The Word That Is God Swami Nirmalananda Giri
"His [Ishwara's] spoken form is Om."1 So says Patanjali. Swami Vivekananda renders it: "His manifesting word is Om," meaning that Om both makes God manifest to us and is Itself the Aishwarya, the Power by which Ishwara manifests His will-especially through His creation.2 The word for Om used by Patanjali is actually Pranava, which literally means both "Life-ness" and "Life-Giver." Shankara, expanding on the idea of this sutra, says: "This sutra explains the form in which the devotee contemplates on Him."
"I am Om, the Word that is God."3 So declared the infinite Satchidananda (Eixstence-Knowledge-Bliss) through the lips of the avatar Krishna. And long, long before that the Vedic Seers had declared: "In the beginning was Prajapati [God the Creator],with Him was the Word, and the Word was truly the Supreme Brahman."4 Word-God?
How can a Word be God? How can God be a Word? At the very beginning of the human race, those perfectly enlightened beings we call the Vedic Rishis, who expressed their spiritual vision in the Vedas and the Upanishads, made this comprehensible. And today the furthest frontiers of science-especially that of physics-are beginning to tentatively touch the hem of that divine garment and affirm the Vedic and Upanishadic teachings.
All things-the entire cosmos itself-are formed of vibrating energy. This cosmic energy possesses the dual nature of light and sound, both of which are essentially consciousness. And the totality of that consciousness is That which we call God. Looked at from this standpoint, everything-not just a single object or word-is God. But, just as "some are more equal than others," some things are "more God than others." And the Vedic Rishis-as well as all those who have followed them in the attainment of the identical vision of enlightenment-have stated that the "most godly" thing is a single syllable: Om, the Shabda Brahman, the Sound God.
Shankara in his Yoga Sutra commentary makes the interesting statement that "the Lord is the first speaker." That is, in the beginning of all things God "speaks" Himself, and becomes the Word. And that Word is Om, from which all subsequent things arise and into Which they eventually resolve. Om encompasses the Speaker, the Speaking, and the Spoken. Om is ALL. Om is not a word
"Om is not counted among words,"5 said Sri Ramakrishna. His assertion is borne out by the fact that in Sanskrit Om is not treated as a word-that is, it does not go through any changes in form according to its grammatical position or status. It has no plural, possessive, subjective, objective, or adjectival forms. It is always just "Om" and nothing else. Om is beyond speech in Its essence because It is the source of speech. Yet It encompasses and contains all speech, all mantras.
Om, the spoken syllable, is not really a word in the sense of a symbolic series of sounds that merely indicate an object by common consensus. Rather, it is the final step or state in the objectification of the primal creative stream arising from the inmost depths of Being Itself, that "point of light within the mind of God" from which has issued all manifested being, all that IS. It is the original movement outward from the Omnipresent Center which took place when the Supreme Consciousness willed: "I am One; let Me become Many."6 Om the mantra
Om is the original Word of Power, or mantra. A mantra is a series of verbal sounds whose effect lies not in an assigned intellectual meaning, as is the character of common language, but which possesses an inherent sound-power that can produce a particular effect, physically or psychologically-much in the way that music can produce such effects. The word mantra itself comes from the Sanskrit expression manat trayate which means "a transforming thought;" literally: "that which when thought carries across"-that is, which produces an objective, perceptible change.
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? The literal meaning of vachaka is name or designator, but in mantra yoga it has a specialized meaning and is used for a name which is essentially of the nature of a mantra and has the power when used in a prescribed manner of revealing the consciousness and releasing the power of a devata or Divine Being. Being a sound combination which is used to designate a particular Entity, it is like a name. But an ordinary name is chosen arbitrarily to indicate someone and it has no natural or mystic relationship with the person. A vachaka, on the other hand, 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." Om in man the microcosm
Whenever we utter the Pranava in Its most objectified form as the syllable Om we align and actually link our consciousness with Its Source. In the microcosm of the human being resides all the powers and processes of the macrocosm of the universe, and in the human being the highest faculty is that of speech. Om consists of the entire range of possible vocal sounds.
