Understanding how Narasimhadeva delivers both Prahlada and Hiranyakashipu

[Narasimha Chaturdashi class at ISKCON, Denver, USA]

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This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Hare Krishna.
So, thank you all for coming today evening on this extremely auspicious occasion of the appearance of Lord Narasimha Dev. So, I will speak briefly about the richness of the conception of God and the sweetness of the conception of devotion that is revealed through this pastime of Narasimha Dev. The word Narasimha means half man and half lion.
So, Lord Narasimha Dev wants me to keep his mercy. Thank you. So, Lord Narasimha Dev is half man, half lion and full God.
He is God in His fullness. Now, thoughtful people all over the world have contemplated, is there a source to everything? And by observing the world around us, we see the order, the design, the coordination and thoughtful people conclude that there must be some, some being behind all this. And most of the world’s religions conclude that there must be one supreme being.
God is one is a fundamental understanding, a fundamental truth in most of the world’s theistic traditions. The bhakti tradition from India accepts, acknowledges that God is one, but it stresses that God’s oneness does not limit Him. God is one, but that does not mean that He is limited to one form.
That God is one, but He can manifest in many forms. This one God, He is Advaita, there is no duality in Him, but Anantarupa, He can manifest in many great forms, many, many different forms. So the understanding is, sometimes people think of God as just a, God is just a light or God is not a person.
Now the idea is, you may say, when we say God is just a light, what are we saying? We are talking about absolute truth, but we are using the describer just. You know, that means, you know, if somebody, somebody gets very good marks in their exams, you know, you may tell them, you know, he just memorises things. He doesn’t understand anything.
So just is something which we use to limit things. So if God is supreme, see, He’s just, He’s just a light. We’re limiting Him by that.
So God is a light, definitely, but He’s more also. So there is all-pervading light that is divine, but that light also has a source, and that source is the supreme being, the all-attractive supreme person. And He, this divine being, manifests in different forms.
Why does He manifest in different forms? Because He has different moods. If you consider, if there is a Prime Minister, who is the head of state, if the head of state is in office, the head of state will dress and conduct in a particular way. There at home, they’ll conduct themselves in a different way.
So there are different places and there are different moods in which they reciprocate. So now, the Prime Minister, the head of state, no matter how powerful they may be, they’re just finite beings. They cannot be simultaneously at office and simultaneously at home.
Each of our relationships, although we are one person, we deal slightly different. The way we talk with our spouse is different from the way we talk with our child, is different from the way we talk with our parents. We’re the same person, but each relationship has its mood associated with it.
So now, God, because He’s infinite, He can simultaneously manifest in many different forms. And in those different forms, He manifests in a way appropriate for reciprocating love with His devotees. So normally, in the bhakti tradition, we worship the Lord in His form as Krishna.
He’s the all-attractive supreme person, a bluish black cowherd boy, who plays the flute and charms the hearts of everyone. And this form of God is also a little difficult for people to understand. When Shila Prabhupada came to America for the first time, that was a time when the civil rights movement was going on.
So one of Shila Prabhupada’s disciples, Hayagriva Prabhu, he was a professor in Ohio State University. He was teaching English. And while talking about English, he was talking to students about Krishna also.
So his principal called him. He said, I heard you are talking about God to your students. So he was a little cheeky kind of person.
So he said, I didn’t know there was any rule against talking about God. I’m just telling them. I’m not proselytising.
He said, no, but you’re talking about a strange conception of God. He said, okay, what is your conception of God? He said, I don’t have any conception. He said, if you don’t have any conception, how can you call my conception strange? He said, no, no, no, no.
You are saying that God is a cowboy? Now there are western movies with cowboys. He said, no, no, he’s a coward boy. And you are saying God is black? And there was this whole racial thing going on, whites and blacks.
He said, God is black. He said, no, he’s blue. He got completely psyched out.
So the conception of Krishna itself is sometimes a little difficult to understand. But this Krishna looks charming, looks attractive. But if you look at Narasimhadev, he can look scary.
In fact, Narasimhadev is usually depicted as roaring. And he has this half man, half lion. His nails, they’re there and they’re ripping apart a person.
So in the early days of our movement, when first time Srila Prabhupada introduced the worship of Narasimhadev, even some devotees got alarmed. One of Srila Prabhupada’s disciples, he saw the picture of this Narasimhadev. He said, such a ghastly picture.
