Guest guest Posted July 1, 1997 Report Share Posted July 1, 1997 >---------- > Krishnamachari, N. > Tuesday, July 01, 1997 9:47 AM > 'bhati list' >Cc: 'ihgpkrish' > >Dear Friends: > >I had tried to post the following message a few days back, but I did not see >it appear in the bhakti mail. I assume there has been some mail problem, and >so am re-submitting it. I hope it is not duplicated. > >-Dasan Krishnamacharyan. >============. > > Sri VishNu SahasranAmam - nama 4 - 9. . > >4. bhUta-bhavya-bhavat-prabhu: - The Master of all things past, future, and >present. > > Nirukti - trikAla vartinAm seshi - The Lord of all things that exist in the >past, present, and future. > > From the srutis, we have "bhUta-bhavya-bhavan-nAtha: kesava: kesi sUdhana: >" - Kesava, the slayer of Kesi, the asura, is the Lord of past, future, and >present. > > The idea that BhagavAn is beyond the physical laws as we know them, such as >the laws and constraints of time, can be inferred from this nAma. In order >for Him to be the Lord of all things past, future, and present, He existed >before anything existed, exists now, and will exist forever into the future. >.. >Thus the well-known and established physical law that all living things come >to an end does not apply to Him. He is beginningless and endless. > >. Sri Bhattar has explained that the nAmas 2, 3, and 4 elaborate the first >nAma by indicating how the All-pervading vAsudeva is in everything living and >non-living, controls everything, and is the Master of everything past, >future, and present. He now proceeds to explain the next 5 nAmas as further >expanding on this last aspect - how He is the Master of all things past, >future, and present. We will see that this is so because he is the creator >of all beings (nama 5), the supporter of all beings (this nAma 6 seems to be > further elaborated by nAmas 8 and 9), has existence independent of any >other being and as the Lord or Director of all that exist (7), supports all >that He has created by being their antaryAmi or inner soul (8), and supports >by nourishing them and growing them (9). > >5. bhUta-krit - The creator of all beings. > >Sri Bhattar points out that this act of creation of is done by Him without >dependence on anything external. > > "sarvANi bhUtAni svatantra: srjati" - note the word svatantrata: > > bhutAni karoti iti bhUtakrt - One who creates all the beings. > > In BrhadAraNya upanishad - "sa visvakrt sa hi sarvasya kartA - He is the >creator of the Universe and all the beings in the Universe. > > "tvam kartA sarva bhUtAnAm" - You are the Creator of everything that exists >- VishNu PurANa 1-4-15. >. >6. bhUta-bhrt - The supporter of all things. > > BhUtAni Bibharti iti bhUta-bhrt - One who supports all. (seems to be further >elaborated by nAmas 8 and 9) > > Sri Bhattar explains that this support is like that of the support at the >center for a wheel and its spokes. If this central support does not exist, >the rest of the spokes and the wheel collapse. Thus, one can think of this >support as the responsibility for the existence of all the things that He >creates. This support is in the form of being the inner soul or atman of all >beings (nAma 8 below), and as the One who nourishes and protects all beings >(nAma 9 below). > > Sri Radhakrishna Sastri in his work on Sri VishNu sahasranAma explains this >support as that provided by Adi Kurma to support this universe, or by Sri >VisNu as varAha mUrti when he retrieved and bore the world. > > Sri Sankara interprets nAma 6 above as referring to the acts of creation or >destruction ("bhUtani krtanti krNoti hinsti iti bhUta krt), and nAma 7 as >referring to the act of sustenance, in the context of the three functions of >creation, sustenance, and destruction. > >7. bhAva: - He who exists with all the splendor >He who exists always, independent of anything else. > > This nAma is derived from the root bhU (bhavati - exists). > > Sri ChinmayAnanda gives the following derivation "bhavati iti bhAva:" > >8. bhUtAtma - The AtmA or soul of all beings - sarveshAm bhUtAnAm AtmA > > All things are His body, and He is the soul of all things. The soul enters >the bodies, and directly controls and directs all their activities. > > Sri Sankara gives the following reference from BrhadAraNya Upanishad: esha >ta AtmA antaryamyamrtah (3.7.3) - The Lord is the soul, the antarYamI or >inner ruler of all beings, and amrta or never ceasing to exist. > > Sri Chinmayananda gives the following reference from Kathopanishad: "eko >vasI sarva bhUtAntarArmA rUpam rUpam pratirUpo bahisca" - The One Lord >manifesting Himself as the souls of all beings who have different external >forms. > >9. bhUta-bhAvana: - One who nourishes and nurtures all beings that He >created. > > The key word that both Sri Bhattar and Sri Sankara use in their vyAkhyAnas >for this nAma is vardhayati - makes them grow - the act of nourishing is >emphasized. > >Sri Bhattar's words are: tAni dhAraka poshaka bhogyapradAnena vardhayati iti >bhUta-bhAvanah - He is bhUta-bhAvana because He makes all things grow by >bestowing on them things that sustain them, nourish them, and contribute to >their enjoyment. Sri Sankara bhAshya says: bhUtAni bhAvayati janayati >vardhayati iti vA bhUta-bhAvanah - He makes them shine (bhA - to shine), >generates or invigorates, and makes them grow. > > With this, we have concluded the first sloka out of the 107 slokas. We >notice that Sri Bhattar has beautifully brought out the continuity in the >description between the 9 nAmas covered in this first sloka. > >We will continue from nAma 10 in the next write-up. > >-Dasan Krishnamacharyan > > > > > > - > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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