AUM - The Sound Of Universe

The mystic sound "AUM" which is also called as "Omkara" and "Pranava" and typically mentioned as "OM" is the supreme syllable and symbol of Sanathan Dharma. It is a sacred incantation to be intoned at the beginning and end of reading Vedas and also prior to any Mantra.  Hence it is also known as the root mantra and bija (seed) mantra. No one can ever tell the complete meaning of this by just words. Rather it has to be realized and felt by one's own personal experience. As a very average human being, I do not consider myself "fit" to explain about this supreme mantra. I am submitting this post with great humility, care and caution. Please accept my humble apologies in case of any mistakes or errors. I have collected data over many sources and as usual will provide links and references wherever needed. considering the nature of the article, I have not added quick view.

Explanation As Per Mandukya Upanishad : 

The syllable "AUM" has been explained by many scholars and many texts. But there is an Upanishad which talks only about this supreme syllable and that is "Mandukya Upanishad". It consists of just twelve verses expounding this mystic syllable. The explanation according to this Upanishad is given below as it is :

• "This syllable "AUM" is this whole universe. What was and is and is yet to be - All of it is "AUM" and whatever else the three times transcends - That too is "AUM"
• "The self is Brahman. The self has four quarters. The first quarter is the waking state, conscious. The second one is the state of dream. The state of deep sleep is the third quarter and the fourth one being ultimate bliss devoid of duality.
• "The syllable "AUM" signifies the above four quarters (or) stages of self."

"A" -  The waking state, common to all men, is the first letter A. It signifies "Apti" (obtaining) or "Adimattva" (what is in the beginning). He who knows this obtains all his desires and becomes the beginning.

"U" - The state of dream, composed of light is the second letter U. It signifies "Utkarsa" (exaltation) or "Ubhayatva" (partaking of both). He who knows this exalts the continuum of knowledge and becomes like (Brahman).

"M" The state of deep sleep, the wise, is the third letter M. It signifies "Miti" (building up) or "Apiti" (absorption). He who knows this builds up the whole universe in very deed and is abosrbed (into it).

The fourth quarter (or) stage is beyond all letters. There can be commerce with it. It brings all development to an end. It is mild and devoid of duality. Such is "AUM" the very self indeed. He who knows this merges of his own accord (atmana) into the self.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Om

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandukya_Upanishad

Hindu scriptures - By Dominic Goodall

AUM is also represented as divine energy unified in its three elementary aspects : Brahma (creation), representing A, Vishnu (preservation), representing U and Shiva (liberation/destruction), representing M.

"AUM" and its vibrations :

Cymatics, the study of visible sound co vibration have researched and presented some stunning images and videos about the vibration of the sound "AUM'.  Please take a look.....

Wave front formations in a drop of water (video) :

Cymatic imagery of sacred chant recorded inside the Great Pyramid (video) :

http://cymascope.com/videos.html

Each syllable in AUM creates vibrations in different parts of the body. "A" in abdomen, "U" in throat and "M" in brain.

Effects of  chanting "AUM" :

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2013/10/02/your-brain-on-om-the-science-of-mantra

http://www.mallstuffs.com/Blogs/BlogDetails.aspx?BlogId=383&BlogType=Spiritual&Topic=Effects%20of%20chanting%20AUM%20or%20mantras
http://www.wakingtimes.com/2013/05/27/the-mind-blowing-power-of-mantra-yoga/

Can Women Chant "AUM"?

It is generally said that chanting "AUM" mantra alone produces more body heat which can affect the reproductory system of a women. Hence women (especially pregnant women) are not advised to chant this mantra as such. But they can chant other mantras preceded by AUM.

Sound of cosmos : 

AUM is said to be the primordial sound that was present at the creation of the Universe. It is the cosmic sound of the vibrating Universe. Quantum physics also agrees that vibration (sound) is the essence of all forms of creation. Almost all sounds have the rhythm of AUM in it. It represents the primal energy in its fullest from creation to eventual destruction.

Everything physical in this Universe is a manifestation of vibrational waves. The primordial vibrations of atoms and molecules are thus represented by AUM.

