Om Yoga and the Bible

The japa and meditation of Om are not exclusively Hindu practices, but are also part of the Jain and Buddhist traditions. They are also indicated in the Bible. This should be no surprise since Moses was an initiate of the Egyptian religion which was rooted in Indian philosophy, as was proved by Apollonius of Tyana at the time of Jesus. Like Apollonius, Jesus himself lived and studied in India, and the Christian scriptures reflect this. (See The Christ of India and The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ.)

One

There is an Absolute Unity that embraces–and comprises–all things: God. Of Him the Bible tells us: “Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God: there is none else.” (Deuteronomy 4:39; see Isaiah 44:8; 45:5,6,14,18,21,22; 46:9) This being so, we can say as did Jesus: “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.” (John 16:28) Yoga is our way of return. The capacity for return, the “power to become the sons of God” (John 1:12) is innate in us, just as it was said of Jesus that he “knew that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God.” (John 13:3) It is our practice of yoga that is the divine leaven that expands our consciousness into that perfect state that is the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven. “Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” (Matthew 13:33)

Yoga is the fundamental clearing of our consciousness. As Saint Paul directs: “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2)–the renewal of your original consciousness that you had with God “before the world was (John 17:5)…When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.” (Job 38:7)

The one teacher and guide

Dwelling in the hearts of all, God empowers and guides the questing souls. “The anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” (I John 2:27) “Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.” (I John 2:20) “For the truth’s sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever.” (II John 1:2) “I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it.” (I John 2:21) “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) This is the true teaching of the Bible, the same truth that the sages of India knew long before Moses or the evangelists set down their insights.

In his commentary on Yoga Sutra 1:25 Shankara says: “There is no other but God to give the teaching which is a boat by which they can cross over the sea of samsara, and He teaches knowledge and dharma to those who take sole refuge in Him.” In the Bible we find the identical teaching. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:14) “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.” (Psalms 143:10) “I am the Lord thy God which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.” (Isaiah 48:17) The aspiring yogi can then feel safe and assured, for God will be his guru, just as He has been for all the enlightened throughout the ages. “He is guru even of the ancients,” (Yoga Sutras 1:26) affirmed Patanjali.

The Name of the Father

The Lord Jesus told His disciples: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9. See Luke 11:2, also.) In the final hours of His earthly life He prayed: “Father, glorify thy name.” (John 12:28) He further prayed, saying: “I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me…. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name…. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17:6,12,26)

The Beloved Apostle wrote: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” (Revelation 14:1 )

These verses tell us several important things: 1) The Name of the Father is to have a major place in our lives and be glorified in them. 2) The Name of the Father was not known to the disciples until Jesus revealed it to them. Therefore Jehovah, Adonai, El Shaddai, and suchlike that were descriptive titles rather than proper names, which they all knew well, were not the Name of the Father. 3) The Name of the Father is the way we keep ourselves attuned to the Father. 4) It is the Name of the Father that imbues us with the love of the Father and makes us one with the Father. 5) It is the impression (seal) of the Father’s Name upon us, in the “white stone” (Revelation 2:17) of our inmost consciousness, the Chidakasha, that makes us the elect of God.

“I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword.” (Revelation 1:12,13,16) The “sharp twoedged sword” is the Name of the Father. And that Name is the Pranava, the “Life-giver,” Om. (In the Christian East the most common prayer to the Holy Spirit–the Mother aspect of God–addresses Her as “Giver of Life.” The fundamental universal statement of Christian belief, the Nicene Creed, speaks of “the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life.” Om is thus the embodiment of the Divine Power that is the Holy Spirit.)

The true Name of God

The nature of the Name of God is indicated in the following verses from Revelation: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.…I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.…I am the first and the last.… I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end.…I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” (Revelation 1:8,11; 21:6; 22) Obviously God is the beginning and the end of all things–and is all things. But hidden in these statements is the character of the ultimate–and in one sense the only–Name of God. The Name of God consists of two vocal sounds: the first and the last possible sounds, the lowest that can be made deep in the throat and the final sound made by closing the lips. The first sound is long O, and the final sound is M. Put together they form the holy mantric syllable, Om.

There is a great deal more to Om than just being the first and last sounds possible in the range of human speech, otherwise It would just be a symbol. But man (nara) is made in the image of God (Narayana), and that includes his vocal apparatus, for the human body is the temple of the indwelling God. (Genesis 1:27; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19)

Man is intended to be godlike, to engage in that which God does. And the first act of God is the sounding of Om as the primal expression of His essential creative being. “God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3) That Divine Light is the essence of Om, the Life-Giving Word, the Pranava. Therefore it is said: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.” (John 1:1, 2)

The Bible calls the Pranava “the Amen [Om], the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” (Revelation 3:14) This Word gave birth to all things, for “by the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalms 33:6) This creative process is referred to at the very beginning of the Bible: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). “The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters” (Psalms 29:3). “He spake, and it was done” (Psalms 33:9).

In the beginning of all things God “speaks” Himself, and becomes the Word. That Word is Om, from which all subsequent things arise and into Which they eventually resolve. When we inwardly intone Om and become absorbed in that sound, we are recreating ourselves. Om encompasses the Speaker, the Speaking, and the Spoken. Om is ALL.

