Prahalad was only ten years old when he stood up against the might of his father, the tyrannical king , Hirankashipu. Had Prahalad lost his innocence he might have sided with the king, and more so, knowing that he was the heir apparent.
Few adults have the courage to speak truth to power. This was demonstrated in the story of the king who went about naked and no one wanted to offend him for fear of incurring his wrath. In fact, the tailors have succeeded in spreading the propaganda that only the foolish would not be able to appreciate the beauty of the king’s garment.
Nevertheless, like Prahalad, it took an innocent lad to point out “Mother!Mother! The king has no clothes.”
If today our country is in a mess it is mainly because we are grown men and women and have long outgrown our innocence. In fact, we are convinced that right and wrong are not as simple as black and white but have shades of gray.
Today being politically correct is more important than truth. Fortunately there is still the JD Vances to advance their thoughts fearlessly without fear of offending anyone.
In an address to the European Parliament JD Vance pointed out that Europe is not able to maintain its Christian values as hordes of outsiders have taken over the streets. The prevalence of sexual grooming on the streets of the UK was not called out by the British but by Elon Musk, an American.
The dictators are not alone but have with them their henchmen and women. And just as the evil Holika was burnt so also we need to identify those collaborators and discipline them. Unfortunately, instead of standing up against them, some of our pundits have chosen to garland them.
With the demise of our innocence, pride and arrogance have overtaken our being. The common good no longer matters as we use our dollars for self aggrandizement.
The concept of sharing has long abandoned us as our ravenous tongue and false identities – mansions, SUVs, cruises- have overcome us like a child’s obsession for sweets!
As I am pending this letter I heard of a kidnapping and the demand for a $3M ransom! How can our poor businessmen pay such huge sum when they don’t have a $10 to donate toward a Phagwa celebration? And why must the kidnappers target our families after our sons and daughters have integrated with Carnival and J’ouvert?
Prahalad was in pursuit of Truth, not a mirage. Today, unfortunately, the pursuit of Narayen is the goal for the poor and infirm, not the professional class and our young scholars who have to play games on the computer.
We need the spirit of Prahalad to succeed, that is, for the intervention of Bhagavan Vishnu. For those of us who stand by dharma, we shall always find the strength to speak truth to power, a rare and essential characteristic if we wish to succeed in the diaspora.
