The prayers of Prahlad Maharaja in Srimad Bhagvatam constitute a great source of guidance on how a person serious in the practice of Krsna consciousness should view this material world and how he should endeavor for perfection. When asked by Lord Nrsimhadeva to request any benediction from Him, Prahlad Maharaja prayed:
yadi däsyasi me kämän
varäàs tvaà varadarñabha
kämänäà hådy asaàrohaà
bhavatas tu våëe varam
“O my Lord, best of the givers of benediction, if You at all want to bestow a desirable benediction upon me, then I pray from Your Lordship that within the core of my heart there be no material desires.” (SB 7.10.7).
In chapter three of Bhagavad-gita Lord Krsna declares lust to be the greatest enemy of the living entity. It’s no surprise that out of all the things that Sri Prahlad Maharaja could pray for, he chose to pray to destroy all trace of material desires.
The Vedic culture or Varnasrama being perfect and complete due to being created by the perfect and complete Lord Visnu is targeted towards eliminating sex desire as Srila Prabhupada stated once. In this regard the brahmacarya asrama is fundamental to developing a peaceful and spiritually progressive society with qualified members of all the asramas. Srila Prabhupada’s vision was for developing gurukulas where young boys could go to learn detachment and spiritual knowledge (jnana and vairagya) and thus gear them up for the life of advancement (we hope) in Krsna consciousness.
However brahmacarya as Srila Prabhupada repeatedly said is not just a practice of those in the brahmacari asram, but of all other three asramas also in different ways. For example the grhastha would only unite with their spouse to produce Krsna conscious children and for no other purpose. Thus it behooves all persons serious to advance in Krsna consciousness to learn and practice brahmacarya in their lives thus setting up a firm foundation for their advancement.
Sri Nrsimha Caturdasi falls on 9th May this year. On this day let us pray for the mercy of Lord Nrsimhdeva as Prahlad Maharaja did (above) and dedicate ourselves to the practice of brahmacarya once again whether in the brahmacari, grhastha or vanaprastha asrama. We urge all devotees to acquire the book by H.H. Bhakti Vikasa Swami titled Brahmacarya in Krsna Consciousness. This publication gives practical guidance regarding many aspects of brahmacharya and also contains numerous quotes of Srila Prabhupada on this subject. It is thus a useful book for any devotee desiring to seriously improve his spiritual life.
Bhakti vighna-vinsana Sri Sri Nrsinga dev Bhagavan ki Jai!
Bhakta pravar Sri Prahalad Maharaja ki Jai!
Srila Prabhupada ki Jai!
