SB 12.6.40 · Srimad-Bhagavatam

Devanagari

श‍ृणोति य इमं स्फोटं सुप्तश्रोत्रे च शून्यद‍ृक् । येन वाग् व्यज्यते यस्य व्यक्तिराकाश आत्मन: ॥ ४० ॥ स्वधाम्नो ब्राह्मण: साक्षाद् वाचक: परमात्मन: । स सर्वमन्त्रोपनिषद्वेदबीजं सनातनम् ॥ ४१ ॥

Verse text

śṛṇoti ya imaṁ sphoṭaṁ supta-śrotre ca śūnya-dṛk yena vāg vyajyate yasya vyaktir ākāśa ātmanaḥ sva-dhāmno brahmaṇaḥ sākṣād vācakaḥ paramātmanaḥ sa sarva-mantropaniṣad veda-bījaṁ sanātanam

Synonyms

śṛṇoti — hears ; yaḥ — who ; imam — this ; sphoṭam — unmanifest and eternal subtle sound ; supta — śrotre — when the sense of hearing is asleep ; ca — and ; śūnya — dṛk — devoid of material sight and other sensory functions ; yena — by which ; vāk — the expanse of Vedic sound ; vyajyate — is elaborated ; yasya — of which ; vyaktiḥ — the manifestation ; ākāśe — in the sky (of the heart) ; ātmanaḥ — from the soul ; sva — dhāmnaḥ — who is His own origin ; brahmaṇaḥ — of the Absolute Truth ; sākṣāt — directly ; vācakaḥ — the designating term ; parama — ātmanaḥ — of the Supersoul ; saḥ — that ; sarva — of all ; mantra — Vedic hymns ; upaniṣat — the secret ; veda — of the Vedas ; bījam — the seed ; sanātanam — eternal .

Translation

This oṁkāra, ultimately nonmaterial and imperceptible, is heard by the Supersoul without His possessing material ears or any other material senses. The entire expanse of Vedic sound is elaborated from oṁkāra, which appears from the soul, within the sky of the heart. It is the direct designation of the self-originating Absolute Truth, the Supersoul, and is the secret essence and eternal seed of all Vedic hymns.

Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)

The Lord is the person who hears oṁ which arises from unmanifeset nāda when the senses do not function, since his knowledge does not depend on senses. By that oṁ, which manifests from the ātmā, in the ether of the heart, the Vedas appear. Oṁ indicates Brahman, which is its own shelter, and as well indicates Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Oṁ contains all mantras and Upaniṣads and it is the eternal cause of the Vedas. Who is the Supreme Lord known by words like Bhagavān? He is the person who hears oṁ (sphotam) generated from the unmanifest nāda. “But does the jīva not hear this sound?” No. The Lord is the person who hears this sound when the ears are covered, when all senses do not function. The jīva is not the hearer, since his knowledge is dependent on his senses. Paramātmā is the hearer. This means that whatever the jīva realizes as hearing is dependent on Paramātmā, because the Lord has knowledge without having material senses (śūnya-ḍṛk). When a sleeping person, on hearing a sound, wakes up, the jīva is not the hearer, since his senses were not functioning during sleep. He who hears the sound and wakes up the jīva is Paramātmā. The nature of oṁ is described in a verse and a half. By oṁ, speech, represented by the Vedas, becomes manifested from the ātmā in the ether of his heart. Oṁ indicates Brahman which is its own shelter, and is called Paramātmā and Bhagavān. Śruti says oṁ iti etad brahmano nediṣṭhaṁ nāma: oṁ is the name nearest to Brahman. All mantras and Upaniṣads are uttered along with oṁ which is the eternal cause of the Vedas. It has one form eternally, since it is Brahman.

Purport

The senses of a sleeping person do not function until he has awakened. Therefore, when a sleeping person is awakened by a noise, one may ask, “Who heard the noise?” The words supta-śrotre in this verse indicate that the Supreme Lord within the heart hears the sound and awakens the sleeping living entities. The Lord’s sensory activities always function on a superior level. Ultimately, all sounds vibrate within the sky, and in the internal region of the heart there is a type of sky meant for the vibration of Vedic sounds. The seed, or source, of all Vedic sounds is the oṁkāra. This is confirmed by the Vedic statement om ity etad brahmaṇo nediṣṭhaṁ nāma. The full elaboration of the Vedic seed sound is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the greatest Vedic literature.