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Please close your eyes. Relax. We will sing Aum now. Aum is the divine name. Aum is God. Aum is the light. It is prāṇa, the life. Aum is the beginning, the middle, and the end. The trinity in one. Singing Aum purifies the atmosphere. It illuminates your inner space. Relax your body and your breathing. Withdraw your mind from all worldly thoughts and problems. Withdraw your sense organs from the outer world into the inner world. Observe your inner space with closed eyes. Observe how the Oṁ sound originates in the navel as a subtle vibration, para. How it rises then to the throat, vaśyantī. And then to the lips, where it becomes articulated, vikārī. But within less than a second, the sound reaches the brain, causing a vibration within the whole head, which you feel especially in your eyebrow center, the Ājñā Cakra. When this vibration touches the Sahasrāra Cakra, it becomes reflected in the form of light. This light penetrates through your whole body and forms a protective sheath around your whole being—your physical, astral, and causal body. This protects you from negative cosmic energies. It guards your meditation, and it allows you to travel freely and fearlessly in the inner space of your consciousness, Cittākāśa. The Aum sound travels through the space in infinity, expanding your consciousness into the universe as far as it reaches. Its vibration wanders in eternal space. Jeho Tak to byla Svāmījīho slova. Take a deep breath. Feel what Swāmījī said. Try to feel the Aum vibration inside your body, around your body, and traveling in eternity through space. Aum. Open your eyes again. I thought Aum would be the perfect topic for today. Oṁ will be an excellent topic. It is one of the basic techniques of the Kriyānusthāna program. At the same time, it is an everyday part of our practice when we meditate. Whatever mantra Swāmījī is giving, it contains Oṁ. It also fits wonderfully in the lecture series of Sādhvī Pārvatī about the Vedas, who studies Vedānta and tries to realize God through this, the way of Jñāna Yoga. It is said one small scripture which has only twelve ślokas should be enough for self-realization. And this is the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. A to je Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣada. I have here one edition from Swami Śivānanda: Meditation on Oṁ and the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. Tady mám vydání od Svāmīho Śivānandī a je to meditace na Oṁ a Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. It is most probably the shortest Upaniṣad of all, yet the most essential. Everything about Aum you find in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad. So it is said, meditate on that Upaniṣad and you will realize God. If it doesn’t work, okay, then take all the ten major Upaniṣads. If still you didn’t get enlightenment, then you will have to study 30 Upaniṣads. And if you are a little bit stupid and still no enlightenment, then you will have to study all Upaniṣads. So this makes clear how essential this Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad is seen. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad starts with the word Oṁ. This word contains the whole universe. Whatever was in the past, whatever is in the present, whatever will be in the future, all that is Aum. And whatever is beyond these three times, also that is Aum. Now the second śloka of this Upaniṣad is very important for us. Because in this we find one of the four Mahāvākyas of the Vedas. It says, "All this is Brahman. This Ātmā is Brahman." And in Sanskrit it says, "I am Ātmā Brahman." So this is one of the four Mahāvākyas: "I am Ātmā Brahman." I am this. I am this. Toto ātmā je brahman. A, U, and M. These are the three of them. A symbolizes the waking state in which we are now, the normal day consciousness. U stands for the dream state, when we are in the subconscious level. U, to je stav, kdy