A divine sound that transcends space, time

Yach chaanyat trikalateetam, tad api aumkara eva
“If there is any state beyond Time, that too is the AUM.”
Mandukya Upanishad
1-1

Advaita evam aumkara eva, samvishaty atmana atmaanam…ya evam veda
“The Source of your self can be felt as AUM, and he who knows this becomes enlightened…this is the truth of the Veda.”
Mandukya Upanishad
1-12

The primordial AUM has remained an enduring mystery even for mystics. Since thirty five centuries no one, including the great masters, has been able to say why AUM works. All they can say is that it does work - it takes the individual into another realm of experience - and reveals visions and truths he will never be able to articulate when he surfaces. The AUM is considered as the Pranava, the primordial resonance of creation, and the Maha Bijakshari, the great seed sound, the first and original expression of the formed universe. The AUM is not of this age or this place. It transcends Time and Space. It can represent the past, the present and the future - or even an unimaginable state where time does not exist.
All this sounds close to a description of the Quantum Domain as described by bewildered physicists who have reached the edge of knowledge - and reason. Indeed, Vedanta has had a profound impact on the minds of the greatest nuclear and particle physicists - like Frank Oppenheimer, Erwin Schrodinger and many others. Its almost as if they took refuge in Vedanta after coming up with bizarre and inexplicable observations. Frank Oppenheimer was the creator of the atomic bomb, and was intrigued to no end by the famous verse of Katha Upanishad, ‘Anor Aniyan, Mahator Mahiyan’- “I am hidden in the atom- but I am unimaginably mighty and powerful.” He could never shake of the notion that Vedanta contained coded secrets that scientists would keep unraveling for generations to come.

Indeed the mystery of AUM may be unraveled someday by a Quantum physicist, applying as yet undiscovered theories about matter and the universe. Meanwhile, lets master the technique without worrying over how and why it works. The AUM is a sweet and beautiful sound, but saying it in the mind isn’t so easy. In fact it’s almost impossible for people who have lived on the surface all their lives. It needs a pre-requisite of silence and inner calm. If you don’t have the calm you can’t chant it. The reverse is also true - if you can repeat it inside your head effortlessly, you are already an evolved person.

For those who cannot intone the AUM easily, there are other techniques - which we shall see next week. To those who can chant the AUM, here are a few tips. Treat the AUM with respect and reverence. Remember to flow with the fourth syllable - which is pure silence. So in effect, with each chant, you must be able to feel the pure silence. As you get better, extend the duration of that silence.

A time will come when you don’t need to chant the AUM anymore. The pure and beautiful silence will ever remain with you at all times.

The author is a filmmaker. Email him at mani2shankar@
gmail.com