References :

http://reluctant-messenger.com/quantum_om.htm
http://somethingthatdescribesmeandmyarticles.blogspot.com/2013/04/big-bang-omaum-creation-sacred-geometry.html
http://shiangying.com/2013/08/25/om-or-aum/
http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Physics_and_Mysticism_Om_and_Aum.html
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-2776/5-Facts-You-May-Not-Know-About-OM.html

"Gotra" - Genetic Science Of The Ancient Period

I am here today with yet another interesting topic, the concept of "Gotra" in Hinduism. Most of us would have heard this word especially during marriage proposals. Yes.... It is a very important component in Hindu marriage system and it is strongly advised that two people of the same gotra should not marry. Ever wondered why such a rigid condition is kept? Genetics...... yes, it is all about genetics and genealogy. It is a bit complicated subject but I have tried my best to present it in the best possible way I can.

QUICK VIEW :

Key concept	Gotra System
Spiritual point of view	Origin attributed to sages, Different gotras for different sects, Change of gotra for women after marriage, Prevention of same gotra marriages,
Scientific version	Concept of XY chromosomes, Male lineage and ancestry based on Y chromosome, Rapid degeneration of Y chromosomes, DNA repair, prevention of marriage between cousins
Comparisons	Women changing gotra after marriage  is due to the importance of Y chromosome. Prevention of same gotra marriages are a way to prevent genetic defects and to maintain and protect healthy Y chromosomes.

Terminology :

"Go + tra" = Gotra. In sanskrit, "go" means cow. "trahi" means shed. In simple terms "gotra" means "cow shed".  Contextual meaning here is that gotra is human lineage (ancestry) from a particular person (paternal side) in an enclosed way like in the case of cows within enclosure. Gotra is always passed from father to son but not to daughter. When a daughter gets married, she gets the gotra of her husband and there is an amazing scientific reason behind it.

Importance in Marriage :

As mentioned in the introduction, it is an important rule that two people of the same gotra should not marry. Since we have understood the meaning of gotra now, we can clearly know that all persons who have the same gotra have come from the same ancestor. In simple terms two persons having the same gotra are called siblings (sagotra) and this is the main reason behind such prohibition. But.... is that all? No. An impressive answer is awaiting at the end of this post.

Manusmrithi (chapter 3 verses 5 and 6) states that "A damsel who is neither a Sapintha on the mother's side nor belongs to the same family on the fathers side is recommended to twice-born men for wedlock and conjugal union ".  "In connecting himself with a wife, let him carefully avoid the ten following families, be they ever so great or rich in kine, horses, sheep grain or other property".

http://www.hinduwebsite.com/sacredscripts/hinduism/dharma/manusmriti_1.asp

Modern science also now agrees that marriage between blood relation doubles the risk of birth defects.

List of gotras :

This is a real big list. Different sects (varnas) have different gotras. For instance, the Brahmin lineage comes from 8 sages called "Gotrakarins" who are the seven Saptarishis named Angirasa, Atri, Gautama, Kashyapa, Bhrigu, Vasistha, Kutsa + Bharadwaja. Over time, the descendants of these sages (pravara) established their own gotra. As such there are totally 49 gotras today among the Brahmins.

The following links will provide extensive list of gotras of all varnas. Since it is not possible to mention everything in this post, I have substituted it with links.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_gotras

http://familypedia.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_gotras

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotra

Why Gotra of women change after marriage but not men?

In the beginning I have mentioned that gotra is always passed on from father to son but not daughter. Hence when a son gets married his gotra doesn't change but a daughter adopts the gotra of her husband after marriage. "Why such a weird concept? Always emphasis is given to men but not women....." such thoughts will come to mind first, but...... is it weird? No.. here comes the amazing science of genetics. 

Let us first see the modern scientific concept of genetics before proceeding further......

Human Genes and Chromosomes :

Chromosomes in humans are divided into two types, autosomes and sex chromosomes. Human cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes (22 pairs of autosomes and 1 pair of sex chromosomes), giving a total of 46 per cell. In each pair one chromosome comes from father and other one from mother. Out of these 23 pairs, it is that one pair of sex chromosomes which decides the gender of the baby.

As the above pictures reveal, it is father who always gives "Y" chromosomes to son. On the other hand, a daughter always gets "X" chromosomes from father. Hence the "Y" chromosomes are always preserved through male lineage generations after generations. Women never get "Y" chromosomes in their body.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome

http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/chromosomes/intro/

Back to the Gotra System :

Modern scientific way of tracking genetics and identifying ancestry is by way of these chromosomes. This same objective is achieved by the Vedic Gotra system. Though the methods are different, concept is the same. For instance, if a person belongs to "Kashyapa Gotra" that means, the "Y" chromosome have come all the way over many thousands of years from the sage Kashyapa. In other words, Gotra system is a way to track the root "Y" chromosome of a person and from whom it originated.

