VISHNU SAHASRANAAM - Arun

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VISHNU SAHASRANAAM

 

THE MEDITATION STANZA

saantaakaaram bhujaga-sayanam

padmanaabham suresam

visvaadhaaram gagana-sadrisam

megha-varnam subha-angam

yogibhir-dhyaana-gamyam

vande vishnum bhava-bhaya-haram

sarva-lokaika-naatham.

 

" We meditate upon the master of the universe, lord Vishnu, who is

ever peaceful, who lies on the great serpent-bed, from whose navel

springs the lotus of the creative power, who is the controller of

the gods, whose form is the entire universe, who is all pervading as

the sky, of the hue of the cloud, of fascinating beauty, the lord of

Laksmi, the lotus eyed, he who dwells in the hearts of the yogis and

who can be approached and perceived through meditation, he who is

the destroyer of the fear of samsara. "

 

This is the meditation upon the form of the lord, visualising Him

thus in His, all-Comprehensive nature, and meditating upon Him, the

seeker starts the vishnu-sahasranaama chanting.

 

Stanza 1

 

Om visvam vishnur- vashatkaaro

bhoota-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuh

bhoota-krit bhoota-bhir bhaavo

bhootaatmaa bhoota-bhaavanah

 

(1) Visvam - He whose manifestation is the whole universe of forms:

the Viraat-Purusha. The cause is always present in the effects and

as such That Form from which the whole universe has emerged out can

only be its own manifestation. The whole cosmos of gross forms is

His own expression, and therefore, He is called as

Viraatpurusha. `Sa eva Sarva- Bhootaatmaa Visvaroopo Yato-Avyayah'.

The Sanskrit term Visvam comes from the root Vis, to enter: Thus it

means He who has created and entered into the entire universe, as

the All-Pervading Reality. It can also mean, That into which the

entire universe has entered to remain therein established. In the

Upanishads also we have assertions of similar ideas. It is only when

intellectually, we view the Lord that we come to recognise Him as

the `cause' for the universe. When viewed through contemplation,

since the effect is nothing other than the cause, there can be no

world other than Him. In fact, there is nothing other than the

Supreme. In the Mandukya Upanishad we read `Omkaara Evedam Sarvam'.

In Geeta `OM ltyekaaksharam Brahma'.