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 thoroughly understand the four
stages of sound as explained in the Vedic texts can utilize this science to
become free from the bondage of matter.
When trying to understand the four levels of sound, we
must first understand what is "sound" as defined in the scriptures.
In the Srimad Bhāgavatam (3.26.33) we find an interesting definition for sound
(shabda) as follows:
arthāshrayatvam
shabdasya drashtur lingatvam eva ca|
tan-mātratvam
ca nabhaso lakshanam kavayo viduh||
Persons who are learned and who have true knowledge
define sound as that which conveys the idea of an object, indicates the
presence of a speaker and constitutes the subtle form of ether.
This 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 begin our study of this topic. This definition, as given in
Srimad Bhāgavatam, is very interesting in that it differs completely from
western and modern views of defining sound.
First, those who are learned and who have true
knowledge define sound as that which conveys the idea of an object. Sound is
not just the vibration created by the meeting of two objects. Sound is that
which conveys the idea of an object. The exact word used in this connection is artha-āshraya or "the shelter of
the meaning". In the Vedic conception the aksharas (letters) are bijas,
or seeds of existence. The audible sound is categorized into 50 alphabets of
Sanskrit starting from "a" and ending with "ksha". Hence
the alphabet is called "akshara", which literally means
"infallible" or "supreme". Akshara is also a synonym for pranava (
karma
brahmodbhavam viddhi brahmākshara-samudbhavam|
tasmāt
sarva-gatam brahma nityam yajne pratisthitam||
Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and
the Vedas are directly manifested from akshara,
the sacred syllable
Karma, or duty, is manifested from the Vedas. This
manifestation is not exactly direct, for one is spiritual and the other is
material. This is indicated by the word udbhavam.
On the other hand, the manifestation of the Vedas from the pranava (
In the Tantras the aksharas
are traced back to their material source level which is a particular deity of Shakti.
Each of her stages of manifestation are phases in the evolution of the
universe. Thus the aksharas are
potent sound, constitutionally connected to objects as sound (shabda) and its meaning (artha).
This is interesting in that it draws a distinction
between sound and noise. Noise, as distinct from sound, is not the artha-āshraya, or the shelter of
meaning.
Sri Baladeva Vidyabhushana in his commentary to Vedanta Sutra 1.3.28 says that the
creation of all living entities proceeds from the remembrance of their form and
characteristics by Lord Brahma reciting the corresponding words. From this we
can begin to understand to potency of sound and its meaning.
The second aspect of Srimad Bhāgavatam's definition of
sound that is unique from modern thought is that sound is defined as "that
which indicates the presence of a speaker". Thus sound must be a product
of consciousness. In this senses, sound is sometimes referred to as vak, or
speech, throughout the Vedic texts.
In the Tantra system the Purva Mimāmsaka's theory of
the eternality of shabda (sound) and artha (meaning) is accepted. They go a
little further to assert that shabda
and artha are the embodiment of Shiva
and Shakti as the universe itself. They name their original source as shabdārtha-brahman instead of a mere shabda-brahman. For, that is the source
of both the objects and their descriptions. Words and their meanings—what they
denote in the objective world—are the variety of manifestations of shakti.
As sound is of the nature of the varnas (syllables) composing it, the Tantra affirms that the
creative force of the universe resides in all the letters of the alphabet. The
different letters symbolize the different functions of that creative force, and
their totality is designated as mātrikā
or the "mother in essence".
Thus Tantra sees the mantras as not just a mere combination of whimsical sounds but as
the subtle form of the presiding deity; and the real purpose of one’s
meditation through the mantra is to communicate with the deity of that
particular mantra.
Just as a samkalpa—a
pure thought—has to pass through several stages before it actually manifests as
concrete creative force, the sound of a particular mantra also has to pass
through several stages before it is fully experienced by the listener in
perfection. These stages are termed as parā,
pashyanti, madhyamā, and vaikhari.
Each level of sound corresponds to a level of
existence, and one's experience of sound depends upon the refinement of one's
consciousness.
It takes a realized consciousness to experience the
full range of sound, the full range of existence. The seers who can comprehend
the four stages of sound are known as Manishis.
The higher three forms of shabda are described in the
Rig Veda as hidden in "guha", or within the self, whereas the forth
is the external manifested speech, known as laukika
bhāshā.
These four levels of sound correspond to four states of
consciousness. Para represents the transcendental consciousness. Pashyanti
represents the intellectual consciousness. Madhyama represents the mental
consciousness. And Vaikhari represents the physical consciousness. These states
of consciousness correspond with the four states known technically as jāgrat, svapna, susupti, and turiyā—or the wakeful state, the
dreaming state, the dreamless state, and the transcendental state.
Shabda-brahman in its absolute nature is called parā. In manifestation the subtle is
always the source of the gross, and thus from parā-vāk manifests the other three forms of sound.
