Om Yoga–Its Theory and Practice–by Swami Nirmalananda Giri–3

Chapter Three: Om Yoga Meditation

Meditation is the process of centering our awareness in the principle of pure consciousness which is our essential being. We have lost awareness of our true self through awareness of external objects, and become habituated–even addicted–to objective consciousness. Rather than disperse our consciousness through objects that draw us outward away from the source of our being, we must take an object that will have the opposite effect, present it to the mind, and reverse our consciousness. That object is Om. By sitting with closed eyes and letting the mind become easefully absorbed in experiencing the inner repetitions of Om we thereby directly enter into the state of consciousness that is Om, the state of consciousness that is Brahman the Absolute.

The Practice of Om Yoga Meditation

1) Sit upright, comfortable and relaxed, with your hands on your knees or thighs or resting, one on the other, in your lap.

2) Breathe naturally. Your mouth should be closed so that all breathing is done through the nose. This aids in quieting the mind. Though your mouth is closed, the jaw muscles should be relaxed so the upper and lower teeth are not clenched or touching one another, but parted.

3) Gently turn your eyes upward as though looking at a point far distant. But do not strain or try to force your eyes to turn up to a degree that is uncomfortable. Then gently close them–do not squeeze them tight. This removes visual distractions and reduces your brain-wave activity by about seventy-five percent, thus helping to calm the mind. It also stimulates superconscious awareness as will be explained soon.

4) Be aware of your breath naturally (automatically) flowing in and out as you breathe through your nose. Your breathing should always be easeful and natural, not deliberate or artificial.

5) Now begin mentally intoning (“singing” on a single note) Om once throughout each inhalation and once throughout each exhalation. Fit the intonations to the breath–not the breath to the intonations. If the breath is short, then the intonation should be short. If the breath is long, then the intonation should be long. Make sure the O and the M get approximately “equal time”–Oooommmm, not Oommmmmm or Oooooomm. Don’t torture yourself about this–approximately equal is good enough, and in time your intonations will automatically occur in this right manner. Also, your intonation of Om should begin when your inhalation/exhalation begins and end when it ends. In this way your intonations should be virtually continuous, not with long breaks between them. That is: OommOommOommOomm, or Oomm-Oomm-Oomm-Oomm, rather than Oomm…Oomm…Oomm…Oomm. Here, too, approximately continuous is sufficient.

6) For the rest of your meditation time keep on intoning Om in this manner–in time with the breath–listening to your inner intonations of Om. This enables you to enter effortlessly into the Witness Consciousness that is your finite spirit within the Infinite Spirit that is God.

“Amazingly Om can become a silent sound.”

7) In time your inner mental intonations of Om may change to a more mellow or softer form, even to an inner whispering, but Om is always fully present and effective. Your intonations may even become silent, like a soundless “mouthing” of Om, yet you will still be intoning Om in your intention. Amazingly Om can become a silent sound, as you can experience for yourself. But of this be sure: Om never ceases. Never. You may find that your intonations of Om move back and forth from more objective to more subtle and back to more objective. Just intone in the manner that is natural at the moment.

8) In the same way you will find that your breath will also become more subtle and refined, and slow down. Sometimes your breath can become so light that it almost seems as though you are not breathing at all. At such times you may perceive that your inhaling and exhaling are more like a magnetic pull in and out instead of actual breath movements. This occurs as the prana that produces the breath switches back and forth in polarity from positive to negative.

9) In Om Yoga we do not deliberately concentrate on any particular point of the body such as the “third eye,” as we want the subtle energies of Om to be free to manifest themselves as is best at the moment. However, as you meditate, you may become aware of one or more areas of your brain or body at different times. This is all right when they come and go spontaneously, but keep centered on your intonations of Om.

10) Thoughts, impressions, memories, inner sensations, and suchlike may also arise during meditation. Be calmly aware of all these things in a detached and objective manner, but keep your attention centered in your intonations of Om in time with your breath. Do not let your attention become centered on or caught up in any inner or outer phenomena. Om can also produce peace, awareness and quiet joy in your mind as well as soothing radiations of energy in the physical and subtle bodies. Be calmly aware of all these things in a detached and objective manner–they are part of the transforming work of Om, and are perfectly all right–but keep your attention centered in your intonations of Om in time with your breath. Even though something feels very right or good when it occurs, it should not be forced or hung on to. The sum and substance of it all is this: It is not the experience we are after, but the effect.

11) If you find yourself getting restless, distracted, “fuzzy,” anxious or tense in any degree, just take a deep breath and let it out fully, feeling that you are releasing and breathing out all tensions, and continue as before.

12) Remember: Om Yoga meditation basically consists of three things: a) sitting with the eyes turned up and then closed; b) being aware of our breath as it moves in and out, and c) mentally intoning Om in time with the breathing and listening to those mental intonations–all in a relaxed and easeful manner, without strain.

13) At the end of your meditation time, keep on intoning Om in time with your breath as you go about your various activities. Since you cannot keep your eyes turned up outside meditation, as much as is possible or practical try to keep a general awareness of the “thousand-petalled lotus” of the brain all the time, feeling that the breath and Om are taking place there. In this way you can keep “near” the Chidakasha state you experience in meditation.

The yoga of the Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita is the pinnacle of Indian philosophy and yoga. This small book, consisting of only seven hundred verses of four lines each, covers every aspect of dynamic spiritual life. It is a lifetime study, imparting life-giving knowledge, including instruction in meditation. In the opening verses of the fourth chapter Krishna tells Arjuna that “this imperishable yoga… is the supreme secret.” (4:1-3)

First, the yogi sits in an upright posture. “Let him firmly hold his body, head and neck erect and perfectly still.” (6:13)

His eyes should be turned upward without strain and closed, “shutting out (all) external contacts and fixing the gaze inside [within] the eyebrows.” (5:27) This is not actual concentration on the point between the eyebrows, which would cause strain and tension, but a relaxed looking upward as though looking through the eyebrows at a point far distant. (More about this later.)

Next, he breathes through his nose–not his mouth–in a completely natural and spontaneous manner, in this way “equalizing the outgoing and incoming breaths moving within the nostrils,” (5:27) easily calming and refining the breath. Krishna says that the yogis “offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming, and the incoming in the outgoing, restraining the courses of the outgoing and the incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the restraint of the breath.” (4:29) The “offering” of the exhalation into the inhalation and vice versa refers to the smoothing of the breath until there is no significant or marked pause between inhaling and exhaling, but rather there is a smooth transition from one to the other–one seeming to arise from the other, both together being a single organic unity. Some Buddhist texts refer to this as “joining” or “circling.” As we become more and more aware of the subtle forms or movements of the inner breaths, it automatically happens that the breath movements on all levels become slower; this is what is meant by “restrained”–not the holding of the breath. We need not try to produce this deliberately, since attention itself modifies and decreases the breath. As a result we easefully remain relaxed and “solely absorbed in the movement of the breath.” This, according to Krishna, is the sacrifice known as pranayama.

