Page 43 - Journey to Infinity
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Sruti is independent, Smriti is dependent. Nobody can contradict the Sruti whereasSmriti can be contradicted or denied. As Sruti is authority in itself it needs nobody’s certification. Smriti is less self-authoritative and as such it needs certification or another authority. Sruti never alters, Smriti always alters. Sruti is the absolutevibration because it consists of vibration only, whereas Smriti is the imitation of the original sound, hence artificial, dependent on alphabets, words, language and pronunciation. It is therefore syllabic — Varnatmak. A syllable consists of a letter or letters of the alphabet. Sruti can produce original influence which means the order of God. Sruti has the effect of negation which pronounces itself at the time of total dissolution. This sound pervades the body of all beings and sustains, nourishes or preserves them. This is the suggestive meaning of the word Sruti. It is a mystery, a secret known by the Seers only. People of this manifested world and the world of effects cannot understand this, although they can express this sound reflected in their thought through various expressions— such as ‘God is great’, ‘Garlic and Carrot’, ‘Shut up, you idiot’.
There is yet another meaning of the Sruti sound, which is called Udgeet — Ud meaning higher, other worldly, original, collection of attributes (becoming) and geet meaning song. Thus the word means ‘The song of the original and the manifestation’, ‘the song of Being and becoming’, ‘the song of heaven and earth’, or human voice.
Om is the imitation of the Udgeet, and is a combi¬nation of three letters pronounced with the help of lips, tongue and intonation. Om is the real Veda when its natural tone is heard. This Om is converted from its sound-form to letter-form with the help of a special thought (force). That special thought is birth, existence and return or death. But uttering Om merely with the tongue is mere imitation or idol worship, because giving our heart to a matter of thought is idol-worship; whereas connecting ourselves with Reality is knowledge. Such a kind” of idol-worship is not to be deprecated for it is only a means to reach the original Reality.
(1) A — Creation; U — Maintenance, preservation, sustenance; M — Dissolution.
(2) A — Brahma, the Creator, U — Vishnu, Preserver, M — Siva, the Destroyer.
Aum — OM, has all the three attributes of God viz., A is movement
U is the maintenance of that stability M is the End of the movement.




























































































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