Though the manifestation of sound takes place from parā-vāk down to vaikhari-vāk (or fine
to gross), in explaining these stages we will begin from the external vaikhari-vāk, as that is the sound we
all have most experience of.
Vaikhari-vāk is the grossest level of speech, and it is heard
through the external senses. When sound comes out through the mouth as spoken
syllables it is called as vaikhari.
Madhyama-vāk is the intermediate unexpressed state of
sound, whose seat is in the heart. The word Madhyama means "in
between" or "the middle". The middle sound is that sound which
exists between the states of susupti
and jāgrat. Madhyama-vāk refers to
mental speech, as opposed to external audible speech. It is on this level that
we normally experience thought. Some hold that wakeful thought is still on the
level of vaikhari.
In the manifestation process, after sound has attained
the form of Pashyanti-vāk, it goes further up to the heart and becomes coupled
with the assertive intelligence, being charged with the syllables a, ka,
cha, tha, ta, etc. At this
point it manifests itself in the form of vibratory nada rupa madhyama-vak. Only
those who are endowed with discriminative intelligence can feel this.
On the levels of Madhyamā and Vaikhari, there is a
distinction between the sound and the object. The object is perceived as
something different from the sound, and sound is connected to an object mostly
by convention.
Pashyanti-vāk is the second level of sound, and is less
subtle than Parā-vāk. Pashyanti in Sanskrit means "that which can be seen
or visualized".
In the Pashyanti stage sound possesses qualities such
as colour and form. Yogis who have inner vision can perceive these qualities in
sound. On this stage the differences between language do not exist, as this
sound is intuitive and situated beyond rigidly defined concepts. On the stage
of Pashyanti-vāk, speech is intuitively connected to the object. There is near
oneness between the word and the experience described.
Pashyanti-vāk is the finest impulse of speech. The seat
of Pashyanti is in the navel or the Manipura Chakra. When sound goes up to the navel
with the bodily air in vibratory form without any particular syllable (
Parā-vāk is the transcendent sound. Para means highest
or farthest, and in this connection it indicates that sound which is beyond the
perception of the senses.
Parā-vāk is also known as rava-shabda—an unvibratory condition of sound beyond the reach of
mind and intelligence (avyakta), only
to be realized by great souls, parama-jnānis.
On the stage of Parā-vāk there is no distinction
between the object and the sound. The sound contains within it all the
qualities of the object.
In terms of the universal cosmology, vaikhari, madhyamā, and pashyanti
correspond respectively to bhuh, bhuvah, and svah. The parā-shabda ultimately
corresponds to the Lord's tri-pāda-vibhuti.
Within the Pashyanti-vāk exists the nature's icchā-shakti, or the power of will.
Within the Madhyama-vāk exists the nature's jnāna-shakti,
or the power of knowledge. And within the Vaikhari-vāk exists the nature's kriyā-shakti, or power of action.
The pranava,
or the syllable "om", is the complete representation of the four
stages of sound and their existential counterparts. The existential realities
are the physical (sthula) which is
connected to the vaikhari-shabda, the
subtle (sukshma) which is connected
to the madhyamā-shabda, the causal (kārana) which is connected with the pashyanti-shabda, and the transcendental
(parā) which is related to the parā-shabda. These four existential
realities further correspond to the four states of consciousness.
The sthula sharira,
or physical body, operates in the state of jāgrat
(wakeful state). It is in this realm of consciousness, and through this body,
that the Vaikhari-vāk is manifested.
The sukshma-sharira,
subtle or psychic body, operates in the state of svapna. It is in this realm of consciousness, and through this
body, that the Madhyamā-vāk is manifested.
The kārana-sharira,
or causal body, operates in the state of susupti,
or deep sleep. It is in this realm of consciousness, and through this body,
that the Pashyanti-vāk is manifested.
The Parā-vāk is manifested through the fourth state of
consciousness, known as Turiya.
The sacred syllable "om" is composed of three
matras, namely "a", "u", and "m". These three
matras correspond respectively to bhuh,
bhuvah, and svah; jāgrat, svapna, and susupti; sukshma, sthula, and kārana; and vaikhari, madhyamā, and pashyanti. Besides these three mātrās,
the pranava ("a-u-m") is also composed of a forth constituent, namely
the a-mātra or anāhata-dhvani—the non-syllable or unstruck sound. For our
practical understanding, this a-mātra
corresponds to the humming sound after one recites the "om" syllable.
The a-mātra represents the
transcendence, the turiyā, the parā-vāk.
Thus the syllable om contains all elements of
existence. It is the reservoir of all energies of the Supreme Lord, and for
this reason Lord Krishna states in the Gita:
om ity ekāksharam
brahma
The single syllable
Elsewhere the Lord states:
yad aksharam
veda-vido vadanti
Those knowers of the Vedas recite
Why do they do this? Because the syllable om is the
Supreme Lord and the potency of all Vedic mantras:
pranava sarva
vedeshu
Within all the Vedas, I am the symbol
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the pranava as the mahā-vākya of the Vedas, for within it exist all Vedic hymns (and
shabda). The world itself is a manifestation of this syllable. It is the sound
representation of the Absolute Truth.
