From: "vrnparker" Mailing-List: list vediculture@yahoogroups.com Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2003 11:38:48 -0000 Subject: [world-vedic] On Omkar & Swastika http://www.hindubooks.org/sudheer_birodkar/hindu_history/omkar.html Hindu Symbols and Symbolisms - Omkar, Swastika by Sudheer Birodkar India is a land of innumerable beliefs, rituals and religious symbols. These beliefs and symbols are highly respected and revered. The origin of the syllable OM is lost in the misty past. It's not being specific to any one country or civilization is indicative of its being an universally perceptible sound for the human race. This reason for this universal perceptibility possibly lies in the fact that AAAH is the most natural sound that issues from the human larynx. This is evident when a man cries out naturally in extreme pain, anger or fear. When emotions reach an extreme pitch the articulate sounds evolved by man are not the ones that are heard, but the syllable natural to man which is AAAH. As a devout people we normally do not go into the meaning and interpretation of our many beliefs. It is sufficient for most of us to know that they are part of the heritage handed down to us by our ancestors and in deference to tradition it becomes our duty to scrupulously and meticulously adhere to them. But by doing things without knowing the meaning behind them do we not deprive ourselves of an insight into our heritage? Culture can be well appreciated and adapted to changing times if the meaning behind its different constituents is well understood. To develop this understanding one has to look upon all human actions as having originated in human society. While answers to all questions cannot be obtained, the acceptance of this approach at least opens the door to inquiry into the circumstances which gave rise to our revered traditions. An attempt to interpret our religious beliefs and symbols is a challenging task. Many of these issues defy analysis and call for a judicious combination of the study of the social environment, etymology, aesthetics and philosophy. As far as aesthetics and philosophy go there exists a good deal of subjectivism and value judgement. While talking about etymology and the social environment we are on relatively firmer ground. In this chapter we have taken a set of symbols, beliefs and rituals and have attempted to examine the possible meaning behind them and the reasons which could lie behind their origin. The first religious symbol we take up is that of Om or Omkar. OM or Omkar The syllable OM is quite familiar to a Hindu. It occurs in every prayer. Invocation to most gods begin with this syllable. For instance we have Om Namaha Shivaya, Hari Om, Om Shanti etc. OM is also pronounced as AUM. Is OM present in Christianity as 'Amen' and in Islam as 'Amin'? This term occurs in various ancient and modern civilizations. It exists Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. In Arabic the first alphabet is pronounced as aliph. In Greek it is alpha, in the Roman script it is A. Thus in many languages the first letter in the alphabet has the syllable A, with which the word AUM or OM begins. In the Greek alphabet the last letter is Omega which comes very close to OM. Thus the significance of the syllable OM as the beginning and end finds a parallel in many of the scripts associated with ancient languages. The different ways in which Omkar is depicted. This indicates some link between the various symbols and perhaps a common origin. Even in the English language the syllable 0m occurs in words having a similar meaning. For instance: Omniscience means infinite knowledge, Omnipotent means having infinite powers, Omnivorous means eating or reading every thing. This syllable also occurs in words such as Omen which means a sign of something that is to occur in future, Ombudsman means a person having authority to pronounce a verdict. Thus Om is also used to signify divinity and authority. The syllable OM is not specific to Indian culture. It has religious significance in other religions also. The word Amen used among Christians at the end of a prayer is also said to be derived from the the syllable OM. Although OM is not given any specific definition and is considered to be a cosmic sound, a primordial sound, the totality of all sounds etc., Amen is said to mean 'May it be so'. In Arabic a similar term 'Amin' has a religious significance. This is believed to be the original depiction of the syllable OM. We can see how similar it is to the English (Latin) letter 'M' as also to the greek letter 'Omega'. This sound it can be said would have been associated with man, in absence of articulate speech, as are the various sounds of barking, meowing, bellowing that we associate with different animals. This perhaps is the reason why the syllable beginning with the letter 'A' is the first one in most alphabets. And this perhaps is also the reason for the Deification of the syllable AUM or OM. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Swastika The next religious symbol which is also revered by Hindu and ranks second only to OM is the Swastika. Today, the Swastika is know the world over not as a religious symbolism of the Hindus but as the Nazi emblem. Hitler's use of the Swastika on the flag of National-socialist Germany has besmirched the Swastika. But the Swastika continues to hold a religious significance for the Hindus. Like OM, the origins of Swastika are lost in the misty realms of the past and they can only be guessed by piecing together of the surviving clues. Unlike OM, the Swastika is not a syllable or a letter. It appears to be decorative character which could have originated in a hieroglyphic (pictorial) script. The various ways in which the Swastika is depicted. The word Swastika is normally believed to be an amalgam of the words Su and Asati. Su means 'good' and Asati meant 'to exist'. As per Sanskrit grammar the words Su and Asati when amalgamated into one word become Swasti (as in the case of Su and Aaatam becoming Swagatam meaning welcome). If this derivation of the word Swastika is true, then the literal meaning of the term Swastika would be 'let good-prevail'. There exist many types of signs which stand for the Swastika. Even the standard version has two forms the one facing the right also called the symbol of the right hand path and the one facing the left called the symbol of the lefthand path. These two Swastikas are also considered to represent the male and female. There is also a Swastika which is an amalgam of these two types. Did the Swastika originate as blueprint for a fort called Su Vastu? In the conventional type of a fort, the fall of one of the gates to the attacking army would lead to the enemy's pouring into the fort and lead to massacre or capture of all or most of its inhabitants. But under the Swastika grids fall of one of the four gates could still keep, at least three-fourths of the fort safe. The understanding of the Swastika as a blueprint for a fort can also be etymologically corroborated. In Sanskrit, Vasa means to inhabit and Vastu means habitation. While Su means good. The word Swastika might be an amalgam of the terms 'Su' and 'Vastu' pronounced as as 'Swastu') meaning 'a good habitation'. All these forms present the Swastika to us as if it were only a symbol. But it is quite possible that Swastika was an object which played an important role in the real lives of people. Some scholars have said that in ancient times forts were built in the shape of a grid resembling the Swastika, for defensive purposes. Under such an arrangement it was difficult for an enemy to storm into all parts of the fort simultaneously. Incidentally in Sanskrit the term Swasta means calm or peaceful. Thus the term and concept of Swastika might as well be a derivation of the name of a defensive structure which due to its impregnable character was looked upon as a good habitation. That this form of a defensive arrangement was a fact is also corroborated by the military practice of Chakra-vyuha used during ancient times. The clue that the grid like the Swastika as a defensive arrangement was a fact is also corroborated by the military practice of Chakra-vyuha used during ancient times. In the Chakra-vyuha, the army was arranged in the form of a circular grid which an enemy army was supposed to break. This was one of the techniques used during the Mahabharata war in which Arjuna's son Abhimanyu was killed. That the Chakra-vyuha was an effective form of defense and it was very difficult to break it is corroborated by the episode of Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata. Briefly, this episode is as follows: When Abhimanyu was on the family way, Sri Krishna used to take Subhadra (Abhimanyu's mother) on excursions. To humour her, Krishna used to relate many of his adventures to the pregnant Subhadra. On one such excursion Krishna was narrating his experience with the technique of Chakra-vyuha and how step by step the various circles could be penetrated. It seems that Subhadra did not find this topic interesting enough for she soon went into a slumber. But someone else was interested in Sri Krishna's narration and that was the yet to be born Abhimanyu. While Subhadra dozed off, Abhimanyu continued to carefully follow Sri Krishna's narrative of the Chakra-vyuha. But after talking for sometime and not receiving any response from Subhadra, Sri Krishna turned back and saw that Subhadra was savouring a sweet nap. Sri Krishna who had at that time come upto the seventh step of the Chakra- vyuha, gave up his narration and returned with Subhadra to the palace. The unfortunate Abhimanyu could never obtain the technique of breaking all the circles in the chakra-vyuha, but whatever he had heard Sri Krishna say, he carefully preserved in his memory. He grew up to be a brave handsome young man. Many years later when during the Mahabharata war the Kauravas set up a Chakra-vyuha and challenged the Pandavas to come forward and break it, none of the Pandavas knew the technique of doing so. At that juncture to save the honour of the Pandavas, Abhimanyu came forward and offered his services for the task of breaking the Chakra-vyuha. Despite his incomplete knowledge of the technique he entered the grid and overcame one circle after another till he come to the seventh one for the breaking of which he had no knowledge. Brave and ambitious as he was he fought valiantly in the unequal struggle but in vain. His strength and bravery proved no match against the skillfully laid out maze of warriors fighting whom, he met his end. Similarly the Swastika could also have originated as a defensive structure which due to its vast practical utility was considered powerful and was sanctified.