Om:
Quotes from Sathya Sai Speaks (SSS)
Om is the symbol of the
unchanging eternal universal supreme God… Om is the sound of the
movement of the stars in the firmament; it is the sound that manifested when
the dawn of Creative Will stirred the Niraakaara
(the Attributeless) into activity. SSS6, Chap.42
Every little moment or incident
results in sound; only, you may not be able to hear, because the range of your
ear is limited. The falling of an eyelid over the eye makes a sound, the dropping of dew on a petal makes a sound. Any
little agitation disturbing the calm is bound to produce sound. The sound
caused by the primal movement that resulted in the enveloping of Brahman by self-evolved illusion is the Pranavasabdha or Om. The Gaayathri is the
elaboration of that Pranava and so,
it is now held so venerable and valuable that initiation into spiritual life is
achieved by its contemplation. SSS4, Chap.18
Sound is of three kinds: Saamaanya, Varna and Mooka; Saamaanya (the common): the sound produced by things
falling, or breaking apart or fusing, all the sounds of the objective world, of
rain and thunder, of rivers gurgling, of volcanoes and earthquakes and the
like, even the dropping of dew on a tender petal of rose, the sailing of a feather
from a bird's wing through the air! The second kind is the sound of Varna (the spoken
word): this carries a specific meaning and is armed with intention, to inform,
or instruct or inspire. This is the flow of the heartbeat of one into the heart
of another. The third kind is mooka
(the sound of silence): when one dives into the depth of that silence, one
hears oneself, the primeval Cosmic Om, the Pranava
that emanates from the praana (the
vital vibration) that fills the Universe. To hear that sound, one has to
approach, as near as possible, the core of one's being. That is why the Upanishadh calls itself so; it urges you
to go near, delve deep, dive to the very floor of the lake. Upa means Near; Nishadh means Sitting. SSS11, Chap.11
If you have the ear, you can hear 'Om' announcing the Lord's
Presence in every sound. All the five elements produce this sound, 'Om.' The bell
in the temple is intended to convey the Om as the symbol of the Omnipresent
God. When the bell sounds Om, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be
aware of His Presence. That is the meaning of the bell which is rung in front
of the inner shrine in the temple. SSS1, Chap.9
The best upadesh (spiritual instruction) is the Pranava, the sacred syllable OM, which summarises many
principles of theology, philosophy and mysticism. Little children just learning to toddle about
are given a three-wheeled contraption which they push forward, holding on to
the cross-bar. The OM is such a ‘vehicle’ for
the spiritual child. The three wheels
are a, u and m, the three
components of the manthra. OM is the primal sound inherent in the
lifebreath. SSS5, Chap.46
Every time we breathe, we say Soham; 'so’ when we inhale and 'ham'
when we exhale, meaning "He-I", instilling into ourselves the
conviction that “He” who is all this external world is
“I” who is all this internal world, the conviction of Unity. During deep sleep,
when the senses, the brain and the mind are dormant and de-functionalised, the
"He" and the "I" are not cognised as separate; the So (He) and the ham (I) both fade and the sound Soham
is transformed into OM, indicating
the merger of the external with the internal into one Truth. OM has also many other significances
sand the meditation on the OM is a valuable saadhana, for the seeker of reality. SSS5, Chap.46
Krishna's flute is the expression,
the elucidation of the four Vedhas,
and Om
is their quintessence. 'A', 'U', 'M'
and the dot (signifying the reverberation of the Sound in the depth of the
heart) are symbolic of the four Vedhas.
Om
is also symbolic of the Raama Principle. The four brothers, Raama, Lakshmana,
Bharatha, and Satrughna, represent the Rig,
Yagur, Sama and Atharvana Vedhas. SSS14, Chap.9
When man neglects the Divine
aspect of his nature and fails to pursue the saadhana (spiritual discipline) that ensures the awareness of the
Omnipresent and Omnipotent Om, he falls prey to the impulses and instincts dominated by the ego and develops faith in
material gains. He spends his life in amassing wealth, power, and authority
over fellow beings and believes that holding others under his sway is a
desirable achievement. SSS14, Chap.9
The Pranava japa (the
recitation of Om
and the contemplation of that mystic syllable) will help to calm the roaring
waves. Om is the sum of all the
teachings in the Vedhas about Godhead
and of all the systems of adoring the Godhead; Om ithi ekaaksharam Brahma - Om, that one syllable is Brahman!
