The Hare Krishna Movement

Transcendental Teachings of Prahlada Maharaja
By His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Chapter 6

Kṛṣṇa Consciousness: The Perfection of Mercy

Prahlāda Mahārāja now gives his conclusion: “My dear friends, because the Supreme Lord is present everywhere and because we are part and parcel of the Supreme Lord, our duty is to be merciful to all living entities.” When a person is in a lower position, we have a duty to help him. For example, because a small child is helpless, he is dependent on the mercy of the parent: “Mother, I want this.” “Yes, my dear child.” We should be compassionate to all living entities and should show them mercy.

How can we show our mercy to everyone? There are millions and millions of poor people, so how can we show them all mercy? Are we able to supply clothing and food to all the needy persons of the world? That is not possible. How, then, can we be merciful to every living entity? By giving them Kṛṣṇa consciousness. That is how Prahlāda Mahārāja is showing his class friends real mercy. They were all fools, devoid of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and therefore he was showing them how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. This is the highest mercy. If you want to show any mercy at all to the living entities, then enlighten them in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, as Prahlāda Mahārāja did. Otherwise, it is materially beyond your power to show mercy.

“My dear friends,” Prahlāda says, “give up this demoniac life. Give up this nonsense.” The belief that there is no God is the demoniac feature that Prahlāda Mahārāja requests his friends to give up. Because they were born in the families of demons and were being instructed by demoniac teachers, Prahlāda’s friends were thinking, “Who is God? There is no God.” We find in the Bhagavad-gītā that people of this mentality are called miscreants, for they always try to make mischief. They may be very well educated lawyers, for example, but their plan is to cheat. We have practical experience. These lawyers are highly educated with so many qualifications and are nicely dressed, but their mentality is more base than that of a dog. “This man has some money, so let us conspire to cheat him.” They are simply miscreants.

What are they cheating for? Simply for sense gratification, just like an ass who does not know the purpose of life. He is kept by the washerman, who loads his back as much as possible. In this way the ass works the whole day with this burden simply for a few morsels of grass. Similarly, materialistic people work very hard simply for a little insignificant sense gratification. Therefore they are compared to asses. They are always planning something mischievous. They are the lowest of mankind because they do not believe in God. Why? Their knowledge has been plundered by the influence of the material energy. Because they deny the existence of God, illusion impels them: “Yes, there is no God. Work hard and commit sins so that you may go to hell.”

Prahlāda Mahārāja requests his demoniac friends to give up this idea that there is no God. If we give up this nonsensical idea, then the Supreme Lord, who is beyond our perception, will be pleased and show His mercy to us.