He said, what is this? And then later on, some devotees, generally whenever something is unfamiliar to us, we tend to see it negatively, unless we are curious. So if we have a particular religious faith and somebody else has some other religious faith, we try to demonise it. So some people started conveying the idea that these Hare Krishnas, they worship a God who kills people.
And he started depicting this picture of God. So I said, now, what is Narasimhadev doing and why is he being depicted killing someone like this? So actually, normally we think of God as being very loving. People say God is love.
And yes, Krishna manifests God as supremely loving and a supremely lovable person. But love is an inclusive emotion. But when we love, through love, we experience the whole gamut of emotions.
If we love someone, if we don’t know where they are, then we feel worried. Say if someone is caught in a storm and we love them, then we are worried. So that anxiety is a sign of love.
Similarly, if somebody whom we love is threatened, then we feel angry at that time. And that anger is also a sign of love. Nowadays, if some atrocities happen, and then there is outrage in the social media, how could this happen like this? How could they do like this? But if sometimes atrocities keep happening regularly, then there is no outrage over there.
When there is no outrage at something terrible happening, then some social commentators may say, just see how people have become desensitised that such a terrible thing has happened and nobody is even concerned about it. Nobody is worried about it. So, anger indicates sensitisation.
We are concerned about it. Anger indicates there is affection. Of course, how the anger is expressed, that has to be seen in a timely circumstance.
But this manifestation of God as Narasimhadev is depicting this inclusiveness of God. That out of his love, he can even become angry at those who threaten the one whom he loves. So, this is not a God who is intrinsically angry.
As God, he is always loving. But an aspect of love is anger, when the loved one is threatened. So, this is seen in all species.
If a cat has a small kitten, and one familiar person comes and tries to take the kitten, what does the cat do? The cat will start snarling, showing her teeth. So, that is love. And that love is expressed through that anger.
So, let’s try to understand, if God is love, why is he manifesting in this fearsome form, where he is half man, half lion, he is ripping apart someone. So, what is the rationale for God manifesting in such a way? And why would millions of people throughout history worship such a manifestation? The story behind this manifestation of the Lord is described in an ancient book called the Srimad Bhagavatam. So, it has 12 divisions.
In the 7th division, the 7th canto, there is a story. And the story starts by a fundamental question. So, there is King Yudhishthir, he asks a great seer, Narada Muni, he says, is God equal to everyone? Or is God partial? Does God take the side of some people and work against other people? So, to answer this question, Narada Muni tells the story of Narasimhadeva’s appearance.
And he says, God is equal, but his equality does not mean neutrality. If we consider equality, his equality is equal reciprocity. If a person were completely neutral, like if we want to talk with someone and we go and praise them, and they are just stone-like.
And then somebody goes and criticises them, they are stone-like. Now, we may appreciate their equanimity, but how much of a relationship can we develop with them? If a person is always stone-like, never exhibiting any emotions, how can we reciprocate with them? So, God is equal, but equal does not mean that he is neutral. He is reciprocal.
As people approach him, he reciprocates accordingly. So, to explain this principle of God’s equality manifesting as reciprocity, not as neutrality, not a stone-like neutrality, but a loving reciprocity. So, Narada Muni tells the story of Narasimhadeva, Hiranyakashipu and Prahlad.
So, many, many millennia ago, the world was overrun by a fearsome demon named Hiranyakashipu. And at that time, God himself descended and freed the world from this demon. So, the ancient histories talk of a time in the past when the world was very different from the way it is now.
So, sometimes when we hear of demons and things like that, we say, hey, is all this for real? Or is all this mythological? The idea is that if our study of the universe through science has taught us anything, it has taught us humility. That the more we know, there is so much more to know in this world. Initially, when we thought, oh, the space is just a vast sky.
But then we increase our knowledge of space and we went into space. And then we understood that space is so much bigger than what we thought it actually is. So, the more we know, the more we realise how much more there is to know.
So, our knowledge increases, but our knowledge also increases our knowledge of our ignorance. Our knowledge, increase of our knowledge increases our knowledge of our ignorance. So, with this humility, we understand that in different times, different things can be happening in different ways.
And the important point in even the scriptural narratives is not specifically, this is a demon, this is a God or whatever. The important thing is that there are, they also face choices like we face. They also have emotions similar to what we have.
And they also take decisions from which we can learn. So, these time-honoured narratives are meant to help us learn timeless lessons. So, this Hiranyaksha, when he, because of his atrocious activities was killed.
