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Re: AUM - Its meaning



Please excuse any spelling mistakes in the following. This
comes from a text scan (with permission) of an article
in the July 94 Back to Godhead magazine. You can find this
article, along with other articles from BTG on the Bhakti
Yoga WWW home page:
http://riceinfo.rice.edu/~vijaypai/rvc/BhaktiYoga/Welcome.html

                               OM OR HARE KRSNA?
                                       
  BY KURAPPIAH CHOCKALINGAM
  
    (c) 1994 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International
    Used with permission
    
   
   ___________________________________
   Though the sacred sound om is often associated with impersonalists, only the
   devotees understand its full import.
   ___________________________________
   
   THROUGHOUT THE VEDAS there is much mention of the syllabel om. This
   spiritual vibration, which is sometimes called omkara or pranava, comprises
   three Sanskrit sounds - a, u, and ma (the a in ma is silent).  When these
   three sounds are combined, the result is the single-syllabled vibration om.
   
   An unusual attribute of om is that it has no direct translation from
   Sanskrit into English.  And though every Vedantist will accept om to be a
   representation of God, exactly how om is viewed differs according to various
   schools to thought.  These schools can be classified into two main
   categories, the Mayavadi, or impersonalist, and the Vaisnava, or devotee.
   
   The impersonalist, as the name suggests, is happy to treat om as an
   impersonal, formless, representation of the Absolute Truth.  Therefore, the
   Mayavadi will very openly chant om, being careful to avoid names such as
   Krsna and Rama, which according to them, are limited.  A Mayavadi might
   explain his theory of pranava om like this: "Since this whole universe has
   been created by Him (God), whatever there is in the universe is Him alone.
   As such, He has no name.  But if He has to have a name, then all names are
   His, for He alone is appearing in all forms.  The first sound in most
   languages is a; the last sound to leave as our mouth closes is m; u is the
   center of the two.  Together, they represent all the basic sounds from which
   words are produced.  And threfore, these three sounds, making up the
   syllable om, represent the entire universe of names and forms."
   
   Using such reasoning, the impersonalist concludes that the holy name Krsna
   is ultimately no different from any other word one can dream up.  Om, says
   the impersonalist, contains all sounds, and so it is the universal sound,
   whereas "Krsna" and "Rama" are limited.
   
   All Vaisnavas know, however, that such speculation on the Lord's holy name
   is one of the ten worst offenses one can commit at His lotus feet (tathartha
   vadah).  Lord Caitanya, therefore, has repeatedly warned us to steer clear
   of such offenders, or pasandis.
   
WHAT DOES OMKARA MEAN TO THE VAISNAVAS?

   The Gosvamis of Vrndavana have analyzed om (a-u-m) as follows: The letter a
   refers to Krsna, the master of all planets and all living entities.  The
   letter u indicates Srimati Radharani, the pleasure potency of Krsna, and m
   indicates the living entities.  Thus omkara represents Krsna; His name,
   fame, pastimes, potencies, and devotees; and everything else pertaining to
   Him.
   
   To the devotees of the Lord, thereis no differnece between chanting His holy
   name and reciting omkara, for Krsna has stated in Bhagavad-gita (7.8, 9.17,
   10.25) that omkara is He Himself in the form of sound.  Just as omkara is
   non-different from the Lord's holy name, it is also inseparable from the
   Lord's beautiful tow-armed form as Syamasundara.  Pranava om is therefore
   used in the Vedas and Upanisads to address the Supreme Person -Vaasudeva, or
   Krsna.
   
   Thus, omkara serves no other purpose than to remind the devotee of Krsna.
   Srila Prabhupada confirms this fact in a purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam
   (9.14.48) wherein he states that just as Hare Krsna addresses the Lord
   together with His energy, so too does omkara.
   
   It is therefore clearly evident that om refers to the Supreme Personality of
   Godhead, Krsna.  Yet, surprisingly enough, the Mayavadis are not altogether
   wrong in thinking that omkara possesses no form.  Where's the catch?
   
THREE ANGLES FROM WHICH OM MAY BE VIEWED

   Omkara, like Krsna, can be realized or viewed from three angles, as Brahman,
   Pramatma, and Bhagavan.  The speculative Mayavadi knows omkara to be nothing
   beyond Brahman, or spiritual, and at the same time without shape or form.
   The mystic yogi sees whatever the Mayavadi sees but also realized that
   omkara is situated within the heart of everyone as Paramatma, or the
   supersoul.  And the Vaisnava knows all that the other two transcendentalists
   know, but he also realized that it is the personal aspect of omkara,
   Bhagavan, that makes the other two aspects possible.
   
   Srila Prabhupada likened these three features of the Lord to the sunlight,
   the sun globe, and the sun-god residing within the sun.  If I were studying
   the sun, would my knowledge be complete if I could research no further than
   the sunlight or the sun globe?  Some material scientist might answer yes,
   but a more intelligent person would want to know, "Where does the sunlight
   come from?" or "What gives the sun its power to shine?"  Just as one
   automatically knows about the sunlight and sun globe the moment he learns
   that the sun-god, Vivasvan, is the source of both, so one realizes omkara
   completely when oen understands that om ultimately possesses form.  Srila
   Prabhupada highlights this important fact in a purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam
   (8.3.2)
   
   The understanding of the impersonalist philosopher, though not altogether
   incorrect, is therefore incomplete.  The devotee or Vaisnava, however, knows
   omkara in truth.
   
