NAME 105
Vasumanāḥ वसुमनाः
Nāma 697 is the repetition of this nāma.
This nāma is an extension of the previous nāma. He has benevolent mind or pure mind. Brahman creates a human, endowed with all His very own qualities. But due to ignorance and the effect of māyā, he is deluded and forgets his inherent nature and struggles in life. He remembers his Creator after many births, after undergoing untold pains and miseries. He begins to pursue his spiritual path that ultimately leads to liberation.
Vasumanah – He has a Pure Mind+
In the words of Sri Adi Sankara Vasumanah is explained as ‘Prashastam Manah Yasya Sah Vasumanaah – One who has a pure or rich mind’. Bhagavan’s mind being unpolluted by baser feelings such as passion, hatred, anger and infatuation. He has a mind which has none of the sins of passions and pain, none of the storms of desires and jealousies, none of the quirks of likes and dislikes. His mind is totally pure and so he is ‘Vasumanah’.
This Nama can also be interpreted as someone whose mind considers his devotees as his treasure. In the Bhagavad Gita Chapter 7 verse 19 Lord Krishna says– Vasudevam Sarvam Iti Sa Mahatma Sudurlabhah – Knowing me to be the ultimate cause, such a great soul is very rare.
BG 7.19:
बहूनां जन्मनामन्ते ज्ञानवान्मां प्रपद्यते |
वासुदेव: सर्वमिति स महात्मा सुदुर्लभ: || 19||
bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate
vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ
BG 7.19: After many births of spiritual practice, one who is endowed with knowledge surrenders unto me, knowing me to be all that is. Such a great soul is indeed very rare.
In this verse, Shree Krishna clears this common perception of the intellectually inclined people that bhakti (devotion) is inferior to jñāna (knowledge). They are disdainful towards people engaged in devotion. They look down upon them and consider themselves to be superior as they are engaged in the brainy act of acquiring knowledge. Whereas, Shree Krishna declares that a jñānī spends several lifetimes cultivating knowledge and only when his or her jñāna matures does he finally surrender to God. In fact, it is true knowledge that leads to devotion.
Shree Krishna says that jñānīs spend several lifetimes seeking true knowledge, and when their knowledge matures into true wisdom, that the Supreme Lord is all that is; they surrender to Him. However, He does not say this for the jñānīs, karmīs, haṭha-yogis, ascetics, etc. He declares this for the devotees or such exalted souls who have realized “God is all that is” and surrendered to Him. Nevertheless, such noble souls are very rare.
१०५. ॐ वसुमनसे नमः |
105. OM Vasumanase Namaḥ
Vasumanaah -One who has a mind which is Supremely Pure; meaning a mind that has none of the sins of passions and pains; none of the storms of desires and jealousies; none of the quakes of likes and dislikes.
By Vasu which means wealth – excellence is indicated. Vasu manaḥ yasya saḥ / वसु मनः यस्य सः He whose mind is excellent is Vasumanāḥ. That mind is said to be praiseworthy which is not polluted by kleṣas and upakleṣas.
The Ramayan states:
jāneṅ binu na hoi paratītī, binu paratīti hoi nahiṅ prītī [v20]
“Without knowledge, there cannot be faith; without faith, love cannot grow.”
INTERPRETATION GUIDED BY SANT VANI (WORDS OF SAINTS)
105. Vasumanāh
The one with an excellent mind.
Vasu which stands for wealth is here used in the context of “Excellence” or ‘Greatness” He, whose mind is free of all the Kleśas and UpaKleśas. He whose mind is supremely pure.(Śaṅkara) He is known as Vasumanāḥ since he thinks of his devotees as his treasure/wealth.(Parāsara Battar) Therefore he is Vasumanāḥ.
The Lord being the one with an excellent mind is called Vasumanā. What is this excellence of mind? A mind that is not subject to any frailties –a mind that is not polluted by likes and dislikes, mada, kāma and krodha–pride, desire, anger and other emotions. Such a mind is excellent and the one with such a mind is called Vasumanā. Here emotions are not being condemned.
An animation movie worth watching is ‘Inside out’ – a film set in the mind of a young girl, Riley, where five personified and animated emotions- Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear and Sadness try to lead her through life as she moves with her parents to a new city. It is a light hearted look at how core memories and emotions can ‘press our buttons’ and lead us to react in ways that are unpleasant as well as make us act in ways that are helpful.
