How do You say that God is greater than one's parents in contradiction with the devotee Pundarika?

[Question by Shri Surya, Mumbai. Pundarika asked God to stand outside his house until he finished serving his parents and he is greatly praised for doing so, indicating that serving parents is greater than serving God.].

Pundarika was the worst person throughout his life and he became a devotee only later on. Prahlalada was a devotee from birth and is certainly greater than Pundarika. Prahalada rejected his father for the sake of God. Pundarika had cheated and harmed his parents and unless he served his parents, his previous sin could not be removed. Unless the sin is removed, God will not allow him to come near Him. His rejection of God indicates the will of God, which is the rejection of Pundarika till he clears his previous mistake. The soul changes parents from birth to birth but God is constant in every birth. Therefore, nobody including one’s parents can stand before God. Shankara left His mother for the sake of God. Shankara was a great scholar of the scriptures and was also a great devotee. Pundarika was only a devotee. Shankara has to be taken as an authority in spiritual knowledge. The story of Pundarika is meant for beginners, who are only eligible for Pravritti (worldly behavior) but not eligible for Nivritti (behavior towards God). Some clever people try to gain undue advantage in Pravritti by exploiting and misusing the interpretation of this concept that is applicable to Nivritti. For example, a fellow loves a bad girl and wants to marry her against the wishes of his parents. He wants to avoid the authority of his parents. He may quote the examples of Prahalada and Shankara and prove that parents are not the ultimate authority. Now, he will use this result to marry the bad girl. For such clever people, the concept is to be twisted. For such a fellow, the story of Pundarika should be used and the authority of the parents must be established as the ultimate authority to save him from the grip of the bad girl. Everything depends on the context. Shankara said that any human being is God, just to attract the atheists to the spiritual path. This twist is necessary in that context. Otherwise, for the normal context, God is certainly the highest. He alone will be the constant caretaker of any soul in every birth as long as this creation exists.