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Part 1: The Reality and Practice of Om Good morning, everybody. Since neither Avatārpuri nor Phūlpuri nor Swāmījī are here yet, I will step in a little. We will speak about Aum, and tomorrow Satyapravatī will continue the lecture and go deeper. But for chanting and bhajan singing, our present seating is not at all good—we are so far from one another. So please come closer, especially here from those two sides. Right now we are scattered individuals; here there is shade everywhere, so no problem. Let us begin with a mantra about Oṃ, definitely from the Vedas: Āyanti yogīnaḥ kāmadāṃ akṣadāṃ nityaivā Oṃkārāya namo namaḥ. This is a classical mantra that explains the essence of the word Oṃ. Oṃkāra—kāra has no special meaning. You have it after every letter: the ākāra, ukāra and so on. It simply means the sound of Oṃ or the mantra Oṃ. Bindu sa yuktam means “connected with the bindu.” And you know that bindu has two meanings: the point and the drop. You know it from Bindu Chakra, and both meanings make sense here. First, when you look at the Oṃ sign, it has three parts. One looks like the number three—that is actually the A. Another looks like a hook to the side—that is the U. And then there is what we call the Chandrabindu: a half-moon with a dot. In Sankant Swāmījī’s Om Āśram, this half-moon is water and the dot is the tower. So that dot in the Chandrabindu is the bindu. From modern science they say the whole universe was originally compressed to the size of a pea—what they call the Big Bang—and ever since it has been expanding. The whole universe came out of one dot. And the other meaning, the drop, makes just as much sense: the nectar of immortality. So on one hand, the origin of the universe; on the other hand, the divine nectar that makes us immortal. Nityaṃ dhyāyanti yoginaḥ—you can recognise the word dhyāna, meditation. Thus the yogīs meditate on it all the time: Kāmadaṃ Mokṣadaṃ. That means it grants all desires and also liberation, Mokṣa. Oṃkārāya namo namaḥ. My salutation, my greetings to Oṃ. Om is the mantra of all mantras; it is the original mantra. Swāmījī used to say that a real mantra cannot be without Oṃ. Can I ask—does anyone here have a mantra from Swāmījī without Oṃ? Raise your hand? No. Oṃ is the essence; it must be in every mantra. So also the classical mantras, like the Gāyatrī Mantra: “Oṃ, Bhūr, Bhuvaḥ,” or other mantras—all have Oṃ. And Swāmījī repeats over and over, maybe a thousand times, this one sentence from the Vedas: Sound is the form of God, or God appears in the form of sound. But sound here does not necessarily mean what we can hear; it is like vibration. God in sound form is also called Śabda Brahman. So you can say that Om is the sound form of God. If you think, “I don’t believe, I don’t believe,” there is an interesting story. Some of you may have heard of Eben Alexander from America. He was not a spiritual person; he was a brain scientist at Harvard University. He had heard about near-death experiences and always said, “That’s fantasy.” Then the same thing happened to him. He got a headache, had an epileptic seizure with a violent convulsion, and fell unconscious. They brought him to the hospital and diagnosed a very rare disease that was attacking his brain so severely that he could no longer think or perceive anything—he was practically brain dead, with a declared 97% mortality. In that state his consciousness went on a long journey: he was in a coma for one week. In his book Proof of Heaven he describes what he experienced. First he came into a kind of hell, and then a divine light brought him out to heaven. What is interesting for us is that in heaven he met God and communicated with Him in a direct, telepathic way that felt natural—it did not surprise him at all. And this scientist says, “I remember God as Om.” That was a sound he still recalls and associates with an all-knowing, all-powerful, unconditionally loving God. Definitely, he had never heard about Aum before. This is his direct experience. In fact, Aum is not a sound we can simply make. Aum is a reality; you can only experience it. When we sing or chant Aum, we are not producing the Aum sound; we are approaching it. And this brings us to Nāda Yoga, which has two parts: the outer and the inner. In India the outer Nāda Yoga is often identified with Indian music—that is fine, as long as Om chanting leads us towards the inner path. The inner Nāda Yoga is actually