the glory of Vishnu Sahasranam

[Guest guest]

Besides the dasavathara or ten incarnations of Mahavishnu, (to which vested intersts later added Buddha and Jesus not real incarnations), there have been many other Avathara-s to carry out specific assignments at the stipulated times.

 

One such Avathara was the great Sage Vyasa:

 

VYASA THE DIVINE COMPOSER

 

Sootha said,” Vyasa, the son of Parashara and Matsyagandhi was an avatara of Narayana. He spent a thousand years in meditation and obtained immense yogic power and divine knowledge. He became a celebrated sage”.

 

“Once Vyasa was absorbed in deep meditation when he foresaw the future of the world. He saw the deterioration of Dharma. He saw the advent of Kali, of the sinfulness pervading the earth. He saw the gradual withdrawal of the glory that had been the heritage for many years. And, he was filled with infinite pity for the generations of men that are to be born in the Kaliyuga. He therefore, resolved to help them in their distress. He edited the Vedas. He divided it into four parts and those four parts were taught to four of his disciples. Paila learnt the Rig, and Jamini, the Sama. Vaishampayana gained mastery over the Yajur and Samantu became proficient in Atharva Veda. “To his disciple, Romaharshana, my(Sootha) father, Vyasa taught the Puranas and the Itihasas. Those disciples of Vyasa divided the Vedas further and they had in turn taught them to their disciples and they, in turn to theirs.” Vyasa found that he had not done enough. He realised that those who cannot study the Vedas, those who are not allowed to do so, should be saved. And so he composed the poem, Mahabharata,

wherein all the lessons of the Vedas are taught in the course of the narration of the story. He had hoped that the humanity would benefit by all those.”

 

And yet, Vyasa felt that his work did not give him satisfaction. He felt that he had left something undone. He was sorely distressed. So he went to the Badarikashrama on the bank of the river Ganga. After taking a dip in the river in the early morning, Vyasa came out of the river and sat down on the sand in meditation. The silence around him was broken by the twanging of the strings of a veena. Sweet notes fell on his ears. With the music of the veena was heard a voice singing the glory of Narayana.

 

“Vyasa looked up and saw sage Narada descending from the heaven and coming towards him. Vyasa got up in a flurry. He welcomed the Maharishi and led him into the ashrama. After making Narada take a seat of honour, Vyasa sat at the feet of the divine visitor. “Vyasa, my friend,” said Narada, “I have come all the way to help you get you out of your distress. You have done a great service to humanity by composing the Mahabharata. You were interested in the welfare of the world and by relating the story of the Pandvas you have taught them the lesson that righteousness will conquer in the end; where Krishna is there is found Dharma. This is the lesson and there

is no doubt that people will learn it. But you have, throughout the epic, laid stress on the duties of man: on his dharma; on his performing them selflessly. But my friend, you have not sung the praise of the Lord as much as you ought to have. Know you not that the easiest path to the Lord is the Bhaktimarga, the path of devotion.

 

“The praises of Narayana even if they are couched in wrong words, even if they are sung all out of tune, will assure man of the Grace of the Lord. Sing the praises of Narayana. Relate to the world His Vishwarupa, His Vibhutis, and his Avataras and this, I assure you, will grant you the peace you are seeking. Unveil to the world the secret behind the avatara.” Drive home to the world of men this lesson: even if a man fails in his duties, duties which are ascribed to him by the Vedas and by the elders: even if he is a sinner who had transgressed all rules of conduct: still, if, in his heart, there is a spring of love, devotion to Lord, that will wash his sins away and he will be dear to Him.

 

 

“Remember my friend, that you are yourself an avatara of mankind and yet, you allow emotions to delude you. Remember who you are. Wake up from this sleep which makes you forget your real nature. Relate to everyone the many avataras of Narayana again, again and yet again. You will then have reached the goal for which you have been striving: Peace!” Narada went away from the presence of Vyasa. Long after he had gone, the drone of the veena could be heard and the great poet sat for a while pondering on the words of Narada.”

 

Vyasa closed his eyes and went into a trance. He saw in his mind’s eye, the great events of the past. He saw Narayana reclining on Ananta. He saw the beginning of the creation: the Virata Purusha and the great lotus out of which was born Brahma. He saw the Vibhuti of the Lord and the happenings during the many kalpas. Vyasa then composed the great Purana, the Srimad Bhagavatam. He taught this to his son Shuka and Shuka propagated it in the world of men.”

 

--- On Thu, 12/25/08, tripura_malini <tripura_malini wrote:

tripura_malini <tripura_malini the glory of Vishnu Sahasranam Date: Thursday, December 25, 2008, 2:05 PM

 

 

 

Dear Friends,

I invite your attention to Chapter 2 titled Great Incarnations of our great classic BPHS where the Incarnations of Lord Vishnu are linked with grahas. Sage Parashara says thus (Quoting relevant potions):

//The unborn Lord has many incarnations. He has incarnated, as the 9 (Nava) Grahas to bestow on the living beings the results due to their Karmas. He is Janardan. He assumed the auspicious form of Grahas to destroy the evil forces and sustain the divine beings.

