(unknown) OM WOW!

[Guest guest]

Ive heard of the Soma as being the fly agaric. Ive read stories of

how sages would drink the urine of others who injested the soma because the

urine was still hallucinogenic but less toxic than the origanal fly agaric

because of being filtered through the ingesters liver and kidneys. You cant

always believe everything you read ,but it sounded to strange to be fiction. I

wish I could give you a reference source but it was just something on the web i

read years ago. Im sure if you researched soma enough you would find something

like that. I wouldnt be suprised if thats where OM came from. Because Soma or

Peoti or Teonanactyl (Toltec for "Gods flesh" also known as psilocyb mexicana)

will send you to another demension beyond description.

I just think Its more about the sound vibration than the letters.

Theres just a vibe about the sound that just screams sacred. I dont know what

it is. It just touches your core.

 

Thanks for the info, JamesSimone <syzenith .au> wrote:

The Meaning of OmThere is no question that om is the oldest mantra, or sound of

numinous power, known to the sages of India. Its origin, however, is somewhat

obscure. A century ago, the German scholar Max Müller, editor and translator of

the Rig-Veda, had the idea that om might be a contraction of the word avam, "a

prehistoric pronominal stem, pointing to distant objects, while ayam pointed to

nearer objects." He continued, "Avam may have become the affirmative particle

om, just as the French oui arose from hoc illud." This obscure comment refers

to the fact that om, in addition to its sacred significance, came to be used in

the prosaic sense of "Yes, I agree." Müller's interesting philological

speculation remains unsubstantiated, however.More recently, a different

approach was taken by Swami Sankarananda, who proposed

that om derives from the Vedic word soma. Through the influence of the Persians,

who did not pronounce the letter s, the word soma was changed to homa and

subsequently was shortened to om. Like Müller's derivation, this is pure

conjecture, but is nonetheless intriguing, as it brings out the traditionally

accepted relationship between soma and om.Soma is the sacred substance used in

the principal Vedic sacrifice. It has been characterized as an intoxicant, and

various scholars have, in my opinion, wrongly identified it as a concoction

prepared from the fly agaric mushroom. In the Vedic literature, soma is always

described as a creeper, which cannot be said to apply to a mushroom. Be that as

it may, the real soma was not a plant or plant extract but a spiritual "elixir,"

or illuminating experience, as is evident from certain hymns of the Rig-Veda

(e.g. 10.85.3). In this sense, we also encounter it in later Tantra, where soma

stands for an inner process or esoteric phenomenon: the nectar of immortality

said to ooze from the "Moon" at the tâlu-cakra ("palate wheel") in the head,

dripping into the "Sun" stationed at the nâbhi-cakra ("navel wheel"). On the

physical level, it corresponds to the saliva, which is known to have

antiseptic, healing properties.Swami Sankarananda believed that, like soma, the

sacred syllable om represents the Sun. This seems to be confirmed by the

Aitareya-Brâhmana (5.32): om ity asau yo'sau [sûryah] tapati, "That which glows

[i.e., the Sun] is om." The Sun was indeed central to the Vedic spirituality,

and the Vedic sages looked upon the Sun not merely as a star that supplies our

planet with the necessary light and warmth but as a multidimensional entity of

which the visible stellar body is merely its outermost material shell.The

esteemed Swami's conjecture is worthy of deeper consideration. However, most

spiritual authorities regard om as the vocalization of an actual "sound," or

vibration, which pervades the entire universe and is audible to yogins in

higher states of consciousness. In the Western hermetic tradition, this is

known as "the music of the spheres." The Indian sages also speak of it as the

shabda-brahman or "sonic Absolute," which, in the words of the

Chândogya-Upanishad (2.23.3), is "all this (idam sarvam)." What this means is

that om is the universe as a totality, not a conglomerate of individual parts,

as we experience it in our ordinary state of consciousness. Thus om is the

primordial sound that reveals itself to the inner ear of that the adept who has

controlled the mind and the senses. Vihari-Lala Mitra, in the introduction to

his translation of the Yoga-Vâsishtha, equated the Greek word on ("being") with

om. While this is linguistically unsustainable, philosophically the connection

is valid, as om

is the symbol of That Which Is, or brahman. He also made the link between om and

Amen to which the same strictures apply. The Early History of the Sacred

Syllable -------Significantly, the syllable om

is not mentioned in the ancient Rig-Veda, which has recently been dated back to

the third millennium B.C.E. and earlier still. However, a veiled reference to

it may be present in one of the hymns (1.164.39), which speaks of the syllable

(akshara) that exists in the supreme space in which all the deities reside.