The Vak is not a manifestation of the material nature; the
Vedanta Sutra 2.4.4 states as
follows:
tat-purvākātvad
vācah
This indicates that the Vak existed before the Pradhāna.
Pradhāna is the root of the material manifestation—the three qualities
non-differentiated in absolute equilibrium. Yet prior to this is the Vak. Thus
the Vak is non-material.
For this reason we find in the Vedanta Sutra’s following
statement:
anāvriti shabdāt
Liberation by sound.
Since sound is the non-material source of the material
manifestation, it is the key by which we can become free from bondage. It is
the thread-like link between the material and spiritual realms.
In describing 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. For example sometimes Pashyanti is described
as "mental sound", whereas Madhyamā will be described as
"intellectual sound". This will require a deeper explanation of the
intricacies of these stages of sound and their relationships. Such an
explanation is not possible here at this time.
To study these concepts in greater depth one may refer
to the Nādabindu Upanishad,
Bhartrihari's Vākyapādādiya, Prashna
Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Mandukya Upanishad, Maitri Upanishad and Katha
Upanishad, as well as the concepts of shabda, vāk, mātrikas, hiranyagarbha, four states of
consciousness, etc, as found in the Tantras and throughout the Upanishads. One
should remember that in Vedic study one will not generally 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. These concepts must then be harmonized internally.
This constitutes the meditation and sacrifice of svādhyāya yajna.
For those who have assimilated these topics, they will
find all this information contained in detail within nine technical verses of
Srimad Bhāgavatam beginning from 11.2.35 and ending at 11.2.43. For example, if
one sees verses 38 through 40 one will find a complete explanation of sound in
four levels and the process of manifestation. One must be trained to see the
inner meaning of words, for these topics are discussed in esoteric and
confidential manners:
paroksha-vada
rishayah paroksham mama ca priyam
The Vedic seers speak about these topics indirectly in
esoteric terms, and I am pleased by such confidential descriptions.
When we see such words as prānah, manasa, sparsha-rupinah, and chhandah-mayah as occurring in verses 38
and 39, we should immediately understand the indirect and esoteric nature of
the discussion, and thereby conclude the direct meaning being inferred by these
words. We must learn the transcendental code of the Vedas. In reality
everything is explained in the Srimad Bhāgavatam in full, but because we
generally lack the proper vision to understand the indirect and esoteric
discussions, we therefore need to study and refer to other more direct
scriptures. Thus the commentaries of the Acharyas will help us to understand
these topics.
The science of sound, shabda-vijnāna, as explained in the above mentioned verses of
Srimad Bhāgavatam, is also summarily explained in the Pancharātrik text known
as Lakshmi-tantra as follows: “Seated in the area starting from the mulādhāra
to the position of dvistkanta with effulgence equal to the rising of millions
of suns, fires and moons. Like a wheel from the ādhāra becoming the sounds
known as shānta, pashyanti, madhyamā.
Reaching the position of vaikhari,
there situated in eight places, viz., the throat etc. Being the mother of all
sounds I bestow enjoyments like a cow.”
Creation and
the origin of sound
In the beginning there was darkness of pradhana, the
unmanifested material energy. When agitated by Lord Vishnu’s powerful glance in
the form of energy of time (kāla-sakti),
it was awakened to the stage called mahat (the great matter). Gradually the
following elements were generated: ahankāra
(false ego), manah (mind), and buddhi (intelligence), tanmātrās (sense objects) and pancabhutas (the five gross material
elements). Together they form Karana-sagara or Causal ocean. The Lord then
expanded Himself and entered into the Causal ocean. From His body came forth
the seeds of millions of universes. The Lord then expanded and laid down within
each and every universes. In his navel lake a small transcendental seed was
generated, which grew into a lotus flower that contains all the planetary
systems. Within that lotus the first created being, Lord Brahma appeared. He
was perplexed about his origin and destiny, but suddenly from nearby he heard
two syllables ta–pa (Practice austerities!) Thus initiated by the Supreme Lord,
Brahma underwent severe austerities and was rewarded with Vedic wisdom for his
great task of secondary creation. The first living entity that appeared from
Lord Brahma was pranava, the
transcendental sound omkara (om).
From om came all the sounds of the alphabet.
Human sound
creation
According to traditional phonetics (siksā), the self (ātmā) formulates intentions by means of intelligence (buddhi) and inspires the mind (mana) to speak. The mind impulses the
body fire (kāyāgni) it in turn sets
in motion breath (maruta) that moving
in the chest, generates a humming sound (mandra)
that again rising to the palate and crown of the head, and rebounding thence,
passes to the mouth and produces articulate sounds like vowels and consonants.
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/vedicsound.htm
Originally published in Tattva Prakasha Vol. 1, Issue 7; available online at www.indiadivine.org/