Some excerpts from the series of lectures bundled in the publication 'Namami Krsnasundaram' (pages 201-208) by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (alias P.R. Sarkar) on the subject of the qualities of a Bhagavána in relation to Lord Krishna:
"Let us analyse the scriptural interpretation of the term bhagavána. The word bhaga plus the Sanskrit suffix matup becomes bhagavata, and bhagavána when declined in the first case, singular number. From the spiritual point of view, the word bhaga has two meanings - the first "spiritual effulgence" and the second, a combination of six qualities.
The bha of bhagavána signifies bheti bhásayate lokán - "one who illumines all the lokas by one's own aura" - by the excellence of infinite vitality, wisdom and greatness.
Bha represents all these superhuman qualities. Bha is an acoustic root having immense attribution. Human beings owe their radiance to Him alone. The earth receives its light from the sun, the sun receives its light from the stars, and the stars receive their light from Parama Purusha alone. Tasya bhásá sarvamidam vibháti - "Everyone is radiant with His light." Where does human intellect originate from? It emanates from Him. People learn by reading books or by hearing, reading and understanding discourses. These faculties of hearing, reading and understanding are not human creations.
They are the gentle rise and fall of the waves flowing in the vast body of Parama Purusha [Mc: i.e. the Supreme Consciousness]. Jiivas have nothing of their own. Everything they receive is from Him alone. They get food from Him and they get air from Him. Everything is a gift from Him. Thus bha is an adequate description of His immense attribution.
Next is ga. Ityágacchatyajasram gacchati yasmin imá prajá ágacchati yasmát - "the Entity to whom all microcosms return". Gacchati means "goes", yasmin means "to whom" and ágacchati yasmát means "from Whom all jiivas originate". Countless are the creations which issue forth from Him and return back to Him. So bha and ga together make the word bhaga.
Bhaga has another interpretation. It means a combination of six superhuman qualities. They are:
Aeshvaryainca samagrainca viiryainca yashasah shriyah;
Jinána vaerágyayoshca tu sannám bhaga iti smrtam.
[Bhága is a collection of six attributes: aeshvarya, viirya,
yasha, shrii, jinána and vaerárgya.]
Aeshvarya: While discussing the topic of Párthasárathi in the light of bhaktitattva the other day, I said that all eight aeshvaryas were found combined in Párthasárathi - ánimá, mahima, laghimá, prápti, iis[h]itva, prakámya and antarayámitva. One possessing all eight occult powers is know as Iishvara. The Latin equivalent of aeshvarya is "occult power". "Occult" means "that which comes as a result of cult".
Viirya: Virrya means "valour". One whose presence strikes fear into the hearts of his or her enemies, who is a competent administrator, who can succesfully command others to action and who can assume an awesome countenance at will [has viirya].
Yasha: Yasha means "fame". When people loudly and wildly acclaim a person for his or her sterling qualities, this acclaim is known as yasha. And how do we explain yashasah, meaning "all kinds of name and fame"? It is because when Parama Purusha brings about social welfare by speaking truthfully and unambigiously and performing many good deeds, good people, common people, derive the benefit and speak highly of His deeds. They are full of praise for Him. They love Him and they revere Him.
Tomari geche pálcha snehe Tumi-i dhanya dhanya he,
Ámári prán Tomári dán, Tumi-i dhanya dhanya he.
[You are taking affectionate care of people in Your sweet
home; You are really blessed; victory unto You. My very life
is Your gift, You are really blessed, victory unto You.]
Then there is another category of people whose vested interests are adversely affected by His words and deeds. When their hard-wrought empire falls to pieces at His touch, they become filled with rage at Him. They go at any length to slander and malign him. One section of the people - those who have suffered under the thumb of these vested interests - sing His praises, while adversaries spit venom at Him.
Much time has passed since Krishna left the earth, but still today thousands of people praise Him, and at the same time many people continue to slander Him. I will not call them wicked; let the people pronounce judgement. Thus yashasah implies both yasha [fame] and apayasha [infamy]. Positive and negative go hand in hand. Interestingly, a clear polarization emerges in the minds of the people. Two unmistakable lines are drawn; two opposing camps are formed - the Kaoravas and the Pandavas. This is yasha.
Shrii: Sha is the accoustic root of rajoguná [the mutative principle] and the ra of energy. When people plunge headlong into the field of action with all the rajas [mutative force] at their disposal, and backed by this stored-up energy take to karma yoga, that is, when they take up the challenge with all the inherent force and vigour of their personality, we say that sha and ra are well-blended in them. So sha + ra = shra. The word is in the feminine gender, so it becomes shrii when suffixed by unnis. Shrii means the power of attraction - a unique combination of mutative lustre and inner vitality. All humans beings covet this rare quality, shrii, so even those who are devoid of shrii like to prefix their names with shrii. This is a very old custom in India. One may not have shrii, but one wants it, so that person adds it to his name.
Jinánam: Here jinánam means spiritual knowledge. Suppose there are four sub-divisions in the Hooghly District [in West Bengal, India]. This is knowledge. It is not altogether useless. Such knowledge is called aparájinána [worldy or ordinary knowledge]. It may be of some help in the physical sphere, but in the higher psychic planes it becomes useless. This is aparájinána. It comes fom its terrestrial source and is thrown back once again. It is like banana skins which someone picks up from the road and throws in the dustbin. But jinána as a bhaga does not imply aparájinána at all, for aparájinána cannot elevate human beings to higher spheres. Here jinána means parájinána [self-knowledge], because parájinána, when associated with social service, can associate with aparájinána, but aparájinána cannot under any circumstances associate with parájinána if it wants to maintain its separate identity. Aparájinána as mere aparájinána remains confined to the mundane sphere, whereas parájinána elevates human beings to the spiritual sphere and at the same time serves as an invaluable aid to aparájinána. Here jinána means átmajinána, that is, spiritual jinána, which is actually parájinána. One who has acquied parájinána will automatically develop aparájinána. He or she need not take the trouble to read voluminous books.
Átmajinánam vidurjinánam jinánányanyáni yáni tu.
Táni jinánávabhásáni sárasya naeva bodhanát.
"Self-knowlegde is true knowledge, while other branches of knowledge are mere reflections of knowledge. They are umbra and the penumbra of knowlegde." Táni jinánávabhásán - "This is not knowledge but the reflection of knowledge." - sárasya naeva bodhanát - "One will never arrive at the truth through it."
Átmajinánamidam Devii param mokshaekasádhanam;
Sukrtaermánavo bhútvá jinániicenmokshamápnuyát.
[Self-knowledge, Párvatii, is the greatest means to attain sal-
vation. People are born as human beings due to their past good
sámskáras, but to attain non-qualified liberation they will have
to attain self-knowledge.]
Párvatii asked Shiva, "When do people attain salvation?"
Shiva replied, "People attain salvation the moment they acquire self-knowledge. When people succeed in attaining self-knowledge after intense sádhaná intense tapasyá [penance], for many lives, through tremendous conflict and clash, they attain moksha [salvation].
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