The Mantra ‘Om’: Science, Spirituality, and Philosophy in Vedas

 

Scientific studies have shown the immense power unleashed by the chanting of ‘Om’, which induces calm, a phenomenon that Indian seers had deduced centuries ago. Albert Einstein once said, "Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a Spirit is manifest in the Laws of the Universe — a Spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we, with our modest powers, must feel humble."

Many thousands of years ago, our culture was not fragmented as it is now. At that time, science and spirituality were intertwined, as discussed by Indian rishis and knowledge developers. Modern physics suggests that everything is internally related to everything else. We are part of the whole. It could be said that science, art, and spirituality are the principal content of culture. The Mandukya Upanishad discusses the theory of four states of consciousness and asserts that Aum is Brahman — and that Brahman is this self, ātman. The phrase "Aham Brahmasmi," one of the Maha Vakyas, encapsulates this idea. The word Om represents Brahma in the sabda form and is described as such by Bhartrhari in his Vakyapadiya. This article discusses the fusion of science, spirituality, and philosophy as revealed in the mantra Om.

Sanatan Culture and OM

Sanatan Dharma, the eternal way of life, is the spiritual foundation of Indian civilization. Central to Mystery Of Sanatan Dharma is the concept of unity in diversity, which is exemplified in the reverence for the mantra Om. Om is not just a sound but a symbol of the ultimate reality and the universe. It is believed to encompass all of creation and to represent the past, present, and future. This mantra is deeply embedded in the practices, rituals, and daily life of those who follow Sanatan Dharma.

The significance of Om in Sanatan culture is immense. It is chanted at the beginning and end of prayers, during meditation, and in rituals to evoke a sense of the divine. Om is also used in yoga as a way to connect with the inner self and the universe. The chanting of Om is believed to purify the mind and soul, creating a spiritual connection with the divine.

Knowledge Generation in Ancient India

The history of Indian knowledge generation, as known from written documents, began in the 8th century BC with the Sulbasutras by a school of Sulbakaras like Katyayana and Apastambha. In contrast, the beginning of Science as knowledge generation in the West started in the 17th century with the works of Galileo and later Isaac Newton. For example, the West knew of the seven colors of the rainbow through Newton’s famous demonstration of the dispersion of sunlight by a triangular glass prism. However, Varahamihira, in the 6th century AD, described the formation of a rainbow caused by the dispersion of sunlight by water droplets present in the air just after a rain:

सूर्यस्य विवधवर्णाः पवनेन विघट्टिताः कराः साभ्रे। वियति धनुः संस्थानाः ये दृश्यन्ते तदिन्द्रधनुः।।

Brihat Samhita, Varahamihira, 6th century AD

Classical Physics in the West originated with Newton and has two fundamental components: the observer and the observed. For an observer, there is the world out there to be perceived, and the act of observation does not disturb the observed. This led Newton to develop theoretical and experimental works based on the existence of absolute time and space. This situation did not change for the next two-and-a-half centuries until Max Planck led a revolution by creating new physics through energy quantization while discussing the unsolved problem of black body radiation. This revolution caused a paradigm shift with the entry of Albert Einstein, who published three papers in Annalen der Physik: ‘Theory of Brownian motion,’ ‘Theory of photoelectric effect,’ and ‘Special theory of relativity.’

Quantum theory, which was seeded by Max Planck and helped to germinate by Einstein, grew into different branches called Quantum Mechanics (QM), or the Physics of the micro-world. The arrival of quantum mechanics destroyed the dichotomy of the observer-observed system, with the observer influencing the observed. This led Heisenberg to introduce the famous uncertainty principle, which became the foundation of QM along with Schrödinger’s wave equation. The foundation of QM rests on the concept of the operator, the state of the system defined by a function (called wave function), and eigenvalue (the probable result of the outcome of the observation). Prior to the actual performance of an experiment, the observer can predict all possible outcomes with specific probabilities. However, once the experiment is performed, all the probable outcomes vanish except one, namely the result of the experiment, and there is no longer any ambiguity. One can think of this as one system with different manifestations, and one can realize the reality once the observation is made.