Then, through the japa of Om, “having fixed the life-breath in the head, engaged in the practice of concentration, uttering the monosyllable Om—the Brahman—remembering Me always,” (8:12-13) the yogi meditates upon the Supreme. For Krishna, the embodiment of that Supreme, tells us: “I am the syllable Om.” (7:8) “I am the Sacred Monosyllable [Om].” (9:17) And: “Among words I am the monosyllable Om.” (10:25) Further, in this last verse he continues: “Among sacrifices I am the sacrifice of japa,” indicating how Om is to be employed by the yogi.

And the ultimate result he also tells. ““With the senses, the mind and the intellect always controlled, having liberation as his supreme goal, free from desire, fear and anger—the sage is verily liberated for ever.” (5:28) “Thus, always keeping the mind balanced, the yogi, with the mind controlled, attains to the peace abiding in Me, which culminates in liberation.” (6:15)

Finally he gives the rationale and affirmation of this: “Whosoever, leaving the body, goes forth remembering Me alone at the time of death, he attains My Being; there is no doubt about this. Whosoever at the end leaves the body, thinking of any being, to that being only does he go, because of his constant thought of that being! Therefore, at all times remember Me…. With mind and intellect fixed (or absorbed) in Me, thou shalt doubtless come to Me alone.” (8:5-7)

“At the time of death, with unshaken mind, endowed with devotion and by the power of Yoga,…he reaches that resplendent Supreme Person.…Uttering the monosyllable Om—the Brahman—remembering Me always, he who departs thus, leaving the body, attains to the supreme goal.

“I am easily attainable by that ever-steadfast Yogi who constantly and daily remembers Me, not thinking of anything else [with a single or one-pointed mind]! Having attained Me these great souls do not again take birth [here], which is the place of pain and is non-eternal; they have reached the highest perfection.” (8:10, 13-15)

Simple and easy

“Om Yoga is also that simple and easy because it goes directly to the root of our bondage.”

Can it be that simple and easy? Yes, it can, and is. Suppose some people who have always lived in tents entered a house and came upon a locked door. Knowing nothing of doors, locks, and keys, how would they open it? They might throw themselves against it, beat on it with their fists or heavy objects such as sledgehammers or even some kind of battering ram. If someone approached them with a tiny key they could easily snap in two and told them it would open the door, they would laugh at him. But he would simply insert the key, turn it, and enter. It would be that simple and that easy. Om Yoga is also that simple and easy because it goes directly to the root of our bondage which is a single (and therefore simple) thing: loss of awareness.

Now let us look at the various components of our Om Yoga practice so we can understand it fully.

The place for meditation

It will be most helpful to your practice if you have a special place exclusively for your practice of meditation. Your mind will begin to associate that place with meditation and will more easily enter a quiet and peaceful state when you sit there. If you can set aside an entire room for practicing meditation, or even a large well-ventilated closet, that is good, but just an area in a room is adequate. The important thing is that the area be devoted exclusively to your meditation.

Your meditation place should be as quiet as possible. As a rule earplugs are not recommended for the practice of meditation since you can become distracted by the sensation of pressure in the ears, or the chirping, cricket-like noises that go on all the time in the ears, or the sound of your heartbeat. But if you need them, use them. Your place of meditation should ideally be a place where you can most easily forget outer distractions, but if it is not, you can still manage to practice meditation successfully.

It should be softly or dimly lighted. (Full darkness might tend to make you go to sleep.) It is also good to turn off any electric lights, as their pulsation–even though not perceived by the eyes–affects the brain waves and subtly agitates the mind. (Halogen lights do not pulsate, so they are no problem if they do not glare.) If you like having a candle or wick lamp burning when you meditate, they should be a kind that does not flicker. Even a very dim electric light somewhere in the room out of the range of your sight is better than a flickering candle or lamp in front of you.

The room should be moderate in temperature and free from drafts, both cold and hot. It is also important that it be well ventilated so you do not get sleepy from lack of oxygen in the air.

Some meditators like to burn incense when they meditate. This is a good practice if the smoke does not irritate their lungs or noses. Unfortunately, most incense, including that from India, contains artificial, toxic ingredients that are unhealthy. The two best kinds of incenses to use are genuine sandalwood or frankincense. Sandal is considered the highest vibratory fragrance. Frankincense and rose also possess a very high vibration. There are several brands of incense that are genuine, but the Auroshika brand made at the Aurobindo Ashram in India is the most trustworthy.

Sit upright

We sit upright for two reasons. First, so we will not fall asleep. Second, to facilitate the upward movement of the subtle life force called prana.

It is important that our meditation posture be comfortable and easy to maintain. Yoga Sutra 2:46 says: “Posture [asana] should be steady and comfortable.” The Yoga Vashishtha (6:1:128) simply says: “He should sit on a soft seat in a comfortable posture conducive to equilibrium.” Shankara comments: “Let him practice a posture in which, when established, his mind and limbs will become steady, and which does not cause pain.” Here relaxation is the key. Though sitting upright, be sure you are always relaxed, for Yoga Sutra 2:47 says: “Posture is mastered by relaxation.”

There are several cross-legged postures recommended for meditation. They are the Lotus, Perfect, Auspicious, and Easy Postures, or: Padmasana, Siddhasana, Swastikasana, and Sukhasana. You will find them described in books on Hatha Yoga postures. I especially recommend Yoga Asanas by Swami Sivananda of the Divine Life Society, as it is written from the perspective of spiritual development and also gives many hints to help those who are taking up meditation later in life and whose bodies need special training or compensation.

If you can sit in a cross-legged position without your legs going to sleep and making you have to shift them frequently, that is very good. Some yogis prefer to sit on the floor using a pillow. This, too, is fine if your legs do not go to sleep and distract you. But meditation done in a chair is equally as good. Better to sit at ease in a chair and be inwardly aware than to sit cross-legged and be mostly aware of your poor, protesting legs.

If you use a chair, it will be good if it can be used only for meditation. (The same applies to a pillow, pad, or mat used for cross-legged meditation.) This will pick up the beneficial vibrations of your meditation, and when you sit on it your mind will become calm and your meditation easier. If you cannot devote a chair to your meditation, find some kind of cloth or throw that you can put over the chair when you meditate and remove when you are done. (Some people like also using a special shawl or meditation clothing or a robe when meditating.)

If you have any back difficulties, make compensation for them, and do not mind if you cannot sit fully upright. We work with what we have, the whole idea being to sit comfortably and at ease.

There is no objection to your back touching the back of the chair, either, as long as your spine will be straight. To hold your back in tension is a distraction. If you can easily sit upright without any support and prefer to do so, that is all right, too.

Put your hands on your thighs, your knees, or in your lap: joined, separated, one over the other–whatever you prefer. The palms can be turned up or down. Really it does not matter how you place or position your hands, just as long as they are comfortable and you can forget about them. There is no need to bother with “mudras” as they are irrelevant to Om Yoga practice.

Hold your head so the chin is parallel to the ground or, as Shankara directs, “the chin should be held a fist’s breadth away from the chest.” Make a fist, hold it against your neck, and let your chin rest on your curled-together thumb and forefinger. You need not be painfully exact, about this. The idea is to hold your head at such an angle that it will not fall forward when you relax. Otherwise you will be afflicted with what meditators call “the bobs”–the upper body continually falling forward during meditation.

