mantra (part 1)

May 2, 2001

Dear dduttaroy, Here are a few

explanations from various sources regarding the Vedic

syallable Om. The Vedas glorify Om as the origin of

the Vedas and as the source of the whole creation.

For this reason, Om precedes every Vedic mantra. Om,

the sacred syllable of assent, is a seed mantra

mentioned throughout the Vedic literatures and chanted by

all varieties of transcendentalists. It has also

worked its way into many languages to indicate God. In

English, all-important descriptions of God have "Om" as

their root. Om enters the English language as the

prefix omni. Therefore words like omnipresent,

omnipotent, and omniscient are valid descriptions of God and,

all begin with the root Om. Christians end prayers

with Amen meaning Om, and Muslims say Amin, denoting

God. In the Bhagavad-gita Krsna says: pranavah sarva

vedesu - "I am the syllable Om mentioned in the Vedas."

Besides indicating the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Om

is nondifferent from the sound of Krsna's flute. In

fact, Lord Brahma was initiated into divine knowledge

by hearing the sound of Krsna's flute and this came

out of his mouth as the gayatri mantra. The

Gayatri-vyakhya-vivritti states: "The Goswamis declare that (pranava)

omkara is the complete representation of the Supreme

Personality of Godhead. They have analyzed omkara in terms of

its alphabetical constituents as follows: Omkara is a

combination of the letters A, U, and M. A-karenocyate krsnah:

the letter A (a-kara) refers to Krsna, Who is

sarva-lokaike-nayakah, the master ot all all living entities and planets

both material and spiritual. Nayaka means "leader." He

is the supreme leader (nityo nityanam cetanas

cetananam). The letter U (u-kara) indicates Srimati

Radharani, the pleasure potency of Krsna, and M (ma-kara)

denotes the living entities (jivas). Thus Om is the

complete combination of Krsna, His potency and His eternal

servitors." your servant, Audarya lila dasa

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