Saturday 16 March 2013

The Multifaceted Om


Namaste!!!
A very warm welcome to the second post of my blog. I received very positive comments for my first post 'Namaste' from the online community as well as a few people around me. The positive comments helped me to come up with my second post, and I really hope you find this likeable as well as informative. Thanks once again for liking the earlier post.

When I am bringing up the topic of symbols, and pan-Indian symbols in particular, one can’t help but take up one of the most diverse, sacrosanct, and multifaceted symbols of all times, around the entire world. The diverse faces this symbol takes up, the flexibility it offers, the acceptability it boasts of, and the respect it commands, certainly makes it one of the most divine symbols of the world.

So much has been written and said about this symbol, that to take it up as a topic to discuss certainly has its demerits. And thanks to movies like Koi Mil Gaya, every other person seems to know a bit or more about AUM or OM. Every time I would bring up the topic of AUM, the other person would snap up, "Ohh yes I have seen Koi Mil Gaya, AUM has all the frequencies of the entire Universe". Well aware that most of it is already known, I would like to take up the lesser known and lesser talked about attributes of the symbol.

As per Hindu sacred texts, before the inception of the world, there was nothingness all around, also called Shunyaksha. No wind, no light, no sky, and no realms. Then came the sound of AUM, and from that sound, everything else evolved, a prime reason why every single atom is said to be vibrating with the frequency of AUM.

The symbol thus encompasses whatever has existed in the past, whatever exists in the present and whatever will exist in the future. AUM is also termed as 'Adi Anadi', which has no beginning and which has no end. Needless to say, AUM is said to be the frequency of God.

Literally. AUM is made up of three sounds, where the first letter 'A' denotes birth or creation, the power of Brahma. U denotes preservation, the power of Vishnu, and M denotes destruction, the power of Shiva. Together, the three form up the entire existence cycle of the earth, the divine energy. As per some sacred texts, it represents another important triad, the earth, the atmosphere and the heaven. Another triad which AUM represents is the concept of A-kara, which denotes everything that has form like the trees and the water, U-kara, which denotes everything that is formless like wind or fire, and M-kara, which denotes everything which is neither with form nor without form like the darkness. Needless to say, the prime emphasis is on AUM being the sound of the entire existence.



Symbolically, the symbol consists of three curves together, along with one another semi-circle and a dot. The larger curve(Curve 1) symbolizes the waking state, or the jagrut-awastha of the human mind. The larger size of the curve indicates that this is the most common state of the human mind. The second curve(Curve 2) denotes the deep sleep, or the sushupt-awastha of the human mind. The third curve(Curve 3) denotes the state between the deep sleep and the waking state, the dream state or the swapna-awastha. These are the three states of an individual's consciousness representing the entire physical phenomenon, a fact well exploited by the movie Inception.

The dot denotes the utter quiet, peaceful and blissful state of the human consciousness, the state where all the three other states are illuminated. The semi-circle(Curve 4) denotes maya, and separates the dot from the three states of consciousness. Needless to say, it is maya which separates the consciousness from reaching the highest state of bliss. The maya semi-circle, as can be seen, never touches the dot, it always touches the three states of consciousness.

A more interesting insight would be the way AUM is pronounced, A starts from the back of the mouth, thus encompassing every spoken sound from the mouth. M is shaped or created by the closing of the lips, so M encompasses the completion of all sounds. And U encompasses every sound in between, symbolized by the shape of the lips. AUM thus encompasses all the spoken sounds.

The symbolism would just not stop there, AUM is such multifaceted and such diverse, it represents a number of other important triads, like the time (past, present and future), the seasons (spring, summer and winter), periods (morning, midday and evening)...the list is endless.

The divinity of AUM does not stop at it being a sacred symbol or a mystical sound. AUM has as many scientific and medical significations. According to a number of scientific studies, when AUM is chanted ten times in lower pitch, internalized attention is produced. In simpler terms, the attention of the being turns inwards, thus improving concentration over a regular period of time.  The mind experiences a state of calm and peace, thus decreasing anxiety and depression. Sleep pattern is improved as a result of psychological relaxation.
When one chants AUM, he creates within himself a state of trance. One such scientific study on AUM is given here http://paper.ijcsns.org/07_book/200901/20090151.pdf



Now, let’s take a moment and make a slight assumption. Let’s assume the symbolism, the interpretations, the triads are mere assumptions made by our ancestors and sacred texts. Let’s assume the divinity of AUM or the knowledge of the diversity of AUM, the scientific and medical implications of chanting AUM, were somehow known to our ancient Indian scientists, or was already a widely accepted notion during those times. Maybe the intellectuals of those times saw the potential of AUM, particularly in the field of Neuroscience and in an attempt to bring the chanting of AUM to practice, made it a mandate to pronounce AUM at the beginning of every Vedic Chant. Let’s assume the mystical attributes of AUM were already discovered, the intellectuals of those times only built up its ascendancy attaching it to every sacred aspect of worship.

 I usually walk my way from home to office, and as soon as I am out of my home, I see restlessness and rush almost everywhere. People trying to reach their office as soon as they can, overcrowding the elevators, working for long stretched hours, and then coming back home to complete their quota of sleep. Sooner than later, hypertension and other related malfunctions crop up and all the hard-earned money is paid in the form of medical bills. Chanting AUM won’t reduce the rush of life, but can certainly help in bringing back some peace back into the mind. I accept it’s hard to make a habit out of anything, specially chanting AUM, which is largely held as a religious phenomenon, and a large number of pan-modern Indians shy away from such acts, I would still request everyone to try this out once, it certainly has its benefits. And think of it, AUM may not be a purely religious aspect at all, it may be a purely scientific marvel, designed as religious phenomenon.

