OMKAARA.pdf

8/14/2019 OMKAARA.pdf

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OM

1. The Importance of the recitation of and meditation on the meaning of Om:

A mantra of Yajur Vedam salutes the Sacred syllabale OM and comments on thesignificance of Pranavam this way: " O, Men, by me, the resplendent protector, thematter , the face of the eternal cause is protected. The spirit yonder is the Sun, thespirit dwelling inside the Sun is ME. I am vast like the atmosphere,greatest of all inmerit,action and nature.OM IS MY NAME."

2. The View of the UPanishads on Pranavam

A Mantra of the Maha Narayanopanishad echoes the above message of Yajur Vedamas Follows: " Aditya, the supreme cause of this Universe isa denoted by the syllableOm.That form of Sun is Brahman. That is the pervading cause of All. That iswater,fire, flavor and ambrosia (Immortality) . The three Vyahritis (Bhu:, Bhuva:, andSuvaha:) representing the three worlds and the PRANAVA representing the cause ofthe universe denote Brahman." Maha Narayanopanishad states elsewhere that the Onesyllable Om is Brahman. It also reveals that the Pranavam is recited and reflectedupon to acheive the union with Brahman, who exists as the manifold universe.

The Narayanopanishad also contains a reference to "AUM" in two places.

"Omithyagrae Vyahararaeth" and "OMithyaekAksharam" . The latter is supposed tobe the only mantram for Sri Vaishnavas.

Eka Mantram: OMithyaekAksharamEka NAmam: Devaki PutrOnamahaEka Seva: Devaki PutrOseva

The all-encompassing nature of Pranavam is explained by the Mandukya Upanishadmantra as follows: " OM(AUM) the syllable is the whole world. It is the past , presentand the future. Everything is just the word AUM. " Pranavam is recognized here asthe resonating sound embodiment of the supreme being ,who pervades Space, Timeand Form Completely.

Prsana Upanishad points out that AUM is recommended for the meditation on and theworship of Supreme Reality in its Saguna Brahman Form with attributes and theNirguna Brahman Form without attributes . In a Katopanishad Mantra, The Lord ofDeath (Yama Raja) reveals to the aspirant Nachiketas that " this word (Om) is verilyBrahman, this word is verily the highest . He ,who knows this word obtains ,verily,whatever he desires."


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A passage in the Brugu Valli of the Taittiriya Upanishad explains to us the benefitsaccrued from recognizing and worshipping Om as Brahman. It says: " Let him, theaspirant, meditate on the supreme (Aum) as the support; he becomes well supported.Let him worship Aum (Brahman) as great; he becomes great. Let him worship it asMind; he becomes thoughtful. Let him worship Aum as Nama(obesiance); to him alldesires shall come to pay homage. Let him meditate upon that as the Supreme; hecomes to supermacy in Life."

At the conclusion of the Vaiswa Deva Mantra passage of the Narayana Valli of thesame Upanishad, we get another insight into the significance of Om. " Brahman is themeaning of Omkara. It is the embodiment of All that is subtle,gross and casual. Mysalutations to that Brahman! That Omkaram resides in the caves of the hearts of thehuman beings. O Brahman(Pranavam)! You are the sacrificial ritual, You are theVashatkaram (Power). You are Indra, Rudra, Vishnu, Brahma, Water, Shining Starsand Ambrosia (Immortality).It is for these reasons that the Brahadaranyaka Upanishadpoints out again that the Pranavam is identical to Brahman and should therefore beworshipped as Brahaman.In the fourth Anuvakha of Siksha Valli of the TaittiriyaUpanishad, Om is pointed out as the most sacred Mantra for the aspirant to illuminateall his faculties including his own intellect(Medha Sakti) . Pranavam is recognizedhere as the sheath of Brahman and the invocation of OM is declared as the equivalentof the invocation of Brahman.