It is Om that is the “only-begotten” of God, the only projection or emanation from God that is produced directly by Him. The Mantra-Yoga-Samhita (3) says: “Owing to the differentiation occurring at the initial moment, creation is vibratory…. The sound produced then is the Pranava, which has the form of the auspicious Omkara.” From then on Om Itself is the instrument of God’s will in the production and evolution of the cosmos. And he whose consciousness has become Om through Its japa and meditation is also “the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

In The Narrative of Joseph, which is the account of Saint Joseph of Arimathea regarding the resurrection of Jesus, angelic powers speak to Jesus of “the Letter of Thy Godhead”–in some manuscripts: “the shining light of the Letter, the fire of the Godhead.” This is a reference to the Single Letter (Ekakshara) of Om, the Pranava: . The Narrative says that this Letter was so bright that it completely “extinguished,” overwhelmed or submerged in Its Light, the blazing light of the Cherubim. In this way the divinity of Om, the True Name, was revealed.

Pentecost

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit appeared resting upon the heads of the Apostles in the form of divided flames. (Acts 2:3, 4) The dual flames represent the letters O and M that make up Om.

The power of the Word

The vibrating column of air within the body from which speech is produced is the objective embodiment of the essential creative power of the human being and is imbued with both the individual and universal characteristics of the consciousness that wields it. This is why Jesus told His disciples that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:34; Luke 6:45)–that is, speech is the projecting of the inner consciousness of the speaker. How much more so, then, when the speaker wields the Power of The Word. (“The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.” Deuteronomy 30:14) And the essence of all Words of Power is Om, for It encompasses the beginning and end of the sounds that can be verbally produced.

The Word of Life: Pranava

Jesus was not the creator of a new religion, but a messenger of the Sanatana Dharma, the Eternal Religion he had learned in India. (See The Christ of India.) As a priest of the Saint Thomas Christian Church of South India once commented to me: “You cannot understand the teachings of Jesus if you do not know the scriptures of India.”

In the opening portion of the Gospel of John, the beginning verse is a paraphrase of the Vedic verse: “In the beginning was Prajapati, with Him was the Word, and the Word was truly the Supreme Brahman.” (Prajapati vai idam agra asit. Tasya vak dvitiya asit. Vag vai paramam Brahman. (Krishna Yajurveda, Kathaka Samhita, 12.5, 27.1; Krishna Yajurveda, Kathakapisthala Samhita, 42.1; Jaiminiya Brahmana II, Sameveda, 2244) Prajapati refers to God as Creator, and Brahman to God in His Absolute Transcendent Being.) The entire segment is a discourse on Pranava, the Word of Life, as a careful analysis will show.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” The Word is not something that came into existence, that was “spoken” out of a primal Silence. Rather, at the very beginning of “things”–the inception of relative existence–the Word WAS. It is eternal. “The Word was with God” is an indication that the Word is inherent in God, is an essential part of Divine Being, and therefore IS God. “And the Word was God.”

In case we think of the Pranava, the spoken syllable Om, as being an evolute of the Word, a mere mirroring or a vastly reduced or attenuated version of the Word rather than the original Word Itself, we are told: “The same was in the beginning with God.”

“All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Om is the creative Word, the Source of all, apart from Which nothing whatsoever exists. Thus the Word includes all things while simultaneously transcending them.

“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” Prana, the root of the word Pranava, means Life, for life is as inherent in–and is–Om as Om is inherent in–and is–Brahman. Om is the evolutionary manifesting power that “produces” human beings after eons of evolution in lesser forms. It is the “light,” the inmost consciousness that manifests in human beings and carries them onward, beyond humanity into further realms of conscious development. The Gospel singles out human beings (even though the same statement could be made of all things, even atomic particles) because it is as humans that we can first grasp the existence of Om and begin to consciously utilize It for higher development and the transcendence of the limited human condition.

“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” It makes no difference if Om is not perceived (intuited); It is still active in even those that comprehend It not. No matter how dense and darkened the consciousness may be, the Divine Light of the Word is blazing forth just as much as in the most highly evolved beings. It is simply not yet revealed to the consciousness upon which It shines. However, the moment the consciousness does perceive It to any degree, the turning from darkness to Light has begun. And by Its japa and meditation we pass from darkness to the Light, becoming the Light, “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” There are no exceptions: the Light of Om in time enlightens every being upon the earth and raises them beyond the earth and its bonds.

It is true: as far as unenlightened beings are concerned, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not” into their consciousness. Yet, the rule is true: Things Change. And in (evolutionary) time it shall be said of all: “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Om is the divinizing power that transmutes humanity into Divinity. Those with active faith, those who repeat and meditate upon Om, will find the revelation of their own divinity manifesting before their inmost eyes, being “born” into new Life, “not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

For “the Word was made flesh” in their flesh “and dwelt among” and within, and through them, and within their own being they “beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth,” enabling them to say with utmost truth: “And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.”

The Chidakasha

In the twenty-ninth chapter of Exodus (Exodux 29:7. See alsoLeviticusm 8:12) Moses was commanded to consecrate Aaron to the high-priesthood by pouring consecrated oil on the crown of his head. In Leviticus (Leviticus 14:18) it was directed that a leper that had been cured of his disease should by reinstated as “clean” by having the crown of his head anointed with oil by a priest. Kings of Israel were made so by also having oil poured on the crown of their heads. In all these instances the oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit, Whose entrance into their inmost spirit enlivened and enabled them. And in each instance it was the Chidakasha that was being so enlivened and enabled, for the crown of the head has a direct connection (called “the secret stair”) with the Chidakasha, the core of the brain.

