45)shri vidhaatre namah-Exclusive bestower and bearer

uttama stotragala sweekarisi dharisuvi nee

vidhaata namah chandogama garudavaahananae

shruthi smritigalinda samstutya aashrayanu neenu

muktarugalige aashrayanu sukhadaata neene

My obeisances to Shri Prasanna Shrinivasa Dasaru who reveals the glory of Vishnu using the simple words of Kannada.

“O vidhAtre! You accept the offerings of words of truth, which are of a truly elevated nature and enable the person who made the offering to experience the benefits You deem fit. Your glory is revealed by the Vedas and You can be known as per one’s ability only from them. Even so, just a study of the Vedas will not be sufficient, You yourself should see it fit to grace Your devotee’s heart and then You come travelling in the fastest vehicle of all -Garuda. You are the best and sought after shelter of all those who believe in You. The sages and savants who are the instruments of handing down knowledge through shruthis and smrithis – hearing, listening, understanding and then handing them over to the next generation of saints. Those in the realised state, know You to be their sole shelter and as the one who bestows and sustains their bliss.The very fact that they are in the such a blissful state is a proof of Your grace and Your vast flawless abilities.”

The Bhagavatham documents the doings of VidhAta in detail. Take up any incident of a bhakta and You can see VidhAta in action.

PrahalAda believed and experienced “vidhAta”. He was fearless when tumulted into many a harrowing situation by his own father who despised him for his true love of Narayana, the Supreme one.

Dhruva experienced the grace of “vidhAta” . He received much more than he thought he needed when he set out to seek the grace of Hari.

Draupadi who believed in Krishna’s extraordinary abilities which were totally flawless and independent, received grace when she surrendered to Him as her only shelter.

The incidents that are documented in the Puranas and itihasas are aplenty. The lives of the great saints and Haridasas of the Madhwa tradition , when examined closely reveal the true glory of “vidhAta”.

Shri Jagannatha dasaru sought succour from a disease of the body and he found the medicine for treating the ailments afflicting the soul- bhavarOga. He approached the guru who believed in VidhAta and had a store of experiences in his different appearances as Prahalada and Vyasaraja. He approached the Parama guru who revealed the true nature of God and who was completely free from any kind of negative influence at any point in time. He was uplifted by “vidhAtA”.

ninna nA Ashrayisuvenu  nigamagOcharane nityA… Shri Purandara Dasaru

neenupEksha mADidare bere gati yAr enage ….Shri Purandara dasaru

He resides inside us and is ever ready to uplift us. We need to understand His true nature, albeit in a limited manner and yet grace comes without fail.

“oMde kUgaLAte vaikuMTA saMdEha villavo sAdu sajjanarige…” Shri Purandara dasaru

muktarugalige aashrayanu sukhadaata neene….. talks of the soul’s eternal dependence on this Supreme master. He is the shelter in Mukti also and makes the jiva experience bliss there . The VSN says ,’muktAnAm paramAmgatih”

My sincere obeisances to my gurugalu Shri Bannanje Govindacharyaru who inspires and enables an exploration of the gunas of Hari . The seeker’s earnestness is all that counts.

44)shri dhAtre namah!-The powerful Supreme who carries/bears everything

sweekarisi dharisi nee rakshisi pOshipa daata

baagi shira namO embe shreesha vEdesha sarvesha

EkAtma shrikarane brahmanadharisi nAbhiya

sukamaladi janmavittu porevi naarayana

You accept and nourish. I bow down to You , O consort of Shree, the Supreme being extolled by the Vedas and the controller of everyone and everything. You are the one and only such. There is none like You. You bestow wealth of various kinds on Your devotees. You bore Brahma in the beautiful lotus giving it existence from Your navel.

What acceptance is this “sweekarisi” referring to?It could be the plea for grace from the ardent devotee or it could be a devout offering from the devotee. Both have their place in God’s compassionate dealings.

iMdu ninna moreya hokke endigAdarenna poreyo shrinivAsane

The above is a beginning of a song by Shri Purandara dasaru. He says ,” I have sent in my pleas today, it is Your protection that I seek . He quietly conveys his staunch belief that there is no doubt about protection coming forth. It will come, as per one’s eligibility.

Jagannatha dasaru has said ,” koTTudanu kaikoMba oMdarekshaNa biTTagala…”

“Hari accepts the offering given to Him earnestly and bestows protection which is one of a kind. He never leaves the side of His devotee even for half a moment.”

manadoLage suMdara padArtava nenedu koDe kaikoMba…. koTTavaranu sadA santaisuvanu..”

“When a devotee offers beautiful things which one contemplates in one’s mind, Hari accepts them and bestows endless benefits on the devotee.”

Prasanna Shreenivasa Dasaru says, ” I bow down to You, O shreesha, Vedesha, sarvEsha” .In the context of “dhAtre” we look at each of these sambodhana’s used by Dasaru.