Om
is a composite of three sounds: A (aa) arising from
the region of the navel, U (oo) flowing through the throat and
tongue and m (mm) ending up at the closed lip. It has to be pronounced rising in
a crescendo as slowly as possible, and as slowly coming down, until after the m there will be the echo of the silence
reverberating in the cavity of the heart. Do not take it in two stages, arguing
that your breath will not hold so long. Persevere, until you are able to be
stirred by the upward sweep and the downward curve and the silent sequel. These
represent the waking, dreaming and sleeping, and the fourth, beyond the three
stages. It represents also the flower of one's individuality growing into a
fruit and filling itself with sweet juice out of its own inner essence, and
then the final release from the tree. SSS10, Chap.13
Repeat Soham (I am He), with every breath: 'So' when you take in and 'ham',
when you exhale, 'So' means He and 'ham' means I and when you complete the
inhalation and exhalations, feel that 'So'
namely, the Lord and 'ham,' namely,
'I' i.e.; (you) are One. Later, after long practice, the idea of He and I as
two separate entities will disappear and there will be no more So and ham. Those sounds will be reduced to O and M, that is to say, it will be Om or the Pranava. Repeat that sound afterwards
with every breath and that will save you from bondage to birth and death, for
it is the Pranavopaasana recommended
in the Vedhas. This Soham-recitation
is a good means of restraining the mind from running away with you. Let the
mind be ever attached to the Lord; then, it will not flee, as it fancies,
towards all directions. That is the meaning of the exhortation of Krishna: Sharvadharmaan parithyajya maam ekam saranam
vraja" - "Giving up all other activities, surrender fully to
me." Place the mind completely at His Service. Then, He will save you from
falling. SSS5, Chap.31
Keep the Name of the Lord always
radiant on your tongue and mind. That will keep the antics of the mind under control.
When the lamp is kept burning, darkness dare not spread its
fumes around you. It is said in the Geetha that when the word for Brahman (Supreme Universal Reality),
namely Om,
is spelt by the dying with the last breath, he attains Brahman. But, you can spell it then, only when you have been
dwelling upon Om
all through the years of life. Mere ejaculation of Om at the point of departure will not save; the final Om must be the
flower blossoming on the creeper of life, that has twined itself on God all one's
life. This is referred to as Raajavidhya,
in the Geetha; that is to say, the royal road to spiritual success. It is also Raajaguhyam - the royal mystery, a
teaching that is to be imparted, after long preparatory exercises and from
master to disciple, in a serious and sincere atmosphere. It was not sung as
verse; it was given as a lesson, in prose. It was Vyaasa who cast it into verse
form. SSS10,
Chap.13
It is laid down at Prasanthi Nilayam
that the early dawn recital of Om should be done twenty-one times. This number is not
arbitrarily fixed; it has a significance of its own. We have the five karmendhriyas (senses of action) and the
five jnaanendriyas (senses of
perception); we have also praanas
(the five vital energies or airs) to sustain us. Then we have the five koshas (sheaths), enclosing the Divine
Spark that is the Reality. These total up to twenty.
Hence, the recitation of Om twenty-one times purifies and clarifies all these
twenty components and makes man the twenty-first entity, ready for the final
merger with Reality. The life principle (jivathathwam) merges with the Supreme
Absolute (Parathathwam). SSS14, Chap.3
The Jeeva Thatwa (life-principle) merges with Para Thatwa (the Supreme Reality).