"What," asks the composer of this hymn, "can one who does not know this do with

the chant?" He adds, "Only those who know it sit together here." That is, only

initiates gather to delight in the mystery of the sacred syllable and the

company of the deities. The word akshara means literally "immutable" or

"imperishable." This designation is most appropriate, since grammatically

syllables are stable parts that make up words. In the case of the mantric om,

this monosyllable came to represent the ultimate One, which is eternally

unchanging (akshara, acala). The term akshara is used as a synonym for om in

many scriptures, including the Bhagavad-Gîtâ (10.25), which has Krishna say,

"Of utterances I am the single syllable." In light of the early prominence

given to om as the primordial seed sound, there is no good reason for assuming

that the sagely composers of the Vedic hymns were ignorant of the sacred

syllable om. Indeed, they were great masters of mantra-yoga, and the Vedic

hymnodies are the astounding creation of their mantric competence. Possibly om

was considered so sacred that it could not be mentioned outside the actual

context of the Vedic sacrifices. In that case, it would have been passed on

from teacher to student by word of mouth in strictest confidence. There would

therefore have

been no need to mention om in the sacred hymns. All initiates would have known

it and also understood its sublime meaning. In any case, for countless

generations, any recitation of the Vedic hymns has begun with the syllable om.

The Atharva-Veda (10.8.10) seems to hint at this with the following riddle:

What is joined to the front and to the back and is joined all around and

everywhere, and by which the sacrifice proceeds? That praise (ric) I ask of

you. The syllable om is often appended to longer mantric utterances, both

introducing and concluding them, and this practice is very old indeed. As time

went by, the ban on uttering the sacred syllable or even writing it down

outside the sacrificial rituals was relaxed. Thus the sacred syllable is first

mentioned by name in the opening hymn of the Shukla-Yajur-Veda (1.1), the

"white" recension of the Vedic hymnody dealing strictly with the performance of

the

sacrifices (yajus). This could be a later addition, however. For the

Taittirîya-Samhitâ (5.2.8), which is appended to the Yajur-Veda, still

cryptically speaks of the "divine sign" (deva-lakshana) that is written

threefold (try-alikhita). Some scholars have seen this as a reference to the

three constituent parts of the syllable om, as written in Sanskrit: a + u + m.

The three constituents of om are referred to, for instance, in the

Prashna-Upanishad (V.5). The symbolic elaboration of this is found in the

Mândûkya-Upanishad, as we will see later. That the sacred syllable was written

down early on is clear from the fact that it had to be traced in sand or water

during certain of the ancient rituals. This is also a significant piece of

evidence in favor of writing at least in the late Vedic era, which is generally

denied by historians. However, today we appreciate that ancient Indian history

needs to be completely

rewritten. The long-held belief that the Vedic people invaded India between 1200

and 1500 B.C.E. has been shown to be unfounded. In fact, all the evidence points

to the identity between the Vedic people and the builders of the great cities

along the banks of the Indus river. Since inscribed artifacts have been found

in the Indus cities, the question of whether or not the Vedic people knew

writing can be conclusively answered in the affirmative. It is true, though,

that the Vedic hymnodies were in all probability never written down until

comparatively recently. Yet, the brahmins had devised an ingenious system of

memorization to guarantee that the Vedas were preserved with utmost fidelity.

