Wednesday, January 5, 2011

January Monthly Theme: Om

According to the Mandukya Upanishad,"Om is the one eternal syllable of which all that exists is but the development. The past, the present, and the future are all included in this one sound, and all that exists beyond the three forms of time is also implied in it".

Om is not a word but rather an intonation, which, like music, transcends the barriers of age, race, culture and even species. It is made up of three Sanskrit letters, aa, au and ma which, when combined together, make the sound Aum or Om. It is believed to be the basic sound of the world and to contain all other sounds. It is a mantra or prayer in itself. If repeated with the correct intonation, it can resonate throughout the body so that the sound penetrates to the centre of one's being, the atman or soul.

There is harmony, peace and bliss in this simple but deeply philosophical sound. By vibrating the sacred syllable Om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the Ultimate Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach the highest state of "stateless" eternity, states the Bhagavad Gita.

Om" is the sound of a thoughtless state of mind—a present that is free from all tensions of life—the way to touch the depths of our real selves in its purest form.

1 comment:

  1. OM is a word of Ishvara, since it acts as a silver cord connecting the physical, astral and causal selves to lead to him. OM goes beyond race, religion or species, because it is a primary sound of mouth opening to let air in or out, and closing slowly. OM not only can be rendered aloud, but can be recited in silence so that finally one learns to listen to our body cells resonating OM. This advanced OM recital can be taught only by Ishvara, as the vibrations are in para-naad. (Naad = sound. Quarter of para (for turiya state)are pashyanti (causal state) vibrations, its quarter are madhyama (astral state) vibrations and quarter of that are vaikheri vibrations that we can tolerate in the physical world.)

    ReplyDelete