Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.14

Anantarām Śāstrījī: Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. Oṁ namo bhagavate vāsudevāya. [devotees repeat] [break] [leads chanting of verse, devotees respond] [break]

tad yaccha manyum asuraś ca hatas tvayādya modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā lokāś ca nirvṛtim itāḥ pratiyanti sarve rūpaṁ nṛsiṁha vibhayāya janāḥ smaranti [SB 7.9.14]

Dayānanda: [leads chanting of synonyms] [break]

Prabhupāda: Ānanda. What you have written? Nirvṛti means pleasure.

Dayānanda: What is it?

Prabhupāda: Ānanda, "pleasure." "They are taking pleasure."

Dayānanda: Pleasure.

Prabhupāda: Yes.

Dayānanda: Nirvṛtim... [break]

[03:11]

Translation: "My Lordship Nṛsiṁhadeva, who can, therefore, stop Your anger? Now my father, Hiraṅyakaśipu, the great demon, being killed, as the saintly persons take pleasure in the killing of the scorpion and the snake..."

Prabhupāda: What is the beginning? Tad yaccha? Hmm? Tad yaccha: "Give up that anger." What you have written?

Dayānanda: It says, "Who can, therefore, stop Your anger?"

Prabhupāda: No, no. "Please, therefore, give up Your anger."

Hṛdayānanda: "Please, therefore, give up your anger."

Dayānanda: Oh. "Please, therefore, stop your anger. Now my father, Hiraṅyakaśipu, the great demon, being killed, as the saintly persons who take pleasure in the killing of the scorpion and the snake, similarly, all the saintly persons have achieved great satisfaction on account of the demon's death. Now they are confident of their happiness. They shall always remember about Your auspicious incarnation."

Prabhupāda: "Of Nṛsiṁhadeva."

tad yaccha manyum asuraś ca hatas tvayādya modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā lokāś ca nirvṛtim itāḥ pratiyanti sarve rūpaṁ nṛsiṁha vibhayāya janāḥ smaranti [SB 7.9.14]

So Prahlāda Mahārāja is requesting Nṛsiṁhadeva, "Now the business is finished. My father, the great demon, Hiraṅyakaśipu..." He said, asuraś ca hatas... He... Such a great Vaiṣṅava, he is not calling Hiraṅyakaśipu his father. And in other place also he addressed his father, na sādhu manye asura-varya [SB 7.5.5].

[Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: O best of the asuras, King of the demons, as far as I have learned from my spiritual master, any person who has accepted a temporary body and temporary household life is certainly embarrassed by anxiety because of having fallen in a dark well where there is no water but only suffering. One should give up this position and go to the forest [vana]. More clearly, one should go to Vṛndāvana, where only Kṛṣṅa consciousness is prevalent, and should thus take shelter of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.]

He never said "my father." He said "the greatest of the asuras." He was so bold. The father was such a great demon, and he was not addressing him as father, and the father was becoming more and more angry upon him. This indicates that a person who is a demon, not devotee, he's not worth calling a father. That sort of father should be avoided. Pitā na sa syāt. People are affectionate to father and mother, and they hesitate how to give up..., especially boys, give up the company of family, father and mother, take to Kṛṣṅa consciousness. But here in the śāstra it is said, "If the father is demon or a mother is demon or a friend is demon or a family member is demon, they should not be accepted as relative." Pitā na sa syāj jananī na sā syād gurur na sa syāt [SB 5.5.18].

[One who cannot deliver his dependents from the path of repeated birth and death should never become a spiritual master, a relative, a father, a husband, a mother or a worshipable demigod.]

Even guru. If you have accepted somebody as guru but he's a demon, he should be rejected immediately. Immediately. Just like in India there is a system of jāta-guru, the guru by caste. By familywise, they become guru. One family is attached to another guru family by hereditary rules, the sons, after sons accepting guru, the other party, and there is regular business. So such kind of guru is not wanted.

Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī has recommended that laukika-guru... This is laukika-guru. Parityāgena adhyātmika paramārthika guru accepted. Guru has to be accepted who is actually paramārthika, advanced in spiritual knowledge, not the formality. That is recommended by Jīva Gosvāmī. Parityāgena. Parityāga vidhīyate. Śāstra says, "If the guru does not know the right thing, he can be given up." So what is the right thing? Right thing is to become devotee. First of all the śāstric injunction is that anyone who is not a devotee, he cannot become guru. He cannot become guru. Avaiṣṅava, he cannot become guru. He must be a Vaiṣṅava. Then he... Ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṅo vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ [Padma Purāṅa]. A brāhmaṅa, born in a brāhmaṅa family, not brāhmaṅa but in a brāhmaṅa family, or even brāhmaṅa, because qualified, ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṅaḥ... Brāhmaṅa has six kinds of livelihood, sat-karma. Paṭhana pāṭhana yajana yājana dāna-pratigraha [SB 5.17.11 purport]. A brāhmaṅa, well qualified, he must be a very learned scholar, paṭhana. And he must be able to make his disciple also very learned. Paṭhana pāṭhana. He must worship the Deity, yajana yājana. And he should worship for others also, yajana yājana. Dāna-pratigraha: he should accept charity from disciples and others, and again distribute it. Dāna-pratigraha. A brāhmaṅa is supposed to be..., always remain a beggar. Even if he gets lakhs and lakhs of rupees, he spends it for Kṛṣṅa consciousness. That is the sign of brāhmaṅa. So even such brāhmaṅa, if he's not Vaiṣṅava, then he cannot become a guru. Avaiṣṅava.

ṣaṭ-karma-nipuṅa-vipro mantra-tantra-viśāradaḥ avaiṣṅavo gurur na sa syāt... [Padma Purāṅa]

And sad-vaiṣṅava śvapaco guruḥ. If a person is born in the low-grade family and has become a Vaiṣṅava, he becomes guru. This is śāstric injunction, and that is the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, that "You become a guru." He does not say, "Because you are brāhmaṅa or a kṣatriya, you become guru." No. "Every one of you, become a guru." How? Yāre dekha tāre kaha kṛṣṅa-upadeśa [Cc Madhya 7.128]:

[Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṅa as they are given in the Bhagavad-gītā and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.]

You simply learn the science of Kṛṣṅa and teach it; then you become guru.

So because this Hiraṅyakaśipu was not a Vaiṣṅava, so Prahlāda Mahārāja declined to call him, address him, as father. No. This is pitā na syāt... "He is not my father." So he is addressing that tad yaccha manyum: "Now my Lord, Nṛsiṁhadeva, You have not cause to become angry, because the person upon whom You are so angry, that asura, my father, Hiraṅyakaśipu, is now killed. So business is finished." So the question may be that... Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva may ask that "I have killed your father, so your relative may be unhappy. Therefore I'm angry. Why they are angry upon..., they're unhappy? I have killed a demon." So Prahlāda Mahārāja says, "No, no, no. That is not the case. Nobody is unhappy. Nobody is unhappy. By killing my father Hiraṅyakaśipu, I am not unhappy and nobody is unhappy." Tad yaccha manyum asuraś ca hatas tvayā dayā: "By You, by Your grace." "So if you are not happy, why?" Now, modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā: "Why they should be unhappy? Because the sādhu, a saintly person, does not like that anyone should be killed, even an ant." That is sādhu. A sādhu does not want to kill even an ant. But in the case of vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā, they are happy. They are happy. Vṛścika, scorpion, and sarpa.

So long, long ago, sometimes in the year 1933 in this Caitanya Maṭha, there was a big snake came out in my front. I was taking bath. So everyone was looking what to do. So Guru Mahārāja was on the upstair. He immediately ordered, "Kill him." So it was killed. So at that time, 1933, I was newcomer. So I thought, "How that Guru Mahārāja ordered this snake to be killed?" I was little surprised. But later on, when I saw this verse, I was very glad. Modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā [SB 7.9.14]. It remained a doubt, "How Guru Mahārāja ordered a snake to be killed?" But when I read this verse I was very much pleased, that these creatures, or creatures like the snake, they should not be shown any mercy. No. And Cāṅakya Paṅḍita said there are two kinds of cruel creatures. One kind is a sarpaḥ krūraḥ. The snake is very cruel. Sarpaḥ krūraḥ, khalaḥ krūraḥ. And khala, a person who has awakened the quality like snake... Then there is no fault. Why a snake is called so cruel? Because unnecessarily they bite. If somebody commits some offense unto you, if you bite me, that is reasonable. But I have no fault, but you are biting me. The vṛścika, scorpion, and snake, they do that, without any offense. A man is passing, an animal is passing—unnecessarily it bites, without offense. A man is sleeping—it bites. Therefore they are very dangerous. Similarly, there are men also like the snake—without any fault they bite. Without any fault. If I do something faulty, you can punish me, bite. But without any fault, if you bite me... So therefore Cāṅakya Paṅḍita says, sarpaḥ krūraḥ-khalaḥ krūraḥ sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. Such person is called khala, envious, jealous.

