So Prahlāda Mahārāja's position is nitya-siddha. Gaurāṅgera saṅgi gane nitya-siddha boli māne. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, when He came . . . Not only He, but others also. Just like with Kṛṣṇa so many devotees, they descended, just like Arjuna. Arjuna is nitya-siddha, nitya-siddha friend. When Kṛṣṇa said that "I spoke this philosophy of Bhagavad-gītā to the sun-god," imaṁ vivasvate yogaṁ proktavān aham avyayam (BG 4.1), that is so many millions of years ago. To clear the matter, Arjuna inquired that "Kṛṣṇa, You are of my age. How I can believe that You spoke this philosophy so many millions of years ago?" So what Kṛṣṇa replied, you know, that "My dear Arjuna, both you and Me, we appeared many, many times. The difference is that you have forgotten. That means you were also present at that time, because you are My nitya-siddha friend. Whenever I appear, you also appear. But you have forgotten; I have not forgotten." That is the difference between jīva and śiva(?), or Lord, that we are minute part and particle of the Supreme; therefore we may forget. But Kṛṣṇa does not forget. That is the difference. So nitya-siddha. Prahlāda Mahārāja is to be understood as nitya, mahā-bhāgavata, nitya-siddha. They appear to complete the līlā of Kṛṣṇa.
So we should not try to imitate Prahlāda Mahārāja. That is not good. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ, I have already explained yesterday. Prahlāda Mahārāja is one of the mahājanas, authorized persons, authorized devotee. We should try to follow him. Mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ. So śrutayo vibhinnāḥ.
- tarko 'pratiṣṭhaḥ śrutayo vibhinnā
- nāsau munir yasya matam na bhinnam
- dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
- mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ
- (CC Madhya 17.186)
You cannot understand God by logic and arguments. It will never settle up. There are so many Māyāvādīs, they are going on perpetually: "What is God?" Neti neti: "This is not, this is not, this is not. What is Brahman?" So by that process you'll never be able to understand what is God. Jñāne prayāse udapāsya namanta eva. Caitanya Mahāprabhu has accepted this formula. By knowledge, by your erudite scholarship, if you want to understand—you may be very high-standard scholar—but that is not your qualification to understand God. That is not qualification. You have to give up your vanity that "I am rich," "I am very learned," "I am very beautiful," "I am very . . ." so on, so on. They are janmaiśvarya śruta śrī (SB 1.8.26). These are not qualification. Kuntīdevī has said, akincana gocaraḥ: "Kṛṣṇa, You are akiñcana gocara." Akiñcana. Kiñcana means if somebody thinks that "I possess this; therefore I can purchase Kṛṣṇa," oh, no, that is not. That is not possible. You have to become blank, akiñcana-gocaraḥ.
So Prahlāda Mahārāja . . . There was some disagreement with the father, but he was not ordinary person. His father might . . . He's a very, very big man, you see. He conquered the whole universe. So he was not a poor man's son. He was very rich man's son, Prahlāda Mahārāja. And he was educated by his father sufficiently. Of course, within five years . . . So janmaiśvarya-śruta-śrī. Everything was there, but Prahlāda Mahārāja was not depending on his material circumstances; he was depending on his profound, ecstatic transcendental bliss of devotional service. That is wanted. So that stage immediately we cannot reach. He is nitya-siddha. As I was going to explain, that whenever Kṛṣṇa descends, His nitya-siddha devotees, associates, they also come. So gaurāṅgera saṅgi-gaṇe, nitya-siddha boli māne, tara haya vrajabhūmi vāsa, like that, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura . . . Just like śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya prabhu nityānanda śrī advaita gadādhara śrīvasadi gaura bhakta vṛnda. So these associates of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they are nitya-siddha. You cannot avoid any one of them and make your imagination, that "I shall simply worship . . ."