Vedic Conception of Sound in Four Features Jahnava Nitai Das Originally published in "Tattva Prakasha" Volume 1, Issue 7; available

online atwww indiadivine !om In the Vedantic traditions sound is considered one of the most important principles of existence, as it is both the source of matter and the key to become free from it. One who can thorou hly understand the four sta es of sound as explained in the Vedic texts can utili!e this science to become free from the bonda e of matter. "hen tryin to understand the four levels of sound, we must first understand what is #sound# as defined in the scriptures. In the $rimad %ha avatam &'.().''* we find an interestin definition for sound &shabda* as follows+ arthashrayatvam shabdasya drashtur lingatvam eva !a tan"matratvam !a nabhaso lakshanam kavayo viduh #,ersons who are learned and who have true knowled e define sound as that which conveys the idea of an ob-ect, indicates the presence of a speaker and constitutes the subtle form of ether.# .his may not be an absolute definition of sound, as there are various levels of sound to define, but it provides us with a solid foundation to be in our study of this topic. .his definition, as iven in $rimad %ha avatam, is very interestin in that it differs completely from western and modern views of definin sound. /irst, those who are learned and who have true knowled e define sound as that which conveys the idea of an ob-ect. $ound is not -ust the vibration created by the meetin of two ob-ects. $ound is that which conveys the idea of an ob-ect. .he exact word used in this connection is #artha0ashraya# or #the shelter of the meanin #. In the Vedic conception the aksharas &letters* are bi-as, or seeds of existence. .he audible sound is cate ori!ed into 12 alphabets of $anskrit startin from #a# and endin with #ksha#. 3ence the alphabet is called #akshara#, which literally means #infallible# or #supreme#. 4kshara is also a synonym for pranava &Om*, the sum of all syllables and source of all vedic hymns. .he %ha avad 5ita confirms this as follows+ karma brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmakshara"samudbhavam tasmat sarva"gatam brahma nityam ya#ne pratisthitam #6e ulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are directly manifested from akshara, the sacred syllable Om. 7onse8uently the all0pervadin .ranscendence &pranava or the syllable 9Om9* is eternally situated in acts of sacrifice.# :arma, or duty, is manifested from the Vedas. .his manifestation is not exactly direct, for one is spiritual and the other is material. .his is indicated by the word udbhavam. On the other hand, the manifestation of the Vedas from the pranava &Om* is direct, and thus the word used to describe it is sam0udbhavam, and not -ust udbhavam. In the .antras the aksharas are traced back to their material source level which is a particular deity of $hakti. ;ach of her sta es of manifestation are phases in the evolution of the universe. .hus the aksharas are potent sound, constitutionally connected to ob-ects as sound &shabda* and its meanin &artha*. .his is interestin in that it draws a distinction between sound and noise. Noise, as distinct from sound, is not the artha0ashraya, or the shelter of meanin . $ri %aladeva Vidyabhushana in his commentary to Vedanta $utra <.'.(= says that the creation of all livin entities proceeds from the remembrance of their form and characteristics by >ord %rahma recitin the correspondin words. /rom this we can be in to understand to potency of sound and its meanin . .he second aspect of $rimad %ha avatam9s definition of sound that is uni8ue from modern thou ht is that sound is defined as #that which indicates the presence of a speaker#. .hus sound must be a product of consciousness. In this senses, sound is sometimes referred to as vak, or speech, throu hout the Vedic texts.

