Awaiting my trip to Guruvayoor and India

[Guest guest]

My dear friends; I am happy to share my joy of visiting India next week. I am most eagerly awaiting my trip to Guruvayoor. God willing, this will be my third consecutive trip in three years since I started reciting the Narayaneeyam in May 2004. It is amazing how the lord has managed to invite me to his abode so frequently. Trips to Guruvayoor have become a highlight of my visits to India. I will recite Dasakam 72, Akrura's mission to Gokulam all of next week in anticipation of this trip and hoping my visit to India and back will go smoothly. Please give me your blessings and best wishes as I embark on this long journey. I will be in New Delhi from 11-15 January and in Coimbatore from 17-27 January. I also plan to visit the Uttara Guruvayoorappan Temple in New Delhi. Krishna Guruvayoorappa!! Narasimhan Nagan USArsunitaa

<rsunitaa wrote: Om Namo Narayanaya!!vaikunthah purushah praanah praanadah pranavah prithuhhiranyagarbhah satrughno vyaapto vaayuradhokshajah.405. Vaikunthah –"One who prevents men from going astray into wrong paths" The bringing together of diversified things is Vikuntha. He who is the agent of this is Vaikunthah. It can also mean one who has no opposing factor.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 mahAbhAratain in support "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". 406. Purushah –"One who dwells in all bodies (Puris)." In Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (3-4-1) it is said, "sa

yatpUrvo'smAt sarvasmAtsarvAn pApmana aushat tasmAt purushah (Br. Upa. 1.4.1) - He existed before everything. He reduces all sins to ashes. Hence, He is called Purushah." SrI Sankara gives the additional support from the Sruti-s: sa vA ayam purushah sarvAsu pUrshu puriSayah (BR. Upa. 2.5.18) - He is indeed called purusha who lives in all the bodies. In short, He is the One Self which thrills all living creatures everywhere at all times.407. Praanah –"One who is the form of `Praana' exists in the body, propels all sense organs to act in their appointed fields, it is the Lord Vishnu that activates the body as the five praanas, is found in the Vishnupurana. V.P -"cestam karoti svasana rupi –he functions in the form of the life giving force called Prana [sri Sankara]. The dharma cakram writer points out that when bhagavAn gives life in the form of the sun, the beings that receive this light are livelier than the

beings that do not get exposed to the sun. Similarly, those who identify themselves with their body are not in an awakened and energized state compared to those who realize that they are the belongings of bhagavAn. bhagavAn in His mantra svarUpa awakens the spiritual light in those who chant the gAyatri mantra, and this in turn leads to God realization. Thus, He gives life in different ways to the beings of this world.408. Praanadah –This can mean "One who gives `Praana' or as one who takes away `Praana', because, the root `da' has both the meanings, `to give' and to break.' Therefore, Vishnu is the supreme who gives Praana to all creatures in the beginning of the creation, and He alone is again the one who destroys all the Praanaas (movements) at the time of the dissolution. The interpretations were: a) prANAn dadAti iti prAna-dah - He who gives life (SrI Sankara and SrI BhaTTar); b) prANAn dyati iti prANah - He

who takes away the vital airs at the time of death (SrI Sankara); and c) prANAndIpayati - He who purifies and brightens the vital airs (SrI Sankara).409. Pranavah – One who is praised or to whom prostrations are made with Om. Om iti pranauti – so protration is made with OM. SrI Sankara quotes sanatkumAra - praNamantIha vai vedAs-tasmAtpraNava ucyate - He for whom prostrations are made in the veda, is praNavah. praNavah refers to the praNava mantra, and this is considered the verbal representation of bhagavAn - mantra svarUpi. He who deserves to be worshiped. praNAmayati iti praNamah. By His superior character, He makes others bow before Him [sri Bhattar].410. Prithuh –"The expanded." He whose expanse is expressed as the world of infinite forms. In short, "He who All-pervasive." SrI Sankara gives the meaning "He who has expanded Himself as Cosmos". Looking at the world, through Puranas, it suggests,

"the one who is born as the king Prithuh, the son of the king vena –for bringing prosperity to the country, is Lord Narayana."411. Hiranyagarbhah –it is the term used in the Vedanta for the "creator". He is the expression of the creative urge of the lord Narayana. "The Golden-egg" means here that from which all the objective world had emerged out, indicating the creator." The term thereby suggests that the entire creative power of the creator is but the expression of the Self, Narayana.SrI radhAkRshNa SAstri gives a connected account of the nAma-s starting with viakunThah and ending with this nAma in terms of creation. BhagavAn vaikunTha who has unobstructed and enormous energy, descended from His state of parama purusha and decided to reside in the beings in this Universe in the form of purusha in this body as if it is vaikunTha. Then He converted the prAna Sakti which operates the prakRti into a form which

