SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 75 - Part 3.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 75 - sattA.

 

706. sattA - Existence Incarnate.

 

Om sattAyai namah.

 

a) The word sat refers to existence. Slokam 17.26 of bhagavad gItA

explains the meaning of the word sat:

 

sad-bhAve sAdhu-bhAve ca sad-ityetat prayujyate |

praSaste karmaNi tathA sac-chabdah pArtha yujyate || (gItA 16.26)

 

"The term sat is used in the sense of existence and goodness. And so

also, O arjuna, the word is applied to an auspicious action".

 

The addition of the affix tva or tal (ta or tA) to a word in the

sixth case leads to the sense of "the nature thereof" according to

pANini sUtra 5.1.119 (tasya bhAvah tva-talau) - SrI satyadevo

vAsishTha. Thus, sattA means "He Who is of the nature of Existence".

 

b) SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is that He has this nAma signifying that He

is the very existence of the good and the pious and all other things.

There is indeed nothing that can exist without Him - sattAdi satAm

svayameva iti sattA | na hi tad-vyatirekeNa ki'ncit syAt. SrI BhaTTar

gives reference to the gItA in support:

 

yac-cApi sarva-bhUtAnAm bIjam tad-aham-arjuna |

na tad-asti vinA yat-syAt mayA bhUtam carAcaram || (gItA 10.39)

 

"I am also that which is the seed of all beings, O arjuna. Nothing

that moves or is stationary, exists without Me".

 

It is not only true that without Him nothing can exist, but it is also

true that without His true devotees, He will not exist, such being His

attachment to His devotees. It is the beautiful inter-dependence of

each on the other that is to be understood and enjoyed, because of

their intense love for each other. SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to

tirumazhai AzhvAr, who declares this beautiful concept of the

inter-dependence of bhagavAn and His devotees on each other, in his

nAnmugan tiruvantAdi (7) - nanRaga nAn unai anRi ilEn kaNDAi, nAraNanE!

nee ennai anRi ilai.

 

b) SrI Samkara gives the meaning "Existence" to the nAma - sajAtIya

vijAtIya svagata bheda rahitA anubhUtih sattA. One translator has

given the meaning as "The state which is devoid of difference as

regards its own species, as well as others" (explained further in the

next para). SrI Samkara quotes the chAndogya Upanishad in support:

ekam eva advitIyam - chAndogya. 6.2.1 - "He remains ever the same, One

without a second".

 

The dharma cakram writer elaborates on the above vyAkhyAnam of SrI

Samkara. He notes that sajAtIya bhedam is the difference that we see

between the different members of a given species - such as the

difference between one human being and another. Seeing this

difference externally takes us away from realizing the truth that we

are all His property, and He is our antaryAmi and we are His Sesha-s.

True knowledge consists in seeing the unity and serving everyone as

God's creation. BhagavAn does not have this sajAtIya bhedam that we

are subject to. The vijAtIya bhedam is the difference that we observe

between the different species, such as the difference between man and

animal. It is because of vijAtIya bhedam that a dog attacks the cat,

and one species attacks another. One who has true knowledge sees all

species as equals, and shows respect and love for all without

distinction. Again, bhagavAn is beyond this kind of bhedam as well.

svagata bhedam is the difference we observe in ourselves - such as the

difference in appearance between the different parts of our body. We

humans feel one part of the body is attractive, and another part is not

attractive. Seeing these kinds of distinctions only leads us away from

realizing the truth. BhagavAn is beyond all these bheda-s (the

sajAtIya, vijAtIya, svagata, etc.). Seeing these distinctions is the

root cause of our not realizing Him. The nature of sat is to see unity

in everything at all levels. When this state is reached, it is the

pure personification of sat or good. Such is bhagavAn, and so He is

called sattA.

 

c) BhagavAn is also "Existence Incarnate", "One without a second", and

"Pure Existence" in the sense that He is unchanging, never subject to

aging, disease, death, etc., to which everything else is subjected.

 

d) SrI vAsishTha gives the interpretation that that the act of

protection or preservation is sattA - sattA hi Atma-dhAraNam. In this

sense, only He is sattA, since He alone protects everyone and

everything, and no one else is capable of protecting or preserving

himself.

 

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

 

 

 

 

 

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