part16

Stanza 86

bhootaavaaso vaasudevah sarvaasunilayo-analah
darpahaa darpado dripto durdharo-athaaparaajitah.

708. Bhootaavaasah –“The very dwelling place of the Great Elements.” “Since the Beings (Elements) dwell in You, You are called ‘Bhootaavaasa,’ “ so says Harivamsa. Bhagavaan Himself says in the Geeta: “I am the Source of all Creation.”  Therefore He is also called the ‘Bhootayoni.’

709. Vaasu-devah -One who envelops the world with His Maayaa-powers of veiling and agitations. The Lord discloses: “I pervade the whole world with My Glory, as the Sun with its rays.”

710. Sarvaasu-nilayah –“The Abode of all Life-Energies.” One who is the very Substratum for the life and existence of all creatures. He is the Self, the Life in all of us-therefore, He is the very support for the Praana in each living creature.

780. Dur-aavaasah –“Not easy to lodge” –within the heart steadily for even great seekers who are diligent in their consistent pursuit. To withdraw the mind from the objects of pleasure and to steadily contemplate upon the great seat of Life is not an easy accomplishment. Therefore, even yogins, in their persevering meditation, find it not easy to contemplate steadily upon Sree Narayana, hence this name.  “This Yoga of equanimity, taught by Thee, O slayer of Madhu, I see not its enduring continuity, because of the restlessness (of the mind),” cries Arjuna in the Geeta. Bhagavan also adds in the same Chapter that the meditation should be “As a lamp placed in a windless place does not flicker.”

781. Duraarihaa – “One Who is the slayer of the devilish Asuras.” Even in those among us who are not steadily good, the Lord, when invoked, out of His compassion destroys the devilishness and redeems our personality from its sad consequences. The asuric tendencies are in the bosom of every seeker and devoted invocation of the Lord in our bosom can cleanse the heart of all its negative tendencies. Therefore, it is indeed appropriate that He is significantly indicated as `Duraarihaa.’’ 

Stanza 84

subhaango lokasaarangah sutantustantuvardhanah
indrakarmaa mahaakarmaa kritakarmaa kritaagamah.

782. Subhaangah –“One with enchanting limbs of perfect beauty.” The Beauty of all beauty is the Lord, and His captivating form and the rhythm of His shape are the theme of meditation for the devotees. In the Upanishads the Infinite Lord, the Self, is described as Peace-Auspiciousness-Beauty (Saantam-Sivam-Sundaram). Thus the devotees of the Lord, remembering the auspicious beauty of His sacred limbs, prostrate at His altar in their deep reverence and mounting joy of devotion. 

783. Lokasaarangah –“One who has enquired into or understood the Essence behind the universe of names and forms” Or, Lokasaarangah can mean the essence, or the source, of the world which is the great Pranava, `OM.’ So the term means the State of Supreme Consciousness that is gained or reached through the contemplation upon the significance of OM. 

784. Sutantuh –“Beautifully expanded.” Just as the thread is drawn out in different counts from cotton which is later employed as the warp and woof in the creation of infinite varieties of cloth, so too, from the Narayana-Consciousness, the endless variety of beings and things gets projected to constitute the enchanting tapestry of His mighty universe. As the thread is the substratum for all the various fabrics, the Narayana is the beautiful thread, the-substratum, for all this wonderful universe. The Lord Himself says: "There is nothing whatsoever higher than I, O Dhananjaya. All this is strung on Me, as clusters of gems on a string.  

785. Tantu-vardhanah –“One who sustains the continuity of the drive for the family.” The family is maintained by the virility of the members and this potency in the individual is an expression of vitality which Life imparts to the living organism. Thus, the grace of the Self is that which is manifested in the fertility of the seed (Ojas). Generally in India, among the Hindus, it is customary to attribute the continuity of the family to the Grace of Narayana.  

786. Indrakarmaa –“One who always performs gloriously auspicious actions” The root ‘Id’ is used in the sense of Supreme Auspiciousness, Parama-aisvarya. 

787. Mahaa-karmaa –“One Who accomplishes Great Activities.”  To create a cosmos so scientifically precise and perfect out of the five great elements, and to sustain them all with an iron hand of efficiency, all the time constantly presiding over the acts of destruction without which the world of change cannot be maintained, is, in itself, a colossal achievement of an Absolute Intelligence.  

788. Krita-karmaa –“One Who has fulfilled all His activities.” There is nothing more for Him to achieve. He is the Goal. He is the Destination. In His Eternal Perfection there is nothing more for Him yet to achieve. This sense of complete fulfilment is described in all the scriptures as the State of Blissful Perfection-the Self.  

789. Kritaagamah –“One who is the author of the Vedas.” The vedic mantras are called Aagamah. The mantras were revealed to the great Rishis during moments when they were not identified with the Body-Mind- Intellect and, therefore, they were not, at those inspired moments, limited individual egos. Where the ego is thus ended, the Self-alone comes to manifest. In this sense of the term, all scriptures have burst forth from prophets and seers when they transcended their limited existence to experience their oneness with the Eternal, Sree Narayana, In Bhagavad Geeta also, Lord Krishna confesses, “I am the author of all the Vedas; I alone am the knower of the Veda.”  

Stanza 85

udbhavah sundarah sundo ratnanaabhah sulochanah
arko vaajasanah sringee jayantah sarvavij-jayee.

790. Udbhavah –“The ultimate source”- the very spring of Creation. In the Puranic view of the term, it may mean One Who has by His own free-will manifested Himself by Himself for the service of mankind, or, it may designate subjectively, the Self, Sree Narayana, as the one dynamic Witness in Whose Presence alone the vital activities of life gush forth into expression.

