Vishnusahasranamam and OM : Part-2.

-




To,


All Members,


How is Om a symbol for the Lord?

A flag is just a piece of cloth. Yet, we see that on the flag of a country, the constitution of the country, what the country stands for, is deliberately superimposed, loaded. Deliberate superimposition on something else makes it a symbol for what is superimposed.

Therefore, the flag symbolizes the country and respect shown to the flag is the respect shown to that country. Defence force personnel follow a strict protocol in the flag hoisting ceremony.

Similarly, on the word Om, there is a deliberate superimposition of Ishvara and therefore it becomes a word symbol. The names that we give to people are also sound symbols, standing for the person. So, ?m is a sound symbol, which is loaded with meaning.

Phonetically, 'A' is the basic sound that is produced by human being anywhere in the world, when he tries to make a sound by opening the mouth. In most languages 'A' is also the first letter of the alphabet. When a sound is produced by closing the mouth, what comes out is the sound 'M'. In between, when there is a rounding off of the mouth, the sound 'U' is produced. Since everything is the Lord, all names in all languages and in all dialects are the names of the Lord, and the names are nothing but the Lord.

Now, what can be the best name for the Lord, a name that would include everything? All objects are but names and all names are words. Words, being made of letters, are nothing but letters, and letters are sounds. Since sounds are produced by opening and closing the mouth, all sounds are phonetically between A' and 'M'. The Lord being everything, his name should include every name. The letter 'U' is inserted in between to indicate all sounds in between. Thus, Om that is made of the letters 'A', 'U', and 'M' includes, phonetically all sounds and therefore, all letters and all words of all languages and dialects. Therefore, it becomes a word which indicates all objects. In this way, ?m becomes the name of Ishvara, the Lord.

It has been said that Om is everything. What is everything? That is indicated by the word 'Visvam' which it is followed by in the Sahasranamam.

END.

Swami Dayananda

To be continued   ....




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 6 : Swami Krishnananda

-
Image
26/11/2018 The Call of Sri Krishna: The Gospel of Super Excellence - 6. : Swami Krishnananda (Talk given on Janmashtami, Sri Krishna's birthday.) A powerful interest that dominates a man's life polarises his mind, which then acts like a magnet and continually draws out from his stored-up experiences and also from new experiences whatever is relevant and useful to the end in view. Deep interest invigorates the mind, awakens its dormant powers and is the key to super excellence, invention and discovery. Hard work is another condition of superiority. The aspirant must master the knowledge and technique pertaining to his particular job; in fact, he must be a keen and lifelong learner, ready to pick up new ideas and new ways wherever he can find them. He must cultivate the habits of thoroughness, accuracy and reliability; he must take pains to check, revise and polish his work until it acquires as perfect a finish as possible within the limits of time available. Inspirat
Read more

The Aim of Human Existence – Post - 9 : Swami Krishnananda.

-
Image
================================================================ Wednesday, 24 Jan 2024.  05:30. Article: Philosophy: The Aim of Human Existence – Part 3/3 (Spoken at a Conference in Delhi on Sept. 21, 1980) Post-9. ================================================================ The Aim of Human Existence – Part 3/3 -1 No success in any field of life can be achieved without tapas. Tapas is the guarantee for success in any walk of life, in any direction of any activity. We have been told that creation originated with the tapas of the Creator. The Nasadiya Sukta of the Veda tells us that the Supreme Creator performed tapas when He willed this vast creation, and the whole of His creation is vibrant with various degrees and manifestations of this supreme tapas. In this sense, we may say that the whole creation is only tapas, and the activities of nature in its generality and of people in its particularity are all engendered by a force which can be best described as tapas. I for one cannot
Read more

Transitioning Consciousness from the Animal Through the Human Stage to the Divine Consummation :

-
Image
We generally characterize the major difference in psychology between animals and human beings as the result of the ability of the human being to utilize the Reason, a higher form of intelligence than the basic sense apparatus and physical mind that clearly is predominant in the animal consciousness. At the same time, we can see elements of the power of Reason in the animal kingdom, and cannot deny that most human beings utilize the sense and physical mind capacities as their primary tool for navigating their way through their lives. Sri Aurobindo points out that “…reason is only a particular and limited utilitarian and instrumental activity that proceeds from something much greater than itself, from a power that dwells in an ether more luminous, wider, illimitable.” There appears to be actually a ladder of consciousness which does not provide clearly defined separate steps between the animal and man, and which has not finished its ascent with the appearance of the reasoning f
Read more