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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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