||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 78 – The legend of Prahladha – 8

Prahlada spoke “ Oh! Children, My father went for an extreme penance in Mount Mandharachal, he undertook Tapasya for several months.  Lord Indra was concerned about the Tapasya of my father Hiranyakashipu.  During this period my mother Kayadhu was pregnant with a child.   Lord Indra defeated the demons and abducted my mother to kill the child in her womb. Fortunately, Lord Indra was intervened by Maharishi Narada, he insisted Lord Indra to leave the idea of killing a child in mother’s womb. Maharishi Narada said “ Oh! Mahabhaga, the child in Kayadhu’s womb is not cruel or wicked like Hiranyakashipu, he is going to be one of the greatest devotees of supreme Lord; therefore it is impossible to kill him.  He has attained supreme grace of Lord.” Lord Indra released the clutches on Kayadhu, he reverentially circumambulated her and left.  Maharishi Narada took my mother in his hermitage and gave shelter until my father finishes his Tapasya.  While my father was undertaking extreme penance, my mother served the ascetics living in the hermitage of Maharishi Narada who taught the highest of the knowledge of Paravidhya/knowledge of Bhramam and Aparavidhya/body which is perishable.  My mother could not recollect any of these highest of knowledge, with the grace of Maharishi Narada I could remember all those teachings while I was in her womb and preserved in my mind with the constant practice. Oh! Children listen to me carefully, it will purify your intellect, and the body has to undergo six types of transformations but the soul remains untouched, it has no death.  Therefore if you want to attain the permanent bliss you have to focus on the eternal soul not to the body which has perishable nature.  The supreme knowledge is like the Goldmine where the experts separate the gold from other metals, you should learn to focus your mind in the soul resides in your body, that will lead to ultimate Bramham, Athmavith focuses the mind on the supreme soul.  The body is made of five essential elements, mind, intellect, Ahamkara, sixteen senses/six from the body and six from the mind, Prana has two senses hunger and thirst, the intellect has to undergo doubt, forgetfulness, sorrow, happiness,/ the mind, body, intellect, and soul is interconnected by the supreme Lord in the form of Prana.  As long as the Prana/soul resides in the body, rest of the sixteen senses will function, otherwise, it will be declared as a corpse, in this way, you can elevate your mind to the supreme Lord who resides as soul in living beings.  There are thousands of methods to cultivate devotion and elevate your soul; in this Kali Yuga devotion is the easiest method to approach the Supreme Lord.  Oh! Children, devotion can be achieved by self-less service to  the preceptor, listening to their teachings and sincerely following them, listening to the glorious myths of Lord, Namasmaran/recitation of sacred names of Lord, contemplation upon the marvelous form of Lord Hari who resides as a soul in living beings, association with saintly people, and worship of supreme Lord,  in this way, detach your mind from all the worldly matters and concentrate on supreme Lord Vasudeva, it will create firm devotion  and immerses the mind in supreme bliss.  If you start remembering Lord Narayana on every breath, you can unite with the supreme Lord and if you cultivate firm devotion and unite your mind with the supreme soul, with the firm devotion all those impurities in the mind will burn and this will bring the serenity of mind.  Therefore, Deities, demons, Asura, Gandharva, Yaksha, Kinnara, and humans contemplate upon the lotus feet of supreme Lord Mukunda to attain the serenity of mind.  Anyone can meditate upon supreme Lord, it is possible not only for Dhvija/Brahmin, deities, Rishis, there are no specific qualifications required or need not be a scholar, every ordinary human being can contemplate upon Supreme Lord.  There is no need for charity, Tapasya, fasting, and disciplines, all that required is intense devotion and complete surrender upon the lotus feet of  Supreme Lord,  any charitable deed performed without the devotion is considered as ignorance.  Oh! Children, cultivate intense devotion to the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in you.  It will provide the sense of ‘Oneness in All’, there is no restriction or qualification required, even the Yaksha, and Rakshasa, or Shudras, Sthree, or people who have committed grave sins, can contemplate upon the supreme Lord Achyutha, devotion is considered as highest kind of piousness in everyone’s life.  Oh! Children, therefore meditate upon the supreme Lord Govinda and make your life fruitful.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 77 – The legend of Prahladha – 7

