Vedas – Page 8 – Ramanisblog

OM Changes In Brain Cerebral Blood Flow MRI Study

I have written a few articles on the advanced concepts in Hinduism.

Frequency of OM. Image credit. http://www.walkingimes.com

Quantum Physics,

Advanced Gravitational Theory,

Weapons of Mass Destruction,

Sound,

Light,

Particle Physics,

Biology,

Surgery,

Plastic Surgery,

Stem Cell Research,

Astronomy,

Meteorology,

Ophthalmology,

DNA Study and advanced concepts,…..

the list is long.

Effects of Chanting OM. Image credit.www.guruprasad.net

Please google the term + ramanan50 to read these articles or check under Hinduism, Astrophysics, Science in the site.

I had recently written as to how a Tonoscope produces the Sri Yantra when OM is chanted.

There have been specific researches conducted on the Mantras, including the Gayatri Mantra and OM.

I am quoting the excerpts of three different researches on OM,relating to OM’s resonance effects on the Brain, on Cerebral Cortex where the Blood supply is improved,Mind calms down, Blood pressure is brought under control.

These experiments were conducted by eminent scientists, not all of them Indians under strict research procedures.

Here are the Abstracts of the Studies.

I am providing the Links and you may be read the full reports there.

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Hemodynamic responses on prefrontal cortex related to meditation and attentional task

Recent neuroimaging studies state that meditation increases regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). The present study employed functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to evaluate the relative hemodynamic changes in PFC during a cognitive task. Twenty-two healthy male volunteers with ages between 18 and 30 years (group mean age ± SD; 22.9 ± 4.6 years) performed a color-word stroop task before and after 20 min of meditation and random thinking. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed followed by a post hoc analysis with Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons between the mean values of “During” and “Post” with “Pre” state. During meditation there was an increased in oxy-hemoglobin (ΔHbO) and total hemoglobin (ΔTHC) concentration with reduced deoxy-hemoglobin (ΔHbR) concentration over the right prefrontal cortex (rPFC), whereas in random thinking there was increased ΔHbR with reduced total hemoglobin concentration on the rPFC. The mean reaction time (RT) was shorter during stroop color word task with concomitant reduction in ΔTHC after meditation, suggestive of improved performance and efficiency in task related to attention. Our findings demonstrated that meditation increased cerebral oxygenation and enhanced performance, which was associated with activation of the PFC…

Meditation is a complex mental process that aims to calm the fluctuations of the mind and improve cognitive functions. Several meditation techniques from diverse traditions (e.g., Transcendental meditation, Buddhists, Zen, Yoga, Vipassana, Brahmakumari, Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) etc.,) demonstrated that regular practice of meditation develops awareness to the contents of subjective experience, including thoughts, sensations, intentions, and emotions (Saggar et al., 2012). It is considered as a voluntary means of mental training to achieve greater control of higher mental functions. Traditional yoga texts like Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (the Sage Patanjali’, Circa 900 B.C.) and Bhagavad Gita (Circa 400–600 B.C.) very well describe the connection between meditation and mental modifications. Traditionally, two states of meditation have been described, viz., (i) focused meditation (dharana in Sanskrit, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Chapter III, Verse 1), and this state is supposed to lead to the next stage of effortless mental expansion i.e., (iii) meditation (dhyana in Sanskrit; Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Chapter III, Verse 2). When not in meditation, it is said that the mind may be in two other states (Telles et al., 2012). These are (i) random thinking (cancalata in Sanskrit;Bhagavad Gita, chapter VI, verse 34); and (ii) non-meditative focused thinking (ekagrata in Sanskrit;Bhagavad Gita, chapter VI, verse 12) (Telles et al., 2014).

In recent years, there have been a number of neuroimaging studies showing that meditation improves cognitive performance as signified by behavioral and neurophysiological measures (Tang et al., 2007; Lutz et al., 2009). Previous studies have shown that the practice of meditation enhances behavioral performance viz., perceptual discrimination and sustained attention during visual discrimination task (MacLean et al., 2010). Meditation practice develops the ability to engage the attention onto an object for extended periods of time (Carter et al., 2005; Jha et al., 2007; Lutz et al., 2008). It improves the control over the distribution of limited brain resources in the temporal domain, as measured by the attentional blink task (van Leeuwen et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2011). Long term meditation practice has been found to enhance cognitive performance (Cahn and Polich, 2006), attentional focus, alerting (Jha et al., 2007), processing speed (Lutz et al., 2009; Slagter et al., 2009), and overall information processing (van Vugt and Jha, 2011). In a study, Buddhist meditation practitioners showed mindfulness meditation was positively correlated with sustained attention, when compared to non-meditation practitioners (Moore and Malinowski, 2009). Improvements in sustained attention and attentional error monitoring demonstrated a positive correlation with increased activation in executive attention networks in meditators (Short et al., 2010). Other studies have shown that meditation is associated with improved conflict scores on the attention network test (Tang et al., 2007), reduced interference (Chan and Woollacott, 2007) and enhanced attentional performance during the stroop task compared to meditation-naïve control group (Moore and Malinowski, 2009). These studies provide significant evidence of meditation promoting the higher-order cognitive processing (Zeidan et al., 2010), particularly, the features of conflict monitoring and cognitive control processes…

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4330717/

Neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting: A pilot functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Background:

A sensation of vibration is experienced during audible ‘OM’ chanting. This has the potential for vagus nerve stimulation through its auricular branches and the effects on the brain thereof. The neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting are yet to be explored.

Materials and Methods:

Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), the neurohemodynamic correlates of audible ‘OM’ chanting were examined in right-handed healthy volunteers (n=12; nine men). The ‘OM’ chanting condition was compared with pronunciation of “ssss” as well as a rest state. fMRI analysis was done using Statistical Parametric Mapping 5 (SPM5).

Results:

In this study, significant deactivation was observed bilaterally during ‘OM’ chanting in comparison to the resting brain state in bilateral orbitofrontal, anterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyri, thalami and hippocampi. The right amygdala too demonstrated significant deactivation. No significant activation was observed during ‘OM’ chanting. In contrast, neither activation nor deactivation occurred in these brain regions during the comparative task – namely the ‘ssss’ pronunciation condition.

Conclusion:

The neurohemodynamic correlates of ‘OM’ chanting indicate limbic deactivation. As similar observations have been recorded with vagus nerve stimulation treatment used in depression and epilepsy, the study findings argue for a potential role of this ‘OM’ chanting in clinical practice.

Vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) is used as treatment in depression and epilepsy.[1,2] A positron emission tomography (PET) study[3] has shown decreased blood flow to limbic brain regions during direct (cervical) VNS. Another functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study[4] has shown significant deactivation of limbic brain regions during transcutaneous VNS. In this procedure electrical stimulus is applied over the inner part of the left tragus and hence the auricular branch of the vagus.

The use of ‘OM’ chanting for meditation is well known.[5] Effective ‘OM’ chanting is associated with the experience of vibration sensation around the ears. It is expected that such a sensation is also transmitted through the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. We therefore hypothesized that like transcutaneous VNS, ‘OM’ chanting too produces limbic deactivation. Specifically, we predicted that ‘OM’ chanting would evoke similar neurohemodynamic correlates, deactivation of the limbic brain regions, amygdala, hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortices and thalamus) as were found in the previous study.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3099099/

Ajay Anil Gurjar and Siddharth A Ladhake published their first OM paper, Time-Frequency Analysis of Chanting Sanskrit Divine Sound “OM”, in 2008 in the International Journal of Computer Science and Network Security.

Ladhake is the principal at Sipna’s College of Engineering and Technology in Amravati, India. Gurjar is an assistant professor in that institution’s department of electronics and telecommunication. Both specialise in electronic signal processing. They now sub-specialise in analysing the one very special signal.