So, his brother Hiranyakashipu was another demon and he decided, I am going to take revenge. And because his, this demon had been neutralised by a manifestation of God, he decided, I want to kill God. Now, how do you kill God? He thought that I will do a lot of austerities and I will become powerful.
And he started invoking the, he started doing fearsome austerities by which he could get power great enough that he would be able to dislodge God from his position and then destroy. So, while he had gone high up into the mountains to do austerities, he is trying to focus constantly, filling his mind with that revenge. Somehow I have to get power.
At that time, there were two birds over there. So, these two birds were, these actually were very spiritually inclined birds. So, they started chanting Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu.
Vishnu is the name of God. And now, Hiranyakashipu was filled with anger towards Vishnu. He wanted to kill Vishnu.
So, when he heard Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, he tried to shoo away the birds, but the birds wouldn’t go away. Finally, he got frustrated and his mind Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu was going on. These birds were chanting Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu and the sound was echoing in his mind.
And then he decided, okay, my austerity is not working now. He just came back home. So, I will go again and do austerity in future.
So, he came back home and while he was at home at that time, he united with his wife. And while he was uniting with his wife, in his mind, it is the Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu. That sound was going on constantly.
And the yoga texts describe that, you know, when a man and a woman unite, their consciousness determines what kind of soul will be attracted into the mother’s womb. So, because he was, in his mind, his thought was filled with Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, Vishnu, that sound was just going on and on and on. So, a soul who was a great devotee of Vishnu was attracted there.
And that child who was born eventually became Prahalad. Prahalad means one who is filled with joy, one who gives joy to everyone. Then, at that time, Hiranyakashipu again decided to go and perform austerities.
And he went again to the mountain and this time was determined, I am going to become immortal. So, as he performed his formidable austerities, finally, one of the head gods, that is Brahma, he came there. And why his austerity was so fearsome, that he started asking.
Nobody else had performed his austerity in the past. So, he wanted to appease Brahma. He says, what do you, what blessing do you want? Austerity is a way in which traditionally people please someone.
He says, what do you want? So, he said, I want to be immortal. So, Brahma, he looked at him and he said, even I am not immortal. How can I grant you immortality? Now, if you go to somebody and ask them, you know, I want some charity.
What do you want? And I want a hundred million dollars. He says, what? Even I don’t have that much money. How can I give it to you? So, he said that even I am not immortal.
Actually, mortality is intrinsic to the material body that we have. And the only way we can become immortal is by rising to spiritual consciousness. But since time immemorial, people have been trying to eternalise this material body.
In the Egyptian tradition, there were some pharaohs who tried to mummify their bodies with the hope that the body is preserved. In some way, they are preserved. In today’s world, you know, people, when Einstein died, people tried to preserve his brains.
And even now, Einstein’s brain is preserved. They hope that in future, you know, if we develop the technology to revive a person, then we will take Einstein’s brain, put it in the body, and we’ll get Einstein back. So, the idea is, yes, we all want to live forever.
This longing comes from the soul. And this can be realised at the spiritual level. But when we try to realise it at the material level, it just can’t work.
So, at that time, when Hiranyakashipu said, Brahma cannot grant me immortality, he felt, he felt thwarted. He said, I performed all this austerity for that purpose alone. So, then he thought that he will outsmart nature.
He said, okay, give me the benediction that I will not be killed either in the day or in the night. I will not be killed by a human being or an animal. I will not be killed by any weapon.
I will not be killed by the land, on the land or in the air or in the water. So, like that, he started analysing various conditions by which he thought he would indirectly get immortality. Now, when Brahmaji heard this, he smiled to himself.
And he said, okay, what you asked for is very difficult, but I grant it to you. And he thought he had outsmarted nature. People throughout history have thought of outsmarting nature.
There’s a British, a comedian Woody Allen said, he said, I’m not afraid of death. I just don’t want to be there when it happens. It is not that death is a event that is going to happen somewhere else.
Like say, a hurricane is going to come here, we go to some other place. Death is something that is going to happen to us. We may try to get some benedictions to avoid death or we may try to do some intellectual rationalisation.
There was a Greek philosopher Epicurus said, when I am there, death is not there. When death is there, I won’t be there. Yeah, but death will cause us distress, because that is something which we have to experience.
So here he tried to outsmart. And Brahmaji said yes, and Hiranyakashipu became extremely powerful. And power, if it comes in the hands of those who don’t have virtue, then power can become the cause of great destruction.
Power in the hands of the virtuous can do tremendous good. So when Hiranyakashipu got power, he unleashed a reign of terror all over the universe. He started destroying anyone who dared to oppose him.
