10.10.07
Posted in Sri Visnusahasranama at 7:03 am by David Bruce Hughes
Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma, or the Beautiful Thousand Holy Names of Lord Viṣṇu, is a vital part of the theistic Vedic tradition. Its recitation is also one of the pillars of daily spiritual practice of the Vaiṣṇavas, especially in the Śrī sampradāya of South India. However, Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is revered by all bona fide Vaiṣṇava disciplic successions as a mahā-mantra, a great Vedic hymn capable of bestowing the highest benedictions upon the living entities.
We find the origin of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma in the Vedic literature as a section of Mahābhārata, the epic history of the incarnation of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes with His intimate associates, the Pāṇḍava kings of the Yadu dynasty. The divine sage Vyāsa, who the Vedic literature states is also an incarnation of Viṣṇu or God, composed Mahābhārata. Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is only one of many sections of deep spiritual import in Mahābhārata, which also includes the famous and beloved Bhagavad-gītā. Mahābhārata is therefore sometimes called “The Fifth Veda” because its narrative presents spiritual truths of fundamental importance to all followers of sanatana-dharma, the spiritual path of Vedic civilization.
The Gauḍiya disciplic succession
This edition of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is based on the Sanskrit manuscript and exegetical translation of Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, a great spiritual master of the Gauḍiya lineage. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the originator of this lineage, is none other than Kṛṣṇa Himself incarnating in the mood of His greatest devotee Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī: śrī kṛṣṇa caitanya rādhā-kṛṣṇa nāhi anya. Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, the most confidential servant of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was the spiritual master of Śrīla Rupa Gosvāmī. Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī is the direct disciple of Śrīla Rupa Gosvāmī, and his disciple is Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, the author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī accepted Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura as his personal disciple. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura was the spiritual master of Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, who accepted Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa, the original author of this version of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma, as his disciple. Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also accepted Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, the spiritual master of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s disciple was Śrīla Gaurakiśora dāsa Bābājī, the spiritual master of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī accepted as his direct disciple His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Prabhupāda, the spiritual master of the compiler of this edition. This edition of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is therefore presented strictly in accordance with the siddhānta or spiritual conclusion of the Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇava sampradāya.
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa appeared in a village near the city of Remunā, Orissa, in the late 1600s. Even though he was born the son a vaiśya (farmer), in his youth he still received a very thorough education in Sanskrit, rhetoric, logic and scripture. In his youth he accepted sannyāsa in the Madhva sampradāya, and staying in Jagannātha Purī, he quickly became prominent in intellectual circles. His study of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī’s Sandarbhas made him a follower of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He made a pilgrimage to the sacred sites of Navadvīpa, and spent the remainder of his life in Vrṇdāvana, studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other Vaiṣṇava scriptures under the guidance of his spiritual master, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura.
In 1706 Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura sent him to Galta (near Jaipur, India) to prove the authenticity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s movement. The Rāmānandīs (a local branch of the Śrī Vaiṣṇava sampradāya) argued that the Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavas, having no commentary on Vedānta-sūtra, were not a bona-fide disiplic lineage and therefore had no right to worship Govindajī or any of the other Deities of Vrṇdāvana.
By the grace of the Govindajī Deity, Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa swiftly compiled a wonderful commentary on Vedānta, Govinda-bhāsya. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa was a prolific and influential author of works in the Vedic tradition. His most important works are: Govinda-bhāsya, Siddhānta-ratna, Vedāntasyamantaka, Prameya-ratnavālī, Siddhānta-darpaṇa, Aisvaryakadāmbinī, Sahitya-kaumudī, Chandaḥ-kaustubha, Kavyakaustubha, Bhagavad-gītā-bhāsya, Vaiṣṇav-ānāndinī tīka (a commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam), as well as commenatries on Tattva-sandarbha, Stāva-mālā, Gopala-tapani Upaniṣad, Viṣṇusahasranāma, Laghu-bhagavatāmṛta, Naṭaka-candrika, and Śyāmānānda-ṣāṭaka.
Why Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma was Narrated
Many Vaiṣṇava devotees and other people throughout the world accept Bhagavad-gītā as the finest example of spiritual instruction. Bhagavad-gītā is, of course, a section of Mahābhārata. Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is part of the same work—Mahābhārata—written by the same author: Śrīla Vyāsadeva. To really understand the exalted purpose and deep meaning of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma, it is instructive to consider the context in which it is narrated in Mahābhārata.
After the great Battle of Kurukṣetra, King Yudhiṣṭhīra, the eldest of the five Paṇḍava brothers, was in great anxiety. As a sensitive and compassionate devotee, he was distraught at the tremendous death and suffering caused by the war, which was fought in part to protect his claim to the throne of the Kuru dynasty. Śrī Bhīśma was lying on his deathbed of arrows. Yudhiṣṭhīra’s dear grandfather was dying. With Bhīśma’s passing, his spiritual wisdom, distilled from the experiences of his long life of virtue, righteousness and devotion, would soon be lost. Yudhiṣṭhīra, now emperor of a vast empire, would be bereft of his guidance.
Vyāsadeva the incarnation of God as a great sage, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa the Supreme Personality of Godhead both advised Yudhiṣṭhīra, himself an epitome of righteousness and virtue, to approach Bhīśma and seek his advice on all subjects on which he had any doubts. Yudhiṣṭhīra, with characteristic humility, did as Kṛṣṇa advised, and a series of intense and poignant dialogs between him and Bhīśma ensued, witnessed by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and by many other great personalities including Vyāsadeva and Lord Śiva.
