Monday, September 29, 2014

Allah Om - The Keys Of A Vibrational Universe

I am excited. The kind of excitement one feels when a key piece of life’s jigsaw puzzle falls in place. The process of discovery is strange and never really linear, one unrelated concept can lead you to discover an answer to the most pressing question on your mind. There is but one condition for learning and discovery - keeping an open mind.

The other day someone was describing the meaning or rather the philosophy behind the Hindu chant ‘OM’. Now before I go any further, OM is a word made popular as a meditative chant in the western world, but actually it is the foundation stone for the religion we know as Hinduism. What is interesting is that OM precedes all prayers, all mantras. Whether someone is paying homage to Shiva, Vishnu or any other deity, it always starts with OM. Hindus believe that OM encompasses the entire universe. Not many know why, but as is the case with all religions on this planet they have been told so they believe, the process of discovery in most religions has been stunted a long time ago by dogma. OM is above and beyond the gods and goddesses they worship.

Anyways, coming back to the original track of this article, what caught my attention was when they started describing the vibrations emanating from this word. OM as it is written in Sanskrit comprises of 3 parts aa, oo and mmm. Now let’s conduct a little experiment – say aaaa a few times and identify where you feel the vibrations, you will feel a resonance in your belly. Now say ooo, now the vibrations can be felt in the chest. And last, say mmmmm and you will feel the resonance in your throat.

This got me thinking. As a Muslim, Allah is the name by which God prefers to be addressed. Surely the name of the Almighty cannot be simply a word derived from Hebrew and Aramic languages. It has to have a far greater significance than that.  So I started experimenting with the vibrations of the name. The vibrations for aaaa were the same, obviously in both OM and Allah, centered in the belly. Then comes LLLLLAAAA, strangely, I felt the resonance in my chest, just like oooo in OM. In anticipation I tried AHHHHHH and guess what? The throat was the centre of resonance this time.

I was floored that the vibrations of both words were identical. But this was not the end of the discovery, but the start. Over the years I have spent many hours reading about Law of Attraction and one of the basic tenets is that our thought vibrations attract our physical reality. If our thought vibrations are at a low scale i.e. fear, anger, helplessness etc. we attract those realities. If on the other hand, we are able to raise our vibrations to happiness, faith, love, compassion, then we start attracting realities which give us more of such experiences. 

It is a vibrational universe, and the String Theory of Quantum Physics confirms this. In a lay man’s words, the universe is comprised of one-dimensional objects called ‘strings’. The variations of oscillation or vibrations of these strings give rise to various particles. Simply put if strings vibrate a certain way they become electrons, if their vibration is different, they could be neutrons etc.

So thoughts are vibrations and it is a vibrational universe. The Master and Creator of the universe is God.  This means the name of God must encompass within it the key to accessing the higher vibrations. If His name does not bring you peace, joy, love and compassion, then it can only mean two things; one, it is not the real name; or two, you are chanting it wrong without feeling the vibrations. I believe that Allah and OM are not just words, they are the key to unlocking the universe. They are designed to help you reach the highest vibrations possible, hence enabling you to manifest in your reality all that is positive, be it health, wealth or happiness.  In other words your prayers are answered.

I have not really experimented with any other names by which God is known in other religions simply because I really don’t know much about them.  If you practice other religions please do feel free to experiment with the title by which you address God. In the meantime, if you are working on the Law of Attraction and working on raising your vibrations try chanting OM or Allah. Obviously it is easy for Muslims and Hindus. We don’t have to select, Muslims will chant Allah and Hindus will chant OM. But the rest of the world will need to select one which appeals most to them.  Don’t keep chanting without feeling the vibrations, it won’t have any affect at all. But if you do it right, you will feel a kind of inner cleansing that is hard to describe. The negativity seems to fade and it is hard to feel hopeless and stressed.

