Sound in Four Features
When trying to understand the four levels of sound, we must first
understand what is "sound" as defined in the scriptures. In the Srimad
Bhagavatam (3.26.33) we find an interesting definition for sound (shabda)
as follows:
arthashrayatvam shabdasya
drashtur lingatvam eva ca
tan-matratvam ca nabhaso
lakshanam kavayo viduh
"Persons who are learned and who have true knowledge define sound as that
which conveys the idea of an object, indicates the presence of a speaker
and constitutes the subtle form of ether." [KR Better than Physics
definition]
First, those who are learned and who have true knowledge define sound as
that which conveys the idea of an object. Sound is not just the vibration
created by the meeting of two objects. Sound is that which conveys the idea
of an object. The exact word used in this connection is "artha-ashraya" or
"the shelter of the meaning". In the Vedic conception the aksharas
(letters) are bijas, or seeds of existence. The audible sound is
categorized into 50 alphabets of Sanskrit starting from "a" and ending with
"ksha". Hence the alphabet is called "akshara", which literally means
"infallible" or "supreme". Akshara is also a synonym for pranava (Om), the
sum of all syllables and source of all vedic hymns. The Bhagavad Gita
confirms this as follows:
karma brahmodbhavam viddhi
brahmakshara-samudbhavam
tasmat sarva-gatam brahma
nityam yajne pratisthitam
"Regulated activities are prescribed in the Vedas, and the Vedas are
directly manifested from akshara, the sacred syllable Om. Consequently, the
all-pervading Transcendence (pranava or the syllable 'Om') is eternally
situated in acts of sacrifice."
Karma, or duty, is manifested from the Vedas. This manifestation is not
exactly direct, for one is spiritual and the other is material. This is
indicated by the word udbhavam. On the other hand, the manifestation of the
Vedas from the pranava (Om) is direct, and thus the word used to describe
it is sam-udbhavam, and not just udbhavam.
In the Tantras the aksharas are traced back to their material source
level which is a particular deity of Shakti. Each of her stages of
manifestation are phases in the evolution of the universe. Thus the
aksharas are potent sound, constitutionally connected to objects as sound
(shabda) and its meaning (artha).
This is interesting in that it draws a distinction between sound and
noise. Noise, as distinct from sound, is not the artha-ashraya, or the
shelter of meaning.
The second aspect of Srimad Bhagavatam's definition of sound that is
unique from modern thought is that sound is defined as "that which
indicates the presence of a speaker". Thus sound must be a product of
consciousness. In this senses, sound is sometimes referred to as vak, or
speech, throughout the Vedic texts.
In the tantra system the purva mimamsaka's theory of the eternality
of shabda (sound) and artha (meaning) is accepted. They go a little further
to assert that shabda and artha are the embodiment of Shiva and Shakti as
the universe itself. They name their original source as shabdartha-brahman
instead of a mere shabda-brahman. For, that is the source of both the
objects and their descriptions. Words and their meanings - what they denote
in the objective world - are the variety of manifestations of shakti.
As sound is of the nature of the varnas (syllables) composing it, the
tantra affirms that the creative force of the universe resides in all the
letters of the alphabet. The different letters symbolize the different
functions of that creative force, and their totality is designated as
matrika or the "mother in essence".
Thus Tantra sees the mantras as not just a mere combination of
whimsical sounds but as the subtle form of the presiding deity; and the
real purpose of one’s meditation through the mantra is to communicate with
the deity of that particular mantra.
Just as a sankalpa - a pure thought - has to pass through several
stages before it actually manifests as concrete creative force, the sound
of a particular mantra also has to pass through several stages before it is
fully experienced by the listener in perfection. These stages are termed as
para, pashyanti, madhyama and vaikhari. It takes a realized consciousness
to experience the full range of sound, the full range of existence. The
seers who can comprehend the four stages of sound are known as Manishis.
The higher three forms of shabda are described in the Rig Veda as
hidden in "guha", or within the self, whereas the forth is the external
manifested speech, known as laukika bhasha.
These four levels of sound correspond to four states of consciousness.
Para represents the transcendental consciousness. Pashyanti represents the
intellectual consciousness. Madhyama represents the mental consciousness.
And Vaikhari represents the physical consciousness. These states of
consciousness correspond with the four states known technically as jagrat,
svapna, susupti, and turiya - or the wakeful state, the dreaming state, the
dreamless state, and the transcendental state.
Shabda-brahman in its absolute nature is called para. In manifestation
the subtle is always the source of the gross, and thus from para-vak
manifests the other three forms of sound.
Though the manifestation of sound takes place from para-vak down to
vaikhari-vak (or fine to gross), in explaining these stages we will begin
from the external vaikhari-vak, as that is the sound we all have most
experience of.