sníme. And M symbolizes the deep sleep when we are on the unconscious level. And these are also the three guṇas, the three times. Tři časy. The three aspects of God: Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva. Viṣṇu a Śiva. All this world is in this A, U, and M. But together it becomes Oṁ, it becomes one. And this fourth level of consciousness is called Turīya. And Turīya means simply the force, the force, number four. Turīya means the force, the fourth level of consciousness. So usually we would say samādhi. That’s the same like turīya. So that is the aim of the whole yoga: to achieve this state of consciousness, this Oṁ, this turīya. In the seventh śloka of this Upaniṣad, it is tried a little bit to give us an idea of what is this Turīya. Now, the problem is we speak here straight away about God, and it’s indescribable. Therefore, most of the descriptions are just negative, to make clear what it is not. Turīya is not that which is conscious of the inner world. Turīya is also not that which is conscious of the outer world. Turīya is also not that which is conscious of both worlds. It is peace. It is bliss. And beyond duality, this is what is known as the fourth, Turīya. This is the Ātmā, the Self, and this is what has to be realized. And the last verse of this Upaniṣad concludes with the words, "Oṁ is the Ātmā. Verily, he who knows this merges his self into the universal Self." We speak here straight away about God, that which Swāmījī always says: Nāda rūpa para brahma. Nāda, the sound, the vibration; rūpa, the form; para brahma. Here we have the word brahman. Para brahma is the same, is the highest formless divine self. And very often Swāmījī explains to us that out of this sound, the whole creation has originated. As Swāmījī usually describes it, in the beginning there was Brahman, one formless, eternal. But then came the thought, if we can use this word, it doesn’t really fit: Eko’haṁ bahu syām. I am one, let me become many. This is what Swāmījī calls the first spūrṇa, the first subtle vibration. And this manifests in the form of a certain vibration, and this vibration is Oṁ. It is still one, it is formless, nirguṇa. Nothing has started, nothing has happened yet, but it is like this seed, and then it starts to develop. And this seed of one Oṁ splits into these three parts: A, U, and M. Remember, that was just explained in the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad about the four aspects of Oṁ: A-U-M and AUM as a whole. So first was AUM as a whole, NIRGUṆA. Out of this come the three aspects, A-U-M. And these are the three guṇas. The three guṇas together are called prakṛti or māyā. This is the origin of the universe, and this is the divine mother. Often we call it the nature, and then the nature goes its way. Then the development starts, the creation starts, because now these guṇas start to interact. And first, the very fine, subtle levels of the universe are created. Then the grosser levels of the universe, for example, the five elements, which we know. And the last step, the very last step of this creation, is the physical world in which we are now. Let us look in the Bible, the Gospel according to John. It starts with the words: In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Realize something? Nāda rūpa parabrahma. Exactly the same. The same. That means the word was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him. And without Him, nothing was made that has been made. That means it says clearly the word was the origin of the creation. In him was life, and the life was the light of man. Remember when I read from Swāmījī? Swāmījī said, "Oṁ is the light, prāṇa, the life." Swāmījī said, "Aum is light, prāṇa, life." So truth is truth. And another interesting sentence comes a little bit later, number 14: And the word was made flesh, meat, body, and it lived among us. So here, the Bible speaks about the incarnation of God. You see, it is one and the same. The only thing