-Sri swami Satchidananda
There is a Sanskrit word that beautifully describes what we spoke about many times in naming things. Padarthra (with an accent missing)can be broken down to mean the thing and its meaning.
Though what is truly valuable to understand is nameless, Satchidananda does speak about the naming of things like God just so we can conceptualize and understand with the mind. Naming, however, does not express the full experience or nature of a something.
But in the normal sense, a name may mean something but it cannot convey the exact nature of that thing.
The name "chair" can remind you of a chair but you can't sit on it.
So we can name God but we do not know or experience God by naming.
We name in a way that will take us out of our separate ideologies and help bring us to a deeper understanding and connection with God. Patanajali suggested using the "Om" as the universal name. It represents the hum of all life. It is also the sound found in Amen . So if we do choose to name God so we can someday better know God, according to Yoga teaching, .... we use "om."
But God's name should not only denote the fullness of God and itself represent God, it should also bring God to you.
Let's look at it a little deeper by using the symbol and the sound in our naming.
Om is like a hum...the hum of Life. It is the thing that is already vibrating in you.
It is actually A-U-M followed by a dissolving of sound into silence (anahata), according to the Mandukya Upanishads (again...no accents :( ).
A, as it begins the alphabet and every sound in the universe is represented by the bottom curve on the left. When we begin reciting the mantra it is the sound that comes from the throat...the same sound we make when a doctor ( or nurse) checks our throat. It represents the "awakened" state of consciousness.
U is made as the sound comes forward between the tongue and palate. "oo". It is represented in the symbol by the middle curve on the right that may look an elephant's trunk (Ganesha) . It represents the dream state of consciousness.
M is the sound that is made when we close our lips. It is represented by the top curve on the left and symbolizes our state of deep sleep/unconsciousness.
This AUM is japa or repetition.
After the M' dissolves there is still vibration but it is an unspoken vibration or ajapa.
On the top of the symbol, the dash like character represents maya or illusion...all the physical world we absorb and perceive through our senses. Above that we have a dot which represents the "Ultimate"...God in the fullest sense, that has the power to create everything.
The repetition of the sound "om" which is the beginning of all sound, the representation of all life also has the power to open us up to true union. Maybe that is why this is also the symbol for yoga.
That is why anyone who really wants to see God face to face will ultimately see God as OM. That is why it transcends all geographical, political or theological limitations. It doesn't belong to one country or one religion; it belongs to the entire universe.
All is well
https://www.onetribeapparel.com/blogs/pai/what-does-the-om-symbol-mean
Sri Swami Satchidananda ( 2011) The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. Yogaville: Integral Yoga publications....Sutra 27, Book One
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