meditation. You concentrate on certain inner sounds, and then you hear in the background a more subtle sound; you shift your concentration to that. In this way your awareness becomes finer and finer. In the end there are different sounds, and the last one is Oṃ—the essence and origin of all these sounds. Let us think for a moment about Mahāprabhujī. In the Līlā Amṛt we read that when he was only fifteen months old, his parents prayed that he might start speaking. But even before he could speak, it is written that he intoned the holy mantra Oṃ in such a way that all who heard him were deeply moved. When he finally began to speak, he spoke fluently—though he was only fifteen months of age. Mahāprabhujī raised his face to the altar picture of Lord Śiva and chanted “Aum” for more than an hour, and then he gave a lecture to his parents. Fifteen months! And how did his life end? You know about the Mahāsamādhi of Mahāprabhujī. After his words of farewell, at exactly five o’clock in the morning, Mahāprabhujī began to chant “Oṃ.” Prāṇa and apāna united and rose towards the brahmarandhra. Those present clearly heard the manifestation “Oṃ” rise in Mahāprabhujī’s body and then pass through the Sahasrāra Cakra. So Om is something to experience. I know of one girl in Hamburg who told me privately that once, when she awoke in the night and everything was very quiet, she sat up and heard the real, existing Aum. Therefore we must be aware that this outer chanting is a step towards experiencing the real, inner Aum. I would now like to do this chanting of Aum with you as a whole group—which is why I asked you to come closer. But not in the usual way of one, two, or three repetitions; rather as a continuous sound. Each person breathes in his or her own rhythm, and it becomes overlapping—like one unbroken sound. While you are chanting, I will read a short lecture from Swāmījī about Oṃ. You know that when Swāmījī leads a meditation, after some time he always says, “Now we chant Oṁ,” and then nothing happens because he starts to explain about Aum. In a meditation on the breath in Vienna in 1991, he gave a beautiful, long explanation about Oṃ. So we will proceed like this: we start the Aum chanting. I ask Madhuram to lead it. Please do not chant too loudly, because you need to hear my voice as I read Swāmījī’s lecture. When the reading is over, continue chanting Oṃ for a little while, but becoming more and more peaceful. After two or three minutes the Oṃ chanting stops, but the Aum vibration continues. That means we will now try to experience this subtle inner vibration in meditation. Then, after some time, I will bring it to a close. Have you understood? This is a group event, not individuals scattered here and there. You must actually hear each other. Ideally it should be like a sound bath. Okay, let us try as best we can. We will start chanting Oṃ. Everyone in his own rhythm. I will read the text from Swāmījī. Afterwards you will still continue for a while and then stop. And then a short meditation on Oṃ. One more technical reminder about chanting: I know some people try to sing nice and loud—Om!—and it has no vibration at all. It is like having loose snow that you want to throw but it only goes one metre. But when you make a snowball, you can throw it very far. The power of the chanting comes from the belly; the chest, from the breathing; but the beauty of the chanting comes from the head. The most important part of every musical instrument is the empty space. Sing on a drum, a violin, or a piano—it is all about empty space. And our musical instrument is our head: we have the mouth and the cavities, a lot of empty space there. So instead of feeling that you sing the Oṃ out, let it circle in your head. Part 2: Oṃ: The Primordial Vibration and the Bhajan of Creation And then it will slowly circle out and carry very far. Swāmījī also speaks about this very point. This way of chanting brings you more easily into the mind, and this way of singing will lead you more to the feeling of the inner Oṃ. I know I don’t need to tell this to Madhuram, so Madhuram, please. Please sit straight—that is also important for good chanting. Close your eyes, and now we start with Madhuram. Oṃ is the divine name. Oṃ is God. Oṃ is the light. It is prāṇa, the life. Oṃ is the beginning, the middle, and the end—the trinity in one. Singing Oṃ purifies the atmosphere. It illuminates your inner space. It fills each and every cell of your body with cosmic