In this, the original sense of the word, it is little doubtful that Om is but an older and contracted form of the common Sanskrit word evam ("thus"), which, coming from the p.r.o.nominal base "a," in some derivations changed to "e," may have at one time occurred in the form avam, when, by the elision of the vowel following a, for which there are numerous a.n.a.logies in Sanskrit, vum would become aum, and hence, according to the ordinary phonetic laws of the language, Om. This etymology of the word, however, seems to have been lost even at an early period of Sanskrit literature; for another is met with in the ancient grammarians, enabling us to account for the mysticism which many religious and theological works of ancient and medieval India suppose to inhere in it. According to this latter etymology, Om would come from a radical av; by means of an affix man, when Om would be a curtailed form of avman or oman, and as av implies the notion of "protect, preserve, save," Om would be a term implying "protection or salvation," its mystical properties and its sanct.i.ty being inferred from its occurrence in the Vedic writings and in connection with sacrificial acts, such as are alluded to before.
Hence Om became the auspicious word with which the spiritual teacher had to begin and the pupil to end each lesson of his reading of the Veda.
"Let this syllable," the existing Prati-sakhya, or a grammar of the Rig Veda, enjoins, "be the head of the reading of the Veda; for alike to the teacher and the pupil it is the supreme Brahman, the gate of heaven."
And Manu ordains: "A Brahman at the beginning and end (of a lesson on the Veda) must always p.r.o.nounce the syllable Om; for unless Om precede, his learning will slip away from him; and unless it follows, nothing will be long retained."
At the time when another cla.s.s of writings (the Puranas) were added to the inspired code of Hinduism, for a similar reason Om is their introductory word.
That the mysterious power which, as the foregoing quotation from the law-book of Manu shows, was attributed to this word must have been the subject of early speculation, is obvious enough. A reason a.s.signed for it is given by Manu himself. "Brahma," he says, "extracted from the three Vedas the letter a, the letter u, and the letter m (which combined result in Om), together with the (mysterious) words Bhuh (earth), Bhuva (sky), and Swah (heaven);" and in another verse: "These three great immutable words, preceded by the syllable Om, and (the sacred Rig Veda verse called) Gayatri, consisting of three lines, must be considered as the mouth (or entrance) of Brahman (the Veda)," or, as the commentators observe, the means of attaining final emanc.i.p.ation; and "The syllable Om is the supreme Brahman. (Three) regulated breathings, accompanied with the mental recitation of Om, the three mysterious words Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swah and the Gayatri, are the highest devotion."
"All rites ordained in the Veda, such as burnt and other sacrifices, pa.s.s away, but the syllable Om must be considered as imperishable; for it is (a symbol of) Brahman (the supreme spirit) himself, the Lord of Creation." In these speculations Manu bears out, and is borne out by, several Upanishads. In the Katha-Upanishad for instance, Yama, the G.o.d of death, in replying to a question of Nachiketas, says: "The word which all the Vedas record, which all the modes of penance proclaim, desirous of which religious students perform their duties, this word I will briefly tell thee--it is Om. This syllable means the (inferior) Brahman and the supreme (Brahman). Whoever knows this syllable obtains whatever he wishes." And in the Pras"na-Upanishad the saint Pippalada says to Satyakama: "The supreme and the inferior Brahman are both the word Om; hence the wise follow by this support the one or the other of the two. If he meditates upon its one letter (a) only, he is quickly born on the earth; is carried by the verses of the Rig Veda to the world of man; and, if he is devoted there to austerity, the duties of a religious student and faith, he enjoys greatness. But if he meditates in his mind on its two letters (a and u), he is elevated by the verses of the Yajur Veda to the intermediate region; comes to the world of the moon and, having enjoyed there power, returns again (to the world of man). If, however, he meditates on the supreme spirit by means of its three letters (a, u, and m) he is produced in light in the sun; as the snake is liberated from its skin, so is he liberated from sin."
According to the Mandukya-Upanishad the nature of the soul is summarized in the three letters a, u, and m in their isolated and combined form--a being Vaiswanara, or that form of Brahman which represents the soul in its waking condition; a, Taijasa, or that form of Brahman which represents it in its dreaming state; and m, Piajna, or that form of Brahman which represents it in its state of profound sleep (or that state in which it is temporarily united with the supreme spirit); while a, u, m combined (i.e., Om), represent the fourth or highest condition of Brahman, "which is unaccountable, in which all manifestations have ceased, which is blissful and without duality. Om therefore, is soul, and by this soul, he who knows it, enters into (the supreme) soul." Pa.s.sages like these may be considered as the key to the more enigmatic expressions used; for instance, by the author of the Yoga philosophy where, in three short sentences, he says his (the supreme lord"s) name is Pranava (i.e., Om); its muttering (should be made) and reflection on its signification; thence comes the knowledge of the transcendental spirit and the absence of the obstacles (such as sickness, languor, doubt, &c., which obstruct the mind of an ascetic).
