Sadguru Aniruddha Bapu, in his earlier pravachan on ‘Naradiya BhaktiSutras’ revealed to us a secret, the master key, the ‘master question’ that is the answer to all our life’s questions. The other week, Bapu again graced Shraddhavans with another gift.
Sadguru Aniruddha started by underlining the importance of listening to Harikatha or the legends of Shree Mahavishnu and His Dashavataras. Then, Bapu narrated in intricate detail the story of Narasimha Avatar or Bhagwan Vishnu and Bhakta Prahlad. We all know that ‘Shravan Bhakti' is a part of the Navavidha Bhakti'. ‘Shravan’ means ‘to listen.’ The term ‘Navavidha Bhakti’ traces its origin to the ancient and one of the most revered texts ‘Bhagwat Purana’, wherein Bhakta Pralhad himself introduced the term ‘Navavidha Bhakti’. The 'Navavidha Bhakti' also finds its reference in the Shreemad Purushartha Granthanraj (Volume II) - Prempravas authored by Sadguru Aniruddha Bapu.
Further in his discourse, Sadguru Bapu told that Hiranyakashyapu, the father of Prahlad, a demon king, had banned all his subjects from chanting the Naam of Hari. This act of Hiranyakashyapu goes on to highlight the fact that evil and wicked can never stand the Harinama.
However, Pralhad, his son refused to obey this order and would always remain engrossed in Harinama. Not giving in to the dominance of his own father, Pralhad revolted against him. This fact reminds me of an Agralekh (editorial) by Dr. Aniruddha D. Joshi in the 'Daily Pratyaksha', in which he hailed Pralhad as the first 'Satyagrahi' in the world. It was Pralhad who pioneered the ‘Satyagraha', which later, as we all know, went on the play a key role in the Indian freedom struggle.
Moreover, Bapu also spoke vividly on Namasparsha, Mantragajar, etc. He then posed an interesting question to all, “How a Bhakta, even ordinary, can become 'Bhakta Prahlad' for at least one moment?". Yes, of course, every Shraddhavan at least once in his lifetime would want to do Bhakti as Pralhad did. The answer to the question was unveiled by Bapu himself, which is no less than a gift to us all. Honestly, it is best to understand it from Bapu himself; hence I have provided the link to Bapu's pravachan at the end of this blog post.
Last but not least, considering the recent increase in Covid-19 cases across India and also many other prevalent viral infections, Sadguru Aniruddha Bapu, who himself is M.D. in Medicine, advised all to use face masks properly so that we do not face another wave. Also, Sadguru Aniruddha stressed on the importance of chanting Shree Panchamukha Hanumat Kavach during these times, which will act for us as a 'spiritual mask'.