But his ego was so great, that traditionally there is a battle between the gods and the demons. Hiranyakashipu was a demon. But he thought, I don’t want to destroy the gods.
I want to dominate the gods. He said, let the world see my power and even the gods have become my servants. And he got such domination over nature, that whatever he desired, he would have it fulfilled.
If he was sitting and suddenly felt it was too hot, just glance at the sun. And just by his glance, it was so fearsome, the sun’s temperature would go down. And if he was feeling a little cold, just glance at the sun, sun would start rising, temperature would go up.
So now we have, say, voice controlled devices. You know, we say, okay, Google, raise the temperature. So now, and we feel, oh, there’s so much technology.
I can do whatever I want. I can raise the temperature, I can decrease the temperature, I can start my car, I can start my TV. So yes, the specifics of how Hiranyakashipu did that at that time, and the specifics of how we do it may be different.
But the principle is the same. The principle is that Hiranyakashipu did not want any discomfort. He just wanted all pleasure.
And everything that he wanted, he could get it. Whatever he desired, he could fulfil his desire. So this, you could say, is the materialist’s ultimate dream.
Whatever I desire, I get it. Normally, we think that happiness comes by the fulfilment of desires. Oh, I have this desire, this desire is already fulfilled, that’s why I’m unhappy.
Now, Hiranyakashipu had all his desires fulfilled. But yet, he was not happy. Why? Because desires are extremely reproductive.
That means, one desire grows into two, three, 10, 100, 500. So when we are in material consciousness, no matter how much we get, we will normally think, I have this much, and I don’t have this. If only I get that, I’ll become happy.
We may get that. But even after we get that, our mind is habituated to looking at what we don’t have. And it will stay dissatisfied.
It will look at, oh, you don’t have that. And you don’t have that. So dissatisfaction is caused not so much by the possessions we don’t have.
Dissatisfaction is caused by the disposition that we have. If my disposition is to keep looking at the things that I don’t have, then I can never be satisfied. And today’s world, through its high-tech advertising industry, specialises in showing us all the things we don’t have.
And the result of that is, no matter how much we have, we stay dissatisfied. So we may think, oh, my desires will be fulfilled. Then I’ll become satisfied.
Yes, it’s not that our desires have to be frustrated. But it is not just the fulfilment of desires will make us satisfied. Before we fulfil our desires, we have to select our desires.
Which desires are truly important for us? And when we fulfil them, then we’ll become happy. Satisfaction is not just an emotion we feel. Satisfaction is also a decision that we make.
That means, in my life, certain things are right, certain things are wrong. If I look at the things that are wrong in my life, I’ll be dissatisfied. If I look at the things I don’t have, I’ll be satisfied.
If I look at the things that I have, I can be satisfied. So satisfaction is a decision that we need to take. If we don’t take the decision to be satisfied by looking at and being grateful for the things that we have, we will never be satisfied.
So Hiranyakashipur represents the success of the ultimate materialistic dream. And yet he also represents the futility of that dream. That even if we get more and more and more and more, still we will not be satisfied unless we change our disposition.
Getting more is not the problem. Thinking that getting more will make me happy, that is the problem. Our happiness will come and we change our disposition.
So now as Hiranyakashipur was living this ultimate materialist dream, still he was not satisfied. And when he was not satisfied, what would he do? He would just drink and forget about everything in intoxication and think that I am happy. Now he had this son Prahalad and a father’s dream is usually to make the son into a xeroscopy of himself.
The way I am, so my son should become like that. So he wanted his son to inherit his demoniac qualities and to become a powerful demon like him. So he sent his son to a school for demons and that school, now Prahalad, he was already a saintly soul and he was able to hear from the demon that this is how you should eliminate your enemies and this is how you should make your friends and this is how you can manipulate your friends and this is how you can fulfil your desires.
He just had no interest in this. He was being taught politics over there, he had no interest in it. So then normally, say if a child goes to school and comes back, then the parents ask, what did he learn in school today? So he was staying at his school in a gurukul, which is a little far away.
So occasionally whenever he would come home, once Hiranyakashipur my dear son, what have you learned at school? What is the best thing that you have learned? Now at that time, Prahalad said that actually the best thing that I have learned in school is that this material world is a place of distress and those who try to find happiness here are doomed. Therefore the best thing to do in life is that we should become devoted to Lord Vishnu and by practising bhakti to him, we can become truly happy. Now when Hiranyakashipur heard this, he was shocked and then initially he thought, where did my son hear this? He said, this Vishnu is very cunning.