In one of these conversations, Yudhiṣṭhīra asked Bhīśma for the easiest and best means by which mankind can attain lasting happiness, peace of mind, and relief from all bondage and sorrow. Driven by his conscientious, responsible approach to his duty of ruling over his kingdom, Yudhiṣṭhīra was, in effect, asking Bhīśma to help him establish a state policy for management of religious affairs that would maximize the spiritual benefit for the citizens. In response Bhīśma imparted Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma with the eternal spiritual welfare of the general population in mind.
The commentaries of the great ācāryas on Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma (over forty of them are extant) generally identify six reasons for its greatness:
- Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is the essence of Mahābhārata.
- Great sages such as Nārada, the Alwars, and composers such as Tyāgarāja have made repeated references to Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma in their devotional works.
- Śrīla Vedavyāsa—who composed Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma, included it in Mahābhārata and thus preserved it for the benefit of the whole world— was celebrated as the foremost knower of the Vedas, and respected as an incarnation of Viṣṇu (vyāsāya viṣṇu rupāya vyāsa rupāya viṣṇave namo).
- The conclusive opinion of Bhīśma was that chanting the Holy Name of the Lord is the best and easiest of all dharmas or spiritual practices, and the most reliable means to attain relief from all material bondage. Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is composed entirely of these Holy Names.
- It is widely accepted in Vedic society that chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma indeed gives relief from all sorrows and bestows happiness and peace of mind.
- Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is in perfect conformity with the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Caitanya-caritāmṛta and all other Vedic literature.
These reasons for the prominence of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma become all the more understandable when we consider the great personalities involved in its revelation. An extraordinary person’s advice was being sought. An extraordinary person was seeking the advice, and he was doing so at the request of most extraordinary persons. Bhīśma was the son of the Mother Gaṅgā, who purifies even the great souls. He was a great king sanctified by his unswerving devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa, who had controlled and conquered all his senses. Yudhiṣṭhīra was the son of dharma personified, and himself a great practitioner of justice, righteousness, truthfulness, honesty and integrity. Vyāsa is the knower of all Vedas and the wisdom incarnation of the Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.
The result was no less than the revelation of the easiest and best means to achieve happiness and peace of mind to Yudhiṣṭhīra by Bhīśma. Certainly, no other justification is needed to recognize the greatness of the benediction imparted to the human race through the revelation of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma.
But there is more. In kali-yuga the present historical age, the traditional Vedic self-realization processes of meditation, yoga practice, agnihotra-yajña and Deity worship are difficult or impossible to perform properly. This leaves the vast majority of people without any access to a bona fide process of spiritual advancement for ultimate liberation from material suffering.
That the average person would be disqualified from self-realization because of the inebrieties of kali-yuga was as intolerable to the compassionate Yudhiṣṭhīra as it was to Bhīśma, Vyāsa and Lord Kṛṣṇa. Yudhiṣṭhīra wanted a definite solution to this serious problem that he could pass down to the successors of his dynasty to benefit future generations of the citizens. Bhīśma understood this, and gave Yudhiṣṭhīra the process that was to become the yuga-dharma in kali-yuga: nāma-saṅkīrtana or the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord. In the Padma Purāṇa Lord Śiva is quoted as saying to Pārvatī, ārādhanānāṁ sarveṣāṁ viṣṇor ārādhanaṁ param: “Worshiping Lord Viṣṇu is the supreme process of worship.” And the authorized process for worshiping Lord Viṣṇu in kaliyuga is chanting His Holy Names:
yajnaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prayair yajanti hi sumedhaṣaḥ
“In kali-yuga, those who are intelligent perform the saṅkīrtana-yajña, the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord.” [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.5.32]
And in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, in the section describing the reasons for the incarnation of Kṛṣṇa as Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, we find the following statement by Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself:
yuga-dharma pravartāimu nāma-saṅkīrtana
cāri bhāva-bhakti diyā nācāmu bhuvana
Lord Kṛṣṇa declared: “I shall personally inaugurate the religion of the age: nāma-saṅkīrtana, the congregational chanting of the Holy Name. I shall make the world dance in ecstasy, realizing the four mellows of loving devotional service.” [Adi-lila 3.19]
Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s object in compiling an expanded translation of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma was to show that one can understand every Holy Name of Viṣṇu also to be a Holy Name of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. According to some Vaiṣṇavas who are devotees of Viṣṇu or Nāṛāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇa is an incarnation of Viṣṇu. Indeed this is true, since Kṛṣṇa, in His later pastimes in Mathurā and Dvārakā acted as the yuga-avatāra for the dvāpara-yuga, a function of Viṣṇu. However, in His youthful pastimes in Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa also revealed the most confidential transcendental form, character and pastimes of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, the source of even Lord Viṣṇu. This is confirmed in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:
ete cāṁśa-kalāḥ puṁsaḥ
kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam
indrāri-vyākulaṁ lokaṁ
mṛḍayanti yuge yuge
“All the lists of the incarnations of Godhead submitted herewith are either plenary expansions or parts of the plenary expansions of the Supreme Godhead, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.” [Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 1.3.28]
In the Brahmā-saṁhītā it is stated:
īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ
anādir ādir govindaḥ
sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam
“There are many personalities possessing the qualities of Bhagavān, but Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme because none can excel Him. He is the Supreme Person, and His body is eternal, full of knowledge and bliss. He is the primeval Lord Govinda and the cause of all causes.” [Brahmā-saṁhītā 5.1]
And Kṛṣṇa Himself declares in Bhagavad-gītā:
mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya
mayi sarvam idaṁ protaṁ sūtre maṇi-gaṇā iva
“O conqueror of wealth [Arjuna], there is no Truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread.” [Bhagavad-gītā 7.7]
Śrīla Prabhupāda explains this point elaborately in his summary study of the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam:
“In order to convince Brahmā that all those cows, calves and boys were not the original ones, the cows, calves, and boys who were playing with Kṛṣṇa transformed into Viṣṇu forms. Actually, the original ones were sleeping under the spell of Brahmā’s mystic power, but the present ones, seen by Brahmā, were all immediate expansions of Kṛṣṇa, or Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu is the expansion of Kṛṣṇa, so the Viṣṇu forms appeared before Brahmā. All the Viṣṇu forms were of bluish color and dressed in yellow garments; all of Them had four hands decorated with club, disc, lotus flower and conchshell. On Their heads were glittering golden-jeweled helmets; They were bedecked with pearls and earrings and garlanded with beautiful flowers. On Their chests was the mark of Śrīvatsa; Their arms were decorated with armlets and other jewelry. Their necks were smooth just like a conchshell, Their legs were decorated with bells, Their waists decorated with golden bells, and Their fingers decorated with jeweled rings. Brahmā also saw that upon the whole body of Lord Viṣṇu, fresh tulāsī buds were thrown, beginning from His lotus feet up to the top of the head. Another significant feature of the Viṣṇu forms was that all of Them were looking transcendentally beautiful. Their smiling resembled the moonshine, and Their glancing resembled the early rising of the sun.” [Kṛṣṇa, The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Chapter 13]
That so many Viṣṇu forms expanded from Lord Kṛṣṇa is a clear proof that Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate Supreme personality of Godhead and the source even of Lord Viṣṇu. Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa wrote his translation of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma from the understanding that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, as accepted by both the author Śrīla Vyāsadeva and the narrator Śrī Bhīśma. Thus he has expanded upon the literal Sanskrit meanings of the Names to indicate their relation to Kṛṣṇa’s incarnations, qualities and pastimes.
He also compiled commentaries drawn from the Vedic literature to support these expansions, which we have not included herein. The philosophically inclined reader interested in an English translation of Baladeva’s complete commentary may consult my Godbrother Kuśakratha dāsa’s excellent work on the subject published by The Krishna Institute.
Avoiding Offenses to the Holy Name
The bliss of the Holy Name is the highest benediction. The limited happiness of wealth, sense enjoyment, piety or even liberation cannot compare with it. Anything one may desire is obtainable from the Holy Name, for there is no difference between the Holy Name and Kṛṣṇa Himself. All the Vedic scriptures confirm this. Real happiness, peace, and relief from all difficulties are easily obtainable by nāma-bhajan, and this result is eternal.
If this is so, then why do we need to chant again and again? There is no imperfection or fault in the Holy Name, and His purifying effect is certain and immediate. But like intoxicated elephants, after we bathe our minds and hearts by chanting, we again smear them with the mud of our attachments and desires.
As conditioned souls we have a tendency to fall down into material consciousness. We must not only learn the art of chanting nicely, but also of clearing the mentality that habitually contaminates the eternal bliss that is its natural result.
Avoiding nāma-aparāha or offenses to the Holy Name is the only way to retain the eternal benedictions of chanting. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, one of the founders of our disciplic lineage, instructs that we should chant the Holy Name of the Lord continuously and loudly, and it should be performed offenselessly, as recommended in the Padma Purāṇa.
One can be delivered from the effects of all sins by surrendering himself unto the Lord. One can be delivered from all offenses at the feet of the Lord by taking shelter of His Holy Name. But one cannot be delivered if one commits an offense at the feet of the Holy Name of the Lord, for chanting the Holy Name is itself the process of deliverance. Ten such offenses are mentioned in the Padma Purāṇa.
The first offense is to vilify the great devotees who have preached about the glories of the Lord. Blasphemy of the pure devotees is the most serious of the offenses that deprive us of the benefit of chanting. The self-realized pure devotee is not an ordinary human being, but is an authorized representative of the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As such, he has the power to award pure devotional service to Kṛṣṇa, which is the key to spiritual liberation and eternal happiness. One should not regard the pure devotee with a critical or envious attitude, since this can place formidable obstacles in one’s path of spiritual advancement. It is better not to become too familiar with the pure devotee, but to maintain some formality of respect with him. This will help prevent us from committing offenses by cultivating a service attitude.
The second offense is to see the Holy Names of the Lord in terms of worldly distinction. The Lord is the proprietor of all the universes, and therefore He may be known in different places by different Names, but that does not in any way qualify the fullness of the Lord. Any nomenclature that is meant for the Supreme Lord is as holy as the others because it is meant for the Lord. All the transcendental Holy Names are as powerful as the Lord, and there is no bar for anyone in any part of the creation to chant and glorify the Lord by the particular Holy Names of the Lord as they are locally understood. All of His Holy Names are absolute and allauspicious, and one should not distinguish among different Holy Names of the Lord as one does with material objects and their names.
