||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.”