Prahlada’s every Vaishnava quality is manifested to an ultimate level. His humility is endearing, his sense control is pleasing, his faith can shame the tallest mountains, and his compassion can make the ocean seem small.
Let us have a look at his compassion:
Before understanding Prahlada’s compassion, we need to understand the source of his compassion. What is the source of Prahlada’s compassionate heart?
When a devotee becomes pure in heart by his or her love for Krishna, genuine compassion also awakens in the heart.
Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura writes in Jaiva Dharma,
Essentially, bhakti is the bhāva of tender affection for Kṛṣṇa; while tender affection for other living entities—who are all eternal servitors of the Lord—is dayā.
Prahlada mentions Lord Caitanya in his prayers indirectly – channaḥ kalau yad abhavas (SB 7.9.38). If Prahlada has the knowledge of Lord Caitanya, he must surely be well aware of the purpose, the munificence and the activities of Lord Caitanya.
Just after a few verses of speaking this verse, Prahlada tells his decision – to not go home, back to Godhead till all fallen conditioned souls are delivered from the universe. (SB 7.9.43) We cannot speculate if Prahlada speaks this verse remembering Lord Caitanya’s compassionate heart, but when Prahlada comes as Vasudeva Dutt and repeats the same prayer again, Lord Caitanya gets overwhelmed in ecstatic love. Prahlada’s compassion has the power to even melt the heart of the Lord.
A devotee’s compassion goes beyond even the Lord’s compassion. Obviously, the Lord doesn’t say that He will remain in this world till the time all get delivered, His original abode is the spiritual world. But definitely, He provides all arrangements so that the living entities can come back to Him. He stays in the heart as the paramatma no matter whichever specie the living entity goes in. He provides the scriptures, the spiritual master, the devotees, the holy dhams and countless other things. We cannot compare the extent of Lord’s compassion. Narottama Dasa Thakura has said – toma bina ke dayalu jagata samsare – no one is more merciful than you (Lord Caitanya) in all the three worlds.
So, who is more merciful, the Lord or the devotee?
Shrila Prabhupada writes, “Even though a person is rejected by the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the devotees of the Lord do not reject him; therefore the Lord’s devotees are more merciful than the Lord Himself.” CC Madhya 10.67
“Men who are ignorant cannot appreciate activities in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa advises us not to disturb them and simply waste valuable time. But the devotees of the Lord are more kind than the Lord because they understand the purpose of the Lord. Consequently they undertake all kinds of risks, even to the point of approaching ignorant men to try to engage them in the acts of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.” BG 3.29 P
Let us now delve into Prahlada’s compassionate nature.
1] Praying for all living entities:
Prahlada doesn’t pray for just himself, or his followers, or the people he is taking care of. His compassion is universal.
Compassion limited to one specie, one category of people without paying any heed to others doesn’t showcase the full extent of compassion. Obviously, depending upon a person’s capacity, he or she may be able to work actively in the lives of a small number of people, but that should not desist him or her on appreciating other forms of compassion. Nor should such people be averse or show hatred to another group of living entities. If one cannot act for many people, one can definitely pray for the betterment of all humanity. This is one thing that is easily accessible to us, and it has been revealed through the prayers of Prahlada.
And yes, it is also observed in the life of Shrila Prabhupada. Prabhupada not only prayed for the living entities of the whole universe, but he left no stone unturned in reaching out the message of Lord Caitanya in the lives of hundreds and thousands and millions of people. The result of such compassion being – the legacy is continuing even now!
There is a lot of strife, unrest, worry, anxiety in the world today. And it is bound to increase in the future. Heartfelt prayers to the Lord form a very easy yet powerful way to change things for the better. Wasn’t it Bhaktivinode Thakura who prayed for a ray of Vishnu to descend as his son to preach the Holy names of Krishna far and wide? And wasn’t the result of such a prayer the appearance of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, who was the spiritual master of Shrila Prabhupada?
Aren’t the incessant prayers of our gurus, Shrila Prabhupada and all predecessor acaryas the main reason we are able to go on in our practice of Krishna Consciousness? They may not be actively present in our life through personal instructions, but they are actively present through their prayers.
Prahlada’s Maharaja prayer for all living entities is stated in the 5th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam.
svasty astu viśvasya khalaḥ prasīdatāṁ
dhyāyantu bhūtāni śivaṁ mitho dhiyā
manaś ca bhadraṁ bhajatād adhokṣaje
āveśyatāṁ no matir apy ahaitukī
“May there be good fortune throughout the universe, and may all envious persons be pacified. May all living entities become calm by practicing bhakti-yoga, for by accepting devotional service they will think of each other’s welfare. Therefore let us all engage in the service of the supreme transcendence, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and always remain absorbed in thought of Him.” SB 5.18.9
If not all living entities, can we not pray for our own dependents, people those who have taken shelter of our Shrila Prabhupada, and all the members of ISKCON? This in itself is a great service to Shrila Prabhupada.
By praying in this way, we will careful not to act in ways that will hamper the mission of Shrila Prabhupada. We will be conscious and grateful for the gift we have received in our lives, and we will give our best in co-operating with devotees, and sharing the message with devotees and with the whole world.
2] Ready to Make Sacrifices to Help People:
Even materialistic people make a lot of sacrifices for their own sense gratification or their extended sense gratification. A person working as the CEO of a company will sacrifice his sleep, his relationship with family, his enjoyment for taking the company to newer heights. A boy in love with a girl will sacrifice his time, his energy, his money and everything for her. A devotee understands that every living entity is a part and parcel of Krishna, and thus he or she is ready to spare time, energy and whatever is needed for the same cause.
Prahlada was ready to stay in the material world till all fallen souls get delivered. He is ready to take their sinful reactions! Unfathomable compassion! To the people he doesn’t know, to the people who might have sinned through their whole life, to the people who might have committed heinous abominable acts worthy of getting an entry in hell for a million years. It’s simply extra-ordinary!!
This was not just a feeling he was expressing to come in the good books of Lord Narsimhadeva. This was his heart. He was ready for it!
We may not match even a drop of compassion that Prahlada showcased. But we can emulate his spirit of compassion in our life.
Prahlada received grace of Narada Muni when he was in the womb. By his practice of Krishna Consciousness, he was receiving the grace of Lord Narsimhadeva continuously in his life. And that grace enabled him to shower the same on others.
When we develop this vision of compassion in our lives, our every activity becomes an offering for the pleasure of Krishna, His devotees and for the people of the whole world. And we become ready to go beyond our comfort zones. Prabhupada’s comfort zone was in Radha Damodar Mandir in Vrindavan, but he chose to go to the Bowery, a place of utter discomfort simply for propagating the mission of Lord Caitanya.
Prahlada Maharaja lived a life of compassion, and through the immortal pages of Srimad Bhagavatam, he is teaching the art of compassion to millions of people even after a time span of millions of years! This is also an extra-ordinary example of compassionate nature!!