So there are two living creatures. One is snake, and one is jealous or envious person. So Cāṅakya Paṅḍita said, sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ: "This man, envious man, is more dangerous than the snake." Than the snake. Why? He's a human being. Yes, because he's human being and he has got developed consciousness, and he has practiced to use the developed consciousness for becoming jealous, he's more dangerous than the snake. So therefore he concludes, mantrauśādhi-vaśaḥ sarpaḥ khalaḥ kena nivāryate. The snake, although by nature he is so..., still, he can be controlled by mantra and some herbs. In India they still do that. But this khalaḥ, the person jealous, he cannot be pacified any means. Therefore he's more dangerous than the snake. A person who has become jealous and envious, he cannot be controlled either by mantra or by bribe or this or that. No. Sarpāt krūrataraḥ khalaḥ. So Prahlāda Mahārāja said, "My Lord, nobody is unhappy, even the saintly person. Saintly person... We common man, we may be unhappy—'Oh, my father is killed'—or my mother may be unhappy that 'My husband is killed.' But be sure, my father was a khalaḥ. Unnecessarily he was envious of Your Lordship, so he was more dangerous than the snake and the scorpion. Therefore by killing him You have satisfied everyone, even one is saintly person. So there is no question of becoming angry still. By this action everyone is happy, so don't consider any other. You become now pacified." Tad yaccha manyum asuraś ca hatas tvayādya modeta sādhur api vṛścika-sarpa-hatyā [SB 7.9.14].

"But still, may be others, unhappy—may not be your family, because you were also tortured—but others that are killed, such a demon, big, powerful..." So Prahlāda Mahārāja said, lokāś ca nirvṛtim itaḥ: "Everyone is satisfied, even the higher planets, the demigods and everyone." Nirvṛtim itaḥ pratiyanti: "They are waiting only just to see You pacified." Sarve rūpaṁ nṛsiṁha. "But is not this form very fearful to anyone? You may not be afraid of; others?" Prahlāda Mahārāja assures, "No, no. Nobody is fearful. This fearful appearance of Your Lordship is very pleasing to the devotees, because as soon as they are in fearful condition, they will remember Your this Nṛsiṁha form, and they will be out of danger. It is so pleasing." Just like we..., ito nṛsiṁha, tato nṛsiṁha yato yato yāmi... So our only shelter is Nṛsiṁhadeva. This world is very, very dangerous. Padaṁ padaṁ yad vipadam [SB 10.14.58].

[For those who have accepted the boat of the lotus feet of the Lord, who is the shelter of the cosmic manifestation and is famous as Murāri, the enemy of the Mura demon, the ocean of the material world is like the water contained in a calf's hoof-print. Their goal is paraṁ padam, Vaikuṅṭha, the place where there are no material miseries, not the place where there is danger at every step.]

In every step there is danger. Every step there is envious creatures. You cannot live here peacefully. Duḥkhālayam aśāśvatam [Bg 8.15], Kṛṣṅa says.

[After attaining Me, the great souls, who are yogīs in devotion, never return to this temporary world, which is full of miseries, because they have attained the highest perfection.]

It is a place simply for suffering, and that also not permanent. You cannot make any comprise, that "All right, it is suffering. That's all right. Still, I shall stay here." No, that is also not possible. Aśāśvatam. You have to die. Janma-mṛtyu-jarā-vyādhi-duḥkha-doṣānudarśanam [Bg 13.9].

[Humility, pridelessness, nonviolence, tolerance, simplicity, approaching a bona fide spiritual master, cleanliness, steadiness and self-control; renunciation of the objects of sense gratification, absence of false ego, the perception of the evil of birth, death, old age and disease; nonattachment to children, wife, home and the rest, and evenmindedness amid pleasant and unpleasant events; constant and unalloyed devotion to Me, resorting to solitary places, detachment from the general mass of people; accepting the importance of self-realization, and philosophical search for the Absolute Truth—all these I thus declare to be knowledge, and what is contrary to these is ignorance.]

You cannot solve these problems, miserable condition. Ultimately you have to die.