791. Sundarah –“Of unrivalled beauty.” In almost all religions the Infinite Lord is described as one having the most enchanting beauty. When we experience beauty in the world, we are moved to consider its beauty either by the pro- portion or the symmetry, or th~ tender charm in the object of observation. Within the mind of the observer, there reflects for a moment the rhythmic grace in the proportion, the smooth peace in the symmetry, or the joy of ecstasy which ripples out from the object into the contemplative eye. In all these conditions, the observer’s mind, sensitive to the aestheticism in him, quietens, and, it is at such moments of supreme inner satisfaction, the flashes of “beauty-experiences” floods the bosom. Remember, beauty is not in the object nor is it in the mind. The enchanting occasion silences the mind that is now available for the aesthetic reaction which resultingly fills the observer- and this is nothing but the manifestation of That which is behind the mind, Sree Narayana. Hence, the Infinite Reality is glorified in the Upanishads as “Peace-Auspiciousness-Beauty’. ( Saantam-Sivam-Sundaram} .

792. Sundah –“Of Great Mercy.” Whatever be the amount of vaasanaas hoarded in our personality, due to our ego-centric, extroverted activities, once a devotee turns unto Him in total surrender, all the vaasanaas are purified and he comes to move more and more towards Him-as though, in infinite mercy, He forgives all sins that a man might commit in his innocent ignorance (Avidyaa).

793. Ratnanaabhah –“Of beautiful navel.” Text books of Bhakti-cult advise devotees that they should meditate upon the Lord’s navel-point, as a flashy, brilliant jewel (Ratna). This point of concentration is not without significance. The mystics of India long ago explored the percentage of human action that is grossly manifest at the physical level. Today also, psychologists confess that they have no other knowledge beyond the obvious fact that thoughts express themselves as actions. But deeply meditative mystic enquirers delved deeper to detect and chart the story of actions. In their adventurous explorations, they discovered that in seed form all thoughts are with the Infinite (Para) before manifestation. From this womb they become manifest and an individual becomes dimly aware of thoughts in their embryo form-vague and still incompletely un-formed (Pasyantee). Thereafter, the thoughts get translated into expressions (Madhyamaa) and in their last full stage of manifestation they come to express themselves as actions in the outer world (Vaikharee).

In this chain of processes when thoughts become manifest for the thinker, it is said the seat of Pasyantee-stage is the navel region. This brilliant seat of nascent manifestation of all thoughts is indicated here as “the jewel of his navel.” Generally, the intelligent student would readily jump to the conclusion that this truth is merely a poetic exaggeration, but there is a deep significance in it indeed.

794. Sulochunuh –“One Who has the most enchanting eyes.” The term indicates the beauty of the Lord’s eyes for those devotees who turn to the Lord’s form. To the deeper students of contemplation, the eyes are great not be- cause of their form, colour or expression, but because of their ability to see constantly the infinite purpose and goal of the entire creation. Therefore, the term means. “One who has the wisdom of the Self.”

795. Arkah  -“One Who is in the form of the Sun.” The Sun is worshipped as a Vedic deity, even by the Creator Himself-hence, the term suggests ‘most worshipful.’ The Sun-centre of the solar system-is the one source of light and energy illumining and nourishing everything. The Infinite Consciousness, Sree Narayana, is the Sun by Whose Splendour the experiences of all people are illumined, at all places and at all times. He, as the One Life, thrills all living creatures and presides over, in and through their nurture and nourishment. Once He has left from therein, that body cannot be maintained -though we witness today the experiments of medical science to do so.

796. vaajasanah –“The giver of food.” The one Vital Force that ultimately sustains, supports and nourishes all living creatures in the Universe is the Supreme. and Its Nature is not really different from the Lord, Sree Narayana. In the Bhagavad Geeta the Lord describes Himself as manifesting through the sun as the sunlight which penetrates the earth to fertilise it. The fertility of the soil, in turn, becomes the plant on the surface into which the Lord transfuses the food value of the vegetable world by the essence of moon- light from the moon. Further, in the Upanishads, we find indicative declarations that offerings, given in the worship of Fire themselves come down as a reward in the form of rain and plenty for the society.

Again, it is a law of life that each individual is supplied with the exact type of ‘equipments for experiences’ and each one also finds himself in the precise environmental circumstances for their expression according to the texture and type of vaasanaas in him. Thus, in the larger sense, the entire world of ‘emotions-feelings-and-thoughts’ constitute the total food (Annam) for the experiences of the body, mind and intellect.

797. Sringee  -“The horned one.” This is generally commented upon as reminiscent of the Lord’s Incarnation as a Fish. It would have been happier had it been reminiscent of the Boar-Incarnation which Sree Narayana took to lift up the world from its slushy condition to the plane of dry-surfaced earth.

798. Jayantah –“The conqueror of all enemies.” No force could ever vanquish Him who is ‘the Source of all energy and strength’-the Almighty. Sree Narayana is acclaimed as the conqueror, because it is by His Grace and direct help that the gods always win against the ‘diabolically bad’ (the Asuras). In our bosom it is the grace of the mind and intellect, in attunement with the Self, that helps us to conquer our lower impulses, our endless desires for the sensuous-and our craving for the cruel pleasures of indulgence.

799. Sarvavij-jayee –“One Who is at once Omniscient (Sarvavit) and victorious (Jayee).” The term, however, is not two words and, therefore, as a single expression, we can also understand it to mean, ‘One who is victorious over all men of wisdom.’ Prattlers of wisdom, however eloquent in their discussions, must become utterly silent in their moments of Samaadhi, in the presence of the Self, Sree Narayana.

Stanza 86

suvarnabindurakshobh yah sarvavaageesvaresvarah
mahaahrado mahaagarto mahaabhooto mahaanidhih.

