Aṇākāra
Aṇākāra literally means that which does not have a form or shape. Aṇākāra refers to the formless, shapeless Anādi Brahma (One Without Beginning, Eternal) known as the Ṭhuḻa Śūnya (Dense Void), the Avyakta (Unmanifest) that is the Cause of All Causes.
Sanskrit Transliteration:
mahābrahmaṃ nirvikaḻpaṃ
pūrṇānandamayaṃ hariḥ ।
sarvaghaṭe yaḥ acyutaḥ
tasya pade namāmyaham ॥
English Translation:
The greatest reality, unvaried,
Complete in essence of bliss, is Hari.
The unchanging that in all body stays,
Onto His feet I bow with reverence.
(Praṇām Mantra extracted from the Māḻikā; original revelation in Sanskrit; given by Śrī Guru – the Supreme Lord Jagannātha)
The above image of Aṇākāra (One that is Formless) is the representation of the Brahma Tattva (Absolute Principle) of Sat (Eternal Existence), complete in essence of Ānanda (Bliss) whose personification is the Saccidānanda Puruṣa (Idol of Eternity, Consciousness and Bliss) known as Hari. The unchangeable, unaffected, unvaried aspect of this Personification is ingrained in every Ghaṭa (Body) – from the Jīva (Living Being) to the Jaḍa (Non-Living) in the form of Cit Śakti (Power of Consciousness).
The very object of meditation of Yogīs (Spiritual Practitioners) around the world, the Aṇākāra is the Bindu (Dot) of the Oṃkāra (Oṃ expressed as a form in writing). The same Bindu (Dot) is also represented as the Yin and Yang in Tao Philosophy, and in some faiths as the Dot or Star on a Crescent. This Anādi Tattva (Endless Principle) called Aṇākāra cannot be merely explained in words, described in passages or visualized as a picture, but only marginally experienced by the Sūkṣma Śarīra (Subtle Body), when unlocked by the Śiva Netra (Third Eye) through rigorous Sādhanā (Spiritual Practice).
Aṇākāra – the Indeterminate Form as Anādi Brahma (Eternal Absolute) is also represented as the Yin and Yang in Tao Philosophy.
When Praḻaya (Complete Dissolution) takes place (of the self, the body, the ego, the universe or the entire creation), all aspects of existence including Guṇa (Material Attributes), Rūpa (Form) and Nāma (Name) dissolute into the Nirguṇa (Attributeless), Nirākāra (Formless), Anāma (Nameless) – the unchanging, eternal, non-existent, non-causal called Acyuta.
All existence is in the form of sound, and the sum total of all existence is expressed as the sound Oṃ. While Oṃkāra is also popularly known and referred to as the Brahma Ekākṣara – which means the Absolute Reality expressed as the eternal, imperishable syllable, whose sound is Oṃ, it actually is a combination of the sounds of A, U and M, followed by silence. The Oṃkāra, hence, is unfit to be called a Akṣara (Imperishable Syllable or Letter) in the strictest sense, since it is greater in all aspects than the Akṣara (Imperishable Form). But is not Kṣara (of Perishable Form) either. Hence the Oṃkāra is sometimes also referred to as Akṣarātītaḥ (Beyond the Imperishable Form) and as Aṇākṣara (the Imperishable that cannot be expressed as a Syllable or Form).
The Aṇākāra (Eternal, Formless) represents the Bindu (Dot) of the Oṃkāra. This Bindu (Dot) is also known as the Anādi-Ādi Mūḻa (Root and Source of the Eternal and Primeval Forms). Aṇākāra refers to the Turīya (Fourth Aspect) of Oṃkāra – the silence beyond the A, U and M sounds, and is referred to as the cause of all causes. All existence is in the form of this sound Oṃ. Beyond the Causal known as Aṇākāra is the Non-Causal known as Acyuta, whose personification is sometimes also referred to as Turīyatītaḥ (Beyond the Fourth Aspect) and as Svetādhipati (Lord of the White Island) ~ one who is beyond causation, conception, contemplation and conceptualisation.
The Oṃkāra, also known as the Aṇākṣara, represented as the ‘O’ Letter (in Oḍiā Script) with the Candra (Crescent) and the Aṇākāra as the Bindu (Dot)
The entire existence including the Vyakta (Manifest) and Avyakta (Unmanifest) is in the form of Śabda Brahma (Reality in Sound). The strange and complex looking Akṣara (Letter) in white (written in the Oḍiā script) at the centre of the Aṇākāra is the representation of the Śabda Brahma (Absolute Reality in the form of Sound) known as Ananta Hari (Endless, Eternal, Formless Personification called Hari). Unfit to be pronounced, this Avyakta Rūpa (Unmanifest Form) is represented by Pañca Mātrā (Five Diacritic Marks) viz. Ā-kāra (‘आ’ Mātrā), I-kāra (‘इ’ Mātrā), E-kāra (‘ए’ Mātrā), U-kāra (‘उ’ Mātrā) and Anusvara (Bindu) around the A-Akṣara (Oḍiā equivalent of the ‘अ’ syllable in Hindī).