The Chidakasha is the Paradise from which we fall into the “earth” of relative existence. But that fall is illusory and never really takes place. Instead we come to live in and through a lie. We must draw our awareness away from the lie, separate it from all illusion, and posit it back in its true center, the spirit-sun that blazes within the Chidakasha. Om intoned at the Chidakasha is the Holy Spirit hovering or brooding over the face of the waters –the source of those enfolding waters, yet above and beyond them, the image of perfect mastery over them. “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” (Genesis 1:2) It is also the “speaking” of God: “Let there be light.” (Genesis 1:3) And there shall be light.

The symbolism is continued in the New Testament, where Saint John the Apostle tell us that an angel “carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.” (Revelation 21:10,11) This is reminiscent of the descent of the Ganges upon the head of Shiva.

When Saint John was about to receive the visions he recorded in the book of Revelation, he says: “I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard…said, Come up hither, and …immediately I was in the spirit.” (Revelation 4:1,2) “Heaven” was the Chidakasha, attention within which produces spiritual consciousness. In light of this we understand the esoteric meaning of Jesus’ words: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.” (Revelation 3:20)

When Jesus was baptized, the light of the Holy Spirit appeared upon the crown of his head. ((Matthew 3:16) For this reason in Western Christianity it was traditional to anoint the Brahmarandra with holy chrism right after baptism. At Pentecost the same light appeared resting upon the heads of the Apostles in the form of divided flames. (Acts 2:3, 4) The dual flames represented the letters O and M that make up Om as well as the inhaling and exhaling breaths to which Om has been joined.

The Chidakasha is symbolized in the Gospels by the Upper Room in which Jesus celebrated the Last Supper and in which, on Pentecost, the Apostles were imbued with the Holy Spirit.

The Pearl of Great Price and The Treasure Hid in the Field (Matthew 13:44-46) are both symbols of the awakened Chidakasha.

The Chidakasha is also the Pool of Siloam in which the blind man washed at the behest of Jesus and “came seeing.” (John 9:7) By keeping awareness there, the spiritual sight can be opened.

Those who experience intoning Om within the Chidakasha as outlined in the Om Yoga instructions will understand the highest meaning of Jesus’ words: “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

The haloes of the saints are the light of the expanded Chidakasha. It is spoken of in the book of Daniel in this way: “The Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.” (Daniel 7:9) The same thing is found in the book of Revelation: “His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.” (Revelation 1:14) The thousand rays of the Chidakasha, the Thousand-Petalled Lotus or Sahasrara, are the “hair” described here.

Jesus was born in a cave and resurrected in a cave. The Chidakasha is the “cave” where our inner Christ is born and rises into perfect Life.

The house of the Lord

Isaiah and Micah speak of the Chidakasha as the top of Mount Zion, the Temple Mount, or the Temple itself. “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 2:2,3. The identical words are found in Micah 4:1,2.) This is not a political prophecy, but a reference to the esoteric anatomy of the human being. The “top of the mountains” is the awakened brain, “the mountain of the Lord’s house.” The brain is Jerusalem as well as the Temple, the House of the Lord, and the Chidakasha is the Ark. The “nations” that shall flow unto it are the diverse energies of the gross and subtle bodies that are mastered and redirected upward through the japa and meditation of Om.

“And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them….” (Matthew 5:1,2) If we ascend the body-mountain to its summit, the Chidakasha, we will be taught directly by the Christ within. Ascending from multiplicity we will reach the point of unity–unity with God and with our true selves which are rooted in God. The Chidakasha is also the mount of transfiguration and the mount of ascension.

The Mercy Seat

The empowered and purified brain of the yogi is represented in the Bible under the symbol of Mount Zion, the Temple in whose depths God dwelt upon the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, between the Cherubim. (Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1) For He had told Moses: “There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony.” (Exodus 25:22) The book of Numbers tell us that “when Moses was gone into the tabernacle of the congregation to speak with him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of testimony, from between the two cherubims: and he spake unto him.” (Numbers 7:8, 9) Because of this the Most Holy Place where the Ark was kept was known as The Oracle.

This Most Holy Place is the Chidakasha wherein is found the “mercy seat” where God communicates with us as we awaken through our practice of yoga.

The Jewel on the Golden Altar

It is stated in Kabalistic writings that in the realm of the spiritual Jerusalem, within the spiritual temple, there is a jewel engraved with the ineffable Name of God upon the golden altar of the Holy Place, and that from above this jewel there ever resounds the voice of God saying: “Return unto Me, ye sons of men.” The Chidakasha gland is that jewel.

By continually keeping your awareness within the Chidakasha during your japa and meditation, feeling the breath and Om vibrating there, the “jewel” of your Chidakasha is “engraved” with Om, the Chidakasha becoming a radiating sun from which the Divine Life and Light flows perpetually throughout your entire being in response to the holy call: “Return….” It is the light of the awakened and activated Chidakasha that is seen as the halo around the heads of saints.

The White Stone

In the Book of Revelation Jesus tells Saint John: “To him that overcometh will I give a white stone, and in the stone a new name written.” (Revelation 2:17) The white stone is the Chidakasha of the yogi that is enlivened by the New Name of the Pranava which he himself “writes” upon it by his practice of Om Yoga.

The eye of the spirit

Jesus said: “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light,” (Matthew 6:22, Luke 11:34) “eye” being a symbol of the awakened and activated Chidakasha in which is found the “original eye”–the pineal gland.