One day the preceptors were out for the work, Prahlada found it is a great opportunity to spread the knowledge of self to his friends.   The knowledge for self-confidence and courage to face any adverse situation with intense faith and devotion.  Prahlada speaks to the children of demons “ Oh! Children, It is difficult to attain the body of a human, a soul takes several births and with the piousness attained, it has achieved the body of a human.  Therefore it is the prime duty of the individuals to follow the Bhagavatha Dharma/righteousness from the age of childhood.  ‘Time’ plays important role in every human life, none of us can get hold of the intellect, beauty, skill, etc.. it has to perish with the time, hence it is important to practice righteousness from the early days of childhood and completely surrender at the lotus feet of Lord Vishnu who resides as soul in all the living beings.  He is Ishwara who is Sarvabhoothanam Ishwara:, he is the closest companion of the individuals.  Oh! Children, happiness is the state of mind that wedges with the pleasing experience of sense, but it is fleeting, the mind cannot stick on with the sense organs for a long time, therefore it releases its clutches from the sense organ after sometimes due to boredom.  The human mind will not stick on to a particular object or people or viewpoints for a long time.  The mind always searches for diverse matters to consume.  The ignorant people keep waits for the happiness performing the usual tasks, in this way they spend whole life span or wait until the damage of senses with unfulfilling desires.  Oh! Children, if you want to attain permanent bliss, contemplates upon the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda who symbolizes eternal bliss.  The human body cannot protect you from fear or anxieties, it undergoes constant transformation and destruction.  The body has to undergo aging, illnesses, and death if the mind clings on to the body, it would bring extreme fears and afflictions.  The half of the life goes waste without any fruitful task during childhood and adulthood, spends many nights in sleep and days in material affairs,  in this way we push our body and mind into darkness of ignorance, eventually death.    The aging and illnesses attack the body, by the time half of the life must have spent with the worldly matters.  Therefore the intellectuals isolate their mind from worldly affairs and bondage and contemplate upon the supreme Lord, eventually, the mind will get detached from worldly affairs.  The people who have completely indulged in taking pleasure in worldly affairs would spend their life in the remembrances of home, father, mother, wife, children, friends, brother, sister, relatives, wealth, and money, ultimately they descend from the supreme bliss.  The mind has the ability to descend to worldly matters and ascend to the supreme Lord as well.  Oh! Children, if you feed your mind with pleasures and comfort, once the body undergoes aging and illnesses, at that moment the mind will get extremely disturbed.  It becomes impossible for the mind to get unfasten from sensual pleasures.   The human mind is like an animal that takes extreme pleasures in the senses instead of getting disconnected from sensual pleasures.  Oh! Children, leave interest in all the worldly matters, and bondage and turn your mind to supreme Lord Narayana, eventually, the mind will be free from all those worldly matters.  Oh! Children, it is not so difficult to please supreme Lord who is all-pervading, represents living and non-living things, and resides as a soul in living beings.  Therefore surrender yourself to the lotus feet of  Supreme Lord, show kindness to others to elevate their souls to the supreme Lord, if the supreme Lord gets pleased you will attain all those desired in abundance.  The truth is the Dharma Arththa and the Kama alone will not elevate the soul to the supreme Lord, the scriptures confirm that elevation of the soul is possible only with the complete surrendering to the supreme Lord.  Oh! children, I am fortunate one, have gained this supreme Knowledge from Maharishi Narada while I was in my mother’s womb.   Listen to me, my preceptor Maharishi Narada taught me the Bhagavatha Dharma,/Vasudevasya Mahima/glories of supreme Lord Vasudeva, which is Gnana Vignana Samhitha/which describes the supreme knowledge and the ways to attain the supreme Lord.  It helped to elevate my soul with the constant contemplation upon the supreme Lord.”  The children of the Gurukula were astounded and requested  Prahlada to describe when did he learn the supreme knowledge from Maharishi Narada. 

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 76 – The legend of Prahladha – 6

Prahlada spoke “ Oh! Preceptor, my mind and intellect is yearning to unite with the Supreme Lord who resides as a soul in all of us, like a magnet; therefore I could not see anything other than him.”  The preceptors were really angry at the child Prahlada who was praising the splendor of Lord Hari.   Hiranyakashipu was furious at the preceptors.  King ordered the preceptors to take back Prahladha and teach to eulogize him.  The preceptors took Prahladha to the school and they tried all means of physical abuse and taught him to praise his father.  But Prahlada was unyielding for any of their threats or abuses.  He was taught Thrivarga about the Purusharththa/lessons on Dharma, Artha, Kama which could elevate the soul to the final state of liberation from repeated births.   He was less taught the practice of the final state of liberation from the worldly existence.   But Prahlada was steadfast, he did not worried about it, because he has already attained the supreme knowledge of Bhramam while he was in mother’s womb.  

The human body endures with the essential elements of Bauthika Loka/Prakrithi, the supreme soul could outlive only with the spiritual advancement, and therefore it is necessary to have worldly pleasures as well as spiritual knowledge to elevate the soul.  The preceptors were quite satisfied with their way of teachings to Prahlada.  Once again, he was brought to the assembly of the King, he was accompanied by his preceptors, and the questions were repeated.  Prahlada looked at his father's eye and said “ Oh! Father, The most favorite lessons I have learned are Shravanam, Keerthanam, Smaranam, Padhasevanam, Archanam, Vandhanam, Dasyam, Sakhyam and Athmanivedhanam, are nine types of devotion to worship supreme Lord Hari.”  Hiranyakashipu felt humiliated, showered all his anger upon the little child Prahladha calling him ‘enemy of his clan’ and threw him from the lap.  Hiranyakashipu blamed the preceptors for all the troubles; they forced the child to tell the truth where he had learned praising Lord Hari.  Prahlada said “ Oh! Ignorant one, you are not going to learn the absolute truth, you will remain the cows/ruminants that keep re- chewing the food consumed.  If you want to bring something new in your life, approach saintly men and soak in the dust from their feet, be in the association with them.  Otherwise, you cannot elevate your soul from the worldly matters.”  Hiranyakashipu was in a rage, ordered the preceptor to leave the Palace, made up his mind to teach a harsh lesson to Prahlada.  Hiranyakashipu thought if Prahladha stays alive, he will become a threat to him; he will destroy the entire clan.   Hiranyakashipu decided to kill Prahladha, called for his men and fastened him with a rope; he compelled his wife to poison the child when Prahladha was asked his mother about the unique color of food, mother consoled him that it is the offerings made to Lord Hari, the poison did not hurt Prahlada.  Hiranyakashipu was mystified, he ordered his men to take Prahladha high in the mountain and hurl down, Alas! he was miraculously escaped.  Prahlada was thrown into the cluster of serpents, but he did not get hurt.   He was tossed to the blazing fire, it did not hurt him.   He was thrown to the ocean, but he did not get hurt and safely returned back on the shore.  Hiranyakashipu understood after several attempts of punishment of death, Prahlada is safe, therefore someone is protecting him.  Hiranyakashipu pulled his sword to cut Prahladha into pieces, was stopped by his preceptors who requested the King to give them a final chance to change the belief of Prahlada.  Thus, Prahlada returned to the Gurukul for the third time. 

