You are here: SriPedia - SriRangaSri - Archives - Jan 2003

SriRangaSri List Archive: Message 00097 Jan 2003

 
Jan 2003 Indexes ( Date | Thread | Author )
[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next]


Dear friends,

"The Thousand Names of Vishnu" is a little gem of a book written by
the well-known author, Sri.Eknath Eswaran (Jaico Publication
Rs.150/-). In this book, the writer has commented very briefly on
about 400 "nAmA-s" of the Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam. He has written
about these 'nAmA-s' mainly for the benefit of the lay-reader, the
man-on-the-street, not for the pundit or religiously advanced. 

The 'nAma' "pAvana" has been attributed to the Lord in the 32nd
stanza of the Sahasranamam:

"bhoota bhavya bhavvanAtaha pavannah pAvanO'nalaha" (shlOka 32)

The word "pAvana" means pure, sacred, pristine, un-defiled,
un-spoilt, virginal etc. It is because of God's presence, it is said,
that the breeze blows fragrant ("gandavAhaka-ha"). Similarly, it is
due to God's presence and powers that the great rivers of the world,
like the Ganges and the Yamuna, still continue to flow pure and
pristine, in spite of the ravaging and defiling they have undergone,
for ages and ages, under the hands of Man. In the Valmiki Ramayana
(82-9, UttarakANda) Sage Agastya praises Rama as "pAvana", the Lord
who purifies everything by his mere presence... "pAuvanas-sarva
lOkAnam tvamEva raghunandana" -- "O Raghunandana, my Lord, thou who
renders everything pure in this world!".

While uttering the above 'nAmA' from the Sahasranamam, we often
wonder why the Lord is extolled as the "Purifier". Why is He hailed
as "pAvanaha"?

The writer Sri.Eknath Easwaran has some very thought-provoking views
on this special 'nAmA' and let us savour them below:

QUOTE:

Just as the sun purifies running water (ultra-violet ray or
UV-effect), the name of the Lord purifies the mind. When you drink
polluted water, you are liable to develop ailments from dysentry to
heavy metal poisoning. People are beginning to wake up to the danger
this problem poses to the whole globe, but almost nobody seems to be
aware that a polluted mental environment can cause even greater
disasters. When we don't take the trouble to purify our own mind --
and, I might add, the mental environment of our society -- infective
agents like anger, hostility, lust, and greed can spread before we
realize what is happening.

Thought-infection is passed on by the way we act and the way we
speak, and nothing spreads it faster than the mass media. Our
magazines and movies, our radio and television shows and popular
music, are an environment almost as pervasive as the air we breathe,
and the attitudes and ideas with which they saturate us do not often
add to the quality of life.

Repeating the Holy Name of God works like one of those sweepers you
see floating in swimming pools, moving slowly around with their long
tentacles while they suck up leaves and other debris. We are so
mechanically orientated that because the "nAma-mantram" doesn't have
tubes and a suction motor, we think it cannot be of much use. But the
name of the Lord is a miraculously powerful purifier. If you just
keep it circulating around, it will clean up the muck of the mind
even while you sleep.

We should make use of this potent device on every possible
opportunity. While you are riding in a car, waiting in a restaurant,
washing dishes, or falling asleep, the Holy Name can be busy. When
you are angry, afraid, or caught in an emotional cross-fire, you can
use its purifying power right on the spot. I can tell you from
personal experience that even after repeating the 'nAma-mantram' for
many years, I still find more opportunities for repeating it. With
the mantram you can use every bit and piece of spare time for
spiritual growth.

There is no mystery about this purifying power. The mind has to go on
thinking, and what the Buddha calls mental impurities -- conditioned
trains of thoughts -- are just the mind getting caught in the same
thought, over and over again. The mantram breaks up these thoughts
and absorbs them, restoring consciousness to a state of calm. If you
cannot dwell on anger, for example, it cannot last; the thoughts
dissipate and disappear without leaving any emotional residue behind.

Anger is dwelling on negative thoughts, nothing more. When we hold a
grudge, some part of our mind is repeating over and over a particular
incident which infuriated us. We then say, "I can't concentrate
today", or "I'm having trouble relating to people". The reason is
that part of our mind is not there with us. The Buddha, one of the
world's most penetrating psychologists, tells us that whatever we are
doing, we should totally be there with a completely one-pointed,
wholly integrated mind. When your mind is all in one place, you
cannot get frustrated or impatient; you cannot feel restless,
inadequate, or afraid.

A fast mind is always divided within itself. So is a mind that is
forced to do 2 or more things at once: as for example, reading and
eating at the same time. And of course the mind is divided when part
of it is brooding on the past or future, which happens much more
often than we may be aware. Whenever you catch yourself getting
speeded up, caught in the past, or doing 2 things at once, repeat the
'nAma-mantram'. That will help you to slow down and do one thing at a
time, with all your mind here in the present. This is the capacity of
genius, and the secret of being fully, vitally alive... ("pAvanaha").

UNQUOTE

Regards,

dAsan,
Sudarshan






__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now.
http://mailplus.yahoo.com




[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next] [Date Index ] [Thread Index ] [Author Index ]
Home Page
http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia
srirangasri-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
To subscribe to the list