Reading section 15

“It is chaunted (Udgíyate), and is therefore called Udgítha and is a _Karmángávayava_ or part of the liturgy.”

“What is Udgítha, that is Om; what is Om, that is Udgítha.” (Maitrí. Ch’chándogya).

[Sidenote: 13. _Om_ is breath. ॐ स्वासः ।]

“Om called the Udgítha is breath,” (Ch’hándogya Upanishad p. 12).

[Sidenote: 14. _Om_ is sun. आदित्य ।]

“The sun is _Om_, _Om_ is Udgítha, the sun is Udgítha, he is _Om_.” (Maitrí IV. 4).

“The splendour of Brahman is yonder sun, and it too is the splendour of Om.” (Ibid). यद्ब्र्हम ज्योतिः यज्ज्योतिः सआदित्यः । यत् सबितृतदादित्यः । मैत्री उप ।

[Sidenote: 15. Om the soul. ओमात्मेति ।]

“The soul is looked upon as _Om_.” (Ch’hándogya Upanishad. p. 12). “For this all represented by _Om_ is Brahma. This soul is Brahma.” (Mándukya V. 2). ॐकार एब आत्म स्वरूपमेब । तस्यैतस्य परापर ब्रह्मरूपस्याक्षरस्योपब्याख्यानं ।

[Sidenote: 16. Om the Supreme spirit. ॐ परमात्मा ।]

“_Om_ is the most appropriate name for the Supreme Spirit _paramátman_.” (Ch’hándogya I. 1). “The Universal soul is the totality of individual souls.” (समष्टि ब्यष्टि).

[Sidenote: 17. Om is Mind. ओं मनस् ।]

“Om is mind _manas_, the self consciousness or _ahankára_ of the Sánkhya.” (Ibid p. 3).

[Sidenote: 18. Om is Body. ॐ कायः ।]

“_Om_ is corporeal.” (Ch’hándogya p. 3).

[Sidenote: 19. Om is Adorable ओमुपास्यं ।]

“The letter Om is eulogised for its adorableness, and is an inducement to its worship.” (Ch’hándogya I. 9. p. 8).

[Sidenote: 20. Om a Vehicle ॐ रथः ।]

“_Om_ is the vehicle of the worship and knowledge of the superior and inferior Brahma.” (Maitrí Up. 260).

[Sidenote: 21. Om is a Raft. ॐमुड़ुपः ।]

“_Om_ is a raft of Brahman to cross over the torrents of the world.” (Swetáswatara II. 8. p. 53).

[Sidenote: 22. Om an arrow. ॐ शरः ।]

“The body is the bow, _Om_ is the arrow, with which one pierces the mark Brahma through darkness.” धनुच्छरीरमोमित्येतच्छरः । शिखास्य मनस्तमो लक्षणं भित्वात्मानमागच्छतीति ।

[Sidenote: 23. Om a Bridge. ॐ सेतुः ।]

And so _Om_ is used to represent many other single objects. (Maitrí Up. p. 271).

It is represented as a bridge in the Atharva Veda (VI. 10 and VIII. 4).

X. DUADS OR DUPLES OF THE BIPARTITE OM IN DUALISTIC THEORIES.

[Sidenote: Duads. Om a couple. ॐ मिथुनं ।]

“_Om_ unites couples together and gratifies the wish of the adorer.” (Ch’hándogya I. 6). Again “couples being incorporated with the letter _Om_, establish the all-gratifying power and attribute of Om.” (Sankara’s Scholium to Ch’hándogya).

[Sidenote: 1. The Couple Udgítha & Pranava. उद्गीथप्रणबौ ।]

_Om_ combines the _Udgítha_ of the Sáma with the _pranava_ of the Rig Veda, the first couple; and therefore speech (Vák) and breath (prána) the sources of the Rik and Sáma, the second couple; and lastly the said two Vedas themselves as the third couple. (Ch’hándogya I. 1-8), and consequently the Hotri and Udgátri priests the fourth couple.

[Sidenote: 2. Brahma and Para Brahma. परापर ब्रह्म ।]

_Om_ is the superior and inferior Brahma conjointly. The superior or _Para Brahma_ is the one eternal and infinite God; and the inferior or _Apara Brahmá_ is the finite God:—the demiurge of Plato, and the _Prajápati_ and Indra of Vedanta theology. The Aitareya reckons the pentad of the five elementary bodies, under the latter category. (V. 3). Kálidása speaks of this as the _pancha mahá bhúta samádhi_ in the first book of his Raghu Vansa.

