Logos and Aum

[Aupmanyav]

I too would like to hear from Satyamevajayanti about concepts of the three AUM sounds, perhaps he can give us a l;ink; but the life of universe is not 432000 years. That is the period of the smallest of the four yugas (Satya, Tretā, Dwāpar and Kali - the current one) - that is just a piddling as compared to the life of universe.

The life of universe equals the life of Brahmā, i.e., Brahma's 100 years; and that is equal to 311,040,000,000,000 solar years (311.04 trillion years). This universe will carry on till that time before the "Big Crunch" happens (We have crossed the half line, i.e., Lord Brahmā is at the moment about 51 years old). That is known as "Prākritik Pralaya" (Natural dissolution). The new universe is created by a new Brahmā.
Pralaya - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Fifty years of Brahmā are supposed to have elapsed, and we are now in the 'Shvetavārāha kalpa' (the aeon of the White Boar) of the fifty-first; .."
Kalpa (aeon) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

I would be intrigued to know more from you of the different concepts the sounds of AA, UU, and MM represent. Again, good to hear from you again.

Namaste Friend,
Good to hear (read) from you again, hope all is well. Aup Ji has provided a good explanation of the traditional Hindu time scales for the Yugas and the Age of Brahma. Ill do my best to explain OM (it being Anirukta explaining and describing becomes a bit hard).
This will probably be more then one post.

Jaydev Sharma, commenting in the Shaiva Sutra notes:
Pranava is the mystic sacred syllable. According to Saivagama, there are four kinds of pranava, (1) the Saiva Pranava (2) the Sakta pranava (3) the maya pranava and (4) the Vedic pranava.

And the Vedic Pranava is OM or AUM, I think this distinction has to be made before we go any further. I’m not too familiar with the other Pranavas, and the Sanskrit texts don’t copy over in this post so I think the other Pranavas are Hrim, Krim and Shrin.
And in the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra a different perspective and result is recorded for meditating on OM or the Pranava.

O Bhairavi, one who repeats the Pranava (Aum) perfectly, while concentrating on the Shunya for protracted periods, experiences the Shunya, and by that Shunya the transcendental shakti (is revealed).
Whoever contemplates even on the matras or letters (of Aum) from first to last, in the form of Shunya, verily that sadhaka by meditation on the Shunya becomes the Shunya.

So the Tantra here is suggesting a merge into Shunya by Dhyana on the Pranava. Even the dhyana on the Matras of Pranava are conducive of merging. Compare this to the Yoga Darshan, regarding Pranava;

2.4 The prime sound is the enunciation of him, 2.5 the intoning of it revealing his meaning, 2.6 and indeed (here is the difference), there arises from that, the realization that he is the very consciousness inward (of the enunciator), without all the obstacles.

So the Yoga advises that it is self-realization or AtmaVidya as a result of Dhyana on Pranava. So both Tantra and Yoga discuss the Pranavas in different forms. We are discussing the Vedic Pranava AUM, and the Matras I mentioned have a variety of explanations in contemporary and traditional Hinduism.
It is explained that Om as made up of three parts, Swami Dayananda Saraswati of Arsha tradition explains the technical term:

These are phonetic parts of that ‘Om’ sound and each of those parts are loaded with certain meaning. That is called superimposition, adhyāsa. You superimpose a meaning upon those sounds. In Om, there is ‘a’ there is ‘u’, and there is ‘m’. ‘A’ is a vowel, ‘u’ is a vowel and ‘m’ is the consonant. Thus, this ‘a’ plus ‘u’ plus ‘m’ together becomes ‘Om”. ‘A’ plus ‘u’ becomes ‘o’, a diphthong. If you see how the ‘a’ and ‘u’ is pronounced, as a combination at the sthāna, the place where the sound comes from, then you will see that ‘a’ plus ‘u’ cannot be but ‘o’. And with ‘m’ ending, it becomes “Om”.
The letter ‘a’ stands for the entire physical world of your experience. The experiencer, the experience and the experienced, all three of them are covered by the sound ‘a’. When you are awake, you are aware of your physical body and this physical world – known and unknown. You are also aware of the experience of the physical world. At the same time, you are also aware of the experiencer – that is you. All these three you are aware of, are ‘a’. The letter ‘u’ is the thought world, which is distinctly experienced as other than the physical world. A thought world which is distinctly experienced, as your dream, as your imagination and as abstract or subtle, Sūkùma or subtle is represented by ‘u’. The thought world, the object of the thought world and its experience are the meaning of the sound ‘u’. Then there is ‘m’. It stands for the experience you have in deep sleep, the unmanifest condition. What was there before and after the creation is the meaning of the sound ‘m’.

Also in some Upanishads we learn that A, U, M represent the three Gunas of Prakriti such as Sattva, Rajas & Tamas, or the three types of Vedic Mantras, such as Rik, Yajus and Saman (not to be confused with the Samhita texts which are but a collection of the 3 types of Mantras.). A, U, M can also be said to represent the 3 states of Time ie; the Past, present and future.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

Continued:

The Brahma Sutra explains the same, in a sutra;
6.6 (Thus) consisting of breath, it is known by his sound (oṁ) and by its constancy, that these the powers—according to the description of them are in a place apart from that supreme one (breath).
6.7 But according to the scripture on the partition and by their diversity, there is the arrangement of the right names (Agni, Soma, Varuna etc.) and the right things (the fire, the soma juice, the water, etc.), by the three ways of performing (the three Vedas: Rik =chanting, Sāma=singing, Yajus=giving instructions).