So maybe he has sent some spies into my kingdom and through those spies they have contaminated my child. He is just a small child. He has heard this, he will forget it and he will learn something else.
So he told his teachers, be careful, don’t let him mix with any unidentified people and teach him properly. Then the second time again it happened, Prahalad gave a similar answer and this time was furious. He said, the whole world worships me and bows down to me and my own son is worshipping someone else.
How dare you be so audacious? He said, Vishnu is my mortal enemy. Vishnu is the person who killed your uncle. How can you become a betrayer of our family by worshipping Vishnu? So Prahalad was so calm, he said, my dear father, actually we have no enemies.
Enemies are simply conceptions created by the mind and as far as Vishnu is concerned, he is the well-wisher of everyone. As long as your mind is your enemy, you will see Vishnu as your enemy. When you can learn to control your mind and make your mind a friend, you will see that Vishnu is your greatest friend.
Kailanika, she was furious. He said, it’s one thing that his child was not obeying him. It’s another thing that his child was telling him, you think that my mind is not controlled? No, actually his mind was not controlled.
We may say, how could he perform so much austerity if his mind was not controlled? Actually, he had not controlled his mind, his mind had controlled him. Now, when the mind takes control, sometimes the mind just agitates, do this, do this, do this, do this and we just get caught in so many desires that we don’t know what to do. But sometimes the mind controls us and makes us do one thing at all costs.
So, at that time, some people become determined. I’m going to, I’m going to do this. I’m going to climb this mountain.
I’m going to swim across this strait. Whatever, they’re very determined. Now, those same people in their remaining life, you know, they may be short-tempered, they may be alcoholic, they may be drug users, but as far as that thing is concerned, they’re determined.
So, it’s not that they have controlled their mind. Rather, their mind has controlled them and filled them with one desire. So, he was furious.
He said, you think that you’re so strong? He said, let us see how strong you are. And he ordered that the demons to kill him. He was so angry that my own son has started betraying me.
He decided to kill his son. So, now the demons started attacking Prahlad in various ways. But somehow, Prahlad was never killed.
The demons started to come and pierce him with weapons. Prahlad closed his eyes and remembered Lord Vishnu. And that remembrance became like an unbreakable armour around him.
And the demons’ swords and spears and lances, none of them could pierce. They threw him into a pit of snakes. And Prahlad just closed his eyes.
And he just looked at the snakes and he remembered the Lord. And he remembered how Lord Vishnu resides on a bed of snakes. So, he just remembered Lord Vishnu.
He remembered the snakes reminded him of Vishnu. The snakes came to bite him. But suddenly something happened.
The snakes stopped. And they would not bite him at all. Even if a snake bit him, nothing happened.
Then they took him and threw him from top of a mountain. And they threw him from the top of a mountain and they thought he will be destroyed. And they came down and they saw he was sitting in meditation, peaceful.
So, in various miraculous ways, Prahlad was protected. And finally, Hiranyakashipu was incensed. He said that you included child, what is the source of your power? The gods bow in fear of me and you remain fearless.
I have exerted my power to kill you and you, how are you so powerful? Now, Prahlad, he simply wanted to help his father rise above his materialistic consciousness. So, Prahlad’s reply might seem cheeky, but actually it was courageous. He said, my dear father, the source of my strength is the same as the source of your strength and is also the source of the source of your strength.
And that is Vishnu. Now, this answer, what was he trying to tell? At one side, it is infuriating. If you tell someone that somebody is very wealthy and then somebody else is very wealthy.
He says, where did you get your wealth from? He says, where I got my wealth, that is where you also got your wealth from. What do you mean? So, he may feel it is being cheeky. But actually, what was he telling him? That God, do not see God as your competitor.
Sometimes you may think that God, there is a hierarchy of beings. Say, I am this powerful, this, say in a company, you know, okay, I am a software engineer, above me is a project manager. Then there is a, there is a bigger manager.
Then there is this hierarchy and then there is the CEO, there is the owner. So, we think there is a hierarchy like that. Similarly, there is a hierarchy of being and at the top of the hierarchy is God.
So, just as you say in tennis matches, there are some players ranked 100, some is 10, some is 3, some is 1. Now, there is a hierarchy and tomorrow, the player who is ranked 3, that player plays better and better, then that player can become number 1. So, like that, Hiranyakashipu had this conception that there is a hierarchy of beings and God resides at the top of this hierarchy. That God is the best of all beings. And if I become strong enough, then I will become the best of all beings.
