BA PART III : PAPER 5.19

The Mantra Varnamala 1

Every vibration in this universe has colour and sound.
Every vibration also represents a particular idea, and hence
each idea has a vibrational sound and vibrational colour.
Many vibrational waves are too longer too short to be
perceived by human beings - we cannot hear their sound or
see their colour - but they do exist. We can speak of them as
causal matrices in the realm of vibrational colour; and con-
sider them as the bUja mantras [acoustic roots] of the ideas
with which they are concerned.

A
The sound a is the acoustic root of creation, and thus is the
controller of the seven notes ofIndo-Aryan music [the suras-
aptaka or "seven notes" - in Western music, the "octave"],
which are as follows: sya oikhya (s'ad'aja [peacock]** -the
Yajurvedic pronunciation khad'aja is also permissible, but in
that case kha should be pronounced with the mind concen-
trated on the front part of the palate and not like the second
consonant of the ka vargo),*** re or r (rs'abha [ox] - the
pronunciation rkhabha is also permissible, but kha should

* note: The "Sanskrit" alphabet, used not only by Sanskrit, but
by various languages influenced by those Aryans who migrated to India.
** note: Each of the notes is represented by a single syllable, just
as in Western music the notes are represented by do-re-mi. But each of the
notes is further represented by an animal associated with its syllable.
*** note: The Indo-Aryan alphabet is divided into vargas,
"groups", ofphonetically-related sounds. The ka vargo, for example (whose
second consonant is kfta). consists of sounds produced in the throat (gutturals).





not be pronounced like the second consonant of the ka group);
ga' (ga'ndha'ra [goat]); ma' (madbyama [deer]); pa' (pain-
cama [cuckoo]); dha' (dhaevata [donkey]); and ni (nis'a'da
[elephant] - it can also be pronounced nikha'da, but again
kha is not pronounced like the second consonant of the ka
group.)
Although a indirectly controls the seven musical notes, it
chiefly controls the first note, s'ad'aja. This note is repre-
sented in the surasaptaka or sargam [gamut of notes] by its
initial letter, sya. Remember that in the vilambita {prolonged]
technique of pronunciation of this note, the vowel sound a'
isnotemployed;*ratherthe.MWi'vrto [lengthened]** pronun-
ciation of a is employed. That is, the vowel here will not be
pronounced a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a'-a', but will be pronounced
somewhat like aya, as they do in northern India. (More
precisely, the pronunciation will be intermediate between aya
and a"). If singers were to pay more attention to proper
pronunciation, they would benefit.
As the sound a is the acoustic root of the note s'ad'aja, the
letter a is the first step in the learning of music. In Occidental
music, the octave (do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do) has evolved in a
similar way.
The difference between Occidental and Oriental music is
that in the former the first note, s'ad'aja [or "do"], is repeated
at the end to form an octave. Thus in Oriental music we say
surasaptaka or musical "septave" ("collection of seven not-

* note: According to normal Sanskrit grammar, if a is followed
by a, the two combine to become a'.
** note: Of the three pronunciations used mindianson gtowilich
the author refers, the sam'vrta is slightly prolonged,, the vilambita is more
prolonged, and the pluta is most prolonged.




es") whereas in Occidental music we say "octave" ("collec-
tion of eight notes").
Sada'shiva arranged sounds in the form of the surasaptaka,
which contributed on the one hand to the acoustics of science,
and on the other hand to the rhythmic phonetics of music.
Hence in the study of music we cannot afford to forget his
unique contribution.
A little while ago I said that every sound has colour too.
Alternative words for ram' ["colour"] are varn'a [which also
means "letter"] and ra'ga. The word ra'ga is derived from
the root-verb ran'j plus the suffix ghain, and means "to
colour" something. By permutating and combining different
sounds, Shiva created various ra'gas and arranged them in a
perfect orderly sequence. In this way He created six ra'gas
and thirty-six ra'giniis. This was an immense contribution to
the world of music and earned him the epithet Na'datanu
[Embodiment of Divine Sound] in the Vedas. Of course it was
Mahars'i Bharata who popularized these ra 'gas and ra 'giniis
amongst intellectuals.
These ra 'gas and ra 'giniis are subject to changes according
to the shortening or lengthening of their notes. Following this
system, Indian music is divided into two main branches:
northern Indian music (colloquially "Hindustani music"),
which is popular to the north of the Vindhya Hills, and Deccan
music (or "Kamatak music"), which is popular to the south
of the Vindhya Hills. Many new ra'gas and ra'giniis are
being evolved today and will be evolved in the future. There
can be no end to this process of evolution. In Prabha'ta
Sam'giita* also, a few new ra'gas and ra'giniis have been
evolved, but they have not vet been given names.


