Aum – Divine Discourses

Aum – Divine Discourses of Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

• Om is the symbol of the unchanging eternal universal supreme God …. Om is the sound of the movement of the stars in the firmament; it is the sound that manifested when the dawn of Creative Will stirred the Niraakaara (the Attributeless) into activity. SSS6, Chap. 42
• Every little moment or incident results in sound; only, you may not be able to hear, because the range of your ear is limited. The falling of an eyelid over the eye makes a sound, the dropping of dew on a petal makes a sound. Any little agitation disturbing the calm is bound to produce sound. The sound caused by the primal movement that resulted in the enveloping of Brahman by self-evolved illusion is the Pranavasabdha or Om. The Gaayathri is the elaboration of that Pranava and so, it is now held so venerable and valuable that initiation into spiritual life is achieved by its contemplation. SSS4, Chap. 18
• If you have the ear, you can hear ‘Om’ announcing the Lord’s Presence in every sound. All the five elements produce this sound, ‘Om.’ The bell in the temple is intended to convey the Om as the symbol of the Omnipresent God. When the bell sounds Om, the Godhead within you will awaken and you will be aware of His Presence. That is the meaning of the bell which is rung in front of the inner shrine in the temple. SSS1, Chap. 9
• What is the difference between the Omkara and all other sounds and words? The Omkara has a unique, distinctive quality in the way it is pronounced and the goal it represents. When other letters are uttered, the lips, the tongue, the cheeks and the jaws are in action. But when the Omkara is pronounced, none of these move at all. This is a unique characteristic of Omkara. Hence ‘OM’ alone can be regarded as Aksharam (imperishable). All the other sounds are expressions of different languages.
• The best upadesh (spiritual instruction) is the Pranava, the sacred syllable OM, which summarises many principles of theology, philosophy and mysticism. Little children just learning to toddle about are given a three-wheeled contraption which they push forward, holding on to the cross-bar. The OM is such a ‘vehicle’ for the spiritual child. The three wheels are a, u and m, the three components of the manthra. OM is the primal sound inherent in the life breath. SSS5, Chap. 46
• Krishna’s flute is the expression, the elucidation of the four Vedas, and Om is their quintessence.
• ‘A’, ‘U’, ‘M’ and the dot (signifying the reverberation of the Sound in the depth of the heart) are symbolic of the four Vedas.
• Om is also symbolic of the Raama Principle. The four brothers, Raama, Lakshmana, Bharatha, and Satrughna, represent the Rig, Yagur, Sama and Atharvana Vedas. SSS14, Chap. 9
• The Pranava japa (the recitation of Om and the contemplation of that mystic syllable) will help to calm the roaring waves. Om is the sum of all the teachings in the Vedas about Godhead and of all the systems of adoring the Godhead; Om ithi ekaaksharam Brahma – Om, that one syllable is Brahman!
• Ramakrishna Paramahamsa told an addict that he must not consume more than a given quantity of opium; he gave him a piece of chalk, to weigh every day the quantity of opium he can eat – no more, no less! But, he imposed a condition, whose usefulness in helping him to conquer the bad habit the addict did not realize then. It was that every time he used the weight he had to write on a slate, the Pranava (Om), before putting it on the scale of the balance. The fellow obeyed; the chalk was reduced in weight with every Om, until it was eliminated in full; the opium habit too was reduced out of existence! The Om also helped to transfer his attachment from the opium-induced tranquility to the everlasting Bliss of God-intoxication.

[Source : SSS -7, Chap. 43]