Meaning of Vasudeva Mantra

Published: 29 March 2026 | Written by Rabindra Sahu

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

Gently bring your mind’s awareness to the seat where you are seated, as if on the lap of Mother Earth—safe, absolutely relaxed, and peaceful. Let the Mother hold you without you trying to hold yourself.

An act of surrender to Mother Earth, thereby letting that relaxation reach your breath and pierce through the veil of the mind.

Let your mind be absolutely still and relaxed as there is nothing to do, nothing to prove, nothing to achieve, nowhere to go.

Simply still and relaxed, nothing to concentrate, just pure awareness of your being as if your mind is newly born at this moment.

From this profound stillness, the primordial vibration arises: Om…

Before we explore this year’s Sangha Mantra—Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya—let us reflect upon few principles.

What is the meaning of love? We can give it any meaning because there is no single meaning. Any meaning we give, would be a limitation. It is just what each of us feels. Any meaning we give is a limitation imposed by the mind. But the mind needs a meaning. So I will try to share my understanding and the teachings that I have received. There are two aspects to understanding this mantra: the literal meaning, and the far more difficult aspect—the meaning within the context of devotion. The masters have their own ways to bring out our vulnerabilities. Today I feel that difficulty, because it is very hard to speak on bhakti, love, and surrender.

I am not sitting here as a teacher, nor are you students. We are brothers, sisters, mothers together, trying to understand what this mantra could mean for each of us.

My humble request to you would be that each one of us decide what this mantra means for us—not what I say, not what has been written. Define the meaning for yourself, the way you feel it. God is like a mother. A small child cannot speak, yet the mother understands. It is a communication of hearts, not minds. It is not intellectualisation. It is a feeling deep inside the heart that cannot be expressed. yet we keep trying to find words to express. No matter how much we try to find it, it will still be limited. Because the limited cannot express the unlimited, the finite cannot express the infinite.

“I” The limited cannot express the unlimited, but will try, so the mind can comprehend at a basic level: “I am doing this mantra. This is what it means.” And as we move on with our practice, the meaning manifests itself within your lives.

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय।

Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

ॐ Om

We can study the Mandukya Upanishad (refer to Swami Rama’s commentary – Enlightenment without God) to understand the meaning of Om.

As you know, OM is Composed of:

  • A (अ): Represents the waking state (jagrat), the physical world, and Brahma (the creator).
  • U (उ): Represents the dream state (svapna), the mental world, and Vishnu (the preserver).
  • M (म): Represents deep sleep (sushupti), the formless unconscious, and Shiva (the destroyer).
  • The Silence After: Represents Turiya, the pure consciousness that transcends and pervades all three states.

Om is the Primodial sound of the Universe. Om is the sound-vibration of the Absolute Reality. It is the sound of our being. It is the symbol of Brahman, the ultimate, unchanging reality.

नमो Namo

Namo is surrender—‘Not me’

But sometimes this “not me” becomes a subtle ego. “I didn’t do it. The Guru did it.” While saying “not me,” we still have “some me.” If it truly happens, we will not advertise it. We would rather say, “me” than “not me.” So, it is very subtle. We can go on saying “Not me” while that feeds to our “Special Me”.

When we say, “it’s not me,” do we really mean it, and does the other person feel that it is actually the truth? So, this special, subtle, spiritual ego needs to be surrendered. Even this trace of ‘not me’ needs to be surrendered. That’s the final step. If I have really surrendered, then who is “not me”?

Sometimes, people ask ‘Are you a disciple of Swami Rama or Swami Veda?’ Even though it is an invalid question, I say I am not a disciple yet. I’m trying. My preference is of servanthood to the master. A disciple is the one who has no will of his or her. It’s the Guru’s will. Do I have 100% surrender to my master? Not yet. So, I don’t call myself a disciple. Whether I am a disciple or not, the master will decide. Just writing or publicising that I am a disciple would not make me a disciple, more likely that will strengthen the “special spiritual ego” and competition.

So, namo is that full surrender.

And surrender is not new. We do surrender in our everyday lives. When we go for a haircut, we surrender to the barber. We trust he will not cut our neck. When we sit in an airplane, we surrender to the pilot. When we go to a doctor, we have surrendered. We trust that whatever medicine the doctor gives will help us. We don’t ask questions like “Doctor, you gave me this pill. What does this mean? What is the composition?” You don’t ask. You trust. So, if in the material world, we have the capacity to trust and surrender. We just need to take it to a little deeper level, to have the capacity to surrender to the intangible and invisible.

