The Word That is God

of the all, for his final repose. Wherein the sound of the Om attains its final dissolution,
thereafter is Brahman perceived. That yogi who dissolves his inner sense [mind] along with
the sound of the Pranava makes for that immortal state of becoming one with Brahman, by
giving up the delusion of existence apart from the atman.” (Brahmavidya Upanishad 12,13)
“The end of the Pranava is That Which transcends all.” (Brahmavidya Upanishad 72)
These verses are speaking of the meditation of Om. Those who follow the thread of the
subtle Pranava to the end will merge in the transcendental Consciousness, beyond Which is
nothing, but within Which is everything.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
“Om is Brahman, the Primeval Being. This is the Veda which the knowers of Brahman
know; through it one knows what is to be known.” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 5.1.1)
Om is the Original Being, the Origin of all, and the End of all. Although It has become
expanded, extended, or elaborated into the scriptures called Vedas, the truth is that Om alone
is the Veda. So do the knowers of Brahman know. Through union-knowledge of Om all is
known; for Om is all that is. Om is verily both the seed and the fruit of omniscience.
Chandogya Upanishad
“One should meditate on this Syllable [Om].” (Chandogya Upanishad 1.1.1)
The desire to meditate is laudable, but we need to know the way to meditate, and this
Upanishad tells us the way: by silently intoning Om and becoming absorbed in the Consciousness
It embodies.
“That is the quintessence of the essences, the Supreme, the highest.” (Chandogya Upanishad
1.1.3)
If we should wonder why the opening verse of the upanishad tells us to meditate on Om,
this verse tells us. There is no higher meditation than the meditation of Om, for It is the
essence of Divinity. No other interior practice need claim our attention or time.
“Speech [Vak] and Life-force [prana] are joined together in the Syllable Om. Verily, whenever
the pair come together, they fulfil each other’s desire. He who knowing this thus, meditates
on the Syllable, becomes, verily, a fulfiller of desires. Verily, this Syllable is of assent, for
whenever one assents to anything he says simply ‘Om.’ What is assent is fulfillment. He, who
knowing this thus, meditates on the Syllable, becomes, verily, a fulfiller of desires. By this
[Om] does the threefold knowledge proceed. Saying Om, one recites: saying Om, one orders:
saying Om, one sings aloud, in honor of that Syllable, with its greatness and its essence. He
who knows this thus, and he who knows not, both perform with It. Knowledge and ignorance,
however, are different. What, indeed, one performs with knowledge, faith, and meditation,
that, indeed becomes more powerful. This, verily is the explanation of this Syllable.” (Chandogya
Upanishad 1.1.6-10)
Speech is more than exterior verbalization. It is the very power of conceptualization and
thought. Furthermore, it is the very impulse, the movement, of combined consciousness and
light energy–speech and life-force–that culminates in verbalization. It is this union-expansion
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