Srimad Bhagavatam – day 418
Prahlāda continues, “Your grace definitely falls upon the person who serves You, the wish-fulfilling Kalpavṛksha tree”.
‘You are everything. You are both the good and the bad. You are my past, present as well as future births. You are every task that I perform’- devotees who, believing You to be the wish fulfilling tree, and who remember You in this pattern are always blessed by Your grace.
At times, when feelings of ‘I-ness’ seeps in such grace will be found wanting. ‘I have accomplished this task. He is ‘my’ son’- when such feelings rule the mind, then the wish-fulfilling tree will not be available. At times people claim, “My son belongs to God”. However if God were to appear and truly claim him back, they will protest.
“Your grace falls upon them in proportion to the service they offer to You”.
It all depends upon the level of service offered. Are they offering services to the Lord after firmly believing this world to be unreal and impermanent? Or are they offering services seeking more prosperity, sensory pleasures, progeny etc.? Or are they offering services coupled with pretentious devotion for some personal accomplishment? Devotion is of varied types. Hence based on the service one offers the Lord, His energy and grace flows towards the person. The rays of compassion flow from the Lord exactly in proportion to the person’s devotion.
“Result or grace does not distinguish between a poor and rich person”.
‘Oh, this person is rich. I should help him. He has helped financially. I should give him more importance. The second person did not contribute financially as he is a miser while the third person is poor and hence could not help’. Such distinctions cannot be made. ‘You helped last year but failed to help this year’- it is wrong to make such statements. Lord’s grace falls equally upon the person who helped last year, this year, who may help in future, who is rich, miserly or poor. Perhaps if the poor man wins a lottery next year he would contribute financially. Therefore everyone is equal in His eyes. Based on their levels He blesses each one accordingly.
“O Lord, desiring sensory pleasures, the ignorant human being sinks deeper and deeper into the mire called samsāra and fails to rise from it”.
With each passing day, the ignorant human being only increases his desires. Many people wastefully buy a lot of collectibles simply because they were fascinated with them at the time of purchase. Once purchased, they do not even glance at them. They keep on adding more and more assets. Every object they see in the shop they desire to keep it at home. If necessary they are willing to take loan but they have this impulsive need to buy every item they see. Such persons are simply sinking deeper into the mire.
“The serpent called time resides in this bottomless pit called samsāra. Just as I was about to fall into this pit, Maharishi Nārada accepted me as his own and rescued me. His preaching alone has enabled me to obtain Your grace today. Therefore, I shall never ever let go of this opportunity to serve your servant, Maharishi Nārada.
O Ananta! In order to ensure that the words of Maharishi Nārada, your dearest servant, come true You have killed my father Hiraṇyakaśipu and have rescued me. Wanting to kill me in an unfair method, my father held the sword in His hand and questioned, “I am now about to sever your head. If there is any Supreme Lord other than me, then let him protect you.” At that critical juncture, You rushed to my rescue, O Lord.
You are this universe. There is nothing apart from You in this universe. You are the cause for its existence. It rests within You and merges back into You alone! Even then You remain aloof and separate from it.
Although everything exists within You, it appears to be different from you. It also causes us to believe that You and this created world are distinct existences. Isn’t this a wondrous illusion cast by You? Isn’t this Your transcendental sport?
O Lord, using Your illusionary energy which is composed of the three attributes You create this universe. Thereafter You enter into it and due to the effect of the three attributes, You appear as many.
All these various perceptible energies pertain to You alone. They belong to illusionary energy (māya). You create that which already exists within You and while making it appear as if it has an existence separate from You, You enter into it. You are the many forms seen in this universe”.
Nārasimhāya namah