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 75 – The legend of Prahladha – 5

Maharishi Narada speaks “ Oh! Rajan, Prahladha was born as the fourth child of Hiranyakshipu, the others were Hladha, Samhladha, and Anuhladha.  Prahlada was innocent, honest, and virtuous; he had good control over senses and knowledge of self.  He respected preceptor and saintly men; he had supreme knowledge of Bhramam which is eternal, pure, unchangeable and absolute truth, resides as a soul in living beings.   He considered the supreme Lord as his constant companion.  He was humble, kind, and caring to everyone like a father to his children.  His mind was unwavering; he neither sticks to grief nor happiness.   He had thorough knowledge that all that seeing and happening are fleeting and not permanent.   He contemplated supreme knowledge of the Lord who resides as soul in deities and Asuras as well.  He had immense love and faith upon the supreme Lord by birth, so that he could be able to live in supreme bliss always, with the constant remembrance of Lord; he had immense courage and felt protected by supreme Lord.   He was constantly united in his mind with intense love and devotion to Lord Govinda who illuminates the senses.   He continuously contemplated the supreme soul which has no birth or death; hence he was in a state of ecstasy.  Hiranyakashipu was anxious about the little child Prahladha who was in a state of supreme bliss always, as if untouched by grief or sorrow, he engages meditation for hours and hours contemplating Supreme Lord Hari, he forgets the surroundings and sing and dance contemplating upon Lord Hari.  The King sends for physicians of the palace to check on the health of Prahlada.  They informed Hiryankashipu that his son is perfectly alright, he is constantly contemplating upon Lord Hari who is the enemy of him and keeping himself blissful always.  This news multiplied the worries of Hiranyakshipu, he decided to send Prahaladha to learn under the guidance of a preceptor, an institution was built for the purpose and found preceptors for Prahlada.  Chanda and Amarka two sons of Shukracharya were appointed as the preceptor of Prahladha and a large number of children of demons were admitted to the school.  Prahlada was taught to worship Hiranyakashipu who is the Emperor of the Kingdom; his name should be recited in place of Lord Hari, he is the protector of the Kingdom and his subjects etc.  The little Prahladha showed the least interest in all those teachings and nothing was kept in his mind, as if he was not heard anything other than the name of Lord Hari.

The years passed, once Prahaldha was brought to the assembly of Hiranyakashipu, his father affectionately carried the child on his lap, and enquired about his studies in the school and asked “Oh! Child, what did you learn in the school? Which one of the teaching did you like the most?” Prahaldha looked at father’s eyes, he closed his eyes and said “ Oh! Father, I have heard the most marvelous teachings about the splendor supreme Lord Hari resides who resides as a soul in living beings, therefore contemplate upon him and elevate your soul.   The attachment to body which undergoes constant transformation and destruction could bring unhappiness, extreme pain, anxieties, sorrows, and grief.  Oh! Father, therefore takes shelter at the lotus feet of Supreme Lord Hari, conducts your journey to woods and contemplates upon him in the serenity of woods.  Oh! Father, Sravanam/listening to his glories, Keerthanam/praising his glories, Smaranam/remembrance of his glories, Mananam/contemplation, Padhasevanam/worship of Lord as Master, Archana/veneration of Lord, Dasyam/service to him and his devotees, Sankhyam/consider him as your companion, Athmanivedhanam/complete surrender, accept any of the methods of worship of Lord Hari, you will find supreme bliss. ”  Hiranyakashipu abruptly rose from the throne in a wave of extreme anger and enquired the preceptor who taught him about the excellence of Lord Hari.  He laughed sarcastically and said “ Oh! Fool, what you have learned from your teacher is utter foolishness.”  He called for the preceptor and questioned the reason for Prahladha’s devotion to Lord Hari, they were troubled and fondly called Prahlada.  “Oh! Vathsa, do not lie, tell us the truth who taught you about Lord Hari?  We did not teach you anything about him.”  Prahlada replied “ Oh! Preceptor, you are an ignorant one, you have no knowledge of all-pervading supreme soul, you have not understood the oneness-in – All, I shall prostrate before that supreme Lord who has minuscule form as well.  You did not realize the supreme Lord, who resides as a soul in all the living beings.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 74 – The legend of Prahladha – 4

The legend of Prahladha shed light on the ignorance and death of Hiranyakashipu, the excellence of five-year-old Prahlada.  The characteristics of Prahlada symbolizes intelligence, enthusiasm, courage, humility, happiness, brightness, devotion, and knowledge, clarity of mind, contentment, and faith.  The human mind and intellect are mysterious, it is a marvelous instrument that can shrink due to jealousy, pride, ego, anger, selfishness, and wickedness.   It can also expand with supreme knowledge and the knowledge of oneness in All.   It can spread happiness, selfless love, care, humility, etc.  The character of Hiranyakashipu represents utter ignorance which could provide only sorrow, grief, jealousy, pride, ego, anger,  and pain.  It could augment crimes, brutal murder, massacre, and burglary.   The root cause of the entire problem is the restlessness of mind/ignorance due to insecurity, dependency, doubtfulness due to lack of knowledge, lack of potency, inabilities, fear of illnesses and aging.  An agitated mind cannot bring peace or serenity of mind.  The knowledge of self could remove ignorance, doubtfulness, restlessness, insecurities, fear, and anxieties.  Hiranyakashipu ordered his men to create an obstacle for all the religious and spiritual rites in his Kingdom.  He wanted to tear off the chest of Lord Hari who manifested as wild boar and killed his brother Hiranyaksha.  He pacified his mother with supreme knowledge and elevated her soul from extreme grief of the loss of her son.