that is missing is now to say, what is this word? Anyway, we must be aware that, of course, this is a translation of the Bible, not the original text. And the word "word" does not really fit anyway, because it suggests there is a language. There is a mouth to speak it, an ear to hear it. But we are at the beginning of the creation. There was no ear, there was no mouth, nothing yet. So therefore we must understand, it’s a very subtle symbolic language. It is what we could say sound, vibration, or even the origin of the sound. And this text from the Bible, nearly word by word, you find the same in the Ṛg Veda. The only difference is that this word is named, that is clearly said, that is Oṁ. There is also a beautiful mantra about Oṁ: Oṁ kha ra bindu sai yuktam nityam dhyayanti yoginaha kamadam moksadam saiva om karyanamonamaha. Oṁ is connected with the Bindu. Oṁ is connected with the Bindu. You know the word from the Bindu Cakra. Do you know the word from the Bindu Cakra? Bindu means the dot or the drop. And the drop, you know, from Swāmījī’s teaching, the drop of divine nectar, the nectar of immortality. So this is also a symbolic language here. Oṁ is connected with a drop, meaning a drop of amṛta, nectar. That means essentially it says to us, "Aum is the origin of immortality." Nityam dhyayanti yoginaha. Therefore, the yogīs meditate on Aum all the time. To znamená, yoginī meditují. It helps us to purify our qualities, our karmas, like calm desire, and it is a way to mokṣa. Oṁ Kārayāṇa Munamaha, my salutation to the Divine. Oṁ. Now we have a special blessing that Holī Gurujī one day wrote a beautiful bhajan about Oṁ. Let us go into that. We have the title of the bhajan, "Aum Kār Mantra Kā Bhajan." That means the bhajan about Aum. Maybe to explain shortly the word Aum Kār. Kār means simply the sound, the letter. A u toho oṁ kāra, tak to kāra znamená jenom zvuk nebo písmeno. So man says also akāra, ukāra and so on. That means the sound A, the sound U. It begins with "Om kī rachanā śarīre." Tím to začíná ten bachan. Let us maybe sing that we get into it, the refrain and the first verse, and then we will speak about it. Niracchana śrī rā dhar par brahma rūpa hen kichaya nahī dhūpa hen, dhar par brahma rūpa hen kichaya nahī dhūpa hen. Oṁ dhar na dharūpa sadāhi e niradhārī rā niracchana śrī rā. It was missing galak and rhythm. No bhajan singing without rhythm, please. Can someone bring the dholak? You know that Holī Gurujī was a bhakta. One hundred, two hundred percent dedicated to Mahāprabhujī. pouze Mahāprabhujī mu, so it is somehow astonishing that he wrote this bhajan about Oṁ. But he was a saint. Through bhakti, you get this highest realization. So he liked to share it with us, and you will see no difference between the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, the Bible, Swāmījī’s teaching, and what we find here in Holī Gurujī’s bhajan: "Om Aki Ratchanasa Riri." Everything is the creation of Oṁ. Jñānī jñānī bihide. The wise ones know the secret of Aum. So he, Jñānī Rahī Sukhya Rīrī. Therefore, they live all the time in bliss. OM KĀRA PARABRAHMA RŪPA HE. OM IS THE FORM OF THE HIGHEST SELF. THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME STATE AS NĀDA RŪPA PARABRAHMA. OM KĪ CHĀYĀ NAHĪṂ RŪPA HE. OM IS THE LIGHT. Božské světlo. Oṁ kār nāb rūpe. Vše prostupující. Saddhahi he niradhari. It is saddhah, it is eternal. Niradhari, you know the word, muladhari? Niradhari means without base, without fundament. It means Aum is not depending on anything. Aum is not created through anything or anyone, because Aum is itself the origin. So here, Holī Gurujī, in the first verse, clearly speaks about this Oṁ as the highest divine self. And now, in the second verse, he follows exactly how Swāmījī says the creation starts: how from this one Oṁ comes the three aspects of Oṁ—A-U-M. And these are the three guṇas. OṂ kār kī tri guṇā māyā. Through OṂ comes the māyā, and the māyā consists of the three guṇas. Māyā is here