Music, aum and the universe

[Jainarayan]

One of the things that drew me to Hinduism from the time I was a teenager was my belief that everything in the universe, including the universe itself is interconnected. It seems that connection is at 432 Hz.

OM: What Is It & Why Do We Chant It?

I can't get the url for this, but you can copy/paste This Is Why You Should Change The Frequency Of Your Music To 432 Hz into Google search. Then the page comes up.

There's even more if you Google frequency of aum. https://www.google.com/search?q=frequency of aum

Google Nada Brahma for even more food for thought.

This sort of thing gives a geek like me goosebumps.

 

[MD]

'What is wrong with those people that like music?'

 

[Unveiled Artist]

One of the things that drew me to Hinduism from the time I was a teenager was my belief that everything in the universe, including the universe itself is interconnected. It seems that connection is at 432 Hz.

OM: What Is It & Why Do We Chant It?

I can't get the url for this, but you can copy/paste This Is Why You Should Change The Frequency Of Your Music To 432 Hz into Google search. Then the page comes up.

There's even more if you Google frequency of aum. https://www.google.com/search?q=frequency of aum

Google Nada Brahma for even more food for thought.

This sort of thing gives a geek like me goosebumps.

Here ya go Sound Frequencies. If you move this to Interfaith or General Discussion since I can't discuss your answers and more can reply. However, I do agree with the article that our bodies do fluctuate based on different frequencies and everything is interrelated and interconnected.

Question

How did learning about this brought you specifically to Hinduism?

I know many religions outside the Abrahamic realm, actually many religions consider it common sense, that we do and are affected by rhythm and frequencies. For example, that is why a lot of religions use drums and dances in their rituals and worship among other examples.

I'm trying to incorporate music into my practice because music and art are my passions.

Question

What does the "OM" mean in Hinduism?

Side note... for example, in Nichiren Buddhism "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" is used like others use om and its vibration as well as the meaning itself lets us know we are a part of the universe of cause and affect reflecting ourselves and our understanding of life.

Is that similar to Hindu thought in regards to Buddhism in general?

 

[Jainarayan]

How did learning about this brought you specifically to Hinduism?

It's kind of the other way around. I had beliefs that were in line with this before I really knew what it is. I was always interested in music and sound. When I was learning about hatha yoga the last line in a book on yoga was om tat sat, meaning something along the lines of "that which is" and "all there is". There's a version, hari om tat sat, with hari referring to Vishnu. There was something about om tat sat that resonated with me. I don't know if others do this, but I end my pujas with hari om tat sat.

Question

What does the "OM" mean in Hinduism?

It has no translation. It's a mystical syllable that in and of itself is the sound of the universe and creation.

Side note... for example, in Nichiren Buddhism "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" is used like others use om and its vibration as well as the meaning itself lets us know we are a part of the universe of cause and affect reflecting ourselves and our understanding of life.

Is that similar to Hindu thought in regards to Buddhism in general?

I would say so.

 

[Aupmanyav]

I don't know if others do this, but I end my pujas with hari om tat sat.

I say that after a sneeze. Of course, Christians and Muslims say something else (though meaning more or less the same).

This is 'Nada Brahma'

Yes, the frequency is similar to 'Om'.

"5. The Rik indeed is speech, Saman is breath, the udgitha is the syllable Om. Now speech and breath, or Rik and Saman, form one couple.
6. And that couple is joined together in the syllable Om. When two people come together, they fulfill each other's desire.
7. Thus he who knowing this, meditates on the syllable (Om), the udgitha, becomes indeed a fulfiller of desires."
Chandogya Upanishad, Prapathak I

 

[SomeRandom]

I don't know if others do this, but I end my pujas with hari om tat sat.

That's interesting, mum's group usually has the hari om tat sat mantra thing during the very first part of puja, where you do all the mantras and the chants and stuff. You know, just before the bhajans start.

 

[Jainarayan]

I say that after a sneeze.

Really!? Always something to learn. I sometimes say shubham astu. I read somewhere that because we don't view death the way non-Hindus do, there's no point in saying "rest in peace". If saying anything it might be om shanti shanti shantih. Seems kind of long though. I only use "(may he/she) rest in peace" to those who follow the custom.

 

[Jainarayan]

That's interesting, mum's group usually has the hari om tat sat mantra thing during the very first part of puja, where you do all the mantras and the chants and stuff. You know, just before the bhajans start.