[Sidenote: 3. The two pronunciations. स्वर द्वयं ।]

“_Om_ is pronounced as _svarati_ in the Rigveda and Svara in the Yajur Veda.” (Ch’hándogya IV. 4. Manu XI. 265).

[Sidenote: 4. The Human & Divine Souls. जीबात्मा परमात्मा ।]

“_Om_ is átman or soul. Two souls are said to enter the body; the individual and the undivided or universal soul.” (Ait. III. 1). “Two birds (the supreme and individual souls) dwell upon the same tree of the body.” (Svetásvatara Upanishad).

[Sidenote: 5. The Soul and Matter. प्रकृतीश्वरौ ।]

“_Om_ is both spirit and matter,” viewed as the same thing in the materialistic light of the Sánkhya, and dualistic view of others. Spinoza defines them both as the “_Substantia cogitans, et substantia extensa, una eademque est substantia, quae jam sub hoc, jam sub illo attributo_ comprehenditur.” (Ethics. 1 Pr. 7 schol).

[Sidenote: 6. The Male and Female. प्रकृति पुरुषौ ।]

“_Om Strípum_ the divine male and female”; the original androgyne or bisex being combined in the person of the first human being, Brahmá or Adam, and called the _Prakriti-purusha_ or _pradhána_ &c., in the Yoga and Puranic Systems. So says Manu also (I, 32). “The power became half male half female or nature active and passive, and divided itself in twain.” (Ibid).

[Sidenote: 7. The cause and effect. कार्य कारणं ।]

“_Om_ implies the two states of mundane existence, _viz_, the cause dynamic and the effect energy. The effect also is two fold, the gross and subtile.” (स्थूल सूक्ष्मञ्च).

[Sidenote: 8. The Two Elements. स्थूल सूक्ष्मौ ।]

The subtile elements (सूक्ष्मतन्मात्रं) and the gross elements (स्थूलभौतिकं) forming the Sthúla or gross body and the _linga Saríra_ or subtile body,—the two component parts of all living bodies.

[Sidenote: 9. Knowledge & Ignorance. बिद्या बिद्ये ।]

The two states of the soul, knowledge and ignorance (बिद्या अबिद्या) and the two states of knowledge; namely that which is known (बिज्ञात), and what is unknown (अबिज्ञात), corresponding with two others—the (ब्यक्ताब्यक्त) the manifest and unmanifest.

[Sidenote: 10. The two states of Life. कर्म्म तथा ज्ञानकाण्डं ।]

Knowledge and action or Jnána and Karman,—theory and practice, are the two inseparable conditions of life; the one leading to the other, which is the result of the former, and according to others its cause, in the celebrated dispute ज्ञान जन्य कर्म्म अथबा कर्म्मजं ज्ञानं between theorists and practitioners.

[Sidenote: 11. Other Pairs.]

In this way many other pairs are joined together forming as they were the two halves of the great circle of _Om_, and whether diametrically or obversely opposed or attached to each other, they form together, the same circle of which each of them is but an imperfect part or half.

[Sidenote: 12. Geometry of _Om_.]

[Sidenote: 13. Logical Use of _Om_.]

Hence we see the mystery of the cypher of _Om_ to be no less wonderful and efficacious in the investigation of theological truths, than the great instrument of Euclid’s compass in the bisection and measurement of geometrical dimensions. And as the circle is latterly found to be made use of in the demonstration of propositions in Logic, how much must we wonder to reflect on the use and application of the sacred instrument of _Om_ by the ancient Rishis of India, to all things of the physical, intellectual and spiritual world (_Sarvamonkára eva_) as their common measure.

[Sidenote: 14. Dualism overthrown द्वतोच्छेदः]

Having thus observed the deficiency of dualities and the imperfection of dualistic theories, by the instrumentality of _Om_, and the application of its cypher of unity to them, to make up that unity which is essential to the true knowledge of God, whose nature is a perfect unity and without divisibility (Ekamevádwitía), the sages next proceeded to the investigation of trialities and pluralities of tri-une doctrines and so forth, which had been gaining ground even in those early stages of society, by the application of the same test of the unity of _Om_ to them, till at last all these partitions are lost in the cypher of One indivisible whole.

[Sidenote: 15. The Metrical Sense of _Om_.]

_Om_ in the sense of a compass or metrical instrument, is derived from O the cypher, letter or circle, and _ma_ to measure, meaning the circle of measurement.

XI. TRIADS OR TRIPLES OR TRIPARTITE OM IN TRINITARIAN SYSTEMS.

[Sidenote: 1. Triads or Triples of _Om_ त्रिमूर्त्ति ।]