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Ramanuja List Archive: Message 00029 Jun 2006

 
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another nice sloka is:

namO brahmaNya devAya gO brAhmaNa hitAya cha
jagaddhitAya KrishnAya GovindAya namo namah

Ramanuja dasi
Vedavalli


--- sadagopaniyengar@xxxxxxxx wrote:

> Srimate SrivanSatakopa Sri Vedanta Desika Yatindra
> Maadesikaya nama:
> 
>  
> 
> "Govinda! Govinda!"
> 
>  
> 
> A huge crowd had gathered in front of the building
> housing a finance company. Most of the people
> appeared agitated and the looks on their faces were
> murderous. I went near to find out what was wrong,
> with all the curiosity of a passerby and was
> surprised to find the Lord's name being uttered by
> many of them, but without the devotion or ecstasy
> that normally accompanies such chanting. In fact
> they appeared to be uttering the naama more in
> chagrin and pain, than in any joy or elation.
> 'Govinda!' was the glorious name emanating from
> their lips, irrespective of religious affinity. When
> I inquired, it transpired that after mobilising
> sizeable deposits from a large number of gullible
> investors, the finance company owners had done a
> vanishing act overnight, disappearing with crores of
> rupees of public money. While describing the loss of
> money, many in the crowd were saying 'Panam Govindaa
> thaan'. Anguish and sorrow engulfed me, less in
> commiseration with the plight of those who had lost
> the money, and more at the way Emperuman's
> tirunaamam was being misused to depict a case of
> cheating and misappropriation. And this naturally
> led me to thoughts of the glory of this particular
> name of the Lord, my mental rambling confirming the
> extreme inappropriateness of using such a hallowed
> name of the Lord under such circumstances.
> 
>  
> 
> If you really think about it, you would find the
> greatness of the Govinda naama such as to defy
> narration. If a competition were to be held among
> Bhagavan Naamaas, in terms of efficacy, sweetness,
> greatness, popular acceptance, handiness for
> repetitive use, etc., the Govinda naama would win
> hands down. This is no idle claim of an ignoramus
> like me, but a well-documented fact that is
> reiterated often in our Itihaasaas and Puranas.
> 
>  
> 
> Further, the Govinda naama is intertwined with our
> lives and finds use from the time we wake up till we
> go to sleep daily. One of the very first acts after
> our getting up from bed is to perform an Aachamanam.
> And during this Achamanam and every other that we
> perform on various occasions throughout the day, the
> name Govinda occupies a pride of place, chanted
> first while sipping the water and again while
> touching various parts of the body with our fingers.
> 'Sarvaangaanaam Nayanam pradhaanam' say the
> Shastras, attributing primacy to the eyes among the
> various organs of the body. And it is perhaps an
> indication of the greatness of the Govinda naama
> that the prescribed part to be touched while
> uttering it is the eye. And before we eat too, after
> sanctifying the food with the Parishechana mantras
> and offering it to our Inner Dweller symbolically,
> it is the Govinda naama that we utter, before even a
> crumb passes our lips. And Shastras tell us that
> with each morsel of food intake, we should utter the
> Govinda naama-'Kapale kapale chaiva kuryaat Govinda
> keertanam'. 
> 
> At the beginning of every Sankalpam, which precedes
> any vaidika karma, we recite, "Sri Govinda! Govinda!
> Govinda! asya Sri Bhagavata: mahaa Purushasya.."
> This perhaps makes food tastier, healthier and more
> nourishing. Most of us, when we are past 40 and our
> limbs start giving us trouble, making us grunt and
> groan when we sit down and get up, involuntarily say
> 'Govinda', to ease the process. It is Govinda who
> protects those who play, the Mahabharata tells
> us-'Kreedantam paatu Govinda: sayaanam paatu
> Madhava:' Hence the Govinda naama appears to be the
> ideal one for athletes to utter. Thus, the use of
> the Govinda naama is widespread and is inextricably
> mingled with our daily routine, made so by Maharshis
> who have known and experienced the efficacy of this
> tirunaamam.
> 
>  
> 
> To talk of the efficacy of Bhagavan naamaas is
