ULTIMATE TRUTH

                   THE ULTIMATE TRUTH

 

NARAYANA SUKTAM: 

ōm sahasraśīrṣaṁ devaṁ viśvākśaṁ viśvaśambhuvaṁ,
viśvaṁ nārāyaṇaṁ devamakśaraṁ paramaṁ padam.

This universe is the Eternal Being (Narayana), the imperishable, the supreme, the goal, multi-headed and multi-eyed (i.e., omnipresent and omniscient), the resplendent, the source of delight for the whole universe.

Note:—With this verse commences a famous hymn of the Vedic group, stating the characters of the Absolute in its manifestation as this creation.

viśvataḥ paramam nityaṁ viśvaṁ nārāyaṇagï harim,
viśvamevedaṁ puruṣastadviśvamupajīvati.

This universe is the Supreme Being (Purusha) alone; hence, it subsists on That, the Eternal which transcends it (in every way)—the Omnipresent Absolute which destroys all sins.

patiṁ viśvasyātmeśvaragï śāśvatagï  śivamacyutam,
nārāyaṇaṁ mahājñeyaṁ viśvātmānaṁ parāyaṇam.

The protector of the universe, the Lord of all souls (or Lord over Self), the perpetual, the auspicious, the indestructible, the Goal of all creation, the Supreme object worthy of being known, the Soul of all beings, the Refuge unfailing (is He).

nārāyaṇaḥ paraṁ brahma tattvaṁ nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ,
nārāyaṇaḥ paro jyotirātmā nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ.
nārāyaṇaḥ paro dhyātā dhyānam nārāyaṇaḥ paraḥ.

The Lord Narayana is the Supreme Absolute; Narayana is the Supreme Reality; Narayana is the Supreme Light; Narayana is the Supreme Self; Narayana is the Supreme Meditator; Narayana is the Supreme Meditation.

yacca kiñcijjagatsarvaṁ dṛśyate śrūyate’pi vā,
antarbahiśca tatsarvaṁ vyāpya nārāyaṇaḥ sthitaḥ.

Whatever all this universe is, seen or heard of—pervading all this, from inside and outside alike, stands supreme the Eternal Divine Being (Narayana).

anantamavyayaṁ kavigï samudre’ntaṁ viśvaśambhuvam,
padmakośapratīkāśagï hṛdayaṁ cāpyadhomukham.

He is the Limitless, Imperishable, Omniscient, residing in the ocean of the heart, the Cause of the happiness of the universe, the Supreme End of all striving, (manifesting Himself) in the ether of the heart which is comparable to an inverted bud of the lotus flower.

adho niṣṭayā vitasyānte nābhyāmupari tiṣṭhati,
jvālamālākulaṁ bhāti viśvasyāyatanaṁ mahat.

Below the Adam’s apple, at a distance of a span, and above the navel (i.e., the heart which is the relative seat of the manifestation of Pure Consciousness in the human being), effulges the Great Abode of the universe, as if adorned with garlands of flames.

santatagï śilābhistu lambatyākośasannibham,
tasyānte suṣiragï sūkśmaṁ tasmin sarvaṁ pratiṣṭhitam.

Surrounded on all sides by nerve-currents (or arteries), the lotus-bud of the heart is suspended in an inverted position. In it is a subtle space (a narrow aperture, the sushumna-nadi), and therein is to be found the Substratum of all things.

tasya madhye mahanagnirviśvārcirviśvatomukhaḥ,
so’grabhug vibhajan tiṣṭhan āhāramajaraḥ kaviḥ.

In that space within the heart resides the Great Flaming Fire, undecaying, all-knowing, with tongues spread out in all directions, with faces turned everywhere, consuming all food presented before it, and assimilating it into itself.

tiryagūrdhvamadaḥśāyī raśmayastasya santatāḥ,
santāpayati svaṁ dehamāpātatalamastakam,
tasya madhye vahniśikhā aṇīyordhvā vyavasthitaḥ.

His rays, spreading all round, sideways as well as above and below, warm up the whole body from head to foot. In the centre of That (Flame) abides the Tongue of Fire as the topmost among all subtle things.

