The Four Mahā-vākya: Great Sayings of the Vedas

The four Vedas have been said to be condensed into one statement each, known as the Mahā-vākya. These statements are the quintessence of the respective Veda they belong to. It is said that the rest of the Veda is only a preparation of the mind to receive the Mahā-vākya, or the Great Saying. These sayings were delivered to the pupils after 7 to 24 years of education. One of these Mahā-vākya is also imparted as an initiation maṅtra for contemplation to the aspirant becoming a monk through total renunciation called saṅyāsa.

Ādi Śaṅkarācārya, in his commentary on the Aitareya Upaniṣad, says that the Mahā-vākya is in fact the kettle-drums to awaken the mind to the Truth by cleansing the memory of conditioned thinking patterns. These four great teachings are reflected in the single word OM. In English, these four statements are reflected in Ivalyou.

When fully understood, Ivalyou is a spark that ignites the quest for deeper understanding, practice and perfection of the ONE-consciousness, burning down the obstacles and impurities of separated-ness on the way, lifting the veil of the illusion of separation between I and you, between us and they, between we and all others including all the beings and the whole of Earth, the Creation and the Existence itself.

The Holy Bible: 

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

• Jesus Christ, The Holy Bible, Matthews 7.12, and, Luke 6.31

Charles Gibson (1604) called this verse the Golden Rule. This verse states the central essence of the practice of Ivalyou, in understanding every you to be a reflection of the I. The Golden Rule is echoed in most of the wisdom traditions / religious scriptures of the world.

Ancient Egypt:

“Now this is the command: Do to the doer to make him do.”

–        (c. 2040 – c. 1650 BC)

“That which you hate to be done to you, do not do to another.”

• Papyrus (c. 664 BC – 323 BC)

Ancient Greece:

“Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing.”

– Thales (c. 624 BC – c. 546 BC)

Islam:

Choose for others what you choose for yourself.

-Hadees 2205

None will be considered to be completely faithful until he wishes for his brother what he would wish for himself.

• Prophet Muhammad (swt), Bukhari 13, Anas

Buddhism :

Attanam upamam katva, na haneyya na ghateyya

“Consider others as yourself, neither lower nor less.”

                                                                                                                                                – Dhammapada, Verse 130

“Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

• Udanavarga, Verse 5.18

Sikhism :

“Treat others as you would like to be treated, and always speak kindly.”

                                                                                –              Guru Granth Sahib, Guru Arjan Dev ji, Page 312

Jainism:

“One should treat all beings as he himself would be treated.”

• Acaraṅga Sūtra, Book 1, Chapter 7, Verse 2

Hinduism :

“Behave with others as you would with yourself. Look upon all living beings as your bosom friends, for in each of them resides the same Indweller Self.”

• Rishi Deerghatamas (c. 6000 BCE), Yajurveda 40.6

“One should never do that to another which one regards as injurious to one’s own self.”

• Veda Vyasa,, Mahabharata, Anushasana Parva, Chapter 113, Verse 8

Taoism:

“Regard your neighbor’s gain as your own gain, and your neighbor’s loss as your own loss.”

• Lao Tzu (c.500 BCE) Tao Teh Ching, Chapter 42

Confucianism :

“Do not do to others what you would not have them do to you.”

• Confucius (c.500 BCE), Analects, Chapter 15, Verse 24

Baha’i Faith:

“And as thou desirest for thyself, so desirest for thy brother, that which is good, and that which is not good, refrain from doing to him.”

• Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah, page 71

OM and Ivalyou

Taitterīya Āraṇyaka of the Yajur Veda defines OM as everything in its ONE-ness, united. It is denoted not by the sound of OM but the inevitable silence that forms it. Maitrāyaṇiya Upaniṣad states that all of the speech is included in AUM-sound. A-sound is the first articulation point of speech in the throat where all sounds arise. Therefore, A-sound is the first letter of the alphabet of all languages in the world. U-sound is the last and final sound articulated at the lips as the breath is pushed away into infinity. Between the throat and the lips, between the A-and the U-sounds, lies all articulated speech of any language. The M-sound is the closing vibratory nasalization of speech leading into deep silence. In this silence arises the un-struck, unarticulated, unitary awareness of OM.

Phonetically, Ivalyou is contained within the A-sound (of I, pronounced as ‘Aye’) and U-sound of (of You). The consonant M-sound is contained in the articulation of the word val which denotes the infinite, indivisible, unitary ONE-ness between A and U sound, between I and YOU. Val in Saṃskṛt means to dissolve, to merge.

Ivalyou: Maṅtra and Phonetics

Ivalyou is indeed a maṅtra if we consider the phonetic meaning as given in the ancient texts of Vedic Wisdom Tradition. Aitareya āraṇyaka, Ākāśa Bhairava Tantra, Abhinava-gupta’s Tantrasāra, Bhartṛhari’s Vākya-padīyaṁ and other texts give details of the energy contained in the phonemes of sound. The ṛṣi  of modern times, the seer-sage, Dr. David Frawley, explains this lucidly in his Mantra Yoga and Primal Sound (2012). A huge body of ancient work and commentaries over the last millennium has been devoted by seers to explore the inherent energy resonances of these seed- sound-syllables.