The Holy Grail

The Holy Grail was said to be the cup used at the Last Supper by Jesus, and in which Saint Joseph of Arimathea caught the blood of Jesus when his side was pierced by the spear. This is an esoteric symbol of the brain core, of the Chidakasha, and Om is the “blood” of Christ within it which flows throughout all the levels of the yogi’s being, thus imparting to him the life of Christ which is the Consciousness of Christ.

On Pentecost Om poured into the awakening brains of the Apostles and transformed them just at It descended from heaven into the head of Jesus at his baptism. In sacramental Christianity consecrated oil known as Chrism is put on the head in baptism and confirmation to bear this out.

Jesus asked the apostles James and John: “Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? …Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized” (Mark 10:38,39) We indeed do drink of the cup and are baptized when we immerse ourselves in the intonations of Om within the Chidakasha. Om Yoga is both Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Communion.

The Chidakasha is also spoken about in Revelation when Jesus says of the faithful soul: “[I] will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.” (Revelation 2:17) The white [light-filled] stone is the Chidakasha of the Om yogi that has been infused [written] with the Light and Sound of Om.

In Om Yoga we fill the Grail and drink from it.

The Grail Legend

Though not properly Biblical, the Grail legend has some relevance to Om Yoga. The legend says that the Holy Grail is kept on Monsalvat (Salvation Mount or Mount Savior). Its guardians are the monastic Knights of the Grail who literally live, not on sacramental Communion as would be expected, but on the Light that radiates from the Grail when it is taken from its shrine and held aloft.

The thousand-petalled lotus of the brain is the shrine of Monsalvat, and the Chidakasha is the Grail itself whose radiations in the form of Om becomes the life of the yogi–natural and supernatural.

The throne of Christ

The Lord Jesus told His Beloved Disciple: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelation 3:21) The “throne” of Christ is the core point of consciousness within the individual’s evolutionary makeup that corresponds to the Chidakasha within the human brain. The astral and causal levels of the physical brain core comprise the “infinity point” of the individual consciousness–the point within each spirit which corresponds to and communicates with that “point of light within the mind of God” through which God shares the experience of His essential infinite state of being and consciousness with the essentially finite spirits living within Him.

In the Aquarian Gospel

In the book of Revelation Jesus says: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna.” (Revelation 2:17) According to the Aquarian Gospel, when Jesus was returning to Israel from India he taught in Persia (Iran) regarding meditation. Telling his hearers to center their awareness in the head, he said: ““Look deep into the temple of your brain, and you will see it all aglow.…and you are in the Holiest of All, where rests the Ark of God, whose covering is the Mercy Seat.…And then, behold the manna there, the hidden bread of life; and he who eats shall never die. The cherubim have guarded well for every soul this treasure box, and whosoever will may enter in and find his own.” (Aquarian Gospel 40:16, 19, 23, 24) This is reference fixing the awareness in the Chidakasha.

Deisis

In the fifth chapter of this book mention was made of symbolic depictions of the breath and Om as the guardian/guides who usher us into the Divine Presence. The same symbolism is found in Christian iconography in the depiction known as the Deisis–Supplication–in which Jesus is seated on a throne in the middle and the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist are on the sides. The Virgin Mary herself is often depicted enthroned with the Archangels Michael and Gabriel on either side. On the Mount of Transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared flanking Jesus–Moses representing The Word and Elijah representing the Spirit-Breath. (Matthew 17:1-3) The breath and Om , and the two letters O and M, are the two edges of the flaming sword which guards and lights the way to the tree of life in Paradise. (Genesis 3:24) Self-knowledge is the fruit of the Tree of Life that will make us immortal gods within God.

Om: The Trinity

Om (Aum) is the Name of the Trinity: A=the Father, U=the Son, and M=the Holy Spirit. A=the Transcendent Divine Consciousness, U=the Divine Consciousness immanent in creation, and M=the Divine Creative Energy itself, Mahashakti, the Holy Breath (Spirit). In the Trinity the Father and the Son are masculine and the Holy Spirit is feminine. The Holy Spirit was always referred to in the feminine gender in both Hebrew and Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus), including the oldest text of the New Testament which is Aramaic.

The Father and the Son are continually being affirmed as one. (John 10:30; John 17:21). And so it is in the Pranava: A and U combine to form the O of Om. O is the positive pole of the Godhead and M is the negative pole. Together they encompass the Totality. Through Om we invoke, worship, and unite our consciousness with the Triune Reality: God.

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (I John 5:7) The “Father” is the witnessing consciousness of the meditator, the “Word” is the subtle sound of Om, and the “Spirit” is the breath itself. All three are in the “heaven” of our spirit-consciousness.

When Jesus told the Apostles to baptize in the Name of the Trinity (Matthew 28:19), he was telling them to baptize seekers in the vibrations of Om through teaching them meditation. But just as they thought he meant physical bread when he spoke of leaven (Matthew 16: 6-8,11,12), the temple of stone when he spoke of his body (John 2:19-22), and a literal weapon when he spoke of a sword (Luke 22:36,38), so they mistook his meaning regarding baptism and began only immersing people in water.

Meditation on Om

The meditator fulfils the Biblical injunction to “be still, and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10) It is the practicer of meditation that is spoken of in the exhortations of Revelation: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith,” (Revelation 2:7,11,17) for the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breath is ever sounding Om. He alone can know Om; he alone can know his self–and God, the Self of his self. And further: “I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” (Revelation 3:12) Om is the Name of God and of our own individual spirit–the city of God. So when we do japa or meditation of Om we enter into union (experience) with God and our own self.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri has written in The Holy Science that Om is both the knocking at the door and the voice of God. Those who open the door to It will commune with God. “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13, Joel 2:23)

Meditation is the process of centering our awareness in the principle of pure consciousness which is our essential being. In this way we will never lose consciousness of our real identity, while at the same time being aware of all that is external to us. This is the higher meaning of “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” (Matthew 22:21)

Meditation becomes a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day (Exodus 13:21), leading us into the promised life of Christ. It is our experience of meditation that will prove this to be true.

