Prahlāda Instructs His Friends
Prahlāda Instructs His Friends
|| 7.6.1 ||
śrī-prahrāda uvāca
kaumāra ācaret prājño
dharmān bhāgavatān iha
durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma
tad apy adhruvam arthadam
Prahlāda said: The wise person should practice bhakti-yoga in his life from youth. Human birth is rare, transient but effective for bhakti.
In the Sixth Chapter Prahlāda teaches the boys bhakti. Enlightened, they give up attachment to body and home.
At the end of the last chapter it was mentioned that Prahlāda was compassionate and friendly. What did he tell the boys? That is explained now. At kaumāra age one should practice dharmas.[108] “But in youth a person is unqualified for varṇāśrama-dharma.” This is related to the Lord: hearing and chanting, in the land of Bhārata (iha). “But a person will be successful starting during yauvana?” The wise person (prajñaḥ) understands that perhaps he will die at the end of kaumāra age, and thus his life would be wasted. “But why worry? In a future life one can practice bhakti.” Birth as a human is rare. One attains human form by good fortune, and it is transient. Though you exist today, it is not certain you will exist tomorrow. “How can bhakti be perfected in such a short time?” Human birth is effective (arthadam). One sees that Khātvāṅga and others achieved success having bhakti for only a few moments.
|| 7.6.2 ||
yathā hi puruṣasyeha
viṣṇoḥ pādopasarpaṇam
yad eṣa sarva-bhūtānāṁ
priya ātmeśvaraḥ suhṛt
One should perform bhakti by the methods which allow one to surrender to the lotus feet of the Lord, since the Lord is a dear lover, son, Brahman, master and friend of all beings.
How should one practice bhāgavata-dharma? One should perform it by the method which enables one to attain surrender to the lotus feet of Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is described in order to indicate four different methods.
na karhicin mat-parāḥ śānta-rūpe
naṅkṣyanti no me 'nimiṣo leḍhi hetiḥ
yeṣām ahaṁ priya ātmā sutaś ca
sakhā guruḥ suhṛdo daivam iṣṭam
The devotees in the spiritual world are deprived of any enjoyment. My wheel of time does not afflict those devotees, for whom I am a lover, the ātmā, son, friend, elder, companion or worshipable deity. SB 3.25.38
Thus, among the bhāvas of mādhurya (priya), śānta-rati (ātmā), dāsya (īsvara), or sakhya (suhṛt) one should surrender to the Lord by whichever bhāva one desires. Thus it is said that one should perform bhāgvatān dharmān—one should perform these dharmas. This is an order for performance of rāga-bhakti. Prahlāda has also taught the fifth bhāva called vātsalya by taking another meaning in the word ātmā since ātmā can mean son (one’s own).
|| 7.6.3 ||
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