Hiranyakshipu decided to conduct an extreme penance in Mandharachala to become immortal and win over his enemies.  He undertook severe penance standing on the fingertip of the leg, fixing the gaze on the sky, both the hands folded above the head.  The deities experienced utter heat witnessing the penance of Hiranyakashipu with the destructive thought.  The deities assembled in Sathyaloka and appealed to Lord Bhrama that they could not live peacefully with the extreme heat of the penance of Hiranyakashipu.  Lord Bhrama mounted on his celestial vehicle was accompanied by Sapatharishis and arrived in Mandharachala.   They could not witness Hiranyakashipu whose body was fully covered in the anthill, his body was deteriorated, his flesh was consumed by the ants inside the mud, Hiranyakashipu was not conscious of his body.  The Rishis removed Hiranyakashipu's skeleton-like body out of the anthill.   Lord Bhrama spoke “Oh! Wake up! Wake Up! Be all the auspiciousness with you,  I am pleased with your devotion, ask for a boon.” Lord Bhrama sprinkled water on him from his Kamandalu/vessel, Hiranyakashipu instantly retrieved all those powers, health, enthusiasm and energy of him.  He reverentially prostrated before Lord Bhrama and said “ Oh! Lord, you are the creator of Kalpa, and preserve it, ultimately destroy it. You are omnipresent, I shall prostrate on your lotus feet.  You are Adibeeja/prime seed, you represent intellect and knowledge, you are witnessing the deeds of Prana, senses/Indriya, intellect, and mind.  Oh! Anantha,  I shall prostrate before all-pervading Bhagavan, Oh! Prabho, I shall prostrate before your compassion, Oh! Lord, you have instructed me to ask for a boon, kindly bless me not  to have fear from any of your creation,  I should not face death inside or outside, I should not face death with any of the weapons, I should not face death during day or night, I should not face death from Earth or Sky, I should not face death from humans, or animals or deities or demons, I should not face death from living or non-living things, I should not have enemies.  I need not bow before any ascetics to get splendor, kindly bless me with the above boons.”  Thus, Hiranyakashipu attained unique and numerous boons from Lord Bhrama.  Later, with the boons he took control of the entire Earth and abode of deities, he created extreme trepidation among the living beings and deities as well.  He cultivated immense enmity towards Lord Hari who killed his brother Hiranyaksha.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 73 – The legend of Prahladha – 3

Maharishi Narada continued “ Oh! Yudhishtir, listen to me, Hiranyakashipu was extremely raged when he heard the death of his brother Hiranyaksha by a wild boar, his eyes were reddened,  crushed his teeth and looked at the sky and said “ Oh! Demons, I will not spare that Lord Vishnu who killed my brother Hiranyaksha, everyone thinks that he is impartial, but he was impartial to us always.  He has refused to be in his selfless nature, he has shown favor to Indra, and hatred towards us.  I will kill him with my spear and perform the rite with his blood.  If the root of the tree is destroyed, the whole tree gets ruined, therefore, I am going to kill Lord Vishnu who is Kootastha/root to destroy the powers of the deities.  It is my order to destroy the hermitages of saints and holy men, kill the twice-born, kill the people who follow Varnnashrama, recite Vedas, follow Vedic way of living.  In this way, we can infuriate Lord Vishnu and bring him out of his abode, and then I can kill him at ease.”  

