Post by madanmohandas on Jul 10, 2022 9:47:12 GMT -6
Sri Rupa's eight verses in celebration of Hari's name, Sri Namastakam, with some annotations.
First,
Who did glory in the world establish
According to Chaitanya's divine wish,
May that Rupa, I earnestly entreat,
Grant me the refuge close to his dear feet.
Sri Namastakm
The crowning gem of all the scripture glows
With light in adoration of your toes;
The liberated worship as is due,
O Hari's name! I take refuge in you. 1
Addressing Hari's name as one and the same with Hari, as will be seen in text six, the author divine Rupa, exclaims, 'The crowning gem, etc', the chief and highest decoration, 'of all the scripture' all the sacred texts which are the Upanishads that set forth the deliberations on ultimate reality, 'glows,' as with gems of enlightenment, 'in adoration of your toes', as with offering of lamp in circling motions, which is to say, aspire to glorify the efficacy of the name. 'The liberated' such as Suka, Narada, Sanaka and his brethren, etc. 'worship as is due' resort to the adoration of the name as the ultimate truth. 'O Hari's name! I take refuge in you'. I resort to hearing and chanting.
Whom sages glorify, hail name divine!
Where transcendental syllables combine,
To all the people happiness you grant,
When with devotion your sweet name they chant;
Nay, even uttered once, or in disdain,
You eradicate misery and pain. 2
'Even uttered once, or in disdain,'... on this the author cites a verse in his Anthology, Padyavali, attributed to Vyasa,
Of all sweet things this excels in sweetness,
Most auspicious of all auspiciousness;
The choicest mellow sweet fruitage divine,
That grows upon the holy scriptures' vine;
Uttered in faith, nay, even in disdain,
A human being straightway does attain
Salvation, best of Bhrigus', I proclaim,
Such is the potency of Krishna's name.
(Padyavali 26)
Also, in the Padma, cited in the author's Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, 1.2.233
Krishna's name as the thought-gem is endued
With conscious beauty and beatitude;
All-complete, hallowed, free and unrestrained,
Since the name is non-distinct from the named.
More on that in verse six, now verse three.
O Sun-like name! Your rising radiates,
And universal darkness dissipates;
Then those who erst were to your glory blind,
The path of pure devotion easy find.
But when you shine with meridian blaze,
What wise man could exhaust your endless praise! 3
As the natural philosopher says, 'the great cause of the night is lack of the sun'. Which is to say darkness is not a thing per se, but the privation of something, namely light.
Krishna is like the sun, Maya the night,
Where Krishna is there Maya has no right.
(C.C. Madhya. 22.31)
Well, as for that, the author likens the name to the sun, without which all is darkness, but with the first light of dawn places and things are discovered to view. Drawing out the metaphor, the darkness represents ignorance within, which is enlightened by the mere rising as the sun rises of the name, i.e, upon initial first hearing and reciting, and 'Then those who erst were to your glory blind' which glory being eradicating suffering and ignorance and replacing them with ineffable bliss etc. 'The path of pure devotion easy find.' the way to be followed can be discerned even with the first light. Then to suggest the unthinkable efficacy of the name, continuing the metaphor, 'But when you shine with meridian blaze' that is with full noonday light and everything can be seen the greatest extent, 'What wise man', one who deliberates and cultivates these things, 'could exhaust your endless praise?' your praises being endless who could exhaust or recount them to the full?
Again a verse is cited in Padyavli expressing the same conceit attributed to Lakshmidhara,
As when the rising Sun illuminates,
The darkness in the world eradicates,
E'en so by Hari's name all sin is quelled,
And bondage of delusion is dispelled;
Hail to him whom the world doth purify,
The all-auspicious name of Lord Hari!
(Padyavali 16)
Now, our divine author, adduces another aspect of the extraordinary efficacy of Hari's name.