Ivalyou comprises six distinct phonemes or seed syllables. Interestingly, they are all vowels (including two semi-vowels) of the Saṃskṛt alphabet. Vowels are considered to be the Divine Feminine energy, without which no Consonant (the Divine Masculine) can be pronounced. Ivalyou represents therefore, the Divine Feminine embodiment of compassion and non-dual togetherness.

Ivalyou comprises of the following six phonemes:

Ivalyou= aa+ie+va+la+ya+u

The energy-meaning of the phonemes are briefly given below:

1. Aa: as in father:

Energetic: Higher Self or Atman; Expansive, all inclusive

Spiritual: Power of Bliss; Throat cakra

Physical: Forehead, Face, expansion and circulation of energy

Psychological: Outgoing creative aspect of mind

Yoga: Contemplation, Happiness, Contentment, Creativity

2. Ie: as ineat:

Energetic: Contraction, Focus, Connect with the Self

Spiritual: Cosmic Lord or the Universal Consciousness; Navel cakra

Physical: Right eye, guiding energy, motivating the life-force; Wealth

Psychological: Perception, Logic

Yoga: Seeing, Will Power, Knowledge

3. Va: as invalyou

Energetic: Flow, Permeation

Spiritual: The Second Cakra; Water of Life; Fluidity

Physical: Tongue; Taste; Kidney (including Cortisol stress hormone metabolism)

Psychological: Impressions and Latencies of the Mind

Yoga: Love and Devotion

4. La: as inluck

Energetic: Descending formative energy

Spiritual: Earth and all Her Beings; Joy; Formation; Root Cakra

Physical: Cheeks; sense of touch; emotions

Psychological: Feelings; Happiness

Yoga: Visualization; Imagination

5. Ya: as inyoung

Energetic: Velocity; Motion; Direction

Spiritual: Heart Cakra; Power of Intuition; Deep Cosmic Connection with All

Physical: Heart; Skin

Psychological: Resolution of duality and conflicts; Same- Self in all

Yoga: Meditation

6. U: as inyou

Energetic: Vibration, Working together, Progression

Spiritual: Power to Penetrate, Ascending to New Dimension; Third Eye cakra

Physical: Right Ear, Audio Perception

Psychological: Comprehension

Yoga: Perceptive listening, peripheral awareness, learning

Ivalyou is a sum-total of all the above waves of energies. When you say Ivalyou, all your six energy vortices or cakra participate at once to send an impulsion to the person you are addressing. Especially, the Root, the Sacral, the Heart and the Third Eye cakra spray their positive energies upon the person addressed to, as well as in the Universe. Ivalyou is the single value, when infused in us human beings, can change our experience of living as well as our collective destiny. It is the absence of Ivalyou that fuels the race amongst us of consuming the Earth and being on top of one another in a rat-crab race.

When you say Ivalyou to one in front of you, your ‘I-self’ communicates with your ‘you-self’ saying:

“I am infinitely expansive to include you in me. I expand to include the Earth with all Her beings in me. I see you, I hear you, I touch you, and I feel you, like myself. Let us together set a common wave of progress without any energetic hindrance of our respective egos. I am fused with you as an amalgam, inseparable, non-different, totally ONE with you! I live in you, as YOU. You live in me, as ME.”

When looking at the mirror, you say Ivalyou to yourself, you are saying:

“I love you, my very own Self!!! I value your presence as my very mine! I enjoy this drama of talking to myself as you! I love you (say your name if you wish, eg. If your name is Bertha or Sameer, say “I love you Bertha” or “I love you Sameer”!)! I promise to take care of you and do my all to enable you to do your all for all the YOUs which are actually reflections of my very own seIf!

When in silence, you become aware of Ivalyou repeating itself within yourself, as an echo or a maṅtra, you are hearing:

“I value you, I love you (say your name if you wish)! I am you. I live in you, as YOU! This is the echo of your own breath as it is reflected in the Infinity. I am Bliss. I know all that is to be known through my intuitive faculty. All that there is, is included in me. I permeate through all.”

I intend that this new maṅtra in English inspires us all to embrace, treasure and value each other even more than before. And to embrace our very own selves so far neglected! While you are listening to and looking at the other person as he/she speaks, say Ivalyou a few times in your mind. It will help you deepen your listening and will make your communications more loving and less conflicting. Say Ivalyou to yourself when you see your face in the mirror, first thing in the morning. This will set a pace for you to care deeply for yourself as you go about the day, eating healthy, exercising, taking rest and joyfully completing your tasks. When you wake up, become aware of the whisper of this loving Universe saying Ivalyou to you, as if already conspiring to fulfil your deepest wish even before you have spelt it!

Dr. Pawan Kumar Mishra