But what Prahlad was telling him is, God is not just the best of all beings. He is the basis of all being. He is the basis of all being.
Nothing can exist without God. In 10.39, the Bhagavad Gita says that nothing can exist without Him. Whatever power any one of us has, whatever intelligence any one of us has, whatever talents we have, it all comes from God.
So, he was courageously telling Hiranyakashipu, don’t see God as a competitor. He says, God is the source of your power also and He is your relationship. So, Hiranyakashipu was furious.
He says, you say your God is so powerful, where is He? He says, He is everywhere. So, he looked around. In his palace, there was a pillar.
He said, if He is everywhere, is He in this pillar? So, of course, He is there in this pillar. So, to prove the falsity of Prahlad’s claim, Hiranyakashipu charged the pillar and hit it. As the pillar hit, he hit the pillar with his full strength, the pillar cracked apart.
And the pillar cracking created a scary noise. But that noise was within moments drowned out by an even more fearsome noise. And then, through that pillar emerged a fearsome being.
The pillar just fell to the ground and this being towered high above everyone. This being was of a kind nobody had ever seen before. In movies, when the hero comes, there is often a dramatic entry of the hero.
But here, the ultimate dramatic entry, the hero emerges from a pillar. So, he emerges from the pillar and Hiranyakashipu is stunned. Who is this being? What is this being? He was looking carefully and he saw that this being, he had he had fearsome teeth coming out of his eyes.
And his mane was rising high above. He was shaking his head in anger and his eyes were red hot. And not only that, he was glaring at Hiranyakashipu.
Sometimes, some people by their disposition only look scary. And then, actually one time I gave a class and I made some jokes, nobody laughed in the jokes. So, then after that I asked the devotees, what happened? Nobody laughed.
I said, you look so serious, we thought we are not meant to laugh in your class. So, sometimes if somebody looks very serious, that itself is a little unnerving. But if they look serious and on top of that they are frowning, they are glaring, then we start feeling really unnerved.
So, at that time, Hiranyakashipu also became unnerved. Who is this being? And that being was just glaring at him in full anger. So, as he is glaring at him, who is this person? So, this was God who had manifested.
To fulfil Satyam Vidha Tum Nija Vritya Bhashidam, the Lord wanted to prove the truthfulness of the word of his devotee. Prahlad had said that God is everywhere. Is he in this pillar? Yes, he is in this pillar.
So, he wanted to prove the truthfulness of the word of Prahlad. And actually through this manifestation, the Lord proved three things. He actually proved the words of three of his devotees as true.
His way of appearing, his time of appearing and his form in appearing. They represented how he proved the words of three of his devotees. Prahlad had said that he is in this pillar.
So, the Lord appeared through the pillar. And when Prahlad was in the womb of his mother, at that time, his mother had prayed that please let my son be protected always. At that time, she would not have envisioned that her son’s life would be threatened by her own husband.
But at that time, when she had prayed to the sage Narada, please protect my son. So, Narada had said, yes, your son will surely be always protected by the Lord. So, at this time, when Hiranyakashipu, he didn’t just want to kill Prahlad.
He wanted to first prove to Prahlad that your faith is false. And then after proving to you that your faith is false, then I will kill you. So, he didn’t just want to punish him, but he wanted to expose him also.
So, that’s why he had not attacked Prahlad first. He wanted to break the pillar, show that there is no Vishnu over there and then he would kill Prahlad. At that time, he had decided that, okay, if nobody else can kill Prahlad and he is thinking his power and my power comes from somewhere else, I will show him that my power is much greater than his power.
So, he wanted to defeat his faith and then destroy, he wanted to destroy his faith and destroy him. So, because he had this plan of killing Prahlad himself, Hiranyakashipu appeared, Narasimhadeva appeared to protect Prahlad. And lastly, Brahma had given the benediction that he will not be killed by either human being or animal.
Now, Brahma is considered the creator God. And Hiranyakashipu had said that let no creature created by you be able to kill. So, the Lord appeared in a form which even Brahma had not seen before.
Adhrishtapurva, a form that had never been seen before. He was, Brahma had given a benediction that neither man nor animal will kill him, will kill, will be able to kill Hiranyakashipu. So, the Lord came in the form of a half man, half Lord.