It appears that they have been successful in this, thanks to the prodigious

memories of the Vedic specialists. Other cultures, which held their sacred

tradition in a similar high regard, sought to preserve it by memorization

rather

than writing it down on impermanent materials that, moreover, might fall into

the wrong hands. However, nowhere has the art of memorization reached the

sophistication that it did in India. Over many generations, om was not uttered

outside the sacred context of ritual worship. It was a secret sound

communicated by word of mouth from teacher to disciple, that is, originally

from father to son. Even the early Upanishads (which have recently been dated

back to the second millennium B.C.E.) often still refer to it only indirectly

as the udgîtha ("up sound") and the pranava ("pronouncing"). The former word

hints at the nasalized way in which om is sounded out, with the sound vibrating

at the psychoenergetic center located between and behind the eyebrows (i.e., the

âjnâ-cakra). The term pranava is derived from the prefix pra (etymologically

related to the Latin "pro") and the stem nava (derived from the verbal root nu

meaning

"to call out" and "to exult"). It is used, for instance, in the Yoga-Sûtra

(1.27), where it is called the symbol (vâcaka) of the Lord (îshvara). Patanjali

further states (in 1.28) that in order to realize the mystery of the Lord, the

om sound should be recited and contemplated. Another, later term for om is

târa, which is derived from the verbal root trî, meaning "to cross, traverse."

This is a reference to the liberating function of the om sound, which safely

transports the yogin across the ocean of existence (bhava-sâra) to the "other

shore." Through recitation, which is mindful repetition of the om sound, the

yogin can transcend the mind itself and thus is freed from the illusion of

being an insular being separate from everything else. The om sound is truly

liberating because it expands the reciter beyond the physical boundary of the

skin and beyond the metaphorical boundary of preconceptions, thus restoring the

recognition of the universal Self as his or her true identity.In the earliest

Upanishads, such as the Brihad-Âranyaka, Chândogya, and Taittirîya, the sacred

syllable om is mentioned many times by name, both as om (or aum) and om-kâra

("om making," meaning the "letter om"). However, udgîtha is more common. It is

the Chândogya that first clearly spells out the equation between the words

udgîtha and pranava (a term not found in the Brihad-Âranyaka). Perhaps these

two terms came in vogue because for unknown reasons om had, by that time,

spread beyond the sacred domain and begun to be used in the sense of "Yes, I

agree." The first record of this usage is in the Brihad-Âranyaka-Upanishad

(3.9.1) itself, where om is employed seven times in this manner. Indeed, the

Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.8) clearly states: "That syllable is a syllable of

assent, for whenever we assent to anything we say aum [= om]." Max Müller

commented on

this as follows: If, then, om meant originally that and yes, we can understand

that, like Amen, it may have assumed a more general meaning, something like tat

sat, and that it may have been used as representing all that human language can

express. The Chândogya-Upanishad (1.1.9) also has this relevant passage: By

this the threefold knowledge proceeds. To honor this syllable, aum is recited,

aum is exclaimed, aum is chanted, with its greatness and essence.

Interestingly, in his commentary on this Upanishad, Shankara takes this passage

to refer to the soma sacrifice, which again affirms the connection between om

and soma mentioned above. He states that the soma ritual is performed to

celebrate, or honor, the sacred syllable, which is the symbol of the Divine.

This sacrifice, he further explains, maintains the Sun from which proceeds all

life and nourishment by means of warmth and rain. The

Chândogya-Upanishad (1.9.4) also quotes Atidhanvan Shaunaka, the teacher of

Udara Shândilya, as saying, "So long as your descendants will know this

udgîtha, their life in this world will be the highest and best." This expresses

the idea that the sacred syllable is a blessing for those who utter it. For this

reason it is worthy of being held in the highest esteem, as this and other

scriptures emphasize. According to the concluding verses of the

Brihat-Samnyâsa-Upanishad—a text of the medieval period—12,000 recitations of

om remove all sins, while 12,000 recitations daily for a period of one year

bring realization of the Absolute (brahman). What greater blessing can there be

than this? From Om to Aum --------------At least two millennia after the sacred

syllable om was discovered by the Vedic seers (rishis), the anonymous sage who

composed the brief Mândûkya-Upanishad utilized this age-old mantra to expound

the

metaphysics of Advaita Vedânta. Thus he explained the three constituent parts

(mâtrâ) of the syllable—namely a + u + m—as symbolizing past, present, and

future, as well as waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. He also spoke of a fourth

