The Supreme Combination of Letters
Emanating from the Flute of Sri Krsna
by
Swami B.G. Narasingha Maharaja

Om, the supreme combination of letters denotes the
Supreme Entities Sri Radha Krishna and indicates the acme of spiritual tendency
inherent in all jiva souls. Although,
Om is known and recognized widely in
most all spiritual cultures of Eastern philosophy from the Buddhists of
Tibet, to the Vedantist of Banaras, to the Theosophists of Los Angles, at
present only Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His sampradaya have actually understood the full transcendental meaning of Om given in the Veda, the Upanishads, the Vedanta and the Srimad
Bhagavatam.
In the Rg-veda we find
the following information;
om ity etad brahmano nedistam nama
yasmad uccaryamana
eva samsara-bhayat tarayati tasmad-ucyate tara iti
om asya jananto nama cid-viviktan mahaste visno
sumatim bhajamahe om tat sat
tato 'bhut trird-omkaro yo 'vyakta prabhavah svarat
yat tal-lingam bhagavato brahmanah paramatmanah
"One who chants om, which
is the closest form of Brahman, approaches
Brahman. This liberates one from the
fear of the material world, therefore it is known as tarak brahman.
"O Vishnu your self-manifest name, om, is the eternal form of cognizance. Even if my knowledge about the
glories of reciting this name is incomplete, still, by the practice of reciting
this name I will acheive that perfect knowledge.
"He who has unmanifested potencies and is fully independent,
manifests the vibration omkara, which indicates
Himself. Brahman, Paramatma, and Bhagavan are the three forms He manifests."
Om is described throughout
the Vedic literature and by the acharyas, great spiritual masters, as the seed conception of theism. In the
words of Srila Sridhar Maharaja, "Om means
'Yes'. Always, wherever we cast our glance to search, in one word the answer
is 'yes'. Yes, what you are searching for, is. You are searching for happiness,
pleasure, joy, fulfillment. You are in want, and in one word, 'yes',
fulfillment is there. Om takes the form of
Gayatri, then Veda and Vedanta-sutra; then it takes the shape of Srimad Bhagavatam and the lila, the divine pastimes,
of the Lord."
As a tree or fruit bearing creeper begins with a seed so
everything begins with Om; the gayatri
mantra begins with Om, the Vedas begin with Om, the Upanishads begin with Om, the Vedanta begins with Om, and the Srimad Bhagavatam begins
with Om. Therefore, it can safely be
said that our search for Sri Krishna begins with Om.
Om is the seed of theism, nonetheless,
there is a class of philosophers known as mayavadis who suggest that Om denotes
Brahman or the impersonal aspect of
the absolute truth. This, however, is not the conclusion of the Vedas or the statements of the Supreme Brahman Himself. In Bhagavad
Gita Krishna Himself says, "vedyam
pavitram omkara, I am the syllable Om."
As such 'Om' is known as the maha-vakya [maha-mantra]
in the Vedas.
Om clearly denotes Krishna,
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and the Vedanta-sutra begins with Om yet the mayavada philosophers stress the mantra , tat tvam asi, I am that or I am God and they try to give less importance to Om.
Om should never be thought
of as impersonal. That is perhaps the greatest misconception amongst many
philosophers of transcendence since the time of Sankaracharya. The impersonal
misconception of 'Om' has become so popular that even personalist
philosophers at the stage of practice are sometimes found to have developed
an aversion to 'Om' thinking it a means to impersonal realization.
Om for that matter is
non-different than the sound of Krishna's flute. Om is never impersonal at any time all that can be impersonal
about Om is the misconception that one
chooses to attach to it. The Gopal-tapani Upanishad discusses Om clearly establishing its non-difference
from the Supreme Personality of Godhead. txt. 41&42:
chatuhshabdo bhavedeko hyomkarah samudahritah
tamaddevah paro rajaseti so-ahamityavad
haryatmanam gopala-ahamiti bhavayet
"The sound vibration Om denotes
the chatur-vyuha-tattva of Sri Balaram, Pradyumna,
Aniruddha, and Sri Krishna. As the 'Om' transcends the three qualities
of material nature so also one should know oneself to be beyond the identification
with the material body. I am the eternal servitor of Gopala (Sri Krishna
the cowherd boy at Vrindavana) this consciousness must be maintained
at all times. "
The Gopala-tapani Upanishad further
enlightens us that from the devanagri script
'Om' we find the conjunct of four sounds to form one sound
A U M; tx-55&56
rohinitanayo ramo akarakshara sambhavah
taijasatmakah pradyumna ukaraksharasambhavah
prajnatmako aniruddho vai makaraksharasambhavah ardha-
matratmakah krishno yasmin vishvam pratishthitam
"The letter 'A' denotes Balaram , the son of Rohini,
who is the substratum of the entire universe. The letter 'U' denotes Pradyumna
who is the super soul of the universe. The letter 'M' denotes Aniruddha,
who is the super-soul of each individual being in the universe. And the
'dot' above the 'M' denotes Sri Krishna, the fountain head of all Vishnu
incarnations."
