Words on the Way - Muz Murray Mantra Yoga Master

H—WORDS on the WAY
Haøsa Hamn-sah) (Hamn
Var: Hamsah, hamsa
Synon: Hamsopasana, Ham’so, hamsa, so’ham
Sense: ‘Sunbird, or mythical celestial goose or swan.’
It is also considered as a mantra in the ha†ha
ha-yogic practice of
Hamsah or So’ham, when concentrating on the sound of the
inbreath and outbreath, utilised as a form of meditation, for stilling
all mental movement and aligning oneself with the Divine
Absolute (here designated as ‘Hamsa’).
‘Hamsa’ actually means ‘goose’ a migratory bird (a symbol of
the Supreme Spirit and migration of souls), but popularly it is
usually translated as ‘Divine Swan,’ since a goose does not have
great public appeal.
Some schools consider that the whisper of the breath entering the
nostrils makes the sound of ‘Saah’ and ‘hamm’ is the sound that
occurs on the outbreath; hence (according to the rules of Sanskrit
grammar) the combination of these two sounds are written as
So’ham, and known as Soham mantra. Other schools reverse the
sounds, taking ‘hammm’ as the sound of the inbreath, while the
exhalation makes the sound of ‘saaa.’ Therefore it is known as
either the Hamsa mantra or So’ham mantra; a natural form of
ajapa-japa
(that is, mantra which occurs automatically by itself).
Quotes:
a) The sage Gorakshanath appears to concur with the so’ham style
of breathing, but still calls it hamsa mantra, stating:
“The prana of the jiva goes out with ‘ha’ and enters
with the sound ‘sah.’ It thus recites the mantra ‘hamsahamsa.’
In one night the jiva makes 21,600 recitations
276