In the Bhagavad—gītā (7.8) Lord Kṛṣṇa says:

raso ‘ham apsu kaunteya

prabhāsmi śaśi—sūryayoḥ

praṇavaḥ sarva—vedeṣu

śabdaḥ khe pauruṣaṁ nṛṣu

"O son of Kunti, I am the taste of water, the light of the Sun and the Moon, of the Vedic mantras I am the sacred syllable Oṁ. I am the sound in ether and ability in man."

Here, Divinity describes Itself as sound or vibration. The Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad also mentions that Oṁkāra is the most auspicious sound representation of Divinity.

Hearing is one of the principle physical senses of man, allowing us to participate in our environment and to communicate with others.

Sound waves are the basis of hearing. These vibrations are transmitted through the air, stimulating nerve fibers in the ear that generate impulses that travel through the canals until they reach the projection area in the temporal lobes, but the sounds that the human ear can distinguish are only an infinitesimal percentage of the cosmic reality of vibrations.

The universe is vibration, from the atom and the microscopic cell, to the movement of the galaxies in the macrocosmos. According to nāda—yoga, all of the cosmic manifestation is a projection of a sound vibration.

Nāda—yoga is the "yoga of sound". The name is derived from the Sanskrit term nāda, which means "sound" or "essential sound", but it refers to sound in its most abstract and pristine level, that which is there long before creation itself. Sound at the level of the first pulsation, which is called spanda, is that expansion of śakti that originated the syllable Oṁ or Oṁkāra and gave birth to "I am" in Śiva.

Nāda—yoga knows sound and its expansive movement from the subtlest level to the crudest state. It aims at the sound in the physical state but goes on to find it in the pure and essential levels.

The Sanskrit root nad means flow, which does not mean only hearing, but a harmonic movement, a union or fusion with Totality. Nāda—yoga is the synchronization of the soul with the cosmic tone or vibration.

I have mentioned before that nāda—yoga does not deal with the mantra śāstra on a linguistic level; rather it deals with the sound itself.

In the same way that mantra—yoga deals with Śabda—brahman, or the eternal Divine word, nāda—yoga is dedicated to Nāda—brahman, the eternal sound, the absolute divine melody. The first originates in the mouth of God, the second in His heart. The first is related to the words, the second to melody and music.

Nāda—yoga manifests through the marvel of classical Vedic music, which uses a myriad of expressional mediums: rāgas, tālas, ślokas, mantras, kīrtanas, and bhajanas. As a side note, I should clarify that in the same way that not every athlete in India is a yogī, not every Hindu musician, as talented as he may be, is necessarily a nāda—yogī. The difference resides in observation, or the level of consciousness of the artist.

In the Haṭha—yoga Pradīpikā (4.1), the author Svātmārāma refers to the Ultimate Reality, Divinity, as having the nature of nāda, bindu, and kalā:

namaḥ śivāya gurave

nāda—bindu—kālātmane

niranjana—padaṁ yāti

nityaṁ yatra parāyaṇaḥ

"Our humble reverences to Śiva, the guru and spiritual master, who is considered as nāda, bindu, and kāla. He, who is constantly devoted to Him, shall realize the eternal transcendental and pure state."

Nāda—yoga is more art than science. As it is confirmed in the Haṭha—yoga Pradīpikā, (4.65), it is a wisdom that blossoms from existential experiences rather than intellectual study.

aśakya—tattva—bodhānāṁ

mūḍhānām api sammatam

proktaṁ gorakṣa—nāthena

nādopāsanam ucyate

"Now I begin to describe the practice of nāda (anāhata, or non—created sounds), nādopāsanā, which was given by Gorakṣanātha, and which is appropriate even for those who are unable to realize the Truth, and who had never studied the śāstras."

In the following verse (4.66) we read:

śrī ādināthena sapāda—koṭi—

laya—prakārāḥ kathitā jayanti

nādānusandhānakam eva manyā—

mahe mukhya—tamaṁ layānām

"Śrī Ādināntha noted twelve and a half million ways to reach laya, but we think the only way is nādānusandhānaka, the exploration of nāda."

As we said earlier, nāda—yoga gives special attention to the syllable Oṁ. The first chapter of the Patañjali Maharṣi's Yoga—sūtras states it clearly.

