ॐ नमः शिवाय
Om Namah Shivaya
(Panchakshara Mantra, five
syllables) is a most potent and
popular mantra, which is at the
heart of the Vedas and Tantra,
and is widely used in this and
other variations in the
Himalayan tradition, as well as
by others. While there are
other descriptions of the
mantra, the following focuses
on meanings for mantra
meditation leading to Self-
Realization.
OM/AUM : The three parts of Om
(A-U-M) encompass the three
states of waking, dreaming,
deep sleep, the three levels of
gross, subtle, causal , and the
three levels of conscious,
unconscious, subconscious , as
well as the three universal
processes of coming, being, and
going. Absolute silence beyond
the three levels is the silence
after AUM. It also refers to
Tripura, the one who live in the
"three cities" as in
Mahamrityunjaya Mantra, as
well as the light referred to in
Gayatri Mantra.
Namah/Namaha : Adoration,
homage, respect. Nothing is
mine (as an individual person);
everything is thine (as the
Absolute Reality). The three
levels of Om, the three worlds
of gross, subtle, and causal,
along with the three states of
waking, dreaming, and deep
sleep states of consciousness,
as well as the three levels of
conscious, unconscious, and
subconscious themselves are
"not mine" as the true
properties of who I really
am.Truly, "nothing is mine."
Rather, everything, all of these
triads is"thine" or the "other"
as the Absolute Reality.
Shivaya/Shiva : That Absolute
Reality that is the ground out of
which the others emerge. It is
that "ink," so to speak, that is
not separate from the many
forms which may appear to
manifest or be created from
that ink. In the Realization of
this, one comes to see that he
or she is one and the same with
the Absolute Reality. The
Mahavakyas, the great
utterances, are seen to be true.
Shiva (the static or ground) and
Shakti (the active or creative)
are seen to be one and the
same. She (Shakti), while one
with Shiva is realized in direct
experience as the one in the
three worlds (Tripura) outlined
in Om.
The Five Sacred Syllables : The
Namah Shivaya mantra has five
syllables: na-mah-shi-va-ya.
Thus, Namah Shivaya mantra is
called five-syllable mantra, or
Panchakshara Mantra (panch
means five ). Among other
things, these five represent the
five elements of earth, water,
fire, air, and space. Thus, the
Om Namah Shivaya mantra
leads awareness in the reverse
order from manifestation back
to the source from which
manifestation arose.