Revelation

The book of Revelation encompasses a great deal of yogic phenomena, symbolically portraying the experience of the successful yogi as he moves “from glory to glory” into the heights of Divine Consciousness.

There are verses in Revelation that speak of the archetypal Son of God, the infinite Christ, as having a sword emanating from his mouth. The first one says: “He had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.” (Revelation 1:16) This is obviously a picture (perhaps not so symbolic) of the fully operative subtle anatomy of the meditating aspirant. The twoedged sword is the Word which consists of the two letters O and M.

“Out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them.” (Revelation 19:15, 21) It is not uncommon for commentators on the Bible to interpret “nations” or “Gentiles” as references to the alien or uncontrolled and troublous aspects of our makeup. The sword, then, is a means of removing or mastering these elements. Even before our full mastery, Om Yoga meditation is our best weapon to “fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” (Revelation 2:16) It is a mighty sword indeed, “quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and [is] a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)

The sword in the mouth is also a symbol of the joining of Om to the breath.

The River of Life

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.” (Psalms 46:4)

The city of God, the dwelling place of the Most High, is our body. The river whose streams gladden that city is the stream of Om which enlivens, nourishes and harmonizes every part of our being. When we bathe inwardly in that stream through japa and meditation of Om we are indeed cleansed of all impurity. Om is also the “blood of Christ” which washes us from all sin. (See Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 1:19; I John 1:7; Revelation 1:5,7:14.)

That glorious stream is also the breath to which Om is joined.

Baptism in Om

Whenever we utter the Pranava in Its most objectified form as the syllable Om we align and actually link our consciousness with that “river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God” (Psalms 46:4) and are baptized in Its light–the Light that is Life. (John 1:4; John 8:12) It is our immersion in Om during meditation that is the true Baptism in the Water of Life as well as the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire. (John 3:5; Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16)

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:16,17) Om is the Holy Spirit which makes us beloved children of God. It was when Jesus went up and out of the waters of baptism that this Divine Revelation took place. So it is with us. We baptize ourselves in our inmost, divine consciousness through the invocation of Om in meditation, and when we emerge and live out that consciousness on a objective level we are seen and declared to be sons of God.

Pratyahara

Jesus described the process of pratyahara, the interiorizing of the mind which is one of the “limbs” of Eightfold Yoga, saying: “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:6) Entering into the “closet” is centering our attention in the Chidakasha area while centering our awareness in the subtlest, etheric, levels of our being by listening to our inner intonings of Om.

Shutting the doors of the mind and the senses, meditation leads the mind and the heart into the inner closet, into the silence of the spirit. There alone can we commune in secret with our Father. Then, as Jesus promised: “My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23)

“And thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly,” is an indication that the inner practice of meditation will manifest in our outer life.

Pure in heart

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) Kardia, the word translated “heart,” means the core or center of a thing. And the word translated “pure” means “clear” in the sense of there being nothing extraneous there. The meaning of this beatitude is that those whose consciousness is posited at the center of their being (spirit), without there being any “thing” in their awareness but that pure consciousness itself, are “seeing” God.

Furthermore, it is only when the individual perpetually experiences the eternal point where Om is common to both itself and God that it can legitimately say: “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30) For beyond or outside that point we are “separate” from God in our individual existence. Yet, when the consciousness of that point (bindu) of union pervades the consciousness of the individual perfectly and without any diminution whatsoever, then it is one with God throughout all its being, and separation is impossible for it. Yet it is still itself, still distinct, though its consciousness is totally absorbed in God and it sees only the One, and can also legitimately say: “God alone exists. There is no other but God.”

“My heart wakes”

David counsels us: “Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” (Psalms 4:4) In the Bible “sleep” often refers to the state of inmost consciousness when the body and mind are “at rest” and silent and only the core of our being is “awake.” It of this state, called sushupti in Sanskrit, also known as Yoga Nidra–Yogic Sleep–or Conscious Sleep, that David further sang: “He giveth to His beloved in sleep.” (Psalms 127:2) “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” (Psalms 17:15 ) “When I awake, I am still with thee.” (Psalms 139:18) Speaking of that state, Jeremiah said this: “Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.” (Jeremiah 31:26) In the sweet sleep of interior awareness we truly awake and see. The practice of meditation produces this waking sleep so we can say like David: “I laid me down and slept; [yet] I awaked.” (Psalms 3:5) Describing this, the mystical writing known as The Song of Songs (or Song of Solomon) says: “I sleep, but my heart waketh.” (Song of Solomon 5:2) Both Daniel and Zechariah speak of their inmost experiences as being “asleep.” (Daniel 8:18, Zechariah 4:1) On the Mount of Transfiguration, before witnessing the Divine Light the disciples of Jesus felt they “were heavy with sleep.” (Luke 9:32) Many mystics have covered their inner experiences by claiming to have dozed off.

The voice in the silence

Meditation on Om is the true way to enter into Silence. Meditation is such a simple practice because the mind must be made simple to reflect the simple (i.e., unitary) God. The mind must be made blind, deaf, and mute in the inner silence. This is a great secret: we cannot attain to silence by mere absence of words or thoughts. Instead, we must find the Silence that lies at the heart of Om. We must attain the silence at Its core. This is a great Mystery. Only he who is adept in meditation is truly keeping silence.

