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Praṇām Swāmījī, and a warm welcome to everyone—especially, as always, to all the listeners joining our evening satsaṅg from around the world through the webcast. Our satsaṅg has already begun with a few bhajans, so let us continue with another one, not too long. Om Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī jaya, Śrī Mīrābāī kī jaya. Some days ago, there was a request that we speak a little about Oṃ. In fact, Aum is a permanent part of our sādhanā, and I suspect this request comes especially from those who are practicing Kriyā Anuṣṭhāna, where there is a special Oṃ sādhanā. To speak about Oṃ is quite demanding, because to speak about Oṃ means nothing less than to speak about God. We have two—or I should say three—excellent sources for inspiration about Aum. The first, of course, is what Swāmījī always teaches us. Do you remember how he describes the creation? He says, “Brahma, God,” was only one. But as I recall from Swāmījī, one day He made up His mind to change something: Eko’haṁ bahu syām—“I am one; let me multiply myself, let me become many.” That is the will, the decision to begin creation. And what was the very first subtle vibration? Swāmījī usually calls it Pūrṇa. What was that? Oṃ. Oṃ. A perfect translation, is it not? The Oṃ then split, you might say, into three parts: A-U-M. From this came the three guṇas, and we know this is the origin—the very substance—from which the whole creation has been fashioned. Also, whenever Swāmījī guides meditation, he often speaks at length and in great detail about how the vibration moves in and out of our body. I am sure each of you remembers this well, so I will not repeat it all now. This evening I would like to focus on two main sources. The first is the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the shortest of all the Upaniṣads. The Upaniṣads are holy scriptures; they are among the shortest holy scriptures, yet they contain the highest teaching, the highest wisdom, directly expressing the highest state of consciousness. Therefore it is actually impossible to understand them purely with the intellect. They are not meant for that—they are meant to give us inspiration and guidance for meditation. Let me share a few glimpses from the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. The first verse says: Oṃ—this word contains the whole universe. Whatever existed in the past, exists in the present, or will exist in the future, all that is Oṃ. And whatever is beyond these three times, that too is Oṃ. I think that says enough! Such a statement is almost impossible to digest. The second śloka says, “All this world is Brahman.” This Ātmā is Brahman. This statement is especially important for us because in Sanskrit it is one of the four great mantras known as the Mahāvākyas of the Vedas. In Sanskrit, “This Ātmā is Brahman.” Now it becomes more interesting and, I would say, a little more practical. The Upaniṣad tells us that the Ātmā has four aspects, which are different states of consciousness. This is exactly what we know from Swāmījī. It distinguishes between the waking state (in which we are now), the dream state, and deep sleep, and it identifies these with the different aspects of Aum. For not only does the Ātmā have four parts, but the Ātmā is Aum, and Aum has four aspects: A, U, M, and the whole. These correspond to the three states of consciousness we all know—waking state, dream state, deep sleep—through which we move every twenty-four hours. But there is one more. This is called Turīyā. Turīyā means simply the first one. And what is that? It is equivalent to the Oṃ as a whole. A, U, and M correspond to the three states of consciousness we already know, but Oṃ as a whole is what we do not yet know. Here is a śloka that attempts to describe the indescribable for us: This state of consciousness, called Turīya, is the force—we could also say samādhi. It is not the consciousness of the inner world like that of a dream, nor the consciousness of the outer world like our present waking state. It is also not merely a mass of consciousness, as in deep sleep. It is not simple consciousness, nor is it unconsciousness. It is unthinkable and indescribable. It is the essence of consciousness, peace, bliss, beyond duality. That which is known as peace—this is the first, Turīya. And this is the Ātmā, the Self. This