Sutras 26 and 27:

sa eṣaḥ pūrveṣām api guruḥ kālena anavacchedāt

tasya vācakaḥ praṇavaḥ

"God is the principal and primordial Absolute Master, unconditioned by time. He is represented by the praṇava, the sacred syllable Oṁ."

Sutra 28:

tajjapas tadarthabhāvanam

"The sacred syllable Oṁ should be recited without interference, and with feeling and depth."

Sutra 29:

tataḥ pratyak—cetana—adhigamo

‘py antarāya abhāvaś ca

"Meditation on the sacred syllable Oṁ removes everything that impedes the realization of the Self."

Nāda—yoga is paying attention, hearing, listening... only in silence can you perceive sounds... only by being silent, is it possible to hear those silences which are the melody of the soul...

Voice and Nāda—yoga

The word "person" comes from Latin personare, which means resound. The Latin took the Etruscan term phersu, which derives from the Greek prospora, the mask used by actors in ancient theater. This mask featured a special opening for the mouth to ensure that the voice projected. The connection between the term person and sound is intimately associated with the path of nāda—yoga.

Voice is an external expression of something very intimate that happens in our depths. Our mental and emotional states manifest clearly in different tones of voice. Each person has his own voice that, like a fingerprint, is a manifestation of his individuality. In the same way, by following the same path but in the opposite directions, it is possible to positively affect our deepest emotional, mental and energy levels by developing mastery over our voice. In this manner, some masters utilize this yogic path as therapy. When we are angry, we emote a certain tone; when we are happy, we use another. It is also possible to lead to specific mental, emotional, and physical states by appropriate use of the voice.

Tonal Manifestations

There are four tonal manifestations that develop from nāda—yoga: para—nāda, paśyantī, mādhyamā, and vaikharī.

Para—nāda: The sound of a transcendental character. It is called para, or beyond, because it transcends the mind, the senses, or indriyas, and in general is beyond any cognitive organ. It is the proof that sound can be perceived in other dimensions. At this level the sound corresponds to Oṁkāra, the sacred syllable Oṁ.

Paśyantī: This Sanskrit term means "that which can be visualized". It means the sound of an inferior frequency to the para—nāda, a sound of greater density. It cannot be heard, but it can be visualized.

Mādhyamā: An intermediary sound of higher density than the previous sounds but still subtler than the voice at the vaikharī level.

Vaikharī: The ordinary sound to which our ears are accustomed, audible sound. Music is found within this level of sound, which is limited to a certain frequency. This sound is produced by the interaction of two or more elements and is therefore born of the dual and relative plane, from conflict.

Generally, the experience of perceiving different kinds of sounds accompanies the development of mystical powers, which vary according to the level of expansion of consciousness.

The Spirit of the Nāda—yogĪ

The musician expresses sounds that reach him, which touch him.... The nāda—yogī deals with sound, but he moves in the opposite direction, toward the origin, the source. In other words, he tries to reach and consciously touch the primordial sound, the original sound, which has no beginning, which never started, and thus is without violence and aggression....

To find it is to find yourself.... To discover it, is to discover yourself. Listening is "being" sound.... It is to discover yourself as praṇavaḥ sarva—vedeṣu, the primordial sound of the eternal Oṁ in the Vedic mantras as the authentic Aham, or "I", because Oṁ is more than another sound. It is a symbol of the primordial sound....

On the spiritual path, we start when we believe we are an idea, and go on until we realize ourselves as the only melody whose enjoyment is not hindered by deafness....

It is the sound that does not come from the relative and dual world, from the conflict. It does not come from the collision produced by duality, by the applause of two hands that violently hit as they try to continue in opposite directions though they belong to the same body.... It is the sound of Zen's famous one—hand clapping, which is not perceived by the ear, but by the soul, the spirit, the heart....

It is the sound of kol dmama daka, the sound of delicate silence mentioned by the prophet Elijah in the Old Testament....

Nāda—yoga teaches us that as we try to listen more, we need to create more silence within us. As this is created more and more, we will be able to perceive more subtle and delicate sounds....

Nāda—yoga teaches that only when we are total silence, do we realize yoga, the union, because two silences cannot remain separate. They are one voice.... A duet in communion, one, not two....

Your silence will be mine and mine will belong to you. We will forget the ‘mine' and ‘yours' and realize that we are the most intimate and personal eternal property of life....

Nāda—yoga talks about the sound of silence, a sound to be, rather than to hear....