Vishnu Sahasranaam

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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’. (2) Vishnuh -The term Vishnu is dissolved as

Veveshti Vyaapnoti iti Vishnuh-That which pervades every- where is Vishnu.

That which has the nature of pervasiveness is Vishnu. He is the one who

pervades all and nothing ever pervades Him. ‘Eesaavaasyam Idam Sarvam’-All this

is indwelt, pervaded by the Lord. This very same idea is described in the

typical style of the Puranas, in the incarnation of the Lord as Vaamana, the

short-boy, who, with His three feet, measured the entire universe. Because of

this act, the Lord got the name Vishnu, says Mahaabhaarata. Vishnu Purana (3-1)

says: The root Vis means ‘to enter’. The entire world of things and beings is

pervaded by Him and the Upanishad emphatically insists in its mantra ‘whatever

that is there is the world of change’. Hence it means that He is not limited by

space (Desa), time (Kaala) or substance (Vastu).

justify;">(3) Vashatkaarah - ln the ritualistic portion of the Vedas we find

many mantras ending with ‘vashat’ and they are used in pouring devoted and

dedicated oblations. Thus the term Vashatkaara means: He who is invoked, and

for propitiating whom, the oblations are poured in Vedic ritualism, using

mantras ending with vashat. Also Vashatkaara can mean yajna in its association

and thus the term in its suggestion can signify ‘He who is of the form of the

Yajna’. In the Upanishads also we find this meaning endorsed when the Upanishad

mantra says: “Yajno vai Vishnuh” - Yajna itself is Vishnu. (4)

Bhoota-bhavya-bhavat-prabhuh - He who is the Lord (Prabhu) of the Past

(Bhooita), the Future (Bhavya) and the Present (Bhavat).

Time is the concept of the intellect; it expresses itself in the interval

between experiences. Experiences are registered as thoughts and thoughts are

ever changing. This very change is known and experienced by us. The knower of

the change must be something other than the change. Thus, He who is the

Illuminator of all changes, meaning the Consciousness (Aatman) is the Lord

Vishnu. He is the One who is not conditioned by time. (5) Bhoota-krit -The

Creator (Krit) of all creatures (Bhoota). This word can be dissolved in two

ways: (a) One who creates the creatures (Bhootaani Karoti iti Bhoota- Krit) or

(b) One who annihilates all creatures (Bhootaani Krindati iti Bhoota-krit). In

both these cases, Brahman, the Supreme is the One Reality

that seems to function as the Creator, Sustainer or Destroyer, when He functions

through different gunas in the Total-Mind. Functioning through a preponderance

in Rajoguna, He becomes the ‘Creator’; through Sattvaguna the ‘Sustainer’, and

through Tamoguna, He Himself expresses as the ‘Destroyer’. Subjectively, the

Atman functioning through my own mind and intellect is I, the individuality. My

personality entirely depends upon the quality and texture of my own thoughts. I

myself become according to the moods of my mind the creator, sustainer and

annihilator of my world of experiences. He who manifests and functions, in

these three aspects, is the Supreme Vishnu. (6) Bhoota-bhrit -One who nurtures

and nourishes all beings (living

creatures) in all their attitudes is this Great Reality and, therefore, He is

called as the Bhoota Bhrit. In Geeta there is an elaborate description of this

idea in the l5th Chapter where the Lord points out how, He, as the light in the

sun, fertility in the earth, growth in the plants, nourishment in food, heat in

fire, -becomes Himself the ‘eater’, and, therefore, how He Himself presides

over all the functions of the body and mind, and apparently nurtures and

nourishes the creatures, who are in fact nothing other than Himself. (7)

Bhaavah -One who ‘becomes’ (Bhavati iti Bhaavah) Himself into the movable and

the Immovable beings and things in the world. He is the Pure Existence in all

the sentient organisms and the insentient objects in the universe. Hence He is

indicated by the term Bhaavah. (8) Bhoolaalmaa -He is the Aatman of all the

beings: The very ‘Be’ in ill the living beings. Just as the same universal

space plays in all rooms as the room-space, or in all pots as the pot-space, so

the Infinite Life playing through any given vehicle is called the Aatman of the

vehicle. It is well known that space everywhere is one and the same; so too,

the One Reality sports as though different Aatmans. This One Universal Soul is

called in Vedanta the Supreme Brahman (Para-Brahman) .In Bhaagavata, the Lord

is addressed as “You are the One Self in all living creatures ever illumining

all their experiences.’’ In Kathopanishad: “The One enchanting Truth that

revels in every form manifesting in plurality”. (9) Bhoota-bhaavanah -One who

creates and multiplies the creatures; meaning the One, who is the cause for the

birth and who is

responsible for the growth of all living creatures. http://groups.msn.com/