energy. Singing Aum purifies the nāḍīs and activates your cakras. Sing Aum very consciously. Relax your body and your breathing. Withdraw your mind from all worldly thoughts and problems. Withdraw your sense organs from the outer world into the inner world. Observe your inner space with closed eyes. Observe how the Oṃ sound originates in the navel as a subtle vibration. Observe how this vibration then rises to the throat and to the lips, where it becomes articulated. But within less than a second, the sound reaches the brain, causing a vibration within the whole head, which you will feel especially in your eyebrow center. When this vibration touches the Sahasrāra Cakra, it becomes reflected in the form of light. This light pervades the whole body, and it forms a protective sheath around your whole existence—around your physical, astral, and causal body. This protects you from negative cosmic energies. It guards your meditation. And it allows you to travel freely and fearlessly in the inner space of your consciousness. The Oṃ sound travels through space into infinity, expanding your consciousness into the universe as far as it reaches. This Oṃ vibration wanders in eternity in space, preparing and clearing a beautiful path for you. Now, for the end, we will chant “Oṃ” three times, slowly extricating our consciousness again. Nāhaṁ kartā Prabhudīp kartā Mahāp kartā hī śānti Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān kī jai. No, no, it’s too small, too small. So, really, chanting is a way to inner concentration. Now we come to one special aspect of Aum, as the origin of the creation. And first we will look into the Bible. In the Bible, we have two stories about the creation—one in the Old Testament, one in the New Testament. In the Old Testament, you know the story with Adam and Eve and the seven days when God created the world, and on the seventh He was exhausted, and that’s why we have Sunday. But the second story is very interesting. This is found in the Gospel of John: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of man. And the light shines in the darkness.” Now, of course, it’s not said exactly which word, so it’s just a little bit speaking ground. But exactly the same thing you find in the Ṛg Veda. This is the ancient knowledge, and actually we have in Christianity the mantra “Amen,” which is very obviously a variation of Oṃ. Aum, Amen—so this is not very far. So now, after we have already had the lecture from Swāmījī, we will now have the lecture from Holī Gurujī. And I hope you didn’t forget the bhajan book like I did. We have a beautiful bhajan from Holī Gurujī about Oṃ kī Racanā Sarīra. And this goes exactly on that point of the creation, because everything is the creation of Oṃ—that’s just the title. So, should we first translate or first sing? First sing? Okay. First, translate? OK, good. So, I hope you take your bhajan book if you have it. Oṃ kī Racanā Sarīra — everything is the creation of Oṃ. Jñānī jñānī bhede — the saints, the wise ones; the saints know its secret. So jñānī rahe sukhārī — therefore these people are always happy, always in divine bliss. And now, this is very strange, actually, for Holy Gurujī. If you know Holy Gurujī, you are one hundred percent bhakta of Mahāprabhujī, and Oṃ is something you can say abstractly. But he was enlightened, and he wrote the most beautiful full lecture on Oṃ. Oṃkāra Parabrahma rūpa hai — Oṃ is the form of Parabrahma, the highest God. Oṃ kī chāyā nahī̃, dhūp hai — there is no shadow from Oṃ, it is just light. Remember, Swāmījī said, the sound turns into light. But not physical light; maybe physical light creates a shadow. But divine light? No. Oṃkāra nābha rūpa sadā hai — Nabh is the sky or the space, endless. So Oṃ is like the endless space. Sadā means always; it’s eternal. Hai, nirādhārī — you know ādhāra from Mūlādhāra Cakra: ādhāra, the base, the fundament. So something is based on the fundament. But here, no. Oṃ has no fundament, no base. It exists out of itself—what Swāmījī always says, Svayambhū. Now the lecture continues. You know, Aum has actually two aspects, two parts, you could say: the Nirguṇa and the Saguṇa. Aum as a whole is formless; you cannot really describe Aum. And then Aum splits into three parts: A, U, M, and the three Guṇas. Now, this is a step from the Divine Father to the Divine Mother. Divine Father—this is just pure consciousness. But the whole creation, which is made out of the three guṇas, that is