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All things in existence are made up at their most essential level of vibrating, pulsing energy.

This ancient mantra is composed of four elements: the first three are vocal sounds: A, U and M. The fourth sound, unheard, is the silence which begins and ends the audible sound, the silence which surrounds it.

The Manuka Upanishad explains the four elements of AUM as an allegory of the four planes of consciousness.

“A” (pronounced “AH” as in “father”) resonates in the centre of the mouth. It represents normal waking consciousness, in which subject and object exist as separate entities. This is the level of mechanics, science, logical reason, the lower three chakras.

Then the sound “U” (pronounced as in “who”) transfers the sense of vibration to the back of the mouth, and shifts the allegory to the level of dream consciousness. Here, object and subject become intertwined in awareness. Both are contained within us. Matter becomes subtle, more fluid, rapidly changing. This is the realm of dreams, divinities, imagination and the inner world.

“M” is the third element, humming with lips gently closed. This sound resonates forward in the mouth and buzzed throughout the head. This sound represents the realm of deep, dreamless sleep. There is neither observing subject nor observed object. All are one, and nothing. Only pure consciousness exists, unseen, pristine, latent, covered with darkness. This is the cosmic night, the interval between cycles of creation, the womb of the divine Mother.

It might be said that the ultimate aim of Yoga is to enter this third dreamless realm while awake. Through yoga we “join” our waking consciousness to its “source” in the world of pure unconsciousness.

The fourth sound of AUM is the primal “unstuck” sound within the silence at the end of the sacred syllable. In fact, the word “silence” itself can be understood only in reference to “sound”. We hear this silence best when listening to sound, without interpreting or judging. Listening fully, openly, without preconceptions or expectations. The sound of music, the sound of the city, the sound of the wind in the forest. All can give us the opportunity to follow the path of sound into the awareness of the sound behind the sound.

When one really “listens” to this silent sound, one comes inevitably to stillness, to pure and open existence. In making this sound of AUM, we hear this unstuck sound most clearly in the instant when the last humming vibrations of the “M” fade away. At that moment, that instant separating audible sound and silence, the veil is thinnest, and our listening awareness is most expansive.