In the introductory paper, Gurjar and Ladhake explain (in case there is someone unaware of the basics): “Om is a spiritual mantra, outstanding to fetch peace and calm. The entire psychological pressure and worldly thoughts are taken away by the chanting of Om mantra.”

They apply a mathematical tool called wavelet transforms to a digital recording of a person chanting “Om”. Even people with no mathematical background can appreciate, on some level, one of the blue-on-white graphs included in the monograph. This graph, the authors say, “depicts the chanting of ‘Om’ by a normal person after some days of chanting”. The image looks like a pile of nearly identical, slightly lopsided pancakes held together with a skewer, the whole stack lying sideways on a table. To behold it is to see, if nothing else, repetition.

At the end, Gurjar and Ladhake say: “Our attentiveness and our concentration are pilfered from us by the proceedings take place around us in the world in recent times … By this analysis we could conclude steadiness in the mind is achieved by chanting Om, hence proves the mind is calm and peace to the human subject.”

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2010/may/03/repetitive-physics-om-improbable-research

Scientific Evidence: The Efficacy of OM Chanting.

A recent study conducted at Spina’s College of Engineering & Technology in Maharashtra, India, on one particular mantra, OM, resulted in some profound conclusions. Ajay Anil Gurjar, Siddharth A. Ladhake, and Ajay P. Thakare explain, “OM does not have a translation. Therefore, the Hindus consider it as the very name of the Absolute, it is body of sound. In the scriptures of ancient India, the OM is considered as the most powerful of all the mantras. The others are considered aspects of the OM, and the OM is the matrix of all other mantras. It has been recognized that the Mantras have beneficial effects on human beings and even plants. The syllable OM is quite familiar to a Hindu. It occurs in every prayer. Invocation to most gods begins with this syllable. OM is also pronounced as AUM. The syllable OM is not specific to Indian culture. It has religious significance in other religions also. Although OM is not given any specific definition and is considered to be a cosmic sound, a primordial sound, the totality of all sounds etc. The entire psychological pressure and worldly thoughts are removed by chanting OM Mantra.”

Chanting OM resulted in significant brain wave frequency changes, as evidenced in the participant’s EEG readings. Gujare, Ladhake, and Thakare explain the reading thusly, “From this we could conclude that chanting OM mantra results in stabilization of [the] brain, removal of worldly thoughts and an increase of energy. It means that concentrating on OM mantra and continuously doing it slowly shifts our attention. It is a reflection of the most fundamental interlocking processes in our bodies…the harmony we play echoes the harmonic relationships of every vital system i.e. our heartbeat, our breathing, our brainwaves pulsing, our neuronal firing, our cells throbbing, our metabolic, enzymatic, and hormonal rhythms and our behaviors in our addictions and our habits. In this sense OM mantra is a brain stabilizer, by practicing it one can enter deeper and deeper into a natural state, which is also an energy medicine for human beings under stress.”

http://www.wakingtimes.com/2013/05/27/the-mind-blowing-power-of-mantra-yoga/

23 Dec 2015

Blackhole Singularity Describes Brahman Of Hinduism

Hinduism speaks of The Brahman, as different from Brahma the Creator,as the Ultimate Reality.

It is described as Being, Consciousness and Bliss, Sat, Chit and Ananda.

Black hole Singularity.

Listen to this article below.

It is beyond Space and Time,

Is a Principle,

It devolves into Multi Universes,

It is beyond Events and is Uncaused,

It is among the Events and ye beyond them,

It can not be seen or perceived by the senses or the Mind,

It is Hidden from Space and Time,

It is, however seen and perceived as objects of te senses and the perceiver while in its form as the Universe,

These events are Illusory and at the same time are Real,the latter when it is a part of the Reality as Brahman and in the case of the former it is seen as different from the Reality,

That is the world of Names and Forms are illusory at the Realized Plane, that is from the view-point of Brahman , yet they are Real in the world when they ae in the Time Space bound world of ours.

