Dear sri sukumar swamin and sri vaishNava perunthagaiyeer,
I always admire the way sri sukumar puts his points across. Here also he
raised a point on the difference between vaikunta and brahma.
In the srivaishNava sampradhaaya or tradition, the supreme lord is always
referred / mentioned as para-brahma, and not simply 'brahma'.
For sri vaishNavas, brahma is the four faced brahma [chathur mukha brahma], or
prajapathi the creator who is parabrahma's first creation [re naanmugan
thiruvandhadhi posts by Smt. Sumithra] [except in sri vishNu sahasra naamam].
Now considering the naama "Om vaikunTaaya nama:" as in sri vishNu sahsra
naamam, this is a special one - please refer naama no. 406 occurring in slokam
44
Quote from sri krishNamachari swamin's sri vishNu sahasra naamam commentary
[available in web site] 406. vaikunThah
Remover of obstacles (to union).
om vaikunThAya namah.
SrI BhaTTar derives the meaning from the root kuThi gati praghAte - obstructing
the path. Thus kunThA signifies the obstacles to union.
vaikunTha-s are those whose obstacles have been removed. The obstacles to
bhagavAn are sins. He is the remover of sins, and so He is called vaikunTha.
SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri explains the nAma as vigatA kunThA tasyAh kartA - One
who regulates those that tend to go their own way if left unobstructed. At the
beginning of the earth, when the pa~nca bhUta-s tended to expand uncontrolled
without uniting with each other, bhagavAn controlled this and made them
co-exist through union with other.
SrI Sankara and SrI BhaTTar both quote the following Sloka from mahA bhAratain
support of the concept that bhagavAn brings about the union of seemingly
incompatible things:
"mayA samSleshitA bhUmih adbhir-vyoma ca vAyunA |
vAyuSca tejasA sArdham viakunThatvam tato mama || (SAnti343-50)
"By me the earth was united with water, ether with air, and air with fire. So I
am called viakunTha".
He is vaikunThah also because He removes all obstacles to attaining Him for His
devotees, and unites them with Him (SrI P.B. aNNa~ngarAcArya).
SrI satyadevo vASishTha explains that One for whom all obstacles or
obstructions (kunThA) have been removed is vaikunTha. Or One who removes all
obstacles is vaikunTha also.
SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives yet another explanation. bhagavAn is called
vaikunThah because He was born to Subhra and vikunThA in the fifth manvantara.
He then married ramA and acceded to her request to create a place for her
enjoyment, and this place was called vaikunTha. He Himself is this vaikunTha.
This is supported by vishNu purANa 3.2.41 and bhAgavata 8.5.4-5.
The dharma cakram writer takes the interpretation to a level where it applies
to lives of individuals for whom He removed the obstacles facing them from
attaining Him and united them with Him. The cases of prahlAda, paraSurAma,
karNa, hariScandra, vAli, etc. are given as examples. -- Unquote.
MGV: In the dictionary, if you see, the word vaikunta has meanings -
* name of Vishnu
* The abode of Vishnu located on the north and east of meru the
mountain.
So vaikunta means the supreme lord vishNu as well as his abode.
MGV: To take up next the naamam 'VishNu:' required by sri sukumar - again from
same web site - naama no. 2 occurring in slokam 1 of sri vishNu sahasra naamam
-
Meaning: 1. One who permeates everything, is inside every sentient and
non-sentient being. 2. One who surrounds everything.
Om vishNave namah.
This nAma occurs again as nAma-s 259 and 663.
This nAma can be derived from the root vish - vyAptau - to pervade, or vis -
praveSane - to enter.
SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is - sva vibhUti bhUtam cit acit Atmakam sarvam viSati
iti vishNuh. The idea is that keSava exists everywhere and permeates everything
that is His Wealth; He is unlimited by space, time, and substance (SrI
SaMkara); He pervades the whole universe internally and externally.
SrI BhaTTar gives the following references in support.
viveSa bhUtAni carAcarANi - He entered all beings, movable and immovable
tat srshtvA | tadevAnuprAvisat - Having created it, He entered into the same.
"vyApya sarvAn imAn lokAn sthitah sarvatra kesava: |
tatasca vishNu nAmAsi viserdhAto: pravesanAt ||
"KeSava exists everywhere having pervaded all these worlds.
Therefore His name is VishNu since the root viS denotes entry i.e., pervasion".