Even if women do not carry "Y" chromosomes, her sons will carry the same from their father which roots back to the same sage (ancestor). It is only because of this reason ("Y" chromosomes) women are adapting the gotra of their husbands' after marriage. There are no words to appreciate the wisdom and foresight of our ancestors who knew all these concepts long long ago.

Prevention of same gotra (sagotra) marriages :

Initially we saw that two persons of the same gotra are considered siblings. But this is not the one and only factor which prevents same gotra marriages. Remember I told that there is an impressive answer? But before going to that, there are few interesting things to know about "Y" chromosomes.

How about men going extinct ?

What???? Really??? Are you kidding?????  I can totally understand that kind of feeling while reading such strange thing. Please watch this video...

And..... these links too....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2302865/Is-end-men-Expert-predicts-males-extinct--says-process-started.html

http://creation.com/y-chromosome-extinction

http://www.hitxp.com/articles/veda/science-genetics-vedic-hindu-gotra-y-chromosome-male-lineage-extinction/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_repair

In detail :

Scientific studies of genetics have suggested that men have lost many genes, "Y" chromosomes, in the past several thousand years. These chromosomes were once thought to be identical far back in the early history of mammals but now the "Y" chromosome now has about 78 genes compared with about 800 in the "X" chromosome. "Y" chromosomes are crucial for the creation and evolution of males and such weakness would create adverse effects. Debates are going on whether it will be able to survive for few million years into the future..... Scientists are working with some alternative plans as well..... But what is the reason for such weakness? In simple words we can state that "marriage within blood relations even after many generations will result in genetic defects thereby shrinking the population of healthy "Y" chromosomes. But a detailed explanation is needed to understand this better. Please go to the following links especially the wikipedia link of "Y" chromosomes to get a deeper idea about this.

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-17127617

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Y_chromosome#Future_evolution

Gotra concept - Could it be a vision? 

Okay. Here comes the connection between spiritualism and science. After reading this post in full, we now have an idea about "Y" chromosome and its degeneration. Our gotra concept strictly prevents marriages within the same gotra (gotra is always paternal side). It was once followed very rigidly but gradually it lost its importance. What could be the reason for the Vedic Sages to impose such a rigid rule? Did they already foresee such genetic defects and degeneration of "Y" chromosomes? There is no direct answer to this question. But after a detailed analysis of gotra system and by connecting it with modern day genetics, one can clearly understand that protecting the healthy "Y" chromosomes was the main idea behind this. Since "Y" chromosomes come from men only, paternal side was very much emphasized and a girl is made to change her gotra after marriage. Even after 100 generations, marriage within same gotra will result in defective genes and that is why same gotra marriages were prevented. Taking these points into consideration, we can strongly conclude that "Gotra" system is a great genetic science.

Scholars Around The World About Our Ancient Wisdom

"We do not appreciate what we have" - It is a very true psychological fact. It applies to all facets of life and the same rule holds good for our knowledge and wisdom too. In this simple post, I have tried to compile the views of scholars around the World about our ancient scriptures and wisdom. I have not provided a "quick view" because of the nature of this post. Instead I have presented this only with picture quotes and website links for further references.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_David_Thoreau#Intellectual_interests.2C_influences.2C_and_affinities

Erwin Schrodinger (1887-1961) - Nobel prize winning Austrian Physicist :

By The original uploader was Bletchley at English Wikipedia
[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

There is no kind of framework within which we can find consciousness in the plural; this is simply something we construct because of the temporal plurality of individuals, but it is a false construction..... The only solution to this conflict insofar as any is available to us at all lies in the ancient wisdom of the Upanishad.

Vedanta teaches that consciousness is singular, all happenings are played out in one universal consciousness and there is no multiplicity of selves.

ARTHUR HOLMES (1890-1965) - BRITISH GEOLOGIST :

See page for author [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Long before it became a scientific aspiration to estimate the age of the earth, many elaborate systems of the world chronology had been devised by the sages of antiquity. The most remarkable of these occult time-scales is that of the ancient Hindus, whose astonishing concept of the earth's duration has been traced back to manusmriti, a sacred book.
When the Hindu calculation of the present age of the earth and the expanding universe is so astonishing, the precision with which the hindu calculation regarding the age of the entire universe was made would make any man spellbound.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_cosmology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Schopenhauer

And don't forget to watch these videos :

To know more about such views, please refer the following links :


http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hinduism
http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=717
http://archaeologyonline.net/artifacts/scientific-verif-vedas

http://www.hinduwisdom.info/Advanced_Concepts.htm