is what has to be realized. The final sentence from this Upaniṣad says: “Oṃ is the Ātmā, verily. He who knows this merges his self into the universal Self.” So far, this is just an inspiration, an extract from the Upaniṣad, and I think it needs a little time to digest. Therefore, I would request Nārāyaṇī to sing one bhajan for us. Our bhajan book is not just a collection of songs made by musicians or poets; it is entirely Guruvākya—the words of saints, enlightened saints. We have a beautiful bhajan from our beloved Holy Gurujī about Oṃ. In it you will find all this wisdom, and perhaps even a little more than we find in the Upaniṣad. So I would like to speak about it a little. You can open to the beginning of the bhajan: “Oṃ Kī Racanā Śarīre,” or the title, Oṃkāra Mantra Kā Bhajana—the bhajan of Oṃ, about Oṃ. Let us sing the first verse to get an idea of how it goes, and then I will go into some detail. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī jaya, Śrī Śrī Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavān kī jaya. Oṃ kī racanā śarīra, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra. Jñānī jāne bhed, sohī jan rahī sukhī aṅgīra. Oṃ kī racanā śarīra, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra. Oṃkār para brahma rūpa hai, Oṃ kī chāyā nahīṃ dīpa hai. Oṃkār nābha rūpa sadā hī hai nirādhārī re, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra re. Oṃ dhara nābha rūpa sadā hī hai nirādhārī, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra. Jñānī jāne bhed, sohī jan, rahī sukhī aṅgīra re, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra re, Oṃ kī racanā śarīra re. We repeat this one line, “Oṃ kī racanā śarīra re,” all the time. What does it mean? Racanā śarīra—everything is the creation of Aum. Remember what the Upaniṣad says: this whole universe is Oṃ. And what Swāmījī says: the first Pūrṇa in the creation was Oṃ, and out of this came the whole creation. But this is not obvious; it is a secret. And this is what Holy Gurujī tells us: it is a secret that only the saints, the enlightened ones, know and understand. Those who truly know are one with the Divine. Therefore he says, “Sohī jan rahe sukhyā re re”—only those who know the secret of Oṃ are permanently happy; they dwell in divine bliss. The first verse, which was just sung, says: “Oṃkār para brahma rūpa hai.” The word Parabrahma, I think you recognize, is the highest Divine Self—Brahma, Parabrahma, Paramātmā, Puruṣottama, however we call it. This is the realm of enlightenment, but not physical light. As the Bhagavad Gītā says: the sun, the moon, and fire do not have their own light; their light comes from God. God gives them light. Oṃ is this light that gives light to all physical objects. “Oṃkār nābha rūpa hai”—nābha means the sky, the heavens. Oṃ is like the sky, limitless, everywhere. Sadā means it is always present, permanent, eternal. “Nirādhārī”—you know this word, for example, from the Mūlādhāra Chakra. Ādhāra means base, foundation, and here it says Oṃ has no base or foundation, meaning nothing supports it. We can put it the other way around: everything comes from Aum; nothing actually produces Aum. Aum is the origin of everything. Now Holy Gurujī goes deeper into the aspect of creation, exactly as we saw in the Upaniṣad. It was said there that Aum splits into three parts: A, U, and M. The Upaniṣad spoke about the three aspects as different states of consciousness, but there are many more triads that these three represent—for example, Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva; past, present, and future. Most important, however, are the three guṇas, the three qualities out of which the whole universe is created. That is what Holy Gurujī says next: “Oṃkāra kī triguṇā māyā”—through Oṃ came this māyā, consisting of the three guṇas. And the next step: this māyā is the shadow of the world. Through this māyā, the whole universe has been created. “Oṃ karme jīvarahī”—all living beings, including ourselves, live in Oṃ. This is a very beautiful expression. Deha means body, and dhāraṇā means to hold or possess; so the body-wearer—remember what we spoke about yesterday—the Ātmā goes on taking a body like a coat, putting it off, taking the next and putting it off. All embodied beings, individual jīvātmās, are living in Oṃ. “Vidyāsarva Oṃ siyai”—all divine wisdom and teachings come from Oṃ. “Oṃ kalsi Vedāracchai”—Oṃ brought forth the Vedas, the holy teachings. And now, very importantly about mantra: Oṃ is the root of every mantra. Remember, Swāmījī always says a real mantra cannot be without Oṃ. That is why he never gives any mantra or initiation that does not begin with Om. “Oṃ se brahmavicārī re”—all spiritual longing, thinking, and thoughts come from Oṃ. It is like the light that shows us the way; after seeing the light, we wish to reach it. Now it comes to sādhanā—what to do with the Oṃ. Therefore, let us repeat Oṃ all together. And this is what we do in the very first yoga class: we always start meditation with Oṃ. So it is an essential part of our sādhanā. “Oṃ kalsī hut ujjara”—Oṃ awakens the light in us. It is the light awakening the light in us. “Dharo Oṃ kā dhyān”—you know meditation, so stick to meditation with Oṃ. “Oṃ se bhava bhai harirī”—all worldly fears, especially the fear of death (as we spoke earlier, abhiniveśa), can be purified through Oṃ. “Ṛṣi muni yā yogī sara Oṃkāraku hṛdaya dharā”—hṛdaya means the heart. All the ṛṣis, munis, and yogīs love Oṃ and hold it constantly in their hearts. Without Oṃ, sādhanā cannot be fruitful or successful. “Oṃ kārṣī hut ānanda”—bliss comes through Oṃ, not just ordinary joy but the bliss of enlightenment. Because Oṃ is God, and God is characterized in Sanskrit as Saccidānanda—that which is real, unchanging. Oṃ is this bliss; it lets us experience this bliss. “Govinda”—another name for Lord Krishna—knows Oṃ, or knew Oṃ. But I think it is a poetical way of saying that all saints, of course, know Oṃ; they know the secret of Oṃ, as it says in the refrain. “Oṃ se śuddha re kāj”—kāj here is the same as karma. Through Oṃ you purify your karmas. How? Because karma is actually a certain vibration we create in our aura, a low vibration. Oṃ is the divine vibration. “Oṃ se hoya bhava pāri re”—through Oṃ we can cross the ocean of the world. So far, this is very similar to what we had in the Upaniṣad. But now comes something more—most important for us if we wish to be successful on our path. You know how deep Holy Gurujī’s love for Mahāprabhujī was, so he could never write any bhajan without dedicating it to Mahāprabhujī. In the last verse he says: “Oṃ namo Prabhudīp Swāmī”—Prabhudīp Swāmī, Mahāprabhujī’s name. “My adoration, my love, my salutation to you, Mahāprabhujī. You are for me Oṃ. You are for me Oṃ.” Then it becomes practical. Who has realized Oṃ? Whoever has realized God is one with Oṃ, is one with God. If we search for Oṃ, if we search for God, we need to follow someone who has realized it. “Kaha Madhavānanda”—Holy Gurujī says, “My salutation to Oṃ,” but here, in this context, it sounds different. It is no longer the salutation to the formless Oṃ that is everywhere, like the sky as earlier described. It is very concrete: the salutation to the personified Oṃ—His Master, our Master. Then we have a direction in which to bow down. I think everyone is happy that tomorrow Swāmījī is supposed to come here again. I am sure each of you is happy that Swāmījī will come back tomorrow. So tomorrow’s Oṃ will sit right here. Let us sing together. Rahi Satyavīra, Oṃ nithi, racanā śarīra, Oṃ nithi, racanā śarīra… Nityānanda Bhagavad Gītā, Śrī Śrī Mādhav Kṛṣṇa Bhagavad Gītā. What is interesting is that Oṃ is basically formless. And honestly, I was a little astonished that we have received such a beautiful and profound teaching about Oṃ from Holy Gurujī. Through this devotion, everything—the highest—is attained. That is what Swāmījī always says: our path is through Saguṇa to Nirguṇa. When we open our heart and have pure love and devotion to our masters, then this highest knowledge about Oṃ, the formless Nirguṇa, automatically comes. Holy Gurujī is a very good example. He also wrote bhajans about Jñāna Yoga, but all the different aspects, all the wisdom, came through him through one-pointed devotion. For him, there was no other God, no other orientation—absolute one-pointed devotion to Mahāprabhujī. Yet through that, he received everything. This bhajana is a very, very good proof of that. I think this is enough inspiration for us to understand more deeply the importance of the sādhanā that Swāmījī gives us. Why do we use Oṃ in yoga classes, in our personal practice, in our mantras, in our kriyās, and in the special techniques of the Kriyā Anuṣṭhānas? Now, maybe another nice bhajan to contemplate?