F for Faith

The Bhagavad Gita is a treasure trove of knowledge - all that you need to be is an inquisitive student, because only when the student is ready, the master appears! Join me this month in the 'April A to Z challenge,' as I take you through selected verses of this monumental scripture, and try to decipher the amazing lessons it has in store for us.       

Read E for Ephemeral nature of life here.        

 

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Translation

Krishna says, a person is made of their faith (sraddha); whatever one’s faith is, that they become. 

One’s faith depends on their nature, not on the environment they are in. An inherent sattvic nature brings about faith in the mode of goodness. A rajasic nature brings out faith in the mode of passion. A tamasic nature brings about faith in the mode of darkness, and illusion.

 The story of Prahalada.

The story of Hiranyakasyapu and Prahalada emphasises how complete faith in the Supreme protects us from all dangers and evil.

Hirayakasyapu was a demon king, egocentric, pompous, powerful and wicked. He hated Maha Vishnu and considered him his enemy. His subjects were forced to chant his name and sing his praise and forbidden from worshipping Vishnu. When his son Prahalada was born, he became a devotee of Vishnu, singing his praise and chanting his name at all times, by the grace of sage Narada.

Hiranyakshayapu was angry.

Hiranyakasyapu ordered Prahalada’s death, unbothered by the child’s tender age. He tried poisoning him, getting him trampled under wild elephants, throwing him from the mountains, and finally burning him in a pyre. So strong was Prahalada’s faith in Vishnu that he chanted Vishnu’s name as he went through the ordeals and escaped unscathed each time.

Hiranyakashyapu was invincible.

He was seething with anger. He was sure he could not be defeated by Vishnu for he had the most unlikely boon that he had obtained from Lord Brahma.  He could not be killed by any man or animal. He could not be killed during the day nor at night. He could not be killed by any weapon. He could not be killed either outside or inside the house. If the gods declared war, he was invincible. 

Hiranyakashyapu demanded to know where Vishnu was.

Prahalada with folded palms said, 'Father, Bhagavan Vishnu is all pervading. He is everywhere. There is no place where he is not present.'

‘Is he in this pillar?’ he thundered. 'If he is there, let him come out before I sever your head from your body.'

‘He is, father. He is everywhere, he is in this pillar too,’ said little Prahalada, with complete faith in Vishnu and unafraid of the demon king. 

Hiranyakasyapu broke open the pillar with a strike of his mace and Maha Vishnu sprang out of it – in a form no one had seen before. 

Vishnu did not let his little devotee down.

Lord Vishnu broke out of the pillar, appearing as Narasimha, with the face of a terrifying lion and body of a man. Lord Brahma's boon no longer could protect the demon. Lord Narasimha was neither a man nor an animal, yet he was half man and half animal.  He growled fiercely as walked up to the demon, and all the fourteen worlds shook with his roar. Thunder and lightening struck the entire universe. 

The sun had not yet set. It was dusk, the time opportune, it was neither day nor night. The Lord carried the demon king to the threshold of the house. The demon was now neither inside nor outside the house. He placed the demon on his lap and with the slightest touch of his sharp nails – needing no weapon – tore open his belly, killing him instantly.

Prahalada’s faith in Maha Vishnu did not dwindle even for a fraction of a second. Shri Vishnu did not break his little’s devotee’s faith either.

                                                                 

How strong is your faith in the Supreme?

Our belief and faith are conditioned by the nature of our soul. If our faith in the Supreme is strong, we can be sure that the one we trust will never let us down.    

 Read G for Gratitude here.