Verse 11

 

अजः सर्वेश्वरः सिद्धः सिद्धिः सर्वादि: अच्युतः ।

वृषाकपि: अमेयात्मा सर्व-योग-विनिःसृतः ।। 11 ।।

Aja sarve-shvara siddhah siddhi sarvadi rachyutah |

Vrishakapi rame-yatma sarva-yoga vinih-srutah ||

96. Ajah -

Aa – means does not

ja -means  janma - birth 

aa+ ja = does not have birth 

He is the one who is not born. He is not born so He does not die 

na jayate iti ajah 

na jato na janishyate 

‘janya’ also means the creation of the universe 

ajah – also means to do away with or destroy one’s ignorance 

In fact the word ‘jala’ which is understood to mean water, actually is made of root words ja + la, which is janya (birth)+ laya (death).

The Lord says, ‘aksharanaam akaarosmi’. In the alphabets, I'm 'aa' meaning I’m the beginning. Akshara means no end. Thus he has no beginning and no end. 

Since he has no beginning, He is older than the oldest.

The Big Bang theory explains how the world came into being. The Vedas also explain the same but their explanation is advanced as they also explain the shortcomings of Big Bang theory. Both concepts agree that the world started from a sound – ‘udgeetha kampana’. The Vedas tell us that the sound was 'aa'. From this came the ‘tanmatra’- the rudimentary or subtle element  corresponding to the five sense perceptions and five sense-organs. According to the Vedic theory of creation, the tanmatras are the basis of all corporeal existences because from them evolve the Bhutas - the 5 elements.  

97. Sarveshwarah 

sarva - all 

ishwara - controller 

He is the one who controls everything. 

sarveshshaam ishwarah ishwara – He is not just the ishwara but he is also the ishwara for all ishwaras. The controller of all controllers. The supreme power.

98. Siddhah

It is said that ‘siddhayati iti siddha’ meaning ‘the one who has accomplished something’ is called a Siddhah. 

siddhi - what needs to be accomplished 

He is the one who perfectly accomplishes everything. 

He is all knowledgeable.

Our accomplishment is in one thing or few things and hence our knowledge is ‘khanda vidye’ – limited.

But He accomplishes everything and hence his knowledge is ‘akhanda vidye’ – limitless.

99. Siddhih 

Means the area of one’s expertise. When it comes to Him, He has an expertise in everything. 

100. Sarvadihi

The root words are Sarva + adi

sarva means everything; adi means first 

He is the one who was present at the beginning. He was the first. 

We also refer to the Sun as ‘adi’tya.  

‘adatte iti adityah’.

‘adyah’ means food - 

This means that every day that the sun rises, he eats one day of our life. There is nothing to be scared about it though! It is a reminder that as we look at the sun every morning, we must keep in mind that this day is precious. I cannot afford to lose even one day. I must make the most of today without wasting it.

He is also the one who eats/ dissolves everything, he destroys the entire creation so that another creation can begin.

101. Achyuta -

aa- does not  

Chyuta - falls from grace

Those who trust him, never falls down from his grace. He does not allow them to fall.

The Narayana Sukta gives us the following verse-

‘Patim Vishvasyaatmeshvaram shaashvatam Shivam Achyutam

Narayanam Maha-jneyam Vishvatmanam Parayanam’ 

102. Vrusha Kapih

Vrusha –means dharma or the path of righteousness.

Kapi signifies the Varaha avatar of the Lord.

To protect dharma he came to the earth in the Varaha avatar.

Vrusha  also means Varsha or rain.

Kapi can be split as - Ka + pih (drink)

He is the one nourishes us. (but he is also the one takes away that nourishment to give it back to us again)

To understand this, we can recollect the water cycle. The Sun is responsible for rains but he also dries up the water and later gives it back to us again. He doesn’t hold anything.

Water is called ‘jala’ and as we have seen earlier, jala can be split as – ja + la, which is janama + laya signifying creation and destruction.

This cyclic process goes on and on.

103. Ameyatma –

This name has a meaning similar to ‘Aprameya’

Ameya means to measure.

He is immeasurable. One whose form or nature cannot be measured and determined.

104. Sarva Yoga Vini Srutah

This means that he has no bondage and no attachment. He is not baddha (bound), he’s buddha (free of all bondages). He is the one who is completely free of all bondages

When some takes up ‘Sanyaas’ they are supposed to give up everything. But as long as we are on earth, it is not possible to give up everything completely. Hence we must practice ‘attachment with detachment’. Just like the lotus, which lives in water yet is not touched by water, we can continue to be surrounded by worldly attachments with the awareness that nothing belongs to us.   

The word Yoga that appears in this verse means ‘union’ but not just of the body but of the mind too. When both physical and mental planes fuse together, they achieve an union.

Hence, Yoga becomes a tool to understand and realise God.  

There are 3 kinds of Yoga – Karma, Bhakti and Jnana. The easiest to follow is Bhakti Yoga. There are 9 types of  expressing Bhakti –

 

1. Sharavanam

2. Keertanam

3. Vishnu Smaranam

4. Pada Sevanam

5. Archanam

6. Vandanam

7. Daasyam ( give up aham)

8. Sakhyam

9. Aatmanivedanam,

Bhakti Yoga causes ‘manas chitti shuddha’ meaning purification of the mind.

Jnana yoga is difficult to follow and so is Karma yoga where we must learn to work without desire for its fruits. So let us at least take our first step towards Him through Bhakti Yoga .

Jai Shri Krishna!