80 – Omkara Upasana | Swami Tattwamayananda

-8th chapter: verses 10, 11, 12, 13, 14<br />-The lecture was given by Swami Tattwamayananda on April 30, 2021.<br />-Verses 10-14 provide a detailed description of meditative practices and the importance of Omkara upasana.<br />-Mandukya Upanishad elaborately discusses Omkara as a spiritual symbol. It says that if one is spiritually fit, and his mind is fully ready to realize the identity with Brahman, then upon hearing this expression, immediately he will realize its true meaning (Shabda-aparoksha-vada). Others will take more time for such realization and will have to pursue spiritual practices.<br />-Omkara is the best tool for meditation on the transcendental, all-pervading, attribute-less, impersonal, immanent Reality. When we meditate on a deity, we use a mantra connected to that deity. To meditate on the Absolute Reality, we use Omkara upasana.<br />-Omkara should be chanted with a lengthened vowel sound. It begins and ends in silence. Its chanting gives us inner tranquility and peace.<br />-As an abstract symbol, Omkara takes us to the realization of the most abstract spiritual truth. As a practice, it represents the totality and oneness of existence. It is universal, as it can be added to any religious practice.<br />-10th verse: “At the time of death, with full of devotion and steadfast mind, and with the power of Yoga if a person fixes his prana between the eyebrows, then he attains the highest spiritual realization.”<br />-Yoga has two meanings. First, it is an expression of the unity of the individual soul with the universal soul. Second, it means samadhi, when one has transcended all vrittis, and his mind is fixed on one thought.<br />-When we meditate, distracting thought currents can emerge. With constant practice, if one can meditate without any distraction, it is called Abhyasa. Shankaracharya says that we should combine Yoga and Abhyasa – so that we can meditate on one ideal without any distracting thought currents.<br />-11th verse: “This spiritual truth - that knowers and Vedic scholars call