Slokam 14: Vishnu Sahasranamam: Aeshame

Slokam 14:

Transliteration

eṣa me sarva dharmāṇāṃ dharmo 'dhikatamo mataḥ |

yad bhaktyā puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ stavair arcen naras sadā || 14 ||

Meaning

"This worship of the Supreme Lotus-eyed Lord at all times by a person endowed with devotion is

regarded by me as the greatest of all religious practices."

(by Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari)

"This worship of the lotus eyed lord, by a person singing his praise, is hence regarded by me

as the greatest dharma."

"This I think is the most excellent dharma of all dharmas that with devotion, a man should always glorify the lotus-eyed (Lord) by praises." (link)

Comment

This Slokam is in reply to the fifth question: "Which is the greatest Dharma?". Bheeshma answers this by stating that he regards the singing in praise of the lotus eyed lord as the greatest Dharma. Meanings of some of the words in the slokam are given below: 

eṣa: This 

me: to me 

sarva: whole/ entire/ all 

dharmāṇāṃ: dharmas  

dharmo: dharma 

adhikatamo: highest/ most 

mataḥ: opinion 

yad: if 

bhaktyā: with devotion 

puṇḍarīkākṣaṃ: Lotus-eyed 

sadā: always 

Slokam 13: Vishnu Sahasranamam: Brahmanyam

We did the last post on Vishnu Sahasranamam almost a year back. The last post was on Sloka 12, which reads

anādinidhanaṁ viṣṇuṁ sarvalōkamaheśvaram |

lōkādhyakṣaṁ stuvannityaṁ sarvaduḥkhātigō bhavet || 12 ||

The meaning of Slokam 12, as per Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari, is:

"One who is ever engaged in praising the Lord who is without beginning and end, the All pervading- One, the Ruler of the Universe, the Supervisor of the worlds, the One Who is to be known from the Vedas, Who is Himself the Knower of all Dharmas, the One Who is constantly engaged in the Universal Welfare, Lord of the Universe, and the Cause of all beings — such a devotee transcends over all the sorrows of this material world."

In the last post, we highlighted the difference of views as to whether Slokam 12 was in reply to the third or the fifth question posed by Yudhishtra. Slokas 8 and 9 are:

The third and the fifth questions of Yudhishtra were:

3. Which is the deity that is to be worshipped?

5. Which is the greatest Dharma? 

Sri UVe Velukkudi Krishnan in his lectures on the Vishnu Sahasranamam states that the 12th Sloka is in reply to the third and not the fifth question. In these series, we will go by that order.

In reply, Bhishma answers these in the twelfth sloka. 

Slokam 13:

Transliteration

brahmaṇyaṃ sarva dharmajñaṃ lokānāṃ kīrti-vardhanam |

lokanāthaṃ mahadbhūtaṃ sarvabhūta-bhavodbhavam || 13 ||

Meaning:

"Verily He is champion of the devotees, conversant with all duties and injunctions, the enhancer 

of fame and achievement of all people, the master of all the universe, exceedingly wonderful, and

the cause of the origination of all beings." (Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari)

Comment:

The sense that the slokam conveys, word by word, is as follows:

brahmaṇya: relating to brahman

sarva: whole, entire, all, every

dharmajñaṃ: Knowing the law or what is right

lokānāṃ: of the people/ devotees

kīrti: fame

vardhanam: enhancement/ increase

lokanāthaṃ: lord of the worlds (universe)

mahadbhūtaṃ: exceedingly wonderful

sarvabhūta: all beings

bhavodbhavam: cause of the origination

Originally, as posted, we commented that Slokam 13 was in reply to question 5 of Yudhishtra, which is: "Which is the greatest Dharma and none greater than that?": To this question, Bhishma replies in terms of Slokam 13. We also stated that in reply to the question as to which or who is the greatest dharma, Bhishma says that Sri Vishnu is the greatest dharma in terms of Sloka 13.