A'
The sound a' is the acoustic root of rs'abha, the second
musical note. This acoustic root directly controls rs'abha and
indirectly controls ga 'ndha 'ra (ga '), madhyama (ma '),pain-
cama (pa'), dhaevata (dha') and nis'a'da (ni). In the Vedas
other than the Rgveda, we usually come across komala [soft]
ni and sa 'dha 'ran 'a [ordinary] ni. In the older portions of the
Rgveda, kad'U [hard or high-pitched] ni was used. It could be
uttered with both sides of the uvula. The seven Vedic and
Tantric notes, the seven Vedic metres and the two
bha'va'tmaka svara [spiritual sounds] constitute the sixteen
prominent sounds which in Indo-Aryan phonetics are known
as s'od'asha dhvanikala' [the "sixteen sounds" of
Brahmavidya ' - intuitional science -g,d gandharvavidya ' -
the science of music]. These musical notes were used in music
and incantation in different combinations according to the
waxing and waning of the moon and according to the time of
day or night. Accordingly, a specific period of the month and
time of the day was fixed for the performance of each ra 'ga
and ra 'ginii.

Each of the letters of the Indo-Aryan alphabet, from a to
ks'a, is an acoustic root. That is, these fifty sounds are the
vibrations corresponding to the colours of the fifty propensi-
ties. The third letter of the alphabet, i, is the acoustic root of
ga'ndha'ra (ga'). It directly controls ga'ndha'ra and indi-
rectly controls madhyama (ma'),paincama (pa'), dhaevata
(dha') and nis'a'da (ni).





II

The sound ii is the acoustic root of the fourth note of the
surasaptaka, madhyama (ma'). This sound directly controls
madhyama, and indirectly contto\spaincama (pa '), dhaetiata
(dha '), and nis'a'da (ni). In ancient times, the very prolonged
pluta ii was used in musical notation to denote kad'ii [hard
or high-pitched] ma', but in modem languages there is no
separate letter hi pluta ii.
U
The short u sound is the acoustic root ofpaincama (pa'),
the fifth musical note. This sound directly contiolspaincama
(pa'), and indirectly controls dhaevata (dha') and nis'a'da
(ni)-
U'
The long u' sound is the acoustic root of the sixth musical
note, dhaevata (dha'). It directly controls dhaevata (dha'),
and indirectly controls nis'a'da (ni).
R
The r sound is the seventh letter and seventh vowel of
Southeast Asian alphabets, as well as of the Indo-Aryan
alphabet. It is the acoustic root of the seventh musical note
nis'a 'da (ni). Nis'a 'da is derived as follows: ni - sad + ghain.
A sa sound occurring in any root-verb after the prefix ni may
be changed into the letter s 'a, that is, nisa 'da and nis 'a 'da are
both permissible. Similarly, upanis'ad and upanisad are
equally correct. But in Bengali there is a convention of using


s 'a in such spellings. Now, itnis 'a 'da is written with s 'a, then
both the Rgvedic and Yajurvedic pronunciations must be
accepted.* Of course singers singing scales need not utter the
complete word nis'a'da, but only ni.
The sound r directly controls the seventh musical note,
nis'a'da. As it is a half-letter [has no vowel sound],** desig-
nated as such [in the Bengali alphabet] with a hasanta dia-
critical mark ( \),*** it does not directly control any other
soung.
RR

The rr sound is the acoustic root of own. You may say,
Since own is the acoustic root of creation, preservation and
destruction, and the acoustic root ofSagun'a andNirgun'a
[it is used to symbolize Nirgun 'a}, how can rr be the acoustic
root of onm 'ka 'ra?
What is onm ( sq , ~saq)?
Onm consists of five symbols: a, the acoustic root of
creation; a, the acoustic root of preservation; ma, the acoustic
root of destruction; ('), the symbol of the unmanifested
universe; and ( -), the symbol which signifies the process of
manifestation.
A is not only the acoustic root of s'ad'aja, it is also the
acoustic root of the force of creation. When the idea to create
something arises in the mind of ParamaPurus'a, or in the




