the mind is the pivot, the axis which directs the organs of action, if we transform the nature of mental functions, to think, to feel and to want, the activities of the senses will then be modified. Now, only the spiritual sound is capable of bringing about this desired transformation of the mind and the senses, and the syllable Om forms the first germ, the key to all sound, spiritual vibration. The power of spiritual sound is such that it can heal even those who suffer from mental imbalance.
The syllable Om is the direct literal manifestation of the Supreme and Absolute Truth, Krishna, God, the Supreme Person. Anyone who cannot sing the Holy Name of the Lord directly, as recommended to all those who want to achieve perfection, will therefore be able to sing the syllable Om, without difficulty, which is a form of invocation addressed to the Lord.
“Om hari om”, for example, means: “O Lord, God, Supreme Person”.
In truth, the Holy Name is identical to the Lord, and likewise for the syllable Om. Some neophytes, however, show themselves incapable of realizing the sublime and personal Form or Name of the Lord because of their imperfect senses; these receive spiritual training based on this technique of respiratory mastery that accompanies the silent, inner recitation of the syllable Om. Since it is impossible to understand the Name, the Form, the Attributes and Entertainment of the Sovereign Person through our current senses, soiled by matter, it is therefore necessary to give birth to these spiritual realizations in the mind, seat of sense activities. Holy beings directly fix their thoughts on the very Person of Absolute Truth, Krishna. But whoever fails to accept these personal traits of the Absolute will have to follow an impersonal discipline so that, later, he will rise to a higher level. Gradually, as the mind becomes more and more spiritual, detaches itself from sensory activities, and by the force of intelligence the senses will be mastered. Thus, the mind too absorbed in material action can embrace the service offered to the Supreme Lord and establish itself fully in a spiritual and absolute consciousness.
We call discipline of breath, this first way of spiritualizing the mind which consists in submitting it to the technique of singing the syllable Om, and to the perfect mastery of breathing. Establishing yourself in perfect ecstasy is the highest degree of this method of breath control. Now, experience has shown us that even the state of perfect ecstasy attained by total absorption in the consciousness of God turns out to be ineffective when it comes to mastering a mind absorbed in matter. The mind, although it temporarily ceases to think about the activities of the senses, remembers the actions of the past which spring from the subconscious and forms an obstacle for those who wish to dedicate themselves totally to spiritual realization.