Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 7.5.38
Ūti· What drives us to actAn Innocent Devotee Treated as an Enemy
“Just as uncontrolled senses are the enemies of all yogīs engaged in advancing in spiritual life, this Prahlāda, who appears to be a friend, is an enemy because I cannot control him. Therefore this enemy, whether eating, sitting or sleeping, must be killed by all means.”
What the purport teaches
- Hiraṇyakaśipu called Prahlāda an enemy because he could not control him. He compared the boy to uncontrolled senses that obstruct spiritual advancement.
- He planned to kill Prahlāda while the boy was eating, sitting or lying down. His hostility became a deliberate campaign.
- The purport stresses that Prahlāda was an innocent five-year-old child. His father sought to kill him simply because he had become a devotee of the Lord.
Try this today
Notice one urge to control another person today and refrain from speaking or acting with hostility.
Ask yourself
Do I ever treat someone as an enemy simply because I cannot control their choices?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points, practice and question are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport. Read the full purport to go deeper.