My thesis of Ph D was on the phonetics of the Mahabhashya by the sage Patanjali. The Mahabhashya is a very comprehensive commentary on the aphorisms of the sage Panini and the grammatical work of the sage Katyayana known as Vartikas. It marks a watershed in the field of linguistics, grammar and philosophy. The philosophy of grammar reached its pinnacle in the Mahabhashya of Patanjali. Patanjali is known for popularising the theory of Sphota. The word Sphota means bursting out. According to this theory, a word has internal and external dimensions. The internal dimension is the meaning which bursts out through Sphota, an invariant entity. The external dimension is the sound which keeps on changing from person to person. But the meaning remains the same. The sound may be loud , slow or medium, but not the meaning.

 

In this context Patanjali has defined what is the word. Shrotropalabdhir - buddhinirgrahya- prayogenajwalitah- akashdeshah- shabda— The word is heard by the ears, understood by the intellect, illuminated by the usage and exists in the space. It is one of the most scientific definitions of the word given by any expert till now. This definition was given by an Indian sage two thousand five hundred years ago. The most surprising dimension of the definition relates to the proposition about the word existing in space. It means that word travels from space to our ears. Hence, it was known to the Indian sages in ancient India that words or sounds exist and travel in space. The Sphota theory of Patanjali was later developed more philosophically by Bhartrihari in his treatise Vakyapadiya. He propounded that Brahman or the Supreme Reality is the Word and the creation burst out .

 

This Shabda Brahma theory is like the Big Bang theory of science. Later it was put forth by the mystics of India that the Supreme Consciousness descended into the material realm through the word . This is the reason that Japa or chanting of holy names has acquired so much importance. It is the belief that the consciousness which is trapped into the material world will ascend through the ladder of the word. Thus emerged a full fledged tradition of Nama Japa. Its first stage is Vaikhari or loud chanting. The second is Upanshu or just moving the tongue. The third is Manasika or mental and the fourth and last stage is Ajapa. This Ajapa state is mysterious, envisioning autonomous chanting. It is also called Anahad or unstruck sound. Sufis call it Ek Hatha Ki Tali, clapping of one hand.

 

It is a state of consciousness where duality melts into unity and there is an unbroken connection of awareness. Seers and saints are said to have realised this state in the highest state of meditation. Quantum Physics has immense parallels to these mystical experiences of saints. In his celebrated book, The Tao of Physics, Fritjof Capra has mentioned numerous parallels between modern physics and eastern mysticism. He says, Quantum theory thus reveals a basic oneness in the universe.