Mahavakyas

Prajnanam Brahma Consciousness is Brahman. (Rig Veda : Aitareya Upanishad) Aham Brahma asmi I am Brahman. (Yajur Veda: Brihadaranyaka Upanishad) Ayam AtmA Brahma This Atman is Brahman. (Atharva Veda: Mandukya Upanishad) Tat Tvam Asi Thou art That. (Sama Veda : Chandogya Upanishad) * The mahavakyas of Hinduism pronouncing the oneness of the supreme consciousness, the eternal vibration of OM.

AUM

aum The pranava mantra, the seed syllable symbolizing the limitless vibrational whole of the cosmos. In Hindu metaphysics, it is proposed that the manifested cosmos (from Brahman) has name and form (nama-rupa), and that the closest approximation to the name and form of the universe is Aum, since all existence is fundamentally composed of vibration. This is considered by some to be remniscent of some current physical theories such as quantum physics and super string theory, which describe the universe in terms of vibrating fields or strings. A - emerges from the throat, originating in the region of the navel U - rolls over the tongue M - ends on the lips A - waking, U - dreaming, M - sleeping It is the sum and substance of all the words that can emanate from the human throat. It is the primordial fundamental sound symbolic of the Universal Absolute. In fact, when correctly pronounced, or rather, "rendered", the "A" can be felt as a vibration that manifests itself near the navel or abdomen; the "U" can be felt vibrating the chest, and the "M" vibrates the cranium or the head. The abdominal vibration symbolises Creation; It is interesting that the "creative" or reproductive organs are also located in the lower abdomen. The vibration of the chest represents Preservation, which is also where the lungs are situated (the lungs sustain or preserve the body through breath). The vibration of the head is associated with Destruction or sacrifice, since all that gives up or destroys is first destroyed mentally. Hence, the entire cycle of the universe and all it contains is said to be symbolised in AUM.

The fantastic allegory of the Vinegar Tasters

The Vinegar Tasters The fantastic allegory of the 3 different views of life and their unification. The vinegar vat symbolizing the essential ONE truth and the three tasters with their three different taste buds symbolizing the different perspectives of the ONE single truth. To Confucius, the left most, life seemed rather sour. The present was out of step with the past and things were falling into disarray. A strict order was needed. To Buddha, the one in the middle, life was bitter. All attachments and desires (symbolized by the vinegar) turned bitter in the end, and led to suffering. To Lao Tzu (or Lao-Tse), the right most, the founder of the Taoism, life is sweet. Life is sweet, once one knows the natural balance of things. The world is governed by balance, and out of balance causes sourness or bitterness. It is the knowledge of being out of balance that leads us back to the eternal balance itself. The sourness or bitterness come from unappreciative and shallow thought process of the interfering mind. The conscious understanding mind will identify the bitterness and move towards the sweetness. Once understood for what it is, the balance of life (or the vinegar), is sweet. For more on Taoism