With that I would wish to end my second post of the blog. The posts which I have picked up till now may make me appear as a Hinduism-fanboy, but believe me I am not that big a fanboy. I actually am a fanboy of something else, a concept which I would like to touch upon in my next post. Till then, Namaste and keep chanting AUM.


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22 comments:

  1. eagerly waiting to know u r fanboy of which thing??? brilliant post. u know whenever any body talks about symbol only character which comes in my mind is of Robert Langdon( the main protaganist of Dan Brown's novel)i love sysmbols and their various interpretation.waitng for 3 rd post.

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    1. Thanks Saurabh for the prompt reply, and thanks a lot for appreciating it. Dan Brown is an American, and see how he has to rely on almost all the non-American symbols in his book(except The Lost Symbol, which wasnt that great). India is much more rich and exotic in terms of symbols, and if Dan was to write a book on Indian symbols, he would have had a lot to uncover

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    2. Hmmm, yes, that would be interesting. Though I do believe Dan Brown is very well informed; he probably writes to cater for his rather uninformed audience so he can sell more books!!

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    3. Hi Bridgie,
      I agree, Dan does extensive research for all his books and he certainly has the right insight into every subject that he picks up. Plus his analysis and imagination is spot on. I messaged him once to write a book on Indian symbols, guess he is a bit too busy for the same

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  2. Namaste! Very well written Sapan! Yes, sound, frequency, resonance and vibration is at the very core (creation) of everything in our world. The insect and animal world know this only too well, and utilise sound and vibration most efficiently. Such a pity 'modern' man hasn't taken more notice of sound and vibration, and utilised this natural phenomenon for the positive upliftment of mankind, as the ancients did and could, especially in the realm of spiritual enlightenment. The recent exception, of course, has been to harm others by utilising frequencies in warfare with heinous consequences. Unfortunately most of the discordinate 'modern' music such as heavy metal, some rock or trans music serves only to unbalance people and thus elicits negative and disturbing emotions such as anger, jealousy, lust and also addictive behaviours. So sad when sound, especially OM or AUM has profoundly positive qualities that can benefit everyone without exception ... thanks for the reminder!
    I look forward to your next blog with great anticipation :)

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    1. Its really unfortunate that such a positive sound is ignored and hard rock/heavy metal is considered stress buster, which very rightly, only increases the stress and elicits negative emotions and behavior. But as I mentioned, neo-modern people find it 'uncool' and would definitely shy away from even trying these things out. Very much required to brand these things as cool now

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  3. Great analysis... In our busy day to day life, 'Om' can give us peace

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    1. Thanks for the reply Suruchi...Not exactly preaching, I would suggest the same to everyone

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  4. Good Work sapan....
    I am admin of fb page ypu had posted your link to.

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    1. Hi Divya!!!
      Thanks a lot for your reply!
      I am trying to reach as many people as can with a rational approach to religion

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  5. Awesome explanation of the Divine Vibration, Om! Keep it up :)

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    1. Hi Pinky!
      Thanks a lot for your reply.
      I went through your posts. Shiva-Shakti indeed defines the ultimate Divine.

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  6. Sapan you described "AUM" scientific way. It is really excellent post. need little detail description of how to chant "AUM".(like imagine any god's picture in mind ,timing,) .Which part of our brain affected when we are chanting "AUM".

    I am waiting for your next post ...:)

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    1. Hi manas,
      Thanks for the reply.
      The intent is to distinctly view as a scientific or pan-religious entity, purely based on how you want to see it. There should not be a strict time or setting when you 'must' do it. That's what Godmen want, AUM is flexible enough

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  7. Hi Sapan,
    Great post!! Few comments from my side.

    The Power of AUM:
    While meditating, when we chant AUM, we create within ourselves a vibration that attunes sympathy with the cosmic vibration and we start thinking universally. The momentary silence between each chant becomes palpable. Mind moves between the opposites of sound and silence until, at last, it ceases the sound. In the silence, the single thought— AUM —is quenched; there is no thought. This is the state of trance, where the mind and the intellect are transcended as the individual self merges with the Infinite Self in the pious moment of realization. It is a moment when the petty worldly affairs are lost in the desire for the universal. Such is the immeasurable power of AUM.

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    1. Hi,
      Thanks for the positive feedback.
      The dot which I have mentioned in the above post, the state of eternal bliss, is denoted by the silence after AUM is chanted. This dot, or the momentary silence which you have pointed out, is the state all our other states of consciousness need to touch

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  8. Dear Sapan, Good work. I think ‘OM’ is the only symbol having its own sound. In all other cases, symbols are made first and named thereafter. In case of Om, a sound has been symbolised. This appears to be a unique feature of Om apart from having its devotional, spiritual & scientific significance.

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    1. And that corresponds to the theory that everything is born out of OM. The reason every frequency that exists in the world is found in OM

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  9. Its nice to see someone who has done some research on their beliefs. Thanks for the info.

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    1. Namaste chaitanya!!
      Thanks a lot for appreciating the attempt
      And a double thanks because you just made the 200th comment on my blog, which I was waiting for, very desperately.
      Thanks once again

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