Note:—Due to the attachments and entanglement of the jiva in worldly enjoyment and suffering, the Consciousness is enshrouded in potential as well as expressed objectivity; hence, it appears like a tiny streak of flame within the dark clouds of ignorance. But when the jiva rises above worldliness, the Consciousness is realised as the Infinite.

nīlatoyadamadhyasthād vidyullekheva bhāsvarā,
nīvāraśūkavattanvī pītā bhāsvatyaṇūpamā.

Brilliant like a streak of lightning set in the midst of the blue rain-bearing clouds, slender like the awn of a paddy grain, yellow (like gold) in colour, in subtlety comparable to the minute atom, (this Tongue of Fire) glows splendid.

tasyāḥ śikhāyā madhye paramātmā vyavasthitaḥ,
sa brahma sa śivaḥ sa hariḥ sendraḥ so’kṣaraḥ paramaḥ svarāṭ.

In the middle of that Flame, the Supreme Self dwells. This (Self) is Brahma (the Creator), Siva (the Destroyer), Hari (the Protector), Indra (the Ruler), the Imperishable, the Absolute, the Autonomous Being.

ṛtagï satyaṁ paraṁ brahma puruṣaṁ kṛṣṇapiṅgalam,
ūrdhvaretaṁ virūpākśaṁ viśvarūpāya vai namo namaḥ.

Prostrations again and again to the Omni-formed Being, the Truth, the Law, the Supreme Absolute, the Purusha of blue-decked yellow hue, the Centralised-force Power, the All-seeing One.

ōm nārāyaṇāya vidmahe vāsudevāya dhīmahi,
tanno viṣṇuḥ pracodayāt.

We commune ourselves with Narayana, and meditate on Vaasudeva; May that Vishnu direct us (to the Great Goal).

ōṁ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ śāntiḥ.

Om. May there be Peace, Peace, Peace.



Parabrahman: (Sanskrit) "Supreme (or transcendent) God."

As per our philosophies the letter ohm represents the basis of all

creations. It also denotes the jivatma in every human being. By 

constantly reciting this an individual can realize the self and 

thereby the parabrahmam which is the paramatma. 

This is the ultimiate goal of all human being borne in this world

because of various karmas  of previous births.

In bhagavad gita which is the bible for all hindu philosophies there 

are many slokhas which clearely denote this parabrahmam. Firstly the

questions asked by arjuna and the answers given by Krishna need 

to be looked at closely. In many slokhas the lord says he is Vishnu, 

shankara, vyasa etc.  If he were Vishnu himself and parabrahmam  

then he would not have said that he is Vishnu. 

This all meansthe teachings are from a third force 

which has to be parabrahmam. Or lord Krishna said 

all this by his yogic power by which he showed 

arjuna the vishvaroopa of parabrahmam. In gita 

Krishna speaks throughout as god himself 

ie parabrahmam.

Also in Vishnu sahasranamam, which is part of 

mahabarata, bhishma resites slokas to the question

of yudhistar. 

In answer to the quiery

who is extolled as god, bhishma says-the god of

all gods is narayana.

In that case when recited or meditated the pranavam 

leads to where? 

It may lead to the formless eternally pure free and 

existence absolute.since everything has its ground in 

Brahman, for the purpose of meditation the sound AUM 

has come to be regarded as Brahman.

The omkhara sound is sustained by itself in a timeless 

continuum. It is indicative of Brahman and Self.

AUM is the bow, the Atman the arrow and Brahman its 

target.It is to be hit by a man who is self-collected;

and then,as the arrow (becomes one with the target), 

he will become one with Brahman. 