supported the beings, and thus became prANa-dah. Thus resulted this Universe, the AkASa being the first of the bhUta-s (tasmAd-vA etasmAdAtmana AkASas-sambhUtah). First there resulted the great sound of praNava. From this AkASa, there resulted the other bhUta-s (AkASAd-vAyuh, vAyoragnih, agnerApah,adbhyah pRthivI), and thus He expanded into the cosmos (pRthuh). This pRthu is the Father of this Universe. pRthvI is the daughter of this pRthuh. Starting from the sthUla form, and following through with the bestowing of the SUkshma form, He then gave the prANamaya, manomaya, and vi~jnAna maya koSa-s to His creations as the hiraNyagarbhah. Thus, starting from the nAma viakunThah, and up to the nAma hiraNya garbhah, the secret of creation is nicely revealed.412. Satru-ghnah –"the destroyer of the enemies." The lord is the one who annihilates all the enemies of the gods, meaning, He is the one who destroys all

the negative tendencies in all serious seekers totally devoted to Him. SrI BhaTTar points out that He subdues by His arrows of wisdom the senses which lead away the people to the enjoyment of earthly pleasures. That is, when one mediates on Him, this is how He slays the enemies to the devotee's realization of Him.413. Vyaaptah –"The Pervader." The effects can never remain without the Cause; the Cause is concurrent and inherent in it, effects. And thus, the world that has risen from the Infinite, should be pervaded by the Infinite. He who thus pervades everything is Narayana. 414. Vaayuh –"One who in the form of the atmospheric air sustains all life everywhere." He is not the air, but He is the life-giving power in the air.SrI Sankara derives the meaning from vAti - gandham karoti iti vAyuh – He who is the cause of smell. Gita says- Punyo gandhah prithivyam ca- I am the purifying smell in the earth. SrI

BhaTTar: He who moves (towards His devotees). He is called vAyu because He Himself goes seeking His devotees wherever they may be. Examples are His going to Sabari seeking her with respect.SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers us to the upanishad - vAyurasmai puNyam gandham Avahati - aitareya 1.7. bhagavAn is the antaryAmi for vAyu, and makes vAyu perform its functions -"yo vAyau tishThan-vAyorantaro yam vAyur-na veda yasya vAyuh SarIram yovAyumantaro yamayati, esha te AtmAntaryAmyamRtah" - bRhadA 3.7.7. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri gives several passages from the Sruti to bring out the uniqueness and importance of vAyu among the devatAs. The Sun, moon, fire and water all merge into vAyu when they disappear - vAyurvAva samvargoyadA vA agnirudvAyati, vAyumevApyeti, yadA sUryo'stameti vAyumevApyeti, yadAcandro'stameti vAyumevApyeti, yadApa ucchushyantivAyumevApiyantivAyuhyavaitAn-sarvAn-amvRkye (chAndogya 4.3).

When the indriya-devatA-s such as the sun and the moon enter the sushupti state, vAyu continues to be active as the prANa vAyu - mlocanti hyanyA devatAh, navAyuh, saishA'nastamitA devatA vAyuh - bRhadA 1.5.22. bhgavAn vishNu bears the earth through His vibhUti as vAyu - kim tad-vishNor-balamAhuh |vAtAt-vishNor-balamAhuh | (taittirIya 1.8.3). vAyu is the thread that keeps this world together like a string holding the beads of a chain; without this the world will break apart like a chain with a broken string; bhagavAn is this force - vAyurvai gautama tat-sUtram, vAyunA vai gautamasUtreNAyam ca lokah paraSca lokah sarvANi ca bhutAni sandRbdhAni bhavanti (bRhadA 3.5.2). Thus vAyuh and its vital role in the existence and survival of this Universe is the reason for bhagavAn's nAma as vAyuh.415. Adhokshajah -Mahabharata says, Adho na ksi yate yasmat tasmat adhoksajah- "at no time My vitality flows downwards,

and hence, I am called, Adhokshajah'. The term can also mean, "One who is not available for the powers of the sense organs to perceive." Or, it can also mean, "He who remains under both the atmosphere and the earth as the Supporter of the entire universe." SrI Sankara gives an alternate interpretation - He who is perceived when the sense organs (aksha gaNa-s) are made inward-looking. He gives reference to the following verse. adho bhUte hyakshagaNe pratyag-rUpa-pravAhite | jAyate tasya vai j~nAnam tena adhokshaja ucyate ||Yet another interpretation given by SrI Sankara is "He who manifests Himself as the virAt between the sky (aksha) and the region below (adhah) i.e., the Earth" - aksham adhah tayor-madhye vairAja rUpeNa ajAyata iti adhkshajah. He is adokshajah because He never gets diminished even though He is enjoyed by His devotees [sri Bhattar]. SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri adds yet another dimension:

adhah - j~nAtRtvabhAvAthInam, akshajam j~nAnam yasya sa adhokshajah - He who is not recognized by indriya-s such as the eyes etc., even though He is everywhere, in everything.Krishnarpanamastu!!

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