LORD VISHNU
The
word ‘Vishnu’ consists of two components—‘Vishwa’ meaning the world or the entire creation, and ‘Anu’ meaning an atom.
Hence, this is made up of atoms called Vishnu
Lord
Vishnu’s name first appears in the Rig Veda, 1/154-156. The Lord Vishnu represents
all that is virtuous, noble, righteous, auspicious, high and glorious in this creation. He is all pervading, all
encompassing and omnipresent.Vishnu the origin, existence, and end of all
things.
Narayan
or Vishnu has dark blue hue as his complexion, symbolizing the blue colour of the endless sky which implies that
wherever there is sky Lord Narayan is invariably present at the place. Lord Vishnu has all the
virtues of the sky element—viz. he is eternal, infinite, fathomless, detached, omnipresent,
all-encompassing, all-pervading, neutral, detached,
dispassionate, and the bearer of the entire creation. This colour of Vishnu stands for the sky element of creation.
He
has four arms signifying the four quarters or quadrants of the compass,
implying that the Lord
controls and protects all the corners of the creation.
Vishńu,
the cause of final emancipation, Glory to the supreme Vishńu, the cause of the
creation, existence, and end of this world; who is the root of the world, and
who consists of the world
Vishńu
as creator, creates himself; as preserver, preserves himself; as destroyer,
destroys himself at the end of all things. This world of earth, air, fire,
water, ether, the senses, and the mind; all that is termed spirit, that also is
the lord of all elements, the universal form, and imperishable: hence he is the
cause of creation, preservation, and destruction; and the subject of the
vicissitudes inherent in elementary nature.
He is the object and author of
creation: he preserves, destroys, and is preserved. He, Vishńu, as Brahmá, and
as all other beings, is infinite form: he is the supreme, the giver of all
good, the fountain of all happiness.
Śrí,
the bride of Vishńu, the mother of the world, is eternal, imperishable; in like
manner as he is all-pervading, so also is she, oh best of Brahmans,
omnipresent. Vishńu is meaning; she is speech. Hari is polity (Naya); she is
prudence (Níti). Vishńu is understanding; she is intellect. He is
righteousness; she is devotion. He is the creator; she is creation. Śrí is the earth;
Hari the support of it. The deity is content; the eternal Lakshmí is
resignation. He is desire; Śrí is wish.
He
is sacrifice; she is sacrificial donation (Dakshiná). The goddess is the
invocation which attends the oblation; Janárddana is the oblation. Lakshmí is
the altar; Hari the stake (to which the victim is bound). Śrí is the fuel; Hari
the holy grass (Kuśa). He is the personified Sáma veda; the goddess,
lotusthroned, is the tone of its chanting. Lakshmí is the prayer of oblation
(Swáhá); Vásudeva, the lord of the world, is the sacrificial fire.
The
infinite nature of Vishńu is pure, intelligent, perpetual, unborn, undecayable,
inexhaustible, inscrutable, immutable; it is neither gross nor subtile, nor
capable of being defined: to that ever holy nature of Vishńu I bow. To him
whose faculty to create the universe abides in but a part of but the
ten-millionth part of him; to him who is one with the inexhaustible supreme
spirit, I bow: and to the glorious nature of the supreme Vishńu, which nor gods,
nor sages, nor I, nor Śankara apprehend; that nature which the Yogis, after
incessant effort, effacing both Om: the supreme glory of Vishńu, who is the
first of all; of whom, one only god, the triple energy is the same with Brahmá,
Vishńu, and Śiva: oh lord of all,
Lord
Vishnu is the Supreme Being, the Supreme Lord of creation. He is also known as the Viraat Purush, the all-encompassing and
all-pervading macrocosmic form of the Lord.
Vishnu is the one from whose navel a divine lotus had emerged, and from this
lotus came into being Brahma, the creator of this
visible world.
Lord
Vishnu has many names such as Vasudeo, Narayan, Viraat Purush etc.
According
to the Sharav Upanishad of the Atharva Veda tradition, verse no. 25, the whole creation is a manifestation of Vishnu,
and therefore it represents Vishnu at the microcosmic
level of creation. Vishnu is put on the same pedestal here as the Viraat Purush because the Upanishads say that the
creation is created from the Viraat, and with Brahma the creator because this creation is
created by him.
Lord
Vishnu is the sustainer and the care-taker of the world.
He is the most
important of the
Trinity Gods consisting of Brahma, the creator, and Shiva, the concluder. It’s
easy to produce and destroy, but it is indeed a mammoth
task to sustain and nourish what has been born.
His arms are adorned by
magnificent armlets. The garland known as Vanmala that is placed around his neck enhances his bewitching beauty. The
tiara shines magnificently on the crown on his
head,
while the wrist band or the bangle dazzles brilliantly on his wrists. The
earrings dangling
from his ears are carved (designed, shaped) like a crocodile or an alligator;
they dazzle with a brilliant light when the Lord
moves his head.
The
Lord’s divine and auspicious body is adorned by the Pitambar which is a golden (yellow) coloured piece of seamless cloth
that wraps around the body of Lord Vishnu.
The
Lord’s divine, reassuring and lovable form instills confidence and fearlessness in his devotees
