Prahlada's Self-Inquiry

Rama: "Venerable Vasishtha, I know the story of child Prahlada, who loved Vishnu even as his demon father tried to kill him. But did his wisdom deepen as he grew?"

Vasishtha: "Indeed, Rama. The story of young Prahlada is well known, but his later inquiry is the more profound teaching. After Lord Vishnu destroyed his father Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada became king of the asuras. He ruled for millions of years, a wise and just king. Yet eventually, even ruling the three worlds could not satisfy his questioning mind."

Rama: "What question arose in him after all that time?"

Vasishtha: "(leaning forward) He asked: 'I have experienced every pleasure available in creation. I have ruled realms unseen by most beings. I have lived longer than mountains. Yet still there is a restlessness in me. What is this "I" that remains unsatisfied through endless experience? Who am I, truly?'"

Rama: "(thoughtfully) Even with divine protection, he still sought deeper truth?"

Vasishtha: "This is the mark of a true seeker, Rama. Prahlada withdrew to a mountain cave and began the practice of self-inquiry. He examined every aspect of his experience. 'Am I this body?' he asked. 'No—the body has changed countless times while I remain.' 'Am I my thoughts?' 'No—thoughts come and go while I witness them.' 'Am I my memories, my achievements, my identity as king of asuras?' 'No—these too are objects that appear to me, not what I am.'"

Rama: "This is the method you have been teaching me—neti neti, not this, not this."

Vasishtha: "Exactly. Prahlada went deeper still. He asked: 'What is this "me" to whom everything appears? What is this awareness that knows all objects but is itself not an object?' In that inquiry, his mind became still. He ceased to be the seeker, for there was no longer anyone seeking. What remained was pure awareness itself—boundless, timeless, the source of all creation."

Rama: "(quietly) Did he lose himself?"

Vasishtha: "(smiling) He found himself. What he lost was the illusion of being a limited 'someone.' He later described the experience: 'I saw that what I had been seeking was what I had always been. The seeker was the sought. The wave discovered it had always been the ocean.'"

Rama: "How did he return to rule after such realization?"

Vasishtha: "That is the beauty of true wisdom, Rama. He continued to rule, but now as a servant of the divine rather than as one who owned anything. His kingdom flourished because he no longer acted from personal desire but from universal love. His subjects felt this and loved him all the more."

Rama: "(nodding) So the inquiry did not take him away from life but deepened his engagement with it."

Vasishtha: "Precisely. This is why I teach you self-inquiry now, while you are young, before you take the throne. Know who you are first. Then whatever role you play—prince, king, warrior, husband—will be played with freedom rather than bondage. You will act fully while being touched by nothing."