Narasimha Chaturdashi 

A protector like no other. Have you ever wanted or needed someone like that? 

Well, I guess externally it may not look like it. It may look like one of those movies which could have ended without the drama had the protagonists done something sooner. Movies about murders are really intense. They leave you in a strange state of mind. Feeling heavy. Disgusted and sad at what some people go through. There are so many examples in history of horrific crimes. What about when the parent is trying to kill their own child in so many ways? How despicable. What could motivate someone to do that? What could a child do so that the person who is meant to be their caretaker would behave like that? 

If your father tried to poison you, get you trampled by elephants, throw you in a pit full of venomous snakes, would you forgive him? Would you want him to be forgiven? Or would you be collecting evidence and going to the police station to file a restraining order? Going to court so you can be away from this person by the intervention of the law and judges. Or would you want revenge? Asking for broken pieces of glass? Wanting them to feel what you feel. What would you feel? Fear? Anger? Sadness? 

Could you be peaceful in such situations? Is that possible? If so, could a child do it? A 5 year old boy… 

There’s a book which shares this account. Based on real events. A true story of horror and evil and how faith and good prevails. Boring? Maybe for some… The bad guy isn’t always the bad guy right? He was made that way. There are certain reasons he’s doing what he’s doing. Certainly that is the case here as well. That however is a story for another time.  So it’s been a traumatic few days or weeks of your fathers attempts at killing you and for multiple reasons we won’t go into details here about. You survive.  

A super hero who can turn poison into water, or alter and restore the cells which were being affected instantaneously. An elephant whisperer who told them to be careful not to hurt you as they passed by. One who can speak to snakes and commanded them to sit still. There are many examples of miracles. Have you ever seen close up, microscopic images of sand? Or heard the singing of crickets slowed down into a melodic choir? Magic is all around us. Divinity is all around us. That is God.  

God is in everywhere and everything, from the all pervasive spiritual oneness of everything and all, to the localized supreme soul of your soul residing in the heart, to the supreme personality of Godhead with his unlimited divine names, forms, qualities and activities. 

So when asked is your “so called” God here within a piece of stone, the obvious answer would be, “yes, of course.” For one who sees everything within their limited, imperfect vision as the absolute reality, this is an impossible phenomenon. But for one whose consciousness has expanded due to hearing and chanting divine Vedic wisdom in the association of pure saints, they know that the all pervading supreme personality makes the possible impossible and the impossible possible. 

Whatever the mysterious methods were we will put aside for now. Let’s talk about the epic fight seen. The POV scene of the rubble, the broken pillar. Your father’s guts laid open like garlands of flowers. A pool of red petal juice on the floor. Your father was seen as a mastermind. The really scary guy even the police are afraid of. He thought he could outsmart the Superhero vigilante of the story.  

He made arrangements with a high level officer. Creating a contract of sorts. His life was to be protected. Nobody could try and kill him in the day or the night. Nor inside or outside. A man nor a beast could be used to kill him. He couldn’t be killed in land or in the sky. So many clauses were put in place. He felt there were no loopholes. He tried to cheat, thinking he could defeat rules and laws far superior to him, but in return he got cheated.  

A fictional character once said. “You can save money on many things but not on good lawyers”. This was such a case. Seeing the loopholes, he tried to take advantage. He tried to exploit. But when push comes to shove, we are but small, insignificant beings whose natural, constitutional position is to serve. Manifesting in a form which is both man and beats. Choosing the time of dusk between night and day. Every detail was orchestrated so perfectly.  

The day all this brilliance happened is called Nrshima Casturdasi. A day to continue to protect a young boy. A day to remember what to strive for in faith. Faith that looks like madness. A day to remember that even those who have been given the opportunity to care for us could be the worst perpetrators.  

A day to remember that no matter how much we try and cheat in this world, to cheat others and ultimately to cheat Krishna. He can and will find every loophole we never thought possible.  

Our path is neither the path of exploitation nor renunciation, but the path of dedication.