One name of our Lord is Gopála. “Go” means “motor and sensory organs”, and “pála” means “the man who takes care”. In the human body, even if we have all the sensory and motor organs, we cannot function if the atman is absent, if the witnessing entity, the microcosmic or Macrocosmic spirit, is absent. “Gopála” means “jiivátman” or “unit consciousness”.

“Govinda”. The meaning of “go” is “motor and sensory organs” and “vinda” means “the entity that helps in the manifestation of the proper wonts of an element”. So here Govinda also, means “unit consciousness”.

“Krśńa”. The root verb “krś” means “to attract”. The entity which attracts everything towards Him is Krśńa; that is, the nucleus of the universe. Another meaning of Krśńa is “‘I’ feeling”. The feeling that “I exist” is called “krś”, and “Krśńa” means, “Because of His presence I feel my existence”. “Krsna” means, “because of the presence of that Entity the feeling of ‘I exist’ is in me.”

“Náráyańa”. “Nára” has three meanings in Saḿskrta. One meaning is “water”, the second meaning is “devotion”, and third meaning is “Cosmic Operative Principle”. And “ayana” means “shelter”. Thus “Náráyańa” means “the shelter of the Cosmic Operative Principle”. Who is the shelter of the Cosmic Operative Principle? Parama Puruśa. So “Náráyańa” means Parama Puruśa.

“Mádhava”. In Saḿskrta the word “má” has two meanings. One meaning is “no” or “not”. So “ma” gacchá means “don’t go”, and “máná” means “not not”. Another meaning is “Prakrti” or “Cosmic Operative Principle”.

And the word “dhava” has got two meanings. One meaning is “sparkling white”; the other meaning is “husband”. A lady who has lost her husband is called “vidhavá”.

So “Mádhava” means “husband of the Cosmic Operative Principle” - that is, Parama Puruśa.

“Hari”. “Pápáni harati ityarthe harih.” He who steals sins is Hari. Suppose a man, Mr. X, has committed many sins, but after committing those sins, he has become a devotee, a sincere spiritual aspirant. What will Parama Puruśa do? Parama Puruśa will ask him to give all his sins to Him to purify himself. But the devotee will say, “No, no, no. I will give you everything, but not my sins. That would be another sin. Let me undergo the reactions of my own sins.” But the Cosmic Entity, Parama Puruśa, loves that boy, so what will He do? What is stealing? Taking something without the permission of the owner is called stealing. So what will Parama Puruśa do? He will take away the man’s sins without his permission. In Saḿskrta, stealing is “harar”. That’s why He is “Hari”.

“Ráma”. “Ráma” means “to give pleasure”. “Rámante yoginah yasmin sah Rámah”. The best object of pleasure is Ráma. The spiritual aspirant gets maximum pleasure from Parama Puruśa. So Ráma is Parama Puruśa. Another meaning is “Ráti mahiidharah Rámah” – “Ráma” means “the most glittering entity”, that is, Parama Puruśa. A third meaning is “Rávanasya marańam Rámah.” The first letter of “Rávanasya” is “Rá”. The first letter of “marańam” is “ma”. So, “Rá – ma”. In mythology it has been said that Rávana is a ten-faced demon. The ten-faced demon is nothing else but the base propensities of the mind, which function in all the ten directions. “Marańam” means “death”. When you take shelter in Parama Puruśa, Rávana dies. So in Him lies the death of all evil forces, all depraving propensities. Hence, He is “Rávanasya marańam”, He is the death of Rávana. Here also, Ráma means Parama Puruśa.