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SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokam 78 - Part 6.

From the Bhakti List Archives

Narasimhan Krishnamachari • November 17, 2002 


     SrI vishNu sahasra nAmam - Slokma 78 - loka-bandhuh.

739. loka-bandhuh – a) The Relative of the World.
	b) One to Whom everything is bound since He is their Support
	c) One to Whom everything is related since He is their Best Friend –
their Father
	d) One Who provides instructions as a kinsman on what is right and
what is wrong through the SAstra-s.
	e) One Who limits everything through things such as limited life etc.
	
Om loka-bandhave namah.

The mutual and inseparable relation between us and bhagavAn is what is
revealed in this nAma.

a) SrI BhaTTar gives the interpretation that bhagavAn has this nAma
because He is the Relative of everyone in this world without exception,
and blesses all without exception – evam a-viSesheNa a-Sesha anugrahe
a-varjanIyam bAndhavam nibandhanam Aha – loka bandhuh.  He gives the
following in support:

-	mAtA pitA bhrAtA nivAsah SaraNam suhRt gatih nArAyaNah
(subAlaopanishad 6) – nArAyaNa is the mother, father, brother, abode,
refuge, friend, and the final goal”.

pitA aham asya jagato mAtA dhAtA pitAmahah     |
vedyam pavitram om-kAram Rk sAma yajureva ca     ||   (gItA 9.17)

“I am the father, mother, creator, and grandfather of the universe.  I
am the purifier.  I am the syllable Om and also Rk, sAma, and yajus”.  

SrI v.v. rAmAnujan refers us to gItA 9.29, which conveys the very same
thoughts that SrI BhaTTar has given in his bhAshyam:

	samoÂ’ham sarva bhUteshu na me dveshyoÂ’sti na priyah     |
	ye bhajanti tu mAm bhaktyA mayi te teshu cApyaham   ||      (gItA
9.29)

“I treat everyone in creation the same way.  There is none whom I like
more or dislike more.  But those who worship Me with devotion abide in
Me and I abide in them.”

Other references given by SrI v.v. rAmAnujan to emphasize this point
are:

o	un tannODu uRavEl namkku I’ngu ozhikka ozhiyAdu” – (tiruppAvai 28) –
The relationship between You on the one hand, and all of on the other,
is permanent, and never alterable.   
o	nAn unnai anRi ilEn kaNDAi nAraNanE nI ennai anRi ilai – (nAnmugan
tiru. 7) – I have no refuge other than Yu, and You have no one who is
more worthy and deserving of protection than me”.
o	Â….. ennap peRRa at-tAyAyt-tandaiyAy aRiyAdana aRivitta attA (tiruvAi.
2.3.2) – You are my Father, my Mother, my AcArya.
o	Â….tAyAit tandaiyAi makkaLAi maRRumAi muRRumAi nIyAi nI ninRavu ivai
enna niyAya’ngaLE?…..(tiruvAi. 7.8.1) – You are the Mother, Father,
Children, other relatives all rolled into one.  You do al lthat a
father does, a mother does, children do (to the parent at the latterÂ’s
old age).  You are more.  You re the whole Universe; yet I enjoy You in
your own beautiful Form.  Now pray tell me what is the secret of all
this.  I donÂ’t understand this abstract high-level mysticism!

b) c) d)  SrI Samkara gives three alternate interpretations:  i) All
the worlds are bound to Him since He is the support of all – AdhAra
bhUteÂ’smin sakalA lokA badhyanta iti lokAnAm bandhuh lokabandhuh; ii)
He is the relative of all, since He is the Creator of all and so He is
related to all and there is no greater friend than the father – lokAnAm
janakatvAt janakopamo bandhur-nAstIti vA; iii) He instructs the world
as a kinsman in right and wrong, through Sruti and smRti – lokAnAm
bandhukRtyam hitAhitpadeSam Sruti smRti lakshaNam kRtavAn iti vA.  

SrI kRshNa datta bhAradvAj uses the root bandh – to bind, and gives the
anubhavam that He is loka-bandhuh because He binds His devotees with
His affection – badhnAti prema –pASena iti bandhuh | lokAnAm bandhuh
iti loka bandhuh.

e) SrI satyadevo vAsishTha gives the explanation for the nAma starting
with the roots lok – darSane, to see, to perceive, and bandh – to bind,
to attract, etc.  One interpretation he gives is that bhagavaAn has
this nAma because He binds all things that are seen, for instance with
limited life etc. – badhnAti iti bandhuh.  Another interpretation that
SrI VasishTha gives is that He binds all the jIva-s to their karma
without a rope or such things, and so also He is called loka-bandhuh. 
Or, He binds the dealings between the people of this world through His
vedic teachings, and so also He is loka-bandhuh.  

The dharma cakram writer elaborates on the guNa of loka-bandhu of
bhagavAn.  BhagavAn gives whatever a devotee prays for;  but the
devotee can pray either worldly comfort or for the attainment of true
Realization.  Most people prefer to ask Him for the worldly comforts
(the kaThopanishad describes the two aspects – preyas or pleasant, and
Sreyas or the good)  BhagavAn acts in the role of the worldly relatives
and bestows preyas or pleasure in the form of wife, children, father,
mother, etc., or He bestows Sreyas in the form of the guru when we seek
Sreyas.  The dharma cakram writer comments that the lesson to take from
this nAma is to realize that He is our bandhu either way, and we need
to realize what is truly good for us, and seek that from Him.   

-dAsan kRshNamAcAryan

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