I've wondered about that. I saw a few puja write-ups that have the slokas first. I invoke Ganesha first, light the lamp and say "shubham karoti kalyanam... ", the 3 sips of water, greet all deities, make the offerings (om sri krishnaya namah [pushpam, phalam, dhupam, achamaniyam, etc.) samarpayami. Then I recite a few Vishnu/Krishna slokas, Mantra Pushpam, yadakshara pada bhrashtam ... and finish with hari om tat sat and a namaskar. Occasionally I play Om Jai Jagadishe Hare from my phone and (try to ) sing. I don't know if there's a proper order. Everyone does something different.

But anyway, the point being that I try to get the pronunciations and sounds as best I can.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Order! Order! Order! In Hinduism!
Don't worry about that. Saying the mantras with understanding is enough. As for 'Hari Om Tat Sat' (Lord. That is the Truth or Lord. That alone is the Truth) can be said in the beginning, in the middle and at the end. What is Truth, always remains the Truth.

@Jainarayan , 'Shubham Astu' is beautiful.

 

[SomeRandom]

I've wondered about that. I saw a few puja write-ups that have the slokas first. I invoke Ganesha first, light the lamp and say "shubham karoti kalyanam... ", the 3 sips of water, greet all deities, make the offerings (om sri krishnaya namah [pushpam, phalam, dhupam, achamaniyam, etc.) samarpayami. Then I recite a few Vishnu/Krishna slokas, Mantra Pushpam, yadakshara pada bhrashtam ... and finish with hari om tat sat and a namaskar. Occasionally I play Om Jai Jagadishe Hare from my phone and (try to ) sing. I don't know if there's a proper order. Everyone does something different.

But anyway, the point being that I try to get the pronunciations and sounds as best I can.

Ahh well it depends on what one prefers I guess. The "order" is loose and seems to change depending on the day time, event and what Puja one is doing

 

[EtuMalku]

One of the things that drew me to Hinduism from the time I was a teenager was my belief that everything in the universe, including the universe itself is interconnected. It seems that connection is at 432 Hz.

OM: What Is It & Why Do We Chant It?

I can't get the url for this, but you can copy/paste This Is Why You Should Change The Frequency Of Your Music To 432 Hz into Google search. Then the page comes up.

There's even more if you Google frequency of aum. https://www.google.com/search?q=frequency of aum

Google Nada Brahma for even more food for thought.

This sort of thing gives a geek like me goosebumps.

I've been working in this field for years and unfortunately I've hit one dead end after another. The closest I've come to anything esoteric/spiritual and sound related is through pitch relations to one another regardless of their temperament or base frequency. This is where forced Resonance shines through and Pythagoras' unfolding of 5ths makes sense.

Music Theory: 432 Hz Tuning - Separating Fact From Fiction

 

[Aupmanyav]

I do not know that much about music but I have always associated 'Om' with a deep burp. In my childhood there was a neighbor who regularly burped very loudly for a long time (something like 15 minutes) with 'Om'. Burping was not considered indecent in 1950 in a brahmin locality in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. Everybody did it, though not as loudly as this gentleman did. He was a champ.

 

[Jainarayan]

I have always associated 'Om' with a deep burp. In my childhood there was a neighbor who regularly burped very loudly for a long time (something like 15 minutes) with 'Om'

With that I can now die peacefully, feeling my life is fulfilled.

 

[YmirGF]

Respectfully, as a non-Hindu asking in the Hindu RF foxhole....

Have any of you ever actually heard Om/Aum when in deep meditation? I've been lucky enough to have had the experience twice. Once indoors in the wee hours of the morning and one afternoon in a field surrounded by trees and chirping birds. Both experiences were quite... ahhh.. ummmm... incredible....

Likewise, I haven't found that it makes much difference where said as "OH-mmmm" or "AH-mmmm"

Thoughts for this infidel dog?

 

[Vinayaka]

Hearing Aum is a talked about mystical experience yes, as is seeing light or lights, and hearing other sounds or a high 'ee' pitch.

As for how its intoned, and for the length of time, if you get a group of people together who really have some practice, and all know what they're doing, it can be quite stirring. So it does vary.

 

[ShivaFan]

For the most part, from personal observation, OM seems to somehow readily “come to 'life' with power” in a GROUP chant. I understand, great yogis chanting OM on an individual basis has a LOT of power – or can “shift consciousness” of all around and within the sphere of the sound … but among the laypersons such as me, I have seen very wonderful results in a GROUP chant. That is just my personal observation. It seems the OM from each in the group combines and vibrates into one single “wave” that “sets the canvas” for the “painting”.