One who is able to accept the pleas of others and bestow protection or fruits  must be mighty and powerful. He who accepts the pleas of all devotees from time immemorial to infinity must be infinitely powerful. That is one of the meanings of “shreesha” Shri meaning -sampattu- wealth.”Infinite power/independence is the true wealth. All others depend on Him for any kind of wealth like, a body, mind, sense organs and the abilities to use them. ” Jagannatha dasaru has said ,”janapa mechchidarIva danavAhana vibhushana vasana bhUmiya…. tanu managalittAdariparuMTeno…….anavarata nenevavara anantAsanave modalAdAlayadolu…..” He bestows what none can. He protects and allows the jiva’s swabhava /innate nature to unfold. Finally when the jiva understands Him as the meaning of all sound, as the meaning of all words as Vedesha, He bestows the soul with aparOksha jnAna and such a chosen one receives the knowledge that He is sarvEsha .”The very same master who is my inner controller is the controller of each and every entity and thing.”

vittadEhAgAra dArA

patyamitrAdigaLoLage guNa

chittabuddhyadiMdriyagaLoLu j~nAnakaRmadoLu

tattadAhvayanAgi karesuta

satyasaMkalApanusAradi

nityadali tA mADimADipaneMdu smarisutiru.HKAS_05-10

shrIsha- All wealth is a means to reach Him. All wealth exists because of His grace. He is the sole owner of all wealth.

vEdesha- All knowledge culminates in the knowledge of His Superiority and independence. He is the master of all knowledge and reveals to each one as per their eligibily . Goal of study is to know Him as per one’s abilities.

sarvEsha – He is the master of wealth and knowledge. The entire infinite attributes possible are a form of wealth and He knows each and every minute being in all its states for all time. Hence bestows each one with the exact experience that one deserves at that time. There is no lack of resources for Him-shreesha, there is no lack of knowledge for Him – One need never feel that one’s good deeds will not be noticed, neither will the bad deeds be ignored. His infinite consciousness makes each and every one of the infinite souls accountable to Him.

Further all of us human beings feel bent under the weight of our responsibilities which we seemingly do not shine through.We always feel that it could have been done better, said better, heard better etc etc. There seems to be a lack in our doings which adds to the burden. Indeed our doings affect all those who are close to us and hence the burden multiplies. Contemplation on “dhAtre namah!”

 This upasana of Hari as our bimba muruti/inner controller who is the actual one who carries everything and sees to everything making us just the instrument, then the burden on our mind lifts . He who carries the entire Brahmanda with all the souls including the highest one Brahma carries everything effortlessly . The moment we accept our inability to actually carry anything at all, we are delivered from our anxiety and burdens and are able to live life with a light heart. All guilt and regret is washed off . Fresh enthusiasm to become His instrument in this universe wells up inside our hearts and life becomes a journey filled with peaceful acceptance.He is the one who unloads the weight of anxiety and worry and one can rest assured that He will do the needful, the best possible outcomes will be delivered to each and every soul based on their eligibility to obtain or enjoy.

Shri Purandara dasaru has said,

“chinte yaake mADuttiddi chinmayaniddaane

chintA ratnavembo anantaniddAne”

 

43)Shree anAdinidhanAya namah!

janana mriti illadaanAdinidhana namO

nee nitya aprAkrita vigrahaanandamaya jnAnaroopamaya

jani jarAdyakhila dOshadURanu avikAra

neenu kAlaatIta aksharanu swatantranu Atma

Shree Prasanna Shrinivasa Dasa gurubhyoh namah!

“O anAdi nidhanane, You are free from the hassles of birth and death, are eternal and untouched by the binding forces of Prakriti. In fact it is Your wish and will that Prakriti be such a binding force on all and You are the driving force of knowledge and power for everything. You remain changeless and completely flawless.  Time which preys on the embodied being as per Your divine will has no binding influence on You. Your domain of existence is imperishable and independent . You pervade everywhere and inspire every living being , being their inner controller-atma. I bow down in humble surrender to You and seek Your bountiful grace!”

There are many verses in the Gita which declare the Lord as being eternal and free from bondage. Some of them are ..

natvevAham jAtu nAsam na tvam ne me janAdipAh….

In the above verse He gives His own self an example of immortality of the soul.

yam hi na vyatanyatyete…..so amruthatvaaya kalpate…..

The above verse states that whosoever is not bound by the duals of joy and sorrow, loss and gain are sure to attain the subtle land of no return

janma karma cha me divyam……………………….punarjanmam na vidyate

Further , Lord Krishna procliams that whosoever studies and understands the immense and wonderful avataras of Hari become free from the schackles of transmigration.

If the soul is itself eternal, the Lord who is the cause for its very existence is definitely eternal,complete  in all its infinite aspects. The completeness itself qualifies it as free from defects or transformations due to impact from other forces. There is none who can influence Hari. What He decides so shall it happen. There is no other way.

hari chitta satya nara chittake banduddu lava lesha…

kAlAtIta – Time is binding factor experienced by everyone of us. Time passes and can never be recalled. Time extends in the future but it remains an enigma as there is no definteness about it. It’s wonder is that the length of the time is relative.When we are engaged in activities that we are attached to, or like; then times seems to move fast ,otherwise the clock seems to tick slower. All these influences of time on the emobodied being are instituted by anAdinidhanO-Hari – The one who is beyond Time. For Him there is no such thing as past time,  present and future which are binding. The qualifiers of time pertain to those who are born and have a beginning in their embodiment not Hari who is never different from His essence and is not born in that sense of the word as we usually use it, obtaining a body.  Hence He is akshara- never has a body which is destroyed at some point in time.

Why so? He is swatantra. He is always independent in existence,knowledge and action. This single most important attribute sets Him apart from every other entity in the universe and beyond.

He is Atma. In all His glorious attributes He exists inside each and every soul as well as in the entire space for all time. He resides inside us and this name ‘Atma’ of the Lord is one that is specifically suited for the upasana among human beings. The special four gunas which are cognizable by humans are sat, chit , ananda and atma. Here “Atma” has been mentioned and the glory of this name should be meditated as the bimba rupa-the antaryami who is completely in control of all beings and things at all times. who is free from defects and full of auspicious attributes.

 

I bow down repeatedly at the feet of my guru Shri Bannanje Govindacharyaru . I offer my sincere obeisances to Shri Prasanna Shrinivasa dasaru for having given us this treasure on Vishnu Sahasranama in Kannada and to that flawless Hari who is the controller of time and is limitless.