The third offense is to neglect the orders of the authorized ācāryas or spiritual masters. There are many authorized spiritual masters in the disciplic lineage or paramparā, and all of them have given wonderful instructions capable of saving the entire world. If we follow these instructions we will be benefited, even if we do not understand them. For example, the Vaiṣṇava spiritual masters are unanimous in their glorification of worship of the holy tulāsī plant as a means to achieve pure devotional service. It does not matter if one cannot understand how offering prayers and water to a plant can bestow spiritual advancement. If we follow the instruction without argument, we will gain the benefit. When we become spiritually qualified, Kṛṣṇa will reveal the purpose of all devotional instructions and practices from within our hearts. Our duty is to follow in the footsteps of the great souls in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
The fourth offense is to vilify the scriptures or Vedic knowledge. Although there are many statements in the scriptures that are difficult for us to comprehend, we should not adopt a critical attitude because these are not ordinary books. The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam tells us that the Vedas are originally manifested from the breathing of the Supreme Lord Nārāyaṇa. And in Bhagavad-gītā, Kṛṣṇa declares that He alone is the true knower of the deep import of the Vedas. The Vedic literature is extremely elevated and pure. Its purpose is the salvation of all living entities from the suffering of material existence. Thus it is meant for our eternal benefit, and we should be careful not to underestimate its value.
The fifth offense is to define the Holy Name of the Lord in terms of one’s mundane calculation. The Holy Name of the Lord is identical with the Lord Himself, therefore one should understand the Holy Name to be nondifferent from Him. We have discussed this point elaborately with evidence from the Vedic scriptures in the Preface of this work. Nevertheless, in the beginning stage of devotion, it is often difficult to see how this is so. The best policy is to accept provisionally that the Holy Name of the Lord is identical with Him, on the strength of the word of the great souls who have passed this truth down to us, and trust that when we are sufficiently purified we will be able to realize it for ourselves.
The sixth offense is to interpret the Holy Name. The Lord is not imaginary, nor is His Holy Name. There are persons with a poor fund of knowledge who think the Lord to be an imagination of the worshiper and therefore think His Holy Name to be imaginary. Such a chanter of the Name of the Lord cannot achieve the desired success in the matter of chanting the Holy Name. There is no material significance or hidden meaning to the Holy Names of the Lord. To speculate otherwise is offensive. The real truth about the Holy Name of the Lord is extensively discussed in the authorized Vedic scriptures. No other interpretation is needed.
The seventh offense is to commit sins intentionally on the strength of the Holy Name. In the scriptures it is said that one can be liberated from the effects of all sinful actions simply by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord. One who takes advantage of this transcendental purification, yet continues to commit sins on the expectation of neutralizing their effects by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, is the greatest offender at the feet of the Holy Name. Such an offender cannot purify himself by any other method of purification. In other words, one may be sinful before chanting the Holy Name of the Lord, but after taking shelter in the Holy Name of the Lord and becoming immune, one should strictly restrain from committing further sinful acts with a hope that chanting the Holy Name will give him protection.
The eighth offense is to consider the Holy Name of the Lord and His chanting method to be equal to some material auspicious activity. There are various kinds of good works for material benefits recommended in the scriptures, but the Holy Name and His chanting are not merely auspicious holy services. Undoubtedly the Holy Name is holy service, but He should never be utilized for such selfish purposes. Since the Holy Name and the Lord are one and the same, one should not try to bring the Holy Name into the service of mankind. The point here is that the Supreme Lord is the Supreme Enjoyer. He is no one’s servant or order supplier. Since the Holy Name of the Lord is identical with the Lord, one should not try to utilize the Holy Name for one’s material benefit. The real purpose of chanting the Holy Name is to attain pure devotional service to the Lord.
The ninth offense is to instruct those who are not interested in chanting the Holy Name of the Lord about the transcendental nature of the Holy Name. If such instruction is imparted to an unwilling audience, this act is considered to be an offense at the feet of the Holy Name. The reason for this is that by forcing the issue, one has created a bad impression in the minds of the audience about the Holy Name. This impediment will delay their acceptance of the chanting process and can lead to offenses against devotees. Since the Holy Name is meant for the spiritual benefit of the living entities, preaching the glories of the Holy Name to an unwilling audience goes against the Lord’s actual purpose for manifesting the Holy Name in human society.
The tenth offense is to become uninterested in or inattentive to the Holy Name of the Lord, neglecting one’s chanting even after understanding the wonderful transcendental nature of the Holy Name. The effect of chanting the Holy Name of the Lord is liberation from the conception of false egoism. False egoism is thinking oneself to be the enjoyer of the world and thinking everything in the world to be meant for one’s enjoyment. The whole materialistic world is moving under the false egoism of “I” and “mine,” but the factual effect of chanting the Holy Name is to become free from such misconceptions. If one begins the chanting process but then stops due to a mundane conception of life, this is an offense. One should maintain chanting and hearing the Holy Name of the Lord continuously, until the process of purification is complete.
The best protection against committing offenses to the Holy Name of the Lord is to have firm faith in the instructions of the scriptures and of one’s personal spiritual master. One should continue the regular daily chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord with patience, diligence and enthusiasm. It is wonderful if one can accept initiation from a bona fide spiritual master in the disciplic succession from Kṛṣṇa Himself. If possible one should give up all material activities and join the mission of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya’s process, harināma-saṅkītana, is to chant and hear the Holy Name, topics related to the glories of the Lord and His Holy Name, literature such as Bhagavad-gītā, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Caitanya-caritāmrta, and nice songs glorifying pure devotional service continuously in the association of like-minded devotees, until the self-effulgent glory of the Holy Name becomes self-manifest in one’s consciousness.
