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Languages and alphabet

A discourse on the origin and spiritual power of sound and language.

"Oṃ is as ancient as the creation of this universe itself. This encompasses consciousness, universal consciousness, the space... and all of creation."

"A mantra is that sound which unites. It is a harmonious sound, a melody, a rāga—it is music. Sound has two types of radiance or vibration: one that unites... the other is born of ignorance."

Swami Chidānanda Puri explains the primordial nature of Oṃ as the source of all creation and principles. He illustrates the innate intelligence and language of all creatures with a story about ants at an ashram, then discusses how mantras are unifying sounds received by ancient sages. He describes the divine origin of alphabets like Devanāgarī, explaining each letter as a form of energy.

Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

The origin of all elements, tattvas, and principles stems from Oṃ. Oṃ is as ancient as the creation of this universe itself. This encompasses consciousness, universal consciousness, the space (which constitutes the universe), the śakti within—called yoga—and all of creation with its various elements. Consider this in your own language. When you tell a friend, "I am thirsty," the person who understands your language will bring you a glass of water. You did not explicitly ask, "Please, can I have water?" You simply stated, "I am thirsty." Do you understand? Similarly, animals possess language. Every animal has a language and certain innate talents. Let me share a small story. During the monsoon at Jadan Āshram in India, we had many ants. We had placed prasāda—blessed food, consisting of sweets and nuts, never salty items; only milk products, ghee, and sugar are used—on the altar. Not only do people enjoy prasāda, but ants are also very fond of it. We prepared the prasāda and set it on the altar. After two hours, the majority of candidates partaking were the ants, not the people. Since we humans possess greater intellect, we tried to outsmart them. We hung the prasāda container with a rope. The ants then built a highway: they traveled across the wall and ceiling, down the rope, and to the prasāda. Then, one of our very clever Croatian girls had what she thought was a better idea. She took a large plate, a thālī, filled it with water, and placed the pot of prasāda inside it, creating a water moat about three or four centimeters wide. You will not believe what happened next. One ant hung her legs from the edge of the thālī. The next ant climbed up and held onto her, then a third did the same, and they formed a bridge with their own bodies. The other ants then ran across this living bridge to reach the prasāda. Hariyo! Unfortunately, Swāmī Chidānanda was not there with his camera to capture this beautiful work. So you see, every creature has a language and a form of intellect or tendency. Do not think only we possess it. A mantra is that sound which unites. It is a harmonious sound, a melody, a rāga—it is music. Sound has two types of radiance or vibration: one that unites, embodying love, wisdom, harmony, and understanding. The other is born of ignorance, creating feelings of being distraught, negative thinking, selfishness, individualism, and aggression. Anger and hateful words and thinking divide us. Love unites; hate divides. The sounds that the ṛṣis received thousands of years ago—perhaps over a million years if we consider the yugas—came as sounds and letters, the alphabets and vocals. In India, this is called Devanāgarī. "Deva" means goddess or divine, and "nāgarī" means a citizen. Thus, it is the language of the citizens of the divine world, the word of the goddess from the astral level. It is the language spoken by the gods in realms like Satya Loka and Brahma Loka. Yogīs received these sounds through deep concentration, meditation, and thought, bringing them into the astral body and then into physical awareness. The alphabet they initially recorded was not exactly as we write today. Although we call it Devanāgarī, it had a slightly different form. There exist written forms over 10,000, 12,000, even 15,000 years old in Devanāgarī. The script we read and write now is a modified, clearer, and refined version, but the essential sound remains the same. That is the main thing. Each alphabet represents a divine form. Each chakra represents a divine form of energy. Each maṇḍala represents a divine form of energy, receiving and channeling energy from different angles. You might understand this better through examples like the pyramids and their symbolic signs. Similarly, each letter signifies something—an indication, a form. Even in the old German tradition, there was something with the alphabet known as rune magic. This involves the forms of the letters and how they influence us. This is how words and language developed. Thank you for watching. Recording location: Czech Republic, Strilky, Summer seminar

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt, what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

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