“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet.” (Matthew 6:6) Shutting the doors of the mind and the senses, meditation leads the mind and the heart into the inner closet of the heart, the Chidakasha, into the silence of the spirit which is beyond the clamor of the mind and the distractions and movements of the body. There alone can we commune in secret with our Father. Then, as Jesus promised: “My Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (John 14:23)

“And Elijah arose, and went unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him,…Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.” (I Kings 19:8-12)

“Still small voice” refers to the subtle sound of Om experienced in deep meditation. It may even be translated “a silent sound,” for in deepest meditation the intonations of Om become whisper-like and even silent while yet remaining in their integrity. That is, they do not stop, but remain in a form that is perfectly silent and still–more like a soundless mouthing of the Syllable. The subtle intonations of Om may even become more like a silent act of will or ideation (conceptualization) of the repetition of Om. And the cave of Elijah is the Chidakasha in the head.

As a rule the gentle or whispered or silent form of intonation is more effective than ordinary mental intonation. The Pranavic stream can become as light and subtle as the movement of air produced by the wings of a butterfly. This is a mystery, but you will experience it for yourself.

Amen is Om

Amen (Hebrew: Amin) is a derivation of Om, sometimes used in the scriptures as a “blind” or cover of It, as in the following: “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, saying, Amen [Om]: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen [Om].” (Revelation 7:9-12)

The (re)creative Word

“In the beginning was the Word.” (John 1:1) As it was with our original creation, so it will be with our re-creation. In the Bible Om is referred to as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.” (Revelation 3:14) Through our japa and meditation Om becomes the beginning of the creation of God in us, or the recreation of us into the Divine Image and Likeness. We become those Saint John saw in his vision: “And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” (Revelation 14:1)

The divine and human breaths

God, being the source of life, is also the source of breath, “seeing he giveth to all life, and breath.” (Acts 17:25) Regarding this Father William Johnston has written in Christian Zen:

“Breath rises from the very root of the being, so that consciousness of the breath can lead to a realization of the deepest self by opening up new doors in the psychic life. In the Bible it is clear that breath is identified with the deepest thing in man; it is precisely when breath enters into matter that man becomes man.

“Further, it should be remembered that in Eastern thought breath is not only the little breath in my little body. It is much more than this. It is associated with the breath of the cosmos, so that regulating the breath means regulating one’s relationship with the whole cosmos and bringing about harmony and order. This is true of both Zen and Yoga, where breath plays such an important part.…

“I myself believe that the consciousness of the breathing is somehow linked to a basic rhythm in the body, a rhythm that can be deepened and deepened until it reaches the center of one’s being from which enlightenment breaks forth. Let me try to explain what I mean.

“There is a basic rhythm in the body, linked to a consciousness that is deeper than is ordinarily experienced.…

“As I have said, the rhythm of breath leads to something deeper. All points to the center of the soul, the core of the being, the sovereign point of the spirit, the divine spark, the true self, the realm from which enlightenment arises. This is the truest thing that exists.…

“If one perseveres one gradually comes to realize that this breath is not only the life that fills the body from head to toe. It is more. The Sanskrit prana, like the Japanese ki, is the breath of the universe, a cosmic force which penetrates all things. As for the Hebrews, they believed that their breath was the breath of God whose presence gave them life. For Christians the breath, like the wind, symbolizes the Holy Spirit who fills all things with his love, giving wisdom and joy and peace.…”

The awareness of the breath in meditation is referred to symbolically by the prophet Ezekiel: “Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face. And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well,…mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth.” (Ezekiel 44:4,5) In the psychic anatomy of the human being, the head is “House of the Lord,” the Temple of God, the entire body being the City of God. The right side of the body (and the brain) is “east,” the left is “west,” the back is “south” and the front is “north.” The nose is the “north gate” of the Temple, and “the entering in of the house, with every going forth” are the inhaling and exhaling breaths which we are to “mark well.”

The Breath of Life

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7; see Ezekiel 37:6,9,10). Four times in Genesis we find the expression “breath of life,” and in each instance breath is equated with life itself. (Genesis 6:17; 7:15; Genesis 7:22; Ezekiel 37:5) This verse, however, tells us much more.

First, we learn that the breath comes directly from God, that it is really “the breath of his nostrils,” the cosmic breath which both creates and dissolves. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalms 33:6) “The channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were discovered,…at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.” (II Samuel 22:16. The identical words are found in Psalms 18:15) “By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.” (Job 4:9) This is significant to us who practice Om Yoga meditation as the breath, joined with Om, has the capacity to form the higher in us and dissolve the lower, to reveal the depths and lift to the heights.

Second, we learn that it is the breath that makes the psychic part of our makeup to live–just as it makes the body live. From this it becomes evident that the breath and spirit are the same; that the breath of life is the spirit of life–and ultimately is Divinity Itself. “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4. Interestingly, in Lamentations 4:20 the Messiah is called “the breath of our nostrils.”) Meditation on the breath joined with Om, then, is meditation on God–“the God in whose hand thy breath is.” (Daniel 5:23)

“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” (Job 27:3)

The breath of God

The breath of God is His creative power, Om, and all things were made by It. And that power is the Holy Spirit; therefore Job said: “The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.” (Job 33:4) This was not original with Job, for in the beginning part of Genesis we are told that “the Lord God…breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) It is God “in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:10) Even more, the breath of God is the breath of mankind: “All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit [breath] of God is in my nostrils.” (Job 27:3 ) Just as the breath of God is the Spirit of God, so also, since we are made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), is our breath one with our spirit, our true nature and self. Wherefore: “Thus saith the Lord God…Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 37:5 ,6) The real life is in Om, the Life of God, and the real knowledge is the Knowing of God. When we merge our outer breath with the inner breath of God–Om–this will be our direct experience.