The warriors of Hiranyakashipu harassed the righteous people on the Earth, they have put an end to all the religious and spiritual rites.   Hiranyakashipu went back to the Palace and saw his mother, children, wife are mourning at the death of Hiranyaksha.  He pacified them, placed his mother’s head on his lap and said “Oh! Mother,  it is the braveness of a Kshatriya to attain death while battling with enemies.  The death cannot be avoided, no one can rewrite it, and it happens at the right time.  The time creates preserves, protects and destroys the soul.  The soul/Athma/ is eternal, pure, free from changes, it assumes different bodies by taking various births.  The soul is interconnected with Maya/illusion/mind and assumes different appearances in various births; the mind has the power of a magnet either to stay connected with the Paramathma or with the worldly matters.   It is like the reflection of the trees positioned on the river banks gives out the constant movement of the tree in the water, even though the tree is firm.  It is like when we keep rotating the head vigorously for a while, it gives the feeling that all the objects are moving around, even after we stand firm for a while.  The soul is void of any of the transformation; therefore we should stay connected with our intellect to the supreme soul.  Oh! Mother, the ignorant people keep attachment on material things and people, in this way we are restricting our mind and intellect which has the power to elevate us from worldly pleasures.  The intellectuals consider oneness in all; it could provide humility, humbleness, and generosity.   The ignorant people soak in utter grief of separation, pain, and agony.  Oh! Mother, I shall narrate a legend of King Suyagna in the city of Ushi who was killed on the battlefield.  He was brutally wounded, the corpse was brought to the palace; his wives were holding his legs and cried loudly.  They hit on their chest vehemently and wept bitterly, saying “Oh! Rajan, we are hopeless.  We have no one in the world to depend on, it is meaningless to live.” At that moment, a child entered the palace, that was Lord Yama disguised in the form of a child and advised them “ Oh! Women, you are several years elder to me, you have enough experience living on this Earth.  Why are you behaving like an ignorant, all these are impermanent in this Universe.  Why are you grieving over the soul which is not going to return?  I am a fortunate one, I do not know about my parents, I am all alone in the woods, and I am fearless about the wild animals in the woods.  I am confident that I am well protected by the Supreme Lord who protected me while I was in mother’s womb.  This universe is created, protected, preserved, by the Supreme Lord; he has numerous manifestations and performs various passionate sports in this Universe.  Oh! Women, why did we attain the human body which undergoes constant changes? Do you know how the food fire, bubbles in the water and sand dunes all that appears? You cannot see or touch the mind/intellect of Suyagna, it works with all those vital elements to speak with you, and you have seen his physical appearance only.   Therefore contemplate upon the supreme Lord who resides as soul and elevates your soul from worldly bondage which causes grief and pain.  Oh! Women, you have seen the physical appearance of Suyagna but not his mind or Athma which is eternal, do not waste your time mourning for him and concentrate on the Supreme Lord.  I shall describe the story of Cuckoos nested in the woods.  One day the female Cuckoo was shot by a hunter, was seen the male Cuckoo wept bitterly at the separation of her.  The male Cuckoo was worried about its children who were well taken care of by its mother.  At that moment, the hunter shot the male Cuckoo also.  Oh! Women, therefore do not be a fool, you cannot bring back the life of Suyagna, hence stop crying for him.” In this way, Hiranyakashipu pacified his mother from extreme grief of the death of her son Hiranyaksha and elevated her from the extreme anguish.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 72 – The legend of Prahladha – 2

Shuka Bhramam continued “ Oh! Rajan, living beings on Earth commits countless sins without the knowledge of self or without the knowledge of all the actions that should have a reaction.  I shall describe a legend to simplify your doubts, it has happened during the Rajyasuya Yagna/Mahakrathu conducted by your grandfather,  how  the King of Chethi could attain union with Lord Vasudeva.”  King Pareekshith was already aware of the story of the King Shishupala of Chethi attained Bhramam. Once the Rajasuya Yagna was performed by Yudhishtira in his Kingdom Indraprastha, Lord Krishna was honored in the assembly. Shishupala was present in the assembly insulted Lord Krishna.  Lord Krishna patiently waited for Shishupala to finish his hundreds of mistakes, as it was promised to his mother, when Shishupala crossed one hundred mistakes, Lord Krishna sliced his head with Sudharshana Chakra, a brilliant ray raised from the body of Shishupala and attained union with Krishna.  King Pareekshith asked “ Oh! Bhraman, how did King Shishupala attain union with Krishna, even though he publicly insulted Lord Krishna?   Kindly narrate to me.”

Maharishi Narada to Dharmaputhra “ Oh! Rajan, respect and disrespect, praise and rumors,  hurt by words or actions, grief, all these affect the ignorant people.  They constantly undergo grief, pain, and sorrow by committing various mistakes by words and actions, on the other side, the intellectuals perform virtuous deeds and rites to elevate their soul.  The mind is capable of the constant remembrance of the supreme Lord with any of the feelings, like enmity, affection, fear, devotion, desire, anger, dedication, love, etc.   Oh! Rajan, King Shishupala attained union of the supreme Lord with his enmity towards Lord, this incident proved that an individual can attain union with the Lord easily with the feeling of enmity too.  Kamsa attained union of the Lord with the fear of death, Chaithya/King of Chethi attained union of the Lord with his anger, Vrishni’s attained union of the Lord with their relationship, Pandavas with their extreme love and affection attained union of the Supreme Lord,  Sadhus like us have attained union of the Supreme Lord with our intense devotion and faith.  All the rivers merge with the ocean attains the same worth of it, likewise, all types of devotion to the supreme Lord would bring union with the Bhramam.  I shall narrate a legend in an elaborate manner.  Once Sanaka, Sanandhana, Sanathkumara and Sanathana visited the supreme abode of Lord Vishnu were mistreated by his doorkeepers.  The Sanathkumaras are supreme ascetic attired in loin clothes had the appearance of small children aged five or six.  The Sanakadhis was got angry and cursed the doorkeepers, that they have no right to be in the aboard of Lord Vishnu, therefore they had to be born in the Asurayoni/as demons with all those Rajasik nature.  Thus, these two Vishnuparshadhas, born as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashipu as the children of Dhithi.  Later, Hiranyakashipu was killed by Lord Vishnu who incarnated as half lion-half man/Narasimha and Hiranyaksha was killed by Lord Vishnu who manifested as wild boar.  The death of Hiranyakashipu was occurred by the extreme devotion of his son Prahladha who had the knowledge of the supreme soul and he realized the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, attained the knowledge of oneness in all.  He was serene and stable, handled all those terrible situations in life with a balanced mind.  He had firm devotion and faith upon the supreme Lord, therefore he could face the worst scenario with courage and devotion,  therefore he did not face brutal death, but his father who was an Emperor tried to kill his own son has to face merciless death in the hands of Lord Narasimha.  Even though Hiranyakashipu had all those fierce weapons, the boon of Lord Bhrama and  huge powers of the army, he had to face brutal death in the hands of the supreme  Lord.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 71 – The legend of Prahladha -1

The human intellect has the capacity to sink down into the worldly matters as well as elevate the soul to the supreme soul.   It has the ability to become selfish as well as altruistic as well.  The noble soul realizes ‘Oneness in all’.  King Pareekshith said “ Oh! Bhraman, I have heard that the supreme Lord is all-pervading, compassionate and impartial.  Then why did the supreme Lord battled against demons for Lord Indra?  I feel Lord Narayana immensely support deities and annihilate the demons.  Oh! Maharishi, kindly clarify my doubts.”