3. The Etymology of Pranavam(AUM)

The Syllable AUM arises from the Sanskrit root "AV" , which means to protect..AUM is understood therefore to protect the Universe and all of its inhabitants. Thisrole of Pranavam makes all living beings bow before the Supreme Lord: " Pranansarvan Paramatmani Pranamayati iti Pranavam" is thus the other defenition ofPranavam. AUM Or Om or Pranavam is also known as the Brahma Vidya Mantram.In this context, it is recognized as the Mantra that leads the Sadhakas (aspirants) to theother shore (Tara) of the ocean of Samsara(viz) , the abode of the Supreme Lord.

4. Vedic and Taantric Pranavams

Aum is known as the Vedic Pranavam to distinguish it from the other PanchaPranavas known as EYM(Saraswati worship), HREEM ( Sri Vidya Worship),SREEM ( Maha Lakshmi Worship), Kreem (Kali Worship), and KLEEM (KamaKala Worship). The above Pancha Pranavams are known as Tantric Pranavam; It isgenerally agreed that the Tantras are not totally disconnected to the Vedas , sinceVedic Sookthams such as Sri Sooktham, Durga Sooktham , are attached to the powersbehind these Pancha Pranavams. These are meditated upon to get specific boons such


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as Knowledge from Saraswati, Worldly wealth from Maha Lakshmi etc. AUM on theother hand is recited and reflected upon to get the Supreme Brahma Gyanam.

5. Multifold Structure of Pranavam(AUM):

The syllable AUM has a four fold division according to Vedic Niruktham orEtymology. Nrsimha Uttara Tapini Upanishad explains how this four fold Vyashti(Constituents) from the Samashti (Whole). A, U, M and the Ardha Matra (Half Letter)at the end of the sacred syllable represent the four constituents of Pranavam. The letter"A" represents the Rg Veda. It represents the terrrestrial world surrounded by theseven seas according to this Upanishad. The Garhapatya Agni (Householder"s fire ) isits Agni. The letter"U" represents the Yajur Veda and the intermediary world. Thesecond Vedic fire , Dakshinagni is its Agni. The letter "M" represents the celestialworld and the Sama Veda. Its fire is the Ahavagni. The half letter or the nasalizationat the end of the three letters, "A, U, M " represents the Lunar World and the AtharvaVeda. The Ekarshi fire of the Atharva Ritual is its Agni. In its Samashti form, ThePranavam thus contains all the 4 Vedas and their immortal hymns from which theBrahman , the truth symbolized by the sound "Om" arises.

6. The Vishishtadvaita Tradition and the four fold structure of AUM

The letters A,U, M are accepted here as representing Vishnu, Lakshmi and the Jeevanor the individual soul. The Jeevan represented by M is recognized as the Jnata (theKnower), Karta (the Doer), Bhokta (the Enjoyer) and the Sesha (the subservient beingof the Lord Narayana and His Consort) . The Fourth part, the nasalization isrecognized as the eternal, subservient relationship of the Jeevan to the Divine Couple,who represent Eka Seshitvam.

The Narada Parivrajaka Upanishad goes one step further and explains the 8 foldstructure of Pranavam. The 16 fold and the 128 fold divisions of Pranavam are alsoexplained by Brahma to His son , Sage Narada in the same upanishad. The 16 folddivision adds to the above four subdivisions following additional 12 subdivisions:Bindu,Nada, Kaala(Time), Kaaladita( Beyond Time), Santi (Tranquility),Santyatita(Beyond tranquility) , Unmani (the state of absence of GrossMind),Mnaonmani(State of Absence of Subtle Mind), Puri,Madhyama, Pasyanti andPara . The last four are associated with the formation of Speech. Lord Brahmaexplains to His son that this Pranavam is Turya-Turya or the Supreme Bliss andidentifies it as the Prop of ALL. He points out that OM should be sought by every oneand that It is the beginning of every thing and the bestower of the final Beautitude.

7. Svetasvatara Upanishad"s explanation of the means of Realizing Brahman


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It says: " Making the Self , the lower kindling stick and the Pranavam , the upperkindling stick and by the practise of vigorous rubbing (Meditation), the sage mayrealize the hidden effulgent being as the Fire hidden in the sticks. As Oil present in theSesamum seeds, ghee in curds, water in the underground springs, and Fire in thekindling sticks, so is the Supreme Being realized in the individual self by one, whovisualizes Him thru Truth and Penance."

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OMKAARA.pdf