Meditation is not a military exercise, so we need not be hard on ourselves about not moving in meditation. It is only natural for our muscles to sometimes get stiff or for some discomfort to develop. Go right ahead and move a bit to get rid of the discomfort.

Some yogis prefer facing east or north to meditate, but it has been my experience that in Om Yoga it simply does not matter what direction you face. Yet, you might want to experiment on your own.

Relax

Relaxation is the key to successful meditation just as is ease and simplicity. When we are relaxed the subtle life energies become freed to flow upward, as already mentioned. We also need to be relaxed in both body and mind to eliminate the distracting thoughts and impressions that arise mostly from tension.

“When restlessness or distractions occur, take a deep breath through your nose, let it out, relax, and keep on meditating.”

It is only natural that you will find your mind moving up and down–or in and out–during the practice of meditation, sometimes being calm and sometimes being restless. Do not mind this at all; it is in the nature of things. At such times you must consciously become even more calm, relaxed, and aware–“lighten up” in the most literal sense. As already said, when restlessness or distractions occur, take a deep breath through your nose, let it out, relax, and keep on meditating.

It is also natural when we begin turning our awareness inward that we will encounter thoughts, memories, various emotions, feelings, mental states, and other kinds of experiences such as lights, sensations of lightness and heaviness, of expansion, of peace and joy, visual images (waking dreams), and such like. None of these should be either accepted or rejected. Instead we should calmly continue our intonations of Om. The inner sound of Om and the states of consciousness It produces are the only things that matter, for they alone bring us to the Goal. We should never become caught up in the various phenomena, however amazing, entertaining, pleasant (or how inane, boring, and unpleasant) they may be, and be distracted from meditation. Experiences must not be held on to, nor should they be pushed away, either. Instead we should be quietly aware of them and keep on with meditation so in time we can pass far beyond such things. This is relaxation in attitude.

Never try to make one meditation period be like one before it. Each session of meditation is different, even though it will have elements or experiences in common with other sessions.

Do not be unhappy with yourself if in meditation it seems you are just floating on the top rather than “going deep.” That is what you need at the moment. Keep on; everything is all right. Remember: Om is not just intelligent, It is Divine Intelligence, and whatever is best for you to experience is what It will produce, either late or soon–but always at the perfect time.

It is important in meditation to be relaxed, natural, and spontaneous–to neither desire or try to make the meditation go in a certain direction or to try to keep it from going in a particular direction. To relax and be quietly observant is the key for the correct practice of meditation.

Yet, correct meditation practice is never passive or mentally inert. At all times you are consciously and intentionally intoning Om. It should be easeful and relaxed, but still intentional, even when your intonations become more gentle and subtle, even whisperlike or virtually silent.

Closed mouth and eyes

Breathing through the mouth agitates the mind, so keeping your mouth closed and breathing only through the nose has a calming effect. So also does closing your eyes, for by closing your eyes you remove visual distractions and eliminate over seventy-five percent of the usual brain wave activity

Upturned eyes

But there is more regarding the eyes. The eyes have a definite esoteric effect on the mind and its subtle energies as well as the polarization of those energies. When the eyes are turned down, they lead into subconscious experiences, especially when they are closed, and even into the sleep state. When the eyes are held straight ahead, they keep us alert and aware of our surroundings, even if the eyes are closed, and confine our awareness to the ordinary conscious state. When the eyes are turned up, they begin transferring our awareness into the levels of superconsciousness. For when the eyes are turned up, the thousand-petalled lotus of the brain, the Sahasrara, begins to open and become active.

The position of the eyes cause one of the three gunas–tamas, rajas, and sattwa–to predominate in our consciousness. When the eyes are turned down, tamas–subconsciousness–prevails. When the eyes are turned directly forward, rajas–waking consciousness–prevails. When the eyes are turned up, sattwa–superconsciousness–prevails.

Meditating with upturned eyes causes the subtle mental energies that pervade the body to begin moving upward into the higher centers of perception in the brain and its astral and causal counterparts. This is why in the Bhagavad Gita (5:27) Krishna speaks of the yogi “shutting out external contacts and fixing the gaze inside [within] the eyebrows.” This is usually translated “between the eyebrows”–at the so-called “third eye”–but antare bhruvoh can only mean “inside the eyebrows.” This can also legitimately be translated: “fixing the ‘seeing’ inside the eyebrows,” the idea being that at times during meditation the inner “gaze”–in the sense of awareness–becomes focused on or centered in the front of the forehead behind the eyebrows or as though looking upward through the eyebrows. You will find that this happens quite naturally when you turn your eyes upward and close them. Another verse speaks of how “at the time of death, with unshaken mind, endowed with devotion and by the power of Yoga, fixing the whole life-breath in the middle of the two eyebrows [bhruvor madhya pranam aveshya samyak], he reaches that resplendent Supreme Person.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:10) A more literal translation is: “having united the prana in the middle of the two eyebrows.” This, too, is a spontaneous phenomenon. Remember that the word in the text is prana, which also means the breath. You will find that on occasion you may even experience that the subtle breath is taking place within the area of the eyebrows or the forehead.

In the sixth chapter, verse thirteen, he says that the yogi should sit with upturned eyes, “as though gazing at the origin of his nose”–swam nasikagram samprekshya–the eyebrow level of the forehead. The purpose of this is not to concentrate on “the third eye” as is usually thought, and certainly not to make ourselves cross-eyed, but because when we lift our gaze gently upward toward the eyebrow level as though looking at a point far distant (it may help to think of looking upward into the sky), it will cause our awareness as well as our subtle life energies to begin moving upward to higher levels of consciousness.

We must be very sure that this is done without any strain. Nor should the eyes be crossed to any degree. In time your eyes will turn upward easily and naturally, and at the right degree or angle.

A final word on the subject: Even though our upturned eyes are an important element in our meditation practice, once we do turn them up we should forget all about them and become centered in the awareness of our intonations of Om in time with our breath.

Not placing the awareness on the body

Brahman being formless, so also is our meditation. And since Brahman is everywhere, we do not put our mind on any particular place or point in the body. Putting our attention on any point of the body induces body awareness, confines and limits the effects of our meditation, and divides our attention which should be on the subtle sound of our Om intonations. Rather, we fix our attention on Om which is both our individual spirit (jivatman) and the Supreme Spirit (Paramatman). At the same time, Om is at the core of every cell, of every particle of every atom in our body, so every intonation of Om vibrates throughout the entire body, as well as the astral and causal bodies.

Sometimes during meditation you may spontaneously become more aware of some point or area of the body, and that is all right, but keep the focus of your attention on the breath and your intonations of Om, letting whatever happens, happen.

Sound

“Sound–mental sound–is the beginning, middle, and end of our meditation practice.”

