SrImate SrI ra'nga rAmAnuja mahA deSikAya namaH.
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - phala Sruti - Part 3.
Next, it is stated that if a person is exclusively devoted to SrI
kRshNa and his only desire is to attain Him, all his difficulties
will automatically vanish even though he does not pray to the Lord
for any relief from them.
durgANi atitarati ASu purushah purushottamam |
stuvan nAma sahasreNa nityam bhakti samanvitah || (9)
"That person, who, with devotion, praises the Supreme Being
(purushottaman) reciting his thousand nAma-s daily, surmounts all
difficulties very easily.
SrI BhaTTar comments that the next two Sloka-s speak of the
attainment of the Lord by such devotees.
vAsudeva ASrayo martyo vAsudeva parAyaNaH |
sarva pApa viSuddhAtmA yAti brahma sanAtanam || (10)
na vAsudeva bhatAnAm aSubham vidyate kvacit |
janma mRtyu jarA vyAdhi bhayam vA api upajAyate || (11)
"That man, who has taken resort to vAsudeva with the thought that
vAsudeva is the highest goal to be reached, becomes cleansed of all
sins and his mind becomes pure. He finally attains the Eternal
Brahman.
"Nothing inauspicious ever occurs to the devotees of vAsudeva. Nor
do they have any fear from birth or death or old age or disease".
imam stavam adhIyAnah SraddhA bhakti samanvitah |
yujyeta Atma sukha kshAntih SrI-dhRti-smRti-kIrtibhih ||
(12)
"The person who chants this hymn with zeal and devotion, is blessed
with happiness of the self, forbearance, riches, firmness of mind,
excellent memory, and great fame".
SrI BhaTTar comments ? niyamavato bhaktasya anusha'ngiNIm abhyudaya
siddhim Aha ? For the devotee who recites the names in accordance
with scriptural injunctions, there is attainment of prosperity of all
kinds that come as a matter of course". He explains the term
SraddhA as sa-gaurava tvarA ? Eagerness associated with respect. He
also comments that bhakti is a result of highly meritorious acts -
bhagavati bhaktih mahatah su-kRtasya phalam. . Thus a true devotee
should chant the stotram with sincere devotion and interest, and
should accompany the chanting with other meritorious acts as part of
his way of life. SrI BhaTTar further adds: govinda
bhaktyabhyadhikam SreyaSca anyat na vidyate ? There is no act
superior to devotion to Lord govinda.
SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam for Sloka-s 5 to 8 was "atha niyama
viSeshavat japa rUpa sa'nkIrtane bhaktasya sarva samRddhim Aha".
For the current Sloka, his interpretation is "niymavatah bhaktasya
anusha'ngiNIm abhyudaya siddhim Aha". Thus the interpretations in
both cases describe the benefit for a `bhakta' or devotee who
follows `niyama' or rules as laid down in the scriptures. Slokam 5
refers to the bhakta who follows niyama and does prakItanA (praising,
extolling, lauding) of bhagavAn through the stotram, whereas the
current Slokam refers to the bhakta with niyama who is `adhIyAnah' (a
student, or one who goes over the stotra either as a student or as a
teacher). SrI v. v. rAmAnujan has used the term anusandhAnam (which
means inquiry, investigation, scrutiny etc.), in the context of this
Slokam. Thus, the difference between the two, if one were to look
for a difference, is that the first discusses the benefits attained
by the bhakta who chants the stotram, and the second about the
benefits attained by the bhakta who propagates or delves deep into
the meanings etc.
One translator of SrI Sa'nkara bhAshyam has grouped the Sloka-s from
5 (bhaktimAn?) to 12 (imam stavam?) into one group, and has ascribed
SrI Sa'nkara's short commentary as follows, for all these Sloka-s as
one group ? " bhaktimAn ityAdinA bhatimatah Suceh
satatamudyuktasyaikAgra cittasya SraddhAlorvivishTa adhikAriNah phala
viSesham darSayati" ?"In the verses beginning with bhaktimAn etc.,
the stated results are promised to one who is devout, pure, ever-
persevering with one-pointed attentive meditation, with faith". SrI
Sa'nkara further explains: "SraddhA Astikya buddhih | bhaktih
bhajanam tAtparyam | Atmanah sukam Atma-sukham | tena ca
kshAnyatibhiSca ucyate |" . This is translated as: "Faith means
belief in God; bhakti refers to worship; Atma sukham means spiritual
bliss ? by this term, other qualities such as patience, forgiveness
etc. are also meant".
na krodho na ca mAtsaryam na lobho nAsubhA matih |
bhavanti kRta puNyANAm bhaktAnAm purushottame || (13)
"Neither anger nor jealousy, neither greed nor evil thoughts haunt
the minds of those people who are devotees of purushottama (The
Supreme Being) and who have acquired merit by virtuous deeds".
SrI BhaTTar comments that as a matter of natural course, these
defects by themselves keep away from the devotees. SrI Sa'nkara
emphasizes the point that in the Slokam, krdha, lobha and aSubhAmatih
occur without a `ca', whereas mAtsarya occurs with a `ca'. He
explains that this means that not only krodha, lobha and aSubhA mati
anger, lust and evil thoughts) are absent in these devotees, but also
jealousy is absent.
-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan
(To be continued)
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