The connection with the Omkāra
The syllable Om is divided into three sounds: A, U, and M, which correspond to Vaiśvānara, Taijasa, and Prājña. Turīya is represented by the nāda, or the silence that follows the utterance of sound.
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The Third Khaṇḍa
Krsna includes all other incarnations. When Krsna appears, all other incarnations join Him, merging into His body like many rays of light. Similarly, the syllable Om, His sound incarnation, includes the other forms. Viśva, Taijasa, and Prājña are represented by the three sounds that compose the sacred syllable, and Krsna is represented by the silence that follows, as well as by the complete syllable. By meditating on the different components of the Omkāra, together with the corresponding forms of the Lord, one advances in spiritual realization and attains mystic perfections.
The connection with the Omkāra
The syllable Om is divided into three sounds: A, U, and M, which correspond to Vaiśvānara, Taijasa, and Prājña. Turīya is represented by the nāda, or the silence that follows the utterance of sound. He is not perceived by the ears but by inner consciousness. By meditating on these different aspects of the Lord, manifested in the different letters of the syllable Om, one becomes self-realized.
All states of consciousness are connected with the Lord, and thus we are connected with him at every step of our existence. Everything that exists is also connected with Him and should be used in His service. When we understand that, we see reality and become fixed in devotional service. Thinking we are disconnected from the Lord, or that anything else is disconnected from Him is just the influence of the illusory potency.
Text 3.1
so’ yam ātmā ’dhyakṣaram omkāro ’dhimātram pādā mātrā
mātrāś ca pādā a-kāra u-kāra ma-kāra iti
This Supreme Self, indeed, is the syllable Om, which encompasses all measures and is imperishable. His forms are represented in the constituent phonemes of the syllable, the letters A (akāraḥ) U (ukāraḥ), and M (makāraḥ).
Commentary: The first verse of the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad declared that om ity etad akṣaram idam sarvam: "Om. Indeed, this imperishable syllable is everything." The Upaniṣad then described how the Lord manifests Himself into four forms (Vaiśvānara, Taijasa, Prājña, and Turīya) which manifest into the four states of consciousness. Now, the connection between these four forms and the constituents of the syllable Om is established.
The syllable Om (ॐ) is the written form of the sound incarnation of the Lord. At first, "Om" appears to be a single sound, but it is in reality composed of four components:
1) "A" (अ – akāraḥ), which represents Lord Vaiśvānara and the waking state.
2) "U" (उ – ukāraḥ), which represents the Lord as Taijasa and also the dream state.
3) "M" (म – makāraḥ), which represents Lord Prājña, responsible for the stage of deep sleep.
4) Nāda (amātra, or silence). Om is composed of three audible sounds, but these sounds are manifested from amātra or silence. This amātra is beyond measure, the subtle, primordial vibration that underlies all existence. It is not perceived by the ears but by inner consciousness. The nāda is thus considered the representative of Lord Turīya and of the fourth state of consciousness, and the bridge to this pure awareness. It is represented in the syllable Om (ॐ) as the crescent shape and dot on top of the syllable. "All that is material exists under the purview of past, present, and future, and all of that is Om. And everything that transcends space and time (the spiritual realm) is also Om. There is nothing apart from the Lord. He is full of all auspicious attributes, He is close to all, and He is unchangeable, beyond all transformations of matter."
Because nāda is not an audible sound, it is not mentioned in the verse, but it will be explained in the subsequent texts. The Lord is also the complete syllable Om.
Text 3.2
jāgarita-sthāno vaiśvānaro’kāraḥ prathamā-mātrāpter adimattvāt va
āpnoti ha vai sarvān kāmānādiś ca bhavati ya evam veda
The waking state, presided by Lord Vaiśvānara is associated with the letter A, the first part of the syllable Om, because is associated with the all-encompassing and primordial nature of the Lord. One who knows this attains all his desires and is saved by the Lord.
Commentary: Vaiśvānara is the first form of the Lord, who pervades the entire universe as the universal form, allowing the soul to enjoy the external objects (āpti) through his senses in the waking state. He is designated by the letter “A” (akarah) because “A” in Sanskrit is the very essence of sound, the natural sound produced when the mouth is open and the breath flows unobstructed, and also the inherent vowel in consonants. For example, the consonant "K" is written as "Ka" (क) because it naturally carries "A" unless modified by another vowel.
In the Gītā, Krsna mentions: akṣarāṇām a-kāro ’smi (of letters I am the letter “A”), reinforcing this connection. In his purport, Prabhupada mentions that: “A-kāra, the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, is the beginning of the Vedic literature. Without a-kāra, nothing can be sounded; therefore it is the beginning of sound.”
In Vedic culture, language is considered a divine, vibrational force (Śabda Brahman), and "A" is its root, just as the Lord is the root of the cosmic manifestation.
Vaiśvānara is also called ādi (as indicated by the word “adimatvat” in the verse) because He precedes the manifestations of the dream state and deep sleep. Another meaning of ādi is that the Lord has the power to awaken a person from the sleep state, giving Him external consciousness by which one can perform activities and gradually come to the platform of devotional service. Ādi also means that the waking state has two beginnings: sometimes we come to the waking state from the dreaming state, and sometimes (when abruptly awaken) directly from the state of dreamless sleep.