just another word. It’s here not in the way of dangerous; it’s just another word for the Divine Mother. Is Māyā, say, Jagadācārya? These three guṇas in the origin, they are like three seeds, but nothing has actually started yet. The potential is there, but it has not been realized yet. And therefore, oṁ karme jīvarahi. The living beings, they live in om. Because this whole creation is actually a manifestation of om. Sabe dehadari. Dehadari means, literally translated, those holding or having a body. All living beings in a physical body live like in Oṁ, like a fish is living in the water, in the ocean. Vidyā sarva oṁ se āy. All the knowledge, all the wisdom comes through Oṁ. There’s an interesting story about that. They made a research. Maybe some of you know this ancient game, which is now recently republished under the name Līlā. It’s a spiritual game about which Swāmījī she personally spoke many years ago. One field in this game is Oṁ. And in the explanation about this field, they speak about this research which they made. In one university, they had a group of students, and they asked them a really difficult question. So then they collected the papers and counted how many knew the right answer. It was only a few. What they did next is they were chanting Aum with them for one hour. And in the end of that, they asked the same question once more. And the result was that now many more of them knew the right answer. Our inner self knows everything. We are just disconnected from that. That’s our problem. All the yoga techniques, and especially Oṁ and our mantra, bring us in touch with that. So even worldly knowledge can be awakened through Oṁ. But, of course, much more important is the divine knowledge. And this is the Vedas. Oṃkāra se vedā rache. Through Aum, the Vedas have been created. Sarva Mantra Ko Mūla, the root, the origin of all mantras, is Aum. Does anyone here have a mantra from Swāmījī which does not include Oṁ? I don’t see anyone. Swāmījī himself said there cannot be a true mantra without Oṁ. And basically, the whole Vedas is a collection of mantras. Especially the Saṁhitās, the first part of the Vedas, is actually called Mantra Saṁhitās. And if you take one mantra out of the context, it’s always good to add Oṁ. Oṁ Tryambakam. We don’t sing just Tryambakam. We sing Oṁ Tryambakam. We do not only sing Tryambakam. Oṁ se brahmavicāriṇī. All thoughts about God come from Oṁ. That means our spiritual searching, that we are a seeker, comes from Oṁ. "OM KĀR RATO MILESARA." Therefore, all together, repeat Oṁ again and again. It was hard to see Holī Gurujī ever without his mala in his hand, without repeating his mantra. Even if he was giving a lecture at the same time, you could see him moving his mālā. Om kal se hotu ujjara or ujjala. Skrze OM Osvícení. Therefore, dhāro om kadyān. Always stick to the meditation with Oṁ. Never give it up. Oṁ se bhava bhaya harire. Bhava bhaya, that means the worldly fears. All our desires, our complexes, our concerns in this world. Therefore, all the saints keep Oṁ all the time in their heart. It’s like their beloved essence. Oṁ kār ke binnā sādhanā sappahotte pikārīde. Therefore, sādhanā without Oṁ cannot bear fruit. Om kār sī hoṭ ānanda. And this is a special way of saying it in Hindi: "Hot ānanda." That means it is like a very basic, fundamental, always valid statement. That’s a basic statement. It’s not sometimes two; it’s always two. So, in the same way, it’s like a basic statement: through Oṁ comes bliss. Oṁ kār ko jānā govinda. Govinda knows Oṁ. Govinda knows Oṁ. Now, who is Govinda? It’s one of the names of Lord Kṛṣṇa. But I guess here it is in a poetical form that Lord Kṛṣṇa stands actually for every saint, for every divine incarnation. As it was said in the refrain already, the wise ones, they know the secret of Oṁ. So he, Jan Rahisukyari, therefore they are in bliss all the time. So this verse here is actually a paraphrase on the refrain of this bhajan, repeating the