{"id":66860,"date":"2024-02-09T09:18:24","date_gmt":"2024-02-09T13:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/?p=66860"},"modified":"2024-05-09T09:23:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T13:23:18","slug":"om-omkara-pranava","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/om-omkara-pranava\/","title":{"rendered":"Om Omkara Pranava"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Pranava yoga<\/b> is meditation<\/a> on the sacred mantra Om<\/a>, as outlined in the Upanishads<\/a>, the Bhagavad Gita<\/a><\/i>, and the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali<\/a><\/i>. It is also called Aum yoga<\/i> and Aum yoga meditation<\/i>. It is, simply put, fixing the mind on the sound of the mantra “Aum<\/a>” \u2013 the sacred syllable that both symbolizes and embodies Brahman<\/a>, the Absolute Reality \u2013 as the mantra<\/a> is constantly repeated in unison with the breath. The purpose of pranava yoga is to become free from suffering and limitation.<\/p>\n

The purpose is well stated in the Prashna Upanishads<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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“What world does he who meditates on Aum until the end of his life, win by That? If he meditates on the Supreme Being with the syllable Aum, he becomes one with the Light, he is led to the world of Brahman [the Absolute Being] Who is higher than the highest life, That which is tranquil, unaging, immortal, fearless, and supreme.”<\/p>\n

\u2014\u200aPrashna Upanishad 5:1.5.7<\/cite><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The mantra Aum<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Aum<\/a>, according to Hindu philosophy, is the primordial sound from which the whole universe was created. Aum, also called the Pranava<\/a>, is the original Word of Power, and is recited as a mantra. A mantra is a series of verbal sounds having inherent sound-power that can produce a particular physical or psychological effect, not just something that has an assigned intellectual meaning. The word mantra derives from the Sanskrit<\/a> expression mananaath thraayathe<\/b> which loosely means “a transforming thought”; literally, “that which, when thought, carries one across [the worldly ocean of sorrow]”. The power of a mantra lies in its ability to produce an objective, perceptible change in the yogi who repeats it correctly.<\/p>\n

In the yoga tradition, Aum is the most sacred of holy words, the supreme mantra. Aum is also called the Pranava, a Sanskrit word which means both controller of life force (prana) and life-giver (infuser of prana). “That which causes all the pranas to prostrate themselves before and get merged in the Paramatman, so as to attain identity with Him, is for that reason known as the Pranava.” \u2013 Atharvashikha Upanishad<\/a> 1:10a.[1]<\/a><\/sup> Aum is called the Shabda Brahman \u2013 God as Sound\/Vibration. According to yoga theory, the universe has emanated from this primal movement in God. By following the thread of Aum back in meditation to more and more subtle levels of awareness, the yogi regains union with Brahman.[2]<\/a><\/sup>[3]<\/a><\/sup>[4]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n

The Upanishads<\/span>[<\/span>edit<\/a>]<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

The Upanishads (both the major and minor) are full of references to Aum and meditation on Aum. Below is a small sampling:<\/p>\n