In this way, the verse teaches us to see all states of consciousness as direct representations of the Lord and to see ourselves as connected with Him at every step. The Lord is the Complete Whole who encompasses everything that exists. Yad etac ca, yo ’vaśiṣyeta so ’smy aham: everything that exists is part and parcel of the Lord. Rte ’rtham yat pratīyeta, na pratīyeta cātmani, tad vidyād ātmano māyām: Anything that appears to exist without connection to the Lord has no factual reality, being just a representation of Maya, the illusory energy of the Lord.
Since everything is connected and owned by the Lord, everything should be used in His service. When we understand that, we become fixed in the devotional platform and our path back to Godhead becomes wide open.
Text 3.3
svapna-sthānas taijasa ukāro dvitīya-mātrā
utkarṣād ubhayatvād votkarṣati ha vai jñana-santatim
samānaś ca bhavati nāsyābrahmavit-kule bhavati ya evam veda
The Lord of the dream state, Taijasa, is designated by the letter U, the second part of the syllable Om, because of its excellence and its position in the middle, drawing the soul from the outward state into the interior world. One who knows this attains an unbroken flow of consciousness and becomes free from material contamination. None of his descendants will lack spiritual knowledge.
Commentary: The words utkarṣād and ubhayatvād describe Lord Taijasa drawing the consciousness of the soul from contact with the external senses to the region of dreams, bringing thus one closer to Himself in the state of deep sleep that comes after. In this way, He produces two effects: the stoppage of the perception of the external world and the perception of dream objects.
Because He is in the middle of the other two states, He is called ukāra and represented by the letter "U". One who fully understands these characteristics of the Lord attains jñāna-santatim, a permanent flow of knowledge, without interruption. This is not possible in the conditioned state (where our consciousness constantly switches between consciousness, dream, and unconsciousness), therefore jñāna-santatim means that one attains the transcendental stage. He becomes respected amongst liberated souls (samāna) and qualified to beget children with the same consciousness. In other words, none of his descendants will lack transcendental knowledge.
Text 3.4
suṣupta-sthānaḥ prājño ma-kāras tṛtīyā-mātrā miter apīter vā minoti
ha vā idam sarvam apītiś ca bhavati, ya evam veda
The third form of the Lord, Prajña, presiding over the state of deep sleep is designated by the letter M, the third part of the syllable Om because He carries the consciousness of the soul into the innermost, destroying all consciousness. He is the destroyer of all sorrow and the pervader of everything. One who knows this fully understands this material manifestation and becomes free from all distress.
Commentary: Vaiśvānara, Taijasa, and Prājña are all forms of Paramātmā, which guide the soul in His activities in the material world, and gradually conduct us to the path of self-realization, while simultaneously respecting the soul's free will. Prājña, is the third aspect of the Lord, and is thus designated by the letter "M". He is Miti, the one who carries the soul to within, into Himself. He is also Apīti, the destroyer of all external consciousness and all sorrow. One may experience all kinds of anxiety during the course of his activities, but everything is forgotten when we fall into deep sleep. Similarly, the Lord has the power to completely free us from the sorrows of material existence if we surrender unto Him.
Srila Madhvācārya quotes the following text from the Brahma Tarka to summarize the points discussed in this section:
"The Lord is called adhyakṣara because He is greater than all, and is eternal, and since all the parts of the Lord are equally infinite and full, He is called adhimātra (He whose every portion is infinity). The word mātrā means part. The Viṣṇu is called Oṃkāra, because He is symbolized by the syllable Oṃ. The first letter of Om, i.e., “a” suggests āpti, the fetcher, because Viśva brings all objects of the senses to the jīva. It is also so called because it has a beginning (ādi), since Viśva arises either from Prājña or Taijasa. Though the Lord is beginningless, yet in this sense He is said to have a beginning. The worshiper of Viśva gets mukti consisting of truth, knowledge and bliss: and attains all objects of his desires. The Lord of dream called Taijasa is symbolized by “u”, because this letter suggests utkarṣa, namely, He who withdraws the jīva from all objects except the mind: or because it recalls the word ubhaya, namely, He who produces a two-fold effect, i.e., withdraws the jīva from external contacts and revives all mental or internal, impressions. He is called utkarṣa because He withdraws (uddhritya) jīva from the misconception of identifying itself with the body and draws it (karṣati) to the sphere of dreams (which is nearer the self than the external world). This is the idea latent in the word utkarśa when applied to Taijasa. He who knows Taijasa thus, gets eternal wisdom, by separating himself from his body and there is no break in his knowledge; such a person becomes as an arbitrator or moderator (madhyastha) even among the liberated souls because of the intensity of his love for all, and freedom from all faults of partiality, etc. The Prājña is called Miti, because He makes Jīvas enter into Himself, for mānam means making a thing to enter within. Prājña is called mānam because He draws in the jīvas within Himself, and overpowers their consciousness. He is called Apīti also because He destroys all sorrows. The knower of Prājña therefore, when liberated, pervades all and destroys all sorrows of others, etc."