It is interesting to note that some commentaries do not link this Slokam to any of the questions that Yudhishtra asks. See, for example, S. Suryamurthy's commentary. Likewise, KE Parthasarathy's commentary also does not attribute this sloka to any question. Following this, we do not link this Slokam to any of the questions posed by Yudhishtra.

References:

Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari, Vishnu Sahasranama Stotra

M Monier- Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary (2002 ed: 2020 reprint) (p. 511, 

https://www.learnsanskrit.cc/ (Dictionary)

S. Suryamurthy, Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam (Tamil)(2017). 

KE Parthasarathy, Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam with Commentaries of Sri Sankaracarya & Sri Parasara Bhattar (1966)

Slokam 12: Vishnu Sahasranamam: Anaadhinidhanam

Introduction

In the last post, we saw that Yudhishtra raises six questions and Bhishma answers those questions one by one. We also discussed the eleventh sloka. In this post, we discuss the twelfth sloka.

Sloka 12

Sloka 12 is in reply to Slokas 8 and 9, which are questions posed by Yudhishtra. Slokas 8 and 9 are:

In reply, Bhishma answers these in the twelfth sloka which is given below:

Transliteration

anādinidhanaṁ viṣṇuṁ sarvalōkamaheśvaram |

lōkādhyakṣaṁ stuvannityaṁ sarvaduḥkhātigō bhavet || 12 ||

Meaning

one who is ever engaged in praising the Lord who is without beginning and end, the All pervading- One, the Ruler of the Universe, the Supervisor of the worlds, the One Who is to be known from the Vedas, Who is Himself the Knower of all Dharmas, the One Who is constantly engaged in the Universal Welfare, Lord of the Universe, and the Cause of all beings — such a devotee transcends over all the sorrows of this material world.

(Pandit U.Ve. Sri Rama Ramanuja Achari)

Comment

As stated above in the 8th and 9th Sloka, Yudhishtra asks six questions to Bhishma. Of these, the last two are: 

5. Which is the greatest Dharma?

6. Which is the means that will bring about release from Bondage?

Bhishma says that the greatest Dharma is ever praising or chanting the name of Vishnu. He also says such a devotee (who is engaged in chanting the name of Vishnu) transcends all sorrows of the material world and that such chanting will release him from Bondage. 

Prof. A Srinivasa Raghavan (ASR), in his preface to the English translation of the commentary of Sri Parasara Bhattar on the Sahasranama, argues that the 12th sloka is the answer to the fifth question noted above. According to Prof. ASR, Bhishma answers the sixth question (noted above) through the tenth Sloka, whose meaning is: "The chanting of the names of Sri Krishna , who is the Supreme Deity and Purushottama, should be done for obtaining release from bondage." [ASR, p. III].  It is to be noted that even the 12th sloka speaks of going beyond ("atigo bhavet"). On the other hand, there is a view, predominant, that the 12th Sloka is in answer to the third question: Which is the deity that is to be worshipped?

[Note: Edited after posting. See post on Slokam 13]

The word by word meaning of the 12th Sloka is:

Anaadhinidhanam: Without beginning/ existing from eternity or end/ annihilation/ destruction.

Vishnum: Vishnu

Sarvaloka: All the worlds

Maheshwaram: The Supreme Lord

lokaa dhyakshaM: knower of all worlds or knower of all Dharmas

Stuvan: chants 

nityam: daily or always

sarva duHkha: All sorrows

atigo bhavet: Go beyond

[Sources: 

1) M Monier Williams, A Sanskrit English Dictionary, 17th Reprint: 2020: Motilal Banarasidass; 

2) Sri Vishnu Sahasranamam Word-to-word translation

3) http://sanskritdictionary.com/]