part that transcends the other three and concluded his esoteric observations

with the statement that om is the Self (âtman), saying, "He who knows this

enters the Self with the self—indeed, he who knows this!" The importance of the

Mândûkya-Upanishad can be gauged from the fact that the venerable sage Gaudapâda

wrote his celebrated commentary entitled Mândûkya-Kârikâ on it, which was

subsequently commented on at length by Shankara, the great preceptor of the

school of nondualism (advaita). Gaudapâda was the teacher of Govindapâda,

Shankara's guru. Another scripture, given exclusively to explaining the sacred

syllable om is the Atharva-Shikhâ-Upanishad. This scripture begins with the

question: What should one meditate on? The answer is: the syllable om, which

symbolizes the supreme Absolute (brahman). The text speaks of four constituent

parts of this mantra, each having its own symbolic correlations as follows: 1.

the sound a — earth - ric (hymn of praise) — Rig-Veda — Brahman — Vasus (a

class of eight deities) — gâyatrî meter — gârhapatya fire — red — dedicated to

Brahman; 2. the sound u — atmosphere — yajus (sacrificial formula) — Yajur-Veda

— Vishnu — Rudras (deities governing the region between earth and heaven) —

trishtubh meter — dakshina fire — bright — dedicated to Rudra; 3. the sound m —

heaven — sâman (sacred chants) — Sâma-Veda — Vishnu — Âdityas (deities connected

with the Goddess Aditi, symbolizing primordial infinity) — jagatî meter —

âhavanîya fire — black — dedicated to Vishnu; 4. "half-part" (ardha-mâtra) —

Atharvan songs — Atharva-Veda — fire of universal

destruction — Maruts (deities of the mid-region who are especially associated

with the wind) — Virât — lightning-like and multicolored — dedicated to

Purusha. The most important part is the nasalized "half-part" sound m, which

brings its own illumination and causes the life force (prâna) in the body to

rush upward into the head. This Upanishad further states that the om sound is

called om-kâra because it sends the currents of the life force upward (ûrdhvam

utkrâmayati) and that it is called pranava because it makes all the life

currents bow down (pranâmayati) before it. The text concludes by stating that

the om sound is Shiva. Interestingly, in Tantra-Yoga, the serpent power

(kundalinî-shakti) resting in the psychoenergetic center at the base of the

spine, is said to be coiled up three and a half times. Very likely, this

captures the same idea as in the notion of the three and a half units of the om

sound. The

Tantras would presumably modify the Upanishad's final claim to replace Shiva

with Shakti, which in the form of the kundalinî rises upward and while doing so

assimilates the life currents. In fact, the ascent of the serpent power is

accompanied by manifestations of ever more subtle sound. According to the

Amrita-Bindu-Upanishad (4), only the silent part of the sound m leads to the

soundless, invisible Abode, the ultimate Reality. This scripture explains

breath control (prânâyâma), a very important aspect of yogic discipline, as the

recitation of the gâyatrî-mantra: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhîmahi

dhiyo yo nah pracodayât). This mantra is to be recited together with the

pranava and the vyâhritis ("formulaic utterances," notably the words bhûh

bhuvah svah, standing for "earth,mid-region," and "heaven" respectively).

This sacred mantra should be recited three times in a single breath. The

Amrita-Nâda-Upanishad (2ff.) recommends that one should mount the "chariot of

the om sound," make Vishnu one's charioteer, and steer steadily toward the

ultimate Reality. As one approaches the supreme Self, one should abandon the

chariot and enter the splendor of the Self by means of the unsounded letter m.

