Meditation According to the Upanishads - 11. Swami Krishnananda

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01/03/2020.
Spoken on January 14th, 1973)

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1.

#The Om that is referred to in the Mandukya Upanishad is not merely a linguistic chant. It is not a sound that we make through the vocal cords. It is a vibration that is set up. 

##The Upanishad wants to tell us that the universe is nothing but a bundle of vibrations. It is not made up of things, objects, substances, etc. 

###Today people are slowly trying to realise how vibrations are ultimately the essential constituents of even solid things. 

*Light can be converted into matter; matter can be converted into light. 

*We do not say light is an object like a stone, but what we call a stone, or a heavy material, is only a concretisation of vibrations of force. 

####Energy continuum is the universe. 

*Om is not a sound merely; *it is not a chant,* not a language, *not a word, *not a syllable, #but a vibration. 

#####So when we chant Om, we are not merely making a syllabic sound, but setting up a vibration in the system which harmonises the cellular constituents of our personality so that our body and the personality as a whole is set in tune with the outside object.

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2.

#The whole problem of life is a problem of harmony of consciousness with objects, and this harmony is to be brought about somehow by some means. 

*This is done by meditation. 

*Various kinds of meditation are prescribed. 

*One of them is this, the chant of Om wherein a rhythmic vibration is produced in the system to set the mind in tune with its object so that when such harmony is established, the three states of consciousness slowly dwindle into a single state. 

*Om becomes turiya in its amatra, or soundless form, which means that the chanting of Om is a help in meditation. 

##Any mantram is a help in meditation, but Om is supposed to be the mother of all mantras. All vibrations are contained within it. All the letters of the alphabet can be located in it.

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3.

#Thus, taking a bird’s-eye view of the techniques of meditation in the Upanishads, we finally get from them not only a philosophical analysis and exposition of the structure of the cosmos and individuals, but also a way the individual can approach the Supreme Being.

##So the Upanishad is both a philosophy and a method of approach.

###They are full of philosophical reasoning, psychological analysis, and practical suggestions.

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To be continued ....

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