OM OR AUM

2.1 The Vishnu Sahasranaama Stotra is compiled in Anushtup Chandas, a metre comprising of eight letters sixteen in a line and thirty two letters in a sloka. In fact, the Gayatri Mahamantra is also composed in ‘Anushtup Chandas’. The entire Raamayana by Valmiki has been composed in ‘Anushtup Chandas’. In music the ‘Adithal’, the most common of the Thalas, consists of eight letters. Is this number eight then, only accidental ? Or, is it deliberate to remind us of the atomic number of oxygen (8) and its atomic weight (16), an element so vital for our existence? Oxygen is the most abundant element of the earth’s crust, accounting for a little less than 50% of the total elements present, most of it as compounds.

2.2 ‘Om’ or ‘Aum’ is considered as single lettered and at the same time, three lettered, (Akaara, oukaara and Makaara) Pranava Mantra. All worships and Naamaavalis commence with the chanting of “ Aum”, which indeed transcends from Mantra to yoga by the way and intonation with which it is chanted. Volumes have been written about this Mantra and its efficacies by various commentators and in Upanishads.

2.3 Taittiriya Upanishad and Maitraayana Upanishad deal with Aum. The central theme of Maandukya Upanishad is the syllable ‘Aum’taking us through the three different states of “Jagrat, Swapna and Sushupti”, (the waking, dreaming and deep sleep states) to the ‘Turiya’ or ‘fourth’ state, taking one beyond the Upanishad doctrines. The same principle finds a mention in the fourth gospel of the New Testament. “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God”.

à Om as a monosyllable letter or Aum as a three lettered word, known as Pranava is the Supreme of all Mantras.

à Pranava, the three Vyahrities and three eight lettered sentences each extracted as the essence of Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas, together constitute the Gayatri Maha Mantra.

2.4 “All the gates of the body closed, the mind confined with in the heart, having fixed his life energy in the head, engaged in firm yoga, uttering the one syllabled Om Brahman, thinking of Me, he who departs, leaving the body, attains the supreme goal” says the Lord in Bhagwat Geeta (8.12 and 13).

2.5 There are definite instructions in the Vedas that Aum has to be chanted in 2 ½ or 3 Maatraas depending upon the results/benefits one wants to obtain, and neither too long nor too short. It is believed that Sage Viswaamitra contemplated on the three Vedas, Rig, Yajur and Sama, and extracted eight letters from each of them, which constitutes the Saavitri Mantra (Part of Gaayatri). He further medidated upon them and observed that the three ‘Mahavyahritis’, Bhuh, Bhuvah, and Suvah’ contain the essence of ‘Tat Sa Vitur Vareniyam’, ‘Bhargo Devasya Deemahi’ and ‘Diyoyonah Prachodayat’, which, in turn contained in each one of these eight letters, the essence of the three Rig, Yajur and Sama Vedas. When he further contemplated on the Vyaahriti Mantra, the letter/word ‘Aum’ was perceived by him as representing the essence of all the Vedas. Thus, the word Aum, the three Vyaahriti Mantra and the Savitri Mantra, together constitute the unparalleled Gayatri Mantra.

2.6 A: In the Mantra ‘Aum’, the ‘Akaara’ is said to represent character of the God who creates, protects and destroys the world, the letter ‘ah’ means ‘to protect’. Therefore, the letter

à Akaara of Aum addresses the
protector, Vishnu.

à
Oukaara of Aum means Mahalakshmi, who resides with
Vishnu.

à Makaara of Aum
is interpreted as intellect which belongs to him and whose sustenance He takes
care of.

is said to address the ‘protector’, Vishnu.

2.7 U: The next letter ‘oukaara’ is interpreted to mean Goddess Mahalakshmi, who is always with him. It is also interpreted to mean that the letter belongs to him.

2.8 M: Who belongs to Him? The third letter ‘Makaaram’ explains this. The letter is interpreted as ‘Intellect’ or “ Jeevaatma”, Which belongs to Him and whose sustenance, He takes care of and ultimately, by negating each one of the ‘Vasanas’, the foot prints of the past thoughts and actions, the Jeevan identifies itself as ‘Brahman’, one of the three Mahaavaakyaas of the Vedas, ‘Tat Twam Asi’. (Thou Art That)

2.9 Prakriti Tatwa. It may be worth while to deal with this a little more in detail. The five great elements, Ether, Air, fire, Water and earth are described as first created in their subtle form and then through a process of combination among themselves, by which they became gross elements which we physically perceive. This process in Sanskrit is known as Panchikaranam’, a Pentamerous self duplication and mutual combination. This process is explained in Vedanta as taking place in four distinct stages of self division and mutual combination. From the ‘Mahat Tatwa’, the first one to appear was ‘Ether’ or ‘Aakaasa, which had the Tanmatra of only sound. But, it could not create any sound until it had a combination in certain proportion with Air (sound does not pass through vacuum). Thus the element Air has two qualities –Sound and Touch (Sparsh), but Touch as a Tanmatra only. Similarly, the third element Fire has three qualities namely Sound, Touch and Roopa or visual presence. Water has four Qualities namely Sound, Touch, Roopam and Taste. The fifth, the Earth, has five Qualities namely Sound, Touch, Roopam, Taste and Smell. All these are only because of the pentamerous self division and recombination of each of these five rudimentary Tanmaatras. Tanmaatra is the unit of each of the element by itself. Each of the five elements, by themselves, are considered as intransient, but in combination, become transient and perishable. This combination is in specific units of one with the other, in different stages, in much the same way, different number of atoms of different elements join together to form molecules.

à Prakriti Tatwa explained.
à Pentamerous self division and recombination in certain proportion of the five basic elements. Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth.
à 20 External organs of perception (Bahrikarana) and four internal organs of perception, (Antah karana) together constitute Prakriti.

à Role of Jeevatma and Brahman

2.10 The effect of the five Tanmaatraas in the five elements, lead the five organs of perception (ear, skin, eye, nose and tongue) to gain knowledge which in turn, lead the five organs of action (the organs of speech, hands, legs, anus and the genital) to act and do their duty. But, it is obvious that these external organs of perception and action do not function for themselves but for certain subtler inner equipment, whose command they obey. These four inner organs are called, according to their functions, as Mind, Intellect, Ego and Chitta, Mind from its doubts and hesitations, Intellect from its function of determining the truth, the Ego with which the vanity of the individual arrogates to itself both the doubts and the decisions as its own. The awareness of the inter play of the above three and the process of constant illumination of the personality to identify objects of interest is called ‘Chitta’.

2.11 Thus, the five elements, five tanmaatraas, five organs of perception, five organs of action, Mind, Intellect, Ego and Chitta, totalling 24, are called ‘Prakriti Tatwa’ (or Bahir Karana and Antah Karana). The jeevaatma, which is outside the 24, is the 25th Tatwa. It cannot be just a coincidence that the ‘Makaaram’ of ‘Aum’ (Jeevaatma) (more of it later) is the 25th letter among the consonants in Sanskrit! And, for those who have not reached that high level of intellect of Adwaita Philosophy, to see that Jeevatma and Brahman are indeed the same, ‘Brahman’ stands as the 26th Tatwa. Can we then again say that the 26 alphabets in English are just not coincidence?
2.12 We have just seen that the ‘akaara’ of ‘Aum’ represents the creation, preservation and destruction of the universe, the ‘Oukaara’ lives with it and ‘Makaara’ is the sum and substance of Jeevvatma. Let us look at it a little from the modern scientific facts.