This is the silent, subtle part of om. This Upanishad prescribes breath

control, especially retention of the breath, as a means of controlling the

senses and focusing the mind upon the inner world. It defines Yoga as the state

of restraint over a period of twelve units or measures (mâtrâ), that is, twelve

recitations of om. It promises the dawning of wisdom within three months of

diligent and continuous practice, an inner vision of the deities within four

months, and final liberation within a mere six months. Of course, one must be

able to sustain unwavering concentration for that span of time in order to

succeed. For

most people, this is an impossibility. For, as one Vedic seer-bard (rishi)

complained in the Rig-Veda (10.33.2), "My mind flutters here and there like a

bird." According to the Dhyâna-Bindu-Upanishad (15), the pranava is the bow,

oneself is the arrow, and the Absolute is the target. This metaphor is first

found in the Mundaka-Upanishad (2.2.3-4). It also calls the pranava

imperishable and states that its "fine end" cannot be expressed. Another

favorite metaphor, also recapitulated in the Dhyâna-Bindu-Upanishad (22), is

that of oneself as the lower churning stick (arani) and the om sound as the

upper churning stick. By practicing it, one can restrain one's breath and

dissolve the subtle sound (nâda). Through constant cultivation of the subtle

inner sound, declares the Nâda-Bindu-Upanishad (49), the karmic imprints

(vâsanâ) left by our past volitional activity are eradicated. This leads to the

merging of mind and

life force. When the mind and the life force are motionless, the person abides

as the subtle sound known as brahma-târa-antara-nâda, which can be translated

as the "innermost sound that is the brahmic liberator (târa)." A fascinating

account of the sacred syllable is given in the Nârada-Parivrâjaka-Upanishad

(8.1ff.), a medieval scripture. Here om is said to be threefold: the

destructive om, the creative om, and the internal-and-external om (comprising

the two former types). Another threefold division is: the brahmic om, the

internal om, and the practical om. Then the text mentions two more sets: the

external om, the om of the seers (rishi), and the virât om (consisting of the

former two), as well as the destructive om, the Brahma om, and the om of the

half-measure (ardha-mâtrâ). This Upanishad goes on to explain these various

forms of om as follows: The internal om is the single syllable om, which has

eight

parts—a, u, m, ardha-mâtrâ, nâda, bindu, kalâ, and shakti. The phoneme a is said

to consist of 10,000 parts, the phoneme u of 1,000 parts, the phoneme m of 100

parts, and the ardha-mâtrâ of an infinite number of parts. The creative om is

described as having qualities and the destructive om as having none. The virât

om is said to consist of sixteen units (morae). In addition to the

above-mentioned eight parts (which are explained below), the sacred syllable

also has kalâ-atîta, shânti, shânti-atita (written shântyatîta), unmanî,

mana-unmanî (written manomanî), purî, madhyamâ, pashyantî, and parâ. This text

also refers to 64 and 128 parts of the sacred syllable, but it makes the point

that ultimately its designated object—the Absolute—is singular. The Sacred

Syllable Om in the Tantras ----The above

Upanishadic ideas lead to the speculations about om in the Tantric literature

where

concepts like nâda, bindu, kalâ, shakti, etc. abound. The Shâradâ-Tilaka-Tantra

(1.108) describes the cosmogonic process in terms of the production of sound as

follows: From the supreme Shakti—pure Consciousness combined with the factor of

lucidity (sattva)—comes the most subtle sound (dhvani), which is marked by a

preeminence of the factors of lucidity and dynamism (rajas). Out of the dhvani

develops the subtle sound (nâda), characterized by a mixture of the factors of

lucidity, dynamism, and inertia (tamas). This subtle sound, in turn, gives rise

to the energy of restriction (nirodhikâ), which has an excess of the factor of

inertia. This ontic principle emanates the "half-moon" (ardha-indu, written

ardhendu), which at this lower level again shows a predominance of the factor

of lucidity. Out of it comes the vibratory source point (bindu), the immediate

source of all letters and words. These form mantras, which are thus

manifestations or vehicles of Shakti. This scripture (1.8) further explains that

the bindu is itself composed of three parts, viz. nâda, bindu, and bîja

("seed"). The first part has a predominance of Consciousness (i.e., Shiva), the

second a preponderance of Energy (i.e., Shakti), and the third an equal presence