Knowledge of Different Forms

Ever since humans appeared on Earth as a thinking species (‘I think, therefore I am,’ said René Descartes), many questions have arisen in their minds, such as "Who am I?", "Where did I come from?", "Where do I go?", "What is death?", "Who is the controller of this entire universe?", and "Is there something hidden behind the visible universe?" Humans explore the universe to get answers using their five senses to obtain direct knowledge — known as Pratyaksha. From Pratyaksha, they infer knowledge using their minds as instruments, which is hidden knowledge — known as Paroksha. Conclusions drawn from the acquired knowledge result in what is called scientific reality, based on which they judge the world. Better and better knowledge is obtained using better instruments. For example, an X-ray machine reveals knowledge beneath the skin, expanding the horizon of knowledge. Thus, Pratyaksha together with Paroksha knowledge provides what forms scientific reality (SR).

Philosophers define another type of knowledge revealed instantly and immediately to a specially trained mind — known as Aparoksha, of which scientific reality is a subset. For scientific reality, the universe is not an open book; the more we uncover its secrets, the farther the horizon of knowledge recedes. Humans describe the universe through five senses based on Panchabhuta — earth (Prithvi), water (Jal), fire (Agni), ether (Akash), and the fifth at a higher plane, namely Sat. Sat is the first cause of all evolution, named in Indian philosophy as Parabrahma — the Absolute. It is through a highly trained mind that the absolute reality is realized. It is the highest spiritual truth and, in fact, is the TRUTH as it is. As Max Muller puts it, our inner life is more perfect, more comprehensive, and more universal, in short, more human — a life transformed into eternal life. This is Brahma Bhava, described by Shankaracharya.

According to Shankaracharya, Brahma is formless, and we all are part of that infinite consciousness. Our ultimate goal is to unite with that consciousness. Adi Shankaracharya remarked that the ultimate truth is formless, but various forms of gods are actually the expressions of that formless energy. Hence, by worshipping our gods and deities, we are actually worshipping the infinite. Brahman, according to Shankaracharya, is the cause of the origination, subsistence, and dissolution of the world, which is extended in names and forms with characteristics: (1) This world must have been produced as the modification of something that is omnipresent and omnipotent. (2) The world is so orderly that it could not have come forth from a non-intelligent source. Brahman is the intelligent source. (3) This Brahman is the immediate consciousness that shines as the self and also through the objects of cognition that the self knows. The word OM represents Brahma in the sabda form and is described as such by Bhartrhari in his Vakyapadiya (Vakyapadiya I,1; I, 20):

"In which the symbols of speech, pointers as it were to the ‘one letter scripture’ (Om) shine forth like reflections in association with that (i.e., Om) which is antecedent to all (manifested) speech."

OM, The Maha Mantra Described in Mandukya Upanishad

The Mandukya Upanishad is one of the several Upanishads that discuss the meaning and significance of the syllable Aum (Om). The Mandukya Upanishad opens by declaring, "Aum! This syllable is this whole world." With a four-fold structure derived from A + U + M + ‘silence’ (or without an element) in verses 3 to 6, the Mandukya Upanishad enumerates four states of consciousness: wakeful, dream, deep sleep, and the state of ekatma (being one with Self, the oneness of Self). These four are A + U + M + ‘without an element’ respectively.

Verses 3 through 7 discuss four states of Atman, which can be summarized as these four states of Self: seeking the physical, seeking inner thought, seeking the causes and spiritual consciousness, and the fourth state is realizing oneness with the Self, the Eternal. The Mandukya Upanishad describes three states of consciousness: waking (jagrat), dreaming (svapna), and deep sleep (suṣupti), and ‘the fourth’ (Turiya), beyond and underlying these three states.

The Om mantra is a mahamantra with a single letter but is also labeled as the monosyllabic Brahman in the Shrimad Bhagvadgita. The sage of this mantra is Parabrahman, the deity Parmatma, and the rhythm (chanda) Gayatri. The mahamantras from the Vedas, Upanishads, etc., and also the efficacious (siddha) mantras and names denoting ‘the Lord’ are the varied forms of this Omkar. When chanting every mantra, it is essential to start it with the Om mantra, also known as Omkar. The scriptures describe the pranav, that is, Om mantra, as the ‘monarch of mantras’. It is considered the symbol or representation of the individual soul.

OM: Scientific Studies

Scientific studies have shown that when OM is chanted, an alpha wave is produced within the brain. This wave produces a state of calm. Let us look at the phonetics of the word OM. According to the Mandukya Upanishad (Johnston, 1923), OM is the manifestation of all states of time, Atman, consciousness, and knowledge. In Sanskrit, the sound “O” is a diphthong spelled “AU”. A diphthong is a mixture of two vowel sounds and can be separately heard. This is why OM sounds like “AUM,” which represents the three-fold division of time.

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