Saturday, October 16, 2010

VENKATESH STOTRA!!!

!! SRIVENKATESHO VASUDEV: PRADYUMNO AMITVIKRAMA !
SANKARSHANO ANIRUDHHASHCHA SHESHADRI PATIREVACHA !!

VENKATESHA STOTRAM IS FROM BRAMHANDA PURANA WHICH IS RECITED IN EVERY HOUSE WITH PIETY . EVEN IN THIS AGE OF KALI LORD IS MAKING MANY BEND TO HIS FEET WHICH IS EVIDENT BY THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO VISIT THIS PLACE EVERYDAY .

OUR

    GURU SHRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMIJI

WAS ALSO BORN AS A RESULT OF GREAT TAPASYA DONE BY THEIR PARENTS AT TIRUPATI AND NAMING THE CHILD AS VENKATNATH. VENKATNATH WENT ON TO BECOME SHRIRAGHAVENDRA TEERTHA .

IT IS VERY MUCH EVIDENT THAT RECITING THIS STOTRAM WITH MEANING WILL ENSURE MOKSHA AND FULFILLMENT OF ALL WISHES . LET THIS TRANSLATION BE A SEVA TO THE FEET OF LORD AS PRESENT IN SHRI RAGHAVENDRA SWAMY

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1> THE WORD VENKATESH HAS THREE WORDS ‘VEN’ ‘KAT’ AND ‘EESH’ .
ACCORDING TO THE BHAVISHYOTTAR PURANA ‘VEN’ MEANS SINS .’KAT’ MEANS BURNS UP .

MADHAV WAS A VERY ELIGIBLE BRAMHIN WHO DUE TO PRARABDHA KARMA LEAVING ASIDE PARENTS AND WIFE AND HIS BRAMHIN STATUS , WENT AWAY TO LIVE WITH A CHANDAAL WOMAN AND INDULGED IN ALL KINDS OF SINS ALL THROUGH HIS LIFE .SUCH MADHAV’S SINS BURNT UP JUST BY THE MERE TOUCH OF THIS MOUNTAIN . THUS THE MOUNTAIN IS KNOWN AS ‘VENKAT’ BECAUSE IT BURNS UP THE SINS .

‘EESH’ -MEANS LORD .VISHNU WHO RESIDES AND LORDS OVER THIS MOUNTAIN IS KNOWN AS ‘VENKATESH’

‘Vasu ‘ means one who is inside ‘ deva ‘ means one who sports . Lord resides in all of us . He sports being inside us . As lord resides in everyone . When we have extreme happiness we should owe it to God and thank . because it is He who has given us all this being in others . Similarly when we face sorrow we must think God has given us sorrow to wash off our sins . We should not hate the person who is responsible for sorrow .

‘Vasu’ means one who covers everywhere , everything . God Srinivasa covers us like a sheet and protects us from external dangers and calamities . He regulates the entire universe by being outside and inside it . Thus he is vasudev .

Va means one with complete strength. ‘asu’ means one who controls everyone . ‘de ‘ means one who gives everything and ‘va’ again here means one who is present everywhere . Being present everywhere , he controls everyone and gives whatever wished for to those who pray him . Thus Srinivas is vasudev .

being the son of vasudev He is also known as VASUDEV .

‘VASUDEVA ‘

    THERE ARE THREE WORDS IN THIS : ‘VA’ ‘SU’ ‘DEVA’
    ‘VA’ MEANS ONE WHO IS OF THE FORM OF KNOWLEDGE .
    ‘SU’ MEANS ONE WHO CREATES ENTIES WORLD [SRUSHTI]
    ‘DEVA’ MEANS ONE WHO SPORTS AND ENJOYS IN THIS WORLD .

    AS HE CREATES THE ENTIRE WORLD /UNIVERSE HE HAS A NAME ‘SU’ [ WHO? LORD VISHNU!]
    AS HE CREATES ALL OF US ,SINCE WE ARE CREATED WE ARE ALL UNDER HIS CONTROL i.e PARADHEEN .
    BUT A BODY IS ACQUIRED AS THE SRUSHTI PROCEEDS , THUS A BODY IS PRESENT ONLY IN THE SRISHTI , SO SRINIVASA [LORD] SHOULD ALSO HAVE A BODY , BUT HOW CAN HE HAVE A BODY BEFORE SRISHTI . IF HE DOES HAVE ONE ? THEN IT MUST HAVE BEEN CREATED BY SOMEONE . IF IT IS INDEED CREATED THEN EVEN HE BECOMES PARADHEEN JUST LIKE US AS HE HAS BEEN CREATED . [ THIS DOUBT CAN CREEP UP ]
    THUS EITHER SRINIVASA SHOULD BE BODYLESS BEFORE CREATION OR ELSE HE BECOMES SUBSERVIENT LIKE US .
    TO ELIMINATE THIS DOUBT , THE WORD ‘VA’ IS USED ie HE HAS A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE AND NOT THAT OF PRAKRUTI . APRAKRUT SHARIR IS WHAT WE SEE IN TIRUPATI AND NOT A STONE OR IDOL AS LORD HIMSLEF IS STANDING THERE AND IT IS NOT AN IDOL INSTALLED BY SOME . SINCE IT NOT A STONE , INFACT NOT MADE UP OF ANY MATERIAL IN UNIVERSE IT IS KNOWN AS APRAKRUT AS CONVEYED BY THE WORD ‘ VA’.

