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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 83 - dur-labhah, dur-gamah, du-gah, dur-AvAsah - Part 2.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • January 11, 2003 


   SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 83 - dur-labhah, dur-gamah,
dur-gah, dur-AvAsah - Part 2. 

Now let us see how SrI SaÂ’nkara distinguishes between the four nAma-s
so that there is no redundancy in interpretation.  

dur-labhah – dur-labhayA bhaktyA labhyata iti dur-labhah - He Who is
            not easily attained except through intense devotion
dur-gamah –  duhkhena gamyate j~nAyata iti dur-gamah – One Who is known
            only with difficulty 
dur-gah – He Who can be attained only by overcoming several unanticipated
            obstacles in our attempts to realize Him – antarAyapratihataih
            duhkhAt avApayata iti dur-gah.
dur-AvAsah – He Who is not easily retained for prolonged periods even
        by yogin-s during deep meditation – duhkhena avAsyate cite yogibhih 
            samAdhAviti dur-AvAsah.

The distinction made in the first two nAma-s is “labhayata” vs.
“j~nAyata”.  Literally, the first refers to “getting Him”, and the
second refers to “knowing Him”.  The first can refer to those who can
attain Him through pure devotion, without necessarily having the deep
detailed knowledge of SAstra-s etc., and the second can refer to the
mastery over the actual SAstric knowledge.  The path of bhakti is
tedious, and so is the acquisition of knowledge about Him.  

In SrI SaÂ’nakaraÂ’s interpreatation, dur-gah refers to the multitude of
unanticipated obstacles in attaining Him, in addition to the known and
inherent obstacles involved in the path of bhakti; and dur-AVAsah
refers to the difficulty in meditating on Him for prolonged period of
time, even for the best of yogin-s.  

Additional details on the interpretation of the four nAma-s for SrI
SaÂ’nkaraÂ’s interpretation are given below:  

dur-labhah - He Who can be attained only through extreme devotion. 

SrI SaÂ’nkara quotes vyAsa:

		janmAntara sahasreshu tapo j!nana samAdhibhih    |
		narANAm kshINa pApAnAm kRshNe bhaktih prajAyate   ||

“Devotion towards kRshNa comes to those men whose sins are burnt up by
austerities, wisdom and meditation, practiced in thousands of lives”.  

He also gives support from the gItA (8.22):  purushah sa parah pArtha
bhaktyA labhayas-tad-ananyayA  | - The Supreme Person can be attained
only by undivided devotion, and by no other means.

SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri refers us to the kaThopanishad passage 1.2.7: 

		SravaNAyApi bahubhir-yo na labhyah 
		SrNvantopi bahavo yam na vidyah  |
		AScaryo vaktA kuSaloÂ’sya labhdhA
		Ascaryo j~nAtA kuSalAÂ’nuSishTah  ||

“Even to hear of It is not available to many; many, even having heard
of It, cannot comprehend.  It is rare to find a good teacher for It,
and equally rare to find a good student.  Wonderful indeed is he who
comprehends It when taught by an able preceptor.”

784b. dur-gamah – He Who is known only with difficulty.

The root from which this nAma is derived is gam – gatau – to go; 
duhkhena gamyate = j~nAyate, j~nApyate vA dur-gamah.  The distinction
between dur-labhah and dur-gamah based on the words “labhyata” vs.
“j~nAyata” in SrI Sa’nkara bhAshyam has already been pointed out
earlier.  SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri explains this nAma as referring to the
difficulty that people have in developing the desire for Him for a
start, with means such as SravaNam (the knowledge imparted by a guru
about the SAstra-s etc.),  mananam (individual enquiry based on the
above knowledge), or nididhyAsanam (intense meditation).  He gives
reference to the kaThopanishad passage (1.2.23) – nAyamAtmA pravacanena
lbhyo na medhayA na bahudhnA Srutena.  

SrI cinmayAnanda interprets dur-gamah as referring to the difficulty in
treading the path of devotion that was referred to in the previous nAma
(dur-labhah).  He gives the support from kaThopanishad:  He for Whose
attainment one has to tread a path that is like walking on a razorÂ’s
edge – kshurasya dhArA niSitA duratyayA durgam pathas-tat kavayo
vadanti – kaTho. 1.3.14.  

dur-gah – Not easily realized due to obstacles and difficulties. 

SrI SaÂ’nkaraÂ’s interpretation is:  antarAyapratihataih duhkhAt
avApayata iti dur-gah - Even for those who attempt the difficult means
towards bhakti yoga, there will be many unexpected obstacles that will
keep cropping up.  It is probably these difficulties that are being
referred to here.  

786b. dur-AvAsah – Not easily retained in their mind by even yogin-s
during deep meditation.

SrI SaÂ’nkaraÂ’s words are:  duhkhena AvAsyate citte yogibhih samAdahu
iti dur-AvAsah.   SrI cinmayAnanda gives a similar interpretation –
“Not easy to lodge” within the heart steadily for even the great
seekers who are diligent in their consistent pursuit.  Arjuna declares
this condition experienced by the likes of him in the gItA:

		yoÂ’yam yogastvayA proktah sAmyena madhusUdana    |
		etasyAham na paSyAmi caÂ’ncalatvAt sthiti sthirAm   ||   (gItA 6.33)

“This yoga of equality, which has been declared by You, O kRshNa, I do
not see that it can be steady because of the fickleness of the mind”.  

SrI baladeva vidyA bhUshaN intereprets the nAma as referring to the
difficulty of retaining Him in our hearts – duh-sAdhayA prapattyA
vAsyate hRdi iti dur-AvAsah – He Who will be retained in our hearts
constantly only through the difficult path of prapatti.  (According to
the rAmAnuja sampradAyam, prapatti is the easiest way to attain Him, as
long as one can qualify with the five aÂ’nga-s of prapatti. One of these
is mahA viSvAsam, or the unshakable faith that He will definitely
protect us once we surrender to Him.  Perhaps, this is one of the most
difficult mental states to acquire, and so one can consider that
prapatti is difficult in this sense. 

-To be continued.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan



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