Narayana/Vishnu/Vasudeva/Krishna

[Guest guest]

Adiyen Ramanuja Dasa,

Jai Srimannarayana,

 

Are the four namas (Narayana, Vishnu,

Vasudeva, Krishna ) synonymous to each

other in the sense they all point to

the same tattva?

 

Which mantra is the most superior of

all mantras?

 

Which tattva is the highest and the one

that everyone should aspire to attain?

 

While we were chanting Sri Vishnu

Sahasranamam in the temple someone

came to us and told that in Srimad

Bhagavatam it is quoted that the

1000 namas are equivalent to One

Rama Nama and Three such Rama namas

is equivalent to one Krishna nama.

 

Well our response was if we can imagine,

feel and experience the qualities

and kalyana gunas of the Lord depicted

in 1000 namas or 10000 namas by

chanting just one nama then we don't

have to chant any thing else but to

get to that stage we have to chant

sahasranama atleast sahasra times a

day!

 

But did Bhagavan Vedavyasa really say

this or is it a figment of imagination

of the person?

 

Jai Srimannarayana,

ramanuja dasa

[Guest guest]

Chi Raghu!

Jai Srimannarayana!

 

Your reply to the question is really

wonderful. Though it is said that one

krishna or rama nama is equal to 1000

namas, yet we are chanting all the

namas because, each nama depicts one

peculiar quality.

 

When the devotee feels the love with

that Tattwa, God, then he feels like

knowing more and more in different ways

that same tattwa. Each way is a quality

and each quality creates a nama also.

So all the namas are just revealers of

qualities and a devotee cannot just live

without them. So, for them it is not a

boredum or painful activity to sing the

1000 or even 10,000 names. So they do so.

 

Vishnu nama talks about the pervasiveness

only. Whereas va;sude:va name talks

about the pervasiveness and Illumination

of that God. One, who always delightful

and Illuminuous, pervading all over.

Krishna nama talks about one quality one

that is, A:nanda, Divine Bliss, He one

who possess that Joy and also gives the

same joy to the devotees is Krishna.

 

Whereas Na:ra:yana is the word, for which

there is a lot of meaning and everything

is included in that. All the ve:das and

all the Sa:sthras are included in that.

 

So Na:ra:yana word is considered as the

supreme, in revealing the whole secrets

of the sa:stras. That is why all the

a:cha:ryas right from Adisenkara:cha:rya,

surrendered to Na:ra:yana nama only.

Even in the last slo:ka of Sahasrana:mam

the same is said as 'sanki:rthya na:ra:yana

sabdama:tram' here also it is only

Na:ra:yana word is taken by Ve:das.

 

So, it is upto us which nama is to be taken for good.

 

=chinnajeeyar=