The vibrating column of air within the body from which speech is produced-represented by the flute of Krishna-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-that is, speech is the projecting of the inner consciousness of the speaker. How much more so, then, when the speech is mantric in character so the speaker wields the Power of The Word. 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 first sound is that which is produced deepest within the chest, at the bottom of the column of air, the sound of long o. The final sound is the resonation made by the closed lips at the very end of that vibrating column, the sound of m.7 Put together the o and m form the Pranava: Om. Usually Om is intoned-sung on a single note-rather like the resonant tolling of a bell.
What do we do?
And what do we do with this sacred word? Krishna also tells us that. The aspirant should "take refuge in steady concentration, uttering the sacred syllable Om and meditating upon Me. Such a man reaches the highest goal."8 Great Pranava yogis
It has been common knowledge in India throughout the centuries that Om is the mantra specially commended to sannyasis (monastics), and the majority of them-especially those in the Swami Order of Shankara-have generally employed It as the heart of their sadhana (spiritual practice). Nearer our own time, the great nineteenth-century Hindu reformer, Maharishi Dayananda Saraswati, renowned as a yogi par excellence, was a Pranava yogi and taught its practice to others. Perhaps the greatest Pranava yogi of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was Swami Rama Tirtha, who propagated Pranava Yoga in India, Japan, and America. A few decades ago, one of the most revered yogis in Delhi, the capitol of India, was Om Baba who, as his name implies, continually meditated upon Om. For more than twenty years I was privileged to have personal contact with Brahmacharini Atmananda, a monastic disciple of Sri Anandamayi Ma. Since Mataji strictly enjoined Her disciples to never reveal or discuss their personal spiritual practices, I had no idea that She had instructed Atmananda in Pranava sadhana. But after Atmanandaji's passing away, her diaries revealed the fact, containing some of Mother's instructions to her regarding the practice.9 Sri Swami Sivananda, founder of the Divine Life Society of Rishikesh, a true Yogiraj (King of Yoga), was a master of all forms of yoga and wrote a great deal about Pranava in spiritual practice, including an entire book: Meditation on Om. He also wrote the following:
I sat alone on a block of stone
On the banks of the Ganges or Bhagirathi.
Mother Ganges blessed me.
I meditated on OM and its meaning-
The Word that is the symbol of Brahman.
The little personality was lost.
The mortal limit of the Self was loosened.
But there was infinite extension.
I entered into the Nameless beyond;
I realized the quintessential unity of bliss.
No words can describe the thrill of joy,
The magnanimous mystic experiences,
The supremest and divinest height of felicity!
The little "I" fused into the incandescent brilliance.
Two become one now
It was all Tejomaya Ananda-
One Mass of transcendental light Bliss.10
Certainly the most renowned Pranava yogi of our times was Avadhuta Sri Nityananda of Ganeshpuri, whose Nitya Sutras contain some of the most profound statements on the Pranava and Its application by the yogi.11 Some of these sutras will be presented later on.
All of those persons cited here were within the tradition of Hinduism, but both Mahayana Buddhism12 and the Jain religion also utilize the repetition and meditation of Om as a spiritual tool. Some scriptures and holy people on Om
The wisdom of the scriptures and the wise who have realized the truth of those scriptures for themselves are reliable guides in our search for higher consciousness and life. Before we consider how to apply Om, The Word That Is God, to Its fullest effect in japa and meditation, we should take a brief look at what some authoritative scriptures and realized Masters have said about It. Here are some of the major statements regarding the Pranava and its application in Pranava Yoga:
"Om is Brahman, the Primeval Being. This is the Veda which the knowers of Brahman know; through It one knows what is to be known." (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad)
"Om is Brahman. Om is all this.13 He who utters Om with the intention 'I shall attain Brahman' does verily attain Brahman." (Taittiriya Upanishad)
"Just as the bow is the cause of the arrow's hitting the target, so Om is the bow that brings about the soul's entry into the Immutable. For the soul when purified by the repetition of Om gets fixed in Brahman with the help of Om without any hindrance, just as an arrow shot from a bow gets transfixed in the target." (Shankara, Commentary on the Mundaka Upanishad)
"Through Om the Lord is met face to face." (Shankara, Commentary on the Yoga Sutras)
"When the yogi has understood the identity of Om and Brahman he attracts the grace of the supreme Lord through Its repetition and meditation....When repetition and meditation of Om come to perfection then the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Self Who stands in the highest place, shines forth for the yogi." (Shankara, Commentary on the Yoga Sutras)
In The Spiritual Heritage of India Swami Prabhavananda has ideally summed up the matter:
"How may one express devotion to God, how worship him and meditate upon him? In spite of all definitions and all descriptions, God remains to the human mind but an abstraction. Patanjali, realizing this fact, offers a definite, concrete way of understanding God which the mind may grasp and meditate upon. He says: 'The word which expresses him is Om. This word must be repeated with meditation upon its meaning. Hence come knowledge of the Purusha and destruction of the obstacles to that knowledge.'