But they indicate, at the same time, the further course which superst.i.tion took in enlarging upon the mysticism of the doctrine of the Upanishads. For, as soon as every letter of which the word Om consists was fancied to embody a separate idea, it is intelligible that other sectarian explanations were grafted on them to serve special purposes.
Thus, while Sankara, the great theologian and commentator on the Upanishads, is still contented with an etymological punning by means of which he transforms a into an abbreviation of apti (pervading), since speech is pervaded by Vaiswanara; u into an abbreviation of utkartha (superiority), since Taijasa is superior to Vaiswanara; and m into an abbreviation of miti (destruction), Vaiswanara and Taijasa, at the destruction and regeneration of the world, being, as it were, absorbed into Prajna--the Puranas make of a, a name of Vishnu; of u, a name of his consort "Sri;" and of m, a designation of their joint worshipper; or they see in a, u, m, the Triad--Brahm, Vishnu, and Siva; the first being represented by a, the second by u, and the third by m--each sect, of course, identifying the combination of these letters, or Om with their supreme deity. Thus, also, in the Bhagavadgita, which is devoted to the worship of Vishnu in his incarnation as Krishna, though it is essentially a poem of philosophical tendencies based on the doctrine of the Yoga, Krishna in one pa.s.sage says of himself that he is Om; while in another pa.s.sage he qualifies the latter as the supreme spirit. A common designation of the word Om--for instance, in the last-named pa.s.sages of the Bhagavadgita is the word Pranava, which comes from a so-called radical nu, "praise," with the prefix pra amongst other meanings implying emphasis, and, therefore, literally means "eulogium, emphatic praise." Although Om, in its original sense as a word of solemn or emphatic a.s.sent, is, properly speaking, restricted to the Vedic literature, it deserves notice that it is now-a-days often used by the natives of India in the sense of "yes," without, of course, any allusion to the mystic properties which are ascribed to it in the religious works. Monier Williams gives the following account of the mystic syllable Om: "When by means of repeating the syllable Om, which originally seems to have meant "that" or "yes," they had arrived at a certain degree of mental tranquillity, the question arose what was meant by this Om, and to this various answers were given according as the mind was to be led up to higher and higher objects. Thus, in one pa.s.sage, we are told at first that Om is the beginning of the Veda, or as we have to deal with an Upanishad of the Shama Veda, the beginning of the Shama Veda; so that he who meditates on Om may be supposed to be meditating on the whole of the Shama Veda.
"Om is the essence of the Shama Veda which, being almost entirely taken from the Rig Veda, may itself be called the essence of the Rig Veda. The Rig Veda stands for all speech, the Shama Veda for all breath or life; so that Om may be conceived again as the symbol of all speech and all life. Om thus becomes the name not only of all our mental and physical powers, but is especially that of the living principle of the pran or spirit. This is explained by the parable in the second chapter, while in the third chapter that spirit within us is identified with the spirit in the sun.
"He, therefore, who meditates on Om, meditates on the spirit in man as identical with the spirit in Nature or in the sun, and thus the lesson that is meant to be taught in the beginning of the Khandogya Upanishad is really this that none of the Vedas, with their sacrifices and ceremonies, could ever secure the salvation of the worshipers. That is, the sacred works performed, according to the rules of the Vedas, are of no avail in the end, but meditation on Om, or that knowledge of what is meant by Om, alone can procure true salvation or true immortality.
"Thus the pupil is led on step by step to what is the highest object of the Upanishads--namely, the recognition of the self in man as identical of the highest soul.
"The lessons which are to lead up to that highest conception of the universe, both subjective and objective, are, no doubt, mixed up with much that is superst.i.tious and absurd. Still the main object is never lost sight of. Thus, when we come to the eighth chapter, the discussion, though it begins with Om ends with the question of the origin of the world, and the final answer--namely, that Om means Akasa, ether, and that ether is the origin of all things."
Dr. Lake considers electricity as the akas, or the fifth element of the Hindus.
I shall now give my own opinion on the mystic syllable Om.