Shuka Bhramam spoke “ Oh! Rajan, I am extremely pleased to shed light on your doubts, the sacred scripture Srimad Bhagavath Mahapuran is capable to release you from all your doubts.  Oh! Pareekshith, listen to me carefully, Bhagavan/the supreme Lord is not an individual to favor all that desired by the living beings, it is a supreme philosophy which cannot be seen, unchangeable, permanent, and it is omnipresent, it preserves the creation, protects it, sustain it and ultimately destroys it.  It is an ultimate asylum of all the living beings on the Earth.  The mind has originated from the soul; the worship of idol is a practice to teach the mind to return to the supreme soul, the constant practice of worship of idols reroute the mind from the worldly matters and concentrate on the supreme soul.  The Supreme Lord is all – pervading, he resides as a soul in a living being, and intellect originates from it.   The supreme Lord is Aja- he has no birth or death, he is beyond form, he is beyond Prakrithi which undergoes constant changes.  The illusion causes us to think that the supreme Lord is favorable as well as non-favorable; he is neither favorable nor non-favorable.  The intellect/mind is under the constant influence of the three qualities of Rajasik, Sathvik, and Tamasik, but the supreme soul who is Purusha is devoid of qualities or changes.  The influence of these three qualities reflects in individual perception, the Sathvik nature increases the positive thinking, serenity of mind, generosity/Deivika Samskara.  The supreme Lord is Sathvik nature, self- illuminating, therefore, the mind concentrated upon the radiant soul will remain pleasing, intelligent and peaceful. Rajasik nature increases the desires, dependency, sensual pleasures/Asura Samskara.  The Thamasik nature increases grief, ignorance, laziness, lethargy/Rakshasa Samskara.  The individuals with  Rajasik and Thamasik nature will have less knowledge of self, but the individuals with  Sathvik nature attains the knowledge of the supreme Athman/supreme Lord straight away.  It is like all types of wooden pieces have the capacity to produce flames, but the dried wood catches fire at ease.   Therefore the Sathvik nature increases unity, humility, and peace in the Kingdom.  As long as the individual elevate their soul to the supreme Lord, the intellect inclined to keep wandering around the worldly matters seeking sensual pleasure.  The knowledge of self can be achieved only through intense devotion and faith upon the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in us.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 70 – Chithrakethu Upakhyanam - 2

Maharishi Angirass spoke “ Oh! Rajan, the mind is originated from the soul, it has two capabilities, either to attach with worldly matters or elevate the soul by constant remembrance of supreme Lord, like a tortoise pull out its head from the shell and return to its shell during the hours of threat.  The life on the Earth is impermanent, all the living being has to return to Earth, the soul has no death, it keeps take birth in different attire and conducts its journey like the large number logs despatched through the water did not accumulate on single shore, even though they have started traveling together from one location,  the destination will be different.  The body has to undergo constant changes, but the soul remains unchangeable.  If you do not contemplate upon supreme Lord and keep attachments on worldly matters would be like ignoring the handful of meal and licking on one’ own elbow, It would multiply your grief and sorrows.”  Thus the two saints put great efforts to elevate the soul of King Chithrakethu who was completely shattered at the death of the child.  Alas! King Chithrakethu could not recognize them.

King Chithrakethu spoke “Oh! Mahabhaga, you both are liberated souls, you both must have achieved great status in spirituality, but I could not recognize both of you.  Who are you? Kindly introduce to me.” King wept bitterly.

Maharishi Angirass said “ Oh! Rajan, you know me well.  I am maharishi Angirass, I have performed fire sacrifice for obtaining the child.  This is Maharishi Narada who is the son of Lord Bhrama.  Oh! Rajan, I have come here to elevate your soul which is grieving over the death of your child.  Previously I have visited to impart the supreme knowledge, but you did not pay attention to any of my words, you were already distressed in the absence of a child.  Therefore I have decided even if I impart the supreme knowledge, it will not go into your mind.  Now, your mind is full of pain and agony, you are weeping at the separation of child and anxious of your life. Oh! Rajan, You were under the misconception that all that wealth, glories, children, wives, etc. are permanent; therefore you have vested all your interest and attachment on them.  Your mind was closely attached to your body and worldly bondage caused extreme sorrow in you.  Therefore, keep your mind calm and meticulously ponder over it and come out of your grief.   Oh! Rajan, think carefully how you should react to this situation and elevate your soul.”

Maharishi Narada said “ Oh! Rajan, I shall advise the supreme hymn, contemplate upon supreme Lord and recite these hymns for seven nights,  you can attain Sankarshana as your preceptor.  He will guide you to achieve knowledge of the supreme soul.”  Maharishi Narada looked at the face of King Chithrakethu, who was not convinced thoroughly, he was still mourning at the death of his child.