same once more in other words. Through Oṁ, you purify your karma. Kaj, you might not know, it is the same like karma. That means it is such a powerful vibration that all these lower vibrations, which are created through our karmas, are just powered away, overpowered. I always give the example: let’s say you are standing at a river, looking to the water. And you see, there are many small ripples, small waves. But now you see a big ship is coming. It’s maybe 200 meters away. But when it has passed, then big waves are there. And sometimes, after some time, they also come to you. They come to the shore. And when these waves come, what happens to these small ripples that were there before? They are gone. They are like absorbed in these big waves, these powerful waves from the big ship. So in the same way, you can understand these small ripples, this is our karmas, and these big powerful waves, this is our mantra, that is Oṁ. Let them carry it away. Through Oṁ, all our karmas are purified. Through Oṁ, you can cross this ocean of the world, or I like to translate usually better, this ocean of this worldliness, because this world is not guilty. But it is the reaction in us to this world, when we react to this world, creating desires and attachment. That’s our problem. So that is the worldliness. And Aum is such a strong energy, so uplifting, that we forget about these lower things. And now we shouldn’t forget, it’s the bhajan of Holī Gurujī. So, definitely, he cannot but greet his master. Oṁ Namoḥ Prabhupāda Svāmī. My salutation to my beloved Master Mahāprabhujī. Oṁ Kār Gurudev Namāmī. He is for me like the personification of the Oṁ. Remember? Even in the Bible it was said. The divine incarnation comes into the world. Kahi Madhavānand, Re, "my salutation to the Divine Oṁ." So let us sing this bhajan. You have now someone on the dolak, please? And I hope you realize, after the second part of the verse, it goes to the refrain and again repeats, then the second part of the verse, so it’s a little bit jumping up and down. Please try to follow. Kīra-cchāna-sarīra kār-para-pram-rupa-dhūpa, kār-para-pram-haṃ kīchāya-nahi-dhūpa-haṃ. Kār-nabha-rupa-sadāhi-niradāri-ra, kīra-cchāna-sarīra kār-nabha-rupa-sadāhi-niradāri-ra. Yāni jāni bheda-sahī-jāni, rāhi-sukhi-yāri-rāchana-sarī. Oṁkāra kī triguṇā māyā, is māyā se jagat rachāyā. Oṁkāra meṁ jīva rahe, saptī dhārī re, kī rachanā śarīra. Sarva-oṁsi āi kārsi-vīdarācāi sarva-mantrakamula-oṁse brahma-vichārīra kīrachanāsarīra. Sarva-mantrakamula-oṁse brahma-vichārīra kīrachanāsarīra. Oṁ kī rachanā sarīra yānī jāne beda sohijan rahis kī ārī ra. Oṁ kī rachanā sarīra. Om kī racanā sarīra ratho mila sāra thāra sī ho thā ujāra thāra ratho mila sāra kyāru se ho cā ujāra. Om dhā dhyāna om se bhava bhaya harirā. Om kī racanā sarīra. Om dhā dhyāna om se bhava bhaya harirā. Om kī racanā sarīra. Yāni chāne bheda sahi, chā rāhi sukhi, ārīra kīrachanā sarīra. Ṛṣi-munī arayogī sārā, ārgohar dayādhārā. Īśi muni har yogī sara, har ghohar dayā dara. Mkharkhe bina sādhanā sapa hota pekārī kī rachanā sarīra. Mkharkhe bina sādhanā sapa hota pekārī re. Oṁ krachana śarīra, oṁ kī rachana śarīra yāni-jāne-bheda-sohita-rāhi-sukhī-yārīra kama-kīra-cchā-nāśarīra ānanda-kajāna-gavinda-hār-siho-ta-ānanda-kajāna-gavinda kama-se-sudh-re-kātma-se-bhāta-pārīra Oṁ se sudhare khāja, oṁ se haya bhava parire kī rachanā śarīre. Oṁ kī rachanā śarīre, yānī jānī bhed sahī jānī rahī sukhīārī. Oṁ kī rachanā śarīre. Oṁ kīrachanāśarīra Prabhupādīpa Svāmī. Hariduradeva Nāma Prabhupādīpa Svāmī Kāriva Nāmā Āhe māra-vaṇanna-aumika Vannana-hamārīra Om Kīrachanāsarīra Āhe māra-vaṇanna-aumika. So far we spoke only about Oṁ, the sound, the mantra as a sound, as a vibration. But every mantra has also a shape, a form, and that’s as divine as the sound. That has also a power, you know. The mantras are created by God and given by God. Those ṛṣis who received them, it is called mantra-dṛkṣi. Ṛṣis who received them, it is called mantra-dṛkṣi. Those