Lord Nrsimha’s IED

“A tulasi leaf offered to the lotus feet of the Nrsimha Salagrama Sila
destroys the sin of murder. Water that has washed the lotus feet of the
Nrsimha Salagrama Sila destroys the sin of theft. Foodstuff offered to the
Nrsimha Salagrama Sila destroys the sin of drinking liquor. Sincere
surrender to the Nrsimha Salagrama Sila destroys the sin of adultery with
the wife of the spiritual master. Association with the devotees of the
Nrsimha Salagrama Sila destroys the sin of offenses to the devotees. This is
the extraordinary glory of the Nrsimha Salagrama Sila”
-Sri Agama

From Rupa Gosvami’s personal verse book entitled Padyavali, pada 2, text 116

Abhisek of Ugra Nrsimha Sila

This verse as found in Srila Rupa Goswami’s Padyavali best describe the soft heartiness of the Lord in this particular form. A few weeks ago, I was reading an article about the pastimes of the Lord in an issue of the BTG, my soldiers seeing the picture of Lord Nrsimha ripping apart the stomach of Hiranyakasipu, became amazed and as I described to them why the Lord appeared in this extraordinary form, they were intrigued with the half man, half lion incarnation.

Ugra Nrsimha Sila

Today is the Lord Nrsimha’s appearance day, a day we as devotees celebrate and absorb ourselves in blissful meditations of this pastime. Here is Iraq we are very fortunate to have the presence of a very big Laksmi Nrsimha and four Ugra Nrsimha Salagram Sila’s. These Lords have became a talk among the men. Everyday it is not uncommon to find some small offering for the Lord sitting outside the ashram, or see a person pass by and respectfully bow their heads toward the door. The Lord in this extraordinary form has stolen these men and women’s hearts.

Abhisek of Ugra Nrsimha Sila

As I was sitting here chanting noon gayatri, there was a knock on the door. It was not a normal knock but a frantic one. I stopped chanting and answered the door to find a very upset person I had never met. I asked what he wanted or who he was looking for. He looked up with tears in his eyes and said ” My friend gave me a magazine about two months ago, with a photo of a half man, half lion. He told me that this is the most soft hearted Lord Narsimha, and he protects His devotees. Since that day, I have chanted one round of Hare Krsna everyday.” I was amazed, but still curious why he was at my door.

I invited the boy in and we sat and shared some maha dried fruits form the Lord. The boy continued his story. “Last night, I was on patrol and we were hit with an IED. It was very close to the truck and for some reason I screamed NARSIMHA!!!!! When I came home, I again opened up the magazine with the picture of Him and after looking up more about Him online, I found out today is His birthday. After talking with the guy that gave me the magazine, I learned that you worshiped this form of Krsna. I just wanted to come by and pay my respects and tell Him thank you for being so kind…”

I felt a tear going down my cheek, how merciful is this Lord of ours, that even one round chanted can invoke His mercy……

ugro ’py anugra eväyaà sva-bhaktänäà nå-keçaré keçaréva sva-potänäm anyeñäà ugra-vikramaù

Although very ferocious, the lioness is very kind to her cubs. Similarly, although very ferocious to nondevotees like Hiraëyakaçipu, Lord Nåsiàhadeva is very, very soft and kind to devotees like Prahläda Mahäräja.

oà namo bhagavate narasiàhäya namas tejas-tejase ävir-ävirbhava vajra-nakha vajra-daàñöra karmäçayän randhaya randhaya tamo grasa grasa oà svähä; abhayam abhayam ätmani bhüyiñöhä oà kñraum.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Lord Nåsiàhadeva, the source of all power. O my Lord who possesses nails and teeth just like thunderbolts, kindly vanquish our demonlike desires for fruitive activity in this material world. Please appear in our hearts and drive away our ignorance so that by Your mercy we may become fearless in the struggle for existence in this material world.