The Jeeva Thatwa may be
pictured as a rider on the twenty-headed horse. Finally, you end the Pranava
recital with the recital of 'shaanthi'
three times. That completes the process of clarification and purification. The
first call for shaanthi (peace chant)
is for the purity of the Aadhibouthik
(body) part of the Self. The second call is for the purity of the Aadhidaivik (the mind). The third is for the purification of the Aadhyaathmik (the spirit). This Pranava recital will tone you up, calm
all agitations in the mind, and quicken the downpour of grace. SSS14, Chap.3
Believe that the Soham merging into Om is the SAI Thatwam, Sai principle. 'S' stands for Sai, 'A' for and, and 'I' for
the saadhaka (spiritual aspirant)
himself. Thus SAI in fact symbolises
the Vedhic dictum: Thath thwam asi (Thou
art That). In the first stage the saadhaka
says, "I am in Sai," in the second stage, ‘Sai is in me,’ and in the
third and final stage, ‘Sai and I are one,’ the duality between the two having
been shed. When truth strikes the individual like a streak of lightning in the
midst of dark clouds, and abides, it confers Bliss, and in that moment of
illumination Om
is revealed in all its grandeur. By practising the teachings of Krishna, one
gains that illumination, the Jnaana
Jyothi (Wisdom of Light), Om. SSS14, Chap.9
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa told an
addict that he must not consume more than a given quantity of opium; he gave
him a piece of chalk, to weigh every day the quantity of opium he can eat - no
more, no less! But, he imposed a condition, whose usefulness in helping him to
conquer the bad habit the addict did not realize then. It was that every time
he used the weight he had to write on a slate, the Pranava (Om),
before putting it on the scale of the balance. The fellow obeyed; the chalk was
reduced in weight with every Om, until it was eliminated in full; the opium habit
too was reduced out of existence! The Om also helped to transfer his attachment from the
opium-induced tranquility to the everlasting Bliss of God-intoxication. SSS7, Chap. 43
The symbol of the full is OM, the Pranava. The Vedhas announce: “The One indestructible sound OM is Brahman, the Universal Absolute." The moving and unmoving,
everywhere are only paraphrasing OM, elaborating its nature, illustrating its
potentialities. The past that has gone, the present that is here and the
approaching future are all also OM. The Pranava
is the Name, (Naama), and Paramaathma is the Named, (Naami). The two are not separate. "Sarvam Khalu idam Brahma:". All this is indeed Brahman (Paramaathma).
But this awareness of the immanence of the Universal can come to man only when
the I-consciousness is forgotten; when the ‘I’ disappears, man becomes fit to
know the non-‘l.’ SSS15,
Chap.4
In order to delve deep into the
principle represented by the Pranava
(OM),
four steps have been demarcated in saadhana.
One may doubt how the eternal unique integral OM can be understood in
stages!. The steps, however, are designed to help the
identification of the principle itself.
Wakefulness, dream, deep sleep and the "fourth" are the steps.
They are known as jaagrath, svapna, sushupthi and thureeya in
the Shaasthra. Jaagrath means "being awake",
"exterior altertness", or "outward vision". The
consciousness is gross, while in this stage and in dreams the impressions that
impinge on the consciousness are reflections and images of the Truth. In the sushupthi or deep sleep stage, the
individual is not conscious at all; he is just a witness, who acknowledges
later, (after awakening) that he slept well. The consciousness is not aware of
itself. It is pure unaffected prajna
or awareness. It has no contact with the objective world or the senses, outer
and inner. It is pure Brahman-Consciousness
(Prajnaanam Brahman The last stage is thureeya.
It is the stage when the consciousness is fully aware of itself. It cannot be
identified as such by any means!. We can try to
delineate it a little, by saying that it is the silence that prevails after one
OM and before another OM follows
it. SSS15, Chap.4
There are some questions among
those handed over to me, on the Name to be used in japa, whether Raamnaam or
the five lettered Namasshivaaya or
the eight-lettered Om Namo Naaraayana
or whether I would suggest some other Name. The Scriptures have given a good answer
for this: God is one without a second. You can adore Him according to your own
fancy and pleasure. He does not change. He is not changed, when the Names you
adore Him by are changed or the Forms you picture Him by, are changed. We have
many kinds of Sweets - many Names and Forms. But sugar is the One substance that makes each one sweet. … The effectiveness
lies not in the Manthra or in the Name and Form it is centered upon. It lies in
the heart, in the yearning, in the thirst.
God will assume the form and answer to the Name for which you
thirst! That is the measure of His
Grace. SSS10,
Chap.34