Meditation on “Soham” . . Page 226
CONCENTRATION AND MEDITATION By SRI SWAMI
SIVANANDA
Published By THE DIVINE
LIFE SOCIETY
“Soham”
means “He I am” or “I am He” , “I am Brahman” .
“Sah” means “He” . “Aham” means “I ”
This is the
greatest of all Mantras. This is the Mantra of Paramahamsa
Sannyasins. This is an Abheda- Bodha-Vakya which signifies the identity of Jiva or the
individual soul and Brahman, the Supreme Self.
This Mantra
comes in the Isavasya Upanishad: “Sohamasmi.” Soham is
only OM. Delete the consonants S and H. You get
OM. Soham is modified Pranava or OM. Some like
‘Soham’ better than ╬М╬Ь’. Because they find it
convenient and easy to associate it or mix it with the
breath. Further there is no effort in doing Japa of this
Mantra. I f you simply concentrate on the breath,
if you simply watch the breath, that is quite
sufficient.
Meditation
on ‘Soham’ is same as meditation on OM. Some
repeat a compound Mantra “Hamsah Soham—Soham
Hamsah” . Before yoU practise Soham Dhyana Or
meditation on “Soham” you must practise the
Neti-Neti (not this, not this) doctrine. You must negate
or deny the body and the other Koshas by repeating
“Naham Idam Shariram”—“Aham Etat Na” ‘lam not this body, mind or Prana. I am He, I am
He—Soham, Soham!”
Repeat this
Mantra mentally. You should feel with all
your heart and soul that you are the Allpervading, Omnipotent,
All-blissful Soul or Brahman, This is
important. Then only the full benefits of meditation
or Japa of this Mantra will be realised by you. Mere
mechanical repetition will not help you much. It has
its own benefits. But maximum benefits can only be
realised in feeling. Feeling is Selfrealisation.
If
intellect tries to feel, “I am Brahman, I am Omnipotent”
and the Chitta tries to feel, “I am a clerk in the
chief court; I am weak; I am helpless.
What shall I
do for money for my daughter’s marriage?
I am afraid
the judge will fine me,” realisation is not
possible. You must destroy all wrong
Samskaras or
impressions, all false imaginations, allweaknesses, all
superstitions and all vain fears. Even if you are
in the jaws of a tiger, you must powerfully roar*—“Soham,
Soham, Soham, I am not this body!” Then
only you are a real Vedantin. Even if you have
nothing to eat, even if you are in the roll of unemployment,
you must say with great force and power,
“Soham, Soham” . You have been spoiled by the mind and
by Avidya (ignorance). It is Avidya. it is mind
that has brought one to this limitation through
identification with this body. Pierce the veil of
ignorance. Tear the five sheaths. Remove the curtain of
Avidya or nescience, which is a great nui-. sance. Rest
in your own essential Satchidananda Svarupa
through the force of Meditation on ‘Soham’ Mantra!
The Jiva or
the individual soul is repeating this Mantra
21,600 times within 24 hours. Even during sleep the
Soham-repetition goes on by itself. Watch the breath
very carefully and you will know this.
When you
inhale the breath, the sound ‘So’ is produced. When you
exhale, ‘Ham’ is produced. This is termed
Ajapa-Mantra because this is done without moving the
lips along with the breath. Repeat ‘So’ mentally
when you inhale, ‘Ham’ mentally when you exhale.
Practise this for two hours in the morning and evening^
I f you can repeat for 10 hours, it is all| the more
good. You must practise meditation for full 24 hours
when you advance on the path. Study Ham-i sa
Upanishad. You will find real rest during medi-|tation.
There is no necessity for sleep.
The
repetition of the compound Mantra “Ham-, sah Soham—Soham
Hamsah”, creates a deeper im pression.
The late famous Sri Sheshadri Swami of Tiruvannamalai
used to repeat this compound Mantra.
When he
moved alone in the streets and bazaar he repeated
this Mantra. He meditated on this compound Mantra. We
say ‘God is Love—Love is God’. Similarly
repetition of ‘Hamsah Soham — Soham Hamsah’,
gives more force. This intensifies the force of the
Mantra. The aspirant gets more internal strength
from the Atman or the Soul-force. His conviction grows
stronger. This sort of repetition corresponds to the
repetition of the Mahavakya, “Aham Brahma Asmi. Brahmaivahamasmi—I am Brahman.
Brahman am I
” .
“Anal Haq” of the Sufi-Fakirs corresponds to Spham of the
Paramahamsa-Sannyasins. Guru Nanak highly extols
this Mantra. Your
duration of life is counted really by so many ‘Soham’
breaths in the light of Yoga. It is not really made
up of so many years. By the practice of Pranayama,
you save the Soham-breaths and thus can prolong
your life.
In the
beginning of your practice, simply watch the breath
every now and then. Meditate for one hour in a
closed room on Soham with Bhava and meaning. You
can watch the breath with silent
Soham-repetition
while sitting, standing, eating, talking, bathing,
etc. This is an easy method of concentration.
Soham is the
breath of life. OM is the Soul of breath.
Eliminate ‘Ha’ and substitute T. Soham will become
‘So I am’. I f you concentrate on the breath you
will notice that the breath is gradually becoming
very, very slow when concentration becomes deep.
Gradually the repetition of Soham will drop when there
is deep concentration. The mind will become very
calm. You will enjoy* Ultimately you will become
one with the Supreme Self.
Tamil & English
pdf : https://sadhanandaswamigal.blogspot.com/2014/06/swara-yoga.html
video : https://sadhanandaswamigal.blogspot.com/2016/01/swara-yoga-video.html
Tamil & English
pdf : https://sadhanandaswamigal.blogspot.com/2014/06/swara-yoga.html
video : https://sadhanandaswamigal.blogspot.com/2016/01/swara-yoga-video.html