Note that the phrase Anaadhinidhanam is also found in Sloka 34, Chapter 10 of Canto 2 of the Srimad Bhaghavatam, which states:

ataḥ paraṁ sūkṣmatamam

avyaktaṁ nirviśeṣaṇam

anādi-madhya-nidhanaṁ

nityaṁ vāṅ-manasaḥ param

The sloka's meaning is: "Therefore beyond this [gross manifestation] is a transcendental manifestation finer than the finest form. It has no beginning, no intermediate stage and no end; therefore it is beyond the limits of expression or mental speculation and is distinct from the material conception."[Source: https://prabhupadabooks.com/sb/2/10/34?d=1]

Book Review: The War that Made R&AW by Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket (Westland)

Anusha Nandakumar and Sandeep Saket, The War That Made R&AW, Westland (April 2021)

Indian writing has come a long way. The trick is that like a racy screenplay in films, the writing should be catchy and racy. This is true especially in non-fiction. The recently released book, the War that made R&AW, is about the founding of the Research and Analysis Wing and its working in the Indo-Pak War of 1971. R&AW is the foreign intelligence agency of India, while its domestic counterpart is the Intelligence Bureau.

The book discusses how R&AW was founded by RN Kao, how he selected his team, how the Prime Minister supported establishment and functioning of R&AW, how Sankaran Nair helped RN Kao in running the R&AW, and how India helped in the formation of Bangladesh. Such books are rare to come by. Well researched, compact (~187 pages), and written like a racy film, the book is a must read for those interested in political non-fiction and about Indian polity. 

The authors, Anusha Nandakumar, and Sandeep Saket are not political journalists. They're basically film makers and first time authors. Given these, the book is mind-blowing and the authors are to be congratulated for writing this wonderful book.

On the flipside, the book does not talk about post-1971 developments of R&AW. Given the title "The War that Made R&AW", this is not a 'defect' as such. However, a ten page chapter covering some landmark events post 1971 would have been helpful.

Another problem with the book is that it  presents the book from an Indian perspective. The American,  British, Chinese and Pakistani perspectives on the war are nowhere to be seen. 

Even so, this is an excellent read. 

Links to the some of the book reviews of this book are provided here: The Indian Express, The Scroll (with excerpts from the book), The Print,

Other books on R&AW are RN Kao are given in the bibliography of the book.

Transparent Law Enforcement in India: Whether Possible?

On 9 January 2021, a ghastly incident happened in Bhandara, Maharashtra. About ten new borns were charred to death in a hospital, and with them the dreams of ten families dreams were shattered. Read more on the details of the incident from here. Now, newspapers report that there was no fire NOC from the fire department since 1981. 

Now, whether a fire NOC from the fire department would have averted the disaster cannot be conclusively stated without going into the manner in which the fire department in Maharashtra granted NOC. 

But why do people fail to obtain compliances like these? Can there be a method to better implement laws in India such as building regulations, etc. without corruption and redtapism? Consider this model: the Government creates an area-wise list of buildings and containing a table containing the status of compliance of various laws such as building laws, etc., along with the necessary certificate. In case a certificate is missing, it will show as not complied. If a compliance is pending, it will show as such to the public. The Government official responsible to handle such area and the number of deficient compliances can also be displayed. Further, the list of officials with maximum non-compliance can be listed out and performance incentives can be linked to the number of compliances and actions taken. The date of inspection can also be logged in. 

Such a transparent system could ensure the following:

• People will come to know the laws to be complied with.
• People will come to know if any building lacks compliance or some certification is not there.
• People can ensure that a building complies with a law or obtains the necessary certification.
• People can ensure that Government does its job.
• Government can easily keep track of compliances.
• Sufficient incentives are available to Government officials to ensure proper compliances. 
• A transparent system can be established where all the stakeholders are on the same page, literally and figuratively. 

There might be issues relating to privacy, especially as regards individual houses. Another possible loophole in this system is that it would address only failures to apply for compliances but not a situation where the applicant has filed the requisite application but the application does not duly comply with the law, even if the authority has granted the relevant NOC/ certificate/ authorisation.