of Consciousness and Energy. Such esoteric accounts of the evolution of sound

remain relatively unintelligible outside of Tantric practice; however, they

become increasingly meaningful as the practitioner makes progress on the path

of mantra-vidyâ or "mantric science." The primordial sound is uncaused. In the

language of Kashmiri Tantrism, it is pure vibration (spanda). According to the

Kirana-Tantra (copied in 924 C.E.), om resides in the throat of Shiva and is

the Divine itself. This scripture also describes it as the root of all mantras,

stating that upon articulation it becomes vâc ("speech"),

corresponding to the Greek concept of logos. As we get higher up the ladder of

ontic unfoldment, we encounter ever more subtle energies. Thus the mâtrikâs are

the subtle alphabetic counterpart to their corresponding audible sounds; the

bindu is subtler than the mâtrikâs, and the nâda is still more subtle. As the

Yoga-Shikhâ-Upanishad (2.21) states, "There is no mantra higher than the nâda."

In old graphic representations of the om-kâra, the nâda symbol is drawn or

painted as an inverted crescent above the bindu, which suggests that the nâda

is prior to the bindu. Later the crescent placed below the bindu emphasized

that the nâda contains the bindu. Both graphic representations make the same

point, however. The nâda itself has various levels of subtle manifestation.

According to the Hamsa-Upanishad (16) it manifests in ten different ways. First

there is the sound cini, then cini-cini. The third sounds like a bell, the

fourth like the blast of a conch, whereas the fifth has the quality of a harp

sound. The sixth through the ninth respectively resemble the sounds of cymbals,

flute, kettle drum, and tabor. Only the tenth type, which is like a thunder

clap, should be cultivated. Various physiological symptoms are said to

accompany these sounds. Thus when the fourth sound is heard (in the right ear),

one's head begins to shake, while the fifth sound causes the subtle center at

the root of the palate to stream with the lunar ambrosia, and so on. The final

sound alone is accompanied by identification with the supreme Absolute

(para-brahman). Some Tantras differentiate between mahâ-nâda (also called

nâda-anta) and nirodhinî, which is transmuted into bindu. This is also called

tri-bindu because it is subdivided into nâda, bindu, and bîja. In this case,

the nâda is correlated with shiva, the bindu with shakti, and the bîja with

both Shiva and

Shakti. The ultimate Reality itself can be viewed as a point origin, and as such

is sometimes referred to as para-bindu or transcendental germinal point. Om is

the ultimate bîja-mantra. The idea of om being the root of other mantras may

actually have given rise to whole idea of bîja-mantras, which are root sounds

associated with particular deities. They are special high-potency sounds or

vibrations giving direct access to the spiritual realities for which they

stand. The Mantra-Yoga-Samhitâ (71) calls om the "best of all mantras," adding

that all other mantras receive their power from it. Thus om is prefixed or

suffixed to numerous mantras: Om namah shivâya. "Om. Obeisance to Shiva."Om

namo bhagavate. "Om. Obeisance to the Lord [Krishna or Vishnu]." Om namo

ganeshâya. "Om. Obeisance to [the elephant-headed] Ganesha." Om namo

nârâyanâya. "Om. Obeisance to Nârâyana [Vishnu]." Om shânte

prashânte sarva-krodha-upashamani svâhâ. "Om. At peace! Pacifying! All anger be

subdued! Hail!" (Note pronunciation: sarva-krodhopashamani) Om sac-cid-ekam

brahma. "Om. The singular Being-Consciousness, the Absolute." The

Mahânirvâna-Tantra (3.13) calls the last-mentioned brahma-mantra the most

excellent of all mantras, which promptly bestows not only liberation but also

virtue, wealth, and pleasure. The para-bindu mentioned above is said to have a

masculine and a feminine side, which are respectively called ham and sa, thus

yielding the sound or word hamsa, meaning "swan," but signifying the sound of

the breath and indeed the breath itself as it enters and leaves the body. This

natural motion of breathing, which is calculated to occur 21,600 times every

day, is called spontaneous recitation (sahaja-japa) or unrecited recitation

(ajapa-japa). The hamsa also stands for the psyche (jîva), which lives through

the

breath. This spontaneous mantra is understood as so'ham or "I am he," that is,

"I am Shiva, the ultimate Reality." But ignorance prevents us from realizing

this; hence the need for spiritual practice. The Yoga-Bîja (156), a

comparatively late Hatha-Yoga text, states that when the prâna enters the

central channel, the natural mantra reverses itself from hamsa to so'ham.

