stopped Lord Indra and took Kayadhu to his ashram. There, he taught her about the Supreme Lord Vishnu and the child in her womb also heard Sage Narada's teachings.
Because of Hiranyakashipu's intense penance, his body became skeleton and the whole world became very hot, Lord Brahma appeared to pacify Hiranyakashipu. Lord Brahma sprinkled his kamandala water and Hiranyakashipu regained his body and Lord Brahma said to Hiranyakashipu that he was very happy with Hiranyakashipu's penance and asked him what boon did he want.
Hiranyakashipu asked that he wanted to be immortal, but Lord Brahma said that everyone who had born would certainly die. So, Lord Brahma could not give him powers to be immortal. Hiranyakashipu was very upset hearing this and thought for a while and finally asked that
1. he should not be killed by a man or demigod or an animal
2. he should not be killed inside or outside a building
3. he should not be killed in the daytime or night time
4. he should not be killed by any kind of weapons man-made or devatas
5. he should not be killed on land, water or air
Lord Brahma gave the boon to Hiranyakashipu. Hiranyakashipu became very powerful and defeated the demigods and brought Kayadhu. He had a son named Prahalad. Prahalad was sent to Gurukul to learn about the topics of politics and economics, but he understood that political philosophy involves considering
someone a friend and someone else an enemy, and thus he did not like it.. Although the teachers tried to educate the boy Prahalad in politics, economics and other material
activities, he did not care for their instructions. Instead, he continued to be
a pure devotee. Prahalad Maharaj never liked discriminating between
one's friends and enemies. Because he was a pure devotee, he was equal
toward everyone.
Once, Hiranyakashipu sent for Prahalad and asked him what the best thing was that he had learned from his teachers. Prahalad Maharaj answered that one should do devotional service to reach the Supreme Lord. Hiranyakashipu sent Prahalad to his teachers and then chastised him and taught their best and brought him again to Hiranyakashipu. Again when his father asked him what he learned best, Prahalad talked about the nine processes of devotional service.
sravanam kirtanam visnoh
smaranam paada-sevanam
arcanam vandanam daasyam
sakhyam aatma-nivedanam (Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 7 Chapter 5 Verse 23)
1. sravanam - hearing about glories of the Supreme Lord
2. Kirtanam - singing/chanting about the glories of the Supreme Lord
3. Vishnu smaranam - remembering the Lord
4. Paada sevanam - serving the Lord's lotus like feet
5. Archanam - worshipping Him
6. Vandanam - praying to Him
7. Daasyam - serving Him
8. Sakhyam - considering Him to be our best friend
9. Aatma-nivedanam - surrendering our body, mind and words to Him
Whoever dedicates his life to serving Lord Vishnu by these nine methods is the most learned person.
Enraged at this answer, Hiraṇyakaśipu threw Prahalad from his lap. Since Prahalad had become a devotee
of Vishnu, who had killed his uncle Hiranyaksa, Hiraṇyakaśipu asked his assistants to
kill him. The assistants of Hiraṇyakaśipu struck Prahalad 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 Prahalad and arrested
him. The sons of Hiraṇyakaśipu's spiritual master, Śukrācārya, began teaching
Prahalad in their own way, but Prahalad did not
accept their instructions. While the teachers were absent from the classroom, Prahalad began to
preach Krsna consciousness in the school, and by his
instructions all his class friends, the sons of the demons, became devotees like
him.
Hiranyakashipu became furious when Prahlad's teachers brought him and described how Prahalad was teaching other students about Lord Vishnu. Hiranyakashipu's whole body trembled and he decided to kill Prahalad himself. He harshly shouted at Prahalad asking where he is getting his power from. Prahalad calmly replied that the source of my power is sameas yours and there's only one source of power- the Supreme Lord. Prahlad calmly asked Hiranyakashipu to stop acting like a demon and become equal minded towards everyone. But Hiranyakashipu would not listen to Prahalad and challenged Prahalad to be saved by Lord Vishnu and asked where He is now. Prahalad answered, He is everywhere. So, Hiranyakashipu pointed to a nearby pillar and asked is He in this pillar. Prahalad simply said yes.
Extremely angy, Hiranyakashipu smashed his fist loudly against the pillar. Then, from inside the column came a frightening sound. Suddenly, a most amazing being, roaring and raging burst out of the pillar. It was neither a man nor a lion, but a combination of both. It was Lord Vishnu's incarnation of Lord Narasingha Dev. Lord Narasingha looked awesome and formidable. Hiranyakashipu grabbed his club and attacked the Lord but Lord Narasingha Dev easily caught the demon and in the assembly-hall doorway placed Hiranyakashipu on His lap and tore the demon with His sharp nails.
Lord Brahma had given Hiranyakashipu several blessings, which made the demon invincible and immortal. But the Supreme Lord, without violating any of Brahma's promises, counteracted them all. For, Hiranyakashipu could not be killed on the land or in the sky, so the Lord killed him on His lap. He could not killed inside or outside, so the Lord killed him in a doorway.He could not be slain during the day or night, so the Lord slew him at dusk. He could not be killed by any weapon or by a person or animal, so the Lord appeared as a half-man, half-lion and killed him with His sharp nails.
After killing all the demons, the Lord sat on the king's throne and all the demigods and goddesses offered their obeisances and prayers to the Lord, glorifying , praising and thanking Him for His mery. Despite the demigods's beautiful prayers, Lord Narasingha remained extremely angy at Hiranyakashipu for abusing Prahalad. So no one dared to approach Him and they asked Prahalad to go and pacify the Lord.
Prahalad approached the Lord with folded hand, Lord Narasingha being affectionate towards him placed His hand on Prahalad's head, blessing him. Prahalad then offered the Lord his most heartfelt prayers, repeatedly praising the glories of loving devotional service as the most important path to true happiness.
Prahalad's prayers completely pacified the Lord and when the Lord said to ask for any blessings, Prahalad just wanted to have no material desires in his heart. The Lord blessed him to enjoy and become the king of the demons as well as think, serve and worship Him.
Finally, Prahalad begged for Lord's mercy on behalf of his father who had committed many offenses against the Lord. The Lord assured him that because of Prahalad being a devotee of Him, not only his father Hiranyakashipu had been purified but also 21 previous fathers in his family had been purified. Since he was a pure devotee, those who follow Prahalad would naturally become His devotees.
So, let all of us follow in Prahalad Maharaj's footsteps and become pure devotees of the Lord. Let us remember Lord Narasingha Dev all the time and go back to Godhead in this lifetime.
Srimad-Bhagavad Link: If you would like to read Lord Narasingha Dev story, please visit
http://vedabase.net/sb/7/en to read chapters 2 to 10.
Looking forward to seeing all of you in next class.
Haribol!!!!
Gopala Class Teachers
