The Wonder that is Vishnu’s Name I/III

Author : Gururaj Bhandarkar, Maisooru

When we learn about the accomplishments of different spiritual seekers starting from Manushyottamas, we end up in a sense of deep awe. Be it the immutable command in the words of a Brahmin, the glorious valour of Chakravartis, the rigorous penance of sages, the majesty of different gods, the inconceivable strength of Rudra, the strike of whose feet during the dance of universal destruction wobbles the fourteen worlds, the supremacy of Brahma and Mukhyaprana among jivas, their respective roles in creating the entire cosmos and protecting every atom and every sentient in this creation; and as if all these were not sufficient for insignificant selves like us to be dumbfounded, we have the principle of Chit Prakriti (Lakshmi Devi), whose mere glance gives respective powers and positions to all the above mentioned gods and other divinities! But wait! There is another principle (Tattva) which is an embodiment of wonders. While we are awestruck by the glory of these celestials starting from Chit Prakriti herself, the entire world of celestials is dumbfounded by the infinite majesty of this Tattva. It is the wonder of all wonders, the source of everything that is astonishing, the prime mover of gods themselves and the one common, absolute point of reverence for the entire pantheon of gods!

The scriptures fondly call this infinity with countless names such as Brahman, Atman, Bhagavan, Vishnu, Narayana and so on. Everything about this Lord is baffling not just to us but even to his own consort! She is said to be immersed in an ocean of astonishment just by looking at his toe nail from time immemorial. (कौतूहलाब्धौ सुमहति गहने गाहमानावतान्न:) Let us keep aside the fact that the world of divine entities starting from Lakshmi has the privilege of seeing the Lord and being ecstatic, wandering in the endless ocean of the Lord’s virtues like a clueless coracle! The question now is whether we, who have our inner vision smeared with ignorance, are able to experience this storehouse of all wonders. Is there something that the Lord has kept for us in this world so that we too blissfully enjoy His existence? Has he given a panacea for us to cure the disease of birth and death and see him with our own inner eyes? Given the fact that he is the greatest of the great, the overlord of everything that exists and the dust of his feet adorns the crowns of Lakshmi, Brahma, Vayu and others, will he be accessible to mere miserable mortals like us who struggle to earn our daily bread? Should we take an appointment to meet him? Will he come to us to cure us of all these sufferings? We can go on asking many more such questions. But the answer for all these questions is simpler than we can imagine. So strange are the ways of the Lord that, all he needs in order to lovingly attend our sufferings and bestow liberation on us is that we devotedly call Him by his names! Saying “Rama” once with the maximum amount of devotion and knowledge that the soul bound in mundane shackles can accommodate, uproots the tree of materialistic bondage that has existed within from time immemorial! All our spiritual endeavour finally boils down to a point where we call the Lord and he shows himself to us and liberates us. As Shri Kanaka Dasaru says in his Hari bhakti sara,

ಭೂತಳದೊಳಚ್ಚರಿಯಾದ ನಾಮಾಮೃತ ಸಮುದ್ರದಲಿ

The most wonderful thing on earth is the ambrosial ocean of the Lord’s names.

It is apt to know what makes Dasaru make such a zealous exclamation about the Lord’s names.

Any sensuous object in the world gives us pleasure only when it comes in contact with the respective sense organ. The taste of a fruit can only be experienced and relished when we eat it. We can’t relish it by merely remembering it or chanting the name of the fruit. The scent of a flower cannot be known if we keep on chanting the name of the particular flower. We need to smell the flower. Even a human being can give us joy only after we know him/her. The name and remembrance of a particular person can be cherished only if we have known the person well. If not, that name is just another name and we are not excited about it. Thus, anything in the world needs to be physically present with us at least at one point of time in order to experience and enjoy its quality. Now we can grasp the reason why the Lord’s name is a storehouse of wonder. We haven’t seen God nor have we experienced him in any other way. Yet, every devotee experiences the greatest joy just by chanting his names. Fondly remembering him as Rama, Krishna, Narayana etc. gives an inexplicable sense of joy to the seeker. Though we do not know him, our love for him goes on increasing every time we remember him through his names. That is the inscrutable powers that the Lord has kept in his own names.

Would a doctor treat a patient if the patient just keeps chanting the doctor’s name? Would anyone in the world do the job for us if we assure them that we would repeatedly chant their name thrice a day? We would only be laughed at for our stupidity if we expect someone to do so. But the Lord works that way.

As Shri Vyasarajaru says

ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಕೃಷ್ಣಯೆಂದು ಮೂರುಬಾರಿ ನೆನೆಯಿರೊ ಸಂತುಷ್ಟನಾಗಿ ಮುಕುತಿ ಕೊಟ್ಟು ಮಿಕ್ಕ ಭಾರ ಹೊರುವನೋ

Remember the name of Krishna thrice, he will be pleased and will bestow liberation by carrying away all your sins.

What more can we ask for? The Lord and his names, are both full of wonders. But we are nowhere near to experiencing the wonder that Vishnu is. Yet we can experience it through the wonder that his name is! This is why Shri Purandara Dasaru in a devotional banter asks the Lord

“ನೀನ್ಯಾಕೋ ನಿನ್ನ ಹಂಗ್ಯಾಕೋ ರಂಗ, ನಿನ್ನ ನಾಮದ ಬಲ ಒಂದು ಇದ್ದರೆ ಸಾಕೋ”-

“O Ranga, why do I need you or why should I be under your obligation when I have the strength of your names with me?!!”

Gururaj Bhandarkar