Soham
so 'ham is an emphatic form of aham, the first-person pronoun ("I"), translating to "I myself". Interpreted as a nominal sentence, it can also be read as "It/He is I". Its use as a mantra emerges in mystical Sanskrit literature of the medieval period. The mantra is sometimes claimed to originate with the Isha Upanishad (verse 16), which ends:
- yat te rūpaṃ kalyāṇatamaṃ tat te paśyāmi yo 'sāv so 'ham asmi
- "The light which is thy fairest form, I see it. I am what He is (viz. the person in the sun)" (trans. Max Müller)
In several Advaita Vedanta Upanishads
- Dhyana-Bindu Upanishad
- Hamsa Upanishad
- Maha Vakya Upanishad
- Suka Rahasya Upanishad
- Surya Upanishad
- Tripuratapini Upanishad
- Yoga Chudamani Upanishad
- Yoga Sikha Upanishad
Tantras
- Gandharva Tantra
- Kali Tantra
- Kularnava Tantra
- Mahanirvana Tantra
- Niruttara Tantra
- Shri Nathanavaratnamalika
Stotras
- Bhaja Gaureesam
- Gowresa Ashtakam
- Shakthi Mahimnah Stotram
- Tripurasundari Vijaya Sthava
Adi Shankara's Vakya Vritti subsequent works in the Nath tradition foundational for Hatha yoga
- Matsyendranath's Yogavishaya
- Gorakshanath's Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati
- Gorakshanath's Yoga Bija
- Gorakshanath's Goraksha Shataka
- Jñāndev's Lakhota
- Jñāndev's Yogapar Abhangamala
and foundational for Swara yoga the original script Shiva Svarodaya as well as the classical yoga treatises Gheranda Samhita and Shiva Samhita all make mention of soham and hamsa describing its significance and when teaching uniformly teaches So on inhalation and ham on exhalation.
This traditional practice in its several forms and its background is described in numerous other books.
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