Sound is the basis of all that “is.” Sound is the way to the realization of the All That Is, including our true self and the Supreme Self, God. “By sound one becomes liberated [Anavrittih shabdai].” (Brahma Sutras 4.4.22) Sound is Consciousness itself. Sound–mental sound–is the beginning, middle, and end of our meditation practice. Consequently, listening to and experiencing the effects of our inner intonations of Om is the heart of our meditation practice.

American studies in business psychology have uncovered a most interesting fact: people can detect falsehood much more easily if they are only listening to a speaker and not seeing him. This is because sound stimulates the etheric bodies which reflect the light of the spirit, the wisdom faculty in man. Knowing this many thousands of years ago, the Vedic yogi-seers instructed their students to meditate on sound alone, for from sound arises knowledge (jnana), including self-knowledge.

Om

The entire realm of manifestation is really nothing more than an infinite variety of sound, variations of a single Sound that is the origin and ending of all other sounds. That Sound is Om, the basic resonant frequency of the entire field of existence: “Verily, the Syllable Om is all this, yea, the Syllable Om is all this” (Chandogya Upanishad 2.23.3). “Om: this Syllable is all this” (Mandukya Upanishad 1.8.12).

It is the keynote of the consciousness that is our true self: “The Self [atman] is of the nature of the Syllable Om. Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self. He who knows It thus enters the Self [Supreme Spirit] with his self [individual spirit]” (Mandukya Upanishad 1.8.12). “Meditate on Om as the Self” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.3-6).

And since we and God are one, it is the keynote of Divine Consciousness as well. “Om is Brahman, the Primeval Being” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1). “That [Om] is the quintessence of the essences, the Supreme, the highest” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.3). “Om is the Supreme Brahman” (Svetasvatara Upanishad 1:7). “God is the Syllable Om” (Svetasvatara Upanishad 4:17). “Om is Brahman” (Taittiriya Upanishad 1.8.1).

Om, then, is the entire focus of our meditation. “One should meditate on this Syllable [Om]” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.1). “Meditate on Om as the Self. May you be successful in crossing over to the farther shore of darkness” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.6). And since It has no intellectual meaning, Its repetition helps us in getting beyond the chattering mind.

I. K. Taimni has this to say regarding Om, the Pranava: “The first and most effective means which Patanjali prescribed for overcoming the distracted condition of the mind is the japa and meditation of the Pranava. He calls the Pranava the vachaka of Ishwara. What is a vachaka? A vachaka is a name which has a mystic relationship with the vachya–the entity designated–and has inherent in it the power of revealing the consciousness and releasing the power of the individual for whom it stands. Such a vachaka is Om. It is considered to be the most mystical, sacred and powerful mantra by the Hindus because it is the vachaka of Ishwara, the Greatest Power and the Supreme Consciousness.

“It may seem preposterous to the ordinary man not familiar with the inner side of life that a mere syllable can carry hidden within it the potential power which is attributed to it by all yogis, and references to which are found scattered through the sacred scriptures of the Hindus. But facts are facts and they are not at all affected by the ignorance and prejudices of people who disbelieve in them. Who could have believed fifty years ago that a mere neutron moving among a number of uranium atoms could produce an explosion powerful enough to blow up a whole city? Anyone who understands the theory of mantra yoga and the relation of vibration with consciousness should be able to see that there is nothing inherently impossible in the idea of a mystic syllable possessing such a power. Besides, we should remember that the facts of the inner life with which Yoga deals are based upon experience no less than the facts of Science.”

In his commentary on the Yoga Sutras Shankara puts it very simply: “Through Om the Lord is met face to face.” And even further: “When the yogi has understood the identity of Om and Brahman he attracts the grace of the supreme Lord through Its repetition and meditation.” And finally: “Meditation is setting the heart on the Lord Who is designated by Om and brought into the mind by It.”

Now this is very important: When we want to swim in the ocean, we do not dive into a particular wave, but into the ocean itself–though we may pass through a wave. Also, the wave, being only a manifestation on the surface of the ocean must be left behind if we are to sound the depths of the ocean. If we stay with the wave, we will remain as separated as the wave is from the ocean. If we “ride” the wave like a surfer we will find ourselves being thrown onto the shore and out of the ocean. It is the same with meditation on names and forms–whether of “gods” or liberated “masters”–rather than diving down where name and form cannot go. This is the only way to get beyond unreality, darkness, and mortality.

We must meditate on the Self–not on external deities or symbolic forms of psychic states. As Sri Ma Sarada Devi said: “After attaining wisdom one sees that gods and deities are all maya.” (Precepts For Perfection 672.) The upanishads, Gita, and Yoga Sutras know nothing of meditating on “gods” or “ishta devatas”–only on Om, for only Om is our Self. Here are a few upanishadic statements on the subject:

“The Self is of the nature of the Syllable Om. Thus the Syllable Om is the very Self.” (Mandukya Upanishad 1.8.12)

“Directly realize the self by meditating on Om.” (Vedantasara Upanishad 1)

“Meditate on Om as the Self.” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.3-6)

“Om is the atman himself.” (Narasingha Uttara-Tapiniya Upanishad)

“Om is a single syllable that is of the nature of the Self.…Om is the true form of the Self.” (Tarasara Upanishad)

Om is expanding outward in waves from the core of the cosmos. The same is happening with us. From our atma Om is being impulsed outward. By coming into alignment/synchronicity with the atmic impulse through the intonations of Om, we can return to our true state of being.

Intoning

We mentally intone Om in japa and meditation, “singing” it on a single note, because this unifies the mind and enables our awareness to turn inward steadily and surely. Further, intoning the sound makes it easier to be aware of and to hold on to.

Once more: Be sure in your intonations to give equal value to the O and the M, letting them resonate inwardly–Oooommmm, not Oooooomm or Oommmmmm. Again, you need not be painfully exacting about this–just make sure the O and the M are approximately equal. Also, it is good if the intonations of Om are virtually continuous, not with long breaks between them: OommOommOommOomm, or Oomm-Oomm-Oomm-Oomm rather than Oomm…Oomm…Oomm…Oomm.

As we go deeper in meditation our perceptions of the inner sound of our mental intonations of Om become increasingly subtle. At first they may be more like ordinary sung speech, but they will progress to become more and more soft until they become a kind of “whispering” and in time can be actually silent–a kind of silent movement–very much like when we silently mouth words instead of speaking them aloud.

When we intone in a most subtle, virtually whispered, or silent, way we still think of Om as being intoned, and mentally intend to intone, even if we do not inwardly hear or sense the difference. And our intonations, however subtle, should never be weak or tenuous.

It is important to let your intonations of Om change as they will. They may naturally and spontaneously move back and forth from more objective to more subtle and back to more objective.

Breath

“The breath is found as a dominant factor on all the planes of existence.”

The breath is a dominant factor on all the planes of existence. It is necessary for the vitalization and functioning of all vehicles of consciousness, physical or superphysical. It combines in itself in some mysterious manner the essential qualities of both energy and consciousness and is thus able to serve as an instrument for their actions and reactions on each other.

The purpose of being aware of the physical breath is to enable you to become aware of “the breath of the breath,” the inner movement of consciousness that manifests as the physical breath.