The Holy Spirit–The Holy Breath

I Agia Pneuma, translated “the Holy Spirit” is really “the Holy Breath,” the creative Outbreathing of God that is God. This is Om. The Holy Breath is especially active within us in the form of the subtle whisperings of Om that we hear in the depths of meditation.

Saint Paul says: “The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” (Romans 8:26) The word translated “groanings” is stenagmos, which more properly means “sighing”–in other words, the subtle, faint breath-like whisperings of Om that are joined to our breath–actually that are produced by the breath, for the breath constantly “breathes” Om.

Saint Paul also informs us that these “sighings of the Spirit” are alaletos, unutterable, and therefore cannot really be spoken by human beings, though they can be approximated. Our part is to meditate and enter into the Holy Spirit’s utterance of them, the Holy Spirit’s speaking (breathing) of the Word of Life. “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit [subtle breath], and watching thereunto with all perseverance.” (Ephesians 6:18) The experience of these “sighings” or “whisperings of the spirit” are the highest form of japa, known as ajapa japa–mantric vibrations that arise spontaneously without the need to deliberately produce them through inner speaking.

Through meditation we literally breathe the Holy Spirit, becoming filled with and united to the Life that is the Holy Spirit. Is it any wonder, then, that God has said: “the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart.” (Deuteronomy 30:14) Meditation is in truth the “praying in the Holy Ghost” enjoined by Saint Jude. (Jude 1:20) “I will pray with the spirit [breath], and I will pray with the understanding also.” (I Corinthians 14:15)

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19) Through the practice of Om Yoga, consciously joining Om to the inhaling and exhaling breaths, the body really does become the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Breath.

The resurrection of the dead

“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12,13) In meditation all that is buried in our subconscious mind, reaching back through all our incarnations, floats up to the surface of our consciousness and is beheld by us and dissolved in the light invoked by meditation. This revealing and release takes place in both the conscious and subconscious minds–and sometimes even the physical body–and should always be a calmly observed process with no interference or reaction on our part.

First things truly first

“The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” (Matthew 13:33) The three measures represent the threefold composition of man: body, soul, and spirit. Just as the leaven leavens the whole lump of the dough, so your practice of japa and meditation will in time affect and shape the whole of your life. It is the establishing of the kingdom of heaven which Jesus has told us is a kingdom within. (Luke 17:21b) Japa and meditation of Om are thus the answer to all our problems. While we must, as part of our evolution, take charge of our lives and live in a responsible manner, japa and meditation enable our lives to unfold according to the divine plan and begin to reflect our own inner divine being. This is why Jesus tells us: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matthew 6:33 )

Small but great

Japa and meditation of Om are so simple, so “small,” that it is only natural for us to wonder if such things could result in the attaining of Cosmic Consciousness. But we should then remember the words of Jesus that “It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.” (Mark 4:31,32)

Regarding Om the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali simply say this: “Its japa and meditation is the way.” (Yoga Sutras 1:28) The japa and meditation of Om is the way, for it is Om that draws us out from the Bosom of the Father, (John 1:18) Om that evolves us to the uttermost possibilities, and Om that liberates and returns us to the Source to share eternally in the fullness of the Life Divine.

“Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” (Revelation 2:10) Those who pursue the path of yoga unto the death of ignorance will be crowned with life. Those who cast aside the false life of the ego shall enter into the true life of the spirit. “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:25). So it really is all up to us. By constant practice we shall win the “crown of glory that fadeth not away.” (I Peter 5:4)

The inner secret

The breath of the yogi joined to the intonation of Om is the inner secret of the yogi. For the scripture says: “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit [the Breath] of the Lord.” (II Corinthians 3:18) The Breath and Word of the Lord active within him transforms the yogi from glory to glory: from the glory of enlightened humanity to the glory of enlightening Divinity–of “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27) For the Holy Spirit–the Holy Breath and Word–of which he is a living temple (I Corinthians 6:19) continually breathes within the depths of his being. Thus constant awareness of the breath and Om both empowers and recreates the individual, often working profound transformations in his inner makeup. “If any man be in [the consciousness that is] Christ, he is a new creature”–a new creation (II Corinthians 5:17). “And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new.” (Revelation 21:5)

“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.” (Psalms 33:6) In the ancient Sanskrit texts, Hindu and Buddhist, prana means both life and breath. Om is called the Pranava, which means Enlivener and Breather, the idea of the latter expression being that Om is the essential sound-energy form that manifests in living beings as the breath itself. Thus It is the Breath Word, the mantra that is the breath. Om is the sound-form of the subtle power of life which originates in the pure consciousness, the spirit, of each one of us and extends upward and outward to manifest as the inhaling and exhaling breaths, which in turn are always sounding “Om.” (See Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.6; 1.5.3).

Through the union of the Divine Breath and Word accomplished by Om Yoga meditation, we come to life, grow “unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ,” (Ephesians 4:13) and attain the knowledge of God through that union. To that end Jesus “breathed on [the apostles], and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” (John 20:22) baptizing them in the Holy Breath and Word.

