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Chapter
6: Prahlâda
Instructs
His
Asura
Schoolmates(1) S'rî
Prahlâda
said:
'Someone
intelligent should in this rarely
obtained human birth from early childhood on practice the dharma of
devotional service unto the Lord [as described in 7.5:
23-24]; this life, even though
temporary, is ruled by that
purpose. (2) Because
He
is
the
most
kindhearted
and
beloved
living
being,
the
Master
of the Soul, to approach the feet of Vishnu
constitutes the path for the person to follow in this world
[see also 3.25: 38 and B.G. 5: 29].
(3) By divine ordinance
sensual
happiness oh Daityas, is available everywhere to all embodied beings,
just like the unhappiness one runs into without having asked for it. (4) There is no need
to endeavor for that [material happiness], one would only waste one's life because nothing is gained that way. [You see,] the lotus feet of Mukunda [the Lord of
Liberation] constitute the
ultimate goal of life [that brings lasting happiness]. (5) A
mindful person having a material
life in a human body should therefore,
for
as
long
as
he
is
still
healthy and strong and not
decrepit, go for the real benefit [of
Mukunda]. (6)
Of the hundred years that he
has for his life a person in service of his senses spends half his time
uselessly by being drowned in darkness ignorantly passing the night
with
sleeping. 
(7) In one's childhood one is naive and in one's
teens one plays and thus twenty years pass and it takes another twenty
years in which one, having aged, cannot engage because of being
physically incapacitated. (8)
And the rest
of your
life you spend as a fool because you, in the grip of family matters,
are bewildered by formidable lusts that can never be satisfied. (9) What man can free himself when he attached to his household, being bound by the
ropes of love misses the control over his senses [see 1.2:
6-7]?
(10) How
can someone who thinks that
making money is more important than living [in devotion and gratitude],
forsake that acquiring for which a merchant, thief and public servant
risks his dear life? (11-13) How
can one give
it up to associate privately with one's loving, pleasing and attractive
wife? How can one refrain from one's love for the sons and daughters
one enshrined in one's heart, from one's brothers and sisters and the
care for one's needy parents? How can one be indifferent about
household matters as nice furniture, a good income, pets and rows of
servants and maids? By giving priority to the interest of the tongue
and the genitals one fosters all kinds of desires that can never be
fulfilled and thus one is engaged like a silkworm [that spins itself in
its own cocoon]. How can such a massive illusion be forsaken? (14)
Constantly plagued by the
threefold misery of life [as caused by nature, by others and himself, see 2.10:
8]
he does not regret the pleasure he derives from his family, but being
materially infatuated, the maintenance of his family shortens his
life-span without him ever understanding what the real purpose of life
would be. That purpose he lost. (15)
With a mind set on wealth he learned that it is wrong to cheat for the
sake of money. Nevertheless he after having died, is tied to this
material world [by Yamarâja sentenced to take another
birth]. Without mastering his senses he with his insatiable lusts as a
family man was guilty of theft after all [see also B.G. 16: 11-12]. (16)
Despite of knowing this oh
sons of
Danu, someone taking care of his family does not find time for
his
self-realization [and the realization of the Supreme Self] as a
consequence of which he, being estranged, gropes in the dark with a 'mine' and 'thine' conception of life like that of animals. (17-18) Nobody will ever,
wherever or whenever, with a poor fund of knowledge excel in
liberating himself. Because one, as
a
sexual
plaything
hankering after the gratification of one's lusts by that attachment
founds complete families [put up with the same problem of darkness]
you, my Daitya friends, in this respect have to keep
yourselves far removed from seeking refuge with the demon of being
addicted to sensual pleasures. One instead should approach Lord
Nârâyana, the original godhead, who through the association
of
liberated souls chalks out the path of the liberation that you seek. (19)
It is not hard to satisfy the
Infallible One oh Asura sons, because He has established
Himself everywhere in this world as the perfection of the self of all
living beings [compare B.G. 14:
3-4]. (20-23) He is
the One present
within all
beings high and low, beginning with the simplest plant life up to Lord
Brahmâ. Within the single elements
and all their transformations as also within the totality of the
material energy, within the balanced state of the modes of
nature as also within their perturbation, He is the one
and only transcendental original source that is the
Supreme Lord, the Controller who is free from decay Himself.