Namo in the practical context could be an act of non-holding, non-clinging. You say to the Lord, enough of ‘I, me and mine, you please take over’. That is a call as well as a longing of a disciple who pleads to the master, ‘please take over’. A devotee would say, ‘hari-iccha’—it’s the will of the Lord. I don’t have my will. Try to live life like that for one week and we will see whether we are disciples or devotees or not.

So, namo is that act of surrender with reverence.

भगवते Bhagavate

Bhagavate means “to” or “for” of the word “Bhagavan”. So, Bhagavate means “to the Bhagavan,” “to the Lord,” “to the possessor of all divine virtues.”

The term ‘Bhagavan’ (God) is specifically defined in the Vishnu Purana (6.5.74) through its etymology:

Bhaga means six divine virtues, qualities, attributes:

  1. Aishvarya: Absolute Lordship/Sovereignty
  2. Virya: Absolute Power
  3. Yasha: Absolute Fame/Glory
  4. Shri: Absolute Wealth
  5. Jnana: Absolute Knowledge/wisdom
  6. Vairagya: Absolute Renunciation

“Van” means “one who possesses.”

Thus, Bhagavan is the one who possesses these six divine virtues, divine qualities in full, simultaneously, and eternally.

As an example, what is it that we want in our life? What is it that we want from our life? What is it that we are seeking? Happiness. How much happiness are we seeking? We want unlimited, infinite happiness. Agreed? We don’t want limited happiness. Right now, if you are getting this much happiness in the class, and if there is an opportunity, and you have a choice to go somewhere where you will get more happiness, your mind will pull you towards that. We are looking for unlimited, infinite happiness. Where? Where are we looking? Everywhere.

Do we say, “I will only be happy when I am in Ashram? It’s okay even if I am not happy when I am at home.” We want to be happy at all times and everywhere.

Now, we are seeking it where? In all the finite things. If I am seeking unlimited, infinite happiness in finite and limited things and beings, can I ever get there? I can’t.

Therefore, we need Bhagavan who is unlimited and infinite. Only that can give us unlimited, infinite bliss.

The First attribute is Aishwarya—Absolute Lordship. We have limited lordships over small insects, small trees. Let us take an ant as an example. We have lordship over an ant. We can kill the ant. If the ant is drowning in water, we can save its life. But if the ant crawls into our ear, where is our lordship? It’s gone. So, our lordship is limited. It’s not unlimited. The ant in water is at our mercy, but at the same time, if the same ant crawls into my ear, I’m at the mercy of the doctor. So, our aishwarya, the lordship is limited.

God is the one who has absolute and infinite lordship over everything.

Second attribute is Virya—Absolute Power. Our power is limited. No matter who that person is, that person’s power is limited.

Bhagavan is the one whose power is limitless, infinite. It means the capacity to create, to sustain and to dissolve the whole universe. The one who has this absolute power of creation, sustenance and dissolution is called bhaga.

Third, Yasha—Fame, Glory. Our fame is limited and dependent upon external circumstances. But limitless fame and glory is bhaga.

Fourth, Shri—Absolute Wealth. All that we are enjoying, calling it ours. Is it really ours? Did I create the Earth? No. Did I create waters? No. Did I create fire, space, air? Did I create diamonds? No. That wealth belongs to whom? To the Lord. It’s all has been given. Even if I try to call myself, ‘I’m wealthy’, my wealth is limited. Even the wealthiest person’s wealth is limited. And when we leave our body, what happens? All the money in the bank account, all the big mansions, they stay here. Because it never belonged to me. I worked hard for it but still it doesn’t belong to me. Whatever we have is not ours because it is given.

So, our wealth is limited; unlimited wealth is bhaga.

Fifth, jñāna —Absolute Wisdom. Our knowledge is limited; we know only few things. There is always somebody who knows a little better, a little more than us. There are many things we do not know.

Bhagavan is the one whose knowledge is limitless and never inhibited by “I do not know”. Infinite, limitless knowledge is bhaga.

Sixth, Vairagya—Dispassion, renunciation, absolute renunciation. We have dispassion towards things we don’t like and we also are dispassionate towards dispassion. I renounced what? Renunciation itself. I renounced renunciation. I am dispassionate about dispassion! We cling. Raga is longing and viraga is freedom from longing. Vairagya means the one who is free from longing. Limitless vairagya is bhaga.

Even having all these attributes, still the Lord is absolutely not attached to any of this. This is non-clinging.

And any of these attributes that we have in limited degrees, we cling to it. We have a little wealth, we cling. We have a little fame, we cling. We have a little power, we cling on to it and get attached.

