Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl[1]

“oṃ bhūr bhuvaḥ svaḥ

tat savitur vareṇyaṃ

bhargo devasya dhīmahi

dhiyo yo naḥ prachodayāt.”

(Rig Veda, III [62, 10].)

Om! (Everything!) Earth, Middle Region, Heaven (Infinite Space, Eternity, God)! Let us raise our souls and immerse our consciousness in the adorable light of that divine sun of life (of wisdom), by which our spirit is to be enlightened!

          The sacred syllable Oṃ or Aum, uttered inwardly in the Spirit of Truth, is at once an invocation of the Most High, a blessing upon all creatures, an affirmation of eternal truth, and a vow of purity; it signifies the renunciation of all earthly things, the acknowledgment of the eternal, immortality itself.

          The Mandukya Upaniṣad [Māṇḍukya Upaniṣad] says:

          “The eternal Om is the All. Its spread is all that was, is, or will be, and also that is beyond these three times.[2] All this is the Eternal, the Self, and this Self is the Eternal, and the Eternal has four degrees:

          “At the first step he stands in waking life[3]; externally perceiving, sevenfold; with nineteen mouths he enjoys gross things; he is manifest as the earthly fire (power).

          “At the second stage he stands in dream life[4]; inwardly perceiving, sevenfold; at nineteen mouths he enjoys the finer (“supernatural”) things; he is manifest as the luminous (light).

          “At the third stage he finds rest,[5] he desires no desires and dreams no dreams. This is the dreamless life. He finds unity, his knowledge is uniform; he is merciful and enjoys blessings; his mouth is knowledge; it is manifest as enlightenment (intuition). This is the All Ruler, the All Knowing, this is the Inner Guide, the Mother of all, who reveals lives and withdraws them from revelation again.

          “At the fourth stage[6] it is where the Eternal (God) has no cognition, neither cognizant nor uncognizant, neither internally nor externally, nor in both ways, nor even uniformly. Unseen, impalpable, indispensable, featureless, unimaginable, indescribable, whose self is its own proof (of its existence), in which the fivefold world no longer exists, restful, blessed, alone. This is the fourth level (of consciousness). This should be recognized as the (true) Self.[7]

          “This Self is like the unchanging Om and like its grades. The grades of self are like the measures; the measures are the steps. These measurements are A—U—M.

      1. “The earthly fire that stands in the waking consciousness is like A, the first measure, because it rises and reaches first.[8]
      2. “The luminous that stands in the dream consciousness is like the U, the second measure, because it unites both (AU = O).[9]
      3. “The cognizant which stands in dreamless life is M, the third measure, because it is the measuring one and of the same essence. Whoever recognizes it in this way measures everything and becomes the measured entity (OM).[10]

          AUM. “Immeasurable the fourth (AUM), the impalpable where the fivefold world comes to rest, the bright, the incomparable. Thus Om is like the Self.[11]

          “Through the Self, the Self is attained by knowing it as such.”

          What is called “spirit,” “mind,” “soul” (manas) in the microcosm becomes “the shining,” or, depending on the vantage point from which one looks at it, “ether,” “space,” in the macrocosm. “World Soul,” “All-Consciousness” (Mahat) called. This is the eternal, unique, essential in the universe as well as in every creature.

          Furthermore, it says in the Chāṇdogya Upaniṣad:

          “This Eternal has four stages (of revelation) in the microcosm, namely:

      1. The creative word.
      2. The life force.
      3. Seeing and
      4. d. H

          “In the macrocosm it appears as:

      1. Earthly fire (life).
      2. Air (thought).
      3. Sun (knowledge).
      4. d. Eternal space (infinity).

          “The creative Word is one of the four degrees of the Eternal. It shines through and glows through the earthly fire (life) as its light. Whoever recognizes it in this way, shines and glows with transfiguration, glory and everlasting light.

          “The life force is one of the four stages of the Eternal. It shines through and glows through the air (thought) as its light. Whoever recognizes it in this way, shines and glows with transfiguration, glory and everlasting light.

          “Seeing is one of the four stages of eternity. The sun (knowledge) shines through and glows through as its light. Whoever recognizes it in this way, shines and glows with transfiguration, glory and everlasting light.

          “Hearing is one of the four stages of eternity. It shines through the eternal space (the soul) as its light. Whoever sees it in this way, shines and glows with transfiguration, glory and light everlasting.”

