Passage 4

Tap any word for its meaning.

In plain words

Because He conquered death, Īśvara has the name 'Mṛtyuñjaya'. Because He held the poison in His throat, He has the name 'Nīlakaṇṭha'. Because He has no worries, He has the name 'Acintya'. Because no measure of any kind can grasp Him, He has the name 'Aprameya'. The names of God carry many inner meanings.

Once, some difference of opinion arose between Pārvatī and Parameśvara over naming their son. Pārvatī wished to give their son one of the endless names Parameśvara has. "Swami! You are endowed with all power; You are the Lord of all living beings. Of the names You have, can You not tell any one name? I will give that name to this child," she said. Then Īśvara said to give the child the name 'Amṛtaputra'. One day Pārvatī laid her son in the cradle and, rocking him, 'Sleep, my dear one, go to sleep, little one... if you stay awake, the world itself stays awake..', went the lullaby she was singing. Just then Lakṣmī Devī, who had come there, asked, 'What is your child's name, my dear?' Pārvatī said, 'Amṛtaputra.' 'What, Amṛtaputra? Where did this name come from?' she asked, and Pārvatī said, 'Īśvara Himself gave it, my dear!' Īśvara is the embodiment of immortality. Every being that comes from such Godhood is itself the form of Īśvara. Every human being is a child of immortality, not a child of untruth. That is why the Veda said, 'Let all the children of immortality hear.' A child of untruth has change, and has death. But a child of immortality has neither change nor death.

Students! In our Bhārat, the names elders give to children are most sacred. All of you, try to recognise their inner meaning and live by it. They call Īśvara 'the Dweller on Kailāsa'. Where is Kailāsa? Kailāsa is seen only in deep silence.