800. Suvarna-binduh –“With limbs radiant like gold.” Chhandogya Upanishad declares: “He, having a golden body, even to the tip of his nails.” The great name of the Lord in the Vedic literature is ‘OM’ which consists of the sounds ‘A’, ‘U’, and the bindu ‘M.’

801. Akshobhyah –“One Who is ever unruffled.” Ordinarily an individual gets disturbed, subjectively, by the presence of desires, anger, passions, etc., and objectively an average man is constantly stormed by the enchanting dance of beautiful sense-objects all around him. Lord, the Self, is a state of existence wherein neither the subjective disturbances of the mind, nor the objective persecutions of the sense-organs can ever reach to ruffle the quietude and peaceful grace of His perfection. In describing the state of the Sthitaprajna, Bhagavan says in the Geeta that such a one will be Akshobhya like the ocean: “He attains Peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which filled from all sides, remains unmoved; but not the ‘desirer-of-desires.”

802. Sarva-vaageesvaresvarah –“The very Lord of the Lord of Speech.” In the Kenopanishad it has been made amply clear that it is not the instruments of actions and perceptions that act by themselves as they are all made up of inert matter. The immediate animation to the equipment is given by the ‘inner instruments.’ Therefore, for all the sense-organs, the mind-intellect-equipment is their immediate Lord. But these subtle instruments themselves get their dynamism to act only in the presence of Sree Narayana, the Consciousness. Therefore, it is most appropriate to invoke Him as the Lord of Lords in all living creatures.

The term Vaageesvara (Lord of Speech) is often used in the language to indicate poets, writers and orators. Therefore, the term can also be interpreted as ‘the Lord from whose altar all ordinary speakers draw their powers. Theologically, some commentators have spun a meaning out of this term indicating that Sree Narayana, as the Absolute Reality, is the ‘Lord’ of even the Creator .

803. Mahaa-hradah –“One Who is like a great refreshing swimming pool.” In the hot summer season, plunging into the cool crystal waters of a. pool holds the swimmer in a refreshing cool embrace on all sides. Similarly, the plane of Narayana-Consciousness revives, refreshes and en- thralls all meditators when they plunge into its reviving quietude. The Yogins often plunge into It from the springboard of their devotion, and after a time emerge out of It-cool, clean and refreshed. Sree Narayana is metaphorically addressed as the great (Mahaa) pond (Hradah).

804. Mahaa-gartah –“The great chasm.” Here the ‘chasm’ means the Lord’s maayaa which He Himself describes, in the Bhagavad Geeta as “My Maayaa (non-apprehension and the consequent misapprehension) is very difficult to cross over.” The industrious lexicographers enter here and additionally press out of this word garta the meaning, ‘chariot,’ and, therefore, the term can also mean that He is a ‘mahaaratha’ (Great Chariot).

805. Mahaabhootah –“The Great Being.” He is the Source from which even the Great Elements spring forth into existence and, therefore, in His Infinitude and Pervasiveness, Lord Narayana is called ‘Mahaabhootah.’ The entire play of birth and death, of integration (sanghaata) and disintegration (vighaata) are taking place in Him Who is the mighty substratum and, therefore, it is very appropriate that the Lord, the God, is considered by the devotees as the “Great Being.’

806. Mahaa-nidhih –“The Great Abode.” “The Eternal Source from which everything springs forth and the Infinite substratum upon which the entire play of the finite is held in animated suspension.” The term ‘nidhi’ means ‘treasure’ and, therefore, its indication here is that Sree Narayana is the richest treasure of all His devotees-to loot at will!

Stanza 87

kumudah kundarah kundah parjanyah paavano-anilah
amritaaso-amritavapuh sarvajnah sarvatomukhah.

807. Kumudah –“One Who gladdens the earth,” or “one who gets gladdened by the earth.” Earth here should be understood as the entire cosmos ever so dynamic and scientifically precise. The world of plurality is Narayana’s joyous expression of His infinite potentialities. It is the fulfilment of the Omnipotent.

808. Kundarah –“The one who tore the earth in His Incarnation as the Boar in order to destroy the mighty tyrant, Hiranyaaksha. It can also mean: Darah(one who wears); Kum (the earth). The term is further commented upon as “One who bestows rewards as beautiful as the Kunda flowers.”

809. Kundah -Here we read it as ‘Kunda flower.’ In this context the term means “One who is as comely and attractive as the kunda flowers.” In Harivamsa it is said that the Lord, as Parasuraama, in order to atone for the battles he had fought, gave (do) gifts of this earth (kum) to Rishi Kasyapa. ‘ Ku’ also has the meaning of the “rulers of the earth,” and ‘do’ means “slaying.” In this way the term indicates the “one who had taken the Incarnation of Parasuraama to destroy the unreasonably vicious tyrants of the land.”

810. Parjanyah –“He who is similar to the rain-bearing clouds.” Lord Krishna has been described as being so gloriously hued. Again, agriculturists and all living creatures are extremely happy when they see these clouds-the harbingers of comfort and prosperity. To the devotees, the Lord is a total fulfilment, as the clouds are for the parched earth.

811. Paavanah –“One Who ever purifies.” The impurities of a personality are gathered when the mind and intellect, in a natural impulse of animal voluptuousness, rush towards the sense-objects with ego-centric passion. To I retrieve the mind from the sense-objects and to peacefully let it settle in contemplation of the divine nature and the eternal J glory of Sree Narayana, the Self, is to exhaust all the existing vaasanaas, which are the personality-impurities within.

812. Anilah -Like the atmospheric air the Lord is the life-giver everywhere, and also He is All-pervading. Nilah also means ‘to slip’-into a condition of non-apprehension: thus, one who is ignorant (avidya). When the symbol of negation, ‘a’, is added to it, ‘A-nilah’ comes to indicate “One who slips not, but is ever of the nature of Consciousness.” Hence it means “Omniscient.”

