Vishnu Sahasra Naamam-Vol III-RR-edit.pub - Ibiblio

Slokam 71
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äüivd!äaü[ae äüI äü}ae äaü[iày>. 71.
brahmaNyO brahmakrudbrahmA brahma brahmavivardhanah |
brahmavit brAhmaNO brahmI brahmaj~nO brAhmaNapriyah ||
[ PLEASE ADD PRANAVAM BEFORE EACH NAAMA ]
The word brahman or a derived word occurs in this Slokam repeatedly. It will
be useful to have some basic understanding of this term before proceeding
with the explanation of the nAma-s.
The word brahman is derived from the root brah, which means vastness,
power, growth, etc. Anything that is big is covered under the term brahma.
The term can refer to penance, veda-s, brAhmaN-s well-versed in scripture,
wisdom, etc. - tapo vedASca viprASca, j~nAnam ca brahma sam~jnitam.
The word brahman can also denote the Supreme Being, veda, prakRti, and the
Atman (jIva). The last one is particularly used in the bhagavad rAmAnuja
school, because the jIva in its essential nature is unlimited in its power, and
thus is brahma in nature.
Any limitation it suffers is temporary, and the limitation is only when the jIva
is associated with a body.
The Atman or self possesses the quality of "infinite extensiveness" as its true
nature, even though it is conditioned by the limitations of the body when it is
associated with a body.
As a proper noun, the term brahmA refers to the four-faced brahmA, and
ofcourse, the word stands to denote bhagavAn when it comes to the creation
of the four-faced brahmA.
The different interpreters use one or more of the above meanings for the
term brahman in their vyAkhyAna-s for the following nAma-s. This is partly
the source of the differences in the different anubhava-s.
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