The transformation begins with speech...


yathā somyai kena mrtpindena sarvam mrnmayam vijñātam syādvācārambhanam vikāro nāmadheyam mrttiketyeva satyam || 6. 1. 4 |

“O gentle sir, as by knowing a lump of earth everything made of earth becomes known, the transformation begins with speech. It is name only. In fact, ‘earth’ is the reality.”
(Chandogya Upanishad)

na so ’sti pratyayo loke yah śabdānugamād rte | 
anuviddham iva jñānam sarvam śabdena bhāsate || Bhartrhari’s Vakyapadiya 1. 123

“In this world, there is no cognition which does not follow language. All knowledge appears as if permeated by words.”

api prayoktur ātmānau śabdam antaravasthitam |
prāhur mahāntam rsabham yena sāyujyam isyate ||

 tasmād yah śabdasamskārah sā siddhih paramātmanah | 
tasya pravrttitattvajñas tad brahmāmrtam aśnute || VP 1. 130-131

“It is also said that the self of the speaker is the word situated within, the Great Bull with whom one desires union. Therefore that which purifies the word is attainment of the Supreme Self. He, who
knows the truth of its origin, attains the immortal Brahman.”

The mantra “om vacadbhuve namah”, intuited by Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni, reiterates Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi‘s teaching of Atma Vichara (Self Enquiry).

The Guru mantra, 'om vacadbhuve namaḥ', can be translated as “Bow to that 'place' of Being from whence the Word arises (and sets)”. The head bows and relinquishes the ego. The Muni has stated that mantra must be repeated with full understanding of its meaning. In this instance, understanding the mantra equates with the enquiry “Who am I?”

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, Adiguru, the Great Bull, is the secret import of this mantra. 

—- —- —-
 - Translation from Sanskrit by MWright.

Popular posts from this blog

om vacadbhuve namah ॐ वचद्भुवे नमः

I translated this some years ago and it is still available here and there on tinternet . Someone recently asked about the mantra so here is a repost -  ॐ  वचद्भुवे नमः  om vacadbhuve namah the origin of the mantra "om vacadbhuve namaḥ" --------- Chapter 18, verse 10 of sri Ramana Gita - notes below - based on Ganapati Muni's 'gurumantrabhāshyam', also known as 'anubandham 2' (Sri Ramana Gita, Tiruvannamalai; 6th Edition, 1977; p.116) In this verse, Kavyakantha Ganapati Muni, as the Seer, reveals the bījākṣaras (seed syllables and/or letters) which make up Sri Ramana Maharshi's special mantra. This mantra reveals various correspondences and is said to be endowed with śakti (power). vedādi - beginning (and end) of the Vedas - bīja - 'om' pāka damana (indra) uttara - mightier than Indra, the subduer of the demon called Pāka (symbolic of the overcoming of ignorance). Sri Maharshi lies beyond even the Lord of the senses. Lord Indra'
Read more

Breath and mind arise from the same place…

 Breath and mind arise from the same place and when one of them is controlled, the other is also controlled. As a matter of fact, in the quest method — which is more correctly ‘Whence am I?’ and not merely ‘Who am I?’ — we are not simply trying to eliminate saying ‘we are not the body, not the senses and so on,’ to reach what remains as the ultimate reality, but we are trying to find whence the ‘I’ thought for the ego arises within us. The method contains within it, though implicitly and not expressly, the watching of the breath. When we watch wherefrom the ‘I’-thought, the root of all thoughts, springs, we are necessarily watching the source of breath also, as the ‘I’-thought and the breath arise from the same source. - Ramana Maharshi, Day by Day with Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, 1.12.45
Read more

The time has now come to turn inwards…

  “The time has now come to turn inwards, to learn to explore the inner space within the heart , and to make that long and exciting journey to the Centre . Compared with this, the exploration of the moon and planets is the play of children."   (Daily Readings with Bede Griffiths . Darton, Longman &Tod. 1990)  
Read more