Why is Omkar called as pranav mantra?

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Contents

1. Omkar 2. Gayatri mantra 3. Mrutyunjay mantra 4. Navarnav (nine letter) mantra 5. Shri Ganesh mantra 6. Vedic mantras 7. Mantras recommended by some sages 8. Mantras associated with various sects 8.1 The Shaiva sect 8.2 The Varkari sect 8.3 The Samarth sect

1. Omkar

This is written as Om () and is considered as the sacred vowel. Not only is Omkar a mahamantra with a single letter but is also labelled as the monosyllabic Brahman in the Shrimadbhagvadgita. The sage of this mantra is Parabrahman, the deity Parmatma and the rhythm (chanda) Gayatri. The mahamantras from the Vedas, Upanishads, etc. and also the efficacious (siddha) mantras and Names denoting The Lord are the varied forms of this Omkar. When chanting every mantra it is essential to start it with Omkar. The scriptures describe the pranav, that is, Om as the monarch of mantras. It is considered as the symbol or representation of the individual soul. Omkar is the main Name of The Supreme Brahman (Parabrahman). Since acquisition of knowledge about it means realisation of Parabrahman, worshipping it is the same as worshipping The Supreme God. The famous quote from the Upanishads ‍ means This soul is Brahman. Once one realises through meditation that the entire universe is composed of Omkar and develops conviction that every object in the universe and every individual soul itself is Brahman, the realisation of Brahman as the soul, is achieved and finally one attains Self-realisation of the unmanifest (nirgun) Brahman in the form of I am Brahman ( ‍). Mr. Shantaram Athavale has explained the process of this mode of worship as follows: In the worship of Omkar, the embodied soul (jiva) should harbour the emotion that the letter a in Omkar represents the dissolution of the physical body in The Absolute Beings (Virat Purushs) body. The u means the dissolution of ones subtle body in the subtle body of the universe that is, the hiranyagarbha and the m means the entry of ones causal body into the great illusory body (mayadeha) of the universe. The dot shaped like the moon ( chandrabindu) indicates that ones supracausal body (mahakaran deha) has dissolved in the all witnessing Lord, that is the basic (mul) Prakruti. (1)

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The table below clarifies the meaning of the four parts of Omkar - a, u, m and half matra. a Waking state (jagruti) Vaishvanar u Dream state (svapna) Taijas m Deep sleep state ( sushupti) Pradnya The half mantra Superconscious state (turya) Turiya

1. The site of operation 2. The name of the soul performing a specific action 3. Whose worship is being performed

Then visible universe

The Layayoga Non-duality invisible (Dissolution of (advait) or subtle the ego) universe

2. Gayatri mantra

A. ‌ : ‍ - ‍ : ‌ Variation: --: ‍: ‌ : ‍ - ‍ : ‌ The meaning: We are meditating on the supreme brilliance of the Savita (Sun) deity of the three worlds, the earth, the nether world and heaven (bhu, bhuva and svarga). Hence may our intellect become sharp. B. The three step (tripad) Gayatri: In this, Om appears thrice as follows: --: ‍: ‌ : ‍ - ‍ : ‌ In the three step Gayatri, when the first step is chanted with inspiration the second with breath holding and the third with expiration, pranayam in the proportion of 1:4:2 occurs with inspiration (purak), breath holding ( kumbhak) and expiration (rechak). C. The four step (chatushpad) Gayatri: Besides the three Oms of the three step Gayatri, the fourth Om is suffixed to prachodayat (‌). Due to this Om, breath holding ( kumbhak) also occurs after expiration (rechak). D. Spontaneous chanting of Gayatri (ajapa Gayatri): Concentrating on the sound so(saha) during inspiration

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and ham during expiration (soham) is called spontaneous (ajapa) Gayatri or spontaneous chanting ( ajapajapa). E. Gayatri mantras of different deities: Various deities have their respective Gayatri mantras, for instance the deities Krushna, Rama, Sarasvati. Information about the corresponding mantra is given in the context of the respective deity.

Saints recommend the appropriate Gayatri japa according to ones requirement.

3. Mrutyunjay mantra

‍ ‌ ‍‌ ‍ ‌

The meaning: We worship the three eyed Lord Shiva. May the fragrance of our energy and fame spread far and wide. Just as a dried cucumber gradually falls off from its stalk so also may our binding to death disappear unknowingly. Likewise may we be liberated from the cycle of birth and death and may we attain the Final Liberation (Moksha).