Under nAma 259, SrI BhaTTar explains vyApti (pervasion) further, and explains
the relation between bhagavAn and the jIva-s as of the nature of the relation
between fire and smoke. When there is smoke, there is fire, but the reverse is
not always true (as in the case of a red hot iron rod). Thus, bhagavan and the
jIva-s are related in the sense that without bhagavAn the jIva-s do not exist.
The supreme Person and the jIva-s are never identical, but there is inseparable
connection between bhagavAn and the rest. He is greater by virtue of the
diverse kinds of help He renders to all who are of a lower order.
SrI BhaTTar refers us to the gItA - na tadasti vinA yat syAt mayA bhUtam
carAcaram (10.39) - "There is no object, moving or non-moving, which can exist
without Me".
Another anubhavam of this guNa of vyApti is that it is not just the fact that
He is in everything and in inseparably bound to everything, but it is one of
His showering everything with His infinite Mercy (SrI v.v. rAmAnujan). His
sauSIlyam is to be enjoyed here.
SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj derives the meaning from the root vishu - secane -
to sprinkle, to pour out; veshati (si'ncati) bhakta tarUn ASIrvArIbhih iti
vishNuh.
nammAzhvAr declares:
"tiDaviSumberivaLi nIr nilamivaimiSai paDar poruL muzhuvadumAi
avai avai torum uDan miSai uyir enak karandu e'ngum paranduLan" (tiruvAimozhi
1.1.7)
The Lord created the five elements, and from them He created all others. Indeed
He became all others. He pervades everything in and out. He is the Soul for the
body of everything and every being. The term "He enters all the worlds" should
be understood as "He enters everything in all the worlds".
SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives another view of the reason why bhagavAn has
pervaded everything. It is for the purpose of ensuring that everything is in
its designated and assigned place, and things don't come into collision with
each other, for example, the different planets and constellations etc. He
quotes from the taittirIya AraNyaka, wherein first the question is asked -
keneme vidhRte ubhe - "Who is keeping the two things from colliding with each
other?", and responds: vishNunA vidhRte bhumI; iti vatsasya vetanA - "vishNu is
the One who is supporting them with His Sakit; this is the finding of sage
vatsa".
SrI Samkara gives the following supports for this nAma:
antar bahiSca tat sarvam vyApya nArAyaNah sthitah - (mahA nArAyaNa upa. 1.13) -
nArAyaNa pervades the whole universe externally and internally.
"yasmAd vishTam idam sarvam tasya SaktyA mahAtmanah |
tasmAd vishNuriti khyAto veSer dhAtoh praveSanAt || (vishNu purANam 3.1.45)
"Because the whole world has been pervaded by the energy of the great Self,
He is named vishNu, from the root viS - to enter or pervade."
vyApte me rodasI pArtha kAntiscApadhikA sthitA |
kramaNaccApyaham pArtha! VishNuriti abhisamgj~nita: || (mahAbhA. 350.43)
"As I have pervaded the horizons, my glory stands foremost, and as I have
measured by my steps the three worlds, O Arjuna! I am named vishNu".
SrI anatakRshNa SAstri interprets the term kAnti here as referring to His
Effulgence - His radiance pervades the firmament and transcends it.
SrI BhaTTar has given the explanation of the nAma vishNu in terms of His power
of pervasion (Sakti) under nAma 663. He refers to the mantra about bhagavAn:
sarva SaktyAtmane - He, Who is the embodiment of all powers. He also gives
reference to the Slokam: "yasmAd vishTamidam sarvam tasya SaktyA mahAtmanah."
given earlier. As an instance of this Sakti, the trivikrama incarnation is also
cited - the smRti declares "vishNuh vikramaNAt devah" - mahA bhA. udyoga.
5.68.13), a reference to His name being vishNu because He measured the three
worlds with His steps.
SrI v.v. rAmAnujan gives reference to nammAzhvAr's praise of His Sakti:
"ennaik koNDu en pAvam tannaiyum pARak kaittu
emar Ezh ezhu piRappum mEvum tan maiyamAkkinAn vallan empirAn en viTTuvE"
(tiruvAi. 2.7.4)
"He changed me from a nitya samsAri to a nitya sUri; He exterminated all my
sins, those of my predecessors and my successors for several generations, so
that all of us have reformed to become His. Who did this? VishNu! He will do
this because His name implies all-pervasiveness".