"In the Upanishads, as we have already noted, the word Om was held sacred by sages and seers, being regarded as a symbol of Brahman. From Vedic times until the present day it has been so understood, and it has been employed as an aid in meditation by all aspirants after God. It is accepted both as one with Brahman and as the medium, the Logos, connecting man and God. It is God, and by its aid man may realize God."
Kabir, master-poet of India, put it this way:
Receive that Word from which the Universe springeth!
That word is the Guru; I have heard it, and become the disciple.
How many are there who know the meaning of that Word?
O Sadhu! practice that Word!
The Vedas and the Puranas proclaim it,
The world is established in it,
The Rishis and devotees speak of it:
But none knows the mystery of the Word.
The householder leaves his house when he hears it,
The ascetic comes back to love when he hears it,
The Six Philosophies14 expound it,
The Spirit of Renunciation points to that Word,
From that Word the world-form has sprung,
That Word reveals all.
Kabir says: But who knows whence the Word cometh?15
From these scriptural citations and words of the wise-which are but a small part of the authoritative material available on the meaning and power of Om-we can see that Om is the supreme means for the attainment of the Divine Consciousness which It embodies.
Patanjali simply says: Tajjapastadarthabhavanam. "Its japa and bhavanam are the way."16
1) Tasya vachakah Pranava. Yoga Sutras 1:27 [Go back]
2) The Saiva Siddhanta philosophy of India has a more technical explanation given by Swami Sivananda in Lord Siva and His Worship. According to it, God produces the root-sound of Om within the inmost subtle causal energy field that eventually becomes the cosmos. From this root-sound there arises the point (bindu) from which all manifestation originates. This point in turn manifests the state of being we know as Cosmic-or Christ-Consciousness. Turning outward to direct the process of creation, the "Creator Consciousness" or Ishwara comes into manifestation. Thus, the state of immanent personal Divine Consciousness is "spoken" into being through Om, the Pranava. [Go back]
3) Bhagavad Gita 7:8. Also: "I am Om" (Bhagavad Gita 9:17), and "Among words I am the sacred syllable Om" (Bhagavad Gita 10:25). [Go back]
4) Prajapati vai idam agra asit. Tasya vak dvitiya asit. Vag vai paramam Brahman. [Go back]
5) The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Majumdar translation: 3.17.3. [Go back]
6) Chandogya Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad. [Go back]
7) Om is also considered to be formed of the three letters a, u, and m, which represent the three states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep respectively, as well as the physical, astral, and causal levels of existence. In Sanskrit, when a and u are combined they produce the sound of o. [Go back]
8) Bhagavad Gita 8:13 [Go back]
9) At their first meeting, Anandamayi Ma told another disciple that he was "a worshipper of Om." [Go back]
10) Vairagya Mala, section 61 [Go back]
11) "Nityananda was always totally immersed in the Divine, in Omkar." (Swami Chetanananda, in Nitya Sutras.) [Go back]
12) Tibetan Buddhism particularly emphasizes the power and value of Om. In Chinese Pure Land Buddhism, Amida Buddha is invoked by saying "Omitofo" [Amida Buddha]. One time when I was participating in a Name Recitation (Nienfo) session, during the dharma talk at the close the leader, the Venerable Manpu, explained that in the depths of meditation-and especially at the time of leaving the body-the practitioner passes from "Omitofo" to "Omito" [Amida] and thence to "Om" which is the essence of "Omitofo" and is the force that carries the cultivator into the consciousness that is the Pure Land (Sukhavati). [Go back]
13) That is, Om is the Absolute and Om is the Relative that is the manifestation of the Absolute. [Go back]
14) Sad-darshanas: The six orthodox systems of Indian philosophy: Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Sankhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, and Vedanta. [Go back]
15) From Songs of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore. [Go back]
16) Yoga Sutras 1:28 [Go back]
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