Slokam 9

Like every head of totalitarian regimes, Hiranyakshipu becomes upset at hearing this spread of the spiritual knowledge by Prahalada.  Hiranyakashipu fears that this will destroy the fabric of dominance through terror that he had so carefully woven. 

Hiranyakashipu wants to know from Prahalada as to who he is drawing the inspiration from.  Hiranyakshipu realizes that Prahalada is a child and so could not have learnt the teachings by himself,  and he could not have imbibed it from the clan.  Hiranyakshipu concludes that the teachings were being prompted by someone located within Prahalada. 

Prahalada promptly replies that it is Sriman Narayana who is behind everything and everyone, including Hiranyakashipu. This is the classic statement in Srimad Bhagavatham,  about the location and infinite permeance of the Paramathma. 

He is located within us and without us.  Our very perception is His endowment.  The choice of life offered to us are also exclusively, His property.  His manifestation transcends time and space.  He is not subject to physical limitations.  Neither is he constrained  by lack of freedom, or tied down by selfish desires and attachments.  Our false identity blinds us to this infinite power within us.  When we truly acknowledge that we do not own anything that we perceive,  and most of all we do not even own our :own” self, it is then that we truly set out on the path of liberation from bondages. 

Prahalada says – “He is the all in all of the three worlds”.

It is important to realize that we are not the creators of what we have been endowed with.  We are allowed to learn about what we have been given,  and then to use them for the purpose for which they were given to us. 

Living in the realm of consciousness,  without the dependencies which the mind and its identity require, transports us out of the world of Maya and into the realm of the supreme reality. 

Discarding the identity and quietening the mind are the two challenges,  that will be most challenging,  and would take up many many lifetimes, because of the overpowering force of Maya. 

May we set our thoughts and actions to absorb the Paramatma’s guidance with an unwavering dedication.