And then when Narasimhadeva started roaring in anger, the sound was so scary that even a demon like Hiranyakashipu became scared and he closed his eyes for some time. But then he said, whoever he is, I can kill him. And he charged towards Hiranyakashipu to attack him.
He used his sword, he used his weapons. But Narasimhadeva just played with him. Hiranyakashipu was caught.
And as he was caught, Hiranyakashipu thought now I am going to die. But he exerted his full power and he just freed himself. So, just as a cat may sometimes play with a mouse, letting the cat go, letting the mouse go and again catch it.
So, Narasimhadeva was actually playing with Hiranyakashipu. Let him go. But Hiranyakashipu is going crazy.
He looks so big, but actually I am strong, much stronger than him. He couldn’t kill me. I am going to kill him now.
He kept fighting. Actually, Narasimhadeva was simply waiting for the right time. Because he had got a benediction that he would be killed neither during day nor in the night.
So, Narasimhadeva was waiting for twilight to come. And as they are fighting, supposed to fight, as they are fighting, sometimes each fighter repositions themselves to get the most strategic advantage. So, Hiranyakashipu was attacking and Narasimhadeva seemed to be retreating.
And Hiranyakashipu was saying, he is scared of me. He is moving away from me. But Narasimhadeva had a plan.
One benediction that he had asked for was that let me not be killed inside the house or outside the house. So, what Narasimhadeva was doing was, he was retreating, retreating, so that he would stand on the doorstep. Neither inside nor outside.
So, he was retreating and Hiranyakashipu was thinking that, hey, I am winning. He is scared of me. He is moving back.
But just as twilight came, Hiranyakashipu came to attack him. Effortlessly, Narasimhadeva caught him. And Hiranyakashipu tried to break free, but nothing.
He just couldn’t break free. And then, just as twilight had come, just as he is standing on the doorstep, at that time, he took Hiranyakashipu and laid him flat on his lap. So, he raised his leg above the ground.
So, one leg was above the ground and he was on the lap. So, in this way, he was neither on the ground nor in the air. He was on a lap, on a leg that was not on the ground.
And on that lap, he just ripped apart his intestine. He ripped apart his stomach. Now, why rip apart a stomach like that? Ghastly.
But he had come in the form of a lion. And in the form of a lion, just as a lion kills a prey, he killed a prey. But after he killed a prey, what did he do? He actually looked inside and pulled out his intestines.
And then, he took the intestines and he put the intestines as a garland around him. Now, this may seem like some ghastly ritual. Why take a garland of intestines and put it into garland? But what was Narasimhadeva thinking? He was thinking, you know, this demon, he was a terrible demon.
But from his body came such a sweet devotee Prahalada. So, he actually was looking in his intestines to see if there is another Prahalada over there. Such a wonderful devotee.
If there is one more Prahalada, it will be so nice. And then, when he looked at the intestines, he found there is no Prahalada over there. He said, these intestines gave birth to Prahalada.
Therefore, I love these intestines. Therefore, I will put these intestines around me, not as a celebration of my victory, but as an appreciation of the devotion of Prahalada. So, sometimes the way things appear is not the way they actually are.
So, Lord Narasimhadeva was angry. But his anger was not out of hatred. Even his anger, he was aware that Hiranyakashipu had fathered Prahalada.
And he remembered that and he appreciated that. And although Hiranyakashipu was killed, he was delivered. Ultimately, so everybody has to die.
Nobody can escape death. But how we die, that determines our destination after this life. So, Hiranyakashipu died looking at the face of Narasimhadeva.
He died while he was in the lap of Narasimhadeva. And his eyes were filled with the form of Narasimhadeva. He was remembering Lord Narasimhadeva.
And he died in this way. So, he was also delivered. So, you could say that in one of our devotees, in India, devotees have a hospital.
So, in that hospital, the devotees worship Lord Narasimhadeva as the protector. So, he is a protector. Because he protected Prahalada.
So, when doctors do surgery, they had put a picture of Narasimhadeva in the operating theatre. Because, you know, this person is in danger. So, please protect this person.
That is the mood. Oh Lord, protect. So, one time, a person who did not know anything about Narasimhadeva, he says, who is this? He said, this is God.
He says, what is he doing? He says, that is the original surgery. Look at it. What happened to the surgery? Was it successful? He says, yes, operation successful, patient liberated.
So, Lord Narasimhadeva, he liberated Hiranyakashipu. And then after that, he was so pleased that when Prahalada came and offered prayers to him, Lord was so pleased, the Lord was so pleased that Lord seated him on his own lap. And there is a beautiful picture of Lord Narasimhadeva, where often he has Prahalada on his lap.