The more attention we give to the breath, the subtler it becomes until it reveals itself as an act of the mind, not the body, and finally as consisting of mind-stuff itself. The breath, like an onion, has many layers. In the practice of Om Yoga meditation we experience these layers, beginning with the most objective, physical layer and progressing to increasingly subtle layers that are rooted in pure being.

Since it is natural for the breath to become increasingly refined as you observe it, you need not attempt to deliberately make this happen. Your attention and intonations of Om will automatically refine it.

As we become more and more aware of the subtle forms or movements of the inner breaths, it automatically happens that the breath movements on all levels become slower. This is the highest form of pranayama. (See Chapter Four: Breath and Sound in Meditation.)

Joining Om to the breath

“Speech and breath are joined together in the Syllable Om.” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.6) The breath and Om arise from the very root of our being, the spirit. Joining Om to the breath extends Its transforming vibrations throughout the entire range of our being. It also unites the different aspects of our being and begins more effectively and rapidly evolving us, returning us to the Source–but now transformed.

“The breath is continually sounding ‘Om.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.5.3) We join intonations of Om to the breath because on the subtle levels it is always producing the sound of Om. The spirit-self breathes Om. So by consciously joining Om to our breathing we link up with our spirit-consciousness and enter into it. Further, when the habit of intoning Om with the breath is established, the simple act of breathing will cue the mind to maintain the intonations.

Om should be intoned once throughout each inhalation and once throughout each exhalation because there are two poles or subtle currents within the causal realm that make the sound of Om as they move outward and manifest as inhalation and exhalation. In a sense there are two Oms–positive and negative, yin and yang–which together produce the projection of the cosmos and the individual’s manifestation therein. So the two Om’s affect the two sides of the yogi’s being. Ultimately they are one, and by his joining of Om to his breath, each breath moves him onward toward the goal of Divine Unity. “To reach It is said to be the greatest of all achievements. It is my highest state of being. Those who reach It are not reborn.” (Bhagavad Gita 8:21)

This is necessary because in all relative beings the prana-breath has become corrupted and confused, binding the spirit rather than freeing it. The prana-breath has gotten out of phase, out of tune or off key–out of alignment with Om, the original Keynote of the universe. By intoning Om in time with his breath, the Om yogi takes charge of his prana-breath, realigns and repolarizes it, restoring it to its original form and function. In this way he sets himself squarely in the upward-moving stream of evolution and accelerates his movement within it.

It is very necessary for us to begin our intonations of Om when our inhalations/exhalations begin, and end the intonations when the breath movements end. This is because one object of Om Yoga is to perfectly synchronize Om with the breath in case the two have gotten out of phase with one another. This is why you may find on occasion that you tend to feel like beginning your intonations of Om somewhat after (or even before) the breath begins its movement. The remedy for this is to bring them into harmony by making sure to intone in sync with the breath.

Again: we breathe through the nose, not the mouth.

Making the two into one

We are speaking of “the breath and Om,” but in reality they are the same thing. The breath is not just a stop and go light, used merely to let us know when to intone Om. The breath is a form, a manifestation, of Om. So are all things, but the breath is the closest to pure Om since it takes its existence directly from Om without any intermediate phase. In Om Yoga we intone Om in time with the breath so the two will remerge and become one, restoring their eternal unity.

It is important that the breath and Om be perfectly integrated. That is why the intonation of Om should begin with the breath movement–whether inhalation or exhalation–and end with its cessation. We need not exaggerate this and turn our meditation into a torment of anxiety, but reasonable care should be taken.

Subtler sound and refined breath

“Whatever is right at the moment–Om will bring it about.”

More and more it is becoming known, even scientifically, that whenever we put our attention on something, the object begins changing. This is true of our breath and our intonations of Om. As we calmly fix our awareness on them they become increasingly refined. The breath becomes gentler and easeful, often slowing down until our breathing becomes as light as the breeze of a butterfly’s wings. It is the same with our internal intonations of Om. The inner sound becomes softer and whisperlike, and even virtually silent. These refinements will occur naturally and easily; there is no need to try to make them become more subtle. Whatever is right at the moment–Om will bring it about.

We ourselves are both consciousness and sound–sound waves in the ocean of Consciousness and Sound. We are Om. So in Om Yoga practice, especially when we experience the permutations of the subtle sounds of Om, we are actually experiencing ourselves.

The Chidakasha

“He who journeys on the ship of Om, in him the inner akasha becomes manifest by and by.” (Maitrayana Upanishad 6:28) “Assuming the meditation posture, and all the while introspecting, the yogi should listen to the sound [of Om].…By persisting in the practice in the same manner further and further, the sound will be heard subtler and subtler.…The mind, lost in that sound forgetting everything outside, becomes one with it, like water and milk and forthwith merges with the Chidakasha.” (Nadabindu Upanishad 39)

In advanced yoga treatises we frequently encounter this term, “Chidakasha,” which means “the Space (Ether) of Consciousness.” This is the level of existence and consciousness so pure and subtle, so interwoven with Spirit, that it is indistinguishable from Spirit. By not fixing our attention on any point in the body, but by turning the eyes gently upward during meditation we activate the higher centers of consciousness in the subtle bodies and thus become aware of the formless and placeless Chidakasha. Those who continually attune and merge their consciousness in this way with the Chidakasha will in time become totally identified with the individual spirit-self and with the Supreme Spirit. Since all things have arisen from/in the Chidakasha, this merging is the beginning of Cosmic Consciousness.

Various texts inform us that both Om and the breath arise directly from the Chidakasha. For this reason in Om Yoga meditation we join intonations of Om to the breath. Experiencing the Chidakasha to greater and greater degrees within meditation is the highest experience for the yogi. The more we meditate the higher and higher and further and further we penetrate into the Infinite Consciousness of which we are an eternal part. Meditating with upturned eyes right away begins centering our awareness in the Chidakasha, in the etheric levels of our being.

Though we do not put our attention on the body, we will experience subtle changes taking place even physically, especially in the spine and brain–and even at the “third eye.” By turning our eyes upward and intoning Om in time with the breath we activate literally thousands of channels in the physical and subtle bodies, causing the life force to spontaneously, effortlessly, flow upward into the thousand-petalled lotus of the brain (Sahasrara Chakra) and then merge into the Chidakasha, into the Divine Light that is the essence of Om, the Life-Giving Word, the Pranava.

The process of meditation takes place within the Chidakasha, the seat of the spirit-self. This is the Paradise from which we fell into the “earth” of material consciousness, and to which we return through meditation. Then at the end of life, having prepared ourselves by this practice, we shall ascend from the body into the realm of immortality. “The man who, having subjugated his senses, repeats every day the Pranava Mantra, shakes off his mortal coil and is converted into the Chidakasha which is but another manifestation of Parabrahman. For Om is the Parabrahman Himself.” (The Agni Purana)

Rising into the Sky of Consciousness (Chidakasha)

It is absolutely essential that we understand the necessity to avoid a deliberate fixing of the attention on any place in the body. For we need to let the divine energy (divya shakti) of Om go where it will, sometimes settling for a while in one place and then moving on to another–and much of the time not settling anywhere, but rising upward and pervading everywhere. Especially we need to let the sacred movement rise ever upward into the Sky of Consciousness, the Chidakasha, which is the natural abode of Om, since it originates there. That, too, is our point of origin, and the subtle vibrations of Om will take us back there along with Itself. The Yoga Upanishads make two very important points regarding this.