Considering the
original position of His inner presence and His outward personal
manifestations, He
is both the pervaded that can be described and the undifferentiated,
all-pervading Supreme Transcendence that defies description. He is the
changeless and undivided One
[Consciousness] in the form of
bliss and understanding; He is the Supreme Controller about whose unlimited opulence one
is mistaken because He is hidden from view by the
illusory energy that is ruled by
the
modes of material nature. (24)
Be therefore merciful towards
all living entities. When you with
a
friendly
attitude
give up the Asura
mentality [of friends opposing enemies] you
will satisfy the Lord beyond the Senses [see also B.G. 12: 13-20]. (25)
With Him, the Eternal and Original One, being
satisfied nothing is out of one's reach. Why would those who are thus
of service in this world that is ruled by the modes, have to
work for a sense of duty [regulating the lusts, the economy and the
religion] that follows automatically [from this devotion]? Would
we,
having
risen
above
the
modes,
be of desire when we are singing
about His feet? (26) The prescribed threefold of
dharma, kâma and artha,
the knowledge of the soul, of the three Vedas, of the logic, of law
and order and of the different professional identities, I all consider
to be
the [surface] truth of
the
lesson
to
be learned, but it is one's
full surrender to the Supreme Friend that leads to the [deeper
realization of one's personal relationship with the] transcendental
person
[the svarûpa, compare 1.2:
8]. (27) This
knowledge free from material contamination is most difficult to attain.
It was explained to Nârada
by Lord Nârâyana,
the friend of all men, for the sake of all souls who are exclusively of surrender to Him, the Supreme Lord. That understanding is
possible for those who
do not care [anymore] for material possessions and bathed their bodies in the dust of the lotus feet. (28) I
received this spiritual knowledge
concerning the bhâgavata dharma [of devotional
service unto the Lord in nine aspects, see 7.5: 23-24] together with its practical application
from Nârada who does not care about a material life and only has
eyes for the Lord.'
(29-30) The Daitya sons said: 'Prahlâda, you and we have no other teachers but the two sons of S'ukrâcârya, they are the schoolmasters for us children. But you remaining in the palace could have such a difficult to acquire association with a great soul like Nârada. Please dispel the doubts we have about this dear friend, so that we can believe you.'
(7) In one's childhood one is naive and in one's
teens one plays and thus twenty years pass and it takes another twenty
years in which one, having aged, cannot engage because of being
physically incapacitated. (8)
And the rest
of your
life you spend as a fool because you, in the grip of family matters,
are bewildered by formidable lusts that can never be satisfied. (9) What man can free himself when he attached to his household, being bound by the
ropes of love misses the control over his senses [see 1.2:
6-7]?