813. Amritaasah -Since ‘amrita’ has both the meanings of ‘nectar’ and ‘immortality,’ the term is interpreted to mean “One whose desires are never fruitless,” as well as “One whose greatest desire is for the State of Immortality.”

814. Amrita-vapuh –“He Whose Form is Immortal.” He, the Eternal Reality, is unconditioned by time. This principle of Consciousness, functioning as the flame of life in every bosom, by its mere presence has in Itself neither the physical, subtle nor causal bodies-which alone are the perishable. Transcending them all-unconditioned by time, and, therefore, never undergoing any of the natural modifications of mortality, Sree Narayana revels in His Absolute Glory.

815. Sarvajnah –“Omniscient.” It is only when the light of Awareness illumines the happenings that living creatures can become conscious of their experiences. To know the outer and the inner world of happenings, they must be lighted up by the principle of Consciousness. This seat of Sree Narayana is, therefore, called the Pure Knowledge- the Principle, because of which all other knowledge is possible in every being.

816. Sarvato-mukhah –“One Who has His face turned everywhere”-just as the light in the sun, or the light of a lamp. In the Bhagavad Geeta He is described as having eyes, heads and faces on all sides.

Stanza 88

sulabhah suvratah siddhah satrujit satrutaapanah
nyagrodhodumbaro-asvatthaschaanooraandhra-nishoo-danah.

817. Sulabhah –“One who is readily available” and, therefore, easily attainable for those who have true devotion and the heroism to put forth the right effort in unveiling Him from the miserable pits of matter. To the mind in contemplation, the Reality is self-evident; all saadhanaas are only to render the mind contemplative.

818. Suvratah –“He Who has taken the most auspicious Forms”-to destroy the evil and to protect the good is the motive behind all His manifestations. The seeker himself is one of the Lord’s own manifestations; thus, every spiritual/ student will ultimately realise that to destroy the ego in himself and finally gain back the very state from which he apparently manifested is re-discovery of the Self.

819. Siddhah –“One Who is Perfection”-not one who has attained perfection. Sree Narayana, the Absolute State of Perfection, can never, even when He is playing as the Incarnation, forget His real nature of Eternal, Unbroken, Unchanging Perfection.

820. Satrujit –“One Who is ever victorious over His hosts of enemies.” In the bosom of man, his enemies are none other than consciousness of his body and the con- sequent passions of the flesh-both objective and subjective. The seeker feels that these urges in him constitute a very powerful team of belligerent forces, and against their concerted onslaught he feels helpless. But when such an alert seeker turns himself towards the Truth, the Lord Who is in his own heart, all obstacles whither away. It is natural then that Sree Narayana is invoked here as the “Supreme Conqueror of all Enemies.”

821. Satrutaapanah –“The Scorcher of enemies.”  When the devotee offers himself at the altar of His Feet, He burns down all the negative tendencies polluting the devotee’s heart.

822. Nyagrodhah –“The One who, while controlling all beings, veils Himself behind this Maayaa.” The Consciousness constantly functions within us, but due to the Vaasanaas, our attention is constantly distracted to the perception of objects outside and not to the Effulgent Being which is the core in us. At the same time Sree Narayana, the Self, is the very Life which has made possible the entire manifestation of the world. Still, by His own playful inscrutability we recognize Him not. Interpreted in another sense, the term can also mean, “He who is above all.’ The nobler, the mightier power which controls and regulates any organised set of activities, when it is conceived by human intellect, it is always expressed as something higher or above. Therefore, the significance of this term must be clear to the students.

823. Udumbarah –“He Who is the Nourisher of all living creatures”-supplying each with its appropriate food. The term also suggests: “one who transcends even Aakaasa, the subtlest of the manifested elements.” Sree Narayana, the Source out of which all creatures have emerged, He alone must also be the Great Cause from which even the subtlest element, Aakaasa, (space) has sprung forth. The cause is subtler than the effect, therefore, the essential principle, Narayana, transcends even the concept of space.

824. Asvatthah -In the Upanishad, (Kathopanishad) and in the Bhagavad Geeta (Chapter XV), Lord Narayana is indicated as the great “Tree of Life,” the Asvattha. Ficus Religiosa is a perennial tree, seemingly relatively immortal, as compared with the quickly-perishing mankind that comes in waves, generation after generation, to play under its shade, to make love at its base; to grow old in its breeze. Even when they are dead, their bodies are carried in moonlit procession to the burial ground, where under the tree’s dancing leaves, a play of light and shade splashes a wizardly pattern upon each lifeless face. The children of each departed one, in their turn, repeat the unending cycle of life under the shade of the same old tree whose nodding grimace mocks the procession of fleeting joys and sorrows. This tree has been chosen to represent the finite play of the Infinite and the Tree itself has been named: A-svattham meaning: “That which will not remain the same tomorrow.”..

825. Chaanooraandhranishoodanah - “The slayer of Chaanoora, the great wrestler. Andhra means wrestler.”

Stanza 89

sahasraarchih saptajihvah saptaidhaah saptavaahanah
amoortiranagho-achintyo bhayakrit bhayanaasanah.

826. Sahasra-archih –“He Who in His Effulgence has thousands of rays.” The Self, Sree Narayana, the Pure Consciousness which illumines all experiences, is considered in our scriptures as the ‘Light of all Lights,’ and, in the Geeta’s famous description of this mighty Effulgence of Reality we read: “If the Splendour of a thousand suns were to rise up together and at one and the same time blaze forth. In the sky, that would be like the Splendour of the Mighty Being.”

