The relation between sound, idol worship and Indian temple architecture

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2 years ago

In the beginning there was sound. That’s what the holy book says. We have 'OM' in Hindu religion and 'Amen' in Christianity.

If we go to the mountains and shout we hear the echo of our sound. Echo is basically the vibration of the sound we make that is returning to us. This vibration is not only to be heard of in the mountains, wherever there is sound there is vibration, irrespective of whether we can hear it or not.

The first sound was that of the big bang. Whatever scientists have been able to reproduce that sound does not actually sound like a bang. During the first 500 thousand years after big bang the sound was of low frequency that could not be heard by humans. Scientists gathered data from 2 satellites and enhanced its frequency to bring it to human audible levels. The next video plays the sound from the near big bang time.

Now coming back to earth again, this sound vibration from an echo should go on continuously but in open space it dissipates and gets weaker till we cannot hear it. The vibration just gets distributed so much that it loses it effect on long distance and time. When we are in a closed space it may not form an echo but the vibration is still there and in a closed space the vibration will linger for a long time. Every form of vibration is energy and it can be seen in the shape of a 'form or pattern’. The following video will show how sound affects different elements.

Human body is 72% water, 12% is earth, 6% is air, 4% is fire and rest is space. This is what the ancient Hindu scriptures say, human body is made of these 5 elements. The vibration of sound also affects these elements in our body. So when you master the sound you can play with the five elements of life. That's how the ancient sages used to walk on water, walk through fire, disappear in space etc, which we now term as miracles. Even the Bible says that Jesus walked on water. So it is all about mastering the elements which we otherwise call enlightenment in spiritual parlance. It's all about mastering the vibration of sound.

Now I will touch upon the architecture of building Hindu temples which used this scientific knowledge of sound and vibration management since ancient times. Ancient Indian temples were built as as extension of the human body.

The place where the idol is located is a closed placed with no ventilation and the idol at the center. There will be only one door. The priests are inside the core of the temple and the devotees stand on the door. The priests will recite mantras which are thousands of years old and are in Sanskrit language. These mantras create specific vibrations inside the core of the temple which exit only through the door where the devotees are standing thereby the vibrations are directly transferred to the devotees. These temples are made of rocks which are very thick so the vibration cannot get out from any other place. The top of this core of the temples are triangulated and have an small hole which reverberates this vibration to the surrounding area of the temple. This creates an area of positive energy. This triangulated construction of the top amplifies the energy. So you can very well imagine how much effect this vibration energy can have on human body and mind.

A copper plate is placed below the main idol, mostly below the ground level. Copper is an excellent conductor of energy and it catches the 'earth' energy and with the sound of the mantra it dissipates this energy of the earth among its beings. The pillar you are seeing in the above picture is copper coated and it also absorbs the energy and further dissipates it around the temple.

The idol itself was made of rock, which are made of metals and minerals. So this dumb stone which is worshipped is also made of elements of the earth which have its own vibrations and its effect on our body. So it is actually not all that dumb thing which some religions project. Combining this with the mantras which also have its specific vibrations it creates a potent energy field. In later period to make it more potent idols were made of 'ASTADHATU' meaning a combination of eight metals. The science of the effect of the vibrations emanating out of the rock or the asthadhatu coupled with the vibration of the mantras was known to the ancient ages of India. Now modern science is slowly rediscovering this connection, that ultimately everything is inter connected and inter affected.

This positive vibrations remove all untoward thought, sharpen the mind by increasing the focus, balance the elements of the body leading to better health and will lead to enlightenment for the true seeker.

So it is not about the dumb idol but the total effect of the rock, the minerals, the metals, the walls and the vibration of the mantras and human body which make the temple a powerful place of positive energy. In my previous article I have already told about the effect of bells in temples.

Now I will touch upon the mantras. Mantras are only sound and inherently do not have meaning which we are used to when we speak words in the form of sound. Sound is primordial, not words. This video for better understanding.

The next video touches upon the scientific effect of the mantras on humans,

We are more accustomed to the physical acoustic sound most of our lives, and also the mental noise we make. The external acoustic sound is heard by all and the mental sound is only heard by the individual. But both have the ability to create vibrations. The more we delve into spirituality of mental sound gets powerful as we are using mantras or the primordial sound which has the power to connect to the cosmic sound and create a connection. That's why you will find most sages speak very less because they know when they speak out they are just creating noise that is of no use.

But still there is a level beyond this vibration. The level where all forms of manifestation stops, so therefore there is no sound, no vibration, no divine expression and no super psychic experience. The last level of enlightenment.

So there is a lot to it than what appears to our eyes, beliefs and senses. It is really surprising how people from so ancient time researched on it and found out the correlations which has stood the test of time as well as corresponding to present day scientific knowledge.

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2 years ago

Comments

Thank you Telesfor sir.

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2 years ago

This is a very interesting topic. I have been fascinated and interested in the role of sound in creation myths as well as religious and spiritual practices since my early teens. Initially my interest was awakened by my first reading of Tolkien's Silmarillion and its creation myth, in which song plays an essential part. That made me start to think of this question, and that, in turn, brought me deeper and deeper into the subject. Very good article.

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2 years ago

Thank you Sir, glad you liked it. “Everything in Life is Vibration” – Albert Einstein

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2 years ago

Yes, even seemingly solid matter consists mainly of space and vibration.

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2 years ago