Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

by Rishi Mon Jul 01, 2013 6:04 pm

http://koenraadelst.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-origin-of-aum.html

What, then, does Dirghatamas say about the origin of Aum? Nothing explicit, for then it would be too clear and easy, and Hindus themselves could have been reminded of it on the best authority. As later explained in the Upanishads, the gods are fond of enigmatic expression, so you have to read between the lines for the true story. The juxtaposition of two elements is, in this case, significant.

On the one hand, verse 39 asks for the “syllable” of praise to the gods. The composer says it is a mystery, though known to the select people present. But the whole hymn talks of a sound not longer than a syllable.

On the other, in the preceding verses, the sound made by the cows is repeatedly mentioned, as well as the care of the cow for her young. The root vat- means “year” (Latin vetus, “having years”, “old”), the word vatsa means “yearling”, “dependent child”, hence “calf”. What goes on between cow and calf is vatsalya, still the Hindi word for “tenderness”, “affection”. This affection is uttered by the cow’s lowing and the calf’s lowing back. Repeatedly, the cow is praised and the sound of the cow is invoked.

So my penny dropped: the syllable that encompasses all Vedic hymns, that is also used in the beginning of the opening hymn, Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

In some religions, it would be blasphemous to explain the most sacred sound as nothing but the lowing of the cow. Not so in Vedic Hinduism. The cow may or may not always have been inviolable, but she has always been held sacred. The cow was the centre of the Vedic cowherd’s economy. A Vedic boy grew up tending the cattle, like Krishna, a fulltime activity punctuated by the sound of cows lowing. Long before the yogi heard a sound during his meditation, the Vedic or pre-Vedic cowherd was familiar with the lowing of his cattle. This he vocalized as Aum and he imitated the sound in what he held most sacred: the hymns to the gods assembled in the Veda collections.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jul 02, 2013 6:43 am

Purely baseless speculation, 'aum' (the Hindu holy word) being derived / based on the cow sound 'moo' (in twisted and reversed form).

If the first users of the holy word (e.g. 'aum') wanted to select it according to the cow sound ('moo'), they would have directly used 'moo' as the holy word instead of making it sound with twist and in reverse form as 'aum'.

The word 'aum' not only has letter / sound 'm' at the end, unlike the letter / sound 'm' in the beginning in the case of 'moo', but 'aum' also uses the sound 'o' (as in 'go') instead of 'oo' or 'u' in 'moo'.

by MaxEntropy_Man Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:21 am

LOL! the chaddis usually worship this idiot for his views, but he is going to get a lot of stick from the very same chaddis for this one.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:31 am

Seva Lamberdar wrote:Purely baseless speculation, 'aum' (the Hindu holy word) being derived / based on the cow sound 'moo' (in twisted and reversed form).

If the first users of the holy word (e.g. 'aum') wanted to select it according to the cow sound ('moo'), they would have directly used 'moo' as the holy word instead of making it sound with twist and in reverse form as 'aum'.

The word 'aum' not only has letter / sound 'm' at the end, unlike the letter / sound 'm' in the beginning in the case of 'moo', but 'aum' also uses the sound 'o' (as in 'go') instead of 'oo' or 'u' in 'moo'.

Perhaps the author (speculating the Hindu word 'aum' being derived from the cow sound 'moo') can next advance the theory that the word 'god' used for the almighty protector originally came from the word 'dog' in reverse form, considering dog and god use the same sounds / letters ('d', 'g' and 'o') and dog also has been safe-gaurding and protecting humans since the beginning.

by Merlot Daruwala Tue Jul 02, 2013 7:32 am

MaxEntropy_Man wrote:LOL! the chaddis usually worship this idiot for his views, but he is going to get a lot of stick from the very same chaddis for this one.

Haha..yeah. this is his jinnah moment.

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:17 am

Merlot Daruwala wrote:
MaxEntropy_Man wrote:LOL! the chaddis usually worship this idiot for his views, but he is going to get a lot of stick from the very same chaddis for this one.

Haha..yeah. this is his jinnah moment.

Merlot, that surely seems to make your day!

by Idéfix Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:13 pm

by Hellsangel Tue Jul 02, 2013 12:17 pm

Sevaji, what is the onomatopoeic word for mooing in Hindi?

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:00 pm

Hellsangel wrote:Sevaji, what is the onomatopoeic word for mooing in Hindi?

I think it is "ramb-haa" (with long "haa" sound at the end), like "gaaye ramb-aa rahii hai", which in English is "cow is "mooing" or making 'moo' sound".

by Seva Lamberdar Tue Jul 02, 2013 1:41 pm

Seva Lamberdar wrote:
Hellsangel wrote:Sevaji, what is the onomatopoeic word for mooing in Hindi?

I think it is "ramb-haa" (with long "haa" sound at the end), like "gaaye ramb-aa rahii hai" which in English is "cow is "mooing" or making 'moo' sound".

Correction: the above should be "gaaye ramb-haa rahii hai" (instead of "gaaye ramb-aa rahii hai")

by Seva Lamberdar Wed Jul 03, 2013 10:16 am

Idéfix wrote:

Who are you loling?

by Idéfix Wed Jul 03, 2013 3:11 pm

Seva Lamberdar wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

Who are you loling?

Hahaha!

PS: This one was for you, Sevaji.

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Wed Jul 03, 2013 11:50 pm

Hmm.... So, is Elst chanting the moooo mantra after finishing his mala-mooooootra?

by Seva Lamberdar Fri Jul 05, 2013 6:56 am

Idéfix wrote:
Seva Lamberdar wrote:
Idéfix wrote:

Who are you loling?
Hahaha!

PS: This one was for you, Sevaji.

I thought this was for Merlot.

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Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.

Re: Aum, is nothing but a human vocalization of the sound made by the cow. In English it is usually rendered as Mooh.