The Mundakoupanishad : Post-34. - Swami Krishnananda.

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Wednesday,  12 Jun  2023. 06:15.

Chapter-2, Section-2.

Mantram--6. {METHOD OF CONTEMPLATION ON BRAHMAN WITH THE HELP OF PRANAVAM (AUM)}

POST-34.

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Mantram-6.

" iva ratha-nabhou samhata yatra nadyah

sa esho-'nta's-carate bahudha jaya-manah,

Om-ityevam dhyayatha atmanam

svasti vah paraya tamasah parastat."

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Translation 

Where all the nerves meet like the spokes of a chariot wheel in the hub, there within the heart He moves, becomimg manifold. 

Meditate on that Self as Om.

Godspeed to you in crossing to the farther shores beyond darkness.

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Commentary

All the nerve currents of the body and the divinities of the cosmos are fixed in this universal consciousness, Brahman, as spokes in a wheel are fixed in the hub of the wheel. This One, in which everything is fixed, is moving inside the heart, and it manifests itself in various forms as visualisations by the mind of a variety of conceptualisations of objects—antas carate bahudha jayamanah.

It was said you must meditate on Brahman. How do you meditate on Brahman? The prescription is given here. Aum ity evaṁ dhyāya: Meditate on Brahman as Om, by recitation of Om. Deeply chant Om like a vibration rising from the naval to the heart, as it were, and moving upwards through the heart and the throat until it becomes an articulated sound through the vocal organs. Inversely, when the sound formation of Om is recited through the vocal organs, it becomes subtler and subtler as the chanting becomes calmer and calmer, more and more inward, and becomes inverted into its original source until it reaches its vibratory condition where sound is absent. This ultimate vibration, which is the final shape of Om, is identical with cosmic power, the very will of God. Therefore, meditate on Brahman as Om. Om is the name of Brahman.

Tasya vacakah pranavah (Y.S. 1.27), says Patanjali. We want to call God by some name, and we cannot call Him by any other name except Om. This is because all other names—such as Rama, Krishna, Govinda, tree, stone, water, mountain—are words that we use to name particular objects. Every word in language has a particular object in front of it, located in some place, whereas Brahman is not an object located in some place. Hence, any word that can connote only a located object will not suffice in defining Brahman, which is everywhere. You require a universal name to denote Universal Being. The universal name is Om, according to universal vibrations. Therefore, through Om meditate on Brahman. Aum ity evaṁ dhyāyathātmānam: Thus, contemplate the Atman through Om.

Svasti vah paraya tamasah parastat: The Guru is blessing the disciples.

 “May good betide you. Godspeed to you for crossing beyond this ocean of samsara, beyond this darkness of ignorance.” 

Tamasah parastat: “May you be blessed.” 

Here is a blessing from the Guru, as the teacher of this Upanishad. 

Svasti vah paraya tamasah parastat: “May you succeed.” Bon voyage!

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Next-Mantram:7.

To be continued

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