While Śabda (Sound) is caused when two objects are struck together, this unpronounceable Śabda (Sound) has no cause and hence is called the Anāhata Nāda (Unstruck Reverberation).
The Pañca Varṇa (Five Colours) of the Aṇākāra (the Eternal, Formless) in concentric shades of Nīḻa (Blue), Śveta (White), Soma (Yellow), Agni (Orange) and Pāṭṭaḻa (Pink) represent different Maṇḍaḻas (Circles of Creation) corresponding to the Pañca Tattva (Five Fundamental Principles). These five fundamental principles combine and recombine through a process called Pancīkaraṇam (Division into Five) and repeatedly manifest as various aspects in subsequent processes of creation, like:
- The Pañca Kośa (Five Sheaths) that make the human body: Annamaya (Consuming), Prāṇamaya (Breathing), Manomaya (Thinking), Vijñānamaya (Knowledgeable) and Ānandamaya (Blissful)
- The Pañca Vāyu (Five Vital Airs) that circulate to keep a body alive: Prāṇa (Inward Moving), Apāna (Downward Moving), Samāna (Balancing), Udāna (Upward Moving) and Vyāna (Outward Moving)
- The Pañca Jñānendriya (Five Knowledge Faculties) that refer to five cognitive abilities: Ghrāṇa (Nose), Rasanā (Tongue), Cakṣu (Eyes), Tvak (Skin) and Śrotra (Ear)
- The Pañca Karmendriya (Five Action Faculties) that refer to the five active abilities: Pāyu (Anus), Upastha (Genitals), Pāda (Feet), Pāṇi (Hands) and Vāk (Mouth)
- The Pañca Tanmātra (Five Subtle Elements) that refer to the five perceptive abilities: Gandha (Smell), Rasa (Taste), Rūpa (Form), Sparśa (Touch) and Śabda (Sound)
- The Pañca Bhūta (Five Gross Elements) that refer to the five physical manifestations: Ākāśa (Ether), Vāyu (Wind), Varūṇa (Water), Agni (Fire) and Pṛthvī (Earth)
These Five Principles also show as the Pañca Agni (Five Fires), the Pañca Manas (Five aspects of Mind), the Pañca Aṅgulī (Five Fingers of Human Body), the Pañca Vṛtti (Five Vortices of Yoga), etc.
The Aṇākāra is also known as the Nādabindu (Reverberating Point). When Śabda Brahma (Reality in Sound) that originates from the Aṇākāra mixes in the Pañca Mahābhūta (Five Great Elements) in the Anitya Maṇḍaḻa (Perishable World), the Aṇākṣara (Formless Eternal Form) manifests as a Akṣara (Definite Eternal Form). Again, from the Akṣara (Definite Eternal Form), the Kṣara (Perishable Form) originates.
During Praḻaya (Complete Destruction), the Kṣara (Perishable Form) dissolves in the Akṣara (Definite Eternal Form), the Akṣara (Definite Eternal Form) in the Aṇākṣara (Indeterminable Eternal Form) and the Aṇākṣara (Indeterminable Eternal Form) in the Causal Aṇākāra (Existent, Eternal, Formless), and finally into the Śūnya Brahma (Void Absolute) called Acyuta (Non-Causal).
These Pañca Varṇa (Five Colours) repeat themselves in subsequent aspects of creation, and can also be seen around a Black Hole, in the same order as the Aṇākāra. The Black Hole here represents the Indeterminate Form ~ the Aṇākāra analogous to the Bindu (Dot) of the Oṃkara.
An artist’s conception of Black Hole (Picture released by NASA on 27 Nov, 2015)
bhaja śūnya brahma nāma aṇākāra ।
japa ṭhuḻa śūnya abyakta ṭhākura ॥
Sing of the Void Brahma, whose name is Aṇākāra,
And chant of Dense Void, the Lord as unmanifest law.
(As collected from the Pañcasakhā’s Māḻikās; original composition in Oḍiā, translated into English)
(This above image of Aṇākāra has been uploaded to enable seekers of spiritualism to download, frame the picture and meditate upon)
Instructions to Download:
- Click on the image above to open the slide show gallery
- Select the image with the mantra in your preferred language
- At the right hand side bottom of the gallery, click on arrow in the box
- The image will open in a new tab in full size of 1152 x 1152 resolution
- Right click on the image and then click “Save image as…”
- Save the image on your personal device
It is recommended to frame the picture and meditate upon it by beginning with chanting the Praṇām Mantra (Esoteric Chant of Reverence) which is inscribed at the bottom of the picture.