The Upanishads are abundant with the explanations of the A, U, and M, which form the OM. I will give only some examples.
The Dhyana Bindu Upanishad explains the Vedic Pranava as:

The" Om," which is the Brahman, should always be meditated upon by those who desire release from bondage. In “A," the first part of the Pranava, the Earth, Fire, the Rg-veda, the world Bhur, and Pita-maha (Brahman) have found their repose.' In “U," the second part of the Pranava, the intermediate region, Yajur-veda, the Air, the world Bhuvar, Visnu and Janardana have found their repose. In “M," the third part of the Pranava, the celestial region, the Sun, the Sama-veda, the world Svar and Mahes'vara find their repose. “A” is of yellow colour un rhythmic in quality, “U” is rhythmic in quality and of white colour, and “M " is of black colour and inert quality. He who does not know the Pranava of eight Anga-s, having four feet, three seats (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas qualities, Past, Present and Future durations)and five deities (Brahman, Visnu, Rudra, Is'vara and Sadas'lva) he cannot be a Brahmana (Knower of Brahman).

It further alludes to the purpose of Aum.

Pranava is the bow, the Atman is the arrow and the Brahman is the target, If aim be taken with due care, as is the case with the arrow (the Aum and the Manas), will become merged in the target (of the Brahman and become one with it) When that which is far and near is but seen, all actions recede, All the gods take their origin from the Omkar. All the vowels take their origin from the Omkara All the three worlds, with everything, animate and inanimate therein, take their origin from the Omkara.

Then we have the Nada Bindu Upanishad, which gives more explanation of the A, U, M letters or more rightly personified as the Vairaja-pranava.

The letter “A " is the right wing (of that king of birds, the Vairaja -pranava). The letter “U “is considered to be the other wing. The letter “M” is its tail, they say. The Ardha-matra is its head. Its legs and the like are the Gunas (Sattva, Rajas and Tamas). Its body is said to be the Truth. Dharma is its right eye, and A-dharma is said to be the other (eye).

Then the Brahma Vidya Upanishad has this to say:

The body of the “A” (of the Pranava) has been explained by the expounders of the Vedanta as the Rg-veda, the Garha-patya (Fire), the Earth and Brahman. The “U “(of the Pranava) has been said to be the Yajur-veda, Antariksa, the Daksipa Fire, so also, and the Lord Vishnu. The “M “(of the Pranava) has been said to be the Sama-veda, and so the upper Ethereal region and so also the Shavaniya (Fire) and the Supreme Is'vara. The “A " has its seat in the middle of the forehead, in the middle of the region of the Sun. The “U “resembles the Moon and is well placed in the middle of it (the region of the Moon in the middle of the forehead). The “M " is like the Fire in appearance, is smokeless and resembles lightning. The three Matra-s (syllables) are similarly to be understood as of the form of the Moon, the Sun and the Fire. Even as the flame of a lamp stands over it, so also should the Ardha-matra (the half-syllable) be understood as standing over the Pranava.

And the YogaCudamany Upanishad provides more details, and somewhat confirms the other Upanishads.

Akara, Ukara and Makara; and thus the three Varna-s, the three Veda-s, the three worlds, the
Three Guna-s, the three letters. In this manner there shines the Pranava. The ' A ' is in, the
Waking state and in the eye of all beings. The ' U ' is in the throat in the dreaming state and the
‘M’ is in the heart, in the state of sleep. …………. The ' A ' is said to be Rajasic, red in colour, Brahman, and sentient. The ' U ' is said to be Sittvic, white in colour, and Visnu. The ' M ' is likewise said to be Tamasic, black in colour and Rudra. From the Pranava is generated Brahman, from the Pranava is generated Hansa (atman), from the Pranava is generated Rudra, the Pranava verily becomes the Para (the transcendent Atman). In “A” is dissolved Brahman, in “U ' is dissolved Hansa, in ' M ' is dissolved Rudra,—the Pranava alone is manifest.


To be continued.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

So there are some explanations, not the least bit the only explanations. For Vasihnava Om is Krishna, For Shaiva OM is Shiva for Shakta Om is Shakti Mata for Smarta OM is Brahman ect ect. There is this all-encompassing Unity that becomes diverse in diverse contexts having different meanings and multiple applications depending on the context.

This is not something that is a heretical belief in Hinduism, this is not just a mystical interpretation of OM, and this is our Traditional view. And this is only the Vedic Pranava (OM) not touching on the Buddhist, Jain and seikhi versions at all. Om is well researched by our great Rishis, there is enough texts to go around to give us an idea about the OM. Meditating on OM has been advised to produce results, varying results but results none the less.

OM is a well-researched Mantra (By our Yogis and Rishis) which has been recognised to produce some specific effects, this is because the Mantra has been tested and tried and the texts stand testament to the experiences produced. OM has nothing and yet everything to do with God and Gods, the Hindu keeps in mind the Rig Mantra, which somewhat says, that “even the Gods came after all this (existence), then Who knows from whence all this came and if it was made, maybe he (God) knows and maybe he doesn’t”. That is why we have developed this systems of Mantras yoga Karma ect to help us journey deep within to realize our true nature, the core of Hinduism (IMHO) is not about Gods or GOD or Avatars ect but the realization of the Atman.

So I hope this helps.

Dhanyavad.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Windwalker floored.