827. Sapta-jihvah –“He Who expresses Himself as the ‘seven tongues’ (flame).” ‘Jihvaa’ means tongue; here it is used as the ‘tongues-of-flame.’ These seven flames of different properties are enumerated in the Mundakopanishad. It sets forth the idea that the Light of Consciousness beams out through seven points in the face of a living entity-two eyes, two ears, two nostrils and the mouth. As intelligent beings, powers of perception metaphorically flame out through each one of them, illumining the world for us. The one in our heart, Sree Narayana, Who totally manifests as the seven distinct tongues-of-flame is classified here by the scientific-poets, the Rishis, in the language of lyrical service as Sapta-jihvaah.

828. Sapta-edhaah –“The Seven Effulgent flames.” The earlier term invoked Him as the “Seven tongues- of-flame.” Here the emphasis seems to be for the Effulgence in those flames.

829. Sapta-vaahanah –“One Who has the vehicle of seven horses.” Lord Sun is described by the poet-seers of the Vedas as riding in a chariot drawn by seven horses, representing the seven days of the week.

830. A-moortih –“One Who is formless.” ‘Form’ implies a thing that is limited by other factors. The All-Pervading cannot have a form-just as space has no particular form. All things having a form are perishable. Narayana who is Infinite and Eternal is thus ever Formless.

831. Anaghah -The Sanskrit term Aghah means sin or sorrow. Therefore the term means one who is sinless or sorrowless. Lord Paramesvara, the Self, is Immaculate-untouched and uncontaminated by the Vaasanaas. He is Eternal Bliss-beyond all traces of sorrow.

832. Achintyah –“One Who cannot be comprehended by man’s mind and intellect.” Not only the Lord is Formless, and consequently Imperceptible, but He is also unavailable as an object for our emotional experience, or for our intellectual appreciation. He is the Pure Conscious- ness in Whose Light all our perceptions, feelings and thoughts are illuminated. In Geeta, this “Nourisher of All” is compared with the changeless white screen upon which all the perishing scenes of life are focused.

833. Bhaya-krit -Lord is the “Giver of fear.” He is a terror to the evil-minded. In all His Incarnations, He gives fear to the evil-hearted, that they may ultimately be swayed to the path of Dharma.

834. Bhayanaasanah –“Destroyer of all fear,” is the Supreme Lord. The Upanishads repeatedly -declare the State of Self-Knowledge to be the only state of absolute fearlessness. From a sense of otherness or plurality alone can fear spring forth. In the One Reality, where there is no other, how can there be fear? Sree Narayana alone is the only harbour from all fears.

Stanza 90

anurbrihat krisah sthoolo gunabhrinnirguno mahaan
adhritah svadhritah svaasyah praagvamso vamsavardhanah.

835. Anuh –“The Subtlest; the All-pervading.” Sree Narayana is the subtle flame-of-life in our bosom, the Essence from which all life’s activities spring forth. He is called as Anuh because He is in the centre of even the Subtlest. Bhagavan Himself says: “I am seated in the heart of all-as the core or Essence in all.”

836. Brihat -At the same time He is Greater than the Greatest in dimension, He being the All-pervading. These two may seem paradoxical but the apparent contradiction dissolves into an illumining experience for the contemplative mind. The Upanishad daringly combines these two terms to give the students a vague comprehension of the All-pervading Infinitude of the Self.

837. Krisah –“One Who is lean; subtle; delicate.” Again, this description will be opposed by the next following one, for herein is a deliberate use of contradictions. The Rishis made an art of effectively employing terms of contradiction in order to bring the incomprehensible within the cognition of the students of contemplation.

838. Sthoolah –“One Who is the fattest; the grossest; roughest.” These two terms are indicating opposites. Here it is to be understood that the Lord, in His state as Pure Consciousness, is the subtlest, and He is the grossest in the form of the Universe (Viraat).

839. Gunabhrit –“One Who supports”- maintains and expresses through the three Gunas. Through rajas He creates; through Sattva He preserves and through tamas He annihilates. He, as Consciousness, expresses Him- self through these three textures of vaasanaas.

840. Nirgunah-“Without-any-properties.” That which has property is matter-perishable, changeable, finite. The Imperishable, the Changeless, the Infinite is property-less; it is the Consciousness that illumines all properties (Gunas). With the matter equipments, in His Incarnations He manifests as having ‘form’ (Guna-bhrit), and in His Absolute Nature He is ‘form-less’-the Non-dual Self.

841. Mahaan –“The Great; the Glorious; the Mighty.” “One who is not conditioned by the five Elements- nor by Time and Space. Quite on the other hand, it is He Who is the very Existence in everything.

842. Adhritah -None supports Him, but He supports all. Just as the cotton in cloth, gold in ornaments, mud in pots, He is the supporter of the entire universe. To the devotee who feels the Lord is far away from him, to contemplate upon Sree Narayana as his very own support will open his heart to the certainty and plenitude of faith.

843. Svadhritah –“Self-supported.” When from the previous term we hear that the Self is he ultimate support of the Universe, the question automatically rises in a rational intellect: ‘what supports the Self?’ The Lord is “supported” by nothing else other than His own Glory. In the Upanishad, in answer to a question where the Mighty One abides, the teacher declares, “He abides in His own Glory.”

844. Svaasyah –“One Who has an Effulgent Face.” Because He gives to the Vedas their beauty and charm, He is conceived as brilliantly beautiful, enchantingly fascinating, hauntingly charming.

845. Praag-vamsah –“One Who has the most ancient ancestry.” The Infinite, the Cause for the universe and Time itself, is indicated as the ‘Most Ancient’. The term can also mean the accommodation reserved during a Yaaga meeting where the invitees and guests may rest. Generally built on the eastern courtyard of the house~ this accommodation is called ‘Praagvamsah.’ Since everything connected with a Yajna or Yaaga is considered as sacred, the ‘Praag-vamsah’ has been used here as a name to indicate Sree Narayana.

