Prahlāda Mahārāja – Page 3

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham

nātha yoni-sahasreṣu yeṣu yeṣu vrajāmy aham |
teṣu teṣv acyutā bhaktir acyute’stu sadā tvayi ||
yā prītir avivekānāṁ viṣayeṣv anapāyinī |
tvām anusmarataḥ sā me hṛdayān nāpasarpatu ||

(Viṣṇu Purāṇa: 1.20.18–19; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 8.434–435; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 142; Bhakti Sandarbha: 217; Prīti Sandarbha: 50, 61)

“O Nātha, wherever I go in the course of thousands of births, may I always have unwavering (acyutā) bhakti to you, the unwavering Lord (Acyuta)! As I continuously remember you, may that everlasting prīti which [is possessed of a characteristic like the prīti which] the undiscerning have for objects of the senses, never slip away from my heart.”

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ananya-mamatā viṣṇau mamatā prema-saṅgatā

ananya-mamatā viṣṇau mamatā prema-saṅgatā |
bhaktir ity ucyate bhīṣma-prahlādoddhava-nāradaiḥ ||
(Nārada Pañcarātra; cited Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.382; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.4.2; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.23.8)

“Bhakti dedicated to Viṣṇu that is filled with mamatā [for him] and free from any other mamatā [i.e., loving attachment, lit., ‘my-ness,’ for anyone or anything else] is called prema by Bhīṣma, Prahlāda, Uddhava, and Nārada.”

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yathā hi puruṣasyeha viṣṇoḥ pādopasarpaṇam

yathā hi puruṣasyeha viṣṇoḥ pādopasarpaṇam |
yad eṣa sarva-bhūtānāṁ priya ātmeśvaraḥ suhṛt ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.6.2)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] Here [i.e., in human life], a person’s approaching the feet of Viṣṇu is certainly appropriate, since he is the beloved, the Self, the Lord, and the well-wisher of all beings.”

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bhavatām api bhūyān me yadi śraddadhate vacaḥ

bhavatām api bhūyān me yadi śraddadhate vacaḥ |
vaiśāradī dhīḥ śraddhātaḥ strī-bālānāṁ ca me yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.7.17)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to his classmates:] If you have śraddhā in my words, then by virtue of that śraddhā may you all too become adept in mind, just as women and children, as well as I, have so become.”

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yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā

yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā
sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ |
harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṇā
manorathenāsati dhāvato bahiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.18.12; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.561; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.29; Bhakti Sandarbha: 109; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.8.58, 2.22.76)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to Bhagavān Nṛsiṁha:] The suras along with all qualities reside in full within one who has unconditional bhakti to Bhagavān. How could a non-bhakta of Hari running outwards after the asat as a result of desire have the qualities of the mahats?”

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yasmin yato yarhi yena ca yasya yasmād

yasmin yato yarhi yena ca yasya yasmād
yasmai yathā yad uta yas tv aparaḥ paro vā |
bhāvaḥ karoti vikaroti pṛthak svabhāvaḥ
sañcoditas tad akhilaṁ bhavataḥ svarūpam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.20; cited in the Amṛta-ṭīkā to Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa: Kāraka-prakaraṇa, Maṅgalācaraṇa)

“That in which, because of which, at which [time], by which, of which, from which, for which, with which [manner], and even which a latter or former entity of distinct nature [from you] who is impelled [by you] creates or transforms is all your nature.”

