SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 105 - nAma 982. yaj~na-guhyam.

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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 105 - nAma 982. yaj~na-guhyam.

 

982. yaj~na-guhyam – He Who is the secret of the sacrifice.

 

om yaj~na-guhyAya namaH.

 

The word guhyam is derived from the root guh – samvaraNe – to cover,

to keep secret. Guhyam means `rahasyam' or secret. Different

interpreters have given their diverse anubhavam of how bhagavAn is

the hidden secret behind yaj~na-s.

 

Sri BhaTTar comments that bhagavAn is the `secret' behind the

sacrifice, because not everyone understands that He is the ultimate

object of the sacrifice, and that even though bhagavAn is not in need

of any offering, He still feels satisfied as if He has been long

expecting the offerings, and enjoys them. Only those who are wise

and knowledgeable about the injunctions, the means and the fruits of

the sacrifices, realize this secret about Him; others do not realize

this secret. SrI BhaTTar quotes the following from the mahAbhArata

in support:

 

sarve vedAh sarva vedyAH sa-SastrAH sarve yaj~nAH sarva

ijyaSca kRshNaH |

viduH kRshNam brAhmaNAs-tattvato ye teshAm rAjan sarva-

yaj~nAH samAptAH ||

 

jyotIgmshi SukrANi ca yAni loke trayo lokAH loka-pAlas-trayI

ca |

trayo'gnayaSca AhutayaSca pa'nca sarve devA devakIputra eva

||

 

" All the veda-s and all that has to be learnt, all the SAstra-s and

all the sacrifices, and all worship – all are SrI kRshNa. Those who

know kRshNa correctly this way, may be considered to have completed

all the sacrifices successfully " .

 

" All the shining luminaries in the universe, the three worlds, the

three guardians of the world, the three fires, and the five offerings

in those holy fires, and all the gods, are all SrI kRshNa, the Son of

devaki " .

 

The above references bring out another subtle secret that is

elaborated by SrImad SrImushNam ANDavan: Even though the offering in

a given yaj~na may be for some of the other deities, the real Deity

Who ultimately receives all the offerings is BhagavAn and no one

else. BhagavAn is the antaryAmi of all these other deities, and

while He feels satisfied with the offering, He also ensures that

these other deities are satisfied, and thus it is no one other than

BhagavAn Who is the ultimate object of all yaj~na-s. Not everyone

who performs yaj~na-s understands this, and thus bhagavAn is the

secret behind the yaj~na-s in this sense as well – yaj~na-guhyam.

 

Sri VeLukkuDi kRshNan brings out another dimension to the anubhavam

of this nAma: Accepting the relatively meager offering in the yaj~na

with great delight, BhagavAn can give to the performer of the yaj~na,

the benefit even up to moksham; in other words, there is no limit to

the return that He can bestow on the performer of the yaj~na in

return for the relatively trivial offering that bhagavAn does not

even need. This is a great secret that is not easily understood by

most people. He keeps the means of yaj~na as a great secret that is

understood only by a few who know the yaj~na SAstra properly, and so

He is yaj~na-guhyam.

 

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri notes that there are two aspects to any

sacrifice – the material aspects, and the thoughts behind the

performance of the karma. We dealt with this discussion under nAma

981 (gItA 4.33). Lord kRshna declares that the thought behind the

actions is more important than the act itself. When this thought

itself is dedicated to bhagavAn, in other words, when the thought

behind the yaj~na or offering is not one that aims at receiving some

benefit for the performer of the yaj~na, this is the best form of

yaj~na. This is the secret behind the performance of yaj~na-s in

their ultimate true sense. When such thought is the basis for the

offering, this is a manifestation of Brahman Himself, and so there is

no difference between Brahman and the yaj~na or the offering, and so

He is called the `secret of the sacrifice' or the yaj~na-guhyam'.

This seems to be the meaning for Sri Sa'nakara's interpretation for

the nAma – yaj~nAnAm guhyam j~nAna-yaj~naH phalAbhisandhi-rahito vA

yaj~naH; tad-abheda upacArAt Brahma yaj~na-guhyam – " The secret of

sacrifices is `knowledge-sacrifice'. Yaj~na may also mean any deed

performed without desire for the fruit; Brahman, as identified with

such deeds, is called yaj~na-guhyam " .

 

SrI cinmayAnanda explains the nAma as " The most profound truth to be

realized in all yaj~na-s " . He elaborates: " The Self is the most

noble truth to be sought through `offering' all the dravya (objects)

into the `consciousness' (fire) in the `body' (kuNDa). This kind of

subjective yaj~na is called in the gItA as Knowledge-sacrifice

( " j~nAna-yaj~na) " . This is also called in the veda-s as Brahma

yaj~na " .

 

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN reinforces the true spirit behind the

performance of sacrifices – It is for bhagavAn's pleasure alone, and

not for any material benefits for the performer, that the yaj~na is

to be undertaken, and so He is the secret behind the yaj~na-s – tena

yaj~nena tasyaiva mukhya uddeSyatvAt yaj~na-guhyam.

 

-dAsn kRshNamAcAryan

 

(To be continued)