Shloka 3
Prahlāda Rejects Demonic Diplomacy and Proclaims Navadhā Bhakti
यत्तत्र गुरुणा प्रोक्तं शुश्रुवेऽनुपपाठ च । न साधु मनसा मेने स्वपरासद्ग्रहाश्रयम् ॥ ३ ॥
yat tatra guruṇā proktaṁ śuśruve ’nupapāṭha ca na sādhu manasā mene sva-parāsad-grahāśrayam
ગુરુઓએ કહેલા રાજનીતિ અને અર્થનીતિના વિષયો પ્રહ્લાદે સાંભળ્યા અને પુનરાવર્તન પણ કર્યું; પરંતુ ‘આ આપણો, તે પરાયો’ એવા મિત્ર-શત્રુભાવના આધારવાળી દૃષ્ટિને તેણે મનથી શુભ ન માની.
Politics involves accepting one group of men as enemies and another group as friends. Everything in politics is based on this philosophy, and the entire world, especially at the present, is engrossed in it. The public is concerned with friendly countries and friendly groups or enemy countries and enemy groups, but as stated in Bhagavad-gītā, a learned person does not make distinctions between enemies and friends. Devotees, especially, do not create friends and enemies. A devotee sees that every living being is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa ( mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ ). Therefore a devotee treats friends and enemies equally by trying to educate them both in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Of course, atheistic men do not follow the instructions of pure devotees, but instead consider a devotee their enemy. A devotee, however, never creates a situation of friendship and enmity. Although Prahlāda Mahārāja was obliged to hear the instructions of Ṣaṇḍa and Amarka, he did not like the philosophy of friends and enemies, which forms the basis of politics. He was not interested in this philosophy.
FAQs
This verse shows Prahlada heard and could repeat the school’s teachings, but rejected them because they were rooted in selfish gain and harming others—an asuric foundation opposed to bhakti and true dharma.
Prahlada’s devotion to Vishnu made him see that teachings based on exploitation (benefiting oneself by injuring others) are not “sādhu”; therefore, he did not accept them in his heart even if he studied them outwardly.
Learn skills and information, but internally reject ideologies that normalize exploitation; choose principles that cultivate compassion, integrity, and devotion, aligning success with dharma rather than harming others.