Published from “Three Minutes” series written by A.S.Rajagopalan Swami of Ohio
kAmahA kAmakR^it kAntaH
kAmaH kAmaprada prabhuH.
kAmadevaH kAmapAlaH kAmI
kAntaH kR^itAgamaH
(Bishma, Sri vishnu Sahasranamam)
kAmahA = one who destroys all desires
kAmakR^it = one who satisfies the wishes
kAntaH = one who has a charming form
kAmaH = one who is lovable (desired by everyone)
kAmaprada = grantor of wishes
(supplies all the desired objects)
prabhu = Lord, master, controller, owner
kAmadevaH = One who grants all desires
kAmapAlaH = one who is the protector of bestowed gifts
kAmI = one who is the desirable one
kAntaH = one who has an enchanting form
kR^itAgamaH = Revealer of mantra-s
shrI ViShNu sahasranAma (ViShNu’s thousand names) is a popular stotra consisting of 108 verses (shloka-s) [excluding the preamble and the end prayers]. This was recited by bhIShma in the ithihAsa (ancientepic) mahabhArata. bhIShma was defeated by arjuna and was lying in his arrow bed (shara-talpa), waiting for the last moment. Lord KR^iShNa unfolds himself into universal form (vishvarUpam) and it is then bhIShma who recites this sacred hymn. bhIShma advised everyone to pray to the ultimate Lord (parabrahmam) to get rid of all the sorrow in one’s life. Many teachers (AcAryas) have written commentaries that lean towards their own philosophical views.
The Lord removes bad desires. He is the creator, granter, supplier, and protector of desirable things. He is the Supreme and the most enchanting. He is the revealer of the sacred texts in order to guide everyone. He grants all the four types of objectives: righteousness, wealth, pleasure, and ultimate bliss (dharma, artha, kAma, mokSha). He gives and protects these objectives. Lord KR^iShNa said the same in Bhagavat gItA – “yoga kShemam” (yogam = wealth, kShemam= protection of that) . Lord is the revealer of sacred mantras. He has instructed the pA~ncarAtra Agama-s and spread the holy scripts/other authoritative texts (veda-s and other pramANams). The First yuga called KR^ita has emerged from Him.
Let us organize all these ideas. Lord is
1. Destroyer – destroys the useless desires.
2. Creator – creates all the desirable things
3. Owner – has unlimited supply.
4. Deliverer – fulfills all desires.
5. Protector – grants, delivers and then protects them.
6. Lovable form – assumes an enchanting form so that people are pleased to approach Him.
7. Authority – He is the Lord and surpasses everyone and no need to ask anyone.
8. Attractor of minds – He has the power to attract every one’s mind and put in the right desires.
9. Complete – He is complete (pUrNam) and fully satisfied. No point in approaching someone who himself is subordinate.
Lord’s supply will never reduce when He gives to others.
10. Easily accessible – He is bright and present everywhere. No need to search where can we find Him
11. Guide – Lord, through authoritative texts, shows the means to fulfill our desires
12. Supreme – He is the final. Brahma, yuga-s, shAatra-s emerged only from Him. Everything can be obtained from Him.
What we learn from here
1. “Giving” is a simple term. But it is associated with all the above circumstances. It has to be synchronized with mind, word and action. (mano, vAk, kAya). Don’t promise things that you can’t control.
2. Watch out for “Buck stops here” statement. Convince yourself when someone says ” I will take care”, how much they can execute.
3. Go for the best. When you have the ultimate Lord, why go for lower demi-Gods? When you know and are assured about ultimate bliss (mokSha), you don’t need to try desperately for other things.
If you desire many things, many things will seem but a few
