On page 4, Siddhartha murmurs the verse:
"Om is the bow, the arrow is the soul,
The Brahman is the arrow's goal,
Which should be hit unswervingly."
Define Om and Brahman and explain what you think this metaphor means to Siddhartha. (Hint= use the glossary of Indian terms!) Is there an equivalent concept of Om and Brahman in your culture? If so, explain.
Om is defined as the untranslatable syllable uttered before every recitation from the Vedas. Brahman is defined as the supreme God. I think to Siddhartha this metaphor means that he has to do what he has to do to make a life for himself. By that I mean Siddhartha would have to leave his father, the Brahman, to join the Samanas who he is suggesting has the "self" that he is looking for that everyone else lacks. To me God could be an equivalent concept of Brahman because Brahman is considered to be the highest power just like God.
ReplyDeleteOm is the untranslatable syllable uttered before every recitation from the Vedas. Brahman is the world soul or the highest being. To Siddhartha I think this metaphor means to reach the Brahman he must first target his soul by uttering OM... Because the metaphor says that the Om is the bow and the arrow is the soul.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about there being and equivalent to Om in our culture, but The Brahman is equivalent to God in our culture. The Brahman = the highest being = God.
While reading the glossary terms in the book Siddartha, I read the Om is the untranslatable syllable that is hummed before every recitation fromo the Vedas. Brahman is describe to be the superior god of Hinduism. Every one is trying to reach Nirvana ,which means they are perfect and if you reach Nirvana you are basically closer to being with Brahman.To me this metaphor means to Siddartha is that inorder for him to reach Brahman status he must first quench the eternal soul, by uttering om.I think om is probably equivalent to the word amen because just as us hindus use the word to get closer to god just like we use amen to get closer or to send a prayer to get closer.Brahman is equivalent to god because he is the highest to worship in there culture just as god is the highest to worship in our culture
ReplyDeleteOm which also can be called Aum is a mystical or sacred syllable in the Indian religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. Brahman is like an elite group or the highest god of HInduism.To me Siddartha is really telling everybody how easy it's to be a Brahman. All you have to do is follow these three easy steps and you will be on your way.In our culture i think om for them is like the Pledge of Allegience for us.Brahman of course is God because he is the highest & nobody is on his level.
ReplyDeleteKila,Ce & Candace all make good points & i see that all of you all agree on most of thinks you all wrote keep up the good work.
Candace, you made a very good point but we recite amen at the END of prayer. From your opinion I thought that the Lord's Prayer could be an om for our culture because we recite it before major events like before we play every game. The Lord's Prayer is often used before big events. Tom, thanks for the compliment keep up the good work also.
ReplyDeleteYou explained your point well, Shaquellia. :)
ReplyDeleteCiara,
ReplyDeleteGood definitions. If OM is the way to reaching Brahman, and Brahman is comparable to the Christian God, what is a way in our culture to reaching God? Are there things religious people do to have a closer relationship with God or increase their spirituality?
Candance,
ReplyDeleteExcellent argument. Prayer is one possible equivalent to OM in our culture. Prayer has the similar goal of getting people closer to God and amen even sounds like OM. It's nice when you can support your position with two different ideas that are complementary. Prayer has a similar practical function, and amen has a similar sound.
Tom,
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't have thought of OM as The Pledge of Allegiance! Who learns The Pledge? What is the purpose of The Pledge? What are students SUPPOSED to be focused on and thinking about when reciting The Pledge in front of the flag. What are students REALLY focused and thinking about?
These questions may relate to your Gotama post!!
Shaquellia,
ReplyDeleteThe Lord's Prayer is another good example of an OM equivalent in our culture. What do you think the significance is of saying The Lord's Prayer at the beginning of things and Amen at the end? How does this relate to OM? Keep up the good posts!
et.tu. Magistra,
ReplyDeleteI think the significance of saying The Lord's Prayer at the beginning is to acknowledge that we are aware that God is with us and is the reason for what we about to do or about to gain. I believe Amen is said at the end to acknowledge our firmness with what we have just spoken unto God. This relates to OM because the Lord's Prayer is said at the beginning just as OM and OM can establish the firmness of acknowledging the Brahman.
et.tu.magistra
ReplyDeleteEverybody in America learns the pledge.Even if they dont say it i bet they know it though.The purpose is to show that you are a loyal supporter of the country that is what your pledging to.They suppose to be thinking about the U.S.A., how God is everything,what other people went through to get us where we at now & how the Country still has a long way to go.They really are focusing on how long it is, when is it over?, why do they play it everyday?, why do we got to stand up?, that just a few.
Om is defined as the untranslatable syllable uttered before every recitation from the Vedas, and Brahman is defined as the supreme God, or one of the supreme gods of the Brahmanic/Hindu tradition. In the verse murmered by Siddhartha, i believe that the metaphor meant that om was the bow from which he was being shot from, meaning it was tool that he used to guide him in any direction he was headed. The arrow was his soul, which had its aim set on Brhaman, or NIRVANA. In the last line of the verse, by stating that it should be hit unswervingly, he meant that there was no room for error if you planned on reaching the goal of perfection.
ReplyDeleteI believe there are examples of om and brahman in our culture today. Example of Brahman of course would be the God above and the heavens in which he presides, whom we want to reach as a culture. An example of om would be the rituals and routines we go by as a religion to reach God, as in prayer, reading and memorizing biblical verses in which would lead us to the righteous path of good toward the heavens.
I believe Shaquellia made a great point in referring to the lord's prayer as an example to om, because i know that's something that we as sports players use as motivation before games, giving us the strength and courage to stay determined.
-Andrew Pryor
Great post, Andrew. You have explained Om and the arrow as it relates to the Hindu tradition as well as finding good examples of their equivalents in our Western culture.
ReplyDelete