NAME 90
Ahaḥ अहः
Ahar means night and day of twenty four hour period. In this context He is the creator of time factor.
This nāma also mentions about His Self-luminosity. Brahman alone is Self-illuminating. Other luminaries like sun reflect His light.
Kṛṣṇa says in Bhagavad Gita (XVI.16), “Those who set aside ignorance by acquiring true knowledge that shines like the sun, thereby unveiling the Brahman.” Knowledge about the Brahman is always radiant that gets reflected through one’s body, by way of abundant positive energies around him.
Ahah There is no one who is abandoned by Him – “ Na Hinah Asya Asti Iti Ahah ”. Ahah has got another two meanings: the 24-hour-day or the 12-hour day-time. He is of the nature of ‘day-time’ means “He is the One, ever effulgent and bright”; as bright as the daylight that illumines all objects around. In case we accept the other meaning, “the 24-hour-day”, then, a day being a unit of time, the term Ahah can also mean, “One who is of the nature of Time itself”. He is Luminous.
There are three meanings to this Nama:
One who never forsakes anyone.
One who is like the Day that awakens people from ignorance.
One who does not let His devotees perish.
The first interpretation is based on “na hinah asya asti iti ahah -There is no one who is abandoned by Him.
The second interpretation is based on the traditional meaning of the word aha – day. From that comes Pratyaham meaning every day and Aharnisham meaning day and night. So Sri Adi Shankara says *‘Prakaasha roopatvaat Ahah – He is called Ahah because he is bright as the day’. His brightness is not just physical but also the brilliance of intellect and knowledge.
The third interpretation is derived by a-ha, where ha means destroy; One who does not destroy is a-ha; rather one who protects his devotees.
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
अभयं सत्त्वसंशुद्धिर्ज्ञानयोगव्यवस्थिति: |
दानं दमश्च यज्ञश्च स्वाध्यायस्तप आर्जवम् || 1||
अहिंसा सत्यमक्रोधस्त्याग: शान्तिरपैशुनम् |
दया भूतेष्वलोलुप्त्वं मार्दवं ह्रीरचापलम् || 2||
तेज: क्षमा धृति: शौचमद्रोहोनातिमानिता |
भवन्ति सम्पदं दैवीमभिजातस्य भारत ||
BG 16.1-3: The Supreme Divine Personality said: O scion of Bharat, these are the saintly virtues of those endowed with a divine nature—fearlessness, purity of mind, steadfastness in spiritual knowledge, charity, control of the senses, performance of sacrifice, study of the sacred books, austerity, and straightforwardness; non-violence, truthfulness, absence of anger, renunciation, peacefulness, restraint from fault-finding, compassion toward all living beings, absence of covetousness, gentleness, modesty, and lack of fickleness; vigor, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, bearing enmity toward none, and absence of vanity.
९०. ॐ अह्ने नमः |
90. OM Ahne Namaḥ
Ahah -Ahan has got two meanings: the 24-hour-day or the 12-hour day-time. He is of the nature of ‘day-time’ means “He is the One, ever effulgent and bright”; as bright as the daylight that illumines all objects around. In case we accept the other meaning, “the 24-hour-day”, then, a day being a unit of time, the term Ahan can also mean, “One who is of the nature of Time itself”. Also He is one who does not (a) ever destroy (han) the devotees who have surrendered themselves to Him.
Ahaḥ prakāśa rūpatvād brahmaiveti suniścitaḥ / अहः प्रकाश रूपत्वाद् ब्रह्मैवेति सुनिश्चितः So called as He is luminous like the day.
Bhagavad Gītā – Chapter 13
Yathāprakāśayatyekaḥ kr̥tsnaṃ lokamimaṃ raviḥ,
Kṣetraṃ kṣetrī tathā kr̥tsnaṃ prakāśayati bhārata. (34)
:: श्रीमद्भगवद् गीता – क्षेत्रक्षेत्रज्ञ विभाग योग ::
यथाप्रकाशयत्येकः कृत्स्नं लोकमिमं रविः ।
क्षेत्रं क्षेत्री तथा कृत्स्नं प्रकाशयति भारत ॥ ३४ ॥
O Bharatā (Arjunā)! As the Sun illuminates the entire world, so does the Lord of the Field (God and His reflection as the soul) illumine the whole field (Nature and the bodily “little nature”).
INTERPRETATION GUIDED BY SANT VANI (WORDS OF SAINTS)
Ahaḥ
The one who is in the form of the day.
He is called Ahaḥ–day, because He is luminous like the day. He is the day of days; He lends existence to the day. What makes a day a day? The arrival of the Sun. Ahaḥ is in the form of the Sun, the devatā of the day and He alone is in the form of the day.
