According to the Nyaya and the Vaisheshika schools, Shabda means verbal testimony; to the Sanskrit grammarians, Yaska, Panini and Katyayana it meant a unit of language or speech or vac. Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama and Vaikhari (परा, पश्यंती, मध्यमा, वैखरी ) are the four successive phases from which sounds pass through before we can hear it or it becomes audible.
These are four successive stages of transformations of sound. By these four phases, we can learn about the origination or utterance of a word from the mouth. In Sanskrit, these are called Vani or vaak. Among these, the three are hidden inside our body but one can experience the fourth i.e Vaikhari speech.
Para - eternal, pure intention because it is a direct expression of the will of reality, unadulterated by any personal preference. Para is the power of ambika shakti, the supreme Mother Goddess, speech that flows directly from the cosmic creatrix. The meaning of the word Para is highest and in the context of sound, It is the highest eternal sound. So at the very beginning sound comes from an eternal source, which is always present in the Ether. Para Vani is divine which can be heard in the void (Shunyata) state of mind. The Muladhara Chakra is the place of this Para form of sound from where it originates and reaches to the heart.
Pashyanti; After the first stage when this Para vani reaces to heart is called as pashyanti. Pashyanti, single-minded speech, is perceptible but not particularized. Pashyanti - felt by a sage or a person in his deep consciousness. It is the vehicle for iccha shakti, the power of desire. When you speak at the pashyanti level, you are sure of your message; your intentions (selfish or altruistic) are always clear. Manipura Chakra is the seat of this vani. In other words, the language spoken from the heart is called Pashyanti, the faint whispering at the heart. It is said that the ancient sages used to give the boons and curses with this type of Speech.
The next stage is called Madhyama is the intermediate stage, when it translates as an idea in the intellect, Vaikhari when the Vani is actually verbally expressed through the mouth, our daily spoken language. You speak in vaikhari when you focus on deeds past, present activities, exploits to come. It is the speech which comes after some consideration and action done thoughtfully. It is in better words can be described as the speech which is active in the form of contemplation.
Madhyama is mental speech, verbalized but unspoken, the internal monologue and dialogue; it expresses Jnana shakti, the power of knowledge and wisdom (or lack thereof). Madhyama measures, evaluates, questions, harnessing your rational and emotional minds to formulate the intentions that precipitate into words. Madhyama resides in our mind and in intellect. It is believed that the seat of this speech is Anahata chakra.
Vaikhari; This is best explained as a daily spoken language, which do not require much thought. The faculty of speech. Vaikhari is articulate and according to commentary is of the lowest class. The forms of Vaikhari speech are velars, palatals, dental etc i.e. matras, swaras, varnas ( मात्रा, स्वर, वर्ण ) in grammar. Unlike Para, Pashyanti, Madhyama other people can hear the Vaikhari speech. It is said that Prakriti and Paramatma both manifests through Vaikhari. Vaikhari is a full transformation of Vaak from subtle to gross form.
Bhartrhari speaks about the creative power of shabda, the manifold universe is a creation of Shabda Brahman (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.i.2). Speech is equated with Brahman (Shatpatha Brahmana 2.1.4.10). The Rig Veda states that Brahman extends as far as Vac (Rigveda X.114.8), and has hymns in praise of Speech as the Creator (Rigveda X.71.7) and as the final abode of Brahman (Rigveda I.164.37). Time is the creative power of Shabda Brahman.
Para is beyond all objects, of any sort, motionless, eternally equipoised, so subtle that it is commonly perceptible only to those who are highly evolved. Pashyanti does not distinguish between subject and object. Perceptible but not yet particularized, it covers the middle ground between para’s pure intention and madhyama’s verbalized but as yet unspoken mental speech.
Madhyama is particularized into phonemes, directed to mental objects, the objects of the inner senses. It straddles the gulf between the noiseless conviction that is pashyanti and the spoken word that is vaikhari. Vaikhari, the speech of maya, is physical speech, the outward, audible manifestation of phonemes that refer to and are directed toward physical, external sense objects.
Vaikhari lies within the purview of the conscious mind and jagrat (waking-time consciousness). The subconscious mind uses madhyama in svapna (dreaming consciousness). Pashyanti represents sushupti (the dreamless sleep that occurs when the unconscious mind takes over).
Succeed at uniting the conscious mind with the unconscious and subconscious minds and you create the superconscious mind, whereupon you can go beyond the three common states of consciousness to reach turiya (the fourth state). Join vaikhari seamlessly with madhyama and pashyanti and you may gain access to para, which expresses turiya and other higher states of consciousness.
Purva Mimamsa deals with Shabda Brahman (cosmic sound or word) which is endowed with names and forms and is projected in vedic revelations (the mantras, hymns, prayers etc.). Vedanta deals with Parama Brahman (the Ultimate Reality) which is transcendent and devoid of material names and material forms. One has to become well established in Shabda Brahman before realizing Parama Brahman.
Vedas are not the product of conventional language but the emanation of reality in form of Shabda (sound, word) which is the sole cause of creation and is eternal. Purva Mimamsa, an esoteric discipline, from the point of view of spiritual growth aims at attaining the heavenly happiness by realizing Shabda Brahman (cosmic sound) by conducting yajnas that help control the senses and the mind; when the mind and the senses are subdued the inner subtle sound is realized as Shabda Brahman.
