There are those who are ostentatious in their display of bhakti. There are yet others, whose love for God is so strong, that they never expect public adulation for their bhakti. Their bhakti is silent. Their love for God is not publicised. But the One for whom they bear immense love knows of their love, and reveals their greatness to the public.
Bhishma and Kunti were two such devotees, whose bhakti was silent, but who are even today remembered and spoken of because of their bhakti, said Goda Venkateswara Sastrigal, in a discourse.
When an unhappy Yudishtra approached Lord Krishna, and asked for advice, the Lord did not Himself offer advice. He asked Yudishtra to seek advice from Bhishma. Bhishma then gave Yudishtra a thousand names of the Lord, which are popularly known as Vishnu Sahasranama. At the end of the recitation of a thousand names by Bhishma, Yudishtra asked him who the Supreme One was. Bhishma then pointed to Lord Krishna and said that He was the One who had to be worshipped by everyone.
Thus Bhishma was given the honour of reciting the Lord’s names and further pointing out that Lord Krishna was the Supreme One. He had the honour too of having the Lord listen to him, as he described the Lord’s greatness, by reciting His names.
The Vedas lay down rules that we have to follow in life. But they are difficult to understand. Sage Vyasa gave us the same guidelines for life through the Mahabharata. But even this is voluminous. The Gita encapsulates the wisdom of the Vedas, but this too is difficult for us to recite. And so we have been given the Vishnu Sahasranama, which we can recite every day. Thus Bhishma has done a signal service to mankind.