The Brahman is One, Not Two(Advaita) a Singularity which one can not comprehend.

Time is Non Linear.

It is Cyclic.

It recoils on itself.

There is no beginning or end for Time.

Space is another entity which can be transcended by Time and vice versa.

One can engage in interstellar Travel and on return to earth would find the Earth years different.

When Rama’s ancestor Mandhata went to meet Brahma for 20 minutes(One Nazhigai) and returned he found the Time on Eart as changed.(Visnu Purana)

Time can be stilled.( Pleased read my post)

Space and Time are the impediments to Realization of Brahman.

Non Sense?

Now let us see what Modern Physics says of this concept.

Time runs backwards,

It recoils.

Ina Blackole, all events appaer to be at a Standstill, toug it is not.

There is a Singularity ina Blackhole which one can not perceive.

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In the centre of a black hole is a gravitational singularity, a one-dimensional point which contains infinite mass in an infinitely small space, where gravity become infinite and space-time curves infinitely, and where the laws of physics as we know them cease to operate. As the eminent American physicist Kip Thorne describes it, it is “the point where all laws of physics break down”.

Current theory suggests that, as an object falls into a black hole and approaches the singularity at the centre, it will become stretched out or “spaghettified” due to the increasing differential in gravitational attraction on different parts of it, before presumably losing dimensionality completely and disappearing irrevocably into thesingularity. An observer watching from a safe distance outside, though, would have a different view of the event. According torelativity theory, they would see the object moving slower and slower as it approaches the black holeuntil it comes to a complete halt at the event horizon, never actually falling into the black hole.

The existence of a singularity is often taken as proof that the theory of general relativity has broken down, which is perhaps not unexpected as it occurs in conditions where quantum effects should become important. It is conceivable that some future combined theory of quantum gravity (such as current research into superstrings) may be able to describe black holeswithout the need for singularities, but such a theory is still many years away.

According to the “cosmic censorship” hypothesis, a black hole‘s singularity remains hidden behind its event horizon, in that it is always surrounded by an area which does not allowlight to escape, and therefore cannot be directly observed. The only exception the hypothesis allows (known as a “naked”singularity) is the initial Big Bang itself.

It seems likely, then, that, by its very nature, we will never be able to fully describe or even understand the singularity at the centre of a black hole. Although an observer can send signals into a black hole, nothing inside the black hole can ever communicate with anything outside it, so its secrets would seem to be safe forever’

Citation.

http://www.physicsoftheuniverse.com/topics_blackholes_singularities.html

11 Dec 2015

Rig Yajur Sama Atharva Vedas Personified Images

The scriptures of the Hindus, the Vedas, four in number, are the highest truths revealed to the seers.

The refrain of the Vedas is self-realization.

The core of the Vedas do not advocate Idol worship but a Higher Reality, Brahman , whose attributes are Being, Consciousness and Bliss-Sat, Chit and Ananda.

However idol worship is allowed to concentrate the mind.

The Four Vedas are.

Rig Veda- consisting of Hymns.

Yajur Veda, dealing with duties.

Sama Veda, essentially the Rig Veda set to Tones.

Atharva Veda, dealing with practical life, including Black Magic.

Please read my posts on the Vedas and god with and without form.

I have searched the images of the Vedas personified.

I could not find them.

I found them in Subrahmanya Samajam, Nallakunta, Hyderabad, where I had been to attend a function.

Here they are.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Yajur Veda personified — The Yajur Veda Personified.

Hindu scripture sama veda personified. — Hindu scripture Sama veda personified.

Hindu scripture Atharva veda personified.

9 Dec 2015

Skanda Son Of Agni Is Not Subrahmanya? Vadavagni, The Face of Horse

The topic of Skanda and Subrahmanya is intriguing.

Subrahmanya or Murugan is not mentioned in the Vedas.