          If it is at all difficult to convey in a translation the meaning of the original, especially when dealing with spiritual things for which there are neither intellectual concepts nor precise words, this difficulty appears with such greatness in the above Upaniṣads that it seems an impossibility in the Sanskrit text, every word is imbued with an “aroma,” a meaning, an underlying truth that cannot be imitated or reproduced in English. Those who are ignorant of the conditions in question, and who do not have the help of their own spiritual intuition, will not understand the meaning of the best translation of these Upaniṣads (or even the original itself). That is why these things are not written for the philologists, but for the esotericist, who is helped not only by the light of grammar but also by the light of spiritual knowledge. In other words: In order to feel and recognize the inner word and light, it must be revealed in our own power and fill our consciousness. In order for this to happen, however, the soul must rise to the light through the power of this spirit and speak the word of power in the power of this spirit, which finds its expression in the holy OM.

          The four “Measures” or meanings of Om are understood to be the four states of consciousness; namely, the life of the senses, the life of thought, the spiritual self-consciousness, and the all-encompassing divine life without selfhood, which no one can describe. The Upaniṣad says:

          “Whoever grasps the Om in the first degree is quickly reborn in the world. He enters human existence and becomes great.”

          To “grasp the Om in the first measure” is to live entirely in sensual existence; it is the first state of consciousness, the first step of the eternal I on the way to Self-knowledge. It is a whole human life on earth, a single day in the life of the Eternal.

          Regarding the “second measure,” the dream life after death of the body, however, it says:

“Just as the rays of the setting sun all gather in its luminous circles and are emitted again as it rises, so too, all this (consciousness) is gathered in the higher, luminous one, the spirit, so that man neither hears nor sees, smells, tastes, nor speaks, nor takes nor possesses, neither produces nor moves. They say: He sleeps.”

“Thus, this luminous element, the spirit, enjoys its greatness in the dream. Things seen before, he sees again; what has been heard, he hears again; what has been perceived, he perceives again. Visible and invisible things. Audible and inaudible things. Real and insubstantial things. He sees it all; he sees it as everything.”

          In this dream life the soul appears in a shell which the spirit has modeled on the physical body; a dream form, with active, perceiving, living, and inward powers, produced by imagination, after the pattern of the external body. It is said: “He sleeps”; and this is not just the sleep of a single night, but the long sleep of death which lies between mortal lives. In the mystical syllable Om, the second letter, the second measure, means this sleep.[12]

          “And whoever delves into the second measure attains paradise, the world between earth and heaven. This is the world of the moon (i.e., the world of dreams and imagination, of imagination and knowledge), and after experiencing the brightness of the world of the moon he is reborn.”

          The soul enjoys its existence in “paradise,” which is the reflected world of heaven, but still one step removed from the true light, the (spiritual) sun of wisdom (the glory of God). The Self in its dream-robe awakens and a new man is born. This is the “Dream Consciousness,” the second step.

          “But when the mind is clothed in the luminous One (entered into the divine Self), it dreams no more; for bliss arises in him. And as the birds settle down in the trees in the evening to rest, so everything comes to rest in the higher Self; for this Self is at once the Seeing, Sensing, Hearing, Smelling, Tasting, Knowing and Doing.”

          This is the “dreamless,” or rather, the spiritual life exalted above all dreaming and imagining; the third step of the self. In this state, this self no longer needs a physical body with its sense organs and no “dream body” (“astral body”) with its organs; all perceptive faculties are united in him as a single power (in the power of knowledge), and his effective powers as a single will. This is also the state of divine bliss.

          “For if a man were to choose a night when he dreamed nothing at all, and compare it with all the other nights and days of his life, and then say how many of those days and nights were more blessed than that night, so he would be able to count them easily. Not only is this true of an ordinary man, it is true even of the king himself. And if death is like this, it is a wondrous gain.”

          In life “beyond dreams” the self enjoys the fullness of its own bliss. It is pure will and pure knowledge. “In that dreamless life,” says Sankaracharya [Śaṅkarācārya], “the garment of the Self is woven with the ineffable enchantment which conceals from the Self its absolute oneness with the Eternal.” This sheath of self, this thin magical veil with which the self is encased, remains the same through the whole series of births and rebirths, always producing the two more “material” bodies through which the Self experiences its experiences in material existence and in the land of dreams. It is the “cause of everything,” the revealer and “withdraw” of all manifestations of life. This third state of consciousness is symbolized by the third measure of Om.