846. Vamsa-vardhanah –“He who multiplies His family of descendents.” The Lord’s family is the whole Universe of things and beings. Or it can also imply just the opposite as the root Vardh means ‘the annihilator.’ Narayana is the sacred factor in us, to Whose Feet we turn in all love and undivided attention, in Whom the world of perceptions, emotions and thoughts merge as a dream merges into the mind of the waker.

Stanza 91

bhaarabhritkathito yogee yogeesah sarvakaamadah
aasramah sramanah kshaamah suparno vaayuvaahanah.

847. Bhaara-bhrit –“One Who carries the load of the Universe.” This carrying is not as a man would carry a load-something other than himself. The Self Itself has become the world so here it means only that Narayana is the very material Cause of the Universe.

848. Kathitah –“One Who is glorified in the Vedas and other spiritual text books.” Narayana-essence is the theme of all scriptures in the world.

849. Yogee –“One Who can be realised through Yoga:” “One Who is the greatest Yogee.” The term Yoga is defined in the Sastra as ‘stopping all thought flow.’ One who has no thought agitations-who has totally conquered the mind( Maayaa) and lives in His own Effulgent Self-nature is the greatest Yogee.

850. Yogeesah –“The King of Yogees.” “One who realises the Self, becomes the Self,” is an Upanishadic declaration. Therefore, Self alone is the perfect Yogee and Sree Narayana, the Self, is the King of all Yogees. The sense of agency-in-action and the sense of enjoyership-in- experience is the ego (Jeeva-bhaavanaa). To end this ego-personality is to rise to the awareness of the Universal Consciousness, the Self. Sree Narayana, the Absolute Reality, alone can be free-entirely and fully-from any involvement while being ever in the midst of Samsar and its seething activities. Hence He is glorified as the best among Yogees.

851. Sarvakaamadah –“One Who fulfils all desires of all true devotees.” Such devotees have no other desire but to reach, meet and merge in Him. In this way the term would also indicate that He destroys the chances of fulfilment of all unholy, sensuous and lusty desires in the faithless.

852. Aasramah -Sree Narayana is the harbour, the sequestered haven for all who are tossed about in the storms of life without and within. For each one, the source of all strains is attributable entirely to his functioning as a body-mind-intellect equipment. To remain as the Self-the essential real nature of man-is to experience the end of all stresses and strains. This state of Peace and Joy, of Quiet and Bliss is Sree Narayana, the Lord of the heart.

853. Sramanah –“One Who persecutes the worldly people”-who, driven by their hungers and passions, seek sense-gratifications. By the very nature of the ephemeral sense-objects and the ever-changing instruments of experience in us, the life of gratifications can only yield exhausting fatigue and weary disappointments. This is the ‘Law’ and Sree Narayana is the ‘Law-Giver.’ The Law and the Law-Giver are but one in theology.

854. Kshaamah –“One Who destroys everything during the final deluge”-He who prunes our agitations and shrinks our desire-prompted world-projections.

855. Suparnah –“The Golden Leaf.” In Bhagavad Geeta the world is pictured as the Asvattha tree and its leaves are declared to be the Vedas. The theme of the Vedas is none other than the Self, making the term extremely en- chanting with its springs of suggestions.

856. Vaayu-vaahanah –“The mover of the winds.” From fear of Him Fire burns, Sun and Moon function, earth rotates, the Wind moves....declares the Upanishad.

Stanza 92

dhanurdharo dhanurvedo dando damayitaa damah
aparaajitah sarvasaho niyantaa niyamo yamah.

857. Dhanurdharah  -“The wielder of the Bow.” In His Incarnation as Sree Rama, He drew the great Bow as no one else ever could. Also in the Upanishad there is the famous metaphor of the Bow with which the arrow of the individuality is to be shot to strike and sink into the goal. The Rishi of the Mundakopanishad explains that the ‘Bow’ is the OM (Pranava mantra). (The significance is clear.)

858. Dhanurvedah –“One Who declared the Science of Archery.” The One Who propounded the unfailing technique of OM -meditation for realisation of the Self.

859. Dandah –“One who punishes the wicked.” In Geeta, Bhagavan declares Himself to be the policeman of the Universe. The term can also mean the ‘Sceptre’-the insignia of king-ship. Sree Narayana, the King of kings in the entire, limitless universe, holds the Sceptre of total royalty.

860. Damayitaa –“The Controller.” One who punishes the wicked, destroys the sinners and thus regulates and cultivates life in the universe, making it a garden for the blossoms of spiritual beauties.

861. Damah -That which is ultimately gained by the worldly punishments-the final experience of Beatitude in the Self.

862. Aparaajitah –“The Invincible; One who cannot be defeated.” The Self ultimately asserts within every bosom from wherein the spiritual values finally emerge victorious. The Self alone remains when all else has been destroyed.

863. Sarvasahah –“One Who carries the entire Universe.” The One Who meets heroically all the enemical impulses of unspiritual lusts. He carries the entire Universe as its very material Cause: as mud in pots.

864. Aniyantaa –“One Who has none above Him to control Him.” He is the One Who has appointed all other controllers of the phenomenal forces as the Sun, the Moon, Air and Waters.

865. Aniyamah –“One Who is not under the laws of anyone else.” He is the Law and the only Law- Giver. It is His hand that governs the inscrutable and un- relenting laws of nature.

866. Ayamah –“One Who knows no death.” He is the Eternal: how can He know death? - the principle of death cannot act in Him. Within Time alone there is change or death. The Pure Consciousness is That which illumines the sense of time and so is beyond Time-beyond death.

Stanza 93

sattvavaan saattvikah satyah satyadharmaparaayanah
abhipraayah priyaarho-arhah priyakrit-preetivardhanah.

867. Sattvavaan –“One Who is full of exploits and courage.” Supremely adventurous, daring and heroic is Narayana-as witnessed in all His actions during all His Incarnations.