Breathing the Holy Spirit

When Jesus first appeared to the Apostles after His resurrection, “he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost,” (John 20:22) indicating thereby that the breath and the Holy Spirit are identical–to be aware of the breath is to be aware of the action of the Holy Spirit. (In various sacramental Christian rituals the officiant breathes upon the element or person being blessed or consecrated in order to impart the power and blessing of the Holy Spirit.) Or more to the point: to experience the subtle powers of the breath in meditation is to experience the Holy Spirit. Uniting ourselves with the breath is uniting ourselves to the evolving and life-giving action of the Holy Spirit. Thus, from the very first moment of Om Yoga meditation we are engaging in spiritual experience.

“He answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) And how does the Word proceed from the mouth of God? By means of the Holy Out-Breathing, the Holy Spirit. In one sense, the Word of God is the inner Breath of God, whereas the Holy Spirit is the outer Breath of God. So in the breath we find the Trinity in essence. By breath we live by (and in) the Life that is God. In a sense, breathing is our life in God. With the outer breath we breathe in air, but with our inner breath we breathe in God.

The breath as the pathway to God in the Kabbalah

“The goal of meditation, especially as described by the Kabbalistic masters, is to attain enlightenment. In Hebrew, the word most often used to describe such enlightenment is Ruach HaKodesh, which can literally be translated as ‘Holy Spirit.’ It is this term that is consistently used by all Hebrew writers.” So Aryeh Kaplan tells us in Meditation and the Bible. (All subsequent quotations in this section are taken from this book.) And Ruach HaKodesh can also legitimately be translated as “the Holy Breath” as is reflected in some of the Biblical passages already cited. The breath–particularly the Holy Breath of meditation–is both the presence and the working of the Holy Spirit in us.

In the Kabbalah it is considered that there are three levels of our spiritual being: Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshamah. All three refer to levels of breath. Nefesh literally means “that which rests” in the human being: the Divine Life-Breath Itself. Ruach is spirit with the connotation of movement as in “wind,” which is another viable translation. (Respecting this, Kaplan says: “Although God’s influence constantly permeates man’s being, like the air around us, it is not usually detectable. Air can only be felt when it is in motion, when we sense it as a wind (Ruach). Similarly, God’s spirit can only be detected when it moves in us [as the breath], and it is for this reason that such spirit is also called Ruach, the same word as for wind.” This also makes it clear as to why we need to take hold of the awareness of the “moving spirit” of our breath by means of Breath Meditation to enable us to rise to perception of and union with the Divine Presence that manifests as that breath.)

Neshimah means the simple external breath of the body. Thus we see that the breath is a kind of ladder of ascending grades. By means of the physical breath we can merge into the psychic or soul-breath, and ascend through that to the Breath of God that is breathing into us and manifesting as the two “lower” breaths. And since God is absolutely one (homogeneous), His Breath is also His Consciousness. The breath then, is itself the ascent to Supreme Consciousness when meditation is correctly and persistently practiced.

“This is also evident from the etymology of the word Ruach. This word is closely related to the Hebrew word Oreach, meaning a ‘visitor’ or ‘guest,’ as well as the word Orach meaning a path.” The breath, then, is both a visitation of the Divine Guest as well as the path we can tread hand-in-hand with that blessed Guest back to the Kingdom of Blessedness that is the Blessed One Himself. “Thou hast granted me life and favour, and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit.” (Job 10:12)

The Temple of God

The awareness of the breath in meditation is referred to symbolically by the prophet Ezekiel: “Then brought he me the way of the north gate before the house: and I looked, and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell upon my face. And the Lord said unto me, Son of man, mark well,…mark well the entering in of the house, with every going forth.” (Ezekiel 44:4,5) In the psychic anatomy of the human being, the head is “House of the Lord,” the Temple of God, the entire body being the City of God. The right side of the body (and the brain) is “east,” the left is “west,” the back is “south” and the front is “north.” The nose is the “north gate” of the Temple, and “the entering in of the house, with every going forth” are the inhaling and exhaling breaths which we are to “mark well.”

The vision of God

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God,” (Matthew 5:8) says Jesus. Yoga Sutra 3:55 tells us: “Liberation is attained when the mind is the same as the spirit in purity.” “The purity of spirit means absence of [relative, objective] experience being imputed to it,” says Vyasa. That is, when through meditation we are permanently filled with the awareness of pure consciousness, liberation is attained.

“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” (Psalms 36:9) By the resulting direct experience of our spirit-self, “ignorance comes to an end, and when that ceases there are none of the taints. With no taints, there is no karma-fruition. In that state the gunas have finished with their involvement and no longer arise before the purusha as perceived objects. That is the liberation of the spirit when the spirit stands alone in its true nature as pure light. So it is.” This is the conclusion of Vyasa.

More of Om Yoga–Its Theory and Practice:

• Preface: Yoga and Freedom
• Chapter One: Why Yoga?
• Chapter Two: The Word That Is God
• Chapter Three: Om Yoga Meditation
• Chapter Four: Breath and Sound in Meditation
• Chapter Five: Points For Successful Meditation
• Chapter Six: Om Yoga–Ashtanga Yoga
• Chapter Seven: The Foundations of Yoga
• Chapter Eight:Om in the Upanishads, Bhagavad Gita, and Yoga Sutras
• Afterword: It Is All Up To You
• Appendix One: The Yoga of Sound
• Appendix Two: The Glories and Powers of Om
• Glossary