Verses 42–51 · Contemplation (Nididhyasana)
Verse 48 — The Whole Universe as Om
Om as the sound-symbol of the whole universe.
Before reaching total absorption, contemplate the entire universe of names and forms — moving and unmoving — as nothing but Om. Om is a sound-symbol representing the entire world. This duality appears due to ignorance, not after direct knowledge; this practice is valid only before direct knowledge, never afterward. [Verse 48]
Verse 47 asked us to dissolve the world into the Self. Verses 48–51 give a precise, ancient tool for doing this: the meditation on Om (Aum).
Why Om?
The universe is made of two things only: names and forms.
| Name (nama) | Form (rupa) |
|---|---|
| The word, the sound | The object, the shape |
| Shabda / vachaka | Artha / vachya |
Om is designed to be the single name that stands for all names — and therefore for the whole world of forms they point to.
flowchart TD
A[All the moving and<br/>unmoving forms of the universe] --> B[Their total name]
B --> C["Om — one sound-symbol<br/>for the entire cosmos"]Key idea. Every object needs a word to reveal it. Om is deliberately the total word — chant it, and you are invoking the entire universe of names and forms in a single sound. That is why it is the perfect instrument for resolving that universe.
The two-stage view
- Stage 1: Om + the universe = the whole of creation gathered into one symbol.
- The universe appears as name-and-form only because of ignorance (Maya) — exactly as a dream is vividly there while dreaming and dissolves on waking.
| Before direct knowledge | After direct knowledge |
|---|---|
| The dual world is perceived (agyana-vashat vibhavyate) | It is no longer perceived as real (bodhata na vibhavyate) |
| The Om-technique is used | The technique is no longer needed |
The attitude to hold
While contemplating the universe as Om, hold this thought:
"I — consciousness — am untouched by any experience. Good and bad experiences cannot taint me. I am unattached (asangoham)."
Name-and-form is mithya — tangible while it lasts (like a dream), yet with no existence of its own; on waking, it dissolves into the waker. Om gathers it all so that, in the coming verses, it can be resolved step by step back into the silence of pure consciousness. Verse 49 breaks Om into its three letters and maps them onto the three layers of the cosmos.