As a matter of personal practice, I really do not chant OM by itself. When I do chant OM it is always in conjunction with a Name of a Devata or Devi or part of a set of sounds and words in a mantra. So this might be a lame analogy, but the OM is the canvas and the Names/etc is the paint on the canvas.

To be honest, I can have the same “results” of the “vibrations” and “settling” (?) using other sounds as well. For example, I can achieve the same “results” using a small bell or a drum, or small cymbals, other examples as well. Oddly, think about it – why do we see bells and drums and cymbals among SO MANY different religions? The shenai also can have the same “effect” for me. So I wonder, are some forms of “music” and OM related to each other?

Even smells from incense can have the same effect upon me as OM.

Not to “belittle” OM, however, which has scriptural confirmation. Very powerful.

 

[Satyamavejayanti]

"Jainarayan,

Namaste,

One of the things that drew me to Hinduism from the time I was a teenager was my belief that everything in the universe, including the universe itself is interconnected. It seems that connection is at 432 Hz.

My Purohita advised that the reason to chant OM is twofold, one is the vibration of the sound which connects us to the Universe during Puja when chanted individually or in a group, the second is that as OM or OHM, as it is Anirukta (No dictionary meaning) it is the best sound to meditate on during Yoga, as ones thoughts are not focusing on anything that may distract our mind, by verbally chanting (Mouth) and hearing (ears) and not seeing a specific image (eyes closed) in our mind, our focus is one pointed. Then by having a comfortable posture (touch), being in a environment where there are no strong smells (nose) our senses are tuned and focused only on this sound which does not conjure up any images nor thoughts in our mind, being in this state by continues practice eventually one realizes the state of Turya or Brahman. So i have heard from the wise (My purohit)

The frequencies ect. are secondary to the yogic purpose of OM, which is self realization

Dhanyavad.

 

[Sw. Vandana Jyothi]

Respectfully, as a non-Hindu asking in the Hindu RF foxhole....

Have any of you ever actually heard Om/Aum when in deep meditation? I've been lucky enough to have had the experience twice. Once indoors in the wee hours of the morning and one afternoon in a field surrounded by trees and chirping birds. Both experiences were quite... ahhh.. ummmm... incredible....

Likewise, I haven't found that it makes much difference where said as "OH-mmmm" or "AH-mmmm"

Thoughts for this infidel dog?

How can someone who signed off with such an enchanting AUM symbol be an infidel dog?! Not possible, methinks.

May I share what my guru taught regarding the pronunciation of AUM? I'm deliberately spelling it that way because it's part of the explanation he gave. We Westerners say "OM" like home without the 'h.' But OM is actually a combination of the three Sanskrit letters representing sattva, rajo and tamo gunas and then the "swara" I believe he called it at the end, a little fillip of sound entirely produced in the highest nasal passage.

Thus, without separating the 4 sounds into grossly distinct syllables (good luck with that, it takes practice) he advised thus: commence with the AH sound (not O) with open mouth and proceed to the U (oo as in loose) with mouth closing and through slightly pursed lips, then close the mouth, lock the lips and intone the MMmm sound which starts you might say at mouth level but one finishes it by moving the mmmm sound high up into the top of the nasal passage, almost like you want to tap tap into the third eye.

When I heard the AUM sound (an initiation gift) it sounded like the universe itself was LOVE purring.

 

[Aupmanyav]

With that I can now die peacefully, feeling my life is fulfilled.

To clarify the situation, he did it only after lunch and not after dinner. The last time when we went to our ancestral home (Jodhpur), there was no burp. I had not expected it to survive that long, but I missed it. Now we have sold that house and have severed our relations with Jodhpur. Now, Delhi is home (but not that kind of home for me). Home is where we grow up. For my son, our old house in Delhi is home. He feels most comfortable there.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Thoughts for this infidel dog?

I would not call you that. You had a epiphany, you had a spiritual experience. I had the same a few times when I was in Himalayas, particularly at Tungnath. It was early morning, I was alone on the escarpment with a drop of a few thousand feet on one side and a sea of clouds below me on the other side. I respect that.

To me, 'Om' (and Hrim, Kleem, etc.) is what my stone age ancestors uttered when they danced around the fire in night with the beat of sticks on tree trunks after a satisfying meal of roasted pig before the retired with their consorts behind some bush. (Sorry to be so harshly rational, but that is what I believe)

.. the second is that as OM or OHM, as it is Anirukta (No dictionary meaning) ..

IMHO, Anirukta = Anih + ukta = Not spoken. One does not use any consonant, sound that comes from the stomach.