                    Vaishnavism

Vedic scriptures usually quoted by Vaishnavas to point to Narayana as the Supreme Being:

nityo nityanam chetanas chetananam eko bahunam yo vidadhati kaman

He is the prime eternal among all eternals. He is the supreme living entity of all living entities, and He alone is maintaining all life. (Katha Upanishad 2.2.13)^[7]

ete camsa-kalah pumsah krishnas tu bhagavan svayam indras vyakulam lokam mrdayanti yuge yuge

All incarnations are either plenary portions or expansions of plenary portions appearing in various universes to protect the theists; but Lord Krishna is the original supreme lord and the source of all. (Bhagavata Purana^[8] 1.3.27-28) 

isvara paramah krishna sac-cid-ananda vigrahah anadir adir govindah sarva karana karanam

Lord Krishna is the supreme absolute controller, whose form comprises immortality, omniscience, and bliss. He is without beginning, the origin of all, the cause of all causes and the source of the Vedas. (Brahma Samhita 5.1) ^[9]

namo brahmanya-devaya go-brahmana-hitaya ca jagad dhitaya krsnaya govindaya namo namah

Let me offer my humble obeisance unto Lord Krishna, who is the worshipable deity for all brahminical people, who is the well-wisher of the cows and brahmanas and who is always benedicting all the universes. (Vishnu Purana 1.19.65) ^[10]

  

Krishna himself confirms this in the Bhagavad-Gita:

mattah parataram nanyat kincid asti dhananjaya mayi sarvam idam protam sutre mani-gana iva

There is no truth superior to Me. Everything rests upon Me, as pearls are strung on a thread. (Bhagavad Gita^[11] 7.7) 

arjuna uvaca, param brahma param dhama pavitram paramam bhavan purusham sasvatam divyam adi-devam ajam vibhum

Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahman, the ultimate abode, the purest, the Absolute Truth. You are the eternal, transcendental, original Person, the unborn, the greatest. (Bhagavad Gita 10.12) ^[12]

bhajagovindam bhajagovindam govindam bhajamuudhamate naamasmaranaadanyamupaayam nahi pashyaamo bhavatarane

Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool! Other than chanting the Lord's names, there is no other way to cross the life's ocean. (Bhaja Govindam, composed by Adi Shankaracharya) ^[13]

naaraayana paro jyotir-aatmaa naarayana para, naarayanam param brahma tatvam naarayanam para, naarayana paro dhyaata dhyaanam naaraayana para

Narayana is, Para Jyoti, the greatest light, Para Atma, the super soul (Paramatman), Para Tatvam, the best of essences, Para Dhyata, the greatest meditator, Para Dhyanam, the best of meditations. (Narayana Sukta 
verse 4)

In Vaishnavism, ParaBrahman is the source of the Brahman effulgence^[14] and Vishnu or Krishna is established as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.^[15]

yasya prabha prabhavato jagad-anda-koti-kotishv asesha-vasudhadi vibhuti-bhinnam tad brahma nishkalam anantam asesha-bhutamgovindam adi-purusham tam aham bhajami

 Govinda, is the primeval Lord, whose effulgence is the source of the nondifferentiated Brahman mentioned in the Upanishads, being differentiated from the infinity of glories of the mundane universe appears as the indivisible, infinite, limitless, truth. (Brahma Samhita 5.40)^[16]

ParaBrahman as Narayana or Lord Swaminarayan is also the highest among the five eternal entities within Swaminarayana sect of Hinduism.^[17]

adanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam, yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti, bhagavan iti sabdyate

 Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma or Bhagavan." (Bhagavata Purana 1.2.11) ^[5]

brahma-vid apnoti param, tad eshabhyukta, satyam jnanam anantam brahma

Whoever realizes the Supreme Brahman attains to supreme felicity. That Supreme Brahman is Eternal Truth (satyam), Omniscient (jnanam), Infinite (anantam). (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.1.1)

Upanishads further mention often that the Supreme Brahman is Eternal, Conscious, and Blissful (sat-chit-ânanda). ^[6]

raso vai sa, rasam hy evayam labdhvanandi bhavati!

The One is Bliss. Whoever perceives the Blissful One, the reservoir of pleasure, becomes blissful forever. (Taittiriya Upanishad 2.7.1-2)

Verily know the Supreme One to be Bliss. (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.9.28)

Narayana Suktam or Mantra pushpam is a chant invoking the Lord as Narayana in our heart. Its a part of
Mahanarayana upanishad. Its a very beautiful prayer. I am not technically qualified to discuss the chantings or the technical
beauty of Narayana suktam.