First, we do not deliberately confine our attention to any particular point of concentration because the subtle movements of Om seek out various avenues or “gates” during meditation. The Amritabindu Upanishad says: “By means of Om he [the meditating yogi] sees the way, the way along which his prana [and breath] goes; therefore one should always repeat It so that he goes along the right way: through the heart-gate, the air-gate, the gate which leads upward, and the opening of the gate of liberation which is known as the open orb [the sun.]” (Amritabindu Upanishad 25, 26)

Although the Bhagavad Gita (8:10) speaks of the yogi departing from the body through the point between the eyebrows, the ajna chakra, that is only one of the gates of departure for the yogi–though it is the usual one, which is why it is mentioned. There are other, higher gates, and we must leave the prana free to seek out the one that corresponds to our state of development, for the gate we exit through leads us into the world (loka) that corresponds to it. In meditation we do not leave the body, but the prana rising up to one of those points can stimulate in us the higher consciousness “native” to those higher worlds, and prepare us to ascend there at the end of life. “Rising” to one of those gates can also enable us to receive the spiritual energies of those worlds while yet here in this world.

Second, it is the goal of the prana and the vibrations of Om during meditation to move upward like smoke and merge into the sky, the Chidakasha, and experience the consciousness that is beyond any gates or worlds. This is the most important aspect. So the prana must be left free to do so by our just “letting it be” and not directing or confining it in any way. Speaking of this upward movement of the prana and Om, the Matirayana Upanishad (7:11a) likens it to the way smoke pours upward into the sky and merges into it: “In this process that power, during the motion of prana, emerges as the wafting of smoke, as when a lump of salt is thrown into water or as the thought of one who meditates extends itself.” The Matri Upanishad (7:11) presents the same idea, saying: “Verily, the nature of the Chidakasha is the same as the Syllable Om. With this Syllable, indeed, that rises up, goes upward and pours forth.…In the breathing Om is like the action of smoke; for when there is motion of air the smoke rises to the sky in one column and follows afterward one air current after another.” It is necessary to let the subtle vibratory movement of Om go where It will.

The gentle turning up our eyes in meditation will ensure that this all comes about as it should.

Khechari Mudra

Mudras are usually thought of as hand positions, but positions of the eyes are sometimes referred to in yogic texts as mudras. For example, in the miraculous photograph of Lahiri Mahasaya found in the first edition of Autobiography of a Yogi, the great yogi is demonstrating the eye position known as Sambhavi Mudra.

The turning up of the eyes in Om Yoga meditation is the real Khechari Mudra. In Sanskrit, kha means the sky, space, or ether (akasha). Char means “to move.” So khechari means “sky walking”–moving in the etheric space that is the limitless basis of everything, the akasha that is consciousness itself. Khechari Mudra is the procedure which enables the yogi to be a khechara–one who flies in the Sky of Consciousness.

Khechari Mudra opens the “sky” of the Sahasrara, the Thousand-Petalled Lotus–and even beyond. Spending hours of meditation in this inner space produces the most profound changes in the meditator’s psychic energy system, including the spine and brain, on the physical, astral, and causal levels. The union of the prana (breath) and the subtle vibrations of Om operate like laser surgery on the brain. Dramatic repolarization of the consciousness and life force also take place. Sensitive yogis will experience this along with a myriad other transformations.

The solar path of liberation

All plant, animal, and human life on this planet depends upon the sun. It is the subtle powers of sunlight which stimulate growth and evolution. Sunlight particularly stimulates the activity of the higher centers in the brain, especially that of the pineal gland. Even in the depths of the earth a sensitive man can tell when the sun rises and sets above him. The sun truly awakens us in the deepest sense. As the germinating seed struggles upward toward the sun and out into its life-giving rays, so all higher forms of life reach out for the sun, which acts as a metaphysical magnet, drawing them upward and outward toward ever-expanding consciousness. Sunlight is the radiant form of Om, so the sun initiates the entire solar system into Om.

Human beings are solar creatures, therefore to intone Om is natural to them. Again, the Amritabindu Upanishad says: “By means of Om he [the meditating yogi] sees the way, the way along which his prana goes. Therefore one should always repeat It [Om] so that he goes along the right way: through the heart-gate, the air-gate, the gate which leads upward, and the opening of the gate of liberation which is known as the open orb [the sun.]” (Amritabindu Upanishad 25, 26)

The gate of liberation! When the individual comes into manifestation on this earth he passes from the astral world into the material plane by means of the sun, which is a mass of exploding astral energies, not mere flaming gases. And when the individual has completed his course of evolution within this plane, upon the death of his body he rises upward in his subtle body and passes through the sun into the higher worlds, there to evolve even higher or to pass directly into the depths of the transcendent Brahman.

To ensure that this will take place, the Om Yogi practices the japa and meditation of Om, for the Chandogya Upanishad tells us that Om and the sun are identical in essence, “for the sun is continually sounding ‘Om.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.5.1) That is, the energy of the sun is a manifestation of Om. Scientists have only recently discovered this phenomenon. On page 16 of the July 2004 issue of National Geographic we find this: “Bubbles the size of Texas cover the sun’s face…. Called granules, the short-lived cells of plasma carry heat to the surface through convection, the same way water boils in a pot. The rise and fall of granules creates sound waves, which cause the sun to throb like a drum every five minutes.”

Om yogis intone Om in time with their breath, for the upanishad further tells us that “the breath is continually sounding ‘Om.’” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.5.3) The solar energies and the breath are also intimately connected.

Our life depends on the light of the sun, so it is also a manifestation of the power of Om. The japa and meditation of Om aligns us with the solar powers that are Om and thereby greatly increase our life force and the evolution of all the levels of our being.

Om Yoga prepares us for the Great Departure. As the Chandogya Upanishad also says: “Even as a great extending highway runs between two villages, this one and that yonder, even so the rays of the sun go to both these worlds, this one and that yonder. They start from the yonder sun and enter into the nadis. They start from the nadis and enter into the yonder sun. …When a man departs from this body, then he goes upwards by these very rays or he goes up with the thought of Om. As his mind is failing, he goes to the sun. That, verily, is the gateway of the world, an entering in for the knowers, a shutting out for the non-knowers.” (Chandogya Upanishad 8.6.2,5)

The solar rays do not just flow into this world, they also draw upward through the sun and beyond. In the human body the process of exhalation and inhalation is related to solar energy, and much of the solar power on which we subsist is drawn into the body through our breathing. Which is why Giri Bala (see Autobiography of a Yogi, Chapter Forty-Six) employed a special form of breathing to live without eating. The solar rays do not just strike the surface of our body, but penetrate into the physical nerves–nadis. The nadis are also the channels in the astral body that correspond to the physical nerves. Just as the electrical impulses flow through the physical nerves, the subtle solar life force, or prana, flows through the subtle nadis and keeps us alive and functioning. And as we have already seen, the breath, as it flows, is always sounding Om. The breath, then, is a vehicle for the solar energies that produce evolution, and we increase its effect through the japa and meditation of Om.