Meditation on Om begins
in this way and one who has got realized knowledge knows Om to be identical with Krishna, vasudevah sarvam iti sa mahatma
su-durlabhah. Such a great soul is very rare
and such a great soul can be understood to be the true knower of the Vedas.
Yet a further enlightened idea found in the Gopala-topani
Upanishad establishes the conception of Om
as connotative of the Supreme Entities Sri Radha-Krishna. tx
58
pranavatvena prakritim vadanti brahmavadinah
tasmad
omkarasambhuto gopalo visvasambhuvah
"The wise and enlightened sages declare that the Swarupa-shakti of Bhagavan, Sri Radha, being the prime mula-prakriti is non-different from Om. Gopala,
Sri Krishna who is the Creator, Sustainer, and Destroyer of the universe
is also non-different from Om."
To emphasize that the seed of lila or eternal pastimes is inherent in the seed mantra 'Om' the next verse of Gopala-tapani (59) states that 'Om'
and the kama-bija-mantra, 'Klim' are
also non-different.
klim-aum-karasyaikyatvam pathyate
brahmavadibhih
mathurayam visheshena mam dhyayan moksham ashnute
"The Brahmavadhis, men
of transcendental wisdom, know it for certain that the kama-bija-mantra
'Klim' and the monosyllable 'Om' are
one and the same. One who goes to Mathura Puri and meditates on Vraja Gopala,
by uttering either 'Klim' or 'Om', attains the ultimate destination
of the soul after giving up this present material body."
Since 'Om' and 'Klim' have been established
by the Upanishads as non-different
we can thus examine the nature of the 'Klim' mantra to better understand the conception the of rasa-tattva, divine mellows, in Om. Om is
complete with rasa, mellows, but it is
in a seed form. It is also a fact that mantras such
as the Gopala-mantra and the Kama-gayatri-mantra, both of which begin with 'Klim', and are properly chanted
by first uttering 'Om' in the beginning.
Srila Viswanatha Chakravathi Thakura, a most highly qualified
realized devotee, has given a substantial illumination of the kama-bija-mantra,
'Klim', so let us try to understand 'Om'
from that realized stand point.
Srila Viswanatha Cakravati Thakura explains the meaning
of kama-bija thus; 'Klim' is
the seed, kama-bija or the primary cause
of all-love. Kama-bija is connotative of
the entities Sri Sri Radha-Krishna, the Predominated and Predominating Moiety
of the Absolute Truth, respectively. (Klim-- that which denotes a
subject and gives its attributes by implication)
"K" is Krishna, the leading Hero, with his personal
form of eternity, knowledge, and bliss, ka-karah purusah krsnah sac-cid-ananda-vigrahah. "L" is celebrated as the blissful happiness of love,
the beauty of the pleasure of the Divine Couple, "L" is also celebrated
as Lalita, la-karo lalita para. "I"
is Srimati Radharani, the leading Heroine, who is the eternal Queen of Vrndavana,
i-karah prakrti radha. "M" is
the sweetness of bliss occurring when the Divine Couple kiss.
the bindu, dot, above the "M"
is said to be Their kissing, the half moon shape of the devanagri nasal letter is Their embracing.
If on chants 'Om' remembering the words of Gopala-tapani
Upanishad and the words Srila Viswanatha Chakravathi
Thakura then one can attain all spiritual perfection. But if one insists
on considering 'Om' as a manifestation of the impersonal Brahman then he certainly cheats himself of the chance of being re-instated
as an eternal servant of Sri Radha Krishna. The impersonal conception as
is preached by many of the so-called followers of Sankaracharya has simply
caused a great confusion in the spiritual field and this way of thinking
should be strictly avoided by all aspiring devotees. Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
has personally said, "Mayavadi-bhasya sunile haya sarvanasa: any one who hears the impersonal commentary of the Mayavada school
is completely doomed."
