Why do we ring the bell in a temple?

Why do we ring the bell in a temple?

 

Is it to wake up the Lord? But the Lord never sleeps. Is it to let the Lord know we have come? He does not need to be told, as He is all knowing. Is it a form of seeking permission to enter His precinct? It is a homecoming and therefore entry needs no permission. The Lord welcomes us at all times. Then why do we ring the bell?

 

The ringing of the bell produces what is regarded as an auspicious sound. It produces the sound Om, the universal name of the Lord. There should be auspiciousness within and without, to gain the vision of the Lord who is all-auspiciousness.

 

Even while doing the ritualistic Aarati, we ring the bell. It is sometimes accompanied by the auspicious sounds of the conch and other musical instruments. An added significance of ringing the bell, conch and other instruments is that they help drowned any inauspicious or irrelevant noises and comments that might disturb or distract the worshippers in their devotional ardour, concentration and inner peace.

 

As we start the daily ritualistic worship (pooja) we ring the bell, chanting:

 

Aagamaarthamtu devaanaam  

gamanaarthamtu rakshasaam  

Kurve ghantaaravam tatra  

devataahvaahna lakshanam

 

I ring this bell indicating the invocation of divinity, so that virtuous and noble forces  enter (my home and heart);  and the demonic and evil forces  from within and without, depart.

 

Notes:

(Om) –The Primordial Sound, The Eternal Syllable

 

As per the Vedic scriptures, its first realization was –– the self-existent, primordial Nada (musical sound) of (Om). Physical perception of this sound is described to be similar to what one would hear from the resonant notes of the tinkling vibrations of a big gong struck by a wooden hammer in a consistent manner (e.g. during the devotional prayers – aratis in the temples). In terms of phonetics, the pronunciation of Om is described as – au..3m: 'au' stretched with a stress almost 3 times higher than ordinary 'short' or 'long' vowels followed by the anuswara – sound of the nasal sign (m). The syllable "" for this universal sound "Om" (often referred as om or aum by the Westerners) in ancient Sanskrit script is a monogram of this sound. All the activities and the order in this world are said to be generated and harmoniously regulated through the origin of this omnipresent subliminal sound.

 

The phonemes of the Vedic hymns and the seven fundamental nodes – Sa, Re, Ga, Ma, Pa, Dha, Ni of the Indian classical music have originated (distinctly recognized by the Rishis) from the vibrations of the sublime sound of Om in the Nature. The Vedic quote – 'Ekoham Bahusyami ' implies that all the sounds, all the energies, all the motions and everything existing in the universe have originated from the vibrations of this single anahata nada. This is the source of the manifestation of the Shabda-Brahm and the Nada Brahm.

 

Note that even western classical music has seven fundamental notes – Do, Re, Me, Fa, So, La, Te corresponding to the seven notes of Indian classical music.

 

Om (aum) corresponds with the sacred word hum of the Tibetans, amin of the Moslems, and amen of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Christians. Amen in Hebrew means – sure, faithful. The biblical passage, John 1:1, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The New Testament declares that in the beginning God was the Word. According to the Bible, then, heaven and earth-the cosmos-issued forth from the Word. (By "Word" is presumably meant "pure sound" here, because there can't be any language or 'word' in the primordial existence).

 

Paramahansa Yogananda also mentions of "Om" as the 'Word' of the Bible, as the Holy Spirit. According to Yogananda, all aspiring yogis seek to commune with "Om" and understand it. Audible utterance of this sound produces a sense of sacredness... However, real understanding of "Om" is obtained only by hearing it internally and then becoming one with it in all creation.

 

The Om sound of the self-inspired evolutionary pulse of the omnipresent supreme consciousness force (Brahm) has three divine manifestations in the sublime domains of Nature; those of creation (God Brahma), preservation/execution (God Vishnu) and transformation (God Shiva). The vibratory cosmic energy of this eternal sound regenerates the life-force and vital spiritual energy of the one who utters it repeatedly at consistent, rhythmic pace with deep breathing, mental concentration and reverence. As a consequence one feels emotional soothing and rejuvenation of mind - body system. This simple practice also motivates introvert experience.

 

The syllable and sound "Om" is a vital part of the science of yoga. It's a tool, a phenomenon, a mystery. To many people in the modern times, "Om" (aum) is just a word chanted in meditation or as a closing prayer in yoga practice. However, as translator and Bhagavad Gita scholar Barbara S Miller notes, "according to the ancient Indian traditions preserved in the Upanishads, all speech and thought are derived from the one self-existent sound – Om. It expresses the ultimate reality."

 

"Om" and The Big-Bang Theory of Modern Science:

 

"Tao of Physics" by Fritj of Capra presents intriguing parallels between Yogic philosophy and Western science concerning the origins and nature of the universe. In "Light On The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" B.K.S. Iyengar, states – "Sound is vibration, which, as modern science tells us, is the source of all creation". Contemporary scientific explanation of the creation of universe seems to point in the same direction. And just as exciting, these explanations agree completely with the teachings and philosophy of Yoga. The following report quoted by Schumacher further confirms this interpretation.

 

Indeed "Om" is this sound which was realized by the Vedic Rishis (the ancient seers, sages and yogis) through their peer search (by the inner eye) of the sublime world and which is now being conceived (with the help of high-tech telescopes and super computers) by the modern researchers as the 'music of creation'.

 

The Syllable:

 

Omkara (the symbol representing the sound Om) is said to have been visualized by the rishis in the state of deep trance. This symbol (syllable of the Grantham or Prakrit language – the origin of ancient Sanskrit), in modern scientific terms must have been the spectrograph of the sound realized by the Vedic sages. They had devised the first ever script of syllables based on the 'shapes' of the different acoustic manifestations of this sound.

 

There are many meanings behind this sacred Vedic syllable. Some regard it as a symbolic representation of the core of cosmic energy field. George Feuerstein in "The Yoga Tradition" says –– The syllable "ú "(Om) is held to be or to express the pulse of the cosmos itself. It was through meditative practice rather than intellectual speculation that the seers and sages of Vedic times arrived at the idea of a universal sound, eternally resounding in the universe, which they 'saw' as the very origin of the created world.