She, the Divine Mother. So we live in her, and we try to reach him. That’s all yoga is. So now the three guṇas are like three colors. You know it from the computer: you can make millions of colors from only three base colors. So all the millions of appearances—this is our physical and fine world—are made out of the three guṇas. Oṃkār kī triguṇamayī — Oṃkār is the māyā existing from the three guṇas. Now, for the purpose of a rhyme, he used here the word māyā. The correct word here, scientifically, would actually be Prakṛti. So about Prakṛti and the three guṇas, you can read in the 14th chapter of the Bhagavad Gītā. This is poetry; it’s not a scientific lecture. This Māyā, or this Prakṛti, developed the whole world. Now, the whole world, and we are in this. Oṃkār me jīva rahē — the jīvas, the individuals, the souls, they live in Oṃ. We are living in Oṃ. Saba dehadhārī — all those who have a body, a deha. All of you who have a deha, who have a body. Now he comes to the finer levels. Vidyā, the knowledge. You know, Swāmījī often speaks about parāvidyā and aparāvidyā—the worldly knowledge and the spiritual knowledge. Vidyā sarva Oṃ se hai — all the knowledge comes through Oṃ. Actually, I remember they made some experiment at the university. They gave difficult tasks to the students and checked how many could answer the questions. Then they let them sing “Oṃ” for one hour, and afterwards they asked the same questions again. And they could count exactly how many more could now answer the question. So all the knowledge comes through Oṃ. Oṃ se Veda rācai — through Oṃ, the Vedas, the divine knowledge, are composed. Not just the books; this was only compiled in the books later. Sarvamantra ko mūla Oṃ — Oṃ is the root, the essence of every mantra. Oṃ se Brahmavicārī — through Oṃ, all thoughts, all longing for the divine, come. So now it becomes practical sādhanā. Oṃkār rato mil sārā — therefore, you all together always repeat Oṃ. Oṃkār se hote ujjālā — ujjārā should actually be ujjala; it is always a question of the rhyme, meaning the light, the divine light which we had already before. Oṃ kī chāyā nahī̃, dhūp hai—so there is no shadow, it’s just divine light. So Oṃ awakens the divine light. And this is interesting now from the grammar here in Hindi: a normal statement would be “Oṃ se he ujjalā,” but he said “hotā.” Hotā is a statement which is always like this—like two and two is four, not sometimes, but always. So he says, when you chant Oṃ, it is unavoidable; it will definitely happen that the divine light is awakened. Dhāro Oṃ kā dhyān — therefore, keep on going on with the meditation on Oṃ. Oṃ se bhava bhai hari re — through Oṃ, all the fear in this world is destroyed. Ṛṣi Muni aur Yogī saba Oṃ kar ko hṛdaya dharai — you know, from Hṛdaya Kamal, the heart. So therefore, all ṛṣis, munis, and yogīs, they all keep Oṃ as a precious treasure in their heart. Oṃkār binā, sādhanā saba hotā bikārī re — bikārī means useless, fruitless. Without Oṃ, all your sādhanā has no fruit. And again, hotā—that is a basic statement. It is always like this: sādhanā without Oṃ is fruitless. And now comes the third time such a statement: Oṃ se hotā ānanda — through Oṃ, the divine bliss is awakened. Unavoidable. Through Oṃ, divine bliss is awakened. Govinda jāne Oṃ ko — Govinda knows what Oṃ is. We must look back in the refrain: Jñānī jñānī bhede — the saints, they know the secret of Oṃ. So Govinda is the name of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but definitely here, pars pro toto, it means every saint. All the saints know Oṃ. Oṃ se śuddha hovai kāj — kāj is the same as karma. Through Oṃ, you can purify all your karmas. Oṃ se bhava pāra — bhava, you know, we have this in many bhajans, the ocean of the world. So through Oṃ you can cross over the ocean of the world, because your consciousness is awakened in such a way that you are no longer so concerned with these worldly matters. You want something else. It is Holy Gurujī’s bhajan, so definitely in the end he greets Mahāprabhujī. Oṃ namo Prabhudīp Svāmī — my greetings to Mahāprabhujī. Oṃkār Gurudeva namāmi — you are for me like a personification of the Oṃ. Kahe Madhavānanda “Oṃko vandana hamārī” — Holy Gurujī says, “My salutations to Aum.” It’s a full lecture. And the first time I saw this bhajan, I thought, that cannot be from Holī Gurujī; that’s not his style. Okay, so now we have also some—yeah, good. Now we can all sing together. You all join in, so we can sing together.