868. Saattvikah –“One Who is full of Saattvic qualities.” Quietude, tranquillity, peace-these are some of the saattvic qualities. Sattva is the creative-pause of the mind before it launches out into a burst of creative thoughts and action. Full of inspiration and meditative-poise is the Total-Mind, Sree Narayana.

869. Satyah –“Truth.” That which remains the same in the past, present and future is Truth. Self knows no change. It is ever in Its own Nature in all the three periods Time.

870. Satya-dharma-paraayanah - Who is the very abode of Truth and Righteousness.” Satyam (Truth) is ‘truthfulness in thought, speech and action. Dharma (Righteousness) is the injunctions regarding what is and what is not the duty to be fulfilled.

871. Abhipraayah –“One Who is faced by all seekers marching to the Infinite.” Or it can mean, “One who merges the entire world of plurality into Himself.”

872. Priyaarhah –“One Who deserves all our love.” Priya also expands its meaning into: “things we are supremely fond of,” therefore, the term, as it stands, may be read: “One Who deserves to be worshipped by His devotees with all that they are supremely fond of.” As an expression of our devotion we do offer to the Lord that which we love the most in life.

873. Arhah -Narayana is the One Who de to be worshipped by all devotees. He, being our very own self is the treasure-source of all our devotion. Thus He does from us all our surrender, love and reverence.

874. Priya-krit –“One who is ever-obliging in fulfilling our wishes” -One Who is anxiously eager for the well-being of all devotees. But the term can also yield just opposite meaning –“One who- destroys the wishes or disturbs the well-being of the wicked and the faithless.”

875. Preeti-vardhanah -The sense of drunken joy that arises in one’s bosom when one loves deeply and truly is called Preeti. “One who increases Preeti in the devotee’s heart” is Sree Narayana. The more He is contemplated upon, the more His glories are appreciated, thereby the more

Stanza 94

vihaayasagatirjyotih suruchirhutabhug vibhuh
ravirvirochanah sooryah savitaa ravilochanah.

876. Vihaayasa-gatih -The term Vihaayasa means pertaining to, depending on, the space-aerial. Gatih means one who moves. Therefore, in its totality, this name describes: “One who travels in space-having the nature of the Sun, Soorya-Narayana.”

877. Jyotih –“Effulgent with His own inherent Light.” The Lord as Consciousness is the ‘Light of all lights.’ “By Its Light all are brilliant: by Its Light all are illumined.” Sree Narayana is the Self-effulgent Atman, the Self.

878. Su-ruchih -The suffix ‘Su’ indicates Auspiciousness (sobhana): the term ‘Ruchi’ is Glory or Desire. The Glory of Lord Narayana is this world: it is His ‘desire’ (sankalpa) that manifests as the universe.

The Supreme Brahman, the Infinite Reality, functioning through the ‘Total- Vaasanaas,’ meaning the ‘Total-Causal- Body’ (Maayaa), is Lord, the Eesvara. So we are given the irrefutable scientific truth in the Sruti-declaration that the universe is the ‘will’ or ‘desire’ of Lord Narayana.

879. Huta-bhuk –“One Who receives and enjoys all that is offered into the sacred fire during the Vedic Rituals- Yajnas and Yaagas.” The faithful may offer oblations invoking his own special Deity, but it is the One Lord, Narayana Who receives them all, manifesting as the particular Deity invoked.

880. Vibhuh –“All-pervading.” Lord Narayana, the Self, is unconditioned by time or space for He is the Eternal, the Omnipresent. In His Absolute Nature, He is All-pervading as He is unlimited by any conditionings.

881. Ravih –“One Who absorbs the vapour (Rasa) from everything.” As the Soorya-Narayana, Sree dries up everything in the universe.

882. Virochanah –“One Who shines in different forms.” Whatever form the devotee chooses for contemplation upon Him, the Lord manifests in that very Form for the sake and joy of the devotee. Additionally it may be interpreted as “One Who Himself manifests as the Sun and the Moon and all other resplendent spheres in the Consmos.”

883. Sooryah -The term etymologically means the One Source from which all things have been born or out of which they have been delivered. The Lord as the First Cause is the Womb of the Universe. On the surface of the world it is the Sun that nurtures and nourishes all living creatures. It must be noted that many of the Lord’s names indicate or are associated with the sun –as he is like the sun in the solar System: the Centre around which the entire system revolves and by Whose benign rays, as the ‘Orb-of-all Energies’, He thrilling to life the infinitude of creatures.

884. Savitaa –the one who brings forth, from Himself, the me Self functioning through the sun is called savitaa.

885. Ravi-lochanah –“One Whose Eyes are the Sun.” In the Upanishad and the Geeta, the Viraat Form of the Lord (the Cosmic-Form) is described as having for His eyes the Sun and the Moon.

Stanza 95

ananto hutbhugbhoktaa sukhado naikajoagrajah
anirvinnah sadaamarshee lokaadhishthaanamadbhutah.

886. Anantah –“Endless.” One who is not conditioned by time and place is Self. In His All-pervading nature He is immortal, and thus Immutable.

887. Huta-bhuk –“One who accepts the things devotedly poured as oblation into the sacred Fire.” These oblations which may be in the name or any devataa, are all received by Narayana in the form of that devataa because He is the One Infinite Self Who plays in and through all forms, worldly and heavenly.

888. Bhoktaa –The One Who enjoys the world of objects-emotions-thoughts, through the equipments of body- mind-intellect is none other than the Self expressing through these ‘instruments-of-experiences’ as the individuality-constituted of the perceiver-feeler-thinker-ego.

The term Bhoktaa also means “One Who Protects” (the Universe)-as He is the very material Cause for the entire world of names and forms.