Breath consists of an inspiration termed puraka, an interval termed k.u.mbhaka, and an expiration called rechaka. When the respiration is carried on by the right nostril, it is called the pingala; when it is carried on by the two nostrils, it is named the susumna; and when it is carried on by the left nostril, it is called ida.
The right respiration is called the solar respiration, from its heating nature; while the left respiration is termed the lunar respiration, from its cooling character. The susumna respiration is called the shambhu-nadi. During the intermediate respiration the human mind should be engaged in the contemplation of the supreme soul.
The breath takes its origin from the "indiscreet" or unreflecting form, and the mind from the breath. The organs of sense and action are under the control of the mind. The Yogis restrain their mind by the suspension of breath. Breath is the origin of all speech. The word soham is p.r.o.nounced by a deep inspiration followed by expiration carried on by the nostrils.... This word means, "G.o.d is in us." There is another word called hangsha. This is p.r.o.nounced by a deep expiration followed by inspiration. Its meaning is "I am in G.o.d."
The inspiration is sakti, or strength. The expiration is siva, or death. The internal or k.u.mbhaka is a promoter of longevity. When the expiration is not followed by inspiration death ensues. A forcible expiration is always the sure and certain sign of approaching dissolution or death. Both these words soham and hanysha cause the waste of the animal economy, as they permit the oxygen of the inspired air to enter the lungs where the pulmonary changes of the blood occur.
According to Lavoissier, an adult Frenchman inhales daily 15,661 grains of oxygen from the atmosphere, at the rate of 10.87 grains nearly per minute.
The word Om is p.r.o.nounced by the inspiration of air through the mouth and the expiration of the same by the nostrils.
When a man inspires through the mouth and expires through the nostrils, the oxygen of the inspired air does not enter the lungs where the pulmonary changes of the blood take place. The monosyllable Om thus acts as a subst.i.tute for the suspension of the breath.
The waste of the body is proportionate to the quant.i.ty of oxygen taken into the system by the respiration. The waste of a man who breathes quickly is greater than that of one who breathes slowly. While tranquillity of mind produces slow breathing, and causes the r.e.t.a.r.dation of the bodily waste, the tranquil respiration has a tendency to produce calmness of mind. The Yogis attain to Nirvana by suspending or holding the breath. The Vedantists obtain moksha, or emanc.i.p.ation of the soul, by holding the mind (mental abstraction). Thus Om is the process of separating the soul from the body. It is the product of the gasping breath which precedes the dissolution of our body. The ancient Hindus utilized the gasping breath of the dying man by discovering the syllable Om.
The syllable Om protects man from premature decay and death, preserves him from worldly temptations, and saves him from re-birth. It causes the union of the human soul to the supreme soul. Om has the property of shortening the length of respiration.
Siva is made to say in a work on "Sharodaya" (an excellent treatise on respiration) that the normal length of the expiration is 9 inches.
During meals and speaking the length of the expiration becomes 13.5 inches. In ordinary walking the expiration is lengthened to 18 inches.
Running lengthens the expiration to 25.5 inches.
In s.e.xual intercourse the extent of respiration becomes 48.75 inches.
During sleep the respiration becomes 75 inches long. As sleep causes a great waste of the body and invites disease, premature decay and death, the Yogi tries to abstain from it. He lives upon the following dietary:--rice, 6 ounces troy; milk, 12 ounces troy. He consumes daily: carbon, 156.2 grains; nitrogen, 63.8 grains.
Under this diet he is ever watchful, and spends his time in the contemplation of Om. From the small quant.i.ty of nitrogen contained in his diet he is free from anger. The Yogi next subdues his carnal desire or s.e.xual appet.i.te. He diminishes day by day his food until it reaches the minimum quant.i.ty on which existence is maintained. He pa.s.ses his life in prayer and meditation. He seeks retirement. He lives in his little cell; his couch is the skin of tiger or stag; he regards gold, silver, and all precious stones as rubbish. He abstains from flesh, fish, and wine. He never touches salt, and lives entirely on fruits and roots. I saw a female mendicant who lived upon a seer of potatoes and a small quant.i.ty of tamarind pulp daily. This woman reduced herself to a skeleton. She led a pure, chaste life, and spent her time in the mental recitation of Om. One seer of potatoes contains 3,600 grains of solid residue, which is exactly 7 1/2 ounces troy.
The solid residue of one seer of potatoes consists of the following ultimate ingredients:--
Carbon .............. 1587.6 grains Hydrogen ............ 208.8 "
Nitrogen ............. 43.2 "
Oxygen .............. 1580.4 "
Salts .................180.0 "
-------- 3600.0 "
I saw a Brahman (Brahmachari) who consumed daily one seer of milk, and took no other food.
a.n.a.lysis of One Seer of Cow"s Milk by Boussingault.
