The
sacred syllable Om which
form a central core of
modern Hinduism turns
out to be more enigmatic
as one studies its
origin. Inspite of all
the claims of its
prehistoric origin and
vedic origin, om cannot
be found in any document
or archeological object
which antedate the
Christian Era.
Om
is not mentioned in the
ancient Rig-Veda.
The only possible
indirect reference is
in hymns 1.164.39 which
speaks of the syllable (akshara)
that exists in the
divine and is in no way
definitive or even
indicative.
“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.
Since the
syllable and the mantra
are so important, the
fact that Vedic religion
did not mention about it
anywhere is
significant. The
earliest direct
reference to Om is found
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).
But historians consider
this as a later
addition.. 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).
. The threefold
constituents of om –
A U M - are
referred to, in the
Prashna-Upanishad
(V.5). and the symbolic
elaboration of this is
found in the
Mândűkya-Upanishad.
Even the
early Upanishads
written in Sanskrit,
refer to it only
indirectly as the
udgîtha (“up sound”)
and the pranava
(“pronouncing”). In
the Yoga-Sűtra
(1.27),it is called the
Word (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. In the
earliest Upanishads,
(Brihad-Âranyaka,
Chândogya, and
Taittirîya), aum
is mentioned many times
both as aum and
om-kâra
Thus
apparently the symbol
and mantra Om emerged in
Indian scene soon after
the mission of St.Thomas
the Apostle and seen
only after that time.
Surprisingly all early
churches in the
Malankara had used this
as the Christian symbol
and appear at the
entrance of the seven
original churches. Even
when these churches were
remodeled and
reconstructed the aum
was retained. It was
clearly part of the
Malankara Christian
tradition from the first
century. They however
associate it with the
Christian Trinity and to
Christ – the word who
became flesh which we
will discuss later. An
objective conclusion
would be that Aum was
indeed the original
Christian concept as
introduced by Thomas
The
Meaning of Om.
A century
ago, the German scholar
Max Müller, ( M.
Müller, Three Lectures
on the Vedânta
Philosophy, London:
Longmans, Green, and
Co., 1894) who
introduced the Indian
Scriptures to the west,
had the idea that om
might be a
contraction of the word
avam, “a
prehistoric pronominal
stem, pointing to
distant objects, while
ayam pointed to
nearer objects.,,,,
Avam may have become
the affirmative particle
om, just as the
French oui arose
from hoc illud.”
This follows the common
everyday use of a
syllable produced by the
“up sound” or exhalation
producing om to
mean “Yes, I
agree” with the same
meaning as “Amen” .
Chândogya Upanishad
clearly spells out the
equation between the
words udgîtha and
pranava. 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].”
“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.” (Max Muller)
Swami
Sankarananda,
(Swami Sankarananda, The
Rigvedic Culture of the
Pre-Historic Indus,
Calcutta: Ramakrishna
Vedanta Math, 1942),
proposes that om is
derived from the
Vedic word soma.
Through the influence of
the Persians, who did
not pronounce the letter
s, the word
soma was changed to
homa and
subsequently was
shortened to om.
This is only a
conjecture to find a
meaning in connection
with Vedic religion.
Earlier Sankara also
hung on to this
relation.. Swami
considers sacred
syllable om as a
symbol of Sun since
Aitareya-Brâhmana (5.32)says:
“That which glows is
om.” Evidently
it is a weak argument.
However
the historic development
of the meaning goes far
beyond the Vedic gods
and common Amen to
identify Om with the
shabda-brahman. In
this the unknowable
indescribable God
expresses himself in
creation through the
Word. The cosmos was
created by the Word.
“And God said,….. and it
was so” Chândogya-Upanishad
(2.23.3), calls this
creation as extension of
God, since there is
nothing except God, even
the creation is his
expression and the
immanence of God. The
Chândogya-Upanishad
(1.9.4) also quotes
Atidhanvan Shaunaka, as
saying, “So long as your
descendants will know
this udgîtha,
their life in this world
will be the highest and
best.” .
Mândűkya-Upanishad
explained the three
constituent parts (mâtrâ)
of the syllable—namely
A U M—as past,
present, and future; as
the states of waking,
dreaming, and deep
sleep. The fourth part
the silence that follows
as the inexpressible
Brahman.
Atharva-Shikhâ-Upanishad
expounds the syllables
and associate them for
easy memorization and
interpretation. These
are only to be
considered as
mnemographic techniques
for teaching to those
who sit beside.
(Upanishad)
The Word
became Flesh
The
Christian interpretation
of Aum had always been
based on John 1:1
”In the beginning was
the Aum. This Aum was
with God. This Aum was
indeed God.”
It also
introduces the fullness
or the substance of God
as represented by the
silence that follows or
the totality of the
syllable. Word was the
first expression of God
through which the whole
cosmos – living and the
nonliving – visible and
the invisible – were
created. If one looks
even deeper, the whole
of Kabballa and the
threefold tree reaching
into the unknown
darkness encased in the
ineffable name of YHVH
can be seen. It goes
far deeper than the
simple logos of the
Greek. While the Hindu
trinity with its
intricate mythologies is
based on the dialectics
of good and evil and
their interaction, ( A
feature borrowed from
the Gnosticism after the
coming of Mani)
Christian trinity is
based on Love. This was
the basic conflict on
which Manichaens were
declared heretics by the
early churches
everywhere in the
world. Surprisingly
this is reflected in the
Saivism in its pure
form and is maintained
by the pure saivites of
the south which is
finding a resurgence.
With it the demise of
the myths where the gods
fight with each other
will have to be
discarded along with all
the heresies that came
into the church later
through the influence of
Manichaenism.
This is
recited in India thus:
Before
time began there was no
heaven, no earth and no
space between. A vast
dark ocean washed upon
the shores of
nothingness and licked
the edges of night. A
giant cobra floated on
the waters. Asleep
within its endless coils
lay the Lord Vishnu. He
was watched over by the
mighty serpent.
Everything was so
peaceful and silent that
Vishnu slept undisturbed
by dreams or motion.
From the
depths a humming sound
began to tremble, Om. It
grew and spread, filling
the emptiness and
throbbing with energy.
The night had ended.
Vishnu awoke. As the
dawn began to break,
from Vishnu's navel grew
a magnificent lotus
flower. In the middle of
the blossom sat Vishnu's
servant, Brahma. He
awaited the Lord's
command.
Vishnu
spoke to his servant:
'It is time to begin.'
Brahma bowed. Vishnu
commanded: 'Create the
world.'
A wind
swept up the waters.
Vishnu and the serpent
vanished. Brahma
remained in the lotus
flower, floating and
tossing on the sea. He
lifted up his arms and
calmed the wind and the
ocean. Then Brahma split
the lotus flower into
three. He stretched one
part into the heavens.
He made another part
into the earth. With the
third part of the flower
he created the skies.
The earth
was bare. Brahma set to
work. He created grass,
flowers, trees and
plants of all kinds. To
these he gave feeling.
Next he created the
animals and the insects
to live on the land. He
made birds to fly in the
air and many fish to
swim in the sea. To all
these creatures, he gave
the senses of touch and
smell. He gave them
power to see, hear and
move.
The world
was soon bristling with
life and the air was
filled with the sounds
of Brahma's creation.
