The Pranava or Omkara
Divine Life
Society Publication: Section1 The Mandukya
Upanishad by Swami
Krishnananda
The Mandukya Upanishad is
attributed to the revelation of a great sage called Manduka. For the liberation
of the Mumukshu or seeker the Mandukya Upanishad alone is enough. This is a
very comprehensive Upanishad, containing only twelve statements called Mantras,
in which the whole wisdom or knowledge of the Upanishads is packed into a
nutshell. It commences with a solemn declaration: Om
ityetadaksharam idam sarvam, tasyopavyakhyanam bhutam bhavat bhavishyaditi
sarvam omkara eva.
The Imperishable is OM, and it
is 'all this'. Everything else, whatever be of the past, present or future, is
like an exposition, explanation or commentary on the meaning of this great
Truth – the Imperishable Om. Sarvam Omkara eva:
Everything is Om, indeed. Om itiyetadaksharam idam
sarvam: Whatever is visible, cognizable and can be comprehended
under the single term, creation – all this is Om.
Om is supposed to have been
the first vibratory sound that emanated as the seed of creation. Om is Pranava.
It is a Bija-Mantra for all the other Mantras, whether Vaidika or Tantrika. Om
is both Nama and Rupa, name as well as form. Om is not merely a chant or a
recitation, a word or a part of human language but it is something more than
all this. It is something which exists by its own right, something which is
usually called "Vastu Tantra", as distinguished from "Purusha
Tantra"; – that which exists not because it has a reference to anything
else but because it is something by itself. We do not create Om by a chanting
of it, but we only produce a vibration sympathetic with the vibration that is
already there by its own right and which is called Om. Om is a cosmic
vibration. Why do we chant Om? To establish a connection between ourselves and
that which exists by its own right and which manifests itself as a
sound-vibration in the form of Om.
The Supreme Absolute is the
Rupa (Form) of Om which is the Nama (Name). As everything in the world is
designated by a name, we designate Isvara, God, also, by a name. As we summon
into our consciousness a form by calling out its name, remembering its name, so
also we summon into our consciousness the Being or the Form of Isvara, God, by
summoning His Name.
What binds us or liberates us
is the nature of Jiva-Srishti, not so much the nature of Isvara-Srishti. Things
as they are do not concern us very much. But things as they are to us mean very
much to us, and it is this meaning that
binds us to what we call Samsara (earthly existence). You do not merely exist
as a content of creation; you also have a connection with other contents in
creation in several ways. This is the difference between you as a part of
Isvara-Srishti and you as a center of Jiva-Srishti. The aspect of Isvara is
your dignified nature, and the aspect of Jiva in you is what binds you to this
realm of Samsara. So, you have a twofold nature, a double personality, a
character that distinguishes you by means of your relation to Isvara, and your
relation to this earthly life.
We want Moksha from Samsara. You
want to transfer your existence from Jivatva to Isvaratva. You want to be
absolutely independent as a Kevala. You want
to attain Kaivalya. This is called Moksha; –
absolute freedom.
Summon Isvara into your
consciousness. Give Isvara a place in your heart. Instead of thinking of an
object corresponding to a particular name, think of Isvara who is designated by
a comprehensive Name. You have to call Him by a Universal Name, because He is
Universal Form. The only language conceivable, revealed to the ancient Rishis,
is Om, or Pranava.
Om is not a chant but a
vibration that rose from the Supreme Being in the initial stage of creation – a
comprehensive Universal vibration. We flow with the current of the cosmos when
we recite Om, and produce a harmonious vibration in our bodily and
psychological system. Instead of thinking independently as Jivas, we start
thinking universally as Isvara. When a thought thinks of an object, it is
Jiva's thought. When the, thought thinks only itself, it is Isvara's Thought,
Isvara's Will. We always exist in relation to something else. Isvara exists
with relation to nobody else. We are like streams wanting to rush into the sea,
and just as by the force of the inclination of the waters, the rivers enter the
ocean, we, by the inclination of the vibration of Om, enter the Universal Form
of Isvara.
When you recite Om properly,
you enter into a meditative mood by creating a vibration. Not a vibration which
agitates you, irritates you, or creates a desire in your mind for a particular
object, but a vibration which melts all other particular vibrations, puts an
end to all desire, extinguishes all cravings and creates a desire for the
Universal. As fire burns straw, this desire for the Universal burns up all
other desires. The test of a correct recitation or chant of Om is that you
become calm in your mind and feel satisfied with what you are and what you
have.
The chant of Om should go
together with the thought of the Universal. It is a Japa and a Dhyana combined.
While other Mantras may lead to Dhyana, the Japa of Om suddenly becomes Dhyana
when it is properly done. Here, Japa and Dhyana combine, and Nama and Rupa are
brought together. Here, you do not have a distinction between the designator
and the designated, because the Nama (name) which is Om, being Universal,
merges into the Rupa (form) which is also Universal. There cannot be two
Universals; there can only be one Universal. So the designator and the
designated, in the case of Om, become one. Japa and Dhyana mean the same thing
in the case of the chanting of Om.
Om is Akshara, and Akshara is
imperishable. The Universal has no time. Om has a twofold nature, the temporal
and the eternal: it is Sabda and Sabdatita. The soundless form of Om is Amatra
(Chaturtha-Bhava), the immeasurable, and it is not audible to the ears. This
Amatra, or the immeasurable, eternal nature of Om is not a sound or even a mere
vibration, but it is just existence, pure and simple, known as
Satchidananda-Svarupa – Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
That which transcends time is
the eternal nature of Om. In the temporal form, Om may be said to designate all
that is existent in creation; in its eternal form it cannot be said to
constitute any kind of particular form, but it is formless, durationless and
spaceless. Om, therefore, is name and form; form and the formless; vibration
and Consciousness; creation and Satchidananda. All this is Om.
How to chant Om? There is what
is called a Matra or a measure. Bring the fist of the hand round your knee once,
in leisure and make a snap of your fingers. How much time have you taken? This
is one Matra. Bring it twice, these are two Matras; bring it thrice, these are
three Matras. Now, when it is once, it is a short Matra. When it is twice, it
is a middling Matra. When it is thrice, it is the elongated Matra. For the
recitation of Om, you may choose whichever Matra is convenient, practicable and
agreeable to your temperament and capacity.
What have you to think when
you recite Om? Remember the Sloka of the Gita: Apuryamanam
acalapratishtham. . . etc. You are the ocean into which all the
rivers of objects rush. Chant Om, and entertain this feeling in your mind. The
world enters you; and where is the world, then, to agitate you! Samsara is a
network of agitations, and all these are like currents of rivers rushing into
your universal being. The vexations of the world cease when they enter the
solemn existence of your universality.
This is Isvaratva, for the
time being. This is the gateway for the Sakshatkara (realisation) of Isvara. And
if, by God's Grace, the Prarabdha is to come to an end, well, you may realize
Him today. If we become instruments in the hands of Isvara, that would be our
blessedness; and when we become real instruments in the hands of the Universal
Power, we become God-realized souls. Moksha from Samsara, liberation from
bondage, is attained by a simple method, according to the Mandukya Upanishad –
a correct recitation of Om or Pranava, with contemplation on its Universal Form
which is Isvara, or Brahman.
Excerpts from:
The Pranava or Omkara –
Section 1 The
Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
The Mandukya
Upanishad – An Introduction by Swami Krishnananda
Invocation
and verses - The Mandukya Upanishad by Swami Krishnananda
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