From Sürya the incarnation of Ram, from Chandra that of Krishna, from Mangal that of Narasimh, from Budh that of Buddha, from Guru that of Vamana, from Shukra that of Parashuram, from shani that of Kurma (Tortoise), from Rahu that of Varah (Pig) and from Ketu that of Meena(Fish) occurred.

Out of these, four incarnations Rama, Krishna, Narasimha and Varaha are wholly endowed with Paramatmamsha while the other have in them jeevamsha too.

The beings with more Paramatmansha are called divine beings. The beings with more Jivatmansh are (mortal) beings. The high degree of Paramatmansh from the Grahas, viz. Sürya etc. did incarnate, as Ram, Krishna etc. After completing the mission, the Paramatmansh (of the respective) Grahas again merge (in the respective) Grahas.

The Jivatma portions from the Grahas take births, as human beings and live their lives according to their Karmas and again merge in the Grahas. And at the time of Great Destruction the Grahas as well merge in Lord Vishnu.//

Why am I telling this?

This is in connection with our ongoing discussions on stotras and mantras and their connection with Jyotish Ganga. This is to let everyone understand that all grahas are Vishnu Swaroopa and all are good for the progress of our soul. The material obstacles are a part of 'growing up' of soul. Do we not fall many times while learning to walk?

The most benevolent LORD VISHNU, as the sustainer and the preserver is closest to us. In our horoscope, the four kendras are the pillars sustained by the grace of Lord Vishnu. Being the kind-hearted and soft palanhaar, all of us can approach him to redress our grievances and grant us our wishes. He is the one most likely to support us in our worldly endeavours and protect us from all calamities.

 

Vishnu Sahasranama (literally: "the thousand names of Vishnu") is a list of 1,000 names for Vishnu, and is one of the most sacred and commonly chanted Stotras. According to the 149th chapter of Anushasanaparva in the epic Mahabharata, the names were handed down to Yudhisthira by Bhishma who was on his death bed at the battle of Kurukshetra saying that the mankind will be free from all sorrows by chanting the Vishnu Sahasranama.

 

Bhishma had told Yudhishthra that by chanting Vishnu Sahasranama we can avoid evil, succeed in battle, and gain affluence, pleasure, happiness, and offspring. One can acquire fame, prosperity, prowess, energy, strength, beauty, remove fear, avoid calamity, and be cured of diseases. On can acquire righteousness and intelligence, and avoiding the sins of evil.

Vishnu Saharanama is a mala of 108 verses in which 1000 names of the LORD are woven. One can start chanting if Sanskrit diction is not a problem and proper chanting takes about 10 minutes. Those who are not good in Sanskrit can listen to the audio and get used to the correct pronunciation. A version by MS Subbulakshmi is one of the best renderings. Even listening to it accrues great benefits. There are no strings attached to chanting of these names. One may do it anytime, anywhere. Chanting once everyday is extremely beneficial and gives all round well being. To obtain special grace, one can chant this in group or alone 108 times, specially on a Wednesday.

Having said this, I also understand that we are all bound with the day-to-day mad rush and cannot devote much time to lengthy hymns and look for shortcuts.

In my next post, I will present a shortcut key (secret) but more-or-less equally potent to open the doors of fortune through these verses.

If any member has a query on this, he/she is most welcome.

RegardsTripura

 

[Guest guest]

Dear Kumar ji,

 

Thank you for sharing the story of Maharshi Ved Vyasa. Whether he was

one of the avatars of Vishnu or no one can say. Most accepted view I

think is of Dashavtars only. In any case, all these details we get to

know from scriptures said to be created/taught by Vyasa himself. In

Garuda Puran, 10 incarnations of lord have been mentioned of which

Kalki is yet to come. Bhagwad Puran mentions 22 avatars, one of them

being Maharshi Vyasa.

 

Nonetheless, his contribution to our knowledge base is immense. It is

said that he codified and edited all the then available knowledge into

four Vedas and other scriptures as mentioned in your post.

 

The important point for us to remember is that Vishnu or Narayana is

the one who should always be in our hearts. As Narada says to Vyasa

(quoting from your post):

 

//The praises of Narayana even if they are couched in wrong words,

even if they are sung all out of tune, will assure man of the Grace of

the Lord. Sing the praises of Narayana. Relate to the world His

Vishwarupa, His Vibhutis, and his Avataras and this, I assure you,

will grant you the peace you are seeking. Unveil to the world the

secret behind the avatara. Drive home to the world of men this lesson:

even if a man fails in his duties, duties which are ascribed to him by

the Vedas and by the elders: even if he is a sinner who had

transgressed all rules of conduct: still, if, in his heart, there is a

spring of love, devotion to Lord, that will wash his sins away and he

will be dear to Him.//

 

This leads us to the significance of Vishnu Sahasranama which is a

unique composition in many ways.

 

Will continue…

 

Regards

Tripura