He who is the luminous one. He who is luminous as the day. He is ‘THE LIGHT‘. He who does not (a) destroy HIS people (ha). He is the ever-effulgent one who illumines all beings and objects – animate and inanimate.(Śaṅkara) He who does not abandon anyone who has come to him. He is Ahaḥ because like the dawn (of the day), he wakes people up from their slumber of Avidya (ignorance).(Parāsara Battar)
Which part of the day is Bhagavan? Is it some auspicious time? Auspicious or inauspicious is according to planetary positions which only indicate influence of planets. Is it that Bhagavan is absent during certain times and present other times? He is the one who is in the form of the day, All of it, every nano second of it.
Our experience of time is subjective. Time spent with a loved one and waiting for an exam result is experienced differently. How long or short a minute is, depends on one’s mental state of desparation. For functional transactions, we have divided the day into some units. For further transactional purposes, we have divided our lives into our past, present, future.
The past is the previous minute extending many years ago and the future is from this minute onwards to many years later. They are relative but we give it an absolute status. We rarely live in the present moment. We are either recalling our past memories which were wonderful or disappointing and we find repeated recordings of situations – people involved, what each said, visuals, emotions etc stuck in our head. Certain incidents plays on loop, without us having pressed the ‘play’ button. We are trying to complete the situation in some way or the other, as few things were left unsaid or undone either by oneself or the other.
If we are not living in the past, then some of us live in the future not with the help of a time machine, but fantasizing about a suitable partner, a suitable condition, a suitable job, a suitable remuneration, a suitable emotional life etc. “Once I have this….I will be fine, once this person changes, I will be fine.” The only place where people are ushered in quickly without prior appointment is the emergency ward of a hospital.
It is really worth it for everyone to just watch during the course of one hour, how much time do we really spend in the present? The present is all we have been given. That Present (pun intended) is in the form of this day.
Day is a part of time and the rays of the sun are an indication of day. Bhagavān is in the form of the rays of the sun, that is, He is in the form of time. Just as how the daylight removes darkness, similarly He helps to remove the darkness of avidyā and thus the Lord helps those who surrender unto Him.
And so we live one day at a time! One step at a time! There is no other way.
“Whenever you are over the moon or think you have the best life, tap your heart again and remind yourself that this time won’t last either. This too is one of the fleeting seasons. It has a strange but positive effect on your peace of mind. You feel more centered and grounded.
In the fullness of time, the present moment must make way for the next present moment. The present must yield to the future. This ceaseless play of moments emerging and passing is what gives beauty to the unpredictability of our lives. It’s beyond comprehension or control. At the best, you can live it, love it and rejoice in it. Gratefully. This is the path of peace. And peace, I may add, is the only real treasure. Rest are temporary acquisitions.”
PLEASE READ
This name comes in a string where Sureśa–Śaraṇaṃ–Śarma–Viśvaretāḥ–Prajābhavaḥ tells us that Viṣṇu is the supreme master and final refuge, the seed and source of all beings in the Universe. Contextually, this name signifies that once we come into the protective embrace of Viṣṇu then a new dawn, a new way of life opens up – the highway to the Supreme being opens up – there is still a long, long way to go but the process, the first steps on the path begin…
We have seen in earlier names of how it is Viṣṇu who dwells within the solar orb as Surya Nāryana and it is to him that the worship is offered at three periods of flux everyday – dawn, noon and dusk – That Surya Nāryana is the same deity who shines within the heart of each being as the inner light of that Viṣṇu – the luminous one Ahaḥ who shows his devotees the way and leads them from darkness into the light of his presence.
Another meaning attributed to this name Ahaḥ is that Viṣṇu never ever abandons anyone who comes to him i.e. someone who has come into his Śharaṇ (benevolent protection). We see this across multiple instances in the Puranas of how Viṣṇu comes to the protection of his devotees each and every time. More importantly this name also signifies that he wakes and shakes his devotees out of their slumber of Avidya (ignorance).
The entire Bhagavad-gītā pivots on the one verse that Bhagavan Kṛṣṇa as the embodiment of the Supreme Being says as his first words. It is interesting to note that Bhagavan does not speak for nearly 50 verses of the Bhagavad-gītā and the first words he utters are sharp arrows aimed at the heart of Arjuna who is wallowing in self-pity and despondency. It is a razor-sharp dart to wake him up from his slumber and come into the light of understanding and also look beyond the light into the true nature of his own self and his Dharmic duty:
श्रीभगवानुवाच |
कुतस्त्वा कश्मलमिदं विषमे समुपस्थितम् |
अनार्यजुष्टमस्वर्ग्यमकीर्तिकरमर्जुन || 2||
śhrī bhagavān uvācha
kutastvā kaśhmalamidaṁ viṣhame samupasthitam
anārya-juṣhṭamaswargyam akīrti-karam arjuna
What explains this behavior of yours? Where-from have these delusional and pitiable ideas come to you? This behavior can only lead to disgrace, dishonor and utter ruin. Wake up and do what must be done…
This is as much a wake-up call to the Arjuna within each one of us as it was to that Arjuna who lost his nerve on the battlefield of life. In order for that light, Ahaḥ to shine forth, we must turn to the Kṛṣṇa within and allow him to wake us up from the slumber of delusion – Then a new dawn and a fresh start to our day is possible.
