Prayers of Self Interest Alone Are Considered Demoniac

A concise summary of Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 3 Chapter 19

The prayers of demons are always filled with sinful purposes. The demon Hiraṇyākṣa became powerful by deriving a boon from Brahmā, and after attaining that boon he created a disturbance because of his sinful intentions.

The prayers of Brahmā and other gods are not to be compared to the prayers of the demons. Their purpose is to please the Supreme Lord.

Demons, who are never interested in praising the Supreme Lord because they have no information about Him, go to other gods to satisfy their desires. Demons have lost all intelligence because they do not know what is actually their self-interest. Even if they have information about the Supreme Lord, they decline to approach Him; it is not possible for them to get their desired boons from the Supreme Lord because their purposes are always sinful.

Srivatsa is a curl of white hair on the chest of the Lord which is a special sign of He being the Supreme Lord. In Vaikuntha, the inhabitants are exactly of the same form as the Supreme Lord, but by this Srivatsa mark on the chest of the Lord He is distinguished from all others liberated souls. No one, although enlightened or liberated, will possess this Srivatsa mark.

Even famous Yogi’s and demons can sometimes enact very magical feats by their mystic power, but in the presence of the Sudarshana Chakra, when it is let loose by the Lord, all such magical jugglery is dispersed. The instance of the quarrel between Durvāsā Muni and Mahārāja Ambarīṣa is a practical example in this matter. Durvāsā Muni wanted to display many magical wonders, but when the Sudarshana Chakra appeared, Durvāsā himself was afraid and fled to various planets for his personal protection.

One may know that by magical feats, by scientific advancement of knowledge or by material power one cannot become the equal of the Supreme Lord. His one signal is sufficient to destroy all our attempts. His inconceivable power, as displayed here, is so strong that the demon, despite all his demoniac maneuvers, was killed by the Lord when the Lord desired, simply by one slap.

It is said in Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord appears as He is from His spiritual abode for the sake of killing the miscreants and saving the devotees. By killing the demon Hiraṇyākṣa He fulfilled His promise to kill the demons and always protect the demigods headed by Brahmā. The statement that the Lord returned to His own abode indicates that He has His own particular spiritual residence. Since He is full of all energies, He is all-pervasive in spite of His residing in Vaikuntha, just as the sun, although situated in a particular place within the universe, is present by its sunshine throughout the universe.

Although the Lord has His particular abode in which to reside, He is all-pervasive. Some philosophers only accept one aspect of the Lord’s features, the all-pervasive aspect, but they cannot understand that the Lord has a spiritual abode, where He always engages in fully loving exchanges with his devotees and the other liberated souls.