E=mc2 and Om Namo Bhagavate Vaasudevaya

“Few years ago, my Guru advised me to “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” to solve all my problems. He said it is the most powerful mantra with immense benefits. I have been reciting this mantra for nearly two years. No miracle happened in my life. Nothing has changed. My problems have moved from bad to worse. Why didn’t this mantra help me?” Jagdish Shukla, an IITian has sent this WhatsApp message.

“Jagdishji, you better ask your Guru. I am neither a Guru nor an expert of any Mantras…” I replied.

“Udayji, I have been reading your articles. I know you can explain many things in Sanatan Dharma scientifically and logically…Please be kind enough to explain about this mantra. Is it scientific? Will it work? If yes, why didn’t it work for me?” This time Jagdish called me over phone.

“Have you learned Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity?”

“Yes. E = mc2”

“If you just write down that equation or formula in an examination or test, will you get any marks? You will have to explain that. How will you explain that?”

“Yes, you are right. We have to expand this short form. The theory states that the increased relativistic mass (m) of a body times the speed of light squared (c2) is equal to the kinetic energy (E) of that body.”

“Most of the original mantras are equations of Vedic science. Can you explain the mantra on the same lines?”

“Yes, I will try to. Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya means Om, I bow to Lord Vasudeva or Lord Krishna.! It is a powerful yogic mantra of pure consciousness. The mantra creates vibration in our body which in turn becomes positive energy and gets connected to the cosmic energy…”

“Aha…super! I know you have a scientific background. Still you believe in such non-existing vibration energy, positive energy etc. You are a person who learnt law of energy, right? Vasudeva is Krishna’s father. How can he be Krishna?”

“Udayji, actually I don’t know these things. I cannot explain it. I have read such explanation in many places. My Guru said the mantra is a short cut to please Lord Krishna to get boons… I really want to know about it…”

“Hmm. First and foremost, to best of my understanding, you are reciting it wrong. But that is not the real issue here. You are just reciting a mantra on automatic mod. Even if you recite E=MC2, the results would be same. Such mantra chanting may have some affects, but for believers only. Mantras have some placebo effect on strong and blind believers. They exaggerate it. Mantras won’t work for everybody. It won’t work with non-believers. To say something scientific, you need empirical evidences and it should be universal – means it should have effects on everybody…”

“You mean to say Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya is NOT scientific? Is it rubbish nonsense? You mean to say Mantra is not effective at all?”

“On the contrary, it is the top formula of Vedic science…All you have to do is study it properly the way you learnt E=MC2. It’s a formula for eternal happiness. What more anybody would need?”

“This is what I want to learn. That’s why I approached you for that logical explanation from you. Could you please tell me why did you say that I was reciting it wrong?”

“Vasudeva (with first two letters ‘VA’ pronounced as V-uh) is father of Krishna. Krishna was called Vasudeva (with VA pronounced as Vaa). During Vedic times, Sanskrit was the spoken language. When you pronounce ‘Vaasudeva’, it means “of Vasudeva” in Sanskrit. Krishna would have introduced himself as Vaasudeva Krishna in his times. And in Bhagavat Gita too it was mentioned (meaning pronounced) that his name is Vaasudeva”

“So, it is praising Krishna for sure. So Vaasudeva is another name for Krishna?”
“Our sages described the cosmos and in Sanskrit they named as Vishnu or Narayan. (See http://udaypai.in/the-secret-of-krishnas-birth/) Vishnu has three forms: Mahā Viṣhṇu (total universal energy) Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu (energy transformation which appears as creation) and the third, Kṣīrodakaśāyī Vishnu (sub-atomic particles; also known as Paramātmā). Vishnu’s fourth form is Vasudeva or ‘Turiya’ (the fourth).”

“Vishnu is the same as Krishna, right? So by chanting Vasudeva mantra is about Krishna, right?”

“As said, Vishnu is representation of universal dharma. In layman terms, Vishnu is a concept of God and not a real person. Krishna is a historical character. Since Krishna showed and followed the path of Dharma, our sages elevated him to the level of Vishnu. Hence Krishna was considered as Vishnu’s avatar. Vishnu is not a measurable concept. For, we are limited (everything is limited to our five senses or pachendriya) living beings…”

“I didn’t understand this point…”

“All our senses have limitations or restrictions. The range of human hearing is generally considered to be 20 Hz to 20000 Hz which means we can’t detect sounds above and below that range. Similarly our eyes can’t see some colours like infra-red or ultra-violet. All five senses have such limitations. Every creature in this universe has such limitations. This limitation is “species reality”. We cannot understand what cosmos is. It is beyond our senses. It is not measurable by our senses. But we are trying to measure the immeasurable…”

“That’s true. But what’s that to do with the mantra Namo Bhagavate Vaasudevaya?”

