Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā, kaunteya pratijānīhi na me bhaktaḥ praṇaśyati (BG 9.31). Kaunteya pratijānīhi: "Arjuna, you can declare it all over the world that anyone who has taken shelter at My lotus feet, become devotee, he will never be vanquished." Ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ (BG 18.66). So these are the assurances. But the atheist class of men like Hiraṇyakaśipu cannot understand this. That is the defect. They challenge always God. The dissension between the father and the son was that the son was believer in God, Kṛṣṇa, and the father was not. So at the end, the father saw what is God in the form of death. At that time he could not save him. So that is the difference between theist and atheist. The atheist always challenges, "Where is God? Can you show me?" Well, you will see. Not now. Just at the maturation of your all sinful activities, when death will come, you will see Him. This is going on.
So it is very instructive lesson, Prahlāda Mahārāja. Now it is getting late; otherwise, I would have recited some of the verses recited by Śrī Prahlāda Mahārāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of our gurus. There are twelve gurus, or mahājana.
- svayaṁbhur nāradaḥ śaṁbhuḥ
- kaumāraḥ kapilo manuḥ
- prahlādo janako bhīṣmo
- balir vaiyāsakhir vayam
- (SB 6.3.20)
Actually, if we want to make progress in spiritual life, we have to follow the mahājanas, the great personalities. They are mentioned in the śāstras, svayaṁbhur nāradaḥ śaṁbhuḥ. Svayambhu means Brahmā. Lord Brahmā is svayaṁbhu. Without father and mother, he became manifest. Therefore his name is Svayambhu. Of course, his father is Nārāyaṇa, but not in the usual way. Therefore his name is Svayambhu. Nārada. Nārada Muni is also one of the mahājanas. And Śambhu, Lord Śiva. Kapila, Kapiladeva, the son of Devahūti. Svayaṁbhur nāradaḥ śaṁbhuḥ kapilo manuḥ. And Prahlāda Mahārāja. Prahlāda Mahārāja is our guru in the disciplic succession. So mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ (CC Madhya 17.186). Dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. We cannot chalk out what is the path of religion. It is very difficult to find out, because there are many different scriptures and there are many philosophers. Nāsau munir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam (CC Madhya 17.186). Each philosopher has got different opinion. So how to get real path of religious way? That is recommended in the śāstra, that mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. You have to follow the footsteps of great personalities. And Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of them.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja was born in a demon's family. His father was a demon. Prahlāda Mahārāja used to address his father as asura-varya, "The best of the demons." You have seen . . . he was patting his son, "My dear son, do like this, do like that. Tell me what you have learned, the best thing." Prahlāda Mahārāja said, tat sādhu manye 'sura-varya dehinām. He didn't . . . never said: "My dear father." "My dear the best of the demons." Tat sādhu manye. "I think that is very nice." What is that? Hitvātma-pātaṁ gṛham āndha-kupaṁ vanaṁ gato yad dharim āśrayeta (SB 7.5.5) that, "This worldly life, materialistic life, is self-killing just like a dark well. So one should give it up and go to the forest and take shelter of Kṛṣṇa. That is the best way of life." So his father became very angry. So the atheist and the theist, they will never agree. But theist also never will submit to the atheist. This is the principle. Prahlāda Mahārāja was put into so many troubles by his father, but he never forgot chanting namo bhagavate vāsudevāya namaḥ. He never forgot.