Inner Engineering # 6 — Sounds of Creation
Sound is the substance of Creation. Meanings are made up in human minds. You can incubate the sound with a refined reverberation of your consciousness and turn it into light.
In this session, Sadhguru explains the profundity of sound and mantra, and its power as a tool for self-transformation. “If you transform a reverberation from one dimension to another by incubating it within yourself consciously, one can know light from within, and nobody around will miss it either.” Enjoy!
Sound is Reality, Words are a Lie
Conversation, speech and social systems formed only because the human mind could invent a word. A word is not a reality. Sound is a reality. There are all kinds of sounds in nature. But a word is not a reality. In India, because we have over 1300 languages and dialects in close proximity, it happens quite often that one word in one language means some sacred object, but in another language it means a filthy thing. A word is a made-up thing. A sound is not a made-up thing. Sound is a certain reality. Sound can be a vehicle to penetrate the nature of nature itself, but words do not get you anywhere because they are just made up in your mind.
If you ride the words, you will be full of bull. If you ride the sounds, you could explore different aspects of nature.
Sound is a reality in which you are constantly enveloped. What you call “form” is just another level of sound. Sound is a reverberation which is an existential reality. Because of the constant usage of words and more complex formations of words, which we call sentences, language, conversation and literature, the mind has become full of words — so full that the very existential reality is obscured.
AUM — Universal Sound
A person who is mute or dumb, what sounds can he utter? A mute person can only make three sounds- Aaa, Ooo and Mmm. Even every object living or non living in the universe can produce these sounds. These three sounds are known as Universal Sounds or Basic Sounds. Almost every creature can utter these sounds. Modern Science also claims that whole universe or existence is reverberation of energy. Energy cause movements or vibration and vibrations cause sound. If you combine these three sounds, it makes up AaaOooMmm. Aum is the universal sound in the Universe. In Hinduism, everybody says Aum. Even in other religions and languages, similar sound exists. Amen in Christianity, Ameen in Islam, even Aramaic languages also had a sound similar to Aum. The utterance of sound Aum can heal an individual. God can also be experienced with the utterance of the sounds. Our all universe is filled with sounds, but we can only experience what is audible to us.
Sound is the substance of Creation. Meanings are made up in human minds. Sounds are of various kinds. There are sounds that are very refined, and there are some that are gross depending upon the nature of its reverberation. Everything is a certain kind of sound — the tree, air, body, rock. There could be the same rock as the Dhyanalinga, but it would have a completely different kind of reverberation. The same sound can be taken and refined to a certain level. Today, science is entering this space, but in the yogic systems this is something that we have always worked with. Modern science is now saying both sound and light are reverberations. If you multiply sound to a certain decibel, you would arrive at a place where mathematically it has become light. In theory, sound can become light. Once something is theoretically possible, practicality is only a question of capability. But this is something that we have always done within ourselves. When we utter a mantra, we are not looking at the meaning. But most human beings have made themselves incapable of getting involved with something that doesn’t mean anything to them. Why do you think some of the most glorious things that are happening on the planet are ignored by most people? A sunrise, sunset, full moon. How many people on this planet are even conscious of it? How many people will sit through the spring watching the flowers blossom? Instead they are arguing about whose words are more meaningful! They have no attention for all the meaningless, phenomenal things that are happening in the universe because they are looking for meaningful things.
Daily Practice
Sit in Ardha Siddhasana, hold Yoga Mudra and utter sound. Practicing AUM chanting can play a significant role in stabilizing the psychological and physiological process in our body.
Aaa — 7 times, Ooo- 7 times, Mmm — 7 times.. followed by AUM 21 times. Focus on the sound and notice the vibrations within your body.
Benefits of the Inner Sound Meditation
1. Increase in concentration/focus
2. Increase in observation power
3. Living in the present moment
4. Getting lesser thoughts
5. More control over anger
6. Better understanding in relationships
7. Decrease in attachments
8. Increase in compassion and love
9. Quitting of addictions like smoking and drinking
10. Increase in energy
Silence — Nishabdh — Beyond Sound
The basis of all sound is nishabd. Maun is an attempt to transit from being a piece of creation to the source of creation. This attribute-less, dimension-less, boundless state of existence and experience is the aspiration of yoga: union. Nishabd suggests nothingness that has negative connotation. You would probably understand it better if you put a hyphen between no and thing; no-thing.
Sound is of surface; silence is of the core that is total absence of sound; absence of reverberation, life, death, creation; absence of creation in one’s experience leads to enormous presence of the source of creation. So, a space which is beyond creation, a dimension which is beyond life and death, is referred to as silence or nishabd. The practice of silence is referred to as maun.
