The Word That is God

chants it under control, which directly brings all feeling and all thought in a state of harmony;
brings peace and rest to the soul and puts the mind in a state where it is one with God.
Science may not be able to explain this, but this is a fact which can be verified by experiment.
(Lecture: The Kingdom of Heaven)
“Meditate on Om and be a giver of peace to mankind and not an expectant seeker.” (From a
letter written to Mrs. Wellman, a student, on April 3, 1904)
Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa
On Sunday, December 30, 1883, Sri Ramakrishna asked a monk: “What is Brahman?” The
monk answered: “Brahman is Sound. It is Om.” Sri Ramakrishna further asked: “But there
must be something indicated by the sound [Om]. Isn’t that so?” To this the monk replied:
“That Itself is the thing indicated as well as the indicator.” 65 At these words Sri Ramakrishna
went into samadhi. That is, the immortal truth of the monk’s words lifted His mind into
infinity, thus indicating their truth. (See The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 372)
“The sound Om is Brahman. The rishis and sages practised austerity to realize the
Sound-Brahman.
“‘What will you gain’, some sages ask, ‘by merely hearing this sound?’ You hear the roar of
the ocean from a distance. By following the roar you can reach the ocean. As long as there is
the roar, there must also be the ocean. By following the trail of Om you attain Brahman, of
which the Word is the symbol. That Brahman has been described by the Vedas as the ultimate
goal.” (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 404) 66
“[Anahata] is a spontaneous sound constantly going on by Itself. It is the sound of the
Pranava, Om. It originates in the Supreme Brahman…. A yogi alone knows that this sound
originates from the Supreme Brahman.” (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 416)
“The sandhya 67 merges in the Gayatri, the Gayatri in Om, and Om in samadhi. It [Om] is
like the sound of a bell: t–a–m. The yogi, by following in the trail of the sound Om, gradually
merges himself in the Supreme Brahman.” 68 (The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, p. 465)
By “Gayatri” is meant the Savitri Gayatri, the great Vedic mantra for enlightenment. The
idea expressed here is that the other mantras included in the ritual of the sandhya are
eventually dropped and only the simple Gayatri is recited. Then, in time, the Gayatri itself is
discontinued and only Om is repeated. And by the meditation of Om the aspirant “merges
65 That is, Om is both God and the Name (Indicator) of God.
66 Another translation, by Sachindra Kumar Majumdar, perhaps a bit more on target: “Sound Brahman. Rishis and sages used
to practice austerities to hear that sound. Upon attaining perfection one hears the sound rising spontaneously. Some say,
‘What will you gain by hearing the sound only?’ You hear the rumbling from a distance. If you follow the roar you can reach
the ocean. The roar indicates the presence of the ocean. If one follows the trail of the spontaneous sound one can reach what it
indicates. It is this which has been called the supreme status.” (5.14.2)
67 Sandhya: A ritual done at the “junctions” (sandhyas) of the day–dawn, noon, and sunset–during which the Savitri Gayatri is
repeated.
68 Majumdar: “Twilight devotions merge in Gayatri, Gayatri merges in Om, Om merges in samadhi. It is like the sound of a
bell, tam, t-a-m. Going beyond the trail of sound the yogi merges in Brahman.” (1.11.2)
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