SrI cinmayAnanda refers us to ISAvAsya upanishad: ISAvAsyam idam sarvam yat
ki'nca jagatyAm jagat - Everything that exists in the universe is nothing but
of the nature of the Lord, and without Him nothing exists. He pervades
everything, unlimited by space, time, or substance.
SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj gives an additional interpretation not found in
other vyAkhyAna-s: vi + shNuh = vishNuh - viSesheNa snAvayati prasrAvayati
bhakta abhilAshAn iti vishNuh - He who bestows the wishes of the devotees like
a fountain. Note that the root from which the second nAma is derived is the
same as the root from which the first nAma - viSvam - was derived. However, the
interpretation is different. The interpretation here is that BhagavAn has
entered all beings - sentient and non-sentient, that He has created. The
meaning for the first nAma was that bhagavAn is everything, the Absolute, full
in all respects.
SrI v.v. rAmAnujan nicely paraphrases the two nAma-s: "a'ngu pUrtiyil nOkku,
I'ngu vyAptiyil nOkku". - the first nAma emphasizes His Fullness and
Perfection, and the second nAma indicates that He permeates everything.
SrI rAdhAkRshNa Sastri observes that meditation on the significance of the
first two nAma-s - namely that Lord vishNu is in everything around us and in
every one of us, and that without Him nothing exists, will lead us closer to a
life of peace, tranquility, ahimsA, and selfless service to Him.
Sri Surin, in his commentary on amara KoSa, has given the following derivation
for the word VishNu - veveshti iti vishNu: - One who surrounds and envelops.
This is derived from the root word vesht - to surround (recall the word veshti
in Tamil for dhoti, which surrounds!).
MGV adds: Vishnu the term is dissolved as " veveshti Vyaapnoti iti Vishnuh." He
is the one and only one who pervades all and nothing ever pervades him. The
Greatest Dharma is the one Vishnu, who has neither a beginning nor an end, the
Lotus Eyed Supreme Lord of the Universe. The "Cause" of the whole Universe is
the Lord Vishnu and all the effects are but expressions of the "Cause" Lord
Vishnu.
Quote continues: One interesting question that can be raised is: Given that the
stotram is called visNu sahasranAmam, why did Sri VyAsa not start the stotram
as vishNur viSvam vashatkAro, and instead chose to start it as viSvam vishNur
vashatkAro...?
Based on the SrI BhaTTar's anubhavam, viSvam is the name that symbolizes the
primary attribute of the para form as one of shAdguNya paripUrNatva, and vishnu
and the following names then elaborate on the name or the guNa represented by
the name viSvam.
SrI satyadevo vAsishTha rhetorically asks the question: If Lord vishNu is
everywhere, in everything, why is it that most of us don't see Him? The key is
the SraddhA.
SraddhayA vindate vasuh - Rg veda. 10.151.4
SraddhayAgnih samidhyate SraddhayA hUyate havih |
SraddhAm bhagasya mUrdhani vacasA vedayAmasi (Rg. 10.151.1)
SraddhAm prAtar havAmahe SraddhAm madhyam dinam pari |
SraddhAm sUryasya nimruci Sraddhe SraddhApayeha nah | (Rg. 10.151.5)
He who is endowed with the sAttavic disposition, or has developed it, keeps
seeing vishNu in everything around him all the time.
To summarize, - the nAma vishNu refers to the guNa of bhagavAn in pervading
everything He has created, including all sentient and non-sentient objects from
a blade of grass to brahma; - His pervasion is because of His Sakti; in other
words, He is the power behind everything that exists; an instance of His Sakti
is illustrated by His measuring the three worlds with His Foot; - His vyApati
is indicative of the inseparable relation between Him and everything else
outside Him, in the sense that nothing exists without Him. - His pervasion of
everything is of the form of His enveloping and showering everything around Him
with His Mercy. It is not just His sausIlya that is indicated by this nAma; all
His powers including that of creation, sustenance, His Lordship, etc., are to
be understood by this nAma. - It is because of His pervasion of everything in
this universe that things (for example the constellations, the planets, etc.).,
are in their respective positions without colliding with each other. - He is
also called vishNu because He bestows the wishes of His devotees profusely like
a fountain. --- Unquote:
Since the length of the post puts a restriction on me we will continue in next
post.
Dhasan
Vasudevan M.G.
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