> perhaps sacrilegious-one holy name of the Lord is
> definitely as potent as another in destroying sin
> and conferring auspiciousness. However, some of
> these names have found much greater favour with
> devotees, on various grounds. For instance, though
> the Lord has a thousand names and more, there is no
> practice of chanting 'Nyagrodha:, Udumbara:,
> Amoorti:' etc., though these are doubtless a part of
> the Sahasranaama Stotram. Though these naamaas
> signify certain attributes of Emperuman, yet we do
> not go in for intensified chanting or japam of these
> names. Similarly, though there are divine names
> galore, devotees have preferred the Govinda naama as
> protection against evil and while appealing to Him
> for assistance during emergencies.
> 
>  
> 
> A classic case in point is Droupati. When all effort
> at protecting her modesty (from the intemperate
> Ducchaasana who was intent on disrobing her in
> pubic) fails, she puts up her hands in desperation
> and calls to a distant Krishna to rush to her aid.
> And in doing so, she couches her appeal in the
> following words-
> 
>  
> 
> 'Shanka Chakra Gadaa paane! Dwaaraka nilaya!
> Achyuta!
> 
> Govinda! Pundareekaaksha! Raksha maam saranaagataam'
> 
>  
> 
> Readers may wonder-Droupati has definitely not given
> any primacy to the Govinda naama while crying out to
> Sri Krishna, prefacing the same with others like
> Achyuta, Dwaraka Nilaya, etc. So, where is the
> question of Govinda naama alone coming to her
> rescue? To find an answer to this, we have to look
> into the response of Sri Krishna to Droupati's
> appeal. Discussing the matter at Dwaraka with Sri
> Rugmini, the Lord tells Her that He had to rush to
> the distressed damsel's rescue immediately, because
> her calling Him 'Govinda' had struck a deep chord in
> His merciful heart and His sense of obligation to
> save her was multiplying every moment, much like a
> debt contracted at usurious rates of interest. Among
> all the other names she calls Him in her appeal,
> Emperuman particularly remembers and repeats the
> name Govinda, as being responsible for making Him
> feel extremely obliged-
> 
>  
> 
> 'Govinda!' iti yat aakrandat Krishnaa maam doora
> vaasinam
> 
> Rinam pravruddham iva me hridayaat na apasarpati'
> 
>  
> 
> Sri Pillai Lokacharya declares that it was this
> Govinda naama, not even the Lord Himself, which
> protected Droupati from certain shame and
> ignominy-'Droupatikku aapattile pudavai surandadu
> tirunaamam ire'. The Acharya explains that even if
> Emperuman is far off, as He was at distant Dwaraka
> when Droupati (at Hastinapuram) appealed to Him, His
> glorious Govinda naama is always by our side and
> would protect us from peril, if only we choose to
> utter it-'avan doorastthan aanaalum idu kitti nindru
> udavum'. Hence the Acharya concludes that the
> Govinda naama in particular and all Bhagavan naamaas
> in general, are greater and more glorious than the
> Lord Himself-'Vaachya prabhaavam pol andru vaachaka
> prabhaavam'. 
> 
>  
> 
> We come across several devotees, especially at
> Tirumala, uttering this holiest of holy names
> differently--some say 'Goyinda', yet others
> 'Gohinda'. Etymologically, such pronunciations rob
> the word of all significance, making it probably
> meaningless. However, as far as the Lord is
> concerned, it is the devotion with which the name is
> uttered, rather than its grammatical perfection,
> which matters more. Whichever way the Govinda naama
> is uttered, rightly or wrongly, it offers
> comprehensive protection to its votaries, unlike
> most other mantras which require perfect
> pronunciation and intonation. This again is stated
> by Sri Pillai Lokacharya-'sollum kramam ozhiya
> sonnaalum than svaroopam keda nillaadu'.
> 
>  
> 
> Well, if it is all that exalted as is touted by
> Shastras, the purport of this tirunaamam must indeed
> be profound. What exactly does the name Govinda
> mean? According to the Sri Vishnu Sahasranama
> Stotram, the Lord is known as Govinda: as He is the
> (sole) recipient of wholesome words of praise by the
> Shruti-'Gavaam, Stuti Giraam vinda: Govinda: sa
> udaahrita:'. It is a universally accepted fact that
> all 
=== message truncated ===


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