Family Wisdom
May 2010
“Today we'll discuss AUM, the most sacred symbol,” said daddy, as they sat down for dinner. Mummy had prepared vegetable biryani with onion raita for dinner.
“Before we start eating,” said daddy, “let us close our eyes for a full minute, and intently listen to this sacred mantra.” He pressed a key of his laptop, and the sacred sound of AUM reverberated in the room, wave after wave.
The children had promptly closed their eyes as had the elders, and everyone listened to the mantra. When it was over, daddy said, “Don’t open your eyes now, but repeat the mantra AUM inside yourself, with your mouth closed, pronouncing every sound as you heard just now, for another 30 seconds.”
The children did as they were told, and finally opened their eyes at their daddy’s word. Daddy asked mummy to serve the dinner, and started his discussion. “The mantra you heard now is called the moola mantra or the root mantra. AUM is also known as the maha mantra. First, you should know how to pronounce this mantra. Any idea, children?”
“Daddy, we have been pronouncing this mantra as simply ‘Om’,” said Shreya. Daddy smiled and shared, “Even though the mantra has three sounds A, U and M, it is considered as a single letter and as a single syllable. You already know that it is written as a single letter, and now you know that it is pronounced with a long AU sound, which starts with a short, bursting Ah sound, followed by a long O (or Oo as in moo) sound, and an equally emphatic humming sound M, which gradually wanes into silence. A single chant of the whole mantra takes at least five seconds.”
“But daddy, why should we do Aum chanting? How does it help us?” asked little Arshad. Mummy looked and daddy and said, “I will explain. When you chant ‘Aum’ what happens is that your mind focuses on one word, one thought so you stop getting distracted. Arshad, you were asking me how you could study better. Well, here is your answer. Aum chanting can really help you to improve your concentration powers.
And Shreya, since you were getting several infections in the last week, you wanted to know, how you could become healthier. Aum gives you an answer for that too. Its vibrations help the body to become stronger. AUM also helps your spirit to become purer. So you see, AUM chanting helps your body, mind, and spirit in a very positive way.”
Shreya and Arshad were very happy. Shreya said, “This is superb. I am definitely going to do AUM chanting every day for a few minutes.” “Me too, me too”, said Arshad. Mummy and daddy exchanged a smile.
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