So people do not understand. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. They are simply making arrangement how to become happy. It is not possible to become happy here. That's a fact. But still they are. Therefore they are called mūḍhas, rascals. Which will never be possible, and they are trying for that. You see, whole world is trying to be happy. They are discovering so many technological arts, but they are dying. Is it or not? They have invented horseless carriage, having very, I mean to say, speedy carriages, but there are so many dangers. Every moment the life can go, the motor accident. It is happening in the Western country. So whatever you do for the advancement of material civilization, you are one side increasing more danger. If you did not discover these aeroplane and motorcar, then death would not have been so easier. You could live at least for some days. But because you have discovered some facilities, your death is also very..., become near. So this is prakṛti. You are trying to solve the problem in one way, and the problem is becoming more dangerous and difficult by the laws of nature. That these rascals cannot find even. They continually working. There is a verse in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, paśyann api na paśyati [SB 2.1.4].

[Persons devoid of ātma-tattva do not inquire into the problems of life, being too attached to the fallible soldiers like the body, children and wife. Although sufficiently experienced, they still do not see their inevitable destruction.]

They are so big rascals that paśyann api na paśyati: even they are seeing every moment that "All our endeavors are being baffled," still, they'll try for it. They'll try for it, again and again. Punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṅānām [SB 7.5.30].

[Prahlāda Mahārāja replied: Because of their uncontrolled senses, persons too addicted to materialistic life make progress toward hellish conditions and repeatedly chew that which has already been chewed. Their inclinations toward Kṛṣṅa are never aroused, either by the instructions of others, by their own efforts, or by a combination of both.]

These things are there. Punaḥ punaḥ, again and again, chewing the chewed, this is their business. Therefore they are called mūḍhas. The mūḍhas, they do not find that "All our attempt..."

Therefore the śāstra advises, "You simply make one attempt, how to advance in Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Otherwise you are not..." Only one thing. That chance you cannot get in other form of life, that a cat, dog, you do not get this. And what is that? Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ [SB 1.5.18]. By the laws of nature you are getting different types of body in different planets, in different situation and so on, so on, eight million, four hun..., you are loitering in this way, but you could not get Kṛṣṅa consciousness. Now here is the chance, human form of life, and the Kṛṣṅa consciousness movement is there. Take it seriously. Tasyaiva hetoḥ prayeteta kovidaḥ. If you are actually intelligent—kovido means very intelligent—then you take. You must. Kṛṣṅa yei bhaje sei baḍa catura: "Anyone who takes to Kṛṣṅa consciousness, he's first-class intelligent person." All other: fools, rascals. You can call them. There is no harm. They are actually fools and rascal, who has not taken. And it is not our manufactured word. Kṛṣṅa said, na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ [Bg 7.15].

[Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.]

Anyone who is not surrendered to Kṛṣṅa, anyone who is not Kṛṣṅa conscious, he is rascal, he's sinful, he's lowest of the mankind, he has no knowledge, he's gone to hell. This is our conclusion. Sometimes they come to fight us, that "Sir, you said such a great man 'rascal.' " But we must say, "Yes, he is a rascal. Where is his greatness?" Harāv abhaktasya kuto mahad-guṅā [SB 5.18.12].

[All the demigods and their exalted qualities, such as religion, knowledge and renunciation, become manifest in the body of one who has developed unalloyed devotion for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Vāsudeva. On the other hand, a person devoid of devotional service and engaged in material activities has no good qualities. Even if he is adept at the practice of mystic yoga or the honest endeavor of maintaining his family and relatives, he must be driven by his own mental speculations and must engage in the service of the Lord's external energy. How can there be any good qualities in such a man?]

Anyone who is not Kṛṣṅa conscious, he cannot be a great man. This is our conclusion. There is no question. Immediately, as soon as you see he's against Kṛṣṅa, or he does not know Kṛṣṅa, then he's a rascal, that's all.

na māṁ duṣkṛtino mūḍhāḥ prapadyante narādhamāḥ māyayāpahṛtajñānā āsuri-bhāvam... [Bg 7.15]

[Those miscreants who are grossly foolish, lowest among mankind, whose knowledge is stolen by illusion, and who partake of the atheistic nature of demons, do not surrender unto Me.]

So this Hiraṅyakaśipu was a great rascal. So he is killed. Nobody is happy. So this is the position. Prahlāda Mahārāja is requesting Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, "Now everyone is happy, so kindly be peaceful."

Hare Kṛṣṅa. Thank you.

Devotees: Jaya, Prabhupāda. [end]