microcosmic mind, its acoustic root is the sound a. Since a
is the acoustic root of creation, from which everything else
proceeds, a is the first letter of the alphabet.
The sound u is the acoustic root of the fifth musical note,
and is also the acoustic root of a few other factors, the force
of preservation being one of them. When the desire to
maintain the created entities arises in the mind of Parama
Purus 'a, or in the individual microcosmic mind, then the
acoustic root of that sort of desire is u.
The sound m with hasant [indicating that its pronunciation
is m rather than ma], as well as being the acoustic root of
the tendency \prashraya vrtti\ to treat someone or something
indulgently, is the acoustic root of the vim'sha [destruction]
that occurs in the course of time. When people feel that
something has become monotonous, they want to change it.
It should be remembered that vina'sha does not mean
complete annihilation, but transformation or metamorpho-
sis. Complete annihilation is called prana'sha. (In fact,
nothing in this physical universe is subject to prana 'sha or
complete annihilation. But philosophically, prana 'sha means
that change which takes an entity back to its original form.
If sugar made from sugar cane is transformed back into sugar
cane, that will be the prana'sha of the sugar. Thus from a
philosophical point of view, if a microcosm, through
sa'dhana', merges into that Parama Purus 'a from whom it
originated, that will be the prana'sha of that microcosm.)
This m sound is the acoustic root of annihilation.
The manifested universe is constituted of creation, preserva-
tion and destruction (a-u-m). A + u = o, hence a + u + m
= om. But that is not the end of the story; the dot ( ') and
the crescent (~) that form part of own 'ha 'ra are also important.
The former represents the unmanifested universe; the latter
represents the principle of transmutation from the unmani-


fested to the manifested.* Hence, onm is the acoustic root of
creation, preservation and destruction, plus the principle of
transmutation from the unmanifested to the manifested.
The source of most acoustic roots is Tantra, although some
of them already existed in the Vedas and were later accepted
by Tantra. Onm is one of the latter. Those Daks'in'a'ca'ra
Tantrics who do not want to accept annihilation as the last
word, and thus do not want to place the acoustic root of
destruction as the last sound, utilize the full letter ma as
opposed to the half-letter m, and place the letters in the
following order: a + ma + a = wna'. According to
Daks'in'a'ca'ra Tantra, "Uma"' is another name otParama'
Prakrti.
Onm'ka'ra is also called pran 'ava (pra + nu + at), which
literally means "that which helps tremendously in attaining
the supreme stance". In the Tripa'davibhu'tina'ra'yan'a
Shruti it has been said, Pran 'ava 'tmakam ' Brahma {'Brahma
is in the form ofpran'ava"]. Elsewhere it has been said,
Etaddhyeva 'ks 'aram ' Brahma etadeva 'ks 'aram ' param
Etadeva 'ks 'aram ' jina 'tva ' Brahmaloke mahUyate.
[This is the immutable Brahma, this is the supreme sound.
After knowing this supreme sound, one attains the divine
realm oiBrahma.}
Now even though onm (which includes the dot and cres-
cent) can serve as the acoustic root of this expressed universe,

* Editors' note: The combination of the two - dot plus crescent - is
paralleled in Roman Sanskrit by the letter "n" (or more precisely, "n" with a
caret [„] underneath). Either the Bengali/Devanagari or the Roman version
represents, so far as phonetics is concerned, a nasalization of the vowel it is
associated-with. Note also that m becomes m' for euphony when followed by
a consonant, such as in onm 'ha 'ra.





since 0/1771 is nevertheless a combination of sounds, it requires
an acoustic root of its own. The acoustic root of another root
is called atibiija or maha'biija. So rr is the maha'bUja of
onm 'ka 'ra. This rr sound is necessary from the viewpoint of
phonetics and of sandhi [the science of combining sounds].
Since it is an important acoustic root, it is imperative to
decide whether such a letter should be deleted from the
alphabet [as some linguists have suggested].
The Indo-Aryan alphabet consists of fifty letters from a to
ks 'a. If any of these fifty letters is deleted, the entire alphabet
will become defective and the acoustic importance of the
letter concerned will be jeopardized. It is up to you to think
over and decide whether rr should be retained in the alphabet
or not.