At that point, all the elaborate philosophical instructions of the scriptures that we have summarized herein are reduced to a simple matter of experience, and the glories of the Holy Name of the Lord become self-evident. One who has tasted the full nectar of the Holy Name automatically avoids the ten offenses to the Holy Name, and his path to complete spiritual enlightenment becomes straight and clear.
It is our fond hope that the readers of this volume will apply these truths and instructions to make their own lives perfect in spiritual realization. Certainly, anyone who chants the Holy Name of the Lord even once is a great soul worthy of all respect and praise:
yan-nāmadheya-śravaṇānukīrtanād
yat-prahvaṇād yat-smaraṇād api kvacit
śvādo ‘pi sadyaḥ savanāya kalpate
kutaḥ punas te bhagavan nu darṣanāt
“To say nothing of the spiritual advancement of persons who see the Supreme Person face-to-face, even a person born in a family of dog-eaters immediately becomes eligible to perform Vedic sacrifices if he once utters the Holy Name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead or chants about Him, hears about His pastimes, offers Him obeisances or even remembers Him.” [Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.33.6]
Once begun, the process of hearing and chanting inevitably continues, clearing the mirror of the mind of all misconceptions until the chanter attains the perfection of spiritual realization. Long before achieving that exalted destination, all material pangs will have been erased by the potent purifying action of the Holy Name. We wish the reader all good fortune on this most auspicious progressive journey to the most wonderful state of pure Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Introduction to Sri Visnusahasranama [33:23m]:
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10.09.07
Posted in Sri Visnusahasranama at 6:59 am by David Bruce Hughes
This temporary material existence is full of suffering.
Everyone in this world is suffering from the problems of material life. There is no exception. The root cause of the suffering of material existence is constant transmigration of the soul from one body to another.
Even if one does not accept the truth of reincarnation, still it is a fact that we take birth in an infant body, then transmigrate from a baby body to the body of a child, to an adolescent body, then to an adult body, to a middle-aged body, and at last to the body of an old man or woman. Finally the present body is subjected to death. Yet through all these transformations or transmigrations, the identity of the living entity remains the same. So transmigration of the soul to different bodies happens even within this life. Everyone experiences that these changes of body are causes of suffering to the embodied living entity.
We do not want to suffer, nor do we want to transmigrate to different material bodies. We do not want our consciousness or activities to change, our relationships to end or our bodies to die. By nature we are free, eternal, blissful spiritual beings. We naturally desire to have an eternal existence in a perfect body full of knowledge and pleasure. We want to expand our activities and enjoyment unlimitedly in an atmosphere of freedom, understanding and love. This is our real spiritual nature.
But at present our eternal spiritual nature is covered by a temporary material body. By the laws of nature we are not free, for the type of body we inhabit and its stage of bodily existence condition our experience in every way. In material existence, our bodily condition totally determines our range of action, thought and consciousness.
Like every material phenomenon, the body goes through the stages of creation, gestation, birth, growth, production of byproducts, deterioration and death. One may have performed good works and consequently find oneself in a relatively comfortable material condition, or one may be in anunfortunate condition due to impious activities. But no matter what kind of karma one may have created for oneself, the universal sufferings of birth, old age, disease and death are as inevitable as they are abominable.
This conditional life of suffering in material existence—the involuntary repetition of birth, old age, disease and death—is called saṁsāra. Saṁsāra is uncontrollable, like a blazing forest fire. A forest fire ignites automatically by lightning, and to extinguish it is beyond human power. The raging forest fire can be extinguished only by another natural force, when there is an ample downpour of rainwater. We are helpless before the powerful manifestations of material nature like forest fires and rainstorms. No one can stop them.
imilarly we are helpless to stop the suffering of saṁsāra, unless we are fortunate enough to receive the mercy of God in the form of His Holy Names. Saṁsāra-dāvānala-līḍha-lokatrāṇāya kāruṇya-ghanāghanatvam: Like the cooling downpour of rain from a storm cloud, hearing the Holy Names of the Lord from the self-realized spiritual master and chanting them offenselessly extinguishes the blazing fire of saṁsāra by eliminating the root cause of material suffering.
This book and companion CD of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma contain these Holy Names, which are the remedy for the suffering of materially conditioned existence. Śrī means beautiful on account of being full of spiritual qualities; Viṣṇu is the Sanskrit Name of God, the omnipotent, omnipresent Creator and Master of the universe; and sahasra-nāma means a thousand Names. So Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma means “A thousand spiritually beautiful Names of God.” Actually God is unlimited, and therefore He has an infinite number of Holy Names. These thousand Names are just the most prominent and beneficial of His Holy Names. They are so powerful that anyone who simply hears or chants them regularly, with faith, becomes relieved of all material suffering.
How is this possible? By the power of transcendental sound.