Shuka Bhramam speaks “ Oh! Raja Pareekshith, Maharishi Narada showed the soul of the deceased child with his divine powers to King Chithrakethu.  Then, Maharishi Narada spoke “ Oh! Jeevathma did not see your parents and relatives are grieving over your separation.  They are worn out of extreme grief and pain, therefore return to your body and enjoy the kingly pleasures with it.”  The Jeevathma replied “In which birth they have become my parents? the soul is taking several births and performs its Karma.  Therefore, I have no parents; I have taken birth through them because of the unfinished Karma.  I have no relationship with anyone other than supreme Lord who is my father, mother, relative, companion, etc. hence all those relations made while talking shelter in a body are not permanent, it keeps changing during different births.  The soul cannot recognize its parents, it is conscious about the supreme Lord only.  Oh! Prabho, tell them not to cry for this soul, it has taken shelter in that body of the child due to ignorance.  This mind has no capacity to think, or perform its deeds without the grace of the Supreme Lord; therefore I have no relationship with these people.”  The Jeevathma left the place. 

King Chithrakethu got freed himself from the grief and all the attachments to the child, like an elephant drenched in mud raised out of the pothole of dirt,  fallen at the feet of Maharishi Narada.    King Chithrakethu got out of the darkness of ignorance with the brilliant rays of Sun-like the advice of Maharishi Narada and spoke “ Oh! Maharishi, kindly make my life fruitful, I have understood, I need not grieve over the separation of the child.  I am already worn out of worldly existence, Kindly elevate my soul.”  King Chithrakethu took a dip in the sacred river Kalindi and took shelter under the feet of Maharishi Narada who advised the sacred syllables “ Om Namasthubhyam Bhagavathe Vasudevaya Dheemahi | Pradhyumnayaruththaya Nama Sankarshanaya Cha ||” in this way, King Chithrakethu sincerely followed the advice of Maharishi Narada and attained Sankarshana as preceptor, eventually attained the supreme Bhramam.   Later he had committed a mistake, therefore he had to take birth as Vriththrasura.

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 69 – Chithrakethu Upakhyanam -1

Pareekshith spoke “ Oh! Bhraman, how did Vriththrasura who was born as a demon, possessed the qualities of Rajasik/Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moham, etc. and gain supreme knowledge of Bhramam? How did he achieve intense devotion and faith upon supreme Lord Narayana? It is difficult to achieve even for the deities and Rishis who perform numerous austerities and extreme penances to fix their intellect at the lotus feet of Lord Mukunda.  Therefore, kindly narrate to me.”

Shuka Bhramam replied “ Oh! Rajan, listen to me carefully, Vriththrasura was an Emperor Chithrakethu of the Kingdom Shoorasena, in his previous birth.  Even though he was married several times, unfortunately, he had no offspring.  It created extreme distress in the life of the Emperor Chithrakethu, all his wives were rich from the illustrious clan and beautiful, but everyone was equally depressed for not having a child.  One day, Maharishi Angirass visited the palace of Emperor Chithrakethu, was received with great respect.  The Emperor washed his feet, offered Arghyam and a raised seat.  Maharishi Angirass was highly pleased with the dedication and devotion of Emperor Chithrakethu, he asked the well-being of his Kingdom and his subjects. He asked “ Oh! Rajan, I could sense your distress; I can read your face is troubled with anxiousness.  Something is bothering you. What is the reason for it?”  Maharishi was well understood the reason for his distress of not having an offspring for performing rites for ancestors, not having an heir to rule the Kingdom, not having a child to shower his affection and love.   Maharishi Angirass pacified Chithrakethu and advised that even if he attains a son, he would not add any fame to his clan, therefore accept all the happenings as the blessings of the supreme Lord.   Chithrakethu begged before Maharishi “Oh! Maharishi, I am extremely worn out of the grief of the absence of an offspring, like an individual suffering from hunger and thirst.   Oh! Mahabhaga, I shall surrender at your feet, you are a supreme ascetic, kindly bless us to obtain a virtuous offspring and kindly protect us from our sufferings.”  Maharishi Angirass advised the Emperor to organize a fire sacrifice to obtain an offspring.  Thus a huge fire sacrifice was held, at the successful completion of the fire sacrifice, the deity appeared with the vessel of kheer/Payasam, which was reverentially received by Chithrakethu.    The Kheer was given to his Empress, in due course of time she was pregnant with a male child.   Emperor Chithrakethu and his subjects were extremely happy at the arrival of the beautiful male child, he was named Shoorasena.  On an auspicious day, the child was attired in majestic clothes, rites were performed and predictions were made about the future of the child. 

As the day’s passes, Chithrakethu was getting too attached to his child, he could not separate himself from the newborn and the mother, and eventually, he lost interest in the kingly duties.  It annoyed the other wives of the King; they felt ignored by him and treated as bad as servants of the palace, the King miserably failed in his duty as a husband and a ruler.  They collectively have taken a decision to kill the new-born who has stolen all the attention of the King from them, further they poisoned the child and killed.  The Empress looked at the cradle of the child who was already dead; she mistook the child in deep sleep.  The hours passed, the attendant of the Empress checked on the child and found the child was already dead.  The attendant handed the dead child to Empress, she could not bear the separation, she wept bitterly fallen on the ground.  She vehemently beaten her chest and cried out loudly, her hairs were disheveled, clothes were misplaced, ornaments were shattered all over the ground.  The Emperor who heard the tragic incident, rushed out of the assembly to the child and seated near the legs of the child, bashed his head on the ground, cried out bitterly.  They both could not control their grief, Empress could not withstand the sorrow of her husband, and they were completely heartbroken.  Her eyes were overflowing with tears wetted her bosom, she could not take her mind off from the image of the child, she cried loudly saying “ Oh! Vidhatha, do not be so cruel to us.  How could you seize my child before I shower all my love to him? How could you be so unkind to us, I have heard that the aged would die, why did you take my new-born child? You could have taken me instead if you want.  Oh! Bhagavan, you have thrown me into the bottomless ocean of worldly existence.” She kept whispering to her child and talking and crying to her dead child as if it is alive.  The other wives of the Emperor were assembled and shed tears as if they are grief-stricken at the death of new-born.  The husband and wife were shaking the child miserably and tried to wake him up; she cried to her child that her bosoms are full of milk waiting to feed him.  Thus, the husband and wife were soaked in utter grief and pain of separation from the child. 

