Post by Satyajit Roy on Jan 24, 2008 6:45:00 GMT -5
Significantly, the syllable OM is not mentioned in the ancient Rig-Veda, which has recently been dated back to the third millennium B.C.E. and earlier still. However, a veiled reference to it may be present in one of the hymns (1.164.39), which speaks of the syllable (akshara) that exists in the supreme space in which all the deities reside. “What,” asks the composer of this hymn, “can one who does not know this do with the chant?” He adds, “Only those who know it sit together here.” That is, only initiates gather to delight in the mystery of the sacred syllable and the company of the deities.
The word akshara means literally “immutable” or “imperishable.” This designation is most appropriate, since grammatically syllables are stable parts that make up words. In the case of the mantric om, this monosyllable came to represent the ultimate One, which is eternally unchanging (akshara, acala). The term akshara is used as a synonym for om in many scriptures, including the Bhagavad-Gîtâ (10.25), which has Krishna say, “Of utterances I am the single syllable.”
In light of the early prominence given to om as the primordial seed sound, there is no good reason for assuming that the sagely composers of the Vedic hymns were ignorant of the sacred syllable om. Indeed, they were great masters of mantra-yoga, and the Vedic hymnodies are the astounding creation of their mantric competence. Possibly om was considered so sacred that it could not be mentioned outside the actual context of the Vedic sacrifices. In that case, it would have been passed on from teacher to student by word of mouth in strictest confidence. There would therefore have been no need to mention om in the sacred hymns. All initiates would have known it and also understood its sublime meaning. In any case, for countless generations, any recitation of the Vedic hymns has begun with the syllable om. The Atharva-Veda (10.8.10) seems to hint at this with the following riddle:
What is joined to the front and to the back and is joined all around and everywhere, and by which the sacrifice proceeds? That praise (ric) I ask of you.
The syllable om is often appended to longer mantric utterances, both introducing and concluding them, and this practice is very old indeed.
As time went by, the ban on uttering the sacred syllable or even writing it down outside the sacrificial rituals was relaxed. Thus the sacred syllable is first mentioned by name in the opening hymn of the Shukla-Yajur-Veda (1.1), the “white” recension of the Vedic hymnody dealing strictly with the performance of the sacrifices (yajus). This could be a later addition, however. For the Taittirîya-Samhitâ (5.2.8), which is appended to the Yajur-Veda, still cryptically speaks of the “divine sign” (deva-lakshana) that is written threefold (try-alikhita). Some scholars have seen this as a reference to the three constituent parts of the syllable om, as written in Sanskrit: a + u + m. The three constituents of om are referred to, for instance, in the Prashna-Upanishad (5.5). The symbolic elaboration of this is found in the Mândûkya-Upanishad, as we will see later.
That the sacred syllable was written down early on is clear from the fact that it had to be traced in sand or water during certain of the ancient rituals. This is also a significant piece of evidence in favor of writing at least in the late Vedic era, which is generally denied by historians. However, today we appreciate that ancient Indian history needs to be completely rewritten. The long-held belief that the Vedic people invaded India between 1200 and 1500 B.C. has been shown to be unfounded. In fact, all the evidence points to the identity between the Vedic people and the builders of the great cities along the banks of the Indus River. Since inscribed artifacts have been found in the Indus cities, the question of whether or not the Vedic people knew writing can be conclusively answered in the affirmative.
It is true, though, that the Vedic hymnodies were in all probability never written down until comparatively recently. Yet, the brahmins had devised an ingenious system of memorization to guarantee that the Vedas were preserved with utmost fidelity. It appears that they have been successful in this, thanks to the prodigious memories of the Vedic specialists. Other cultures, which held their sacred tradition in a similar high regard, sought to preserve it by memorization rather than writing it down on impermanent materials that, moreover, might fall into the wrong hands. However, nowhere has the art of memorization reached the sophistication that it did in India.
Over many generations, om was not uttered outside the sacred context of ritual worship. It was a secret sound communicated by word of mouth from teacher to disciple, that is, originally from father to son. Even the early Upanishads (which have recently been dated back to the second millennium B.C.) often still refer to it only indirectly as the udgîtha (“up sound”) and the pranava (“pronouncing”). The former word hints at the nasalized way in which om is sounded out, with the sound vibrating at the psychoenergetic center located between and behind the eyebrows (i.e., the âjnâ-cakra). The term pranava is derived from the prefix pra (etymologically related to the Latin “pro”) and the stem nava (derived from the verbal root nu meaning “to call out” and “to exult”). It is used, for instance, in the Yoga-Sûtra (1.27), where it is called the symbol (vâcaka) of the Lord (îshvara). Patanjali further states (in 1.28) that in order to realize the mystery of the Lord, the om sound should be recited and contemplated.