HARE KRSNA AND OM - THE SAME IN ALL RESPECTS?

   Though Hare Krsna and om are equally potent sound forms fo the Lord, there
   is one difference.  If at the time of death one chants Hare Krsna, even
   though unintentionally, one attains the spiritual Vaikuntha planets without
   a doubt.  This is a universal truth that has been accepted by all great
   authorities.  If, however, one similiarly chants om, not thinking of Krsna,
   one attains to the impersonal brahmajyoti sky of the spiritual world but
   does not associate with Krsna.  This fact is confirmed in Bhagavad-gita
   (8.11).
   One may ask why, if omkara is ultimately personal, one shouldn't reciprocate
   with Krsna personally on leaving one's body withe om on one's tongue.  The
   answer is that it is possible to chant om and go to Krsna but the process
   involves much more than simply externally uttering om.
   
   According to the Gita (8.13), those who chant om and at the same time
   remember Krsna while leaving the body do indeed go to the Vaikuntha planets:
   
                om ity ekaksaram brahma-                  vyaharan man anusmara
n               yah prayati tyajan deham                  sa yati paramam gatim

   "After being situated in this yoga practice and vibrating the sacred
   syllable om, the supreme combination of letters, if one thinks of the
   Supreme Personality of Godhead and quits his body, he will certainly reach
   the spiritual planetes."
   
   In a purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam (7.15.31) Srila Prabhupada informs us that
   to fix the turbulent, restless mind upon Krsna at the moment of death while
   thus uttering om, there are certain rules one must follow.  These rules are
   listed in Bhagavad-gita (6.11, 8.12).  For example, one must sit in a
   certain precise posture, cease all the activities of the senses, fix the
   mind on the heart, and fix the life air at the top of the head.
   In addition to all this, Prabhupada points out that only brahmanas, or those
   in the mode of goodness, can properly recite om.  When one chants om after
   having fulfilled all these prerequisites, only then can he reap the same
   result as he would have received from inadvertently chanting Hare Krsna.
   
THEN WHY SUCH A THING AS OM?

   Since both the Lord's holy name and omkara are transcendental sound
   vibrations, what then is the purpose of omkara?
   
   Krsna, being all-knowing, could clearly understand that there will always be
   a class of people called avyaktasakta cetasam, or those attached to His
   impersonal aspect.  Since such impersonalists have no solid name or form to
   fix their minds upon, Krsna has provided them with pranava om.
   
   Since om has no direct meaning or refers to no particualr form, the
   Mayavadis assume, without complete knowledge, that the Absolute Truth is
   beyond all names and forms.  To make the Mayavadis thinking this way is
   Krsna's intention, for not everyone is capable of acknowledging the Lord's
   transcendental name and form.  Thus, their minds being absorbed in
   impersonal om, the Mayavadis ultimately merge with the unmanifest
   brahmajyoti effulgence of the Lord, a type of liberation called
   sayujya-mukti.
   
   Though sayujya-mukti ensures freedom from material misery, the Vaisnavas
   consider it no better than hell, for in such a state there is no
   reciprocation with the lotus feet of the Lord.  Consequently, the pure
   devotees are very careful to see omkara in the light of His beautiful form.
   
DEVOTEES SPREAD ONLY THE HOLY NAME

   The pure devotee, whose mind is fixed twenty-gour hours a day on the form of
   the Lord, rises above all rules and requirements for chanting om.  Such a
   devotee, having transcended the three modes of material nature, goes beyond
   even the qualifications of a brahmana.  Thus the devotee's chanting of om is
   pure, whereas a Mayavadi, who cannot relate omkara to Krsna, chants om
   becoming submerged, to a certain extent, in ignorance.  Those who actually
   follow every prerequiseite and recite om as directed by Krsna are generally
   those mystic yogis who, as previously discussed, are more inclined to inner
   meditation on Krsna as Paramatma than to pure devotional service.
   
   Although all Vaisnavas are more than qualified to freely chant om, the
   Gaudiya Vaisnavas, devotees of Lord Caitanya, seldom do so.  As mentioned
   earlier, one must be a qualified brahmana to chant om properly.  Most people
   in this Age of Kali are no better than sudras (kalau sudra-sambhavah).
   Therefore, the Vaisnavas, who care only for the welfare of others, do not
   very much promote the chanting of omkara.  Instead, they particularly
   promote the chanting of Hare Krsna.
   
   As explained by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, niyamitah smarane na kalah: the
   requirements for chanting Hare Krsna are absolutely none.  Therefore, the
   only practical means of spiritual advancement for all of us fallen souls of
   Kali-yuga turns out, once again, to be the chanting of the maha-mantra: Hare
   Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
   Hare Hare.
   
   Kuruppiah Chockalingam, an eighteen-year-old student from Melbourne,
   Australia, is an active member of Bhaktivedanta Yourh Services, which holds
   weekly programs for children and adults at the Melbourne ISKCON temple.
 


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