889. Sukha-dah  -“One Who gives the experience of Eternal Bliss to the devotees at their final spiritual destination-Moksha. As the term stands in the verse, some would read it-’ A-sukha-da’ in which case the nominative would mean: “One Who removes all the discomforts and pains of the devotees.”

890. Naikajah -Na-’not’; Eka-’once’; Ja ,-born.’ One who is born not only once, but many times, in many Forms, to serve the devotees in His different Incarnations. In fact, all births are all His manifestations alone as he is the Spark-of-Existence in the Universe of inert matter. Through all equipments He alone is the One Consciousness that dances Its Infinite Glories.

891. Agra-jah –“The One Who was First-Born.” Naturally, everything came from Him alone; this Primordial First Cause is the concept of God. That from which everything comes, in which everything exists and into which all things can again finally merge-'That' is conceived as God.

892. Anirvinnah –“One Who feels no disappointments”-Who has no chance to feel disappointment as He is ever the totally fulfilled. The agonising disgust with things that comes to a bosom when a burning desire is unfulfilled is called Nirveda. One who has no Nirveda is called Anirvinnah. He, being “Ever-full” and “Perfect,” has no desires yet unfulfilled or something yet to be fulfilled in the future. Bhagavan declares this in Geeta: “There is neither anything that I have not gained nor anything I have yet to gain.”

893. Sadaa-marshee –“One who ever forgives the trespasses of all His devotees” -One who is infinitely merciful and kind.

894. Loka-adhishthaanam -The one sole substratum for the entire Universe of things and beings.”

895. Adbhutah –“Wonder is He.” The Geeta roars of this 'wonder,' and the Upanishads assert that He and the teacher who teaches of Him, and even the student who grasps Him are all ‘wonders.’ “ Wonder” is an experience that comes to one whose mind and intellect are stunned by the overwhelming experience of any given moment. The experience has made the mind stagger, the intellect to halt-so that no feelings or thoughts emanate from them. That moment of realisation is a moment of total transcendence of the “inner- equipments,’ so this term “Wonder” is often used in our scriptures to point out the condition within at the time of our Experience Infinite.

Stanza 96

sanaat sanaatanatamah kapilah kapirapyayah
svastidah svastikrit svasti svastibhuk svastidakshinah.

896. Sanaat –“The Beginningless and the Endless factor is He.” Time cannot condition Him. He, the Consciousness, illumines the very concept of Time and Space. He was, is and shall ever be-He being Changeless, Immutable.

897. Sanaatanatamah –“The most Ancient.” It is from Him that the very intellect springs forth and thereafter one of the concepts of the intellect is Time. Therefore, He is the most’ Ancient,’ inasmuch as He was already there to be aware of even the first experience of the beginning of Time.

898. Kapilah -The Lord Himself, manifested as the great Rishi Kapila, propounded the Saamkhya philosophy. In the Geeta, Bhagavan Sree Krishna declaring His own Glory, describes Himself: “I am Kapila among the great ones.”

899. Kapih –“One Who drinks water” -by one’s rays. The Sun it is that dries up everything, evaporating the water-content contained on the surface of the earth.

900. Apyayah –“The One in whom the entire Universe merges”-during the great deluge when the Total- mind-the Creator-rests. The Supreme Atman functioning through the Total-mind is the Creator, Brahmaaji-each mind being ruled by its own vaasanaas. The Total-vaasanaas in the Universe (Causal-Body) is Maayaa and the Supreme Self expressing through Maayaa (the Total-Causal-Body) is Eesvara. Therefore, Sree Narayana, as Eesvara, is the One into Whom the total world of experiences merges when the Total-mind rests during the ‘pause’ between two busy cycles of Creation and involvement in the projected world of thoughts-feelings-objects.

In the north this term is read as Avyayah where the meaning is clear: “Immutable”: and needs no explanation.

901. Svasti-dah –“One Who gives Svasti to all His sincere devotees.” A true devotee is one who has discovered his fulfilment in seeking and gaining the Infinite Bliss that is Sree Hari. Naturally, he comes to turn away from the realms of inauspiciousness. To the extent he is able to move into the Hari-Consciousness, he is to that degree in the Bliss- Experience. Therefore, the Lord is termed as the ‘Giver-of- Auspiciousness. 

902. Svasti-krit -As in many earlier terms which were preceded by the suffix ‘ Krit,’ here also, it expands into two meanings: “One Who brings Auspiciousness” -or “One who robs all Auspiciousness.” To the seeker who is moving towards the Narayana-Consciousness, his experience is of added joy and peace in life, but the one who seeks only sense-gratification and so moves away from the Reality, to him the experience is more and more sorrow, agitations, tears and tragedies-total inauspiciousness. The indeclinable (Avyaya) Sanskrit word ‘Svasti’ means Auspiciousness.

903. Svasti –“One Who is the Source of all Auspiciousness” -as He is Himself the Auspicious. In essence His Nature is Sat-Chit-Aananda so there can be no cause for inauspiciousness therein. The individual functions within the powers of His avidyaa and so is under the infatuation of Maayaa, while the Lord rules over Maayaa and plays out through Maayaa.

904. Svasti-bhuk  -“One who constantly lives in His Experience a perpetual sense of holy Auspiciousness”-as it is His very nature-divine. It can also be interpreted as “One Who showers Grace and makes His devotees constantly experience Auspiciousness in their loving Narayana- centred hearts.”

905. Svasti-dakshinah -Lord is ever engaged in smartly distributing Auspiciousness. The word  ‘Dakshinaa’ has, apart from the meaning of ‘gift,’ also a meaning: “One who is efficient and quick.” Therefore, the term indicates that Sree Narayana quickly and efficiently will reach His sincere seekers to give them the experience of Auspiciousness which is the Lord’s very nature.