Maharishi Narada and Sage Angirass arrived at the palace and witnessed the heart-wrenching sight; they have decided to raise the mind of Emperor and his wife from the grief of the loss of new-born.  Maharishi asked “ Oh! Rajan, Who is this child? You are saying it is your child, for whom are you grieving for? Oh! Rajan, you did not bring the child into the womb of its mother, you did not protect it while it was in the mother’s womb, you did not bring the child out of its mother’s womb, and therefore you cannot claim that it is your child.  The time plays an important role in everyone’s life like the river carries the sand and deposit the sands on the shore.  The life cycle on the Earth continues like the seed produces grains and the process repeats with the strength of Prakrithi, Time, and the supreme Lord.  The body/Dheha/creation originates from the mind/Dhehi, and process repeats, in this way human life cycle continues, in other words for every creation begins with the desire as its basis, later it produces with the help of reproductive organ.  Therefore, every creation begins with the push of desire; the body takes the action to fulfill the desire, as a result, the birth takes place.  The mind is initiated from the supreme Lord who resides as a soul in living beings, hence all those desires of the mind are contributed by the Supreme Lord, so the mind has the strength to go back to its origin/supreme Lord as well, with this knowledge you can get rid of sufferings of worldly existence and bondage.”

||Om Namo Bhagavathe Vasudevaya||

Chapter – 68 – The legend of Vriththasura - 4

Vriththrasura continued “ Oh! Indra, my mind relentlessly eulogizes the glories and virtues of Lord Hari, I have surrendered to the supreme Lord who resides as soul and protects my body. I am performing all the tasks with the knowledge that I am the servant of supreme Lord.  I have devoted my mind and intellect to the supreme Lord, and my body for the service of the Supreme Lord and his devotees.  I do not want to be an emperor  of Druvaloka, or Bhrama Loka or Rasathala or Prithviloka, or I do not want Yogasiddhis or Moksha, I am sincerely praying for not to forget the supreme Lord not even for a second, I cannot bear the separation from the supreme Lord.   The intense devotion to the Supreme Lord must be like the birdies in their nests, impatiently waiting for the return of its parents who went in search for the prey,  it must be like a hungry calf waiting for its mother and stay close to her bosom,  and her return home after grazing in the forest, it must be like a young bride who impatiently waiting for the arrival of her husband,  eagerly staring at the pathways in search for his return home and unite with him.  I have always yearned for the association of saintly and pious people; we have taken several births to attain the life of a human, in this way  we are rotating within the wheel of Samsara, therefore we should not keep association with the people who are soaked in the worldly matters.”  

Lord Indra was in dilemma, after listening to nectar-like speeches of Vriththrasura. Indra left the hold of the weapon Vajrayudha was asked to fight by Vriththrasura who was holding a spear and ready to fight against him.  Lord Indra stopped Vriththrasura and cut off his hand that was holding the spear. Vriththrasura gave a powerful smack on the Airavatha with his other hand, eventually, Indra lost hold of Vajrayudha.  Indra felt ashamed to pick up the weapon Vajrayudha before Vriththrasura was asked to take back the weapon.  Vriththrasura inspired Indra who was in utter shame, he took the Vajrayudha and cut Vriththrasura's other hand.  Vriththrasura spoke “Oh! Indra, Do not think that you are killing me with your power, every action are pre-destined by the supreme Lord, it was destined that my body has to face its death in your hands. The ignorant people are besieged by illusion forced to think all that achieved by their individual efforts and skills, the human body is a corpse without the presence of soul/vital air and mind.   The soul and the intellect can leave the body any moment through any one of the nine gates.  As long as the presence of the soul exists, the intellect and body start its function.  Oh! Indra, body, sense organs, and intellect are functioning with the grace of supreme Lord, this knowledge itself would create humility in individuals, if you do not understand the truth, you cannot perform any of the functions.  Oh! Indra, if you learn to face the fame and ill fame, respect and disrespect, success and failure, happiness and sorrow,  gain and loss, with a balanced state of mind, it would not do any harm.  Oh! Indra, Therefore,  do your duty.”  Lord Indra regained his enthusiasm, came forward with folded hands and prayed before Vriththrasura “Oh! Vriththrasura, though you have born in the clan of demons, you have attained closeness to supreme Lord, you have attained union with the Supreme Lord.  It is surprising to witness that your body has the appearance of demons, but your intellect is vested in the intense faith upon Lord Vasudeva who resides as a soul in living beings.  Whoever contemplates upon the supreme Lord with intense faith and devotion would soak their mind in the ocean of nectar-like supreme bliss.” Indra killed Vriththrasura, thus he attained Bhramahathyasin, later he sought advice from illustrious Rishis and got rid of the same.