“In fact we have already covered the first two syllables (Na and Mo) of this equation. Na is Narayana, Mo is ‘meyam’. Narayana (Vishnu) is the cause and effect (karyam, karanam) of the cosmos. We are trying to measure (=meyam) it without limitation…”

“Wow. So what’s Bhagavate? Bha-Ga-Va-Te”

1. Bha = bhASayati or cause to think, cause to speak or talk or to illuminate. You can do all these things only when you are well awake. This state of being called Jagrat in Sanskrit. The person in Jagrat has given a name = Viswan. We are all Viswans. All Viswans (entire living beings) together known as Virat Purusha.
2. Ga= gacchati or gama = moving. From waking state you can only move to sleeping state (Nidra) in which you see dreams (Swapna). The person in this state (sleeping and dreaming) has a name = Thyjasan. All Thyjasan together known as Hiranyagarba.

3. Va = vILayate = dissolving. From sleep you go to the deep sleep state (Sushupti). It’s a perfect state of being where ‘I’ (ego) vanishes. You have a name then = Pragyan. All Pragyan join to form Eashwara! That’s the simplest definition of Eashwara.

4. Te = this is the Turiya State. We already saw this fourth state is “Vasudeva”
“Udayji, wonderful explanation. Can you explain bit more on Turiya, scientifically?”

“We experience three sort of happiness in our life – Body level (Sukham), Mind-level (Santhosham) and intellectual level (Ahladam). But in the state of Turiya you will experience all these three happiness plus much much more – kind of extreme happiness. That eternal happiness is called Anandam. The fourth state, that’s Turiya state, you experience nothing but pure Anandam. The state of being is called Samadhi. It is at this point you will realize the cosmos (Brahmam) and you would exclaim: “Brahma-Ananda”.

“Wow, excellent…You made it so simple. Now, can you explain Va-Su-De-Va-Ya…?”

“Jagdishji, don’t be lazy. Please try to do some homework and find it for yourself. You can find the words and meaning in any online Sanskrit dictionary….Don’t put everything in my head…”

“But can you give some hints or tips, at least?”

“All these five syllables represent five great elements (Panchabhoota) in this universe – Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Aether. The realization that you and everything is made up of the combination of five elements will be unfolded at an experiential level (bodha thalam) as you understand and recite this mantra…”

“Oh, so much meaning in a simple mantra! And we are reciting it just parrots. Sure, it will take some hard work and dedication to learn meaning of it. Nobody explains it in this way.”

“Vedic sciences are designed such a way that you can learn it yourself. People may give various interpretations. You have to find it yourself…”

“But I am still not feeling confidence that I can learn it…”

“If you can learn E=MC2, you can learn this formula too… You will learn that Vasudeva is the supreme goal and ultimate reality of all existence. That’s why twelve syllable mantra is known as a Mukti (liberation) mantra and a scientific formula for attaining freedom. Realsing Vasudeva means ‘all pervading intelligence.”

“Who coined this Vasudeva mantra?”

“It was Shiv (http://udaypai.in/who-is-shiva-is-he-for-real/) who called Vishnu as Vaasudeva during the Daksha Yagna episode. The hymn ‘Vishnu Gayatri’ appearing in the Taittiriya Aranyaka Upanishad says ‘We endeavor to Narayana, we meditate on Vasudeva and let Vishnu bestow wisdom on us’. The mantra “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” was first seen (please check my other articles to understand the process of ‘seeing’ by sages) by Sage Narada and he told Dhruva to meditate on Vishnu using this mantra.”

“One more thing – how to recite this mantra? Who should recite it? When should we recite it? Is there any restrictions? Can non-Hindus recite it?”

“There is not even a single mantra in entire Vedic scriptures that comes under the banner of religion. Religions and cults are founded upon beliefs. Vedas are based upon science. Is E=MC2 only for Jews because it was developed by a Jew? Truth is science, not belief. No Veda mantras are exclusive for Hindus. It’s for all human beings in the planet earth. If you want to get enlightened and cross over the petty religions and fraudulent spirituality or if you want to reach a state of SatchitAnanda (existence, consciousness, and bliss), you may recite the mantra “Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya” after understanding its full meaning. Anybody can recite any mantra at any time as per his/her convenience. The only obligatory conditions are that try to keep body and mind pure, sit in a comfortable place, and keep your back-bone straight while sitting.”