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Aum :: Who am I?

by TanoyBose 
परात्मानेकं जगात्बीजमाढ्यं
निरीहं निराकारं ओमकारवेद्यं  
यतो जायते  पाल्यते  येन विश्र्वं
तमीशं  भजे  लीयते  यत्र विश्र्वं

The is one supreme atman (consciousness, spirit) that founded all conciousness that exist. The one without an Action, the one without a form, the one we denote as “AUM”. From him emerges the world/ universe, with him lives the world/ universe and by him destroyed the world/ universe.

Note from n0tty:
With this shloka, I start my new blog page. All interpretations done on this page is purely done by me. The explainations might sometimes match with the sources I read but I try to keep it my own opinion as much as I can. I follow Santana Dharma as my spiritual way of life and Hindutva as a nationality. Why so is left for another blog in the random blog series. There might be clashes with my thinking and the thinking of my readers. So please bear with me. If you do not like what I am saying, let me know. But me changing my opinion about anything is only based on the facts placed by you and how convincing you might be.
Please not that English is a very high level language. A few words in Sanskrit do not have an actual English translation and would most of the time be used with the closest meaning to them. Some of these words are of deep philosophical essence like atman and brahman. Also, if you try to learn Sanskrit, and then read the shlokas, it would be more beneficial. This is because Sanskrit is a more Verbal Language than a Written Language like English. The words used in Sanskrit has a TONE which when produced right has a beautiful effect on the mind.

I have not got any sanskrit printable format for the following sholkas

Katopanisad (1:2:15) - 
sarve vedā yatpadamāmananti  
tapāmsi sarvāni ca yadvadanti 
yadicchanto brahmacaryam caranti  
tatte padam sangrahena bravīmyomityetat

All vedas talk about one final end. The Goal of all tapamsi (dedication, devotion). Yama dev (God of death) says it in one go, The answer is AUM.

Below are verses from my favorite Upanishad. The Mandukya Upanishad.

Verse 1

aum ity etad akṣaram idam sarvam, tasyopavyākhyānam  
bhūtam bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam auṁkāra eva
yac cānyat trikālātītaṁ tad apy auṁkāra eva.

Aum is one word that defines sarvam (everything - world/ universe). This means, the past (was), the present (is), the future (will be) and everything beyond these three state, is AUM.

note that “ca” is pronounced as “ch” as in “chat”

Verse 2

sarvaṁ hy etad brahma, ayam ātmā brahma,  
so’yam ātmā catuṣ-yāt

Everything is Brahma, Our atman (self, consciousness, spirit) is Brahma. This *ATMA has four parts to it. Skipping this for a post on Mandukya Upanishad

Verse 9 (A) 10 (U) 11 (M) 12 (Everything else)

jāgarita-sthāno vaiśvānaro’kāraḥ prathamā
mātrā’pter ādimattvād vā’pnoti ha vai
sarvān kāmān ādiś ca bhavati  ya evaṁ veda

svapna-sthānas taijasa ukāro dvitīyā
mātrotkarṣāt ubhayatvādvotkarṣati ha vai
jnāna-saṁtatiṁ samānaś ca  bhavati
nāsyābrahma-vit-kule bhavati ya evam veda. 

suṣupta-sthānaḥ prājño makāras tṛtīya mātrā  
miter apīter vā minoti ha vā idaṁ
sarvam apītiś ca bhavati ya evaṁ veda.  

amātraś caturtho’vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ sivo’dvaita
evam auṁkāra ātmaiva, saṁviśaty ātmanā’tmānaṁ ya evaṁ
veda ya evaṁ veda.

  1. The birth or awakening place, also the place of Vaisnavara is the first syllable “A”. This is because it holds everything it is the first or the leader. The one who understands this can hold everything and everyone within him and be a leader.

  2. The dream place, also the place of Taijasa is the 2nd syllable “U”. This has properties from both “A” and “M” and denotes excellence. The one that understand “U” is equalised with flow of knowledge. In this family will be born Brahman.

  3. The sleep place, also the place of Prajna, is the 3rd syllable “M”. It is the measure into which all enter. He who understands this can measure all and become all.

  4. The fource place is the quiteness followed by “AUM” that cannot be uttered. Thus, AUM is Atman. He who knows this knows this Atman and be in peace. The one who knows this veda.

My Interpretation

The word AUM has a deep philosophical meaning. The Mandukya Upanishad beautifully tries to explain this word. AUM for a sanatana dharmic is exactly the sound through which life came into existence. This word continues to be a part of Yoga and Meditation that has been inculcated into the life of various people globally because of its deep spiritual connection. Misinterpretation of Sanatana Dharma as a Religion and not as a Spiritual way of life has lead to the comparison of this word - the AUMkara against important words of other religion/ religious believes. It is important that when one says AUM, he understands what he is meaning otherwise it would just be a blind belief what he has to do, without experiencing his own ATMAN. This would and has resulted in following of Sanatana Dharma as a Religion and not as a way of Spiritual Life.

AUM teaches you the four goals of life. Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha. A for Dharma, only following your duties will make you the best leader. U for Artha. Only the flow of knowledge will add meaning to the life. M for Kama. Only the measure of love will teach you an infinite measure. And finally Moksha as the silence that follows. He who understands Dharma, Artha and Kama, eventually follows into the supreme state of Moksha, uniting with his ATMAN. When we talk about a supreme consciousness, I believe it ones spiritual consciousness that we respect and try to connect with. Existence of a supreme being like what is said in other religion is unknown, however, connecting with your spiritual self with the help of Yoga and Meditation gives the feeling of peace. Just uttering the word AUM a 108 times with devotion would make you realize a freshened sensation.

I close by saying AUM is you, AUM is me, AUM is CONSCIOUSNESS, AUM is ATMAN. AUM is why we understand TIME. Because AUM has existed throughout all times (A = the first - the creation - past; U = the flow of knowledge - the sustainability - present, M = the measure - the final sum - future) With this, I close about AUM and realizing a Self with a final note. Present is where your ATMAN currently reside. It is the only truth. The only thruth is one’s self. The Past can show your mistakes and make you weak or show your perfection and make you egotistic. The Future might forecast your success or failure. The Present is the only truth that can bridge the gap with flow of knowledge. Which means, learn from mistakes in the past to succeed in the future and preserve your perfection to prolong future success. This will automatically satisfy you. This is AUM

Kindly Note: From the next blog, I would avoid translating shlokas but rather focus on my interpretations only.
Aum śantih; śantih; śantih

Reference

[1]: http://joyfulslokas.blogspot.in/2010/07/aum.html
[2]: http://www.avgsatsang.org/hhpsds/pdf/the_meaning_of_om.pdf
[3]: http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/mand/Mandukya_Upanishad.pdf