Vaikhari-vak is the grossest level of speech, and it is heard through the
external senses. When sound comes out through the mouth as spoken syllables
it is called as vaikhari.
Madhyama-vak is the intermediate unexpressed state of sound, whose seat is
in the heart. The word Madhyama means "in between" or "the middle". The
middle sound is that sound which exists between the states of susupti and
jagrat. Madhyama-vak refers to mental speech, as opposed to external
audible speech. It is on this level that we normally experience thought.
Some hold that wakeful thought is still on the level of vaikhari.
In the manifestation process, after sound has attained the form of
pashyanti-vak, it goes further up to the heart and becomes coupled with the
assertive intelligence, being charged with the syllables a, ka, cha, tha,
ta, etc. At this point it manifests itself in the form of vibratory nada
rupa madhyama-vak. Only those who are endowed with discriminative
intelligence can feel this.
On the levels of madhyama and vaikhari, there is a distinction between the
sound and the object. The object is perceived as something different from
the sound, and sound is connected to an object mostly by convention.
Pashyanti-vak is the second level of sound, and is less subtle than
para-vak. Pashyanti in Sanskrit means "that which can be seen or
visualized".
In the pashyanti stage sound possesses qualities such as color and form.
Yogis who have inner vision can perceive these qualities in sound. On this
stage the differences between language do not exist, as this sound is
intuitive and situated beyond rigidly defined concepts. On the stage of
pashyanti-vak, speech is intuitively connected to the object. There is near
oneness between the word and the experience described.
Pashyanti-vak is the finest impulse of speech. The seat of pashyanti is in
the navel or the Manipura Chakra. When sound goes up to the naval with the
bodily air in vibratory form without any particular syllable (varna), yet
connected with the mind, it is known as pashyanti-vak.
Para-vak is the transcendent sound. Para means highest or farthest, and in
this connection it indicates that sound which is beyond the perception of
the senses.
Para-vak is also known as "rava-shabda" - an unvibratory condition of sound
beyond the reach of mind and intelligence (avyakta), only to be realized by
great souls, parama-jnanis. On the stage of para-vak there is no
distinction between the object and the sound. The sound contains within it
all the qualities of the object.
In terms of the universal cosmology, vaikhari, madhyama and pashyanti
correspond respectively to bhuh, bhuvah, and svah. The para-shabda
ultimately corresponds to the Lord's tri-pada-vibhuti. Within the
pashyanti-vak exists the nature's iccha-shakti, or the power of will.
Within the madhyama-vak exists the nature's jnana-shakti, or the power of
knowledge. And within the vaikhari-vak exists the nature's kriya-shakti, or
power of action. The pranava, or the syllable "om", is the complete
representation of the four stages of sound and their existential
counterparts. The existential realities are the physical (sthula) which is
connected to the vaikhari-shabda, the subtle (sukshma) which is connected
to the madhyama-shabda, the causal (karana) which is connected with the
pashyanti-shabda, and the transcendental (para) which is related to the
para-shabda. These four existential realities further correspond to the
four states of consciousness.
Thus the syllable om contains all elements of existence. It is the
reservoir of all energies of the Supreme Lord, and for this reason Lord
Krishna states in the Gita:
om ity ekaksharam brahma
"The single syllable Om is the supreme combination of letters."
Elsewhere the Lord states:
yad aksharam veda-vido vadanti
"Those knowers of the Vedas recite Om (akshara)."
Why do they do this? Because the syllable om is the Supreme Lord and the
potency of all Vedic mantras:
pranava sarva vedeshu
"Within all the Vedas, I am the symbol Om."
The vak is not a manifestation of the material nature, for the Vedanta
sutra 2.4.4 states as follows:
tat-purvakatvad vacah
This indicates that the vak existed before the pradhana. Pradhana is the
root of the material manifestation - the three qualities non-differentiated
in absolute equilibrium. Yet prior to this is the vak. Thus the vak is
non-material.
For this reason we find in the Vedanta Sutras the following statement:
anavriti shabdat
"Liberation by sound."
Since sound is the non-material source of the material manifestation, it is
the key by which we can become free from bondage. It is the thread-like
link between the material and spiritual realms.
K Rajaram IRS 281225
On Sun, 28 Dec 2025 at 04:29, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]>
wrote:
> Your voice deserves to be heard, even if it shakes. Speak up. Your voice
> matters even if it trembles. Even a shaky voice deserves to be heard. Don’t
> stay silent. Your voice is important even if it quivers.
>
>
> *N Jambunathan , Chennai " What you get by achieving your goals is not as
> important as what you become by achieving your goals. If you want to live a
> happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things "*
>
>
>
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