Experientially, however, this is not different from the primordial om, the root

mantra that reverberates through the entire cosmos.The Mantra-Yoga-Samhitâ (73)

has this stanza: When people hear the pranava they hear the Absolute itself.

When they utter the pranava they go to the abode of the Absolute. He who

perceives the pranava sees the state of the Absolute. He who always has the

pranava in his mind has the form of the Absolute. Conclusion ----------This

brief discourse on the history and nature of the sacred syllable om is meant to

give the reader a better appreciation of the metaphysical complexities

surrounding this age-old mantra and of some of the profound spiritual practices

associated with it. It would be possible to write several volumes on this

subject, just as it would be possible to provide an overview of India's

spiritual traditions based solely on the theory and practice of the om sound.

What has been presented here is but a minute fraction of the teachings about om

developed over a span of five millennia. The Yoga tradition is very rich and

immensely sophisticated; yet its various schools and their respective paths are

at core very simple, and in their simplicity they have many features in common.

Above all, they lead to the same goal, which is the transcendence of the

ego-personality, however this may be conceived and expressed in words. As the

Rig-Veda (1.164.46) declared five millennia or more ago, "There is a single

Truth but the wise

call it by different names." AUM TAT SATNotes (1) M. Müller, Three Lectures on

the Vedânta Philosophy (London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1894), p. 116. (2)

Ibid. (3) See Swami Sankarananda, The Rigvedic Culture of the Pre-Historic

Indus, (Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1942), p. 75. (4) See V.-L. Mitra,

The Yoga-Vasishtha-Maharamayana (Calcutta: Bonnerjee and Co., 1891), vol. 1.,

p. 39. Apparently, Mitra got this idea from Ram Mohan Roy, the founder of

Brahma Samaj. (5) Ibid., p. 46. In linking om with Amen, Mitra took his cue

from the great Sanskrit scholar Rajendra Lala Mitra. (6) See, e.g., G.

Feuerstein, S. Kak, and D. Frawley, In Search of the Cradle of Civilization:

New Light on Ancient India (Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 1996). (7) M. Müller, op.

cit., p. 116. © Copyright 1999 by Georg Feuerstein. All rights

reserved.---------http://www.geocities.com/aumganesh/

 

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Namaste James,

 

It was written by the renowned Indologist and scholar Georg

Feuerstein in 1999. If you type his name in the search engine,

you'll find a list of books and articles that he's written. He used

to have a magnificent website too but I can't remember the name.

Heard it doesn't exist any more and that he has a new site. Haven't

had time to find it yet but shall get round to that eventually )

 

Great reading your thoughts about Soma and fly agaric, thanx for

sharing! Think you have a good point there. Resonating with what

you said regarding vibe to do with Ommmm.

 

Ommmmms & blessings,

Simone

 

, james richard <nhraddude71>

wrote:

> Namaste Sy, Did you compose that Om eassay yourself? It was

intensely indepth. I started getting a little Attention deficet

towards the end. Very well researched.

> Ive heard of the Soma as being the fly agaric. Ive

read stories of how sages would drink the urine of others who

injested the soma because the urine was still hallucinogenic but

less toxic than the origanal fly agaric because of being filtered

through the ingesters liver and kidneys. You cant always believe

everything you read ,but it sounded to strange to be fiction. I wish

I could give you a reference source but it was just something on the

web i read years ago. Im sure if you researched soma enough you

would find something like that. I wouldnt be suprised if thats where

OM came from. Because Soma or Peoti or Teonanactyl (Toltec for "Gods

flesh" also known as psilocyb mexicana) will send you to another

demension beyond description.

> I just think Its more about the sound vibration than

the letters. Theres just a vibe about the sound that just screams

sacred. I dont know what it is. It just touches your core.

>

>

Thanks for the info, James