Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 12.6.42
Āśraya· The supreme shelterThree Sounds Sustain Threefold Material Existence
“Oṁkāra exhibited the three original sounds of the alphabet — A, U and M. These three, O most eminent descendant of Bhṛgu, sustain all the different threefold aspects of material existence, including the three modes of nature, the names of the Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma Vedas, the goals known as the Bhūr, Bhuvar and Svar planetary systems, and the three functional platforms called waking consciousness, sleep and deep sleep.”
What the purport teaches
- Oṁkāra exhibited the three original sounds of the alphabet: A, U and M.
- These sounds sustain the threefold aspects of material existence, including the three modes of nature and the names of the Ṛg, Yajur and Sāma Vedas.
- They also sustain the goals known as the Bhūr, Bhuvar and Svar planetary systems, and the states of waking consciousness, sleep and deep sleep.
Try this today
Write A, U and M, then list the three states of consciousness described in the verse.
Ask yourself
Which of these threefold aspects helps me appreciate the scope attributed to oṁkāra?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.