LR
The sound lr is the acoustic root of the sound hummm and
of its inner import. The sound hummm is itself the acoustic
root of struggle, of sa'dhana', and according to Tantra, of
the kun 'd'alinii. As hummm is the acoustic root of struggle,
people call it the battle cry. You may have noticed that when
sa 'dhakas progress along the spiritual path and attain bliss
they sometimes release the sound hummm spontaneously
during the practice of sa 'dhana '. It has been mentioned that
the utterance of hummm during sa'dhana' is a sign of
progress in Tantra.
According to Tantra the kulakun'd'alinii is the sleeping
divinity. By virtue of sa 'dhana ' and with the help of man-
tra'gha'ta [striking at the kulakun'd'alinii with powerful
incantative vibrations] and mantra caetanya [conceptual un-
derstanding of and psychic association with a mantra], and


by smashing all obstacles, the kun'd'alimi can be raised to
the sahasra'ra cakra. The practice adopted to raise the
kan'd'alinii is called purashcaran'a in Tantra. The
kun'd'alimi is the sleeping divinity. To arouse it from
slumber and raise it upwards is quite a struggle and hence
hummm must also be the acoustic root of the kan'd'alinii.
The controlling point of the kun'd'alinii, the mu'la'dha'ra,
is called man 'ipadma or maha 'man 'ipadma in Maha'ya'na
Buddhist philosophy. The Tibetan Maha'ya'niis recite Onm '
man'ipadme hummm while turning their dharma cakras
[prayer wheels]. I have seen Onm' man'ipadme hummm
inscribed on the walls of Tibetan caves.
LRR
Lrr is the acoustic root of the sound phot ' (which is the
acoustic root of putting a theory into practice) and is thus the
atibiija, or maha' bUja [super-acoustic root], of the phat'
biija. It is just like the sprouting of a seed, like a sudden
awakening from slumber. When something which is sleeping
or dormant suddenly bursts into the realm of light, we say
colloquially [in Bengali] that it is making a phat' sound. Lrr
is also the acoustic root of the removal of lethargy. Hence.
considering its enormous importance, it should not be de-
leted from the Bengali alphabet.
Each of the fifty letters is called ma 'trka ' varn 'a ("causal
matrix") because each is an acoustic root of some important
factor, sound, vibration, divine or demoniacal propensity,
human quality, or microcosmic expression. Thus no letter
should be deleted from the alphabet. But the final decision
in this regard rests in the hands of the scholars.




The rhythmic expression of mundane knowledge; the
sprouting of mundane knowledge; mundane welfare; and the
thought of mundane welfare; are symbolized by vaos'at'. The
sound e is the atibiija, or maha'bUja, of the vibrations of
vaos'at'. In ancient times kings hungry for more land would
pray to Indra, the king of the gods, to bless their Ra'jasu'ya
Yajina* mAshvamedha Yajina [Horse Sacrifice] to help them
attain a vast empire. On those occasions they would say,Em'
Indra'ya vaos'at'.
AE
The thought of welfare and the materialization of welfare
in the subtler sphere are symbolized by vas'af. Those who
pray to Lord Shiva for all-round human welfare say, Aem'
Shiva'ya vas'at', those who pray to their gum for the attain-
ment of subtle knowledge say, Aem' gurave vas'at'-, and
those who pray to the rain-god for relief from floods say,
Varan'aya vaos'at' (in this case the thought of welfare is
confined to the physical sphere). But those who pray for
victory in war against the forces of wickedness, say,
Vamn'a'ya vas'at. Within the acoustic root vas'at' lies the
thought of welfare in the subtle sphere; it is the atibiija, or
maha'biija, of the sense of blessing in the subtle sphere.
While uttering any incantation it is the common practice to
add m' to the end of the acoustic root. Thus ae is pronounced
is aem'.


Aern' is the acoustic root of vocalization. Linguistic expres-
sion is divided into six stages: para ', pashyanti, madhyama ',
dyotama 'na ', vaekharii, and shrutigocara '.
Whatever you have said, or are saying, or will say in future,
lies within you as dormant vitality. A great potentiality lies
dormant in each human being, just as a huge banyan tree lies
latent within a tiny seed. The banyan seed sprouts when light,
air, water and fertile soil exist in requisite amounts. It sub-
sequently grows foliage and branches, and in the course of
time develops into a gigantic tree. Similarly, the immense
potentialities of human beings lie latent and hypnotized in the
kulakun'd'aliniiatinu'la'dha'ra cakra asdormant humanity.
When the kan'd'alinii is raised upwards through man-
tra'gha'ta and mantra caetanya in the process of meditation
(this process is called purashcaran 'a in Tantra and amrta-
mudra' or a'nandamudra' in yoga), the doors of human
potentiality start opening one after another. Human beings
grow in beauty and vitality, their flowers divine, their foliage
lush. Such individuals develop into great people in the eyes
of the public and finally become one with the Supreme Entity.
This process is called para'bhyudaya in the scriptures.
The first stage of linguistic expression, that is, language in
its potential form or seed form, lies dormant in the
mil 'la 'dha 'ra cakra, and it leads through successively clearer
stages of manifestation to full-fledged linguistic expression.
This primordial phase of linguistic expression is called
para 'shakti, the primordial phase of vocalization.
Incidentally, I would like to say a few words about the
fundamentalpara 'shakti. The shakti [energy] with which unit
beings discharge their physico-psycho-spiritual actions is
called apara'shakti. Apara''shakti is by no means insignifi-
cant - it helps microcosms to maintain their existence and
achieve greater evolution and elevation. But the energy with




which microcosms direct their physico-psycho-spiritual ef-
forts towards the divine and reach the highest rung of the
evolutionary ladder by piercing every tender layer of micro-
cosmic existence, is called para'shakti (this para'shakti,
which is the primordial phase of vocalization, is not the same
as the para'shakti or Supreme Operative Principle in the
unbalanced triangle of forces). Here we are concerned with
the ways of expression of language. All the potentialities of
vocal expression lie dormant in the form otpara 'shakti at the
mu'la'dha'ra cakra. Para'shakti is raised step by step and
finally leads to the vocal expression of language.
If vocalization remains dormant in seed form at the
mu'la'dha'ra, it is neither audible nor perceivable in the
practical world. The latent para'shakti has got to be awak-
ened. Human beings visualize whatever they want to commu-
nicate, sometimes only for a fraction of a second, consciously
or unconsciously. If they are already aware of the name and
form of the visualized object, they can progress further in the
process of expression, otherwise that name or form will
continue to remain in the abstract world. This stage, in which
one can mentally visualize what one is going to communicate,
is the second stage in the process of vocalization. Its control-
ling point is the sva'dhis't'ha'na cakra. The energy which
causes the visualization is called pashyantL Pashyanti is
derived from the root verb drsh plus shatr, and means "that
which is seeing".
This seeing is of two things: that which is original in the
abstract world (its image is mostly indistinct) and that which
is of a recurring nature in the abstract world, in other words,
that which is reproduced from memory. Anubhu'ta-
vis'aya'sampromas'ah smrtL "After perceiving an object in
the external world with the help of the eyes or any other
external indriya, one often thinks about it." The energy which


helps one to visualize that thought is pashyanti shakti. This
is the second stage of vocalization. Of course just to visualize
the perceived object (with the help ofpashyanti shakti) is not
enough; other people cannot see your mental images or
mental words, because those things belong to the psychic
world. Linguistic expression pertains to the mundane world.
Words are transmitted in the outer world through the medium
of air or electro-magnetic waves, or some such medium.
Mental images can be projected in the external world with the
help of vital energy, but this sort of psychic projection is
beyond the capacity of pashyanti shakti.
Ideas in the psychic world gain momentum with the addi-
tion of vital energy. This process of coordination must be
consolidated-step by step before ideas can be expressed
through words in the external world. The human body's
energy, or indrashakti, or luminous factor, is located in the
man'ipura cakra* The man'ipura cakra maintains the
body's physical balance. Whenpashyanti shakti comes to the
man'ipura cakra and there receives the assistance of vital
energy, it becomes madhyama' shakti. The controlling point
otmadhyama' shakti is the man'ipura cakra or navel area.
To externalize an idea one has to apply physical energy
(philosophically, this energy is called indra). We can call this
stage the first expression of the sound tanma'tra. Although
this sound tanma 'tra is not audible to the external ear because
it has not yet been vocalized, it does have internal sound.

* note: As the navel area is the controlling point of the luminous
factor, it is not easily burnt. It is only with the application of tremendous heat
that it can be burnt to ashes. A funeral pyre does not generate sufficient heal
to bum the navel area. So those who cremate their loved ones retrieve this
unburnt portion from the ashes and immerse it in any holy river. This practice
is popularly known as asthivisarjana.




The transformation otmadhyama' shakti into the form of
speech takes place at a point between the man'ipura and
vishuddha cakras. This is a state ofcalama 'nata ' [mobility].*
The force which functions between the man'ipura and
vishuddha cakras, trying to give vocal expression to mental
ideas, is called dyotama 'na '.
Dyotama'na' shakti is expressed as a relentless effort to
transform idea into language. If, however, in this process of
transformation, the mind is affected by fear or by any other
instinct, there will be only a partial or incoherent vocal
expression.
In the dyotama 'na ' stage, if the idea is not metamorphosed
into a corresponding picture, or if there is any defect in the

* note: Just as the root-verb cal [move] plus suffix shatr equals
calat [that which is in motion], cal plus sful'iuic equals calama'na.
The root-verb cal is ubhayapadii [both a'tmanepadu anIparasiruiepadU
— terminologies of conjugation in ancient Sanskrit]. In the early part of the
Vedic age it was mainly used in the a'tmanepadii form, but later on began to
be used in the parasmaepadii form. In modem Sanskrit, it is used in the
parasmaepodii form. Only in a few rare cases is the a'tmanepadii form used,
as in the following example, a well-known utterance of Lord Buddha:
lha 'sane shus'yatu me sharUram.
Tvagasthima 'm 'sam ' pralayanca ya 'tu.
Apra'pya bodhim' balwkalpodurlabha'm
Noeva 'sana 't ka 'yanuttashcalis 'yate.
[Until I attain the highest realization, which is rare even in hundreds of
lives, I will not budge an inch from this posture, even if my skin, flesh and
bones dry up and my body perishes.]
Dyotama 'na ' is a sha 'Roc-ending word. Since olden days, the a 'tmanepa-
dUform dyotate has been used.
Dyotate krUd'ate yasma'dudyate dyotate dwi;
Tasma 'ddeva ili proktah stu 'yate sarvadevataeh.
[lTie vibrafional manifestations emanating from the Supreme Nucleus arc
known as devata 's, and these devata 's address that Supreme Nucleus asDeva.
He with His powers vibrates the entire universe, makes the entire universe
dance; and He by dint of His occult and supra-oocult powers brings everything
back onto His lap.]

area between the man 'ipura and vishuddha cakras, or if there
is no proper command over language, then vocal expression
is bound to be affected. In such cases people are unable to
give linguistic expression to things that they know. They say,
"The idea's in my mind but I just can't find the words to
express it."
The dyotama'na' stage exists in collective life, also. Ever
since the dawn of human civilization, human beings have
been searching for ways to fulfil their various desires: the
desire to fly, the desire to move fast over land, the desire to
reach the distant planets, the desire to cross the oceans.
Sometimes they have succeeded, sometimes they have failed.
But even after failure, they have not given up the struggle, but
have persisted with renewed vigour. We are still waiting for
that glorious day to arrive when we will be able to give a full
and rich expression to the vast world of human thought.
Today, however, we can only express asmall fraction of the
vast world of ideas.
The vocal cord lies in the area of the vishuddha cakra. It is
the organ responsible fortransforming abstract idea into vocal
expression. The energy which helps in this task is vaekharii
shaktL Vaekharii shakti is the energy which causes ideas to
take the form of language. It is the fifth stage in the process
of vocal expression. When someone talks too much, this is
the uncontrolled expression of vaekharii shakti. Some
pandits, in order to prove their intellectual might through
intellectual extravaganza, indulge in such unnecessary vo-
calization. It has been said,
Va'kvaekharii shabdayharii
Sha 'stravya 'khya 'na kaoshalam ';
Vaedus'yam' vidus'a'm' tadvat
Bhuktaye na tu muktaye.




[Garrulousness, grandiloquence and conflicting interpreta-
tions of the scriptures are nothing but intellectual extrava-
ganza. They do not lead to salvation, but merely satisfy the
intellect.]
Neither individual life nor collective life is benefited from
such useless talk. Pandits may receive temporary applause but
they ultimately gain nothing but a big zero.
Even after an idea gets metamorphosed into language, if
there is the slightest defect in the uvula, vocal expression will
be disturbed. (The Sanskrit equivalents of "uvula" are lam-
bika', galashun'd'ika', anda'ljihva'.) Even if one articulates
properly, one will not be able to speak correctly if there is any
defect in the uvula.
The energy through which the exact language is conveyed
to the human ears is called shrutigocara '. This is the last stage
in the process of vocalization. The sound ae is the acoustic
root of the six stages of vocalization: para', pashyanti, mad-
hyama', dyotama'na', vaekharii, and shrutigocara'.
Ae is also called va'gbhava bUja, and is the acoustic root
of the guru. People acquire knowledge through gurus, hence
the guru is also invoked through this acoustic root: Aem'
gurave namah. Those who believe in idol worship use this
particular acoustic root in invoking the goddess of knowl-
edge: Ae/n' sarasvatyae namah. And it is also used to invoke
Shiva, the propounder ofTantra:Aem' Shiva'ya namah.