God is absolutely detached. He has created everything, yet he stays away from it. Whether you call he, she, doesn’t matter. God is beyond genders anyways.

So, I have created something in my life. Can I remain detached from that creation? It could be anything. I have received something in my life. Can I remain detached from that internally? You can still be engaged. God is engaged with all this, yet absolutely fully withdrawn.

One who has all six attributes is known as Bhagavan—God and then,

Bhagavate is ‘unto that Lord’ [who has all these six attributes].

So may I follow that which is infinite. May I seek that which is infinite. And if I am holding on to anything that is finite, if not today, tomorrow, I will have issues because those things are bound to undergo change. Things are constantly changing, things are constantly shifting and we are trying to hold on to that which is constantly moving. Naturally we will be stressed.

So, what this prayer, this mantra can give us is that “let me hold on to that which is the truth or which is infinite. Only the infinite can give me infinite and unlimited happiness.”

I am holding on to things which are limited, and I am expecting unlimited happiness from limited things and beings. I, as a spouse, expecting unlimited happiness from my partner who is another limited being. Is it possible? It’s not possible because we are both limited and finite beings.

Let us take an example. If I am sitting or standing here, somebody comes and pulls me. I can be easily pulled because I have limited strength. But if I hold on to a concrete pillar, and the same person tries to pull me, can I be easily pulled? No, because I have the strength and support of something which is steady, it is not infinite but stronger. So I am holding on to something or somebody who is more stronger, thereby I am not getting pulled. In the same way, I am holding on to the Lord within me, thereby I am not going to get pulled by the world. Otherwise, anybody says something, somebody does something, I get easily pulled and then I’m stressed and then I sit for meditation. It’s not going to work.

The outside is constantly pulling us. You all agree? That’s exactly what we experience in meditation. We sit; the outside is constantly pulling us. So, what to do? Let me hold on to something; let me hold unto my mantra. There will still be a pull but I may be a little less affected by it.

So bhagavate is infinite potential and strength for us to hold onto.

वासुदेवाय Vasudevaya

Vasudevaya means ‘unto Vasudeva’.

Vasudeva has two meanings,

One is Son of Vasudeva: This refers to Lord Krishna’s appearance as the son of King Vasudeva and Queen Devaki.

Second which is much more universal, all-pervading Lord, the indweller—who is everywhere. Everywhere means within us as well as outside us. He who dwells in all things and in whom all things dwell.

Consider space: everything is in space, and space is in everything. Inside every solid object, atoms and molecules have space. Space is unaffected by anything it supports—it isn’t attached, doesn’t retain or reject. It’s completely neutral, supports all, yet has no “me.” It is everywhere, with no beginning or end. Adding or destroying galaxies doesn’t change its weight. In the same way Vasudeva is the all-pervading force field in whom all things dwell and He dwells in all things. It is because of my limited vision that I am not able to feel or experience it.

If you have an affinity to a form of the Divine, then you can use the first meaning, where Lord Krishna is known as Vasudeva.

We are attached to many forms in the world. Can we say we are absolutely detached to all forms? No. Sometimes we need another form to worship, to surrender to so that that form takes away our attachments and identifications with all other worldly forms. That is when you need a master, a guide, a Guru and God, if you have a feeling or connection with one.

Vasudevaya—unto Lord Krishna, the son of Vasudeva.

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya is “Om, I bow to the Lord who dwells within all hearts, the possessor of all divine qualities.”

There is a text called Srimad Bhagavatam by Sage Veda Vyasa which is considered as an explanation of the mantra – Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya. This text comprises of only 18,000 verses. Sage Veda Vyasa took 18,000 verses just to explain this one mantra! It’s impossible to explain this mantra in one session. We need to feel and contemplate for ourselves: how does this mantra work in each of our lives? Where do I need to surrender? Let me start—even a little—let me initiate the process, and slowly, the meaning will reveal itself without struggling.

When spirituality becomes a struggle or a burden, we’ve likely taken the wrong path. This isn’t about adding another belief or mantra to carry. It’s about alignment—helping us remember the highest, so we stay aligned. Yes, the world pulls at me but let me hold on to that pillar of light [that is the mantra]. You may call it God or bhagavan; just hold on…and surrender.

ॐ नमो भगवते वासुदेवाय  Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya

ॐ शांति शांति शांति Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Editor’s Note:

This article is an excerpt from the transcript of a talk by Rabindra Sahu during the AHYMSIN Sangha Gathering 2026 conducted at Swami Rama Sadhaka Grama from 1-10 March 2026.