Narayana means The Deathless Self in our hearts.
Atma means "Me"

Narayana is Atma -- this is something to be seen within.

And when Narayana is explained as "Aksharam" [That which knows no decay or change], one has to clearly
perceive this within. How, I am changeless, Deathless, Decayless!

                  Purusha sukta

 The President of the Ramakrishna Mission, at Chennai, in commentating on the introduction to Swami Amritananda's translation of Sri Rudram and Purushasuktam, stated that the Vedas describe the essential nature of the Supreme Being and the Purusha sukta is one of those hymns which describe Parabrahman.

Verse 1: According to two commentators, Sayana and Bhatta Bhaskara, this verse identifies the Supreme Being, Vishnu in Vaishnavism. The Vaishnavite saint, Raghavendra Swami comments that Vishnu is in all Purushas or souls and that He is complete even in dust, grass,wood and in the small particles.[1]

Verse 2: The same commentators state that the Supreme Lord is greater than the sum of His creation. The manifested world is only a fraction of Vishnu. This verse is an allusion to panentheistic concepts in Vaishnavism. Raghavendra Swami comments that "Vishnu is in the Past, is in the Present and will be in the Future,as He is the Complete- the Omniscient and Omnipotent."

Verse 3: The saint comments that everything in the universe acts as per the order of Hari.

Verse 4: Bhatta Bhaskar, the commentator has stated that many things such as elements and sense organs were created. 

Raghavendra Swami comments that Vishnu is omnipresent.

Verse 5: Raghavendra Swami comments that Sriman Narayana is the Lord of everything created.

Verse 6: Sayana states since many substances were not yet created so the devas mentally performed a yajna. The spring season became ghee, summer season became fagots and autumn season became havis, purodasa. Raghavendra Swami comments that Vishnu created the seasons for this yajna.

Verse 7: The saint states that Vishnu, is the ultimate creator, preserver and destroyer.

Verse 8: Bhatta Bhaskara interprets this verse to mean that both wild and domesticated animals were created from Purusha who is the soul of everything. Sayana states a similar interpretation and like Bhatta, agrees that that Vayu, the wind deva is the presiding deity over space and animals are from the deity of space.

Verse 9: Bhatta Bhaskara, the commentator states that the Vedas such as Rig Veda and yajus were born from the sacrifice. Sayana additionally includes creation of the Gayatri mantra from this sacrifice. Raghavendra Swami states that Vishnu created the Vedas, the Gayatri mantra, etc.

Verse 10: Bhatta Bhaskara interprets the animal creation from this Purusha. He states that horses, animals with two rows of teeth in the upper and lower jaws such as donkeys were born. Additionally, cows, goats and sheep were created.

Raghavendra Swami states that Vishnu created horse, donkey, sheep, cow and goats for this yajna.

Verse 12: Both commentators state that the four classes of human society are derived from Him. Caste is a later construct determined by one's birth and is equivalent to the lower ranks in the hierarchy of biological classification. The Purusha Sukta does not attribute one's place in the class system to birth nor does the Bhagawad Gita.

Warriors were created from the arms of God and the priests were from his head and the merchants from his abdomen and the laborers from his legs. This may be interpreted as meaning that no one caste is more important than the other and that society cannot survive without all parts working together.

Verse 13: Both commentators state that the devas such as Indra, Agni and Vayu were born from various parts of the Supreme Being, The saint comments that Hari has created Chandra by his mind, Surya by his eyes, Indra and other devas from his face. Sri Hari created Vayu by his breath.

Verse 14: Sayana states that heaven emerges from his head, the earth from his feet and from his ears, the quarters were created. Bhatta Bhaskara interprets this verse to mean the various worlds were created from the Supreme Being.

Verse 15: Sayana states that from such worship came the dharmas which sustained the world emerged and the fruits of such worship. Bhatta Bhaskara states that all the elements which sustain the world emerged and the great ones reached heaven where there is only happiness.

The saint comments that all the devas performed the yajna and attained the fruits by Vishnu, i.e., moksha. It is said that all the great demigods of this universe assemble in front of the Vaikunta dwara and recite this beautiful prayer.