Another, later term for om is târa, which is derived from the verbal root trî, meaning “to cross, traverse.” This is a reference to the liberating function of the om sound, which safely transports the yogin across the ocean of existence (bhava-sâra) to the “other shore.” Through recitation, which is mindful repetition of the om sound, the yogin can transcend the mind itself and thus is freed from the illusion of being an insular being separate from everything else. The om sound is truly liberating because it expands the reciter beyond the physical boundary of the skin and beyond the metaphorical boundary of preconceptions, thus restoring the recognition of the universal Self as his or her true identity.
In the earliest Upanishads, such as the Brihad-Âranyaka,Chândogya, and Taittirîya, the sacred syllable om is mentioned many times by name, both as om (or aum) and om-kâra (“om making,” meaning the “letter om”). However, udgîtha is more common. It is the Chândogya that first clearly spells out the equation between the words udgîtha and pranava (a term not found in the Brihad-Âranyaka). Perhaps these two terms came in vogue because for unknown reasons om had, by that time, spread beyond the sacred domain and begun to be used in the sense of “Yes, I agree.” The first record of this usage is in the Brihad-Âranyaka-Upanishad (3.9.1) itself, where om is employed seven times in this manner. Indeed, the Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.8) clearly states: “That syllable is a syllable of assent, for whenever we assent to anything we say aum [= om].” Max Müller commented on this as follows:
If, then, om meant originally that and yes, we can understand that, like Amen, it may have assumed a more general meaning, something like tat sat, and that it may have been used as representing all that human language can express.
The Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.9) also has this relevant passage:
By this the threefold knowledge proceeds. To honor this syllable, aum is recited, aum is exclaimed, aum is chanted, with its greatness and essence.
Interestingly, in his commentary on this Upanishad, Shankara takes this passage to refer to the soma sacrifice, which again affirms the connection between OM and soma mentioned above. He states that the soma ritual is performed to celebrate, or honor, the sacred syllable, which is the symbol of the Divine. This sacrifice, he further explains, maintains the Sun from which proceeds all life and nourishment by means of warmth and rain.
The Chândogya-Upanishad (1.9.4) also quotes Atidhanvan Shaunaka, the teacher of Udara Shândilya, as saying, “So long as your descendants will know this udgîtha, their life in this world will be the highest and best.” This expresses the idea that the sacred syllable is a blessing for those who utter it. For this reason it is worthy of being held in the highest esteem, as this and other scriptures emphasize.
According to the concluding verses of the Brihat-Samnyâsa-Upanishad—a text of the medieval period—12,000 recitations of OM remove all sins, while 12,000 recitations daily for a period of one year bring realization of the Absolute (brahman). What greater blessing can there be than this?
OM TAT SAT
The word akshara means literally “immutable” or “imperishable.” This designation is most appropriate, since grammatically syllables are stable parts that make up words. In the case of the mantric om, this monosyllable came to represent the ultimate One, which is eternally unchanging (akshara, acala). The term akshara is used as a synonym for om in many scriptures, including the Bhagavad-Gîtâ (10.25), which has Krishna say, “Of utterances I am the single syllable.”
In light of the early prominence given to om as the primordial seed sound, there is no good reason for assuming that the sagely composers of the Vedic hymns were ignorant of the sacred syllable om. Indeed, they were great masters of mantra-yoga, and the Vedic hymnodies are the astounding creation of their mantric competence. Possibly om was considered so sacred that it could not be mentioned outside the actual context of the Vedic sacrifices. In that case, it would have been passed on from teacher to student by word of mouth in strictest confidence. There would therefore have been no need to mention om in the sacred hymns. All initiates would have known it and also understood its sublime meaning. In any case, for countless generations, any recitation of the Vedic hymns has begun with the syllable om. The Atharva-Veda (10.8.10) seems to hint at this with the following riddle:
What is joined to the front and to the back and is joined all around and everywhere, and by which the sacrifice proceeds? That praise (ric) I ask of you.
The syllable om is often appended to longer mantric utterances, both introducing and concluding them, and this practice is very old indeed.
As time went by, the ban on uttering the sacred syllable or even writing it down outside the sacrificial rituals was relaxed. Thus the sacred syllable is first mentioned by name in the opening hymn of the Shukla-Yajur-Veda (1.1), the “white” recension of the Vedic hymnody dealing strictly with the performance of the sacrifices (yajus). This could be a later addition, however. For the Taittirîya-Samhitâ (5.2.8), which is appended to the Yajur-Veda, still cryptically speaks of the “divine sign” (deva-lakshana) that is written threefold (try-alikhita). Some scholars have seen this as a reference to the three constituent parts of the syllable om, as written in Sanskrit: a + u + m. The three constituents of om are referred to, for instance, in the Prashna-Upanishad (5.5). The symbolic elaboration of this is found in the Mândûkya-Upanishad, as we will see later.