Any terminology indicating God or the Supreme is not an ordinary sound vibration of this material world. Viṣṇu or God is the Supreme Absolute Truth. The unique quality of the Absolute is that everything connected to Him, such as His Names, forms, abode, pastimes, associates, and the narration of His glories, is also on the same absolute platform.
oṁ pūrṇam adaḥ pūrṇam idaṁ
pūrṇāt pūrṇam udacyate
pūrnāsya pūrṇam ādāya
pūrṇam evāvaśiṣyate
“May we invoke auspiciousness by offering our respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord. The Personality of Godhead is perfect and complete, and because He is completely perfect, all emanations from Him, such as this phenomenal world, are perfectly equipped as complete wholes. Whatever is produced of the Complete Whole is also complete in itself. Because He is the Complete Whole, even though so many complete units emanate from Him, He remains the complete balance.” [Śrī Īṣopaniṣad, Invocation]
Since He is absolute, His Holy Names are also absolute. Therefore the Holy Names of Viṣṇu or Kṛṣṇa are identical in spiritual quality and potency with Kṛṣṇa (God) Himself. Like Him, they are complete and perfect. Since Kṛṣṇa and His Holy Names are identical in properties and power, His Holy Names are eternally pure and immune to all material contamination.
More than that, they embody the purifying and enlightening power of Godhead in the form of transcendental sound. The Lord is personally present in the transcendental sound of His Holy Names. The association of the Supreme Lord is indescribably blissful; it bestows spiritual opulence and causeless knowledge of the Absolute Truth. Therefore we can be relieved of all material difficulties simply by chanting these beautiful Holy Names of the Lord.
Unfortunately, otherwise intelligent people who are bewildered by the complex combination of anxieties and suffering in material existence often find it difficult to appreciate the simple process of chanting the Holy Names, which is free from all anxiety. They cannot comprehend that there can be a class of absolute nomenclature beyond limited, relative knowledge and temporary conditional existence.
Any name that represents a temporary object of this material world may be subjected to critical arguments, inductive speculation and experimental verification. Thus all relative conclusions created by material mental speculation are subject to uncertainty. But in the absolute world a person and his name, the fame and the famous, the actor and the act are identical. Similarly the qualities, pastimes, abode, associates, Names and everything else pertaining to the Absolute Supreme Personality of Godhead are also spiritual and absolute in quality. This is transcendental knowledge beyond all uncertain processes of inductive speculation. And since this absolute knowledge is received through the descending process of paramparā, or disciplic succession from the Lord Himself, there is no uncertainty or speculation. This is the eternal, unchanging Absolute Truth.
Actually, the Holy Name is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, manifesting as a transcendental vibration. The Holy Name is completely different from material sound: golokera prema-dhana, hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana: “The transcendental vibration of chanting the Holy Names descends from the spiritual abode of Kṛṣṇa.” Materialists who are addicted to experimental knowledge and so-called ‘scientific method’ have difficulty placing their faith in the chanting of the Holy Names. Nevertheless it is a fact that one can be freed from all material suffering simply by chanting the Holy Names without offense. Let anyone who doubts this assertion subject it to their experimental verification by chanting regularly according to the prescribed process and carefully observing the result.
The spiritual world is called Vaikuṇṭha, which means “without anxiety.” In material consciousness everything is uncertain and temporary, and therefore everyone is full of anxiety (sakuṇṭha). In the spiritual world Vaikuṇṭha, everything is known and certain by the causeless mercy of the Lord. Birth, old age, disease and death are nonexistent there, and therefore everyone there is free from all anxiety. Chanting the Holy Names gives us the opportunity to transfer our existence to the Vaikuṇṭha world, where we can exist eternally without any suffering. This occurs as soon as we change from the material conditioned platform of consciousness to blissful Vaikuṇṭha consciousness through chanting the Holy Names.
Unfortunate people in material consciousness are not very enthusiastic to chant the Holy Names of the Lord, just as a patient suffering from jaundice does not relish the taste of sugar candy, even though sugar candy is the specific medicine for jaundice. Nevertheless, chanting the Holy Name of the Lord is the only effective remedy for ending the material suffering of the conditioned soul. Although chanting the Holy Name of the Lord may not be very palatable for people suffering from the disease of material existence, anyone who wants to be cured of the material disease must do it with great care and attention.
Even among people who accept the spiritual path, there are many who are frustrated by pursuing processes of self-realization that are impractical in this fallen, contaminated age. In the present age the vibration of the Holy Names of the Lord is the only yoga process that can actually help one attain a transcendental position, beyond all material contamination.
harer nāma harer nāma harer nāmaiva kevalam
kalau nāstyeva nāstyeva nāstyeva gatir anyathā
“Chant the Holy Name [in the neophyte stage], chant the Holy Name [in the clearing stage], certainly you must chant the Holy Name [in the liberated stage of life] constantly. In the Age of Kali there is no other way [by the austere yoga practices recommended for the Satya-yuga], no other way [by the elaborate Vedic sacrifices recommended for the Treta-yuga], no other way [by the opulent Deity worship recommended for the Dvārapa-yuga] to attain the ultimate destination [of the personal association of the Lord].” [Bṛhan-nāradīya Purāṇa]
For progress in spiritual life, the Vedic scriptures recommend austerity and meditation in Satya-yuga, sacrifice for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu in Treta-yuga and gorgeous worship of the Lord in the temple in Dvāpara-yuga, but in the Age of Kali one can achieve spiritual progress only by chanting the Holy Name of the Lord. This is confirmed in many scriptures.
For example, in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.3.51 it is said, kaler doṣa-nidhe rājann asti hy eko mahān guṇaḥ kīrtanād eva kṛṣṇasya mukta-saṅgaḥ paraṁ vrajet: “In the Age of Kali there are many faults, for people are subjected to many miserable conditions, yet in this age there is one great benediction: simply by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra one can be freed from all material contamination and thus be elevated to the spiritual world.”
