Sutra 1.27
तस्य वाचकः प्रणवः॥२७॥
tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ
Translation:
- The expression of God is OM. – CT
- The word expressive of Isvara is the mystic sound OM. [OM is God’s name as well as form.] -SS
- The Lord is a special soul. His is untouched by the obstacles ( to the practice of yoga), karma, the fructification (of karma), and subconscious predispositions. -EFB
Vocabulary:
vācaka—expressive name, speech, expression
tasya—of that
praṇava—root sound Om, the inner sound current.
Key Concepts:
Pranava is the primary sound frequency of creation. It is heard as an inner ringing sound current. OM is called the Pranava Mantra. Pranava means humming.
OM is used due to its metaphysical qualities. When we give God a name we limit God. Patanjali wants us to know that God has no limits, God is infinite. OM is like that, OM contains all of the sounds and syllobols of creation, all the vibrations of creation.
Patanjali says that God is always speaking to us, but that we are talking so long (in the form of mental chatter) that we can not hear him. He instucts us to sit still and quietly, listening for the gentle humming of God inside.
OM can be broken into three seperate sounds A, U, M, often written as AUM. It may be more accurate to say OM can be broken into four sounds; A as in autumn, U as oo, M as in hum, followed by silence. The silence is called Anahata, the sound beyond sound or the unstuck sound.
A is the beginning of all sound and represents creation. U represents preservation. M represents the culmination.
Practice
Practice because you love yourself so much, not because you need to fix yourself.
Prayer Ritual
Practice 5X Rounds
Mantra:
- Use your mantra.
- Say your mantra to yourself 5 times out loud.
- Say your mantra in a whisper 5 times.
- Say your mantra silently in your mind 5 times.
*When you catch your mind engaged in an activity that you find harmful, use your mantra to get reset your mind.
Pranayama:
Viloma
- Start ujjayi, create a nice long breath, balancing the inhalation and exhalation.
- Inhale into the belly for a count of 2 and pause for 2.
- Inhale into the chest for 2 and pause for 2
- Inhale into the shoulders for 2 and pause for 2.
- Exhale slowly, smoothly and completely, pausing for 2.
- Reapeat for 5 minutes.
Meditation: * Change in Practice *
- Draw your attention into yourself. Removing your awareness of the objects of your senses.
- Focus your minds eye on to the inner landscape of your being.
- Start to turn your focus like a laser beam, to the sound of you own inner rhythm. Can you hear OM? Can you hear God?
- Practice for 10 minutes.
- When you feel your mind wander be so gentle in bringing it back. *Remember we are like infants in this journey. Treat yourself as you would your own child.
Reflection
- Can you think of others words that could be etymologically related to OM?
- Can you feel the mouth position for each sound? If so what are they?
- In the meditation what was your experience of my your own inner sound?
