Indian system of cosmology perceives cosmos as consisting of nine spatial zones which the planets Sun, Moon, Shukra (Venus), Budha (Mercury), Kuja or Mangala (Mars), Brahaspati (Jupiter), Shani (Saturn), Saptarshis, literally meaning seven sages that seven prominent stars symbolise, and Dhruva, the pole star, govern. Other two planets under Indian astrological system, Rahu and Ketu, are not the planets of specific zones. Saptarshis zone is situated thirteen crores of Yajans – a unit of measuring distance, away from the zone of Saturn, and Dhruva, thirteen crores of Yojans, from the Saptarshis zone. Except Dhruva all other eight entities change their positions, though within their orbits. Dhruva, the highest and hence all other zones radiating from it, is fixed in its place. The circle in the painting’s centre is symbolic of Dhruva. The painting represents sound, of which ‘AUM’ is the aggregate, as pervading all these cosmic zones.
The syllable ‘AUM’ that the painting represents as pervading time and space in their entirety is Indian mind’s aggregation of sound, whenever, wherever and in whichever form it prevailed or prevails. Obviously as deep and wide is its mystique with the result that it has been explored, now for centuries, in hundreds of contexts, secular and sectarian, and even scientific, yet it still remains as much unexplored as it was initially. Besides that almost all major religions in India, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism among others have adopted ‘AUM’ as a sacred expression, as a symbol of Hinduism it has universal acceptance. The tendency to rise from a level and fall is the sound’s essence. It manifests best in ‘AUM’. When pronounced rightly, it rises to palate, then to brain and then beyond it, and then descends. On its lowest pitch ‘AUM’ is soundlessness, and on its highest, it is the sound that the space shall not contain. The Mandukya-Upanishad claims that the sound of ‘AUM’ includes all that has happened and all that is yet to happen.
Every deity has a Bija-mantra – a hymn the deity manifests in. ‘AUM’ is the Bija-mantra of all mantras, for it is in ‘AUM’ that a ‘mantra’ finds its way to the deity it is dedicated to, and hence its accomplishment. ‘AUM’ as ‘Pranava’ means ‘that by which (God) is effectively praised’, that is, when a mantra is initiated with ‘AUM’, it becomes the true instrument for praising God and hence reaching Him. In ‘AUM Namah Shivay’, the most potent of Shaiva mantras, ‘AUM’, meaning Sat-Chid-Anand Parabrahma, makes prostration to Lord Shiva absolute whereby the practiser merges into Him. ‘AUM’ is just another name for ‘all pervading Brahman’ and the manifestation of pure consciousness not contained in a form.
The three letters of ‘AUM’ ‘A’, ‘U’, and ‘M’ have been variously interpreted in different scriptures and by different scholars. The Vayu Purana contends that ‘A’-sound is connotative of Vishnu, ‘U’-sound signifies Shiva, and ‘M’-sound, Brahma. Some scholars hold that ‘A’ represents ‘Adimatva’ – beginning; ‘U’, ‘utkarsha’ – progress; and, ‘M’, ‘miti’ – limit or dissolution; that is, three letters of ‘AUM’ represent the power that creates, develops or sustains, and dissolves, and such power is no other than God Himself. Under this view God and ‘AUM’ are identical, God’s all names are contained in ‘AUM’, and ‘AUM’ is His best name. Under yet another view, ‘A’ represents the base sound of the universe, ‘U’, the sound of galaxies, and ‘M’, the sound of planets and all stars in the space. Some scholars perceive ‘AUM’ as corresponding to three basic elements created by primary explosion, namely, spirit-mind-body.
This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.
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