So, that is why the Lord is called as Prahalad Narasimha. That he is with Prahalada. So, Narada Muni explains that both, that how is the Lord equal? Was he equal to both Prahalada and Hiranyakashipu? Yes, he was equal because both of them got to be on the lap of the Lord.
Hiranyakashipu got to be on the lap of the Lord. Prahalada also got to be on the lap of the Lord. But because their moods were different, so the Lord reciprocated in different ways.
But the Lord benefited both of them. He benefited both of them. The way he benefited was different because Hiranyakashipu was demoniac.
So, at that time, he had to be punished for his demoniac nature. But he was, by remembering the Lord, he was purified and he was ultimately delivered. Prahalada, because he was always devoted to the Lord, he was delivered even in this life.
He is profusely blessed by the Lord. So, the Lord is equal. Equal in the sense that he equally loves everyone.
But depending on how we approach him, he reciprocates. Now, in our hearts, this is not just an ancient story. Yes, it is an ancient story, but it also is a replica of, it also represents what goes on in our own hearts.
But there is in all of us a godly tendency and there is also an ungodly tendency. The godly tendency is like Prahalada and the ungodly tendency is like Hiranyakashipu. So, just as the Lord protected Prahalada and eliminated Hiranyakashipu, similarly, devotees pray on this holy day that, O Lord, please destroy the Hiranyakashipu-like desires in my heart.
Please remove the ungodliness from my heart and please let my devotion, let my godliness always be protected, always be nourished, always be strengthened. And even if sometimes we give in to the Hiranyakashipu-like tendency, even if we do something wrong, still God is always our well-wisher. So, through such narratives, the main lesson that we learn is that God always loves everyone.
Narasimhadeva loved Prahalada and he also loved Hiranyakashipu. So, God always loves everyone. Even if sometimes we succumb to our lower nature, we do something wrong, still Krishna always loves us.
And we may all have certain weaknesses. We may have anger, we may have negativity, we may have a critical mentality, we may have lust, we may have greed. All these are weaknesses.
But the greatest weakness is our unwillingness to believe that God loves us, even now as we are. If by hearing these stories, we understand God is equal to all, that means He loves everyone equally. And no matter how many weaknesses I have, no matter how many mistakes I have committed, still God loves me.
And wherever I am, I turn towards Him right now. I move towards Him from where I am, He will guide me back to Him. Sometimes you may feel, oh, this person did like this to me.
Oh, I made this mistake, this bad thing happened. And you may be caught in all the negativities. No matter how many bad things have happened in our life, God is always with us.
He always loves us. And He can always get us back from wherever we are. This is the message of enduring love and enduring hope that emerges from this story.
I’ll conclude with one metaphor. Say suppose if I want to go from here to some place to Boulder, I sit in my car. And I think use Google Maps says okay, go right.
But then I take a left turn. I’ve taken a wrong turn. It’s a mistake.
But what happens? As soon as I take this left turn, Google recalibrates and tells, okay, now from here, you take this path. If I take another wrong turn, again, Google recalibrates and tells you to take this path. So Google has the whole world mapped out.
And no matter how far away we go, there’s a path back to our destination from there. So now each wrong turn we take, it will have a consequence. It will take longer for us to get back, get to the station, but still there is a path there.
Similarly, God is present in our hearts. He’s the ultimate Google guide. Even if we commit a mistake, Krishna has a plan.
And even if something bad happens to us, even if we commit a mistake, if somebody misleads us, somebody betrays us, no matter how many wrong turns happen in our life, God is there with us and He has a plan to get us back. So rather than worrying about the past, or this happened, that happened, that happened. So we just focus on here and now.
No matter how many weaknesses we have, no matter how many mistakes we have committed, let the past stay in the past. The devotion enables us to get past our past. And by becoming fixed in devotion, we all can transcend the effects of our past and ultimately get the supreme auspiciousness.
Just as Prahlad was protected, our devotion will be protected. And ultimately, we will be liberated to return to the kingdom of God for a life of eternal love, for a life of eternal joy. That is what we ultimately aspire for.
And that is what we will achieve by the Lord’s grace. So thank you very much. Shri Narasimhadev Bhagawan ki Jai.
Shri Prahlad Maharaj ki Jai. Shri Narasimha Chaturdashi Maha Mahotsav ki Jai. Hai, Gaur Premanandai.
Hare Krishna.