who saw the mantras, they see the shape of the mantras. So also the shape of the Oṁ form, as you know it, that’s very powerful. Pro Oṁ āśram. The original name was Oṁ Vishva Deep Gurukul. Then, due to some complications in getting it registered, Swāmījī changed the name to Sri Vishwadeep Gurukul. I was never happy about that. In my heart, it will always be the Oṁ Ashram and not the Sri Ashram. But Swāmījī then once said, "I can prove that it is the same." And I think after that, what I explained, you already must understand this now. Why are Oṁ and ŚRĪ the same? Because when Oṁ splits into three parts, the three guṇas, this is called the māyā or prakṛti. That is the Divine Mother. And Śrī is the name of the Divine Mother. So there we have it. Siddhīp Nīrenberg, one key. We have one bhajan, which fits very nicely on that. It is really that high teaching, what I was talking about now. And Swāmījī tried to translate it, and actually, when I was present, he somehow gave up trying to translate that bhajan. It’s a bhajan about this highest state of consciousness, this Oṁ consciousness: "Mera Sattva Guru Dio Sandesho." Some oil for the machine. When I start a satsaṅg, I always say, "Now we can have a half-liter satsaṅg." I say, "I could do the Sunday." So now he G, the īśa, Brahmā, māyā, make evil eat a giant. Now he G, the īśa, Brahmā, māyā, make evil eat a giant. Yeah, my heart not sad that this. Yeah, my heart not sad that Mīrā Satgur Diyā Sandesh. Mīrā Satgur Diyā Sandesh. Meha Jai Sakthas, Meha Jai Sakthas. Meera Satgur Diya Sandesh, Meera Sayap Diya Sandesh. Nahi hai om soham arvani, me shabd teet rahani. Nahi avya khrit kalesh, nahi avya khrit kalesh. Mera satt gur diya sandesh, mera saay pa diya sandesh. Mahājeśaka teśā, Mera sattva guru diya sandeśā, Mera sāyapa diya sandeśā, Mahi sutrāk na jāno, Ye hiraṇyā garbha matta māno, Nāhi ajya sambhāro seśā, Mēra sat-guru diya sānteśā. Jai Sakthesa Koi mam sharan aakati aave, so janam maran nahi paave. Ye amara mantra hai, esau Meera Satyagraha Diya Sandesa, Meera Sāyapa Diya Sandesa. Jai Sakthesa, Jai Sakthesa. Meera Satyagraha Diya Sandesa. Meera Sāyapa Diya Sandesa. Ye gudhkhah gaya, Sri Swami Deepa paramaya. Ye gudhkhah gaya, Sri Swami Deepa paramaya. I’m Jessica Tessa. I’m Jessica Tessa. Actually, one add-on from my lecture. Because I said I spoke about the Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad, so you might get a single edition of the Upaniṣad, as this is, for example, from Swami Sivananda. Otherwise, I am using two collections of the Upaniṣads, of the major Upaniṣads. One is here from the commentary of Ādi Śaṅkarācārya in two volumes. But you get it usually also as a separate edition of that. And the other one is called the Principal Upanishads with a commentary by Swami Śivānanda. But the Holy Scripture, from my point of view, only one thing is important. Take the commentary of a self-realized saint, that’s important, not the commentary of a learned scholar. Because this is really the highest wisdom, and one who has not realized that has basically no right to comment on it. Because this is really the highest knowledge, and people... Those who have not achieved self-realization do not have, in my opinion, the right to comment on it. My lecture consisted of Oṁ. In the Kumbh Mela, there was a function before the Kumbh started in 2007. All of the Mahāmaṇḍaleśvaras were there, and they were all giving their speech about the Kumbh, what was important about the Kumbh, and everything about the Kumbh Mela, what was important about it. A long line of about 25, Swāmījī was also there, and everyone was speaking. Everyone was speaking for 5 minutes or 10 minutes. And the microphone came to Niranjan and Anji, who you all know. And he just went, "Om Pūrṇamadaḥ, Pūrṇamidaḥ." And he said, "Just this and the bass for now," which means the end. And everyone looked at him and said, "What?" And he said, "Yes, that’s Purāṇ, that’s it. Everything is there, Hari Om."