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24 November 2009
Bhakta Prahlad
Jai Swaminarayan
Prahlad was the son of Hiranyakashyapu. But do you know why he was called Bhakta Prahlad? This was because he was a devoted worshipper of Bhagwan Vishnu. He had full faith in Bhagwan. Even when he was being tortured, his faith was not at all shaken. Here is the story of Bhakta Prahlad.
Hiranyakashyapu was given a boon by Brahma. He could not be killed by any human or animal. He would not die during day or night. This made him very proud and he made people to worship him instead of Bhagwan. But his own son Prahlad was a devotee of Vishnu. No matter how much Hiranyakashyapu tried, Prahalad would always say, “There is only one Bhagwan. He is the most powerful. I will only worship him and not you.” This made Hiranyakashyapu angry.
He ordered, “Kill this boy. Stab him with spears! Thrown him down from a mountain!” The soldiers went ahead with the command. But they returned shocked. They said, “O’ king the boy cannot be killed! When we tried to kill him, he kept praying to Bhagwan. He was saved.”
The cruel King ordered, “Throw him into the fire.” Prahlad was taken to a bonfire. When they tied him up and threw him into the fire he was chanting, “Vishnu Devay Namah. Vishnu Devay Namah.” Amazingly he was not burnt. Prahlad walked out of the fire without any harm to him. Everyone was surprised and amazed.
When Prahalad was brought before King Hiranyakashyapu, the King was very angry. He asked Prahlad, “If your Bhagwan is so great then why can’t I see him. Where is he?”
Prahlad replied, “Bhagwan is present everywhere.” Hiranyakashyapu mocked him and asked, “Then is he in this pillar also?” Prahlad replied, “Yes he is.” Hiranyakashyapu started laughing and all the courtiers made fun of Prahlad. Prahlad was chanting, “Vishnu Devay Namah. .”
All of a sudden the pillar exploded with a heavy sound, KABOOOMMMMM!
Out of the pillar came Nrusinh. Half man, half lion. He fought with Hiranyakashyapu and killed him. Then he placed Prahlad on his lap and said, “Son from now you will be the King of this kingdom. I am Vishnu who has come as Nrusinh.” He then added, “I am pleased by you devotion.”
Prahlad replied, “I am blessed that you have heard my prayers.” He then ruled over the kingdom with Bhagwan’s blessings.
From the story of Prahlad we can learn that no matter what happens to us in life, we should never stop believing in God. If we accept that God will always be there to protect us and save us from harm then no matter how sticky the situation gets, we’ll get through it, just like Prahalad did.
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