Skanda is referred to in The Sama Veda thus.

iti dve esā skandasya samhitā, etām prayuñjan skandam prīnati

The Vamśa Brāhmana is a minor treatise associated with the Sāma Veda. It is concerned with the deities, the Samhitās or their musical renderings of specific hymns among them, and the long line of sages through which the Sāma Veda has come down. The introductory part of Vamśa Brāhmana entitled Sāmatarpana enumerates the list of deities, to whom water-libations are to be offered. Amongst them figure the twin-gods Skanda-Viśākhau, (p. 217, Vamśa Brāhmana).

The Atharva Pariśistas are a collection/compilation delating with elaborate ritualistic and procedures details of important Atharva rites as related to many deities. The 20th section in this text is titled Skandayāga or Dhūrtakalpa, ‘dhūrta’ (literally, ‘rogue’) being a synonym of Skanda.

This vrata is to be observed on the sixth day after new moon in the months of Phālguna (February-March), Āsādha (June-July) and Kārtika (October-November). The worship of Skanda on the occasion follows the usual routine of invocation (āvāhana), invitation (āhvāna), his entry, offering of pādya to wash his feet, worship with flowers, followed by the cordialities (upacāras), naivedya, offerings in fire, worship and consecration of the thread (pratisara), and tying the same, and allowing the god to leave the place (visarjana).

Skanda is called by his other names including Viśākha in the course of the varied worship. In one context (20.6.4) his diverse parentage as the son of Agni, Krttikās, Paśupati, Rudra and Indra is mentioned.

āgneyam krttikāputiamaindram kecidadhīyate /
kecitpāśupatam raudram yo śi so śi namo stu te // iti //

Importantly in 20.2.9, in the context of inviting Skanda to be present for the worship, Skanda is referred to as a ‘brother of Viśākha’.

bhrātra viśakhena ca viśvarūpa
imam balim sānucaram jusasva

Valmiki in his Rāmāyana, compares Rāmā and Laksmana to Skanda-Kumāra, the twin sons of Agni, in youthful charm and prowess (Kumārāviva Pāvakī)..

While Skanda is extolled in the Vedas no mention is made of Subrahmanya.

However Skanda Purana refers thus.

As narrated here, Śiva listens to the troubles of the gods created by the demons against them, and the necessity for Śiva procreating a son soon to overcome their problems. According to their wishes, Śiva took up a beautiful form with six faces and looked at Pārvatī lovingly. At that time, a dazzling lustre similar to numerous suns arose from the eye in his forehead. This was so, because Śiva is greatly self-controlled that his semen can have only an upward movement. Hence he is called Ūrdhva-retas.

The six-faced lustre spread out in the whole world. People, not being able to put up with it, ran in all directions. At Śiva’s suggestion, the Fire and Wind gods carry the lustre to a forest of reeds near Ganges, who united it with a lotus that was in a pond nearby. There a charming child with six faces and twelve arms was born. In the next moment the infant was transformed into a normal but extremely beautiful child (26.16-17).

Again, when at the bidding of Visnu, the six Krttikās came near, the child again became sextuple in order to allow each of them to feed it with millk (tāsām anugrahārthāya sodhā mūrtir abhūt ksanāt). In another context it is said that when Pārvatī embraced the children, they all converged into one form.

In this account there is the emission of the lustre of Śiva through his eye(s) in his forehead. We also have the appearance of Kumāra as a baby in six forms or their merger into a single personality as needed in the context. Hence both the meanings of the root skand, namely, ’emitting’ and ‘merging into one’ are applicable here.

II.v. In yet another context the Skanda Purāna (35.11) applies the third meaning of skand as ‘drying’ or ‘scorching’ (śosana). Does he not attack and scorch the power of his enemies in the three worlds and win over them?

ākramya ca yato śkandaddhikramena jagattrayam
tena skando yamākhyātah sutaste girisambhave..