The continual intonation of Om, both in and outside of meditation, conditions our subtle levels so that at the time of death we will be oriented toward the solar powers and can ascend upon them–especially if we continue our intonations of Om even after the body has been dropped. Those intonations will guarantee our ascent into the solar world. Those who have imbued themselves with the Pranavic vibrations will enter through the solar gate, whereas those who have not done so will be shut out by it and compelled to return to earthly rebirth.

“At the time of departure from this world, remember Om, the Lord, the Protector.” (Yajur Veda 40:15) Whatever we think of most during life we will think of at the time of our death. This is affirmed by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (8:5-10): “At the hour of death, when a man leaves his body, he must depart with his consciousness absorbed in Me. Then he will be united with Me. Be certain of that. Whatever a man remembers at the last, when he is leaving the body, will be realized by him in the hereafter; because that will be what his mind has most constantly dwelt on, during this life. Therefore you must remember Me at all times, and do your duty. If your mind and heart are set upon Me constantly, you will come to Me. Never doubt this. Make a habit of practicing meditation, and do not let your mind be distracted. In this way you will come finally to the Lord, Who is the light-giver, the highest of the high.” And the Prashna Upanishad (5:5,7): “If he meditates on the Supreme Being with the Syllable Om, he becomes one with the Light, the Sun. He is led to the world of Brahman. He sees the Person that dwells in the body, Who is higher than the highest life. …That the wise one attains, even by the mere sound Om as support, That Which is tranquil, unaging, immortal, fearless, and supreme.”

Those who continually invoke and meditate upon Om during their lifetime will remember Om at the time of death, and by means of Om will ascend to the sun and beyond into the real Beyond. “As it is said: ‘Indeed the sun is this Om;’ therefore one should meditate and make himself ready to unite himself with it.” (Maitrayana Upanishad 6:3)

Yoga Nidra–conscious “sleep”

The purpose of meditation is the development of deep inner awareness. The Yoga Vashishtha (5:78), a classical treatise on yoga, speaks of the state “when the consciousness reaches the deep sleep state” known in Sanskrit as sushupti. The sage Sandilya in his treatise on yoga, the Sandilya Upanishad, also speaks of “the right realization of the true nature of the sound which is at the extreme end of the pronunciation of the syllable Om, when sushupti is rightly cognized [experienced] while conscious.”

In deep meditation we enter into the “silent witness” state, experiencing the state of dreamless sleep while fully conscious and aware. When approaching this state the beginner may actually fall asleep. This is not to be worried about, for such is quite natural, and after a while will not occur. From birth we have been habituated to falling asleep when the mind reached a certain inner point. Now through meditation we will take another turn–into the state of deep inner awareness.

Although I said it is “dreamless sleep” it is of course much, much more, for there is a deepening of consciousness in this state that does not occur in ordinary dreamless sleep.

So when you have this “asleep while awake” state occur, know that you are on the right track–when it is imageless and thoughtless except for your intonations of Om (for those should never stop). “Astral dreaming” during meditation is only that: dreaming illusion. Not that visions cannot occur during meditation, but it is easy to mistake dreams for visions. Therefore it is wise to value only the conscious sushupti experience in meditation, within which Om continues to be the focus of our awareness. This is the true samadhi.

The “workings” of Om

But there is another, seemingly contradictory, side to this. Yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah. (Yoga Sutras 1:2) Patanjali here defines yoga as the stopping (nirodhah) of the modifications (vritti) of the mind (chitta). Superficially considered, this seems to mean merely being blank, without thoughts. If this were so, dreamless sleep would be yoga, and the more we slept the more enlightened we would become! Still, most yogis tend to think that in meditation no thoughts or impressions should arise–that if they do, the meditation is imperfect and reduced in value. But Om is a transforming-transmuting force, and that implies change. And change is a process. So sometimes pure Yoga Nidra will occur, and at other times (often in the same meditation) things will definitely be going on.

Meditation, then, is not just sinking down into silence and stasis, though that does happen in some meditation periods, but is a spontaneous, extremely active state. As you meditate, on the subtle levels you may (will) see, hear, feel, and be aware of a great many things–thoughts, visual impressions, memories, inner sensations, and suchlike. All of this is evoked by your practice, and nothing will be a distraction if you simply observe it in a calm and objective manner, keeping your awareness on the breath and intoning Om in time with it.

“Om literally is your guru and will be showing and telling you a great deal.”

Your interest should be in your intonations of Om, yet you should be aware of what is going on because Om literally is your guru and will be showing and telling you a great deal. Most things you should just let fly by on their own, but occasionally you will receive marked intuitive impressions. Your higher intelligence (buddhi) usually works through intuition/conceptualization, but at times your spiritual mind will literally talk to you. I am aware that a lot of people let their mind babble on and think God is talking to them, but that is no reason not to tell you the truth: Om is your Master Teacher, and will teach you in many ways while truly changing you at the same time. The key is to remain a calm observer and able to distinguish between the worthless antics of the lower mind and that which is being produced directly by Om for your betterment.

Yet at other times you will simply sit in the happy and peaceful silence of Yoga Nidra, intent on the sound of your subtle intonations of Om. Both are equally beneficial, for Om knows what It is doing, and both may occur in the same meditation. Om is truly the Pranava, the Life-Giver, and will live in you as you, for It is you.

The three elements of Om Yoga meditation

There are three components of Om Yoga meditation: 1) sitting with the eyes turned up and then closed; 2) being aware of our breath as it moves in and out, and 3) mentally intoning Om in time with the breathing and listening to those mental intonations. They are the essential ingredients of Om Yoga meditation, and we should confine our attention to them. If in meditation we feel unsure as to whether things are going right, we need only check to see if these three things are being done and our attention is centered in them. If so, all is well. If not, it is a simple matter to return to them and make everything right.

Of the three, listening to the mental intonations of Om is the major key to success in meditation. It is essential that we become centered in the etheric levels of our being, from which sound arises, and this is done by inwardly intoning Om and listening to those intonations. During meditation, whatever happens, whatever comes or goes, relax and keep listening to your inner intonations of Om. It is the sound of Om that accomplishes everything. And by listening to It you become totally receptive and responsive to It so It can work Its transforming purpose to the maximum degree.

Invariables

There are certain invariables–absolutes of practice–which we must be aware of and conform to in our meditations. They are:

1) Om never ceases. Never. We must not let passivity or heaviness of mind interrupt our intonations by pulling us into negative silence. That would be a descent rather than an ascent.

2) In intoning, we must always give equal value to both O and M. At least approximately so.

3) We always intone Om in time with the breath.

4) Our intonations of Om, like the breath to which we are linking them, should be virtually continuous, not with long breaks between them. That is: OommOommOommOomm, or Oomm-Oomm-Oomm-Oomm rather than Oomm…Oomm…Oomm…Oomm.