One may have directly Brahman perceived,
Yet be not thus of past actions relieved;
But all past acts are destroyed by the name,
The Vedic texts this truth loudly proclaim. 4
Direct perception of Brahman is sought by many yogis and transcendentalists, and is considered to be the desideratum of their disciplines. But it seems that the residual traces of past action are not entirely removed, which may, like seeds hidden beneath the soil, sprout upon the occasion of some event yet to be; well, as for that, Sri Rupa asserts, 'One may have directly' that is 'saksat-kara' by immediate perception, 'Brahman perceived,' but in spite of that, 'Yet be not thus,' by this direct perception, 'of past actions relieved' that is those acts that are latent remain in residual form. Yet such is the glory and efficacy of Hari's name that, '...all past acts are destroyed,' eradicated, and thereby will not sprout again, 'by the name.' Elsewhere the author observes,
But certes when his holy name is sung,
In adoration, flowing o'er the tongue,
By degrees, in devotion resolute,
Destroyed is ignorance down to the root.
(Upadeshamrta 7)
Without citing all the verses that confirm this, let it be, 'The Vedic texts this truth loudly proclaim!' etc.
Now, in verse five the divine Rupa lists a group of names to call upon.
Agha's killer! Yashoda's joy and pride!
O son of Nanda! O thou Lotus-eyed!
Moon of the gopis! Lord of Vrindavan!
One who for refugees has compassion!
Krishna! etcetera, and many more,
O Lord, may I with love your names adore! 5
Now, on the non-distinction in regard to the word and that signified by the word, with a clause which exalts the former in respect to certain effects.
O name divine, your nature is two-fold,
That which is signified and the word told;
And there is no distinction twixt the two,
Yet of the latter we may know it true,
A more abundant mercy hath been shown,
Since by the word a creature may atone
For heaps of sins in endless multitude,
And drown in the sea of beatitude. 6
Removest thou thy refugees distress,
Thou art the form of transcendental bliss;
O name! Thou art Gokula's festival,
Of supreme love sublime ineffable;
O Krishna's name, thou art Krishna complete,
I bow in salutation at thy feet. 7
O name who Narad's veena with life fills,
Which waves of rapture and nectar distils,
O name of Krishna, if you so approve,
Appear always upon my tongue with love.8
This concludes Sri Rupa Goswamis' eight verses
called Sri Namasatakam, from Stavamala.
First,
Who did glory in the world establish
According to Chaitanya's divine wish,
May that Rupa, I earnestly entreat,
Grant me the refuge close to his dear feet.
Sri Namastakm
The crowning gem of all the scripture glows
With light in adoration of your toes;
The liberated worship as is due,
O Hari's name! I take refuge in you. 1
Addressing Hari's name as one and the same with Hari, as will be seen in text six, the author divine Rupa, exclaims, 'The crowning gem, etc', the chief and highest decoration, 'of all the scripture' all the sacred texts which are the Upanishads that set forth the deliberations on ultimate reality, 'glows,' as with gems of enlightenment, 'in adoration of your toes', as with offering of lamp in circling motions, which is to say, aspire to glorify the efficacy of the name. 'The liberated' such as Suka, Narada, Sanaka and his brethren, etc. 'worship as is due' resort to the adoration of the name as the ultimate truth. 'O Hari's name! I take refuge in you'. I resort to hearing and chanting.
Whom sages glorify, hail name divine!
Where transcendental syllables combine,
To all the people happiness you grant,
When with devotion your sweet name they chant;
Nay, even uttered once, or in disdain,
You eradicate misery and pain. 2
'Even uttered once, or in disdain,'... on this the author cites a verse in his Anthology, Padyavali, attributed to Vyasa,
Of all sweet things this excels in sweetness,
Most auspicious of all auspiciousness;
The choicest mellow sweet fruitage divine,
That grows upon the holy scriptures' vine;
Uttered in faith, nay, even in disdain,
A human being straightway does attain
Salvation, best of Bhrigus', I proclaim,
Such is the potency of Krishna's name.
(Padyavali 26)
Also, in the Padma, cited in the author's Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu, 1.2.233
Krishna's name as the thought-gem is endued
With conscious beauty and beatitude;
All-complete, hallowed, free and unrestrained,
Since the name is non-distinct from the named.
More on that in verse six, now verse three.
