SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 72 - Part 7.
From the Bhakti List Archives
• April 30, 2002
SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 72 - mahA-ya~jnah. 682. mahA-ya~jnah - a) He Who is the best among those to be worshiped. b) He Who manifests Himself in the form of the best of ya~jna-s. c) He Who is worshiped by the great j~nAni-s, or He Who is worshiped through great sacrifices. Om mahA-ya~jnAya namah. As in the previous nAma, the root from which ya~jna is derived is yaj- deva pUjA sa'ngati karaNa yajana dAneshu - to sacrifice, to make an oblation to, to give, to associate with, etc. The act of sacrifice, or one who is worshipped through a sacrifice, are both referred to by the term ya~jnah - yajanam ya~jnah, ijyate iti vA ya~njah (SrI satyadevo vAsishTha). a) SrI BhaTTar's interpretation for this nAma is "He Who is the best among those to be worshiped". SrI v.v. rAmAnujan explains this interpretation as follows: ya~jnam is bhagavad ArAdhanam; ya~jnah is the object of this ArAdhanam; MahA-ya~jnah is the Most Superior Object of bhagavad-ArAdhanam, or He Who is the best among those to be worshiped. SrI BhaTTar points out that the term ya~jna includes such ways of worship as singing suprabhAtam to emperumAn, respectful approach, offering sweet things such as mixture of honey etc., prostrating at His Feet, etc. The best of ya~jna-s is when these are offered to Him rather than any to other devatA. SrI BhaTTar points out that worship of Lord vishNu is the best because "He protects His devotees as if there were His own body" - rakshate bhagavAn vishNuh bhaktAn Atma-SarIravat, "He accepts the rites performed by His devotees with great joy and with a bowed head" - tAh sarvAh SirasA devah prati-gRhNAti vai svayam (mahAbhArata moksh. 17.163), vidhi prayuktAm pUjAm ca gRhNAti SirasA svayam (SAnti. 353.64), etc. b) SrI Samkara gives the interpretation for the nAma as "He who manifests Himself in the form of the Great Sacrifice", and gives the support from the vibhUti yoga in gItA: "ya~jAnAm japa ya~jno'smi" (gItA 10.25)- "Of sacrifices, I am the sacrifice of japa". SrI rAdhAkRshNa SAstri observes that unlike kratu which is a sacrifice performed with a specific benefit in mind, ya~jna is a sacrifice that is done as part of one's duty, and is not done with a specific benefit in mind. Among the ya~jna-s, the japa ya~jna (silently repeating a sacred mantra) is declared as the best by bhagavAn in the referenced gItA Slokam. The japa ya~jna can be performed easily, without interruption, and with no accessory needed other than the desire to perform this ya~na. c) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the meaning "He Who is worshiped by great ya~jna-s", or "He Who is worshiped by the great j~nAni-s" - mahat yajanam yasya, mahadbhih ijyata iti vA). The dharma cakram writer explains the spirit behind offering worship to bhagavAn who is the mahA-ya~jnah (the personification of the ya~jna-s) through five types of ya~jna-s that are expected of each one of us: the bhUta ya~jna, the pitR ya~jna, the nara ya~jna, the Rshi ya~jna, and the deva ya~jna. bhUta ya~jna involves our rendering service and assistance to the life forms that are below our level. This involves the protection of plants, trees, the four-legged animals, etc., all of which are rendering service to us in various ways, and making our life possible. The pitR ya~jna involves our devotion and service to our elders, to our parents, etc., who have devoted their lives to bring us up, educate us, and help us live the way we live, and thus made our lives possible. The nara ya~jna involves service to our fellow humans in the society, including how we treat others in our thought, word, and deed. Without the help of the others in the society, we will not be able to lead our lives, and in return, we owe the debt to society to make it better by spreading good thoughts, good word, and good deed. The Rshi ya~jna involves learning, chanting, protecting, and propagating the mantra-s, veda-s, and the knowledge that the Rshi-s have given us. This will lead to our acquiring the kind of knowledge that they possessed, over time. The deva ya~jna involves our worshipping Him with constant and uninterrupted devotion, which will result in our attaining Him. The significant point to take from this discussion is that we should perform all the above five types of ya~jna-s with the full realization that these are all offerings to Him, since He is the mahA ya~jnah who is worshiped by al these offerings. They should be performed for His pleasure and not with any benefit for us in mind, with the clear understanding that He is the Doer who is just using us as the means for getting these done, etc. -dAsan kRshNamAcAryan __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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