It may seem strange that I am taking examples of two seemingly opposite religions. One worships multiple gods and the other is the absolute bastion of monotheism.  Perhaps because the fundamental texts of both these religions have not undergone editing and transliterations like the others have, which is why it is easier to identify the core concepts of these religions and arrive at the truth behind them.  The truth cannot be changed. The truth is absolute. So if one finds the truth in one religion it is then easy to try and find parallels in others.  Religion is enduring and that which endures cannot be just an amalgamation of rituals and stories. For something to endure it has to be based not only on universal principles but also mysteries which can only be understood as mankind evolves its understanding of science and the nature of the universe we inhabit. 


Never in the history of mankind have we been so knowledgeable or have made such strides in science. We are perfectly poised to seek the hidden codes of our religions. It is now time to seek out the truth. We may not understand everything, because our knowledge is still limited and as it expands so will our understanding of religion.  Unfortunately, we have become so obsessed with our rituals and trying to prove to each other why they are wrong and we are right. We have defied the very reason why religions were sent our way – peace, harmony and love for all.

Monday, September 15, 2014

A Book Waiting To Be Written

I have always wanted to write a book, but books are written by people who have answers or who have something original to contribute to the world. Books share knowledge and wisdom. A reader's world view expands with every book. Unfortunately I have no such thing to share. All I have are questions. I have an incredible desire to understand my life but every time I introspect I come up with more questions.

Everything happens for a reason is a mantra I have lived by all my life. Nothing is really random. All experiences, good or bad, are building blocks for future events. I am blessed to have really unusual childhood experiences. I grew up in a house where 5 languages were spoken and where religious tolerance was not just something my parents talked about but a living reality. My mom is Muslim and her best friend for now nearly 55 years is a Hindu. Although it has been 30 years since my aunt moved away to India, the bond between these two women is just as strong. Even my mom's dementia cannot dim her love for her best friend. 

The friendship of these two incredible ladies is so strong that our families grew up as one. They are sisters and their friendship is embraced by the entire family. My aunt's siblings consider my mom as another sister. The entire extended family on both sides takes it for granted that they are sisters. I have yet to come across another example of such strong and pure friendship. When one was worried or had a problem the other automatically knew it even before they spoke to each other. It was a unique telepathy.

The beauty of their relationship lies in their religious tolerance. Growing up, I saw that both ladies were strong in their own religious practices and yet never once have I come across an incident where one tried to convert the other. Nor did I ever see an occasion where one offended the other due to insensitivity. My aunt though not a vegetarian, does not eat beef obviously, so it was never cooked in our house. Simple. No beef, no issue of contamination. They kept life simple. Perhaps that is why they enjoyed their relationship.

All festivals were celebrated together, be it Eid or Diwali, we had a blast. My dad used to bring the fireworks for all the kids on Diwali and it never occurred to us that it was unusual. They taught me and my other cousins that you can remain true to your own beliefs while respecting the customs and rituals of others. We worshiped Allah and never bowed to any idols, but then we never showed any disrespect either. Few people are so lucky as to go through their formation years in such an environment.

The biggest issue I had as a child was that I was jealous of my cousin that my mom considered her perfect and wanted me to be like her and my cousin was jealous because her mom doted on me a bit too much. Sibling rivalry of an only child. It was a weird but wonderful childhood. Which is perhaps why I have so many questions now. At the back of my mind is the feeling that there is a higher purpose I have to fulfill and these childhood experiences were meant to build the foundation for it. But what? I don't think that merely an open mind is the purpose. That is my world view, but to do something concrete with this world view is the purpose. And I struggle each day to discover it.

Also I find it very strange that have experienced such friendship firsthand, why am I so aloof and disconnected with people? Surely with such an example in my life I should have long lasting and deep connection with people, or at least one friend. But strangely I find it very hard to hold and maintain friendships. I have friends yes, some I've known for nearly 30 years, but for some reason I can't seem to make the effort to keep in touch and invest in those relationships. Strange! How can a positive experience lead to such an opposite outcome?

Each chapter in my early life leads to more questions. I should be able to make sense of them but I can't. And till the day comes when I have clarity of understanding I cannot really write a book. After all, no reader in the world wants to end up more confused at the end of the book than when they started reading it.