Aksara - Aksara's Relevance in The Vedas and The Upanishads

Aksara's Relevance in The Vedas and The Upanishads

As part of basic instructions of Shiksha and Sanskrit grammar, it is explained that among the Word-entities, both, Aksara and Brahman stand out as especially important because both refer to a special form of ritual word. In the Brahmanas and the Upanishads both come to mean the Absolute. The Aksara as the syllable (Aum) acquires the meaning imperishable and in the Rig Veda it is directly linked with Rta which is the order of the cosmos and sacrifice when it pervades the cosmos because it is the element upon which the ritual chants are built. From the Rig Veda it is learnt that the origin of Aksara, the syllable, is to be found in the domain of the word (Rig Veda I.55.1) as the source of inspiration (Rig Veda I.34.4 & VII.36.7) and yields for those participating in the Vedic rites (Rig Veda VII.1.14 & VII.15.9). It is the recipient of power and the dignity of the sacred word in a condensated and intensified degree, and as the essence and embryo of speech receives, more than the word itself the signification of transcendent Brahman.