5) We always meditate with closed mouth and eyes.

6) During meditation the eyes should be gently raised upward as though looking at a point far distant and above us.

7) The focus, the center of attention, of our meditation is the sound of our mental intonations of Om in time with our breath. In an easeful and relaxed manner we become absorbed in that inner sound. This is meditation; this is spiritual life.

Cultivating consciousness

Our intention in meditating is to center our awareness permanently in the consciousness of who we really are–in the spirit whose nature is itself pure consciousness. We center or merge our awareness in the breath and Om because they arise directly from the atman and will lead us into the consciousness which is the Self.

Shankara defines correct meditation as “meditation established in the perception of the nature of Spirit alone, pure Consciousness itself.” Yoga Sutra 3:55 tells us: “Liberation is attained when the mind is the same as the spirit in purity.” That is, when through meditation we are permanently filled with nothing but the awareness of pure consciousness, liberation is attained. “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. The pure consciousness of I AM alone prevails.

The root cause of our ignorance and its attendant miseries is forgetfulness of our true Self–and God, the Self of our Self. Since the two are really one, it follows that our meditation must consist of that which is both self (atman) and Supreme Self (Paramatman). And that “one thing” is Om. For: “The Pranava is both the atman and Brahman; they are united to each other.” (Narasingha Tapini Upanishad)

The atman-self is never anything but consciousness, yet it, like God, has extended itself outward as the many levels of our present state of being. Unlike God, we have lost control over just about everything, and by becoming absorbed in awareness of our external being have caused it to take on a virtually independent existence, dragging us along with it. Conversely, by keeping ourselves centered in the pure awareness, the witnessing consciousness that is our real self, we will begin the process of turning all those levels back into pure spirit.

It is awareness of our inner intonations of Om that enables us to become centered in our true self. Sri Ramana Maharshi said: “The Ekakshara [Om] shines for ever in the heart as the Self.” And: “Earnest seekers who, incessantly and with a steady mind, repeat ‘Om’ will attain success. By repetition of the pure ‘Om’ the mind is withdrawn from sense objects and becomes one with the Self.”

Prayer

It is traditional in India for some brief prayer to be made before and after meditation. Usually before meditation a simple prayer is made asking divine blessing and guidance. Then at the end another brief prayer is made giving thanks, offering the meditation to God, and asking divine blessing for the rest of the day. There is no set form, just words from the heart. This is not essential for Om Yoga practice, but those who are so inclined may find it beneficial.

Japa and meditation of Om

Japa and meditation of Om support each other. Continual japa of Om during your daily routine will increase the effectiveness of your practice of meditation, and daily meditation practice will deepen the effect of your japa outside meditation. By the two wings of japa and meditation we ascend through Om to the Highest That is Om.

“When his mind becomes unwavering from meditation on the Lord, let him do japa of Om.”

Commenting on the Yoga Sutras, Vyasa tells the Om yogi: “It has been said: ‘After Om japa, let him set himself in meditation, after meditation, let him set himself to japa. When Om japa and meditation come to perfection the Supreme Self [Paramatman] shines forth.’” And Shankara, commenting on Vyasa’s commentary, says: “Meditation is setting the heart on the Lord Who is designated by Om and brought into the mind by It. Yogis who are engaged in both japa and meditation attain one-pointedness of mind. After japa, which causes his mind to bow before the Lord, let him engage in meditation. When his mind becomes unwavering from meditation on the Lord, let him do japa of Om, for japa leads to meditation. When japa and meditation of Om come to perfection then the Supreme Lord [Parameshwara], the Supreme Self [Paramatman] Who stands in the highest place, shines forth for the yogi.”

When doing japa as we are engaged in other activities there is a profound effect, but we are not able to experience the effects of Om nearly as much as we can while sitting in meditation. The meditation experience is absolutely essential for spiritual progress, just as japa is essential to ensure that meditation will be effective to the maximum degree.

Throughout the day–japa

Meditation is most effective, but its effects need to be sustained throughout the day by continuing to intone Om in an easy and relaxed manner in time with the breath without any strain, just as you do in meditation. That is, Om should be intoned constantly, throughout all activities, without break or interruption. Naturally this is difficult, even impossible to do, in the beginning, nevertheless it is possible in time. Immediately upon awakening in the morning the mental intonations of Om should begin and should be maintained even after going to bed until falling asleep. Not only does this deepen your consciousness, it also enables you to obtain much more benefit from your sleep, and the intonation of Om can occur even in sleep.

Because of the importance of staying attuned to the Chidakasha, outside our times of meditation we should maintain “Chidakasha awareness” by keeping our awareness on/in our head in a very gentle and relaxed manner, feeling our breath subtly moving within the Thousand-Petalled Lotus of the brain and “hearing” our inner intonations of Om softly sounding there.

Paramhansa Nityananda said in the Chidakasha Gita: “Whatever one may be doing, the attention should be fixed in the head.” (217) “Buddhi (intelligence) should be concentrated in the head. Your attention should always be above the neck; never below the neck.” (276)

Sometimes it may be difficult or impossible to intone Om with the breath, for example when doing strenuous exercise and the breath is labored or irregular. At those times Om should just be intoned over and over like the tolling of a bell until you can resume the intonations with the breath.

Preparing for sleep

It is most helpful to do the japa of Om until you fall asleep, for this aids in the development of inner awareness during the waking time and in meditation.

When you lie down to sleep or rest, lie flat on your back with your arms at your side, palms downward, and your legs out straight but relaxed, in the so-called Corpse Pose (Savasana). The feet need not be held straight up. Relax completely, with closed eyes–either turned up or turned down according to your wish. Do the normal process of meditation until you fall asleep. If you find that lying on your back is not conducive to sleep, then lie in any position in which you can be comfortable and relaxed.

If you awaken during the sleep period, keep on doing the same until you fall sleep again.

This practice is also helpful when you are ill, as it can aid the healing process.

In conclusion

“When you utter ‘Om’ it travels not only all around the earth but throughout all space and eternity”–so said Paramhansa Yogananda. Thoughts do not cease the moment they pass from the conscious mind. They spread out around us, into our aura, the subtle field of biomagnetic and mental energies around our physical body, and then on into the surrounding creation, ultimately extending to the farthest reaches of the cosmos and then returning and striking back into our aura and mind. This is the process of mental karma. By continually doing repetition and meditation of Om, we set up a continuous current of spiritual vibration that in time becomes a perpetual inflow of higher consciousness as it returns to us after having extended throughout creation and benefited all things and all beings therein. In this way we create the highest form of spiritual karma, uplifting and divinizing both ourselves and all that exists.

Furthermore, every thought is a wave or whorl that keeps vibrating in the very substance of our mind (chitta) and even–depending on how strong they were and how often they were repeated–into future lives. Om, then, imbues us with Its divine light and power, counteracting the past habit of negative, foolish, or idle thoughts.

Therefore, throughout the day and night, whatever you are doing or whenever at rest, continually intone Om mentally in time with the breath and center your awareness in the sound. Since there is no time when you do not breathe, this is really not hard.

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