If one comes under the sway of the impersonal conception
then he certainly becomes no better than an atheist. Where is the question
of theism if one says that God has no form or that he is God? Theism means
that there is God, His Pleasure Potency-Sri Radha, and Their eternal servants-the
jiva souls.
Srila Prabhupada once said, "The sound of 'Om'
in the beginning of every Vedic hymns addresses the Supreme Lord. Because
the impersonalists are very much afraid of addressing the Supreme Lord Krishna
by His innumerable names, they prefer to vibrate the transcendental sound
omkara. But they do not realize that
omkara is the sound representation of Krishna.
The jurisdiction of Krishna consciousness extends everywhere and one who
knows Krishna consciousness is blessed. Those who do not know Krishna are
in illusion, and so knowledge of Krishna is liberation, and ignorance of
Him is bondage."
The goal of meditation on 'Om' is never to give
up one's individual identity and merge with the Supreme and that is inherent
in the mantra as I have stated in my
opening paragraph. The inherent identity of the jiva soul is included in the 'Om' mantra as the eternal servant of Sri Radha Krishna and this is given support
by Srila Jiva Goswami in his description of the alphabetical constituents
of the mantra as follows;
a-karenocyate krsnah sarva-lokaika-nayakah
u-karenocyate radha ma-karo jiva-vacakah
"Om is a combination
of letters, A,U,M. The letter 'A' refers to Krishna. The Letter 'U' refers
to Radha, and the letter 'M' refers to the jiva soul."
Thus, according to Jiva Goswami the inherent position of
the jiva soul in the 'Om' mantra is that of a maid servant of Sri Radha Krishna. Now one may ask
the question that if even the service of Sri Radha Krishna is inherent in
'Om' as in 'Klim' then what need is there to chant the Hare
Krishna maha-mantra?
krsna-mantra haite habe samsara mocana
krsna-nama haite pabe krsnera carana
"The Krishna gayatri mantra (or Om) liberates one from repeated birth and death in this
world; the holy name of Krishna gives one shelter at the lotus feet of Krishna."(Cc.
Adi-lila 7.73)
pancama purusartha sei prema-mahadhana
krsnera madhurya-rasa karaya asvadana
"Love of Godhead is so exalted that it is considered
to be the fifth goal of human life. By awakening one's love of Godhead,
one can attain the platform of conjugal love, tasting it even during the
present span of life." (Cc. Adi-lila 7/144)
The gayatri mantra or
Om helps us up to the stage of liberation,
and then the mantra retires. The holy
name of Krishna however continues even after liberation. In fact it is the
holy name of Krishna that enables us to develop spontaneous love of Krishna.
Om is considered the
bija or seed whereas Krishna nama is considered the phalam or
fruit. The fruit which is sweet and palatable to our taste has the seed
within. Thus Om is considered to be present
in Krishna nama. One can say that Krishna
nama is also present in Om. That is true but one can not taste the sweetness of Krishna nama in Om. Chewing the seed is not
comparable to chewing the fruits. The juice of the fruit of the holy name
of Krishna is the sweet taste of pure love of Godhead.
Om emanates from the
flute of Sri Krishna; it then manifest as gayatri, then as Veda, then as Vedanta, then as Srimad Bhagavatam, and
the last verse of Srimad Bhagavatam recommends
the chanting of the holy names.
nama-sankirtanam-yasya
sarva-papa-pranasanam
pranamo dukha-samanas
tam namami harim param
"Krishna's holy name can relieve us from all undesirable
sinfulness, all filthy characteristics, and all miseries. Chant the name
of Krishna! Do this; nothing else is necessary. Take this! Chant the holy
name of Krishna and begin your real life in this dark age with the most
broad and wide theistic conception. Let us all bow down to Him."
