THE PRANAVA OR OMKARA MODEL

A Model is a pattern that tries to reproduce the inherent relationships in a concept. It can display the components in the structure and how they relate to each other.

We have already seen such a model in our third blog
( Manifestation ).

AKASHA
I
I
VAYU - PRANA
I
I
TEJA - AGNI - ENERGY
I
I
JALA - LIQUID
I
I
PRITHVI - SOLID

This displays in a very simple manner the way the Mahabhutas evolve from the previous one starting from the Akasha Tathwa ( the term Tathwa means ‘Principle’) and proceeding progressively through the Vayu/Prana Tathwa to the Teja/Agni/Energy Tathwa to the Jala/Liquid Tathwa and finally to the Prithvi/Solid Tathwa.

The Prithvi Tathwa Manifestation is truly the Material Manifest Universe which we deal with and relate to everyday of our lives. In some English writings on Indian concepts it is also called the Gross or Physical Universe. Our physical body is part of this Prithvi Tathwa Manifestation. The entire Universe which we experience everyday, the space, the sky, the clouds, the rain, the oceans, the rivers, the water that flows from the tap, the fire in our hearths, the light that glows in myriad lamps, the mushroom cloud of the nuclear bomb, the oil in the ground, the gas, the air, the wind and the world of earth, metals, plastics, plants, and so on are all components of this Prithvi Tathwa Manifestation. This Universe is called the Bhuloka ( Bhu represents material and loka means universe).

Is that all ? Does this understanding clarify everything about Manifestation ? What about the other stages of Manifestation? They are certainly embedded in the Bhuloka. The Prithvi Tathwa is a composite of all five Mahabhutas or elements. In some parts some Mahabhuta appears to be predominant and in some others some other Mahabhuta seems to be dominant. For example, in air the Vayu/Prana Thatwa is dominant. All the others are also present but we experience the Vayu Tathwa most. Similarly in the sky or in space the Akasha Tathwa is predominant. In fire or in a nuclear reaction, the Agni Tathwa is predominant. In a river the Jala Tathwa is predominant. It is said that there is so much of Prana/Vayu Tathwa in a fresh spring that to bath in that water is so refreshing. Similarly even the Prithvi Tathwa in the form of grass can exude Prana. For the health of one’s eyes, one is advised to walk on the grass in the early morning when it is covered with dew.

The presence of the various Tathwas is experienced with the help of the five sense instruments or organs, the ears, the skin, the eyes, the mouth and the nose. These sense organs have been deliberately presented in this order because the ears sense the Akasha Tathwa alone through sound, the skin perceives the Vayu Tathwa alone through touch, the eyes sense the Agni Tathwa alone through sight, the mouth experiences the Jala Tathwa alone through taste and the nose senses the Prithvi Tathwa alone through smell. The human body is fitted out with these five sense organs to perceive the presence of the five Tathwas in the Prithvi Tathwa. All the scientific instruments, the telescopes, the microscopes, and other equipment help us in relating and experiencing the five Tathwas as embedded in the Prithvi Tathwa.

However, the Universe is a kind of telescopic structure. It holds in itself all five Mahabhutas in various stages of manifestation. The outermost envelop is the Prithvi Stage of Manifestation, or the Material Universe. There are four other inner layers also present.

Think of a closed telescope. There are several layers enclosed in each other. When the same telescope is opened out, the left hand portion is equivalent to the Prithvi Tathwa or the Physical Universe. But enclosed in it is another Universe which is in purely liquid form. This Jala or Liquid Universe cannot be sensed by our sense organs or any of the instruments we have at the Physical level because the Jala Universe transcends the Physical level. And so is it with the Agni Universe and the Vayu Universe and finally the Akasha Universe.

So how can these levels be experienced ?
Let us look at another analogy. If I point my normal camera at the garden in the middle of the night I cannot get any picture. I need sunlight to pick up the forms and colors. However, if I aim an Infra-red camera at the same garden in the darkest of nights I can get a clear picture. Similarly, when I look at a suitcase I cannot see the contents. But with an X-Ray camera I can see the contents. So is it with Sonography. A radio or a cell phone enables one to communicate or pick up signals using the electromagnetic waves in the earth’s atmosphere. So it is apparent that a supra-sensory or extra-sensory instrument is required to experience ‘subtle’ objects. Similarly we need a special instrument to sense the other Tathwas.

The first such inner layer is called the Subtle Layer or the Bhuvar Loka. The Jala-Agni-Vayu layers together form the Bhuvar Loka. And the key instrument with which we are endowed is the Mind. The human mind is the sophisticated instrument with which the Bhuvar Loka can be sensed. Thus this Universe is called the Mental or Subtle Universe.

The most subtle of all the Tathwas is the Akasha Tathwa and the Akasha Universe cannot even be sensed by the Mind. The Akasha Universe is capable of being sensed only by the equivalent Akasha part of the human being. This Super Subtle Universe is called the Swa Loka. It is also called the Causal Universe.

Thus the new model of the Universe that emerges looks like this:

SWA LOKA - SUPER SUBTLE- CAUSAL
BHUVAR LOKA - SUBTLE -MENTAL
BHU LOKA - GROSS - PHYSICAL

The Manifest Universe is not one Physical Universe as is commonly thought. It is an encapsulation of three Universes in one. It is what one could call a THREE-IN -ONE Universe. This is depicted as the famous Omkara Symbol :
We discussed the three sounds which comprise the sound OM, that is, A,U and M. The Bhu Loka is represented by the sound A, the Bhuvar Loka is represented by the sound U, and the Swa Loka is represented by the sound M. So when the three sounds are repeated together as ‘OM’ and the symbol is thought of, then one can reach or communicate with the Akasha Tathwa in the Universe. That is the power of sound.

This formula is the core of the Gayatri Mantra:
Om Bhur Bhuvah Suvaha
This message is contained in various places in the Vedas and Vedanta and very clearly and simply in the Mandukya Upanishad.

It describes the complexity of the Manifest Universe as well as the simple way in which one can relate to all components of the Universe.

In the next blog we will try to understand something about the structure of the Human Being.

This month we remember Sri Sankara, a great human being who helped to revive and restore the knowledge base of the Vedas and the Vedanta in the 8th century A.C (After Christ) when this knowledge was in disarray under the onslaught of almost a thousand years of Buddhist thought. As we proceed with our study we will also study his great contributions and life and works. Sri Sankara Jayanthi falls on May 18.

Sri Sankara was born in the province of Kerala in South West India. After a learning period with His teacher, Sri Govinda Bhagavatpada, he took up the resuscitation and re-establishment of Vedic and Vedantic thought in India. He not only propounded and clarified the concept of ‘Advaita’ but re-invigorated other methods of worship, prayer and self-development based on Vedic methodologies.

May the purity and clarity and inherent auspiciousness of spiritual thought re-energize and re-vitalize you and give you not only peace of mind but compassion and kindness to all of humanity.
As always we look forward to your active comments and participation and guidance.

Warm regards and God Bless