That the sacred syllable was written down early on is clear from the fact that it had to be traced in sand or water during certain of the ancient rituals. This is also a significant piece of evidence in favor of writing at least in the late Vedic era, which is generally denied by historians. However, today we appreciate that ancient Indian history needs to be completely rewritten. The long-held belief that the Vedic people invaded India between 1200 and 1500 B.C. has been shown to be unfounded. In fact, all the evidence points to the identity between the Vedic people and the builders of the great cities along the banks of the Indus River. Since inscribed artifacts have been found in the Indus cities, the question of whether or not the Vedic people knew writing can be conclusively answered in the affirmative.
It is true, though, that the Vedic hymnodies were in all probability never written down until comparatively recently. Yet, the brahmins had devised an ingenious system of memorization to guarantee that the Vedas were preserved with utmost fidelity. It appears that they have been successful in this, thanks to the prodigious memories of the Vedic specialists. Other cultures, which held their sacred tradition in a similar high regard, sought to preserve it by memorization rather than writing it down on impermanent materials that, moreover, might fall into the wrong hands. However, nowhere has the art of memorization reached the sophistication that it did in India.
Over many generations, om was not uttered outside the sacred context of ritual worship. It was a secret sound communicated by word of mouth from teacher to disciple, that is, originally from father to son. Even the early Upanishads (which have recently been dated back to the second millennium B.C.) often still refer to it only indirectly as the udgîtha (“up sound”) and the pranava (“pronouncing”). The former word hints at the nasalized way in which om is sounded out, with the sound vibrating at the psychoenergetic center located between and behind the eyebrows (i.e., the âjnâ-cakra). The term pranava is derived from the prefix pra (etymologically related to the Latin “pro”) and the stem nava (derived from the verbal root nu meaning “to call out” and “to exult”). It is used, for instance, in the Yoga-Sûtra (1.27), where it is called the symbol (vâcaka) of the Lord (îshvara). Patanjali further states (in 1.28) that in order to realize the mystery of the Lord, the om sound should be recited and contemplated.
Another, later term for om is târa, which is derived from the verbal root trî, meaning “to cross, traverse.” This is a reference to the liberating function of the om sound, which safely transports the yogin across the ocean of existence (bhava-sâra) to the “other shore.” Through recitation, which is mindful repetition of the om sound, the yogin can transcend the mind itself and thus is freed from the illusion of being an insular being separate from everything else. The om sound is truly liberating because it expands the reciter beyond the physical boundary of the skin and beyond the metaphorical boundary of preconceptions, thus restoring the recognition of the universal Self as his or her true identity.
In the earliest Upanishads, such as the Brihad-Âranyaka,Chândogya, and Taittirîya, the sacred syllable om is mentioned many times by name, both as om (or aum) and om-kâra (“om making,” meaning the “letter om”). However, udgîtha is more common. It is the Chândogya that first clearly spells out the equation between the words udgîtha and pranava (a term not found in the Brihad-Âranyaka). Perhaps these two terms came in vogue because for unknown reasons om had, by that time, spread beyond the sacred domain and begun to be used in the sense of “Yes, I agree.” The first record of this usage is in the Brihad-Âranyaka-Upanishad (3.9.1) itself, where om is employed seven times in this manner. Indeed, the Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.8) clearly states: “That syllable is a syllable of assent, for whenever we assent to anything we say aum [= om].” Max Müller commented on this as follows:
If, then, om meant originally that and yes, we can understand that, like Amen, it may have assumed a more general meaning, something like tat sat, and that it may have been used as representing all that human language can express.
The Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.9) also has this relevant passage:
By this the threefold knowledge proceeds. To honor this syllable, aum is recited, aum is exclaimed, aum is chanted, with its greatness and essence.
Interestingly, in his commentary on this Upanishad, Shankara takes this passage to refer to the soma sacrifice, which again affirms the connection between OM and soma mentioned above. He states that the soma ritual is performed to celebrate, or honor, the sacred syllable, which is the symbol of the Divine. This sacrifice, he further explains, maintains the Sun from which proceeds all life and nourishment by means of warmth and rain.
The Chândogya-Upanishad (1.9.4) also quotes Atidhanvan Shaunaka, the teacher of Udara Shândilya, as saying, “So long as your descendants will know this udgîtha, their life in this world will be the highest and best.” This expresses the idea that the sacred syllable is a blessing for those who utter it. For this reason it is worthy of being held in the highest esteem, as this and other scriptures emphasize.
According to the concluding verses of the Brihat-Samnyâsa-Upanishad—a text of the medieval period—12,000 recitations of OM remove all sins, while 12,000 recitations daily for a period of one year bring realization of the Absolute (brahman). What greater blessing can there be than this?
OM TAT SAT