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to pass His days and nights
at Jagannatha Puri in the company of His intimate devotees tasting the unlimited
mellow sweetness of love of Godhead by constantly chanting the holy names:
Hare Krsna Hare Krsna Krsna Krsna
Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has composed the Shikshastakam, eight essential verses, in which He describes the complete development
of pure devotion from beginning to end. From these verses we can fully understand
the necessity for chanting the maha-mantra. In
the first verse of Shikshastakam the Lord says,
ceto-darpana-marjanam bhava-maha-davagni-nirvapanam
sreyah-kairava-candrika-vitaranam vidya-vadhu-jivanam
anandambudhi-vardhanam prati-padam puramrtasvadnam
sarvatma-snapanam param vijayate sri-krsna-sankirtanam
"The holy name of Krishna cleanses the mirror of the
heart and extinguishes the fire of misery in the forest of birth and death.
As the evening lotus blooms in the moon's cooling rays, the heart begins
to blossom in the nectar of the name. And at last the soul awakens to its
real treasure a life of love with Krishna. Again and again tasting
nectar, the soul dives and surfaces in the ever-increasing ocean of ecstatic
joy. All phases of the self of which we may conceive are fully satisfied
and purified, and at last conquered by the all-auspicious influence of the
holy name of Krishna."
In The Golden Volcano of Divine Love Srila Sridhar Maharaja lists seven transcendental glories of chanting
Krishna nama in this first verse of
Shikshastaka. He lists them as follows;
1. Krishna nama cleanses the mirror of
the heart. 2. Krishna nama extinguishes
the fire of material existence. 3. Krishna nama bestows
the supreme goal of life. 4.Krishna nama prepares
us for wholesale surrender in madhurya-rasa. 5.
Krishna nama gives us a taste of the
infinite ocean of ecstasy. 6. Krishna nama fully
satisfies and purifies all phases of the self. 7. Krishna nama is the essential ingredient in all devotional service.
In the subsequent verses of the Shikshastaka Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu describes the processes of devotional
service namely; sadhu-sanga, bhajana-kriya, anartha-nivrtti, nistha,
ruci, krsnasakti, bhava, vipralambha-prema, and
prema-bhajana vipralambha-sambhoga. Those
who have realized knowledge of the holy name of Krishna, by the grace of
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, know the Shikshsataka to
be a discription of chanting the holy name.
The Hare Krishna maha-mantra is
actually madhurya-mantra. It is filled with
the most inconceivable sweet nectar of the madhurya-rasa. The madhurya-rasa means the
sweetest rasa in which all other rasas are accommodated. The madhurya-rasa is
called the mukhya-rasa or the chief rasa. It is the sweetest and most accommodating rasa.
Srila Prabhupada often used to say that everything is there
in the maha-mantra. Yes, that is a fact.
Not only is "Om" present in the maha-mantra but the twenty four hour lila of
Radha Krishna known as astakala-lila is
also non-different from the maha-mantra. Srila
Bhaktivinode Thakura has explained astakala-lila in the maha-mantra in his Bhajan-rahasya with reference to the Shikshastaka prayers;
"In the sixteen word Hare Krishna mantra there are eight pairs of names. Corresponding to these eight pairs,
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has recited the eight verses of Shikshastaka.
"The first pair of names Hare Krishna
signifies the subduer of ignorance and the performance of nama-sankirtan with faith. The second pair Hare Krishna
means Krishna's names are invested with all potencies. One should have
attachment for bhajan by taking shelter
of the holy names in the association of sadhus. Gradually by performing bhajana, anarthas (unwanted contamination) are destroyed. As anarthas are removed, nistha (firm faith)
develops. The third pair Krishna Krishna indicates
the company of pure devotees and becoming fixed in firm faith throughout
the day and night. By the fourth pair Hare Hare unmotivated
devotion is awakened along with a taste for nama-sankirtan.
"The fifth pair Hare Rama represents
the taste for pure service along with remembrance of the holy names as
prescribed in the Shikshastaka. In
the sixth pair Hare Rama chanting in the beginning
stage of transcendental emotion leads material detachment and complete
attachment to Krishna. The seventh pair Rama Rama
awakens attachment for the mellow of conjugal rasa, the shelter of Sri Radha's lotus feet, and feelings of separation.
The eighth pair Hare Hare leads to attainment of
the goal of life loving service to Radha Krishna following in
the mood of the gopis of Vrindavana throughout
the eight divisions of day and night pastimes, astaka-kala-lila."
The conclusion is that one who knows the meaning of Om is a real student of the Srimad Bhagavatam and one who knows the meaning of the Srimad Bhagavatam certainly chants the Hare Krishna maha-mantra as directed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in His Shikshastaka.
PARAM VIJAYATE SRI KRISHNA
SANKIRTANAM
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