In the tantra system the purva mimamsaka9s theory of the eternality of shabda &sound* and artha &meanin * is accepted. .hey o a little further to assert that shabda and artha are the embodiment of $hiva and $hakti as the universe itself. .hey name their ori inal source as shabdartha0brahman instead of a mere shabda0brahman. /or, that is the source of both the ob-ects and their descriptions. "ords and their meanin s 0 what they denote in the ob-ective world 0 are the variety of manifestations of shakti. 4s sound is of the nature of the varnas &syllables* composin it, the tantra affirms that the creative force of the universe resides in all the letters of the alphabet. .he different letters symboli!e the different functions of that creative force, and their totality is desi nated as matrika or the #mother in essence#. .hus .antra sees the mantras as not -ust a mere combination of whimsical sounds but as the subtle form of the presidin deity? and the real purpose of one@s meditation throu h the mantra is to communicate with the deity of that particular mantra. Just as a sankalpa 0 a pure thou ht 0 has to pass throu h several sta es before it actually manifests as concrete creative force, the sound of a particular mantra also has to pass throu h several sta es before it is fully experienced by the listener in perfection. .hese sta es are termed as para, pashyanti, madhyama and vaikhari. ;ach level of sound corresponds to a level of existence, and one9s experience of sound depends upon the refinement of one9s consciousness. It takes a reali!ed consciousness to experience the full ran e of sound, the full ran e of existence. .he seers who can comprehend the four sta es of sound are known as Aanishis. .he hi her three forms of shabda are described in the 6i Veda as hidden in # uha#, or within the self, whereas the forth is the external manifested speech, known as laukika bhasha. .hese four levels of sound correspond to four states of consciousness. ,ara represents the transcendental consciousness. ,ashyanti represents the intellectual consciousness. Aadhyama represents the mental consciousness. 4nd Vaikhari represents the physical consciousness. .hese states of consciousness correspond with the four states known technically as -a rat, svapna, susupti, and turiya 0 or the wakeful state, the dreamin state, the dreamless state, and the transcendental state. $habda0brahman in its absolute nature is called para. In manifestation the subtle is always the source of the ross, and thus from para0vak manifests the other three forms of sound. .hou h the manifestation of sound takes place from para0vak down to vaikhari0vak &or fine to ross*, in explainin these sta es we will be in from the external vaikhari0vak, as that is the sound we all have most experience of. Vaikhari0vak is the rossest level of speech, and it is heard throu h the external senses. "hen sound comes out throu h the mouth as spoken syllables it is called as vaikhari. Aadhyama0vak is the intermediate unexpressed state of sound, whose seat is in the heart. .he word Aadhyama means #in between# or #the middle#. .he middle sound is that sound which exists between the states of susupti and -a rat. Aadhyama0vak refers to mental speech, as opposed to external audible speech. It is on this level that we normally experience thou ht. $ome hold that wakeful thou ht is still on the level of vaikhari. In the manifestation process, after sound has attained the form of pashyanti0vak, it oes further up to the heart and becomes coupled with the assertive intelli ence, bein char ed with the syllables a, ka, cha, tha, ta, etc. 4t this point it manifests itself in the form of vibratory nada rupa madhyama0vak. Only those who are endowed with discriminative intelli ence can feel this. On the levels of madhyama and vaikhari, there is a distinction between the sound and the ob-ect. .he ob-ect is perceived as somethin different from the sound, and sound is connected to an ob-ect mostly by convention. ,ashyanti0vak is the second level of sound, and is less subtle than para0vak. ,ashyanti in $anskrit means #that

which can be seen or visuali!ed#. In the pashyanti sta e sound possesses 8ualities such as color and form. Bo is who have inner vision can perceive these 8ualities in sound. On this sta e the differences between lan ua e do not exist, as this sound is intuitive and situated beyond ri idly defined concepts. On the sta e of pashyanti0vak, speech is intuitively connected to the ob-ect. .here is near oneness between the word and the experience described. ,ashyanti0vak is the finest impulse of speech. .he seat of pashyanti is in the navel or the Aanipura 7hakra. "hen sound oes up to the naval with the bodily air in vibratory form without any particular syllable &varna*, yet connected with the mind, it is known as pashyanti0vak. ,ara0vak is the transcendent sound. ,ara means hi hest or farthest, and in this connection it indicates that sound which is beyond the perception of the senses. ,ara0vak is also known as #rava0shabda# 0 an unvibratory condition of sound beyond the reach of mind and intelli ence &avyakta*, only to be reali!ed by reat souls, parama0-nanis. On the sta e of para0vak there is no distinction between the ob-ect and the sound. .he sound contains within it all the 8ualities of the ob-ect. In terms of the universal cosmolo y, vaikhari, madhyama and pashyanti correspond respectively to bhuh, bhuvah, and svah. .he para0shabda ultimately corresponds to the >ord9s tri0pada0vibhuti. "ithin the pashyanti0vak exists the nature9s iccha0shakti, or the power of will. "ithin the madhyama0vak exists the nature9s -nana0shakti, or the power of knowled e. 4nd within the vaikhari0vak exists the nature9s kriya0shakti, or power of action. .he pranava, or the syllable #om#, is the complete representation of the four sta es of sound and their existential counterparts. .he existential realities are the physical &sthula* which is connected to the vaikhari0shabda, the subtle &sukshma* which is connected to the madhyama0shabda, the causal &karana* which is connected with the pashyanti0shabda, and the transcendental &para* which is related to the para0shabda. .hese four existential realities further correspond to the four states of consciousness. .he sthula sarira, or physical body, operates in the state of -a rat &wakeful state*. It is in this realm of consciousness, and throu h this body, that the vaikhari0vak is manifested. .he sukshma0sarira, subtle or psychic body, operates in the state of svapna. It is in this realm of consciousness, and throu h this body, that the madhyama0vak is manifested. .he karana0sarira, or causal body, operates in the state of susupti, or deep sleep. It is in this realm of consciousness, and throu h this body, that the pashyanti0vak is manifested. .he para0vak is manifested throu h the fourth state of consciousness, known as turiya. .he sacred syllable #om# is composed of three matras, namely #a#, #u#, and #m#. .hese three matras correspond respectively to bhuh, bhuvah and svah? -a rat, svapna and susupti? sukshma, sthula and karana? and vaikhari, madhyama and pashyanti. %esides these three matras, the pranava &#a0u0m#* is also composed of a forth constituent, namely the a0matra or anahata0dhvani 0 the non0syllable or unstruck sound. /or our practical understandin , this a0matra corresponds to the hummin sound after one recites the #om# syllable. .he a0matra represents the transcendence, the turiya, the para0vak. .hus the syllable om contains all elements of existence. It is the reservoir of all ener ies of the $upreme >ord, and for this reason >ord :rishna states in the 5ita+ om ity ekaksharam brahma #.he sin le syllable Om is the supreme combination of letters.#