Advice that is regularly doled out ‘One should not have pride, anger’, are honestly quite hopeless as they don’t work. Most of us don’t understand emotions and hence can be afraid of the intensity and what emotions can make us do. Emotions are a part of the order of the psychological order that is Īśvara.
Recognising Isvara as the very order of the emotions, as a result of cause and effect helps us understand them better. For instance, all of us struggle with anger as we feel helpless. We want a significant other to behave in a particular way, that does not happen and we get angry. Seeing the connection between our expectations of the person (realistic or unrealistic), and the actual behavior of the person is seeing a cause and effect connection. Every cause and effect, every emotion is Isvara. The more we dwell on this, we stop condemning ourselves and focus on doing what is needed in a required situation. We can then focus on constructive self expression and truly listening and accepting the other person’s expression.
If God were subject to emotions like anger, then He becomes fallible. Īśvara is dispassionate and is in the form of laws and He goes by laws. He is ānandasvarūpa, pūrna-svarūpa, ever full.
From the standpoint of our own human emotions, we say God is compassionate. Being in the form of law and order, God is infallible, not capable of any defect. Infallibility is not an attribute of Īśvara nor is it a judgment, because there is no question of His failing. What is infallible is Īśvara. Therefore, not being subject to these emotions, He has a praiseworthy mind and therefore, is Vasumanā.
This is another name where the two principal commentators differ in how they interpret the name. These differences primarily come from the Vedāntic standpoints of the two Ācāryas – while Parāsara Battar emphasizes the “Gunas” of Viṣhṇu (hence his commentary is called the Bhagavad Guna Darpana), Śaṅkara looks at Viṣhṇu as that formless and all pervasive Supreme Being.
Therefore in interpreting these names, Parāsara Battar emphasizes the Sauṣīlyam (Sowsheelyam) and Saulaḃyam (Sowlabhyam) of Bhagavan Viṣhṇu – that Sriman-Nārāyaṇa has the humility and ability to get down to the level of all beings and treat them with absolute equality and with the same respect and regard irrespective of who or what they may be – this is Sauṣīlyam. In addition to this, Nārāyaṇa is also easily accessible to those who approach him with simple-minded devotion and take him as their sole refuge. He accepts them as his own and grants their heart’s desires – this is Saulaḃyam. Śaṅkara on the other hand lays emphasis on the Paratattvam – that great principle who is the epitome of ultimate vijñāna, the Sacchidānanda – ‘Existence-Knowledge-Absolute-Bliss‘ – the supreme Brahman who is one without a second. The second aspect to Śaṅkara‘s commentary on the Viṣhṇu Sahasranāma is his repeated reference to the Supreme Being as that one Īśa (ईश) who is the one real Aiśvaryam of the Universe that one must aspire to reach.
In short, Parāsara Battar emphasizes the Sauṣīlyam (Sowsheelyam) and Saulaḃyam (Sowlabhyam) of Bhagavan Viṣṇu while Śaṅkara lays emphasis on the Paratattvam and Aiśvaryam of Sriman–Nārāyaṇa.
For the Bhakta, he is Sarva-Guṇasaṃpanna and for the Jñānī he is indeed the Paratattva – both are equally valid – for is he not the one who not only created the world but also entered into it himself?
This particular name tells us that there is no treasure/wealth greater than that of Sriman–Nārāyaṇa. He is the one true treasure, the greatest wealth and this treasure dwells within ourselves – in the cave of the heart-space as an Aṃśa of that one supreme reality pervading the entire Universe.
“Many a few are able to love God truly. God does not talk to them or directly answer their questions. He does not partake of their offerings nor does he ever show His form to them. They still continue to love God and cry for Him, however. If they are not doing such worship out of any fear or with a view to attain some objective, they are close to true love. Whether they are completely established in love can only be ascertained when they hold a communion with God in a human being.
If they are still able to love everyone with the same emotion, they have become an embodiment of love. When the only emotion they reciprocate with is pure love, they are no less than love incarnate. Know that in the presence of such person your own being undergoes a silent transformation.
Loving God is easy for He neither criticizes nor complements; He does not hug you nor stave you off. You have accepted Him the way He is. He is a product of your belief; unfortunately, often not your own belief but the one passed onto you. Loving God is still a divine act for a human being; loving all is a godly act of a divine being.
If you do not have any realization of your own, and you do not have any knowledge about anything but if you choose to only return all emotions with pure love, people will offer you the highest place on the altar of their hearts and will worship you more than they ever worshiped God. When stroked by the trouble you will be in their thoughts before God and when struck by the joy they will attempt to contact you before visiting the shrine.” – Om Swami