Caution! Danger Ahead

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Caution! Danger Ahead

Devotees worship the Lord variously - as the Infinite or Heavenly Father

or Divine Mother, or as Divine Friend (like the relationship between

Krishna and Arjuna), or as Divine Lover, Divine Beloved, Divine Master,

Divine Child. God responds to the devotee in whatever aspect he holds

dear. To the true monist He reveals Himself as the Infinite; to the

sincere dualist He appears in the desired finite form......

 

I is full of pitfalls. But the most hazardous is the influence of bad

company. Even a fleeting association with such bad company leads

virtuous people to be deflected from their noble path. Conversely, good

company can instill noble qualities in even the most hardened sinner.

 

While contemplating the life of Sai Baba, my mind ruminated as to how

'Satsang' among Sai devotees elevates them. But somehow I was wondering

as to how Prahlad became a great devotee of Vishnu even though he was

born to Hiranyakashipu, who had hatred for God.

 

It so happened that Sai brother S.P. Ruhela came down to Nagpur in one

of his Sai-missions. In our Satsang, I expressed this doubt and he gave

me a scholarly exposition, which I would like to share with my

Sai-bandhus.

 

Once, while King Hiranyakashipu was out on a war, the Chief of Devas,

Indra decided to kidnap queen Kayadhu, the King's wife. She was pregnant

and Indra thought that if the child is born, he will grow upto be just

as villainous as his father. For this reason, he kidnapped Kayadhu with

the intention of killing the unborn child. On the way to his palace, he

came across sage Narada.

 

" Say Indra! Where are you taking the queen? "

 

" To my palace to kill her unborn child. Because when he grows up he will

be as just villainous as his father! "

 

" You know Indra; it is not always true that only a villain is born in a

villain's family. And if you kill this child, you will be committing

murder. "

 

'But revered sage! What can I do? His father is harassing us terribly

and this child will do the same when he grows up. That is why it is

better to get rid of him now. "

 

" Have faith Indra, I will take care of the queen and ensure that the

child does not become a replica of his father. "

 

Indra, trusting the wise words of the sage, handed the queen over to

him. Narad gave refuge to the queen in his hermitage and told her she

could stay until her husband the King returns from his battles.

Now, being a sage, everyday there were spiritual discourses going on in

his hermitage. The queen listened to these discourses and simultaneously

the child in her womb also listened. Thus, when this child Prahlad was

born, he was a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu. The constant spiritual

discourses in Narada's hermitage had an effect on him. Because the

unborn child had the company of Narada who was attached to God, Prahlad

too developed an attachment to God. From this incident one can see that

the type of company a person keeps has a profound effect on one's

development.

 

Sai Baba, Sri Narasimha Swamiji and Sri Radhakrishna Swamiji stressed

the need for 'Satsang', bhajans, reading scriptures, visiting temples

etc., as means of God-realisation. Let us follow this dictum and attain

spiritual upliftment.

(Source Shri Sai Padananda Jan 1999)