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 === __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Home is just a click away. 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