Aum - The Name Of God · Sathya Sai Speaks 1979

Aum - The Name Of God

May 1979, Summer Course 1979, Brindavan

Published English.

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Born in water and momentarily floating on it, the water-bubble disappears into the water; (man), likewise, emerges from (God) and merges back into Him.

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The concept of the indestructibility of the Supreme Being or the aspect of Reality is acceptable to all religions and creeds. The basis for the acceptance of God as the Eternal Being and as the Cosmic Enrapturer is His indestructibility. or indestructibility is the Form of God and for this indestructible God, is the name. , the primordial Word, contains the essence of all the and is the source of all the . It provides the basis for the core of all religious teaching and eclectic knowledge.

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is comprised of three syllables, “A”, “U” and “M”, each of which has profound connotations. is the primordial Word, which gives life () to all other words. All the , the , and the have extolled the () in many ways.

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It is not possible for anyone to fully cognise or even describe the integral form of the sacred word . It is an integral word that stands for the Divine. It is (the audible form of ), (pervading the universe of the animate and inanimate beings), (resplendent, divine Light), (Speech), (Eternal Delight), (Transcendental), (the mother of itself - the creative consciousness of ), and (Auspiciousness). , thus, has the foregoing eight or divine treasures. It is divinely precious and should be recognised as the Name of God.

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This world is , subject to decadence and destruction. Nevertheless, in this world, which is destructible, the or the indestructible, transcendental manifests Itself. permeates the world (), but is not subject to (destruction).

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In the pot you have mud. But in the mud, pots do not exist. Pots are the result of a process of (creation) and therefore perish. Yet, mud exists in the pots. A bubble of water arises from water because of the process of and hence dissolves back. Nevertheless, in the water-bubble too, water is present as the film that envelopes the air within. In a similar manner, the manifests itself in the creation and is present in it along with . demonstrates this.

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In the , , and exhibit the qualities associated respectively with the three syllables “A”, “U” and “M” of . itself is personified in . In the , declares that He is the () in the - “”. has extolled the as being an apt name for God, “”. In the religion, there is no or Sastra that does not have as its basis. We should, therefore, try to understand the profound significance of the sacred , the primordial word.

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is a Name of God which can find universal acceptance. The Christians say Amen in their prayers every day. It is only a different form of . has universal relevance and applicability. It cuts across all barriers of time, place, religion and culture, and can be uttered by all men.

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Life is a mighty river and desires constitute its water. Thoughts are the innumerable little waves in this river. Aspirations are the crocodiles that abound in it and illusions are its whirlpools. Only a can cross such a terrible river, as he alone has gained control over the modifications of the mind, “”, as says.

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The flow of water in an ordinary river may increase or decrease, but the river of life, with ever multiplying desires as its water, knows no decrease. It may become so wide as to be a boundless expanse of uncontrollable, turbulent waters. To cross such a river, therefore, a boat is absolutely necessary. , the name of God, is the boat that takes you across this river. The ancient had crossed the turbulent river of life with the help of the boat of , with ease. has the power to save the world from (great deluge).

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In our worldly affairs, we follow several paths to fulfil our desires. In experiencing the fulfilment of our desires, we invariably pass through three stages. They are , , and . Here is an illustration. You hear that some delicious mangoes are available in the market. This news itself gives you a sense of pleasant anticipation and makes your mouth water. This pleasure is really the experience of . It is illusory and is brought about primarily by thought or imagination. Then, you go to the market and buy a mango. The act of purchasing the mango also gives you some pleasure or happiness called ; this too, however, is not lasting and cannot satisfy you. You finally eat the mango and experience the joy of satisfaction. This is the ultimate experience of happiness and is called .

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But even this is not a lasting experience so long as the object desired is a worldly object. Man gets real and everlasting happiness only if he desires for God and treads the Godward-path. When the mind is steadfastly centred on the Lord, , and acquire a divine character and confer the Bliss of Immortality on man.

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In philosophical parlance, desiring, acquiring the object desired and enjoying the object acquired (, , and ) are also regarded as relating to the three stages of (listening), (ruminating in the mind over what has been heard), and (imprinting in the heart what has been ruminated upon). Merely listening to sacred words will not help. It should be followed by recapitulation and deep contemplation.

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may be compared to the act of cooking in the kitchen, , to that of bringing the food to the dining room, and , to that of eating the food and absorbing it in the human body. It is only when you eat the food that you get nourishment. So also, only can help you attain .

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It is only when you follow this threefold path of , , and do you understand the nature of the three (, , and ), visualise the forms of the Holy Trinity (, , and ), and recognise the transience of the three worlds, that you can get the eternal Bliss of the .

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Remember that you should merge in God even as the bubble of water merges in the water whence it comes from, and chant the within you repeatedly!