The Nārada-pañcarātra also praises the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra as follows:
trayo vedaḥ ṣaḍ-aṅgāni chandāṁsi vividhāḥ surāḥ
sarvaṁ aṣṭākṣarāntaḥsthaṁ yac cānyad api vāṅ-mayam
sarva-vedānta-sārārthah saṁsārārṇava-tāraṇaḥ
“The essence of all Vedic knowledge—comprehending the three kinds of Vedic activity [karma-kāṇḍa, jñāna-kāṇḍa and upasāna-kāṇḍa], the chandas, or Vedic hymns, and the processes for satisfying the demigods—is included in the eight syllables Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa. This is the reality of all Vedānta. The chanting of the Holy Name is the only means to cross the ocean of nescience.”
Similarly, the Kali-santaraṇa Upaniṣad states,
hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare
hare rāma hare rāma rāma rāma hare hare
iti ṣoḍaśakaṁ nāmnāṁ kali-kalmaṣa-nāśanam
nātaḥ parataropāyaḥ sarva-vedeṣu dṛśyate
“Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare; Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare—these sixteen names composed of thirty-two syllables are the only means to counteract the evil effects of Kali-yuga. In all the Vedas it is seen that to cross the ocean of nescience there is no alternative to the chanting of the Holy Name.”
Śrī Mādhvācārya, in his commentary upon the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad, quotes the following śloka from the Nārāyaṇa Saṁhitā:
dvāparīyair janair viṣṇuḥ pañcarātrais tu kevalaiḥ
kalau tu nāma-mātreṇa pūjyate bhagavān hariḥ
“In the Dvāpara-yuga one could satisfy Kṛṣṇa or Viṣṇu only by worshiping Him gorgeously according to the pañcarātrikī [Deity worship] system, but in the Age of Kali one can worship and satisfy the Supreme Personality of Godhead Hari only by chanting His Holy Name.”
Since the Holy Name can deliver the conditioned soul from all material suffering, it is called sarva-mantra-sāra, the essence of all Vedic hymns. However, one should receive the Holy Name from the pure devotee who is fully engaged in the loving devotional service of the Lord. One who has a merely academic interest in religion, or who poses as a great spiritual teacher merely for the sake of transient name, fame, profit and cheap adoration from the innocent public, cannot impart the real thing.
he Holy Name is most effective when heard from a self-realized teacher situated in the paramparā (disciplic succession) from Kṛṣṇa Himself:
evaṁ paramparā-prāptam
imaṁ rājarṣayo viduḥ
“This supreme science was thus received through the chain of disciplic succession, and the saintly kings understood it in that way.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.2]
A self-realized spiritual master is not an ordinary human being, but is fully qualified to act as the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. How to approach such a spiritual master is also described:
tad viddhi praṇipātena paripraśnena sevayā
upadekṣyanti te jñānaṁ jñāninas tattva-darśinaḥ
“Just try to learn the truth by approaching a spiritual master. Inquire from him submissively and render service unto him. The self-realized soul can impart knowledge unto you because he has seen the truth.” [Bhagavad-gītā 4.34]
One should fully accept all these merciful scriptural instructions of the Lord as one’s purpose in life to quickly perfect one’s self-realization and put an end to all misery. Hearing and chanting the Holy Names of the Lord is the only effective medicine for the disease of material suffering. Anyone in material conditioned existence can cleanse their consciousness from all material contamination and find relief from all misconceptions by this simple process (ceto-darpaṇamārjanam).
Avidyā or ignorance is simply a misconception about one’s actual spiritual identity. This misconception provides the foundation for ahaṅkāra, or false ego within the heart. The real cause of all our suffering is the contamination of material identification within the heart. If we cleanse our heart, if we cleanse our consciousness of this false identification with temporary material designations, the material disease can no longer affect us. This is actual self-realization. The chanting of the Holy Names of the Lord quickly cleanses the consciousness and heart from all misconceptions, and the ever-fresh taste of transcendental nectar arises spontaneously within the mind. It is both easy and beneficial. By chanting the nectarean Holy Names, one is immediately freed from the blazing fire of material existence by the blissful personal association of the Lord.
For those who are already Vaiṣṇavas
This edition and companion CD are designed both for new practitioners, and for those who are already devotees of Kṛṣṇa and want to add chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma to their personal spiritual practice. Why would anyone who is an initiated disciple of a Vaiṣṇava spiritual master and already chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra also want to chant Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma? The answer is that although Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma is also composed entirely of the Holy Names of the Lord, the result of chanting it is different from the result of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
It is well known among Vaiṣṇavas that chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra provides no material result whatsoever, but leads to the awakening of pure love of Godhead. This is wonderful and provides the highest benediction to the entire world. However, while developing spiritual qualifications during the neophyte stage of devotional service, devotees often experience material difficulty. Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma provides an authorized Vedic spiritual method for relieving such impediments.
Anyone who is chanting the Holy Name with offenses will certainly encounter obstacles in their devotional service. These compose one class of hindrances on the path of spiritual enlightenment. The scriptures say that the cure for this class of obstacles is simply to continue the chanting process according to the instructions of one’s spiritual master and rely on the purifying power of the Holy Name.
