Hari
OM
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
Please
be aware that ANYONE can use OM chant. If the OM mantra is repeated just for
the feeling, having no sense of meaning at all, the experience can be quite
pleasant, calming, and balancing. However, if one has a sense of the deeper
meanings of the mantra, and different methods of using it, then the experience
can be even richer and more revealing as one progresses in yoga meditation. We
will be looking at different practices again later, however for the moment, as
you read on through these expansions of OM and its significance, start to
integrate the insights. The use of this mantra can be profound. At first, it is
best to use the mantra gently and for short periods of time. Take your time,
applying saadhana as has already been given here and gradually bring OM into
daily life.
Of
all the Upanishads, the one which actually deals directly with OM is the
Mandukya. It is a short scripture but a potent one and Sri Gaudapada, (guru of
Sri Adi Sankara) wrote a notational text (called कारिका/kaarikaa) which is a seminal
work on Vedantic literature. It is a deep and intense work and will be studied
by advanced students. As with all scriptures, though, there is something for
the novice also. What we shall be exploring over the next few weeks, is
essentially a 'summary'. It will be a
scaffold from which to build saadhana.
Three
weeks back, there was mention of seven levels of AUM meditation. Please review that. Here it is in chart form.
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One
thing to be remembered is that OM represents the substratum upon which this
entire universe, this life, YOU are based. The vibration of OM is ever present,
pervading everything and whether or not anyone is focusing on it, chanting it
or even aware of its existence, it is there. It is when one acknowledges it and
begins to align oneself to the vibration that purification truly takes place
and clarity arrives.
Meaning of the symbol: Not only does the sound
vibration of the AUM represent the four levels of consciousness, so too does
the visual symbol.
1)The upper curve represents the causal, subconscious, and deep sleep level, called प्रज्ञ/prajna. (In writing, we begin here.)
2)The
lower curve represents the gross, conscious, waking state
level, called वैश्वनर/vaishvanara. (In writing, we 'ground' ourselves.)
3)The
centre curve represents the subtle, unconscious, and dreaming
level, called तैजस/taijasa. (In writing, we await the 'Muse'.)
4)The arc below the dot symbolizes the separateness of the final state, standing above, though ever remaining part of the other three. (In writing, acknowledging something 'other'.)
5)The
dot, 'bindu', represents the fourth state, the absolute consciousness,
which encompasses, permeates, and is the other three, and is called तुरीय/turiiya. (Silence and completion).
(Note
that in other texts there are other names for the states, or rather, expansions
on the concept which requires different nomenclature, but these will become
apparent when we meet them.)
When
settling down to practice AUM meditation, it is important for the sadhak to
concentrate at first on the physical symbol itself. This is why many will have an image or
'statue' of the symbol in their meditation space. It is best to have this at a comfortable eye
level to ensure that aasana is maintained. Study the form closely and remember
the meanings of each part and also the concepts represented. This is mananam,
contemplation. In this manner one begins to appreciate how the vibrational form
and the matter form are related. This is not a hurried thing - but it will tie
in the knowledge being gathered from other sources; we can come to see how
vaasana-s are causative, and how Consciousness is All…
We
come to see, in direct experience of meditation, how it is that there are
latent impressions (vaasana-s) in the deep unconscious (the place of Deep
Sleep; M of OM Mantra), and how it is that consciousness drifts over these
latent impressions, causing them to stir from the Causal level (M of OM
Mantra).
Then
we see the way these vaasana-s arise into action internally in the Unconscious
(the Active Unconscious associated with unseen mental processes and the
Dreaming Sleep level; U of OM Mantra), forming many invisible thought
processes, normally only experienced in dreams.
Next we see the way in which those stirrings in
the Unconscious (U of OM Mantra) come forward into the Conscious, Waking state
of reality (A of OM Mantra), along with the way in which the indriyas, the senses (jnanendriyas of smelling, tasting, seeing, touching,
and hearing) and means of expression (karmendriyas of eliminating, procreating,
moving, grasping, and speaking) come into play so as to relate to the external
world (A of OM Mantra).
We come to see how the four
functions of mind interact
within these levels (A, U, and M of OM Mantra), including Manas (sensory-motor
mind), Chitta (storehouse of impressions), Ahamkara (I-maker or ego), and
Buddhi (which knows, decides, judges, and discriminates).
Finally,
we come to see the way in which all of these levels are both permeated by, and
are the manifestation of, Consciousness itself: who we really are, is the
Consciousness, not the forms which arise from it. We declare with conviction,
what the sages have said all along, "I am not my thoughts! I am That I
Am!.. Aham Brahmaasmi!"
