22. Om an arrow. ॐ शरः । “The body is the bow, Om is the arrow, with which one pierces the mark Brahma through darkness.” धनुच्छरीरमोमित्येतच्छरः । शिखास्य मनस्तमो लक्षणं भित्वात्मानमागच्छतीति ।
23. Om a Bridge. ॐ सेतुः । And so Om is used to represent many other single objects. (Maitrí Up. p. 271).
It is represented as a bridge in the Atharva Veda (VI. 10 and VIII. 4).
X. Duads Or Duples of the Bipartite Om in Dualistic Theories.
Duads. Om a couple. ॐ मिथुनं । “Om unites couples together and gratifies the wish of the adorer.” (Ch’hándogya I. 6). Again “couples being incorporated with the letter Om, establish the all-gratifying power and attribute of Om.” (Sankara’s Scholium to Ch’hándogya).
1. The Couple Udgítha & Pranava. उद्गीथप्रणबौ । Om combines the Udgítha of the Sáma with the pranava of the Rig Veda, the first couple; and therefore speech (Vák) and breath (prána) the sources of the Rik and Sáma, the second couple; and lastly the said two Vedas themselves as the third couple. (Ch’hándogya I. 1-8), and consequently the Hotri and Udgátri priests the fourth couple.
2. Brahma and Para Brahma. परापर ब्रह्म । Om is the superior and inferior Brahma conjointly. The superior or Para Brahma is the one eternal and infinite God; and the inferior or Apara Brahmá is the finite God:—the demiurge of Plato, and the Prajápati and Indra of Vedanta theology. The Aitareya reckons the pentad of the five elementary bodies, under the latter category. (V. 3). Kálidása speaks of this as the pancha mahá bhúta samádhi in the first book of his Raghu Vansa.
3. The two pronunciations. स्वर द्वयं । “Om is pronounced as svarati in the Rigveda and Svara in the Yajur Veda.” (Ch’hándogya IV. 4. Manu XI. 265).
4. The Human & Divine Souls. जीबात्मा परमात्मा । “Om is átman or soul. Two souls are said to enter the body; the individual and the undivided or universal soul.” (Ait. III. 1). “Two birds (the supreme and individual souls) dwell upon the same tree of the body.” (Svetásvatara Upanishad).
5. The Soul and Matter. प्रकृतीश्वरौ । “Om is both spirit and matter,” viewed as the same thing in the materialistic light of the Sánkhya, and dualistic view of others. Spinoza defines them both as the “Substantia cogitans, et substantia extensa, una eademque est substantia, quae jam sub hoc, jam sub illo attributo comprehenditur.” (Ethics. 1 Pr. 7 schol).