PARAKUNNATH SREE VETTAKKORUMAKAN PAYYAN KSHETHRAM (TEMPLE), AROLI, KANNUR, KERALA: In the Vedic scriptures, OM is mentioned in various Upanishads.

Tuesday 31 January 2017

In the Vedic scriptures, OM is mentioned in various Upanishads.

In the Vedic scriptures, OM is mentioned in various Upanishads. Upanishads draw its symbolic significance by associating it with the Universal Self or Supreme Brahman. They directly refer to it as Om, Aum, Udgita, Pranava and Omkara. In some verses of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, Om is used as an affirmation in the sense of "Yes I agree." The Chandogya Upanishad informs the various ways in which Om can be meditated and the benefits arising from them. It declares that by meditating upon it one can dispel darkness and fear, gain strength, become rich in food and gain immortality. In some verses it equates Aum with the space (akaash).

Patanjali's Yogasutra states that Ishvara (the Self) is expressed as Pranava . Its continuous chanting would lead to the mastery of the right knowledge and removal of interruptions (antarayas) which arise in the form of distractions (vikshepas) such as disease and dullness. Yoga tradition holds that chanting of the word continuously would bring many benefits, such as purification of the mind, the body and the environment, removal of the sins, equanimity of the mind, removal of desires, delusion and attachment and attainment of all the four aims of human life, namely obligatory duty(dharma), wealth (artha), pleasure (kama) and liberation (moksha).