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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 75 - Part 3.

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Narasimhan Krishnamachari • July 4, 2002 


        SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 75 - sattA.

706. sattA - Existence Incarnate.

Om sattAyai namah.

a) The word sat refers to existence.   Slokam 17.26 of bhagavad gItA
explains the meaning of the word sat:

	sad-bhAve sAdhu-bhAve ca sad-ityetat prayujyate    |
	praSaste karmaNi tathA sac-chabdah pArtha yujyate    ||  (gItA 16.26)

"The term sat is used in the sense of existence and goodness.   And so
also, O arjuna, the word is applied to an auspicious action".

The addition of the affix tva or tal (ta or tA)  to a  word in the
sixth case leads to the sense of "the nature thereof" according to
pANini sUtra 5.1.119 (tasya bhAvah tva-talau) - SrI satyadevo
vAsishTha.  Thus, sattA means "He Who is of the nature of Existence".  

b) SrI BhaTTar's vyAkhyAnam is that He has this nAma signifying that He
is the very existence of the good and the pious and all other things. 
There is indeed nothing that can exist without Him - sattAdi satAm
svayameva iti sattA |  na hi tad-vyatirekeNa ki'ncit syAt.  SrI BhaTTar
gives reference to the gItA in support:  

	yac-cApi sarva-bhUtAnAm bIjam tad-aham-arjuna     |
	na tad-asti vinA yat-syAt mayA bhUtam carAcaram    ||  (gItA 10.39)

"I am also that which is the seed of all beings, O arjuna.  Nothing
that moves or is stationary, exists without Me".

It is not only true that without Him nothing can exist, but it is also
true that without His true devotees, He will not exist, such being His
attachment to His devotees.   It is the beautiful inter-dependence of
each on the other that is to be understood and enjoyed, because of
their intense love for each other.  SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to
tirumazhai AzhvAr, who declares this beautiful concept of the
inter-dependence of bhagavAn and His devotees on each other, in his
nAnmugan tiruvantAdi (7) - nanRaga nAn unai anRi ilEn kaNDAi, nAraNanE!
 nee ennai anRi ilai.  
	
b) SrI Samkara gives the meaning "Existence" to the nAma - sajAtIya
vijAtIya svagata bheda rahitA anubhUtih sattA.  One translator has
given the meaning as "The state which is devoid of difference as
regards its own species, as well as others" (explained further in the
next para).   SrI Samkara quotes the chAndogya Upanishad in support:
ekam eva advitIyam - chAndogya. 6.2.1 - "He remains ever the same, One
without a second".

The dharma cakram writer elaborates on the above vyAkhyAnam of SrI
Samkara.  He notes that sajAtIya bhedam is the difference that we see
between the different members of a given species - such as the
difference between one human being and another.   Seeing this
difference externally takes us away from realizing the truth that we
are all His property, and He is our antaryAmi and we are His Sesha-s. 
True knowledge consists in seeing the unity and serving everyone as
God's creation.  BhagavAn does not have this sajAtIya bhedam that we
are subject to.   The vijAtIya bhedam is the difference that we observe
between the different species, such as the difference between man and
animal.  It is because of vijAtIya bhedam that a dog attacks the cat,
and one species attacks another.  One who has true knowledge sees all
species as equals, and shows respect and love for all without
distinction.  Again, bhagavAn is beyond this kind of bhedam as well. 
svagata bhedam is the difference we observe in ourselves - such as the
difference in appearance between the different parts of our body.  We
humans feel one part of the body is attractive, and another part is not
attractive.  Seeing these kinds of distinctions only leads us away from
realizing the truth.  BhagavAn is beyond all these bheda-s (the
sajAtIya, vijAtIya, svagata, etc.).  Seeing these distinctions is the
root cause of our not realizing Him.  The nature of sat is to see unity
in everything at all levels.  When this state is reached, it is the
pure personification of sat or good.  Such is bhagavAn, and so He is
called sattA.  

c) BhagavAn is also "Existence Incarnate", "One without a second", and
"Pure Existence" in the sense that He is unchanging, never subject to
aging, disease, death, etc., to which everything else is subjected.   

d) SrI vAsishTha gives the interpretation that that the act of
protection or preservation is sattA - sattA hi Atma-dhAraNam.   In this
sense, only He is sattA, since He alone protects everyone and
everything, and no one else is capable of protecting or preserving
himself.

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan



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