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By Jayaram V
It is a fashion now a days to address some babas and gurus as
bhagavan, making
it sound like a title in the modern world. Bhagavan
means God. People address some saintly persons and great gurus as
bhagavan, as a mark of honor and profound respect. Is it wrong? Some
people believe so. But not this writer. Hinduism believes that the whole
world is permeated with God and enveloped by Him. We all have the mark
of God in us in the form of the eternal soul or Atman. So when we are
in the presence of someone who has realized God and become one with
him, we are in the presence of God himself. Strictly speaking each
unrealized creature on earth is bhagavan ignorant of its true nature.
Bhagavan is a combination of 'bhaga'+ 'van'. Let us explore the
meaning of both these words.
- "bhaga" means any or all of the following: one of the
twelve forms of Aditi or Sun God, the moon, a form of Siva, the
divine enjoyer within, wealth, affluence, prosperity and fortune,
happiness, dignity, distinction, love and affection, pleasure,
pure bliss, female genital organ, virtue, morality, religious
merit and so on.
- "van" means, (apart from its most popular meaning of
forest), residence or an abode.
Bhagavan therefore means He who resides or abides in the things and
qualities mentioned above. In simple terms bhagvan is God. In symboic
terms bhagavan is represented by many objects and forms, famour being
"salagrama" and "sivaling".
According to traditional interpretation, bhagavan is possessor of
six primary abundances or qualities:
- strength,
- fame,
- wealth,
- knowledge,
- beauty and
- detachment.
In the 10 the chapter of the Bhagavadgita called Vibhutiyoga we get
a full description of the opulence and mystic powers of God as the
Creator, sustainer and possessor of all manifestation and nothingness.
God is omnipresent and it is therefore incorrect to say that He
resides only in particular things or qualities. If He is truly
omnipresent, He must be everywhere and in everything. He cannot be
just this side or that side but on all sides and everywhere. But human
mind cannot conceptualize an omnipotent, omniscient and
omnipresent God in absolute terms without some reference to terms and
objects we are familiar with. We have therefore this word "bhagavan"
which describe briefly the relative and positive attributes of God for
our understanding, appreciation, contemplation and emulation.
Having affirmed the fact that God is all and exists in all,
scriptures continue to declare God as the possessor of all the worldly
virtues, qualities, merits and energies in order to remind us of the
fact that to attain immortal life it is essential on our part to
remain on the positive side of life, reflect upon the positive virtues
of the Immanent God and cultivate them to the extent possible within
ourselves.
Suggested Further Reading
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