;lsewhere the >ord states+ yad aksharam veda"vido vadanti #.hose knowers of the Vedas recite Om &akshara*.# "hy do they do thisC %ecause the syllable om is the $upreme >ord and the potency of all Vedic mantras+ pranava sarva vedeshu #"ithin all the Vedas, I am the symbol Om.# $ri 7aitanya Aahaprabhu established the pranava as the maha0vakya of the Vedas, for within it exist all Vedic hymns &and shabda*. .he world itself is a manifestation of this syllable. It is the sound representation of the 4bsolute .ruth. .he vak is not a manifestation of the material nature, for the Vedanta sutra (.D.D states as follows+ tat"purvakatvad va!ah .his indicates that the vak existed before the pradhana. ,radhana is the root of the material manifestation 0 the three 8ualities non0differentiated in absolute e8uilibrium. Bet prior to this is the vak. .hus the vak is non0material. /or this reason we find in the Vedanta $utras the followin statement+ anavriti shabdat #>iberation by sound.# $ince sound is the non0material source of the material manifestation, it is the key by which we can become free from bonda e. It is the thread0like link between the material and spiritual realms. In describin the four phases of sound, sometimes the descriptions of one will overlap another, or sometimes an aspect of one will seem to be attributed to another. /or example sometimes pashyanti is described as #mental sound#, whereas madhyama will be described as #intellectual sound#. .his will re8uire a deeper explanation of the intricacies of these sta es of sound and their relationships. $uch an explanation is not possible here at this time. .o study these concepts in reater depth one may refer to the Nada0bindu Epanishad, %hartrihari9s Vakyapadadiya, ,rashna Epanishad, Aundaka Epanishad, Aandukya Epanishad, Aaitri Epanishad and :atha Epanishad, as well as the concepts of shabda, vak, matrikas, hiranya arbha, four states of consciousness, etc., as found in the tantras and throu hout the upanishads. One should remember that in Vedic study one will not enerally find a book on a particular topic &such as #vaikhari#, etc.* One must study from numerous sources and assimilate a number of apparently diverse concepts. .hese concepts must then be harmoni!ed internally. .his constitutes the meditation and sacrifice of svadhyaya ya-na. /or those who have assimilated these topics, they will find all this information contained in detail within nine technical verses of $rimad %ha avatam be innin from <<.(.'1 and endin at <<.(.D'. /or example, if one sees verses '= throu h D2 one will find a complete explanation of sound in four levels and the process of manifestation. One must be trained to see the inner meanin of words, for these topics are discussed in esoteric and confidential manners+ paroksha"vada rishayah paroksham mama !a priyam #.he Vedic seers speak about these topics indirectly in esoteric terms, and I am pleased by such confidential descriptions.#

"hen we see such words as pranah, manasa, sparsha0rupinah and chandah0mayah as occurrin in verses '= and 'F, we should immediately understand the indirect and esoteric nature of the discussion, and thereby conclude the direct meanin bein inferred by these words. "e must learn the transcendental code of the Vedas. In reality everythin is explained in the $rimad %ha avatam in full, but because we enerally lack the proper vision to understand the indirect and esoteric discussions, we therefore need to study and refer to other more direct scriptures. .hus the commentaries of the 4charyas will help us to understand these topics. .he science of sound, shabda0vi-nana, as explained in the above mentioned verses of $rimad %ha avatam, is also summarily explained in the ,ancharatrik text known as >akshmi0tantra as follows+ mulam adharam arabhya dvistkantam upeyusi udita aneka sahasra surya vahnindu sannibha !akravat punar adharat santa pasyatha madhyama vaikhari sthanam asadhya tatrasta sthanavartini varnanam #ananim bhutva bhogya prasnoumi gouriva #$eated in the area startin from the muladhara to the position of dvistkanta with efful ence e8ual to the risin of millions of suns, fires and moons. >ike a wheel from the adhara becomin the sounds known as santa, pashyati, madhyama. 6eachin the position of vaikhari, there situated in ei ht places, vi!., the throat etc. %ein the mother of all sounds I bestow en-oyments like a cow.#