So Subrahmanya seems to be different as Skanda is associated with Vishaka as his brother whereas Ganesha is treated as the Brother of Subrahmaya.

Skanda Poorvaja , Ganesha is elder to Skanda.

There is a cause for a little confusion here.

Ganesha is referred in the Vedas with Ganesha Upanishad and I have published the text..

But no reference to Subrahmanya in the Vedic texts.

Yet there is another legend that Skanda is the son of Agni, born of Vadavagni, the northern Fire.

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Vadavagni is a form of Agni (fire) that is mentioned in the Hindu scriptures. It is believed that it is the escape of this fire from under the ocean which will finally consume the current cycle of creation and prepare the universe for the next cycle of creation.

Hindu Puranas states that Vadavagni was born in the lineage of Sage Bhrigu. The sons of Kartavirya Arjuna in order to finish off the lineage of the Sage Bhrigu started killing descendents of Bhrigu including children. A wise woman of the lineage, who was pregnant, in order to save her child moved the unborn child from her womb to her thighs. When the child was born it was called Aurva.

Later when the sons of Kartavirya came to know about the child they came to kill it. When they held it up they became blind due to the rays that emitted from the child’s body. The child’s anger did not subside and it gave rise to a flame which had the power to eat up the whole world. Sages then put the flame under the ocean. This is the story of Vadavagni.

Vadavagni is located beneath the ocean and has the face of a horse. Hindu Scriptures suggest that mists and clouds are formed due to the activity of the Vadavagni under the sea. It also prevents the sea from consuming the land.

Just before Pralaya, Vadavagni will burst forth as volcanoes from under the sea and escape. Subsequently the seas will consume the land. .

Considering these points and the fact that the Rig Veda was composed in the Arctic, Satyavrata Manu medtiated in the Mascarene Plateau, the land mass of the present India was near the Arctic in the distant past(please read my post on this), Shiva is found in Australia and Antarctica, The place where Soora Samhara, where Soorapadman was killed by Subrahmanya,Thiruchendur in the southern most tip of India , Murugan Shiva worship is widespread in the far-eastern countries,, it is probable that Shiva and Subrahmanya have more of Southern connection and they moved to Arctic later, as I have postulated earlier.

I shall be checking this with Geology and post my views..

Citation and references

http://www.hindu-blog.com/2010/12/vadavagni-story-of-agni-or-fire-under.html

http://murugan.org/research/janaki.htm

Vedic Sarasvati River Flows Again In Haryana

The Hindu Texts mention Sarasvati river exhaustively.

Sarasvathi River Found, Yamuna Nagar,Haryana.

The River Sarasvati is included in the Prokshana,Sandhyavandan and Snana Mantra..

Gange cha Yamenes chaiva Godavari Sarasvathi,

Narmade Sindhu Kaveri Jalesmin Sannidhim Kuru.

There was a Vedic civilization flourishing on the banks of the Sarasvati river and it was named as Sarasvati Civilization.

Initially all the references found in the Vedas,Puranas and Ithihasas were dismissed as Myths.

As science advances and the web becomes the source of information , which has been not available earlier, the Myths are found to be facts.

Starting from the dates of the Vedas, Ramayana , Mahabharata and Puranas, many of the events have been proved to be facts.

Recent to be proved is the River Sarasvati.

About five thousands year ago ,the Sarasvathy River flowed from Himalaya in a south-westerly direction along Bata valley and crossed through present day Haryana, where geologists found pebbles generally transported by flowing water of rivers and refined sand generally found in a river path.

Now the Sarswathi river has been found by Geologists in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana.

The water of the river is very shallow – only six feet deep. Locals say that there is a continuous stream running underground as they have found water at 200 feet 1 km from Mugalwali.

Source.

http://strangesounds.org/2015/05/like-a-miracle-the-mythical-saraswati-river-revives-after-4000-years-in-india.html

15 Nov 2015

Tag: Vedas