Vishnu
“Remember Vishnu again and again; by remembering Vishnu, you will never suffer defeat.” (Gauri Bawan Akhri Kabir, p. 342)
“At whose door should I take refuge? Vishnu, Shiva, an adept, a Muni, or Indra. One may give you a kingdom, another may take you to heaven, but only a rare one among a million may ask for salvation.” (Kalyan M. 5, p. 1322)
“O Lord! Vishnu and Lakshmi could not know you, besides the four Vedas, Smritis, and Puranas.” (Dhanasari Kabir, p. 691)
“Kishan (connoting Vishnu) is always busy incarnating himself; then with whose help may one ferry across the world-ocean?” (Wadhans M. 3, p. 559)
Vishnu is the second god of the Hindu Triad. He represents the Sattva quality of maya and is considered the Preserver of the world. It is said that the sage Bhrigu, in order to ascertain who was the greatest god of the Hindu Triad, visited all of them. Brahma neglected him, and Shiva behaved offensively towards him. It was Vishnu who, even when kicked by him, treated him with goodness and generosity. Thus, Bhrigu concluded that Vishnu was the greatest of the Hindu Triad.
Even the Supreme Being is sometimes referred to as Vishnu, as in the first reference above. However, as a god of the Triad, Vishnu is considered related to maya and, therefore, prone to death. Brahma is said to have been born out of Vishnu’s navel-lotus (Gujri M. 1, p. 489). In such contexts, Vishnu may be identified with Maha-Vishnu or the Supreme Being. His consort is Lakshmi, who is also called Kavala, and Vishnu in this form is called Kavalapati (or Kamlapati).
In times of grave emergencies, Vishnu incarnates to help the gods and punish the tyrants. Ten of his incarnations are considered most significant (see Das Avatars). Vishnu is depicted reposing on the coils of the serpent Shesha, with his wife Lakshmi seated at his feet. He has four hands, each holding a different object: a Shank (conch shell), a Chakra (disc), a Gada (mace), and a Padma (lotus) (Swayye Mahle Chauthe Ke, p. 1402). His vehicle is Garuda, a man-bird, and his heaven, Vaikuntha, is said to have a circumference of 80,000 miles.
Vishnu has one thousand names, recorded in Vishnu Sahansar Nama. Some of the names used for the Supreme Being (God) in Guru Granth Sahib include Gopal, Gobind, Mukand, Murari, Narayana, Madhav, Vasudeva, Prabhu, Chatur Bhuj, Kavala Kant, Hari, etc.
References:
Kohli, Surindar Singh (Ed.), Dictionary of Mythological References in Guru Granth Sahib, 1993.