(10) How
can someone who thinks that
making money is more important than living [in devotion and gratitude],
forsake that acquiring for which a merchant, thief and public servant
risks his dear life? (11-13) How
can one give
it up to associate privately with one's loving, pleasing and attractive
wife? How can one refrain from one's love for the sons and daughters
one enshrined in one's heart, from one's brothers and sisters and the
care for one's needy parents? How can one be indifferent about
household matters as nice furniture, a good income, pets and rows of
servants and maids? By giving priority to the interest of the tongue
and the genitals one fosters all kinds of desires that can never be
fulfilled and thus one is engaged like a silkworm [that spins itself in
its own cocoon]. How can such a massive illusion be forsaken? (14)
Constantly plagued by the
threefold misery of life [as caused by nature, by others and himself, see 2.10:
8]
he does not regret the pleasure he derives from his family, but being
materially infatuated, the maintenance of his family shortens his
life-span without him ever understanding what the real purpose of life
would be. That purpose he lost. (15)
With a mind set on wealth he learned that it is wrong to cheat for the
sake of money. Nevertheless he after having died, is tied to this
material world [by Yamarâja sentenced to take another
birth]. Without mastering his senses he with his insatiable lusts as a
family man was guilty of theft after all [see also B.G. 16: 11-12]. (16)
Despite of knowing this oh
sons of
Danu, someone taking care of his family does not find time for
his
self-realization [and the realization of the Supreme Self] as a
consequence of which he, being estranged, gropes in the dark with a 'mine' and 'thine' conception of life like that of animals. (17-18) Nobody will ever,
wherever or whenever, with a poor fund of knowledge excel in
liberating himself. Because one, as
a
sexual
plaything
hankering after the gratification of one's lusts by that attachment
founds complete families [put up with the same problem of darkness]
you, my Daitya friends, in this respect have to keep
yourselves far removed from seeking refuge with the demon of being
addicted to sensual pleasures. One instead should approach Lord
Nârâyana, the original godhead, who through the association
of
liberated souls chalks out the path of the liberation that you seek. (19)
It is not hard to satisfy the
Infallible One oh Asura sons, because He has established
Himself everywhere in this world as the perfection of the self of all
living beings [compare B.G. 14:
3-4]. (20-23) He is
the One present
within all
beings high and low, beginning with the simplest plant life up to Lord
Brahmâ. Within the single elements
and all their transformations as also within the totality of the
material energy, within the balanced state of the modes of
nature as also within their perturbation, He is the one
and only transcendental original source that is the
Supreme Lord, the Controller who is free from decay Himself.
Considering the
original position of His inner presence and His outward personal
manifestations, He
is both the pervaded that can be described and the undifferentiated,
all-pervading Supreme Transcendence that defies description. He is the
changeless and undivided One
[Consciousness] in the form of
bliss and understanding; He is the Supreme Controller about whose unlimited opulence one
is mistaken because He is hidden from view by the
illusory energy that is ruled by
the
modes of material nature. (24)
Be therefore merciful towards
all living entities. When you with
a
friendly
attitude
give up the Asura
mentality [of friends opposing enemies] you
will satisfy the Lord beyond the Senses [see also B.G. 12: 13-20]. (25)
With Him, the Eternal and Original One, being
satisfied nothing is out of one's reach. Why would those who are thus
of service in this world that is ruled by the modes, have to
work for a sense of duty [regulating the lusts, the economy and the
religion] that follows automatically [from this devotion]? Would
we,
having
risen
above
the
modes,
be of desire when we are singing
about His feet? (26) The prescribed threefold of
dharma, kâma and artha,
the knowledge of the soul, of the three Vedas, of the logic, of law
and order and of the different professional identities, I all consider
to be
the [surface] truth of
the
lesson
to
be learned, but it is one's
full surrender to the Supreme Friend that leads to the [deeper
realization of one's personal relationship with the] transcendental
person
[the svarûpa, compare 1.2:
8]. (27) This
knowledge free from material contamination is most difficult to attain.
It was explained to Nârada
by Lord Nârâyana,
the friend of all men, for the sake of all souls who are exclusively of surrender to Him, the Supreme Lord. That understanding is
possible for those who
do not care [anymore] for material possessions and bathed their bodies in the dust of the lotus feet. (28) I
received this spiritual knowledge
concerning the bhâgavata dharma [of devotional
service unto the Lord in nine aspects, see 7.5: 23-24] together with its practical application
from Nârada who does not care about a material life and only has
eyes for the Lord.' (29-30) The Daitya sons said: 'Prahlâda, you and we have no other teachers but the two sons of S'ukrâcârya, they are the schoolmasters for us children. But you remaining in the palace could have such a difficult to acquire association with a great soul like Nârada. Please dispel the doubts we have about this dear friend, so that we can believe you.'