O Sun-like name! Your rising radiates,
And universal darkness dissipates;
Then those who erst were to your glory blind,
The path of pure devotion easy find.
But when you shine with meridian blaze,
What wise man could exhaust your endless praise! 3
As the natural philosopher says, 'the great cause of the night is lack of the sun'. Which is to say darkness is not a thing per se, but the privation of something, namely light.
Krishna is like the sun, Maya the night,
Where Krishna is there Maya has no right.
(C.C. Madhya. 22.31)
Well, as for that, the author likens the name to the sun, without which all is darkness, but with the first light of dawn places and things are discovered to view. Drawing out the metaphor, the darkness represents ignorance within, which is enlightened by the mere rising as the sun rises of the name, i.e, upon initial first hearing and reciting, and 'Then those who erst were to your glory blind' which glory being eradicating suffering and ignorance and replacing them with ineffable bliss etc. 'The path of pure devotion easy find.' the way to be followed can be discerned even with the first light. Then to suggest the unthinkable efficacy of the name, continuing the metaphor, 'But when you shine with meridian blaze' that is with full noonday light and everything can be seen the greatest extent, 'What wise man', one who deliberates and cultivates these things, 'could exhaust your endless praise?' your praises being endless who could exhaust or recount them to the full?
Again a verse is cited in Padyavli expressing the same conceit attributed to Lakshmidhara,
As when the rising Sun illuminates,
The darkness in the world eradicates,
E'en so by Hari's name all sin is quelled,
And bondage of delusion is dispelled;
Hail to him whom the world doth purify,
The all-auspicious name of Lord Hari!
(Padyavali 16)
Now, our divine author, adduces another aspect of the extraordinary efficacy of Hari's name.
One may have directly Brahman perceived,
Yet be not thus of past actions relieved;
But all past acts are destroyed by the name,
The Vedic texts this truth loudly proclaim. 4
Direct perception of Brahman is sought by many yogis and transcendentalists, and is considered to be the desideratum of their disciplines. But it seems that the residual traces of past action are not entirely removed, which may, like seeds hidden beneath the soil, sprout upon the occasion of some event yet to be; well, as for that, Sri Rupa asserts, 'One may have directly' that is 'saksat-kara' by immediate perception, 'Brahman perceived,' but in spite of that, 'Yet be not thus,' by this direct perception, 'of past actions relieved' that is those acts that are latent remain in residual form. Yet such is the glory and efficacy of Hari's name that, '...all past acts are destroyed,' eradicated, and thereby will not sprout again, 'by the name.' Elsewhere the author observes,
But certes when his holy name is sung,
In adoration, flowing o'er the tongue,
By degrees, in devotion resolute,
Destroyed is ignorance down to the root.
(Upadeshamrta 7)
Without citing all the verses that confirm this, let it be, 'The Vedic texts this truth loudly proclaim!' etc.
Now, in verse five the divine Rupa lists a group of names to call upon.
Agha's killer! Yashoda's joy and pride!
O son of Nanda! O thou Lotus-eyed!
Moon of the gopis! Lord of Vrindavan!
One who for refugees has compassion!
Krishna! etcetera, and many more,
O Lord, may I with love your names adore! 5
Now, on the non-distinction in regard to the word and that signified by the word, with a clause which exalts the former in respect to certain effects.
O name divine, your nature is two-fold,
That which is signified and the word told;
And there is no distinction twixt the two,
Yet of the latter we may know it true,
A more abundant mercy hath been shown,
Since by the word a creature may atone
For heaps of sins in endless multitude,
And drown in the sea of beatitude. 6
Removest thou thy refugees distress,
Thou art the form of transcendental bliss;
O name! Thou art Gokula's festival,
Of supreme love sublime ineffable;
O Krishna's name, thou art Krishna complete,
I bow in salutation at thy feet. 7
O name who Narad's veena with life fills,
Which waves of rapture and nectar distils,
O name of Krishna, if you so approve,
Appear always upon my tongue with love.8
This concludes Sri Rupa Goswamis' eight verses
called Sri Namasatakam, from Stavamala.