Transcribed by Kristin
(Kadamba Kanana Swami, 09 May 2014, Bhaktivedanta Manor, England, Srimad-Bhagavatam 8.23.3-6)
Prahlad Maharaj said to the Lord, “You are such a kind personality, you have kindly promised to protect us – the demons!”
How nice is Prahlad, to see himself like that. Are we seeing ourselves like that? Or when we are reading the sixteenth chapter of Bhagavad-gita and the first few verses that describe the devotees, then we are like, “That is us,” and the rest of the chapter about the demons, “These are the neighbours.” Is that how we read the sixteenth chapter? Or are we reading the sixteenth chapter by holding it up as a mirror and reflecting, “How much of this is still to some degree present in me?”
Unless we are prepared to read the Bhagavatam, read the scripture in that introspective way; unless we are ready to question ourselves; and unless we are ready to have that mood of seeing ourselves as fallen, how can we be ready to improve ourselves?
