Vishnu Sahasranama Stanza 32

September 17, 2006

Om Namo Narayanaya!!!

bhoota-bhavya-bhavan-naathah pavanah paavano-analahkaamahaa kaamakrit-kaantah kaamah kaamapradah prabhuh.

290. Bhoota-Bhavya-Bhavan-Naathah - The Lord of the three periods of time: the past, the present and the future. Lord of Time is the One, in whose presence alone, time concept is possible. "Time" is the interval between "thoughts" and the Awareness that illumines the rise and fall of thoughts is the very Lord of Time. Objectively He is the Lord of all those, that exist in the three periods of time; or He to whom all creatures conditioned by time, pray for comforts, solace and protection.

291. Pavanah -One who purifies everything. Or One who manifests as the life-giving atmosphere around the world and sustains the existence everywhere. "pavanah pavatam asmi – I am Pavana or wind among the purifying agents" [sri Sankara]. SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation based on the root pavi - to move about. Pavata iti pavanah. He moves about in all places at al times with no constraints. The wind's ability to do this is but a fraction of His ability in this regard. pavatAm pavanah asmi (gItA 10-31) – Among those that move about, I am the wind.

292. Paavanah -In the earlier term "Pavanah" the Lord is indicated as the One who has, in the form of the atmospheric air, filled the universe. He is the One who sustains life in all living creatures as the life-giving atmospheric air. Here, the present term "Paavanah" means the One who gives this life-sustaining power to the atmospheric air. It is very well-known that the moving air (Breeze) purifies more than any other known thing in the world. This purifying power is acquired by the atmosphere by His Grace. In short, He is the secret glory that lends the atmosphere, the very life-sustaining property for the air, and He is the dynamism that moves the air. Tait. Up says "Bhis'asmad vatah pavate – out of fear of Him, wind blows" [sri Sankara].

293. Analah -The term itself means Fire. So He who is in the form of fire, and sustains life. A certain amount of minimum thermal heat is necessary for life to continue, be it in the human body or be it in the Earth itself. This is warmth of life in the world around and in the organism itself, without which life cannot continue. That mighty warmth of life is none other than the Lord, and hence, He is called Analah. Also the term `Ana' has the meaning of Praana, and `La' means to receive. Therefore, the term can also imply "One who is the very Self, the very Vital Factor, in the Praana". Sri Sankara: The Jivatma is called Anala because it recognizes Ana or Prana as Himself. As Anala comes from the root "Nal", it denotes smell. So in the light of Vedic sentences like "Agandham arasam", the paramatama is without smell, Anala, that is, end, He is Anala.

294. Kaamahaa -One who destroys all desires. Desires spring forth from the Vaasanaas. We can experience the Self only on transcending the vaasanaas. Just as the sun is the destroyer of night, similarly, the Pure consciousness, the Atman and the Vaasanaas cannot remain at the one and the same time. The Vaasanaas end when the Atman is experienced. From the devotees' stand-point, He is the One who fulfils all his desires. Or He who is the father of Kaama, Pradyumna, which again is one of the names of Vishnu.

Desire is the source from which endless series of other sources of sorrows flow into the human life. When a desire arises in the mind, only two things are possible. Either we fulfil the desire or we do not. In case we get our desires fulfilled, it is natural for the human mind to crave for more and thus he becomes restless due to greed. If, on the other hand, the desire is not fulfilled, anger rises and when anger increases, it brings about delusion of the mind and makes the victim see things in others, in himself and the situation he is in, which are not in fact there around him. In such a deluded one, Wisdom slips away and, naturally, therefore, his discriminative power cannot function, since he cannot judge the present situation with reference to any standard ideal that he had in the past. When the rational discriminative power fades away that man falls completely off the dignity and becomes worse than a brute. Geeta charters thus, a steady psychological fall in a spiritual being, and this entire chain of self-destruction springs forth from desire. A devotee, or a meditator, when he approaches this Great Reality, existing in the subjective Core of his own personality, he transcends all the realms of his desires and passions and, therefore, this Great Inner Self is indicated here as the "Destroyer of all Desires". He is the One who fulfils all desires in His devotees, and thus bring about a calm fullness of joy within. Someone who has successfully climbed a very high hill will not desire to conquer a smaller hill. So also, one who has developed a desire for the paramAtmA will not desire anything less or anything else. He is kAma-hA in the sense that desire in Him will automatically destroy the desire in lesser objects.

295. Kaama-krit -One who fulfils all desires. He fulfils whatever is desired, be it towards bhoga or moksha. SrIsatyadevo vAsishTha gives the explanation - kAmAn karoti pUrayati iti kAma-kRt - One who fulfils the desires. It is natural that a person with less wealth goes to a person with more wealth for fulfilling his need. The only one who can ultimately fulfill the desires of anyone is the One who has everything, vishNu the kAma-kRt. kAma-kRt can also mean One who creates desires; in this sense, He creates the good desires, just as He destroys the undesirable desires (kAma-hA).

296. Kaantah -One who is of enchanting form. Infinite Beauty is the very nature of the Self, and the Upanishads define the Self as Saantam-Sivam-Sundaram.

The aestheticism in man craves for harmony and where we experience the greatest of harmony, there we detect the presence of beauty. In front of beauty, the entire personality of an intelligent man becomes calm and peaceful, hushed in silence, transported to ecstasy. These are moments when the meditator has transcended his Sheaths and is in union with the Pure Self. Naturally therefore, the Pure personality of an intelligent man becomes calm and peaceful. Self is indicated here as Kaantah-Divine Auspicious form of Absolute Beauty.

297. Kaamah -One who is the beloved. Not only He is the beloved of the devotees, but every activity of all living creatures is an attempt at courting and winning bliss and happiness. The Blissful Self is the goal of all creatures in life. Even insignificant unicellular organisms revolt against pain, and they too seek happiness. Man is no exception. The Infinite Bliss which is experienced only on transcending the body, mind and intellect, is that which is constantly demanded by every organism that breathes in this universe. In the ignorance of this All Satisfying Goal, the world suffers. That Lord is the beloved of all devotees, and in fact, He is also the beloved of even those who deny Him and run after the sense-objects. The theist seeks Him through devotion or meditation. The atheist too seeks Him only in and through all his diligent pursuits of the sense-stimuli. Sri Sankara: One who sought after by those who desire to attain the four supreme values of life. Another derived meaning is `Ka' meaning Brahma, `A' is Visnu and `Ma' Shiva. So the word can mean Trimurthi.

298. Kaamapradah –One who supplies the desired objects; One who fulfils all desires to the devotee, the Lord, is the giver of all desired objects, and to a man of meditation, the Lord is that state-of-mind where all desires are fulfilled- in the sense that no more can any desire linger in his heart after the Experience-Divine. In kaThopanishad we have "ekobahUnAm yo vidadhAti kAmAn (2.5)" - The One who fulfils the desires of many.

299. Prabhuh -He is the Lord, the Master, the Owner, the proprietor. One who has all powers to do, not to do and to do otherwise is called the Great Lord. SrI Sankara bhAshyam for this nAma is prakarsheNa bhavanAtprabhuh - One who surpasses all in being.

Krishnarpanamastu!!