Eclipsed by Krishna

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nyasta-krīḍanako bālo

jaḍavat tan-manastayā

kṛṣṇa-graha-gṛhītātmā

na veda jagad īdṛśam   [SB 7.4.37]

Translation

From the very beginning of his childhood, Prahlāda Mahārāja was uninterested in childish playthings. Indeed, he gave them up altogether and remained silent and dull, being fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Since his mind was always affected by Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he could not understand how the world goes on being fully absorbed in the activities of sense gratification.

Purport

Prahlāda Mahārāja is the vivid example of a great person fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. In  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  ( Madhya  8.274)  it is said:

sthāvara-jaṅgama dekhe, nā dekhe tāra mūrti

sarvatra haya nija iṣṭa-deva-sphūrti

A fully Kṛṣṇa conscious person, although situated in this material world, does not see anything but Kṛṣṇa, anywhere and everywhere. This is the sign of a  mahā-bhāgavata.  The  mahā-bhāgavata  sees Kṛṣṇa everywhere because of his attitude of pure love for Kṛṣṇa. As confirmed in the  Brahma-saṁhitā  (5.38) :

premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena

santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti

yaṁ śyāmasundaram acintya-guṇa-svarūpaṁ

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

“I worship the primeval Lord, Govinda, who is always seen by the devotee whose eyes are anointed with the pulp of love. He is seen in His eternal form of Śyāmasundara, situated within the heart of the devotee.” An exalted devotee, or  mahātmā,  who is rarely to be seen, remains fully conscious of Kṛṣṇa and constantly sees the Lord within the core of his heart. It is sometimes said that when one is influenced by evil stars like Saturn, Rāhu or Ketu, he cannot make advancement in any prospective activity. In just the opposite way, Prahlāda Mahārāja was influenced by Kṛṣṇa, the supreme planet, and thus he could not think of the material world and live without Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is the sign of a  mahā-bhāgavata.  Even if one is an enemy of Kṛṣṇa, a  mahā-bhāgavata  sees him to be also engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service. Another crude example is that everything appears yellow to the jaundiced eye. Similarly, to a  mahā-bhāgavata,  everyone but himself appears to be engaged in Kṛṣṇa’s service.

Prahlāda Mahārāja is the approved  mahā-bhāgavata,  the supreme devotee. In the previous verse it was stated that he had natural attachment ( naisargikī ratiḥ ). The symptoms of such natural attachment for Kṛṣṇa are described in this verse. Although Prahlāda Mahārāja was only a boy, he had no interest in playing. As stated in  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  (11.2.42) viraktir anyatra ca:  the symptom of perfect Kṛṣṇa consciousness is that one loses interest in all material activities. For a small boy to give up playing is impossible, but Prahlāda Mahārāja, being situated in first-class devotional service, was always absorbed in a trance of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Just as a materialistic person is always absorbed in thoughts of material gain, a  mahā-bhāgavata  like Prahlāda Mahārāja is always absorbed in thoughts of Kṛṣṇa

This blog is an excerpt from Srimad Bhagavatam, Translation and Commentary by HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupad

We pray to develop even a particle of devotion of Prahlad Maharaj and thus make our lives successful.

Some more thoughts

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