Water ....................... 12,539.520 grains Carbon ...................... 1,005.408 "
Hydrogen ...................... 164.736 "
Nitrogen ....................... 74.880 "
Oxygen ......................... 525.456 "
Salts ........................... 90.000 "
----------- 14,400.000 "
Now, one seer of cow"s milk requires for combustion within the animal economy 3278.88 grains of oxygen. The Brahmachari inhaled 2.27 grains of oxygen per minute. This Brahmachari spent his life in the contemplation of Om, and led a life of continence. The French adult, who is a fair specimen of well-developed sensuality, inhaled from the atmosphere 10.87 grains of oxygen every minute of his existence.
A retired, abstemious, and austere life is essentially necessary for the p.r.o.nunciation of Om, which promotes the love of rigid virtue and a contempt of impermanent sensuality. Siva says "He who is free from l.u.s.t, anger, covetousness and ignorance is qualified to obtain salvation, or moksha," or the Nirvana of the Buddhists. The solid residue of one seer of cow"s milk is 1860.48 grains. "In 1784 a student of physic at Edinburgh confined himself for a long s.p.a.ce of time to a pint of milk and half a pound of white bread."
The diet of this student contained 1487.5 grains of carbon and 80.1875 grains of nitrogen. This food required 4,305 grains of oxygen for the complete combustion of its elements. He inspired 2.92 grains of oxygen per minute. In this instance the intense mental culture diminished the quant.i.ty of oxygen inspired from the atmosphere. The early Christian hermits, with a view to extinguish carnal desire and overcome sleep, lived upon a daily allowance of 12 ounces of bread and water. They daily consumed 4063.084 grains of oxygen. They inhaled oxygen at the rate of 2.8215 grains per minute.
According to M. Andral, the great French physiologist, a French boy 10 years old, before the s.e.xual appet.i.te is developed, exhales 1852.8 grains of carbon in the twenty-four hours. He who wishes to curb his l.u.s.t should consume 1852.8 grains of carbon in his daily diet.
Now, 6,500 grains of household bread contain 1852 grains of carbon, according to Dr. Edward Smith. This quant.i.ty of bread is equal to 14 ounces avoirdupois and 375 grains, but the early Christian hermits who lived upon 12 oz. of bread (avoirdupois) consumed daily 1496.25 grains of carbon. This quant.i.ty of carbon was less than that which the French boy consumed daily by 356.55 grains. The French boy consumed 1852.8 grains of carbon in his diet, but the Hindu female mendicant, who led a life of continence, consumed in her daily ration of potatoes 1587.6 grains of carbon. Hence it is evident that the French boy consumed 265.2 grains of carbon more than what was consumed by the female Hindu Yogi. There lived in Brindavana a Sannyasi, who died at the age of 109 years, and who subsisted for forty years upon the daily diet of four chuttacks of penda and four chuttacks of milk. His diet contained 1,980 grains of carbon and 90.72 grains of nitrogen. Abstemiousness shortens the length of respiration, diminishes the waste of the body, promotes longevity, and engenders purity of heart. Abstemiousness cures vertigo, cephalalgia, tendency to apoplexy, dyspnoea, gout, old ulcers, impetigo, scrofula, herpes, and various other maladies.
Cornaro, an Italian n.o.bleman, who was given up by all his physicians, regained health by living upon 12 ounces of bread and 15 ounces of water, and lived to a great age.
He consumed less than an ounce of flesh-formers in his diet. According to Edward Smith 5401.2 grains of bread contain 1 ounce of flesh-formers.
He who wishes to lead a life of chast.i.ty, honesty, meekness, and mercy, should consume daily one ounce of flesh-formers in his diet. As an ounce of nitrogenous matter contains 70 grains of nitrogen, one should take such food as yields only 70 grains of azote.
Murder, theft, robbery, cruelty, covetousness, l.u.s.t, slander, anger, voluptuousness, revenge, lying, prost.i.tution, and envy are sins which arise from a consumption of a large quant.i.ty of aliments containing a higher percentage of azote.
He who intends to be free from every earthly thought, desire and pa.s.sion should abstain from fish, flesh, woman, and wine, and live upon the most innocent food.
The following table shows approximately the quant.i.ties of various aliments furnishing 70 grains of nitrogen:
Wheat dried in vacuo ............ 3181.81 grains Oats ............................ 3181.81 "
Barley .......................... 3465.34 "
Indian corn ..................... 3500 "