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tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ

tvayaiva dattaṁ padam aindram ūrjitaṁ
hṛtaṁ tad evādya tathaiva śobhanam |
manye mahān asya kṛto hy anugraho
vibhraṁśito yac chriya ātma-mohanāt ||
yayā hi vidvān api muhyate yatas
tat ko vicaṣṭe gatim ātmano yathā |
tasmai namas te jagad-īśvarāya vai
nārāyaṇāyākhila-loka-sākṣiṇe ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.16–17)

“[Prahlāda Mahārāja to Vāmanadeva:] That this splendorous abode of Indra was [previously] given entirely [to Bali] and today taken entirely [back from Bali] by you is indeed proper, as I consider great favor has been shown to him [by you] in [his] being deprived of wealth, which is bewildering regarding the ātmā (self). Who perceives [i.e., can perceive] the actual nature of the ātmā in the presence of [wealth,] that by which even a learned and regulated person is bewildered? Obeisance unto him, the Lord of the universe, Nārāyāṇa, the observer of all beings [i.e., unto he who has greatly favored Bali by graciously depriving him of the wealth in his possession].”

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bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha

bālasya neha śaraṇaṁ pitarau nṛsiṁha
nārtasya cāgadam udanvati majjato nauḥ |
taptasya tat-pratividhir ya ihāñjaseṣṭas
tāvad vibho tanu-bhṛtāṁ tvad-upekṣitānām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.19)

[Prahlāda Mahārāja:] “O Nṛsiṁha, here [i.e, in this world] neither are parents protection for a child [i.e., children are still subject to suffering even when in the care of their parents], nor is medicine [protection] for a diseased person [i.e., even people who receive medicine are still subject to suffering and death], nor is a boat [protection] for a sinking person in the ocean [i.e., even boats are still known to sink], since an afflicted person’s quickly desired counter-measures thereof [i.e., of suffering] are [only] such for so long [i.e., counter-measures quickly taken up to alleviate suffering are invariably only temporary and of uncertain effectiveness], O Great One, in the case of embodied beings who are disregarded by you [i.e., there is no real counter-measure for suffering apart from service unto you].”

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yasmāt priyāpriya-viyoga-sayoga-janma

yasmāt priyāpriya-viyoga-sayoga-janma-
śokāgninā sakala-yoniṣu dahyamānaḥ |
duḥkhauṣadhaṁ tad api duḥkham atad-dhiyāhaṁ
bhūman bhramāmi vada me tava dāsya-yogam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.9.17)

“Because I am burning in every birth [i.e., even in that of a king] in the fire of grief produced by separation from and union with that which is pleasing and displeasing and [because] the remedies for suffering are also [causes of further varieties of] suffering [e.g., poverty produces one type of suffering and the various processes of acquiring wealth produce others], I am bewildered by [alt., I am wandering on account of] my unknowing mind [i.e., despite my undergoing perpetual and unavoidable suffering, I still have the tendency to identify with my present body, even if it is that of a hog, and think that I am actually happy even in the midst of my suffering]. [Therefore,] O Great One, please tell me about the means of [attaining] your service [i.e., your service is the only actual means of remedying my condition of suffering].”

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matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā

matir na kṛṣṇe parataḥ svato vā
mitho’bhipadyeta gṛha-vratānām |
adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ
punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām ||
na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ |
andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
te’pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ ||
naiṣāṁ matis tāvad urukramāṅghriṁ
spṛśaty anarthāpagamo yad-arthaḥ |
mahīyasāṁ pāda-rajo-’bhiṣekaṁ
niṣkiñcanānāṁ na vṛṇīta yāvat ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 7.5.30–32)

“[Śrī Prahlāda to Hiraṇyakaśipu:] Inclination towards Kṛṣṇa cannot arise on account of another, on its own, or on account of both [i.e., on its own and on account of another] for those intent upon household life, who have entered darkness because of uncontrolled senses and whose chewing is [only] of the chewed [therein] again and again. They, of debased mind, who honor only those whose aim is in the external, certainly do not understand Viṣṇu, he who is the object to be reached [only] for those whose aim is related to the Self. They also become bound by the strong strands of Īśa’s cord like the blind being led by the blind. Their inclination, the need of which is the cessation of the insubstantial, does not touch the feet of he of great stride [i.e., Bhagavān] so long as one shall not accept a bath in the foot-dust of the divested—the great ones.”

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