To address the privacy issue, this scheme can be first extended to commercial buildings and buildings with more than three floors. Then it can be extended. But in a country like India where enforcement of laws and corruption are the chief problems, can a system as envisaged above ensure better compliance and better performance?

The qualitative compliance issue can be addressed at the second stage once the system is in place and starts working. In the second stage, the application filed can also be uploaded along with prescribed documentation and evidence of due compliance. 

Has a similar method been tried before in any jurisdiction? What have been the results of those experiments?

Business & Economy (7 January 2021)

 Certain interesting developments on the economy and business front is interesting. Honda introduced VRS for its Manesar plant which manufactures Unicorn, Activa and Shine Models in order to deal with the Covid strategy. It appears that two-wheeler sales in India dropped by about 25% Y-o-Y to 9.6% till November 2020. Private sector bringing in VRS is an interesting strategy. Will over private sector companies follow?

On another news, it appears that 75% of the elderly in India have some or the other chronic disease. Executive Summary of the Study (pdf) states:

"Overall in India, around three quarters of the elderly age 60 and above who were diagnosed with chronic conditions have been treated for hypertension (77%), chronic heart diseases (74%), diabetes mellitus (83%), chronic lung diseases (72%) and cancer (75%); more than half of elderly have been treated for stroke (58%) and bone/joint diseases (56%); whereas, the treatment rate for neurological & psychiatric diseases among the elderly is the lowest (41%). The treatment rate for all chronic health conditions is higher among the elderly in urban areas, those with higher education, and those in the richest MPCE quintile than their counterparts."

Most of these are stress related disorders. Stress is ruling the nation. What is the point in working so hard if one is not contended?

In a season of flus, Bird Flu has come back to haunt India, especially Haryana and Kerala, leading to ban for chicken from Southern States of India.

In another interesting news on the stock market, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) contributed more than domestic institutional investors (DIIs) as anchor investors in IPOs in India for 2020. Very interesting. How does this compare to other countries? Or the previous year in India?

Kural 972: All Life on Earth is Same: பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும்

More than a two thousand years ago, the great Tamil work "Tirukkural" (திருக்குறள்) (Sacred Verses) speaks about equality and against stratification based on birth. This kural forms the subject of this short post.

Kural 972: குறள் 972

பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும் சிறப்பொவ்வா

செய்தொழில் வேற்றுமை யான்

Transliteration

piRappuokkum ellA uyirkkum siRappuovvA

seythozil vaetRRumai yAn.

Translation

All life on earth is same in origin; but each one's merit varies according to avocations and skills; not by birth. (J. Narayanasamy)

All human beings agree as regards their birth but differ as regards their characteristics, because of the different qualities of their actions. (Pope, Drew, Lazarus & Eillis)

Comment

Tirukkural is praised for its universality, which cuts across space and, more importantly, time. This kural is the best example of its eternal character. First, a word by word, literal, meaning:

பிறப்பு: Birth

ஒக்கும்: is the same

எல்லா: All

உயிர்க்கும்: living persons

சிறப்பு: special

ஒவ்வா: somethings that does not conform to

செய்தொழில்: vocation 

வேற்றுமை: Difference

Uyirkum (உயிர்க்கும்) can mean living beings but in the present context, it refers to living beings. That the kural refers to humans and not all living beings is the view of many commentators (such as Parimelazhagar, Pope et al, etc.

Nevertheless, Tiruvalluvar may have referred to Uyirkum (உயிர்க்கும்)  to mean all living beings. If such a construction is adopted, he could have meant: By birth, all living beings are the same, but among humans the difference depends on their actions. 

Another point that is worth noting is that sirappu (சிறப்பு), though literally singular, is plural in the context (Parimelazhagar). It refers to Ciṟappiyalpukaḷ or distinctive characteristics.

Thus, the Kural states: By birth, all humans are the same, but what distinguishes one from another is the manner in which he/she goes about with his/ her vocation.