Nath Sampradaya and Nadi
The word nadi comes from the Sanskrit root nad meaning "channel", "stream", or "flow". Special breathing techniques are practised to influence the flow of prana within these nadis. Nadi is Sanskrit word that can be translated as “tube,” “channel” or “flow.” It refers to the network of channels through which energy travels through the body. ... In yoga, asanas, breathing exercises (pranayama) and chanting are among the tools used to help circulate the prana (life energy) through the nadis. Nadis are pathways or channels of prana in the system. These 72,000 nadis don't have a physical manifestation. There are 72,000 different ways in which the energy or prana moves.
The fundamental theory of Indian classical music, art and poetry is grounded in the theory of Nada Brahman or Shabda Brahman, and is linked with the Vedic religion. The Apara Brahman mentioned by Mandukya Upanishad is Nada Brahman or Shabda Brahman. Shiva Samhita states that whenever and wherever there is causal stress or Divine action, there is vibration (spandan or kampan), and wherever there is vibration or movement there sound (Shabda) is inevitable.
"M" of Aum, the primordial vac represents shabda which is the root and essence of everything; it is Pranava and Pranava is Vedas, Vedas are Shabda Brahman. Consciousness in all beings is Shabda Brahman. When the necessity of directing the Mantra (identical to Ishta) internally and to objects externally is transcended then one gains Mantra chaitanya which then awakens Atman chaitanya, the Divine Consciousness, and unites with it.
The Mantra is Shabda Brahman and Ishta is the light of Consciousness. The prana, body and mind along with the entire universe, are all expressions of Mantra chaitanya. At the ultimate level of Shabda Brahman transcendental words (Nama-Brahman, Holy name) become materially wordless, transcendental forms become materially formless (rise from lower gunas to higher and transformed from material sattva to transcendental shuddha-sattva) and all multiplicity unified in Consciousness residing in that transcendent glory extends beyond mind and speech.
In the Bhagavad Gita (Sloka VI.44) the term Shabda Brahman has been used to mean Vedic injunctions. Adi Shankara explains that the Yogic impressions do not perish even when held up for a long period, even he who seeks to comprehend the essence of Yoga and begins to tread the path of Yoga goes beyond the spheres of the fruits of Vedic works, he sets them aside. In this context Srimad Bhagavatam (Sloka III.33.7) has also been relied upon to high-light the disregard of Vedic rituals by the advanced transcendentalists.
Gaudapada clarifies that the letter "a" of Aum leads to Visva, the letter "u"" leads to Taijasa and the letter "m" leads to Prajna. With regard to one freed from letters, there remains no attainment (Mandkya Karika I.23). Aum is Shabda Brahman, Aum is the Root Sound of which creation is a series of permutations. According to the Tantric concept, Sound is the first manifestation of Parama Shiva; in its primary stage it is a psychic wave. Its very existence entails the presence of spandan or movement ('vibration') without which there cannot be sound; spandan is the quality of Saguna brahman and the world is the thought-projection of Saguna Shiva.
The first sutra of Sarada Tilaka explains the significance and hidden meaning of Shabda Brahman. Anything which appears with shape, name and description is not Brahman. We can ignore the incidents of waking life, forget the dream world, and never understand the deep sleep; but we cannot drop the “I” which experienced all these events. This experience consciousness is called ‘Turiya’ This is Brahman.
When we are Brahman, we are everything but nothing specific. When we are dealing with something specific, the very person ( the subject) who is dealing is indeed Brahman. Brahman is the consciousness which has no attributes of space and time. There is no subjective experience of Brahman when we are dealing with objects. There are no objects when we are revelling in the pure Brahman.
Mandukyopanishad says, “ It is unseen by sense organs, not related to anything, incomprehensible by the mind, un-inferable, unthinkable, indescribable, essentially of the nature of consciousness consisting of Self alone, the negation of all phenomenon, the peaceful, all Bliss and the non-dual. This is what is known as the fourth (Turiya).
This is the Atman which has to be realized”. Just as fish live in the sea and do not know what is a sea, we live in this consciousness and we do not know the consciousness. The term Philosophy in Sanskrit is expressed as Darshan which means a “perspective of Reality” and Hindu philosophy accepts that there are many perspectives. So in this investigation there are three perspectives
Objective; the impartial study and analysis of the thing under discussion as separate from myself.
Subjective; my level of understanding and perception of that thing from my limited perspective and spectrum of mental conditioning and cognitive ability. The mind is prone to all sorts of cognitive errors, biases and delusions.
Transcendental; understanding that the thing under discussion (Brahman) is beyond all human capacity to comprehend and express and that it includes both subjective and objective perceptions and also transcends all.
So from a Transcendental perspective the question is moot. Discussion ends, there is nothing one can say to convey anything meaningful about Brahman - it must be contemplated in silence. This is the teaching behind the Dakshina-murti icon of Lord Ṣhiva - teaching through silence.
From an Objective perspective, Brahman is described as the Impersonal (nirguṇa) Universal, inherent Consciousness qualified by time-space matter/ (sat-chit-ānanda) continuum. (sarvam khalvidam Brahma = “all This is Brahman” and I am That - aham-brahma-asmi). This realization is for the Jnana Yogis those following the path of Wisdom.
From a Subjective point of view we perceive that Brahman to have a Personal aspect (saguna), separate from us, in order to interface with it and to relate to it to find meaning in our lives and to give us a tool as it were, to negotiate the vicissitudes of daily life and to deal with dukha /suffering which is the central philosophical problem. So Saguna Brahman is for those following Bhakti Yoga - the path is devotion.
So Brahman is the unchanging substrata and doesn’t change from Nirguna to Saguna like an actor switching roles. It is our perspective which determines the nature of Brahman, and as we evolve spiritually and our minds are refined we may change our perspective. So the switch is not Real it is apparent and depends on our varied abilities to comprehend subtle ideas.
Authored by Anadi Sahoo