But we often find that kṛṣṇa-bhaktas have material difficulties in their lives from unfinished material karma, unrelated to offenses in their spiritual practices. These problems are difficult to address without descending to the material platform, which is distasteful to devotees whose self-realization practice has given them a taste for the purity of spiritual energy. Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma provides a unique spiritual remedy for this class of material obstacles. Consider this passage from the phala-śruti, the section of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma that narrates the results of chanting it:
“Anyone who hears and chants these thousand Holy Names of Lord Viṣṇu will not suffer in an inauspicious condition of life, either in this life or in the next. By chanting these thousand Holy Names of Lord Viṣṇu a brāhmaṇa will become learned in all Vedic scriptures, a kṣatriya will become victorious over all his enemies, a vaiśya will become wealthy, and a śūdra will become happy. By chanting these thousand Holy Names of Lord Viṣṇu, one who desires religious merit will attain great pious credit, one who desires wealth will become wealthy, one who desires opulent arrangements for sense gratification will attain them, and one who desires to father a great dynasty will also attain his aim. … One who chants the thousand Holy Names of Lord Viṣṇu very nicely will attain unlimited fame and become the most prominent of all his kinsmen. He will attain everlasting opulence, and he will also attain the supreme auspiciousness. He will become courageous and free from fear, and he will become a leader, controlling others. He will become healthy, handsome and majestic in appearance, physically strong, and full of all good qualities. One who is sick will become free from his disease, and one who is in prison or some other bondage will become free. One who is frightened because of a wicked enemy will become free from his fear, and one who is suffering from a calamity will become free from calamity. Anyone who regularly glorifies the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Viṣṇu with devotion by chanting these thousand Holy Names will quickly become free from the horrible karmic effects of many sins. He takes shelter of Lord Vāsudeva and becomes very attached to Him. He becomes purified of all sins, and he attains the association of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. No actually inauspicious condition is ever imposed on the devotees of Lord Vāsudeva, and therefore they do not fear having to take birth in this world to again suffer the miserable conditions of old age, disease and death. One who carefully studies these prayers with great faith and devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa becomes full of the happiness attained by spiritual realization. He becomes tolerant of the temporary happiness and distress of material existence. He attains the opulence of renunciation, patient control of the senses, and constant meditation on Kṛṣṇa. Because of this spiritual opulence he attains great fame. The devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Kṛṣṇa who perform the devotional service of chanting these one thousand Holy Names of the Lord become free from anger, envy, greed, and all wicked thoughts… One who desires to attain actual happiness and auspiciousness should regularly hear and chant this prayer glorifying the Supreme Personality of Godhead, composed by the sage Vyāsa.”
It is my personal observation that chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma actually does provide the benefits indicated above. In my practice and experience of over twenty years, this potent mantra has helped me overcome debilitating physical illness, mental agitation, political problems, betrayal, poverty and many other material difficulties. Reciting and studying this divine narration, composed entirely of the Holy Names of the Lord, also contributes to knowledge of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s opulence and transcendental qualities, guards against spiritual falldown due to material difficulty, and provides a subtle kind of mental satisfaction and confidence.
This does not indicate any incompleteness or insufficiency in the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, but it does underscore the scientific truth, verifiable by experience, that each Vedic mantra has a specific purpose and is best employed for that result alone. For one who is completely self-realized and has transcended all connection to material consciousness, the elevated love of Godhead provided by chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra will certainly supply all his needs. But for those of us still in the neophyte stage of karma-miśra bhakti who maintain some dependence upon the material energy, the benedictions obtained by chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma are a necessary and desirable help in building a strong foundation to prepare for the higher stages of realization.
There is a precedent for chanting viṣṇu-mantras that supplement the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. When Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned from Gayā after Śrī Īśvara Purī initiated him, He was completely transformed into a God-intoxicated personality. His students of grammar were very confused. Instead of teaching grammar in the ordinary way, Lord Caitanya explained that every Sanskrit word and letter indicates Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s direct disciple Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī later developed this form of grammar in a book called Hari-nāmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa, “The Grammar of the Nectar and Name of Śrī Hari.” This book is still used in Vaiṣṇava schools and temples to teach Sanskrit grammar.
But Lord Caitanya’s students thought that their teacher had become mad, so they rubbed His head with Viṣṇu oil to cool His brain. This did not affect Lord Caitanya’s ecstasy. Finally they asked Him, “You say that everything means Kṛṣṇa and we should ultimately always be chanting the Names of Kṛṣṇa. Just how should we do this?” Then Lord Caitanya began to sing the Names of Kṛṣṇa and clap His hands, and in this way He commenced His harināma-saṅkīrtana movement. The Holy Names He sang were:
hari haraye namaḥ kṛṣṇa yādavāya namaḥ
yādavāya mādhavāya keṣavāya namaḥ
Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s version of Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma follows in the same spirit, for every Name of Viṣṇu is interpreted to indicate Kṛṣṇa. The point is that ultimately there is no difference in quality between Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma and the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. They are both on the transcendental platform because they address Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
I therefore encourage all devotees of God everywhere to take advantage of the benedictions available by chanting Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma to end all material difficulties and make their lives perfect. It is a fact that the spiritual power of the Holy Name of the Lord resolves all problems. Please use this mahā-mantra to immerse yourself in nāma-bhājan (worship of the Holy Name of the Lord) and experience this powerful benediction for yourself.
oṁ tat sat
Bhaktisiddhārtha Dāsānudās
(David Bruce Hughes)
Roswell, Georgia
March 14, 2000
Mīnā Saṅkrāntī
Śrī Viṣṇusahasranāma—Preface [9:22m]:
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