    THE BODY OF MATERIAL WORLD WILL HAVE BIRTH AND DEATH BUT NOT THAT OF APRAKRUT BODY BECAUSE THERE IS NO BIRTH OR DEATH TO A BODY WHICH IS MADE UP KNOWLEDGE , HAPPINESS AND OTHER AUSPICIOUS ATTRIBUTES.
    THUS SRINIVASA EXISTS EVEN BEFORE CREATION . AND HE IS SWATANTRA AND NOT PARADHEEN .AND SINCE HE HAS A BODY OF HIS OWN HE CAN CREATE AS WELL .

    IN THIS WORLD EVERYONE DOES WORK FOR SOME PURPOSE . NO ONE IS ACTIVE WITHOUT PURPOSE AND AIM . THUS THIS SRINIVASA MUST ALSO BE CREATING THIS WORLD WITH SOME PURPOSE .
    IF THERE IS A PURPOSE BEHIND A WORK THERE HAS TO BE SOME RESULT OR FRUIT OF SUCH PURSPOSE AND TOIL . IF SUCH A TOIL ENDS IN FRUITION MEANS THE TOILER /WORKER [ IN THIS CASE SRINIVASA] MUST BE UNDER THE SUBSERVIENCE OF THE GIVER OF THE FRUITS . [ THIS GIVER OF FRUITS FOR THE LABOR OF CREATION MUST PRESIDE OVER SRINIVASA] SO SRINIVASA BECOMES PARADHEEN .
    HOW CAN A PARADHEEN CREATE?

    ie IN SHORT IF THERE IS A SELFISH PURPOSE BEHIND CRAETION THEN GOD IS SELFISH TO CREATE THIS WORLD AND HE HAS SOME FRUITS TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH CREATION FOR HIS OWN SELF . THEN HE IS DEPENDENT ON FRUITS AND ACHIEVEMENT FOR WHICH HE IS TOILING TO CREATE THIS WORLD . SUCH INCOMPLETE DEPENDENT ENTITY CANNOT BE GOD OR CREATOR !
    PRECISELY TO DISPEL THIS DOUBT THE WORD ‘DEVA’ HAS BEEN ATTRIBUTED TO LORD SRINIVASA .

    HE SPORTS IN HIS OWN CREATION .HE HAS NO GOALS TO BE ACHIEVED FOR HIS OWN BETTERMENT . HE IS ALWAYS FULL OF HAPPINESS . IN THIS WORLD A WHEN IN FULL HAPPINESS PEOPLE DRINK AND IN THAT INTOXICATED STATE THEY DANCE AND SPORT .
    LORD HAS NO PURPOSE OF HIS OWN . THUS HIS CREATING THE WORLD IS NO HINDRANCE TO HIS COMPLETENESS AND INDEPENDENCE .
    HE CREATES TO GIVE HAPPINESS TO INFINITE SOULS THAT COME INTO EXISTENCE THROUGH CREATION AND ATTAIN BLISS .

    THUS ENDS THE FIRST OF THE MANY MEANINGS OF VASUDEV AS ENUMERATED IN SHRUTI . REST OF THE MEANINGS WE SHALL INSPECT ONE BY ONE !!!!


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2 comments:

  1. Om Om namo Narayanaya Om
    Om Shri Gurubhyo Namaha
    Om Shri Raghavendraya Namaha

    Sir,

    You have said:

    "APRAKRUT SHARIR IS WHAT WE SEE IN TIRUPATI AND NOT A STONE OR IDOL AS LORD HIMSLEF IS STANDING THERE AND IT IS NOT AN IDOL INSTALLED BY SOME"

    But is it NOT said the Murty is Svayambhu Murthy of Shri Hari in Tirumala? My understanding was the murthy is none the less prakrita. Please dispel my doubt.

    If the Murthy is NOT Mrthy but Lord Himself, then there is no place on this world more holy than Tirumala....

    Can you explain more?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chiraanavre, please correct me if I have made any mistakes.

    Rag,

    #1)then there is no place on this world more holy than Tirumala....
    Ans: You must have heard the famous saying which comes in the Venkatesh Stotra.
    "Venkatadri Samam Stanam Brahmandam nasti kinchanaha |
    Venkatesho samo devo, na bhuto na bhavisyati"

    Venkatesh is in Vasudeva Roopa of Sri Hari which is the same as the Sri Rama roopa. This is the only roopa by which Sri Hari confers Moksha.

    #2)Since Lord Narayana is indivisibly ONE (Eka) how do we understand various Forms of Lord spoken as though they are different?
    Ans: Just take your own example. In a day you take on many roopas; as a husband, as a father, as a son, a brother, a employee, a devotee, a passanger, a traveller, while driving your vehicle, a customer, a service provider. It is the same you; but you won't deal with family issues during work. You won't discuss work with your kids. You won't teach ABC to your parents so on.
    The same you but each roopa has a specific function which does not overlap.

    Similarly Sri Hari takes on various roopas for his vyapara. Shastras teach us to which roopa to pray to for which purpose; but there is abheda (no difference) among the roopas.

    #3)
    Your question about stone idol and God
    Ans: It is the essence of Panchabedha.
    I am too small and insignificant to talk about Sri Venkateshwara, I know people who mentally go into the Sri Venkateshwara murthy and see the roopa of Sri Hari
    There is difference between Jada and Paramatma; which means the Paramatma sannidhi is inside the stone; the stone itself is not God.

    Hope this clears stuff up.

    Jai Bharateesha,
    Hrishikesh

    ReplyDelete