Vishnu (Maintainer of the Universe)

The Boons and Salvation website focuses on Shiva (and Shakti), but Vishnu is equally important. So, one may ask whether the website’s practice (sanskrit sādhana) would work just as well for Vishnu. Yes, it could work, but one must bear in mind that Vishnu does not readily grant material boons, whereas Shiva does since he is easily pleased. Creating a similar sādhana for Vishnu is beyond the scope of this project, but we can make a few suggestions.

Regarding mantra for Salvation:

The Salvation component of the sādhana requires a mantra for use in activity. For Vishnu, one could use the mantra “Viṣnave namaḥ” which is found in the Bhagavatam chapter 6.8 (the Narayana Kavacha). This mantra can be enhanced to be:

This mantra balances the cosmic masculine and feminine principles. Similar mantras would be “Kṛiṣhṇāya namaḥ – Rādhāyai namaḥ”, and “Rāmāya namaḥ – Sītāyai namaḥ” (see also the Name of Rama).

Dhruva’s story (see below) provides us with another great Vishnu mantra: Śrī Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya.

Regarding Boons:

It’s still recommended to ask Shiva for Boons, because Vishnu does not readily grant material boons, whereas Shiva does because he is easy to please (sanskrit “Āśutoṣa”, in Srimad Bhagavatam chapter 10.88). Nothing prevents a follower of Vishnu from seeking boons from Shiva; for instance, Krishna considers the worship of any deity to be worship of himself (Bhagavad Gita 9.23). Rāma himself worshiped Shiva for success in his mission to destroy the forces of darkness and evil that were plaguing the world.

One can of course still offer water to Vishnu. In Bhagavad Gita 9.26, Krishna even mentions offering leaf, flower, fruit, and water. But he doesn’t say he’ll grant boons; rather, it’s just a good thing to do as devotion. Of course, adding other items to the daily offering can make it more difficult and tedious. (It sounds easy enough, but one quickly finds that it makes it more of a chore to do on a daily basis.) By contrast, the Shiva boons sādhana aims to keep things as simple and easy as possible, so that one can do it every day without feeling any “pinch” or resistance (and so that millions of people will do the sādhana, in order to reap collective global boons, such as calling down an Avatar Now).

There are instances of Vishnu granting boons, but such boons are rare and difficult to achieve. The prominent example is that of Dhruva, whose story in told in the Bhagavatam Purana (book 4, chapters 8-12). Dhruva did extreme austerities (tapas), and was ready to continue unto death. Fortunately, Vishnu had mercy and granted Dhruva the boons of rulership of the kingdom and very long life. However, it’s unlikely that any human living now in Kali Yuga could perform such tapas Dhruva as did.

So, followers of Vishnu should consider worshiping Shiva for boons, and using a Vishnu mantra for salvation.

Śrī Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya!