Indeed the story of Narasimha and Prahlada is a captivating one. Often the picture of this story, which I posted in the story’s Introduction blog, is interpreted as scary as the picture depicts a man-eating lion, dripping in blood.
Over the years when looking at this picture, friends have all asked me the same question,” How can such a frightening picture such as this, be religious?” Agreed, it is “out there”, and so far from the harmonious religious pictures we are accustomed to, where for example Hanuman is holding up a mountain to save the life of Sita or Jesus is holding His crook surrounded by his peaceful flock of sheep.
To gain further insight into this picture, an icon rich with symbolism, we need to make a small jump in our thinking of spirituality. Those who have travelled the spiritual path will know that spirituality is not always about the peaceful flock of sheep. Rather it is about the advancement of the soul toward the Divine.
In order to attain the Divine, we must be pure in mind, heart and soul. In order to become as pure as a lamb, first purification of our ego’s and senses must first take place. This picture is about just that.
In my understanding, the evil Hiranyakashipur represents untrained, over egotistical mind gone mad, trying to control the entire universe. And the mind, by its limited understanding, often falls short and the result is the the limited behaviour as displayed in the story: “I am above God for I rule the universe and you must bow down to me”.
In my understanding, the boy, Prahlada represents devotion to the Lord. This devotion will overcome any obstacles. When a person sincerely calls upon the Divine, He will come to that person. All that is needed is devotion and faith.
It is my understanding that this story is about how, through devotion (Prahlada), we are able to find God in whatever form we believe in Him (Narashima). It is also about how God will purify the ego by the death of the over-egotistical mind (the death of Hiranyakashipur) so that we may find him through a pure mind, which is supported and guided by faith and devotion (Prahlada).
The ego is a tool given by us by God to help us to find God. It is what separates us from other forms of life on our planet. It must remain pure, so that our hearts remain open. And similarly, our hearts remain open through faith and devotion.
By understanding and applying these simple principles, we will be able to find the Divine, anywhere, at any time, even at dusk, inside that unassuming pillar right in front of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment