An interesting thought relating to AUM?

Namaste,

Firstly, please forgive my ignorance if the following matters are already well-known or discussed elsewhere in a more knowledgeable fashion- I wish simply to discuss with members this thought that has occurred to me.

I do not know how many members are familiar with Mongolian throat-singing, but the basic concept involves producing harmonic overtones over a base note; I have found if one begins with intoning "ah" nasally, with the mouth wide open, and slowly closes the mouth keeping the lips in a controlled circle, ending with "m", one can produce harmonic overtones in a basic fashion with practice. The overtones seem to reflect the the basic vowel spectrum/order in the sense of English's a,e,i,o,u (the order of which seems naturally rather than artificially determined- many languages seem to have a similar basic order of vowel-sounds), and I have been given to understand that AUM is both primal and complete in concept, a representation of the sound of Sound. While I would never recommend to deviate from known and received practice, is there any harm in further investigation of this? I am not claiming to have discovered anything wonderful or marvelous, but something about this seems very intriguing... any thoughts would be most welcome.

JAI MATA DI

Namaste JaiMaaDurga,

I don't see the harm in learning and acquainting yourself more about the history and origin of other languages. If there are similarities between these and the mechanics of sound as explained in the scriptures, I wouldn't be surprised. Sanskrit's portrayal of Om is not accidental. One might argue that it is a universal language, because of the intensely analytical and inclusive nature of its phonology.

I must admit that I haven't much knowledge about Mongolian throat singing, or any other kind of throat-singing or yodelling. Mongolian throat singing apparently derives itself from the people's beliefs in pastoral animism. These people perhaps understood also the significance of sound waves in the expression of the Manifest. The sacred syllable Om is Pranava, believed to be derived from the verbal pra-nu ("to make a humming or droning sound"). It might be useful to read through the Chandogya Upanishad, which goes into detail about the nature of Om.

It is intriguing, I agree. I certainly wouldn't discourage you from trying to find out more behind these ancient traditions.

Om namah Shivaya