4. Navarnav (nine letter) mantra

Nav () refers to nine and arnav () to letters. In the mantra Om aim rhim klim Chamundayai vichche ( ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ) there are nine letters excluding Om, which is the representation of the unmanifest (nirgun). The nine letters and their meanings are as follows: aim rhim klim cha mu nda yai vi chche : Kalika or Mahakali : Lakshmi or Mahalakshmi : Sarasvati or Mahasarasvati : To Chamunda (the female deity) : I offer obeisance

The meaning: I offer obeisance to You O deity Chamunda who possesses the three qualities of Mahakali, Mahalakshmi and Mahasarasvati.

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5. Shri Ganesh mantra

Om ga-aum Ganapataye namaha ( : ). In this mantra Om is the pranav (symbol) of The Supreme God, ga-aum is the mantra, Ganapataye is the kilak and namaha is the pallav (see point "2. Parts of a mantra). The meaning: O Lord Ganapati, help me to assimilate the bijamantra ga-aum. Your bijamantra is a part of Om. With that symbol (Om) may You become incorporated in me.

6. Vedic mantras

A. Self-realisation itself is Brahman ( ) - Rugveda. B. I am Brahman ( ‍ ) - Yajurveda. C. You are that Brahman (‌ ‍ ) - Samaveda. D. This soul is Brahman ( ‍ ) - Atharvaveda. The above four sentences are called the great quotes. These sentences appear several times in the respective Vedas. The aim is to lay emphasis on that point. Though the two sentences below are not known as the great quotes, they are equally important. E. Everything is Brahman ( ) - Chandogya Upanishad (3.14.1) F. Brahman is the Absolute Truth, the spiritual knowledge and is infinite in nature.(‍ ) - Taittiriya Upanishad

7. Mantras recommended by some sages

A. Sanatkumar: Harihi sharanam (: ‌ ) B. Narad: Narayan ( )

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 C. Valmiki: Rama ( ) D. Dhruv: Om namo Bhagvate Vasudevaya ( - ) E. Ramanuj: Om namo Narayanaya ( ) F. Saint Dnyaneshvar and Saint Bhaktaraj: Hari Om tatsat ( ‌ ‌ ) G. Samarth Ramdas: Shrirama jai Rama jai jai Rama ( ) H. Saint Tukaram: Rama Krushna Hari ( ‍ ) I. Swami Muktanand: Om namaha Shivaya ( : )

8. Mantras associated with various sects

Every sect has its own mantra to be chanted by all seekers following it. Some examples are:

8.1 The Shaiva sect

Om namaha Shivaya ( : ). The five lettered (panchakshari) mantra: Namaha Shivaya (: ) is the five lettered mantra of Shiva. In a subdivision of the Yajurveda the Rudradhyay begins with these words. The mantra is taken from here. When it is prefixed with a pranav it becomes Om namaha Shivaya, the six lettered (shadakshari) mantra. The spiritual meaning of each letter of the five lettered mantra is as follows: n () m () = The foremost deity of all the regions (lokas) = The bestower of supreme spiritual knowledge (dnyan) and destroyer of the greatest sins Shi () = Benevolent, serene and responsible for the initiation by Lord Shiva va () = The representation of a bull as the vehicle and the Vasuki and Vamangi energies (Shakti) y () = The auspicious abode of Supreme Bliss and Lord Shiva

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Hence obeisance (namaskar) to these five letters.

The above five letters also have a correlation with the tandav dance of Nataraj Shiva which is as follows: n () = The hand beholding fire (agni) m () = The foot pressing the demon Mulayak Shi () = The hand holding a small hourglass shaped drum (damaru) va () = The outstretched hand y () = The hand bestowing protection.

These five letters are also said to be indicative of God (Ishvar), Energy (Shakti), the soul principle, the unmanifest one (antardhan) and vanquishing of sins. (2)

8.2 The Varkari sect

Jai jai Rama Krushna Hari ( ‍ ).

8.3 The Samarth sect

Shrirama jai Rama jai jai Rama ( ).

Reference:

Path of Chanting The Lords Name (Namasankirtanyoga) and Path of Mantra (Mantrayoga), published by Sanatan Sanstha. Bharatiya Sanskrutikosh. Publishers: Pandit Mahadevshastri Joshi, Secretary, Bharatiya Sanskrutikosh Mandal, 410 Shanivar Peth, Pune 411 030. Vol. 1 and 2: Second edition Vol. 3 to 10: First edition 1. Vol. 5, Pg. 697-698 2. Vol. 5, Pg. 305

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