          “But he who grasps the three measures (at the same time), and through this unchanging Om enters the highest spirit, becomes the light, the sun itself; he forsakes all sin as the serpent sheds its skin.”

          And while the world of the “moon” is the ever-changing paradise of sensations and perceptions, a reflection of the sun, so is the “sun” itself the quiet self-luminous of the perceiving self, and that perceiving self rests in the higher unchanging self, which is the fourth Step of the Eternal. High above the waves of the ocean where birth and death reign, exalted above the “three times,”  above all that was, is, or will be, is the divine life of Self in Eternal Rest and Perfection. In him will and wisdom are one. There is no separation between the knowing and the known, and therefore no knowing; but instead the divine and perfect spirit of all knowledge. There is no difference between wanting and wishing, doer and work. Therefore there is no will and no doing; but instead the divine and perfect spirit of all will and action; for the self has become one with the Eternal, it has regained its original unity with the Eternal; there is no limit or divisibility in it, or anything less than Eternal itself.

          Fourfold thus appears the Eternal, and fourfold the Self, which is the Eternal.

          The Eternal appears in four ways, viz.:

      1. The outside world.
      2. The inner world (astral world).
      3. The divine world.
      4. The deity in its divine incomprehensible self.

          The Self appears in four types, viz.:

      1. The waking state of the outer life; be it a day of life or a lifetime on earth.
      2. The dream life; be it a single night or a period of life in paradise that connects two existences.
      3. The surpassing dreaming (self-conscious) life, which is higher than the waking life and the life in paradise.
      4. The indispensable divine life as the eternal in itself.

          Thus the Eternal appears in fourfold form and the apparent fourfold Self which is Eternal, and these four modes of its manifestation are represented by the mystical Om.

          But we shall not fathom the deeper meaning of these teachings of the four stages of existence and the four steps of the self until we understand that these four stages and steps represent the four great stations of the soul on its way to the highest perfection.

          The first step is the outward life of the natural, innocent, animal-like man. Here the divine Self is concealed under the coarsest covering, experiencing and acquiring knowledge through the external nature with which it comes in contact by virtue of its physical constitution. This innocent animal man lives without thinking about his destiny, dies without fear, and is reborn without entering the dream life of paradise. His animal life is innocent and admirable so long as it does not acquire qualities which bar the way to a higher or more godlike existence.

          Then comes the second step. The great dream begins when the twilight of man’s own thinking begins and he receives instruction from heaven and earth, from stars and seas. There, begins the life of imagination and rapture, the life of emotions and passions. Now come hope and fear, love and hate, wishes and disappointments, and whatever the dreams of this world are called, with which earthly existence is interwoven.

          After the dream comes the awakening. In place of hope and fear comes possession, in place of love and hate comes union, in which there is no separation. Instead of the pleasures of the world and paradise, the bliss of the presence of divine existence. This is the true “dreamlessness,” which is superior to all other states.

          The secret of the Eternal is that there is an awakening from dream life. However beautiful the dream may be (on earth or in heaven), waking up is even more beautiful; only the seers know it and they cannot describe it in words.

          In the realm of dreams our lamps shine until the oil runs out; the picked flowers wither; but the sun shines in its eternal light. The “dream life” overshadows the physical life; we dream while believing we are awake; but true awakening comes only when the day of knowing the truth comes.

          These are the three steps which the soul takes on the path of eternal life; the three measures by which it can be measured. The fourth is immeasurable, without measure, inviolable, in which the universe rises and disappears. Through the Self attains the Self who thus knows it. Om Mani Padme Hum [oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ]!

Notes:

[1] OM! Franz Hartmann, M.D. Lotusblüten 7, no. 40 (January 1896), 7-23 {This article was reformatted from the original, but with the content unchanged other than fixing minor typos. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}

[2] Concerning past, present and future, i.e., is eternal.

[3] In the sensual.

[4] Emotional life.

[5] Mental life.

[6] Nirvāṇa.

[7] For him there is nothing more than himself, who is all in all.

[8] Power.

[9] Realization.

[10] Love.

[11] Wisdom.

[12] Theos. Society. American Oriental Department. March 1894.