Om | The Hare Krishna Movement

The Letter U (u-kāra) Indicates Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, The Pleasure Potency of Kṛṣṇa.

04 Sep 2014 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Om, Srimati Radharani Tags: a-kara, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, aum, bhagavad-gita, devotee, entourage, His name fame, Krsna, ma-kara, Om, omkara, omkara is the resting place of everything, pastimes, potencies, sarva visva dhama, Sri Caitanya Caritamrta, Srimati Radharani, u-kara

The other day as I was doing some research on Srimati Radharani, for her appearance day post, I ran across the following;

…Oṁkāra is a combination of the letters a, u and m. A-kāreṇocyate kṛṣṇaḥ the letter a (a-kāra) refers to Kṛṣṇa, who is sarva-lokaika-nāyakaḥ, the master of all living entities and planets, material and spiritual. Nāyaka means “leader.” He is the supreme leader (nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)). The letter u (u-kāra) indicates Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the pleasure potency of Kṛṣṇa, and m (ma-kāra) indicates the living entities (jīvas). Thus oṁ is the complete combination of Kṛṣṇa, His potency and His eternal servitors. In other words, oṁkāra represents Kṛṣṇa, His name, fame, pastimes, entourage, expansions, devotees, potencies and everything else pertaining to Him. As Caitanya Mahāprabhu states in the present verse of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, sarva-viśva-dhāma: oṁkāra is the resting place of everything, just as Kṛṣṇa is the resting place of everything (brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham) (CC Adi 7.128, Purport)

The Syllable Om

08 Mar 2013 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Bhagavad-gita, Om Tags: A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, bhakti yoga, chanting Hare Krishna, mama om visnu-padaya, meditation, Om, om ajnana-timirandhasya, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, om tat sat, omkara, syllable om, The Syllable Om, yoga

The Syllable Om

Many years ago as a young aspiring yogi, and with my very first attempts at meditation, I began my practice with the sacred syllable Om. Many years later and although I may have advanced somewhat spiritually, and practice bhakti-yoga, devotional service and the chanting of the Maha-mantra Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, still all my morning prayers still begin with the syllable Om. Such as “om namo bhagavate vasudevaya” before my reading of the Srimad Bhagavatam. And my morning offering of respectful obeisances to my spiritual master Srila Prabhupada with the prayer “om ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā, cakṣur unmīlitaṁ yena tasmai śrī-gurave namaḥ” and “nama oṁ viṣṇu-pādāya kṛṣṇa-preṣṭhāya bhū-tale,śrīmate bhaktivedānta-svāmin iti nāmine”. Today we are looking at a few slokas from the Bhagavad-gita where the syllable Om is used.

Om, Oṁkāra, or the Praṇava, is the Seed of Transcendental Realization

14 Jul 2012 1 Comment

by The Hare Krishna Movement in Meditation, Om Tags: aum, great mystics, mind control, O my Lord, Om, Om Hari Om, omkara, pranava, Supreme Personality of Godhead, trance, Transcendental meditation, transcendental realization, transcendental sound

…Oṁkāra, or the praṇava, is the seed of transcendental realization, and it is composed of the three transcendental letters a-u-m. By its chanting by the mind, in conjunction with the breathing process, which is a transcendental but mechanical way of getting into trance, as devised by the experience of great mystics, one is able to bring the mind, which is materially absorbed, under control.

Oṁkāra is the seed of all transcendental sound and it is only the transcendental sound which can bring about the desired change of the mind and the senses. Mind or desire cannot be stopped, but to develop a desire to function for spiritual realization, the quality of engagement by the mind has to be changed.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, the praṇava (oṁkāra) has been accepted as the direct, literal representation of the Supreme Absolute Truth. One who is not able to chant directly the holy name of the Lord, as recommended above, can easily chant the praṇava (oṁkāra). This oṁkāra is a note of address, such as “O my Lord,” just as oṁ hari om means “O my Lord, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” As we have explained before, the Lord’s holy name is identical with the Lord Himself. So also is oṁkāra. But persons who are unable to realize the transcendental personal form or name of the Lord on account of their imperfect senses (in other words, the neophytes) are trained to the practice of self-realization by this mechanical process of regulating the breathing function and simultaneously repeating the praṇava (oṁkāra) within the mind.